"Ugh!"
I jolted up, blinking in confusion. Reaching out instinctively, I retrieved my glasses from the bedside table and put them on. Instantly, my blurry vision sharpened into focus. Looking around, I caught sight of Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing. Both of them looked concerned, rushing over when they saw that I was awake.
"Shu Cong, you're up!"
"Are you all right?"
I nodded at Si Nan's question, grimacing as my hand automatically went to my side. It stung a little, but I was surprised to see that there was no wound there. Not even a scar.
"How…?"
"Zi Xing managed to perform emergency healing treatment on you," Si Nan explained, with a nod at his embarrassed childhood sweetheart. "Thanks to her quick actions, she was able to save your life. Then they brought you to the hospital to patch you up totally."
"Thank you very much." I bowed toward Mu Zi Xing, who shook her head.
"Not at all! I only did my duty! I'm the team's healer, after all!"
She was selling herself short. Even though she had barely trained in healing techniques for less than half a year, she was able to save my life after I sustained such a critical injury. That was no small feat. I was no healer, but even I knew how difficult healing techniques were. Na Lan Jie was right when he said that Mu Zi Xing had great affinity for healing techniques. What did he call it? Right, the Holy Maiden Constitution.
Speaking of Na Lan Jie…
"How are the others? The people from the major clans, and the rest of the Black Faction? Is everyone all right? Was anyone else hurt? How long have I been out?"
"Slow down, one question at a time." Si Nan held up a hand. At that moment, the doctor and nurse showed up, rushing into the room to do their checkups. Fortunately, the medical examination was over in less than ten minutes. Once the doctor was satisfied, he instructed me not to exert myself and rest more before leaving with the nurses. After they were gone, Si Nan resumed speaking.
"Everyone is fine. They caught the sniper after you went down. The idiot tried a second shot instead of fleeing, which led to him being arrested. You succeeded in protecting the bigshots from the major clans."
"No one else was hurt," Mu Zi Xing said. She looked at me sternly. "You should take better care of yourself. You were unconscious for three days. We were all worried. Even though I managed to stop the bleeding and stabilized your condition back then, the doctors said that you were in critical condition. They weren't confident that they could save you."
"Yeah, they said you had a fifty percent chance of survival."
"Well, I survived, didn't I?" I scratched my head. "Sorry for worrying you guys. I'm glad no one else was hurt."
"Yeah. They even held the gala after that. I think a couple of representatives from the Na Lan clan and Xia clan visited you…"
"What is the relationship between you and Xia Xing Yue?" Mu Zi Xing excitedly interrupted Si Nan. "I heard everyone call her the goddess of Xing Hao Island. She personally visited you everyday for the past few days!"
"Not just her. Her father, and Mr. Na Lan Jie, also wish to thank you personally. You saved their lives, after all."
Si Nan nodded, but I sighed. Shaking my head, I leaned back in my bed. Even though I had finally woken up, I still felt weary for some reason.
"Oh, speak of the devil!" Mu Zi Xing brightened up and hurried to the door to open it. Xia Xing Yue entered, staggering a little before the other girl caught her and supported her.
"What happened to you?" I asked, rising from bed, but Xia Xing Yue raised a hand to stop me.
"Nothing. Just a little tired."
"Tired? You're kidding, right?" I could sense with my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths that something was wrong. The cold yin qi in her body was growing wilder by the second, and she was barely able to suppressing the rampaging qi. Her condition was similar to something I had seen a few months ago.
Right, her sister, Xia Xing Ling. Didn't she suffer from cold poison when I first met her? It was similar, but not the same.
"I've been hunting down the people who targeted my family and the Na Lan clan," Xia Xing Yue explained. "I must have overexerted myself."
"Is that why the frosty yin qi in your body is going out of control?" I asked. Xia Xing Yue's eyes widened.
"How do you know that?"
"I can sense it." I frowned. "But it seems different from your sister…"
"No, that's because Ling Er practiced a different technique. I didn't learn the forbidden technique but rather the signature Frozen Cloud arts from Frozen Cloud Sword Palace. That's why I'm not suffering from eruptions of cold poison like Ling Er."
So this condition was not as dangerous as the one Xia Xing Ling suffered from, but I couldn't help but remained worried. Also…
"When did this start? The last time we met, back in Starry Forest, you didn't have such a problem."
"I overused my ice domain the last three days." Xia Xing Yue lowered her head, looking embarrassed. "Even though I knew there was a danger of damaging my meridians, which would lead to this leak of excessive icy qi, I pushed myself."
"Xia Xing Yue was pretty angry after you…nearly died," Si Nan explained, earning a glacial glare from her. He shrugged, as if to say that he was simply telling the truth.
"There was also so many people in the family that hired the assassins, so Xia Xing Yue had to push herself," Mu Zi Xing explained. "Many of them were at a very high cultivation realm, so she had to use the ice domain to reduce their strength and boost hers, in order to fight evenly with them."
I shook my head sympathetically. "Sorry. Seems like I worried you."
"Not at all." Xia Xing Yue shook her head. She straightened up and forced a smile. "I will be able to bring my frosty qi under control as long as I master my skills. It's not a problem. With a bit of rest, and if I make a breakthrough…"
"But if you don't make a breakthrough, it'll be dangerous for you. The qi will rampage inside your body and freeze your internal organs. That will damage your health."
"It's the risk that Frozen Cloud Sword Palace practitioners have to take," Xia Xing Yue explained. She looked away sheepishly. "I already consulted my master on this, and she says it's normal. Whether I recover this and overcome this condition is entirely dependent on my efforts."
At least Xia Xing Yue wasn't hiding the truth from me.
"But there's another way, isn't it?" Mu Zi Xing asked, raising her hand. "I overheard you speaking to your master. She says there's this Mystic Fire Fruit that can help you suppress the cold qi. If you eat it, the danger of these cold qi eruptions will be minimized, buying enough time for you to safely breakthrough and master your skills. Didn't she also say the Mystic Fire Fruit will clear your clogged meridians and make it easier for you to practice your techniques?"
"Perhaps," Xia Xing Yue admitted with a frown. "But the problem is obtaining a Mystic Fire Fruit. I can't simply buy it from any shop. It's not like they sell it in the local pharmacy. It's a very rare fruit that can only be found in the mystical volcanoes. And those volcanoes are inhabited by powerful fire-type spirit beasts that are at least warrior-ranked. Not to mention commander-ranked fire dragons, who usually build their nests next to the plants that bear the fruits."
"That sounds absolutely scary," I conceded outwardly, but inwardly I was already making plans to look for these mystical volcanoes. It seemed like a better option than simply tricking Na Lan Yan Ran to using her spirit flame on me so that I could suck it and use it on Xia Xing Yue. This was a different condition from what Xia Xing Ling suffered, and it seemed that this Mystic Fire Fruit might even help Xia Xing Yue with her cultivation.
Yeah, I decided to give it a shot.
"Oh, my father wishes to see you. I believe Mr. Na Lan Jie and his son, Mr. Na Lan Su, also wish to speak to you." Xia Xing Yue's brow furrowed. "And Ms. Na Lan Yan Ran and her sister too."
"Huh? Why would they want to see me?"
"Silly! You saved my father's life! And it sounds like you helped my sister out a lot during her mission in the Starry Forest!"
To my surprise, it was Xia Xing Ling who answered. She strode through the door, almost bouncing in a playful manner. Hopping to my bedside, she smiled.
"It's great to see that you are finally up, Brother Cong! Are you feeling all right?"
"Yeah."
"I am glad to hear that." The middle-aged man I saw accompanying the Xia sisters the other day also walked in, followed by a young man about a year or so older than me. I gaped at them for a moment, and the middle-aged man cleared his throat. He nodded at me. "My name is Xia Hong Yi. I am Yue Er's father. I believe you already know Xing Ling – I heard you saved her life when she was suffering from a bout of cold poison. And this is my oldest son, Xia Yuan Ba."
"Hello, brother-in-law." Xia Yuan Ba bowed respectfully. I stared at him for a moment before blinking incredulously.
"What…did you just call me?"
"He's teasing you." Xia Xing Yue sent a glare at her brother so cold that he actually froze for a moment. But he broke out of the ice almost immediately. I couldn't help but study him, amazed at his massive physique. He must be over two meters tall, his huge frame bulked up with muscles. Somehow I was reminded of an immovable mountain.
"Not at all. I heard he saved your life too, Yue Er. And Father is so grateful to him that he plans to marry you off to him."
Xia Xing Yue closed her eyes in a dignified manner. "That remains to be seen, and in any case, it's a matter to be discussed and decided between the two of us."
"Don't be shy, I know you…ugh!"
"Anyway, Yuan Ba is correct." Xia Hong Yi ignored his frozen oldest son and continued addressing me. He bowed his head. "You saved my life that day. If it weren't for you, the sniper round would have obliterated my head. You not only saved me, but also Old Na Lan Jie. We are both very grateful to you. We owe you our lives."
He then glanced at his two daughters before smiling at me.
"Also, I've heard how you saved both Yue Er and Ling Er before this. It seems that my family and you have some kind of fate tying us together."
I didn't believe in fate, but I didn't think it was diplomatic to tell him that. Instead, I simply shook my head. "It was just a coincidence. I happened to be in the right place at the right time, that's all."
"You really should marry this guy, Yue Er," Xia Yuan Ba whispered as he broke out of the ice once more. He held up a hand before she could freeze him again. "Unless you want to marry Yun Che instead."
Yun Che? Wasn't that the fella from Frozen Cloud Sword Palace? The chief disciple? And the one who attacked me over a misunderstanding after I helped Xia Xing Ling?
Xia Xing Ling grimaced when she heard his name. "Sister, you had better not marry Yun Che. That guy has no good intentions. I heard that he contrives all sorts of reasons to rape women, including claiming that he's trying to save their lives or restore their cultivation or something along those lines."
"Don't worry, I have no intention of marrying First Senior either. But I will not be pressured into marriage."
"Yeah, respect her choice," I said quickly. I also didn't want to think about marriage and whatever. I didn't want to bother with political marriages and all the problems that came with it. Besides, I was still too young. I wanted to focus on cultivating and finding a way to get to the Celestial Realm to fulfil my destiny (which I refused to accept was written in stone, but the idea of becoming a hero and leading a resistance appealed to me). "Let's not rush through that. More importantly, I heard you were hunting the people behind the assassination attempt?"
"Little brother doesn't have to worry about that." Xia Hong Yi shook his head. "We have taken care of that. Yue Er has flushed out the culprits. They were a disgruntled clan who used to be prestigious decades ago, but were defeated by the alliance between the Na Lan clan and Xia clan back then."
Wow…decades. These guys could really hold grudges. Then again, the Shimazu clan and Mori clans continued to hold grudges against the Tokugawa shogunate for over two centuries, so…I guess it wasn't too farfetched.
"I heard that Shu Cong is awake…" A familiar voice drifted in from the outside. A couple of seconds later, Na Lan Yan Ran stepped into the room. She paused to stare at Xia Xing Yue, and her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting the person who saved my father, of course. It's only courtesy."
Was it my imagination, or were there sparks flying between them as they glared at each other. I could almost see the fiery aura of Na Lan Yan Ran clashed against the icy qi of Xia Xing Yue.
The fuck, did my hospital room just turn into a shuraba?