Parting Ways

"This is a Three Yuan Blood Return Pill produced by our Ji Family's Evergreen Hall." Ji Wenyue opened the medicine box, glanced inside, and identified it without a second thought.

"Damn, an elder of Hundred Herbs Hall was actually carrying pills from your Ji Family on his person!" Xia Daoming was greatly surprised.

"How could Hundred Herbs Hall possibly compare to our Ji Family in alchemy? I refined these Three Yuan Blood Return Pills according to a fragmentary ancient prescription. They are highly effective at strengthening and replenishing one's qi and blood.

"Unfortunately, the medicinal ingredients needed to refine them are extremely precious, so they can only be produced in small quantities. They are very expensive—two hundred taels of silver per pill—and even so, demand still exceeds supply." Ji Wenyue spoke with a trace of pride.

"Two hundred taels per pill!" Xia Daoming could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

Before looting Blood Wolf Hall, his entire fortune would not have been enough to buy even one Three Yuan Blood Return Pill.

"No wonder Hundred Herbs Hall wanted to kidnap you!" After drawing in that breath, Xia Daoming said with feeling.

"The quality of these Three Yuan Blood Return Pills is only average. Whenever our Ji Family refines medicine, we keep the highest-quality Three Yuan Blood Return Pills for the direct descendants of the Lineage.

"Unfortunately, I did not bring any of those with me this time. Otherwise, Big Brother Xia could have tried one and seen its effects." Ji Wenyue said.

"Looks like whenever I need tonic pills in the future, I'll have to buy them specifically from you." As Xia Daoming spoke, he reached out and took back the box containing the four Three Yuan Blood Return Pills.

"Big Brother Xia, you must be joking. You saved my life. Whatever pills you need in the future, just ask me directly," Ji Wenyue hurriedly said.

Xia Daoming merely smiled noncommittally. He handed the freshly rolled meat flatbread in his hand to Ji Wenyue. "Have another."

"Thank you, Big Brother." Ji Wenyue accepted the meat flatbread. This time, rather than avoiding him, she sat down closer to Xia Daoming.

"Sitting so close? Aren't you afraid I'll suddenly let the beast in me loose?" Xia Daoming cast a sidelong glance at the deadly weapons.

"Big Brother is joking. You're a good man. You definitely wouldn't." Ji Wenyue gave an awkward smile, but quietly shifted her backside a little farther away, leaving Xia Daoming speechless.

Women truly were masters of saying one thing while meaning another!

Before long, the two had eaten and drunk their fill.

"Get some sleep. We still have to travel tomorrow." Xia Daoming pointed at the one-person tent behind them.

"Ah, n-no need. I'm not sleepy." Ji Wenyue glanced at the one-person tent behind her, her heart giving a shudder as the words blurted out.

"Relax. I'm covered in stinking sweat. Even if you wanted to squeeze into one tent with me, I wouldn't agree! We'll sleep in shifts. You take the first half of the night, and I'll take the second!" Xia Daoming curled his lip.

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Only then did Ji Wenyue realize she had overthought things. Blushing, she said a word of thanks, then hurriedly rose and slipped into the tent.

After Ji Wenyue entered the tent, Xia Daoming took out a Three Yuan Blood Return Pill and tossed it into his mouth. Then he circulated the Dragon Serpent Art.

An hour later, Xia Daoming slowly opened his eyes, his feelings rather complicated. He did not know whether to be pleased or disappointed.

When he had left Black Stone City, his meridian strengthening progress had been at twenty percent of Level Nine.

Since then, he had eaten plenty of beast meat each day to nourish and strengthen his qi and blood. Yet more than thirty days had passed, and his meridians had only reached forty percent of Level Nine. It simply could not compare to the rate of improvement he had experienced after consuming the Dragon-Patterned Purple Blood Ginseng during his escape.

The Three Yuan Blood Return Pill's effects were fairly decent, by all accounts. One pill had brought his meridian strengthening to fifty percent of Level Nine, raising it by a full ten percent in one stroke.

Yet compared to its exorbitant price, such an effect still fell far short of Xia Daoming's expectations.

After all, he was only a Fourth-Rank Martial Master at present.

Once he reached the Fifth-Rank Martial Master realm, even if he threw all six thousand taels of silver into it—Xia Daoming had found some money on Liao Min and the others—he would probably only be able to complete two levels of meridian strengthening.

And at every Martial Master realm, the system allowed nine levels of meridian strengthening.

"No wonder they say scholars can be poor, but martial artists must be rich. Martial arts really burns money—especially my system, which is an absolute gold-devouring beast!"

"Never mind all that for now. Strengthening my meridians and raising my power are the most urgent matters." Before long, Xia Daoming stopped dwelling on money. He took out another Three Yuan Blood Return Pill, tossed it into his mouth, and once again sat cross-legged to circulate the Dragon Serpent Art.

Fortunately, Ji Wenyue did not see this scene. Otherwise, her eyes would surely have bulged round as saucers.

The medicinal power of the Three Yuan Blood Return Pill was fierce. Not to mention a Fourth-Rank Martial Master—even a Fifth-Rank Martial Master would suffer swollen, aching meridians after taking one. They would need to wait at least three to five days before taking a second pill, or their meridians would inevitably be damaged by the impact of the medicine's power.

Yet Xia Daoming was only a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, and after merely an hour, he had immediately taken a second pill.

This time, Xia Daoming took longer to dissolve the medicinal power, only opening his eyes two hours later.

Xia Daoming turned and glanced at the tent. Faintly, he seemed to hear Ji Wenyue murmuring in her sleep and lightly snoring. He could not help shaking his head, then simply took out another Three Yuan Blood Return Pill and tossed it into his mouth.

Inside the tent, Ji Wenyue stretched lazily before slowly opening her eyes.

"Ah!"

The moment her eyes opened, Ji Wenyue let out a scream and scrambled from the tent as if her hair were on fire.

In the distance, a fiery-red rim of sun was slowly emerging from the horizon.

The sky was awash in crimson clouds.

Beneath the morning glow, a man stood with his back to her, shaving slices of smoked meat into a pot. Steam rose from it, carrying the fragrance of meat and noodles.

As she watched this sight, an indescribably subtle emotion slowly took root in her heart.

Last night, she had been on edge at first, tossing and turning without sleep, afraid that the man outside might suddenly crawl into the tent.

Later, she had been so exhausted that she did not know when she fell deeply asleep. By the time she woke, dawn had already arrived.

"You're up? The noodles are ready too." Xia Daoming spoke without turning around.

"Ah, Big Brother Xia, I'm so sorry, so sorry. I overslept." Ji Wenyue jolted awake at his words and spoke with a face flushed scarlet.

After breakfast, the two mounted their horses and set off once more.

That day, Ji Wenyue no longer avoided Xia Daoming's gaze. She even deliberately, or perhaps unconsciously, puffed out her chest with a touch of pride now and then. It made Xia Daoming's inner fire surge higher and higher. He wanted to observe propriety and avert his eyes, but the desert stretched boundlessly in every direction, dreary and dull. With such a youthful beauty beside him, not looking seemed downright foolish.

Another day passed without result.

The man and woman once again spent the night in the wilderness.

By the campfire, Ji Wenyue sat very close to Xia Daoming.

Xia Daoming quietly shifted his backside away, widening the distance.

Did she really think this master could remain unmoved with a woman in his arms?

"Big Brother, will it still be you on top and me below tonight?" Ji Wenyue asked when the time seemed about right.

"Cough, cough. Mm, that works." Xia Daoming nearly sprayed out a mouthful of tea.

This time, Ji Wenyue did not oversleep. She rose punctually during the latter half of the night to take over.

Xia Daoming did not stand on ceremony with her.

"Look, Big Brother Xia! That's Eya City! Eya City!" From atop a sand dune, Ji Wenyue excitedly pointed at the city in the distance, nestled within an oasis.

Outside the city, groups of horse caravans and camel caravans wound their way toward its gates.

"We finally found Eya City!" Xia Daoming let out a tremendous sigh of relief, his face also full of excitement.

"Big Brother Xia, let's hurry into the city!" Ji Wenyue urged.

With that, she squeezed her legs against her horse's belly and charged down the sand dune.

"Are you trying to walk into a trap?" Xia Daoming called out loudly.

"Neighhh!"

Ji Wenyue urgently pulled the reins, turned her horse around, and returned to the top of the dune.

"What do you mean by that, Big Brother Xia?"

"You're a smart woman. Have you never considered that the so-called five-hundred-year Phoenix Jade Grass might merely be bait meant to lure you here?" Xia Daoming asked with a cold smile.

Ji Wenyue's expression changed slightly at his words. Only after a long while did she say, "My Ji Family has treated Shopkeeper Wang well. He shouldn't..."

"That would naturally be best. But what if he truly has already betrayed the Ji Family?" Xia Daoming cut her off.

"Big Brother Xia means we should not enter Eya City?" Ji Wenyue asked dejectedly.

"Now that you've seen Eya City, you should know how to get to Xiongfeng City, right?" Xia Daoming answered a question with a question.

"Yes. Xiongfeng City is a major city in the northern lands. Our Evergreen Hall has a branch there as well, and one of my clan uncles is stationed there." Ji Wenyue looked around, then quickly nodded.

"Then lead the way," Xia Daoming said.

"Thank you, Big Brother Xia!" Ji Wenyue said gratefully.

"Once we reach the outskirts of Xiongfeng City, we'll part ways," Xia Daoming said.

"Ah!"

"What are you ah-ing about? You, Miss Ji, might not care about your reputation, but I haven't married yet. I can't ruin my spotless name. Besides, I don't want to end up on Hundred Herbs Hall's kill list," Xia Daoming said.

Ji Wenyue looked at Xia Daoming, opening and closing her mouth, yet she simply did not know how to respond.

Two days later.

Three li outside Xiongfeng City.

Ji Wenyue and Xia Daoming rode side by side, gazing into the distance.

"We'll part here. Go into the city," Xia Daoming said.

Ji Wenyue's delicate body trembled slightly. She turned her head, looking at Xia Daoming with a complicated expression.

While drifting through the desert, she had dreamed every day of arriving at a city sooner, of taking a comfortable bath and getting a good night's sleep.

But now that the day had truly come, she did not know why a trace of inexplicable reluctance suddenly rose in her heart.

"Big Brother Xia, are you truly not coming into the city with me?"

Xia Daoming did not answer. He merely raised the riding whip in his hand and struck the horse Ji Wenyue was riding.

The horse galloped toward Xiongfeng City.

"Big Brother, where can I find you in the future?" Ji Wenyue reined in her horse and called back.

"You don't need to look for me. I'll come find you." Xia Daoming waved his hand and rode toward another city gate without looking back.

The Vast Mountain Range ran across Mang Province, stretching unbroken for tens of thousands of li.

Its northern slopes were steep, while its southern slopes were gentle.

To the north lay almost nothing but sheer cliffs thousands of zhang high, standing upright as though carved by an axe, with scarcely any vegetation or gentle slopes suitable for climbing.

To the south, mountain ridges rose and fell, peaks piled upon peaks, forests thick and verdant, clouds and mist coiling around them. It was a spectacle of countless changing forms, an entirely different sight.

Moreover, venomous insects and snakes bred in the mountains, jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards made their homes there, and even demonic beasts appeared from time to time. Anyone without great ability would never dare venture deep into or cross the Vast Mountain Range.

Thus, to travel north to south through the Vast Mountain Range, one could only pass through the natural routes formed by broken cliffs and gorges.

Crimson Flame Valley was one such route.

Every spring, numerous shrubs with red leaves and red blossoms sprouted along the cliffs on both sides of Crimson Flame Valley.

By summer, those shrubs would be laden with red fruit.

Therefore, every spring and summer, the entire valley blazed red across the mountains and plains, as though countless clusters of flames were burning. That was how it gained the name Crimson Flame Valley.

One month later.

Xia Daoming arrived at Crimson Flame Valley, covered in dust from his journey.

Today's update is complete. Thank you for your support.