Doctor Lin had no miraculous medicine to cure her, so Li Muyang could only buy it himself.
After seeing Doctor Lin off, Li Muyang checked the money in his purse.
This time, his cheap little sister had brought twenty taels of gold from home.
For most people, that was already a fortune. For the Li family, it was no small sum either.
The old Li Muyang would never have gotten his hands on this much money.
But Li Damu, that martial man, clearly wasn't as tough as he made himself out to be. He'd actually brought so much money over. He was probably worried sick about his son, who'd run off to the Demon Refining Sect to work as a servant.
After seeing Doctor Lin off, along with the other well-meaning people who'd come to watch the excitement, only Guan Xiaoshun and Steward Wang remained outside Li Muyang's thatched cottage.
Steward Wang, who'd run all the way there, wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed. "Xiao Li, don't panic. As long as you have money, you can buy spirit medicine in Cloud City."
"With this much gold, you could even buy a five-hundred-year-old ginseng root. There's no way you won't be able to cure your sister."
Steward Wang reassured Li Muyang, then took his leave.
Whatever the case, the portly steward had done his best to show kindness today.
Sure, cultivators could get winded and drenched in sweat after running only a few steps. It was probably best not to think too hard about that.
But he'd genuinely gone out of his way to help, and Li Muyang would have to remember it.
At the cottage door, Li Muyang was about to speak to Guan Xiaoshun when a new visitor arrived outside the little thatched cottage halfway up the mountain.
"Muyang, is little sister Yuechan all right?"
Ning Wan'er, dressed in a pale purple gown, appeared in Li Muyang's line of sight.
She looked a little anxious, her fingers nervously clasped together. She held a wooden box in her hands, which was probably the medicine she'd mentioned.
Miss Ning seemed very worried about Li Yuechan's safety.
But Li Muyang merely glanced at her. He didn't care how much of her anxious concern was an act.
He thanked her first. After all, when Li Yuechan had passed out, Ning Wan'er had carried her back.
Then Li Muyang briefly explained his sister's condition to Ning Wan'er.
After hearing him out, Ning Wan'er grew worried.
"But we don't know anyone in the Demon Refining Sect. Where are we supposed to find spirit medicine...?"
Li Muyang spoke calmly. "This time, when Yuechan came to the sect, our family gave her some money to bring along. I'm going to Cloud City now. I'll buy the spirit medicine as quickly as I can, before it gets dark."
"Could I trouble Miss Ning to look after Yuechan for a while?"
Li Muyang's tone and expression were perfectly natural, as if Ning Wan'er were simply an ordinary friend he'd known for a long time.
That made Ning Wan'er blink softly.
The foolish young master of the Li family... really did seem to have changed.
Had three months of hardship away from home finally taught him to grow up?
Ning Wan'er was surprised. It was the first time she'd seen Li Muyang so calm and composed around her.
She'd thought Li Yuechan had been lying when she said all that stuff about her brother no longer being interested in Ning Wan'er... Wasn't this just a game of feigned indifference?
She'd already realized how clever and sharp-witted that little girl from the Li family was.
But only now did she see that Li Yuechan hadn't lied. The foolish young master of the Li Estate really had changed a lot.
Ning Wan'er thought of many things in an instant, but her smile remained gentle. "It's all right. Leave Yuechan with me. Hurry into the city, Muyang. The flying boat ferry doesn't close until after the hour of the Pig. If you go now and move quickly, you'll have plenty of time."
Seeing that Ning Wan'er had agreed to look after the unconscious Li Yuechan, Li Muyang felt relieved.
He'd originally planned to ask Guan Xiaoshun to keep an eye on her.
The earnest young man from the border city was on good terms with him and could be trusted.
But since Ning Wan'er was willing to look after her, Li Muyang simply asked Guan Xiaoshun to show him the way. The two of them headed down the mountain together toward the flying boat ferry outside.
Li Muyang had never been to Cloud City, so it was lucky that Guan Xiaoshun could guide him.
Since joining the Demon Refining Sect, this workaholic young man had diligently worked as a spiritual farmer. His spirit-rice harvests were the best among the spiritual farmers, and every so often, he even managed to produce a little mid-grade spirit rice.
With the income from growing spirit rice, Guan Xiaoshun had bought many cultivation-aiding treasures at the outer-sect market. He'd also stockpiled some unusual items to sell in Cloud City whenever the mountain gate opened. That was why his cultivation had advanced far faster than that of the other outer-sect disciples.
The kid had a good head for business, and he was diligent, reliable, and knowledgeable.
With him leading the way, Li Muyang saved himself a great deal of trouble.
After descending the mountain, the two of them ran all the way toward the flying boat ferry.
Once they boarded the enormous floating boat, Li Muyang and Guan Xiaoshun stood on deck, letting the cool mountain breeze wash over them.
The afterglow of the setting sun spread across the sky. Guan Xiaoshun said,
"There are lots of apothecaries in Cloud City. I sold some things there last year and this year, so I know a little about the trade..."
Guan Xiaoshun eagerly told Li Muyang all about Cloud City's medicinal herb trade: which shopkeepers were crooked, which were generous, and which liked to pass off fake spirit medicine... He told Li Muyang everything.
Li Muyang listened carefully, his expression serious.
Guan Xiaoshun talked for a full twenty minutes before he'd finished sharing everything he knew.
The kid really was thorough. He'd told Li Muyang everything he knew, down to the smallest detail.
But once they'd finished talking about the apothecaries, silence fell between them.
Li Muyang stood calmly on deck, watching the clouds rush past them, his thoughts unknown.
From the moment the badly injured Li Yuechan had been carried before him to the time he'd finished taking care of everything, and now as he headed to Cloud City to buy spirit medicine, Li Muyang had remained cool and detached, without a flicker of emotion.
It was as if he didn't care whether his sister lived or died.
Yet seeing Li Muyang like this made Guan Xiaoshun feel awkward and uneasy.
The flying boat was packed with people, all outer-sect disciples on their way to Cloud City.
They were immersed in the city's joy and bustle, caught up in the last three days of revelry.
A personal disciple had killed people right there in the city, leaving more than a dozen dead and wounded. Yet in this demonic sect, the incident hadn't stirred even the tiniest ripple. No one cared, and no one gave it a thought.
Even if these outer-sect disciples heard about it, all they'd do was sigh, "Ah, what bad luck."
That was life under the Demon Sect.
Just as Li Muyang had said before, justice and order in the Demon Sect were like a cyber bodhisattva's panties: one light tug, and they fell right off.
Only...
Li Muyang, the transmigrator, sighed. After a long silence, he suddenly spoke.
He looked at Guan Xiaoshun and asked, "That Senior Sister Qin Haie you mentioned... could you tell me about her?"
"I need to remember that name. If I ever run into her, I'll stay well away."
Li Muyang spoke calmly.
Seeing that Li Muyang had finally spoken, Guan Xiaoshun—made uneasy by the silence—breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smiled. "Senior Sister Qin Haie? She's a personal disciple of an elder. They say she's exceptionally gifted, and her status is even higher than that of the inner disciples..."
Guan Xiaoshun told Li Muyang everything he knew, one detail at a time.
He wasn't worried that after learning about Qin Haie, Li Muyang would go looking for revenge.
An outer-sect servant disciple in the Qi Refining realm would go after a personal disciple for revenge?
If anyone said something like that, it would become the funniest joke in the Demon Refining Sect.
Li Muyang listened calmly as Guan Xiaoshun spoke. He accepted the fact that his family had been cruelly harmed with a cool head, looking as numb as all the people living under the Demon Sect.
Only after Guan Xiaoshun had finished did Li Muyang slowly nod.
"Qin Haie, female, from Skyhorn City, a personal disciple under Elder Qi Rui of the Demon Refining Sect. They say she reached the Core Formation realm at just nineteen..."
"Mm, I'll remember," Li Muyang said, summing up Senior Sister Qin's identity. He nodded. "Thanks, Xiaoshun. If I ever see her, I'll keep my distance."
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