Quiet Medicinal Fragrance

That was too little blood. It didn't look like a serious injury at all. What a loss—I need to spray out some more.

Lin Xiaotian had no choice but to bite down again and spit out more blood.

The fellow disciples exploded into an uproar, all of them clamoring at once.

Ouyang Nianci stared blankly at the man collapsed on the ground, his blood having even splattered onto her. She stood there in a daze for quite a while.

The middle-aged man behind her stepped forward, grabbed her, and pulled her behind him.

"Cier, it's nothing."

Lin Xiaotian's mouth twitched as he listened.

This middle-aged man was likely the girl's father or an uncle. His voice was familiar and intimate.

The middle-aged man glanced at the one lying on the ground. His gaze shifted slightly, and a faint, meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Alright, let's go..."

They were just leaving like that, without so much as a gesture of recompense.

The fellow disciples were all stunned. The Ouyang Household truly acted without restraint—they simply did not take the Huang Family Martial Hall seriously.

But the disciples also knew their own strength was limited. They could not stop them, so they all turned their gazes toward Senior Brother Tao.

Under their stares, Senior Brother Tao felt guilty. His eyes flickered away before he looked elsewhere.

This angered some of the disciples. Although Lin Xiaotian was somewhat of an oddity in their eyes—unsociable, habitually late, and always breaking the rules—he had been beaten like this, yet no one said a word.

What if they were injured or bullied in the future?

Yet quite a few of the senior brothers and sisters who had been here longer wore thoughtful expressions.

They knew exactly what kind of person Senior Brother Tao was.

And with such a huge commotion, there was no way Master Huang could have been unaware. The fact that he still had not appeared explained even more.

As everyone pondered this, the middle-aged man had already led a man and a woman toward the exit.

Partway there, some disciples tried to stop them. But before they could approach, an overbearing force swept toward them, knocking everyone into a stagger and forcing them to retreat to either side.

At that moment, everyone understood. The middle-aged man was at least at the Internal Force level; External Force could never accomplish such a thing.

"O-Ouyang Household Head..."

One of the senior brothers had deduced the visitor's identity from that display of strength. Only someone with the weight of a household head could make even Master Huang give him face.

But Lin Xiaotian knew it definitely was not because of the household head's status, but for a deeper reason.

It seemed his strength had been exposed. Otherwise, this household head would not have immediately pulled the two of them away to leave.

"Don't go!"

The one who spoke was the senior sister who had sought Lin Xiaotian out for a spar a few days ago.

Her face was flushed, and her upper body rose and fell from time to time. Clearly, after wrestling with herself, she had finally made up her mind.

She looked at the household head. Her voice was hoarse and trembling, but she still tried to make it sound calm.

"Ouyang Household Head, although I accidentally struck my junior brother, this was caused by your people as well. Won't you at least provide some medicine for his injuries?"

"My junior brother may very well be crippled. From this day onward, Martial Dao may become impossible for him to practice."

The middle-aged man's voice was unexpectedly gentle.

"Mm, you are all quite good. Master Huang has taken in fine disciples. Just from what happened earlier, you were able to judge that I am the Ouyang Household Head."

"That's right. I am Ouyang Zhentian."

As he spoke, even his bearing seemed to change, becoming proud and confident, carrying the imposing dominance of one in control.

He looked back at Lin Xiaotian, who was still being carried by the disciples, then turned again to the senior sister blocking his path. His voice was calm.

"Your Junior Brother Lin may be injured, but it is not fatal. As for ruining his future, that is even more utter nonsense."

"A mere Skin Tempering cultivator was able to block a strike from you, someone nearing Blood Tempering. Heh, if this youth can reach External Force, he may one day have hope of catching up to that Qin girl."

Ah—

They were shocked—utterly shocked!

No one could believe it. One of the more experienced senior brothers spoke, his voice trembling as well.

"May I ask, Household Head, does this Qin girl refer to the eldest daughter of the Qin Household, Qin Yueyao?"

Ouyang Zhentian nodded.

"That's right. I didn't expect you to know so much."

The other disciples were still somewhat bewildered, not understanding what the Qin Household's eldest daughter had to do with this. But from those few words alone, they could easily tell that this Yueyao was certainly extraordinary.

Ouyang Zhentian ignored them no longer. He released a trace of force, making the senior sister stagger aside and clear the way.

The three members of the Ouyang Household left calmly, turning into the street corner outside the martial hall.

What kind of person Qin Yueyao was, few people knew unless they belonged to the major households or the upper ranks of the town.

Moreover, most people who came to learn martial arts were from poor backgrounds, and had even less interest in inquiring about such matters.

They knew that since the Qin Household's eldest daughter had been mentioned, she must be exceptional. Yet what lingered in their ears was Ouyang Household Head's earlier remark: "Lin Xiaotian has reached Skin Tempering."

Suddenly, some disciple cried out. There was jealousy, envy, bitterness, and an indescribable, inexplicable flavor in that voice.

"Lin Xiaotian has reached Skin Tempering..."

That cry immediately voiced the thoughts in many people's hearts.

The senior sister who had challenged him looked at Junior Brother Lin, who was being carried away, with even more complicated eyes.

"Skin Tempering... These past days, I've cursed in front of him, sometimes deliberately and sometimes not. I never called him by name, but anyone could tell I was cursing him. Yet Senior Brother Lin never got angry."

"Me too. I even mocked him, asking why he still hadn't reached Skin Tempering when one of us had already made it there... Sigh, turns out the clown was me."

Voices chattered all around him.

Lin Xiaotian lay quietly there, not caring in the slightest about their whispered gossip.

It could not affect his martial cultivation. Only now that they mentioned it did he belatedly recall the things those people had said.

Oh dear! The more these people talk, the more emotional they get. You're carrying me—hurry up and take me back to my room to rest! Why aren't you moving?

Looks like I need to put in a little more effort and pretend to faint. Otherwise, this will never end.

"Bleurgh..." Lin Xiaotian's violent retching immediately threw everyone into a flurry. They hurriedly carried him toward the inner courtyard.

They needed to have their master examine him. Just from the sound, that palm strike had been vicious. If something truly went wrong, they would only feel at ease after their master had seen him.

Pretending to be unconscious, he finally let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

What was with that household head? Why had he exposed Lin Xiaotian's Skin Tempering strength? Even his old master had not deliberately mentioned it. This Ouyang Household Head was truly wicked to the bone.

Inwardly, Lin Xiaotian added this household head to his little ledger.

When they arrived at the rear courtyard, everyone bustled about, feeding him medicine and wrapping his wounds. Lin Xiaotian feigned unconsciousness and let them fuss over him.

After nearly half a day, things finally quieted down, leaving only his master's wife to watch over him.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. It's finally quiet.

At last, a thin blanket was placed over him. Everyone left, and his master's wife left as well.

Only a faint medicinal fragrance remained in the room, along with Mind-Calming Incense that had somehow been lit in the incense burner.

There was something interesting about this scent. It unexpectedly gave him a strange feeling that his mind had emptied.

He just did not know whether this Mind-Calming Incense could also be nourished by Blood Qi.

As he was thinking, he suddenly sensed that something around him had become different.

The fragrance was gone. It was exceptionally quiet—quiet to an unnatural degree.

He wanted to open his eyes, but in the end, he held himself back.

He was a severely injured man. As long as he did not open his eyes, no one would discover anything, unless his old master personally examined him.

"Alright, how long are you planning to keep pretending?"

A sudden voice rang out.

Lin Xiaotian's heart tightened. It was his master's voice. When had he arrived? How had he made no sound at all?