Bai Jin delivered the two Medicine Cases to the storage room and ran into Qian Renxue as soon as he came out.
She held a new outer robe. Rather than draping it over him, she offered it to him first. Bai Jin reached out with his right hand. His wrist no longer trembled, but a brace still wrapped halfway around it beneath his cuff. She glanced at it and laid the new robe over his left arm.
"How long before this hand agrees to behave?"
"It's behaving perfectly well now. I didn't even snap a single ginseng root just now."
"Dugu Bo said you injured it again while holding up the rock."
"That old poisoner even put that in a letter?"
"He told the messenger to mention it to me."
Bai Jin could no longer muster a smile. Only then did Qian Renxue let the smile at the corners of her mouth spread. She led him to the outer court of the Worship Hall, where Qian Daoliu was already waiting. The golden light on the courtyard's stone pillars was fainter than before, but the inner hall remained closed, and the true Angel Holy Sword had not left its place.
The old man had heard what happened in the old Medicine Cavern. He had summoned Bai Jin today for one reason alone: to see exactly where his Ninth Soul Skill broke under pressure from a higher level.
"You're not going to make me break your sword again, are you?" Bai Jin asked.
"Last time, you only broke the sword used in the Restricted Duel. If you take that encounter to mean you killed me, there is nothing for us to discuss today."
"I was planning to keep you around to approve my leave."
Qian Daoliu did not respond to that. He