At night, in a side room of the clinic.
Medicine bubbled away on a small brazier, filling the room with a bitter smell.
Master White Willow sat before the stove, lazily fanning the fire with a battered palm-leaf fan.
"Put your mind at ease." Without looking up, he sounded somewhat weary. "I didn't strike to kill. Drink this medicine, recuperate properly for a few years, and your brother may yet recover most of his martial arts."
Shen Lang lay sprawled on a nearby couch and gave two dry chuckles. "Then many thanks, sir. Thank you for not truly wanting his life."
"No need to thank me." Master White Willow's tone was flat. "I bear Wang Shouxin no grudge. I was merely caught in someone else's grip, with no choice in the matter."
Lu Chen spoke from the side. "What will you do next?"
Master White Willow's hand, which had been fanning the fire, paused.
The room fell silent for quite a while, with only the sound of the medicine boiling. Then he asked softly, "As for Dongfang Cang... you told him everything?"
"I did."
"Ah..."
Master White Willow let out a long breath, as though expelling all the stifling weight in his chest. "My disciples and maidservant have all been sent away. By tomorrow, no one will remain in this clinic. At dawn, I'll leave the Northern Lands and return to the capital."
"That Lord Su," Lu Chen said, looking at him, "will he spare you?"
"Whether he spares me or not, that is up to him."
Master White Willow shook his head. "I was in the wrong back then. I owe him, and I owe Zhu'er. Going back means returning my life to him.
"Whether he wants to kill me or carve me up, I'll accept it all. I