Quinlan, with the support of the young apprentice, managed to reach the manor in one piece. Although his body was already getting numb from how damaged it was, the pain was still lingering like a phantom.
"Yinuo. What happened?"
As soon as they arrived, the family head blocked them right at the gate, his arms crossed before his thick chest and his gaze stern, as if about to roar at them in anger at any moment.
Quinlan noticed from his atmosphere that things were about to get complicated, but he also couldn't think of anything to say otherwise. Having no choice, Quinlan had to try and explain everything as is.
"Father, actually..."
Quinlan had no recollection of how Yinuo saved Xiyadie, but the fact that she was kidnapped and that the hoodlums injured her and Xiyadie was an irrevocable truth.
With a little bit of exaggeration, Quinlan recounted his experience and ended it at the scene he came back to, where Xiyadie was lying before him while they were in the middle of the road.
"Go to the doctor and have your injuries looked at."
As if unable to decide what sort of verdict to give immediately now that he knew that "Meng Yinuo" was a cultivator, he decided to let them go for now. The young man, Pin, was relieved of his duties and was passed a bag full of coins as hush and reward money combined.
Quinlan was then carried on a different stretcher and brought into the nearby vacant room, where a doctor entered and immediately checked her condition.
As soon as he touched Quinlan's arm, feeling his pulse, a frown covered his wrinkled face. "Hmmm...? Her internal organs are too damaged. And your daughter was a cultivator? Why didn't you tell me, Brother Han?"
The old doctor spoke to Yinuo's father as if they were equals, proof that they respected each other enough to not care about honorifics.
After he let go of Quinlan's wrist, the look in the doctor's eyes changed. Qi started to circulate his ocular region as he scanned Quinlan's body, scrutinizing every nook and cranny of it.
After a while, the doctor let out a soft sigh. Sweat was covering his forehead, so he wiped it away using his pure white handkerchief, the same color as his robe.
"Fortunately, the organs weren't damaged too badly," he said. "But this much damage... Her enemy must've been in the Foundation Building Stage; no, it could've been at the Gold Core stage like me. She's lucky to still be alive after encountering such a powerful opponent."
Quinlan's brows twitched. After all, the story he told the family head earlier didn't have any powerful opponents in it. He glanced at the family head, Meng Hanxiao, and as expected, the frown on his face deepened.
"Anyway, I'll begin the treatment. Sorry, brother, but please leave the room for now."
The old man smiled wryly, showing the acupuncture needles in the container held in his hands. Yinuo's father knew that doctors don't like their healing techniques observed while they heal others, so he sighed resignedly before leaving the room and closing the sliding door behind him.
After seeing him leave, the doctor turned to Quinlan and spoke. "Right then, now, Miss Yinuo, I'll begin treatment."
He placed the cup filled with acupuncture needles to the side before placing both hands over Quinlan's body.
"...?"
Quinlan was confused, as he thought that the old doctor would use acupuncture on him. However, from the looks of it, he was planning to use some other technique instead.
"You must be wondering why I'm not using the needles, right?" The doctor asked, amused. "Well, since you're a cultivator, this method is more reliable and faster."
Qi started to swirl around his hands, turning them to look like two torches burning brightly. "Although it's surefire, you need to endure some pain. Well, you're a cultivator, so you should be used to enduring pain."
"...!"
Before Quinlan could object, the two hands pressed hard against his stomach. A warm current started to flow into his body, following the path of his blood vessels. At first, he could only feel the warm currents spreading all over his limbs, with no pain or anything accompanying it.
Just as he was getting accustomed to the weird sensation, the doctor suddenly smiled and whispered. "Then, I'll start. [Vibrant Healing Pulse]!"
'You haven't started yet?' Just before Quinlan could ask that, his mind went white.
"...!"
A mute scream escaped his lips as his body contorted from the intense pain. If forced to describe how it felt, then he could only say it was as if every nerve on his body was being violently plucked at the same time.
Blood started to stream out of his tear ducts, staining his face with red streaks. The doctor's face was stern, his gaze unwavering, as he watched over Quinlan's reactions.
"Come on, you're a cultivator now, right? Bear down through this pain, will you?"
The doctor was already at Godlen Core, able to manipulate his own Qi at will. However, he wasn't that versed in identifying the innate properties of someone's body. Quinlan, or rather, Yinuo's body, had the Heavenly Ice Element, which caused her body to shift towards pure Yin Qi.
The doctor's healing technique, on the other hand, used pure Yang Qi. In short, the opposing energies were causing a war inside his body, multiplying the pain by more than tenfold.
If the doctor had realized this earlier, he might've opted to use the acupuncture treatment instead. However, it was already too late.
"GAH! AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
A beastly roar echoed as Quinlan's vice finally escaped. The doctor ignored it, of course, and continued his treatment. It was the only silver lining that the healing technique lasted for a mere 30 seconds before being completed. Any longer, and Quinlan might've run out of gods to curse at.
"There, back to full health." The doctor smiled, content that his method worked wonders. "Now, you just need to rest and recover your lost energy, and you'll be as good as new."
"Kuh...!"
Quinlan wanted to swear at the doctor, but his tongue was numb from all the screaming he did. Instead, he glared grudgingly at the old man, wishing for him to stub his little toe and suffer in agony.
As the doctor left, hushed voices echoed from beyond the door. Quinlan couldn't bother himself to eavesdrop, and he felt his eyelids becoming heavier by the moment. As the pain faded away, his mental and physical fatigue finally caught up.
"This is all... that demon Yinuo's fault..." Quinlan used the last bit of his consciousness to curse the main cause of his suffering.