Chapter 128

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 128: Drifting

The convoy carrying Ou Yan continued their journey for several days. Although the elders of the sect who were sent for reinforcements had not yet arrived, elite disciples from nearby towns and from the Lotus Escort Agency and the Piaomiao Sect’s outposts had come to ensure Ou Yan’s safety. Following this, Great Aunt Qin issued an order for disciples from nearby sects to search along the river for Zhang Xiaohua or his remains, with a substantial reward for any findings. Thus, apart from those with specific tasks, the remaining disciples scoured the riverbanks.

However, by the seventh day, when Li Jian, Second Elder Li, and Liu Qingyang, Fifth Elder Liu, who came from Pingyang City arrived to meet Ou Yan’s convoy, there was still no news of Zhang Xiaohua.

Zhang Xiaohua, was he dead? Alive?

To recount, that day, that night, and that moment, Zhang Xiaohua had been struck in the chest by the black-clad old man, causing him to faint immediately. His body was thrown and landed at an angle near the riverbank. Zhang Xiaohua, carrying Ou Yan, had been heading towards the river, and the place where they fought was not far from it. Zhang Xiaohua, being small in stature, was no match for the powerful strike of the black-clad elder. Although the palm did not send him directly into the river, only half of his chest remained on the riverbank. The river was so turbulent at that time that in less than a moment, the water swept over Zhang Xiaohua’s legs and dragged him into the river. By the time He Tianshu searched the area, Zhang Xiaohua had already been carried away far from where he had been struck.

It was somewhat fortunate for Zhang Xiaohua that the black-clad elder’s palm strike was not more forceful, or Zhang Xiaohua might have fallen directly into the river with a “splash” and likely drowned immediately. Instead, Zhang Xiaohua’s legs were submerged first, followed by the rest of his body being dragged into the water, but his head remained above the surface. Otherwise, even if he hadn’t been killed by the black-clad elder, the river would have drowned him.

Zhang Xiaohua, who had lost consciousness, was extremely relaxed, which made it very easy for him to float on the river. At this moment, it was midnight, and Zhang Xiaohua, still in a coma, was having another sparkling beautiful dream, but it was unclear if he could see it.

In the darkness, Zhang Xiaohua drifted along the river, carried downstream with the current, as if cascading three thousand feet. However, his drifting was different from others. Typically, when someone falls into the water, they either float for a while before sinking or drift to the shore and get stranded. This was what Great Aunt Qin and the others had anticipated, which is why they instructed the disciples to search along the river. But our Xiaohua’s drifting was different, perhaps due to his small size or light weight, or maybe because of the twinkling dream. His small body seemed weightless, floating effortlessly on the river. He tightly gripped the small sword in his left hand, which seemed to have lost its weight. Zhang Xiaohua’s body was like a lightweight plank, moving swiftly with the turbulent current.

As a result, when He Tianshu searched for him a second time, Zhang Xiaohua had already been carried far beyond their expectations. Later, when Lan Dong dispatched personnel, they searched according to their experience and what they considered to be a “sufficient distance”, but this “distance” had long been surpassed by Zhang Xiaohua.

By dawn, the rain had still not stopped, and the river was even more turbulent. Zhang Xiaohua continued to drift on the river, unaware of how far he had traveled.

By late afternoon, Zhang Xiaohua finally drifted into a meandering river bend. It was unclear how far this was from where he had fallen into the water.

Next to the river bend was a simple grass hut surrounded by a few fences. There was a wooden frame extending into the river from the open space of the hut. At this moment, a girl around ten years old sat there with a fishing rod, resting her chin on one hand, her eyes blankly gazing ahead. The girl wore a clean, pale yellow dress. Her long, black hair was tied up with a headscarf, loosely flowing behind her. The girl had an oval face with large eyes and subtle eye bags. Her skin was fair, and there was a red beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. Although not exceptionally beautiful, her clear, white and black eyes and slightly arched willow brows gave her a striking presence.

Despite her young age, the girl had yet to reach the season of budding romance, so why did she appear so troubled?

At this moment, it seemed as if the fishing rod in the little girl’s hands had hooked a large fish and was sliding away. The girl, seemingly unaware, was suddenly interrupted by a kind voice from inside the grass hut: “Silly child, if you keep daydreaming, not only will you not catch any fish, but your fishing rod might also be stolen by the fish.”

The little girl then snapped out of her reverie and quickly grasped the fishing rod that was about to slip from her hands. When she looked up at the river, she could not help but exclaim: “Mistress, there’s a dead body!”

“Eh?” The person inside the hut, surprised, came out. It was a kindly old woman in her sixties, dressed in very clean moon-white garments, with a long sword hanging at her waist.

The old woman quickly walked to the end of the frame and, upon closer inspection, saw that the hook at the end of the fishing rod had indeed caught the unconscious Zhang Xiaohua.

The little girl, looking at Zhang Xiaohua’s “corpse,” said sadly: “Poor child, he must have fallen into the water just like me. His family must be heartbroken, unable to find him.”

As she spoke, it seemed to touch something deep inside her, and the sorrow on her face became even more pronounced.

The old woman looked at the “corpse” in the water and said: “We should still fish him out. Although we don’t know where he fell into the water, last night’s heavy rain caused the river to rise quite a bit. It would be difficult to find out where he came from. Instead, let’s bury him here to avoid him becoming food for the fish and turtles.”

The little girl’s look of sorrow did not diminish, but she nodded and pulled the fishing rod with effort. As she pulled Zhang Xiaohua to the riverbank with the current, the old woman approached without hesitation and reached out to grab Zhang Xiaohua’s arm. Fortunately, the water frame was not very high, and the water level had risen significantly. The old woman bent slightly and managed to grasp him.

As the old woman held Zhang Xiaohua’s arm and was about to exert strength to pull him onto the shore, her expression suddenly brightened, and she exclaimed: “He’s still alive!”

The girl, upon hearing this, was very happy and hurried over to help. However, given her small stature and limited strength, how could she help? Moreover, Zhang Xiaohua was not heavy, so the old mistress managed to pull him out of the river with one hand, being even more careful than before.

Seeing that the girl wanted to help, the Mistress smiled and said: “You go and boil some water to make ginger tea. We don’t know how long this child was in the water, so he must be very cold. Ginger tea will help ward off the cold.”

The girl, upon hearing this, jumped up and ran away, and the sadness on her brow seemed to lighten a bit.

Once the Mistress had carried Zhang Xiaohua into the grass hut, she changed him out of his wet clothes and wrapped him in a thick quilt. She then carefully checked his pulse and used her internal energy to examine him further, her expression growing even more serious.

At this point, she noticed that Zhang Xiaohua’s left hand was tightly gripping the small sword. She attempted to pull it out but couldn’t move it. So, she placed both Zhang Xiaohua’s hand and the small sword into the quilt.

When the girl entered the hut carrying a bowl, she saw that the Mistress’s brow was still furrowed, as if she was deep in thought. The girl cautiously asked: “Mistress, what’s wrong with him? Can he be saved?”

Seeing the girl’s concern, the Mistress’s expression softened as she said: “He didn’t just fall into the water by accident. He suffered severe internal injuries and was thrown into the river by someone.”

The girl, hearing this, became even more distressed and said: “He’s about the same size as me, what could he have done to offend anyone? It must be that bad people did this to him. Mistress, you are a martial arts master, so you must save him.”

Upon hearing the girl’s words, the Mistress couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. She realized that having spent so much time in the Jianghu, her thoughts had become overly complicated. She had even considered whether the young boy might be a bad person, something a little girl had clearly seen through. What kind of unforgivable villain could a young boy be?

Given this, how could she not save him?

The Mistress then instructed the girl to fetch a wooden basin and place it in front of the bed. She then helped Zhang Xiaohua into a seated meditation posture with his five hearts facing the sky, positioned him correctly, and sat behind him. She placed her palms on Zhang Xiaohua’s back and began to use her sect’s unique healing technique to treat the injuries inflicted by the Pale Gold Palm.

Before long, Zhang Xiaohua’s complexion gradually became more rosy, and faint steam rose from his head. The Mistress drew back her right hand and then, with a sudden force, ‘slapped’ Zhang Xiaohua’s shoulder. Zhang Xiaohua’s mouth opened, and he spat out several large mouthfuls of blood, which fell into the wooden basin. Most of the blood was black and had already coagulated into clots.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua expel the blood clots, the Mistress finally let out a sigh of relief. She withdrew her palms and carefully laid Zhang Xiaohua flat on the bed. At this time, his face was slightly rosy, his breathing became slightly steadier, and a light sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, signaling the return of some signs of life.

The little girl hurriedly took the basin outside and poured the dirty blood into the river. When she returned, she asked cautiously: “Mistress, is he cured now?”

The Mistress smiled and said: “It’s not that simple. I only forced out the obstructed dirty blood. Since he hasn’t practiced internal martial arts, his meridians are blocked, and inner energy healing techniques won’t be very effective. Right now, medicinal treatment would be the best, but that’s the skill of a doctor, not something I can do. However, we’re in the wilderness, where could we find a doctor? The nearest town is a day’s journey away, and even that would require using lightness skills. With his current condition, how could he withstand the bumps of the journey? He’d likely die before we reach the town.”

The little girl frowned and asked: “Then what should we do?”

The Mistress continued: “This child was severely injured by some ruthless person. The attack was very vicious, all his internal organs had shifted, and if the blow to his heart had been just a bit harder, he would already be dead. However, it seems that being thrown into the river and floating there like resting on a bed has prevented further damage to his internal organs. They’ve begun to recover slightly. I have some good medicine for treating injuries here. I’ll give it to him and see how it works. For now, all we can do is let him rest and hope for the best.”

The little girl seemed to understand and nodded slightly. She glanced at the ginger tea, which had cooled, and asked: “Should I still give this to him?”

The Mistress smiled and said: “That won’t do anymore. Initially, we thought he just fell into the water, and ginger tea could help warm him up. But now that we know he’s suffered internal injuries, ginger tea could be harmful and might even be fatal. Instead, get some plain water, and we’ll give him some medicinal pills.”

Following the instructions, the little girl fetched some plain water. The Mistress took out a small white porcelain bottle from her robe, carefully opened it, and tipped out a black pill about the size of a thumb. She pried open Zhang Xiaohua’s mouth, placed the pill inside, and used the water to help him swallow it. Seeing that he still had the ability to swallow, the Mistress felt a bit more hopeful.

Zhang Xiaohua’s presence didn’t drastically alter the daily life of the Mistress and the little girl. The Mistress continued to leave in the morning and return by evening, only checking on Zhang Xiaohua at night to give him another pill. The little girl stayed in the grass hut, sometimes lost in thought, sometimes wandering aimlessly around. More often than not, she would take her fishing rod and sit by the river, fishing with a heart full of worries.

The river continued to flow swiftly every day, possibly due to heavy rains upstream. However, the river no longer brought any surprises, and the little girl still hadn’t caught any fish.

A few more days passed, and the weather grew even colder as winter approached. The little girl couldn’t stand the cold and was already thinking about lighting a fire inside the hut. The usually calm Mistress began to show signs of restlessness, her brows furrowing frequently as if faced with a significant problem.

The little girl seemed to have noticed the Mistress’s unusual mood and wanted to ask about it but didn’t know how to start the conversation.

That evening, after the Mistress fed Zhang Xiaohua the last pill, the little girl asked: “Mistress, the medicine is all gone. How will we give him any more tomorrow?”

The Mistress checked Zhang Xiaohua’s pulse again and infused some internal energy into him to assess his condition. She said: “These pills were all we had. If they were going to work, they would have been enough. If not, even more wouldn’t make a difference.”

The little girl became worried and said: “How is he now? Has the medicine helped? It would be such a shame if we went through all this trouble just to end up burying him after all.”

The Mistress smiled and replied: “The act of saving someone is valuable in itself, regardless of the outcome. Having a compassionate heart is what matters. But don’t worry, this child is recovering much faster than I expected. His life is no longer in danger, but it’s puzzling that he hasn’t woken up yet. If this continues, it will become a problem. I need to return to my sect before the new year, and you’ll be coming with me. I can’t leave you in the deep mountains any longer. But if he doesn’t wake up soon, should we take him with us?”

The little girl grinned and said: “Then let’s bring him along! You’ve already taken me in, so what’s one more person?”

The Mistress patted the little girl’s head and said: “You speak as if it’s simple, but our sect has always accepted only women, not men. Even the male disciples belong mostly to the outer sect. Besides, I’ve never considered taking a male disciple.”

The little girl spread her hands and said: “Then we should just take him with us and drop him off at the nearest town, leaving him to his own fate.”

The Mistress replied: “Don’t try to provoke me. Even if we were to drop him off at the town, given his current condition, he’d likely meet his end there.”

The little girl blinked and said: “But maybe he’ll get better before you finish your business?”

The Mistress laughed: “There’s no ‘maybe’ about it. I’ve been searching for that place for…” Suddenly realizing something, she smiled bitterly and said: “You sly girl, if you want to ask, just ask directly. No need to beat around the bush. However, this matter involves too much, and I can’t let you know about it yet. Even if someone else asks, you mustn’t say a word. Understand?”

The little girl, unconcerned, replied: “I know, Mistress. I’ll keep your secret.”

The Mistress knew she wasn’t taking it seriously but didn’t press the point. She continued: “It seems I won’t be able to accomplish my task this time, but I was mentally prepared for that. I’ll just continue later. Let’s wait a few more days, there’s still time to return to the mountain.”

The little girl pouted and said: “I’ll listen to you, Mistress. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

The Mistress patted her head lovingly and said: “Don’t worry, you’ll have somewhere to go in the future.”

Two days later, at dawn, as the sun began to shine with endless light, Zhang Xiaohua, who had been in a coma, suddenly opened his eyes. A flicker of light flashed through his dark pupils, disappearing as quickly as it came.

As Zhang Xiaohua woke and took in the unfamiliar grass hut around him, he was puzzled. After a moment of recollection, he roughly understood his situation. He tried to sit up, but as soon as he lifted his chest slightly, he felt unbearable pain and let out a groan, falling back onto the bed. He then turned his head to look around and tried to call out for someone, but the pain in his chest prevented him from shouting. He could only softly call out a few times: “Is anyone there?”

His voice was extremely weak, like a cat’s meow, who could possibly hear it?

Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohua could still move his arm. Just as he attempted to move, he discovered that his left hand was still tightly clutching the small sword. With great effort, Zhang Xiaohua brought the small sword up to his eyes. As he gazed at the familiar toy, questions once again arose in his mind. What exactly was this thing? Was it really just a toy? He could understand it piercing a tree or stone when practicing sword moves, but the martial arts of that black-clad elder were so formidable that even disciples of the Piaomiao Sect couldn’t pierce him with a long sword. Yet, this small sword had easily penetrated him. It was truly baffling, especially considering that the small sword wasn’t even sharpened.

As Zhang Xiaohua was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a crisp voice: “You’re awake?”

Zhang Xiaohua turned his head to see a little girl standing at the door, about his height. Her face, shaped like a duck egg, was slightly flushed from the cold, and her large eyes sparkled with a hint of delight. She was holding a fishing rod, which left Zhang Xiaohua puzzled. Was she a fisherman’s child? Out fishing for a living so early in the morning? But looking at her features, although she wasn’t stunning, the noble air in her between her brows was unmistakable, what fisherman’s child could possess such an aura?

Sure enough, the girl quickly put down the fishing rod and said: “Wait here, I’ll go tell Mistress.”

With that, she turned and ran out, her jet-black hair flying behind her, leaving a striking image.

Not long after, the Mistress hurried in, joyfully saying: “Heaven be praised, you’ve finally woken up in time. Let me take a look.”

She approached Zhang Xiaohua’s bed, checked his pulse, and transferred a stream of inner energy into his body. Then she said: “Not bad, child. You’re recovering well. In just over ten days, you’ve managed to heal more than half of your injuries. Your body is truly extraordinary, full of vitality. Ah, youth is wonderful, you recover so quickly even from serious injuries.”

Recruitment of Editors: https://gravitytales.com/recruitment-of-editors/