Chapter 205
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Knowing the bracelet’s extraordinary value, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t intend to stash it away as a treasured keepsake. Its magical effects only manifested when worn close to the body. Who could say if something unusual might happen if it were removed?
Moreover, something with such a coarse and unassuming appearance was best worn openly. No one would suspect that such an ordinary-looking bracelet on his wrist was his most valuable possession.
After finishing his preparations, Zhang Xiaohua finally concluded his longest-ever cleaning session.
Dressing himself, he reluctantly discarded a set of clothes that wasn’t particularly worn out but was stained with blood and reeked of a fishy stench. As someone who lived frugally, he had already tried everything to wash out the black stains but to no avail, leaving him no choice but to part with it.
When Zhang Xiaohua returned to the courtyard, the rain showed no signs of easing, and He Tianshu and the others had yet to come back. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Just yesterday, they had said it didn’t matter, yet their actions betrayed their unease. Perhaps they felt they hadn’t done enough. Now that they’d heard the herbs were showing signs of recovery, they were probably unwilling to leave the medicinal field.
Sure enough, when Zhang Xiaohua arrived at the field, he found He Tianshu and the others standing under umbrellas, chatting and gesturing cheerfully next to the herbs. When they noticed his return, He Tianshu greeted him with a smile, asking: “Zhang Xiaohua, where did you go last night? Surely you didn’t spend the night alone in that little hut by the field?”
Zhang Xiaohua nodded slightly and replied: “Yes, Captain He. I felt the wilting of these herbs was closely connected to me. If I didn’t stay nearby, I wouldn’t feel at ease.”
Everyone was moved by his words. Nie Xiao’er remarked: “The thunder was so loud last night, rumbling right above Huanxi Villa. Weren’t you scared at all?”
Zhang Xiaohua chuckled: “At first, I was terrified, but after a while, I got used to it.”
He Tianshu, though aware of Zhang Xiaohua’s habit of sleeping soundly through the night, was still moved by the thought of him staying by the field alone on such a stormy night. Even if it didn’t directly contribute to the revival of the herbs, this sincerity was enough to touch anyone’s heart.
Frowning slightly, He Tianshu asked: “Zhang Xiaohua, since you stayed up all night, do you know how the herbs came back to life?”
How could Zhang Xiaohua reveal the truth? Pretending to rack his brain, he replied: “Well, Captain He, I honestly don’t know. As you saw, it rained heavily last night. Before the rain started, I checked the field, and everything was still withered and yellow. When it began to pour, I returned to the hut. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual during the night except for the constant thunder. And…”
Speaking of this, Zhang Xiaohua paused deliberately before continuing: “…and when I woke up in the morning, I couldn’t help but check on the field out of concern. That’s when I noticed the herbs had all come back to life, so I immediately went to inform you. As for the exact reason, I truly have no idea.”
He Tianshu thought about it and concluded that Zhang Xiaohua was likely telling the truth. In his eyes, Zhang Xiaohua was just an ordinary young man who happened to know a bit of martial arts. How could someone like him possess any miraculous ability to restore the medicinal herbs? Besides, he was well aware of Zhang Xiaohua’s deep-sleep habit, so how could he have any expectations of gaining useful information from him?
However, since Zhang Xiaohua was the first to notice the herbs’ recovery and the only one to stay by the field, He Tianshu couldn’t help but keep questioning him.
Could it be that the herbs were simply lacking water? The thought struck He Tianshu as absurd.
After all, the cultivation of these medicinal herbs was different from regular crops or flowers. They didn’t need daily watering, often requiring only a few days between each watering. The roots of such herbs were typically well-developed and capable of drawing sufficient moisture from the soil. But if it wasn’t a lack of water, then how could they have come back to life after just one night of heavy rain?
He Tianshu scratched his head in frustration.
He had to come up with a plausible explanation to report to the elders of the Medicine Hall. Everyone knew the herbs in the field were on the brink of dying, and now that they had suddenly revived, there needed to be an explanation, however far-fetched it might be.
At this moment, He Tianshu silently regretted reporting the situation to the hall so early. How great would it have been to delay the report a bit longer?
The rain showed no signs of letting up, and none of them felt like returning to the courtyard. After standing by the medicinal field for a while, Nie Xiao’er urged everyone to crowd into the small hut. However, Zhang Xiaohua had built the hut for his own use, and it was far too small to accommodate so many people. The group squeezed in, laughing and joking, almost bringing the hut down in the process.
Zhang Xiaohua, however, didn’t care much. The hut had been built to aid his cultivation of internal techniques. Now that he knew staying there could harm the herbs, he had already decided to dismantle it as soon as the weather cleared.
Unaware of Zhang Xiaohua’s thoughts, He Tianshu misinterpreted his distracted expression as regret over the potential destruction of the hut he had built with his own hands. He scolded Nie Xiao’er and the others, then turned to ask them how he should handle the situation if an elder from the hall came to inspect the field.
In truth, as the team leader, He Tianshu didn’t need to consult Nie Xiao’er and the others on such matters. But the strangeness of the situation made him uneasy. If this incident were to reach the hall someday, the lack of a solid explanation could leave him in an awkward position. Discussing it now might at least provide him with a fallback plan.
When He Tianshu posed the question, Nie Xiao’er and the others exchanged uneasy glances. Indeed, the issue of the withering herbs had already been reported, and there was a real possibility that the elders from the Medicine Hall could arrive at any moment. How should they explain this? Should they simply say that the herbs were on the brink of death yesterday, but a single night of heavy rain miraculously revived them?
Would the elders even believe such a story?
As a result, Nie Xiao’er and the others began to brainstorm, each suggesting various explanations. Yet, every idea they came up with was met with a shake of He Tianshu’s head. Eventually, their chatter left everyone parched and out of ideas.
Finally, He Tianshu made the decisive call: just tell the truth. Whether the elders believed it or not, the facts were what they were. What kind of fabrication could he even concoct?
Nearby, Zhang Xiaohua listened to their discussions, all centered on finding the “culprit” behind the revival of the herbs. He couldn’t help but feel a quiet sense of satisfaction. Thankfully, he hadn’t exposed himself. If they discovered he was the one capable of reviving and nourishing the herbs, wouldn’t they treat him as some kind of oddity and lock him up for research? Worse, they might even force him to solve the problem of the non-germinating seeds in the future!
At this thought, Zhang Xiaohua’s mind stirred. The growth of the herbs required nourishment from the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth. Could the germination of seeds also depend on this energy?
Perhaps the seeds that had sprouted needed only a small amount of Qi to do so, while those that hadn’t germinated might require an exceptionally large amount of Qi, which delayed their sprouting.
The more Zhang Xiaohua thought about it, the more convinced he became of his theory. He was nearly certain his guess was correct. However, when it came to alleviating Ou Yan’s concerns and helping the seeds sprout, Zhang Xiaohua felt powerless.
After all, he had risked his life, drawing down heavenly lightning that nearly shattered his meridians, just to save the herbs in the field. Yet even this dense Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth he summoned had been insufficient to make the buried seeds germinate. This made it clear just how much Qi those seeds required. Even if he were struck by lightning until he turned into a charred corpse, it likely still wouldn’t be enough.
Nevertheless, since both his cultivation and the seeds’ germination relied on the Yuan Qi of Heaven and Earth, Zhang Xiaohua thought that perhaps, when he found a proper method of cultivation, it might coincide with the time the seeds could sprout.
Resolving himself, Zhang Xiaohua made up his mind. Now that he understood why the seeds couldn’t sprout, he would do his utmost to find a solution—not for any greater purpose, but simply in gratitude for Ou Yan’s kindness toward him.
By the afternoon, the rain finally stopped, and a grand seven-colored rainbow arched across the sky. Yet, the elders from the Medicine Hall still had not arrived.
He Tianshu and the others couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment, realizing they were likely forgotten by the Medicine Hall. They had worked so hard to cultivate the herbs and promptly reported their status, yet it seemed the hall didn’t care at all.
Despite their frustration, He Tianshu and the others, as loyal disciples of the Piaomiao Sect, held unwavering dedication to the sect and its leader. This devotion had been instilled in them through years of training. So, even though they felt neglected, they decided to take the initiative to deliver the good news themselves.
Seeing them prepare to return to the Medicine Hall, Zhang Xiaohua was secretly delighted. Since the herb field was no longer a place he could use for cultivation, and the forest lacked Yuan Qi, where else could he go to train?
Naturally, the Medicine Hall.
With its abundance of herbs, it wouldn’t be too much trouble for him to “borrow” a little along the way, would it?
Although this thought was framed as a question, in Zhang Xiaohua’s mind, it was already a certainty.
Hearing that Zhang Xiaohua wanted to accompany him to the Medicine Hall, He Tianshu suddenly remembered that Zhang Xiaohua still hadn’t returned the special token that Hall Master Bai had authorized for him. During the Martial Arts Competition, he had been so focused on Zhang Xiaohua’s extraordinary performance that the token had completely slipped his mind. After returning to Huanxi Villa, the urgent issue with the herbs had consumed all his attention, leaving him no room to think about anything else—let alone a token that had little to do with him personally.
He Tianshu addressed Zhang Xiaohua; “Zhang Xiaohua, the Hall Master’s token should really be returned by now. The Martial Arts Assembly is over, and it’s not appropriate to keep holding onto it.”
Zhang Xiaohua replied with a cheeky grin: “Alright, Captain He. Let me use it this one last time. I’ll return it to you before we come back tomorrow.”
He Tianshu chuckled: “No need. How about you just give it back to me now? There’s nothing particularly exciting about the Medicine Hall. I don’t think there’s anything new for you to see. Why do you even want to go there?”
Zhang Xiaohua said: “Captain He, that place may not seem special to you since you grew up around it, but I’ve hardly been there and still want to explore a bit. How about this: once we’re inside the Medicine Hall, I’ll hand the token back to you. How’s that?”
Faced with Zhang Xiaohua’s negotiating tactics, He Tianshu could only sigh in mild frustration. Visiting the Medicine Hall wasn’t a big deal in itself, but he still felt uneasy about Zhang Xiaohua, who wasn’t officially a Piaomiao Sect disciple, casually going there. In the past, He Tianshu had hesitated to take Zhang Xiaohua as a disciple because of what he perceived as Zhang Xiaohua’s mediocre potential. But after witnessing Zhang Xiaohua’s unparalleled performance during the Martial Arts Competition, which had greatly boosted the Piaomiao Sect’s reputation, he began to question his judgment. By now, though, Zhang Xiaohua had already caught the eye of Ou Peng, the Sect Master. The honor of being Zhang Xiaohua’s master was no longer within He Tianshu’s reach. Realizing this, He Tianshu decided to set aside any lingering desires to claim that role. Otherwise, he would have long ago sought out Zhang Xiaohua for a private conversation.
