A smirk began forming on Liu Ying's lips , " I have the perfect plan. "
Li Cheng and Yang Changtian looked at each other , they had a bad feeling about this.
" That's my plan. I need to prepare some things , so we'll put it into action the day after tomorrow . Now if you two gentlemen excuse me , I have to go administer the medicine to the patient." Liu Ying said standing up .
" Ms. Liu, wait , I have the samples you asked for. " Yang Changtian stopped her.
Whipping around fast , Liu Ying's eyes were shining , " You got them ? Where are they ? "
Yang Changtian was taken aback to see Liu Ying so excited. Li Cheng was trying hard to hold his laughter in.
" They are in my bag , let me get them for you." Yang Changtian began to rummage through his bag , he pulled out the water bottle and a small leather bag that contained the soil and rock samples he collected.
He remembered something. " I also found some footprints there , I brought an outline of it. "
" A footprint ? Where ?" Li Cheng asked curiously .
" It was right next to the spring that feeds the lake , but the thing is , the scouts were there too , so we really don't have a way of telling if it was from the culprit , or if it's from the scouts." Yang Changtian explained. " I didn't have any paper so I used my robe to trace it." He was about to place his robe on the table while he was still wearing it , but remembering Liu Ying , he quickly stopped himself , " I'll change and bring the robe over."
Li Cheng was dying with laughter , " You can change in here , we'll step out for a while."
Yang Changtian nodded , Liu Ying and Li Cheng stood up and left.
Outside the tent ,Li Cheng turned to Liu Ying , " Ms. Liu , regarding the footprint , I have an idea, years ago I have read in a book , that a footprint can be used to determine some of the owner's characteristics."
Liu Ying nodded , " Yes , it is possible , for example , by examining the depth , we can predict the weight of the owner , and by checking the size of the foot , we can also predict the height. But the issue is , with the trace Mr. Yang brought, we can only determine the height. As it is impossible to judge depth with it."
Li Cheng nodded along. The both of them heard Yang Changtian asking them to come back to resume their conversation.
When they entered , Yang Changtian placed his previously worn robe on the table , a black outline of a footprint sat there contrastingly with Yang Changtian's usually light coloured robes.
After observing the footprint , " We really can't say much from this , but what I can say is that the person is relatively tall , and see this here " Liu Ying said pointing to the sole area of the footprint, " See how it's crooked , the owner might have a deformed left foot."
Li Cheng nodded, turning to Yang Changtian , " Brother Yang, you can ask the Prince if among his scouts there's a person with crooked feet. That'll help us find out if the footprint was left by the perpetrator or a scout."
Yang Changtian agreed , " I will write a letter to His Highness tomorrow ."
Liu Ying suddenly stood up , " Assuming we don't have anything else left to discuss , I shall take my leave , I have to go treat the patient , then get started on testing these samples. "
Yang Changtian looked at Liu Ying flabbergasted , " Aren't you in a hurry Ms. Liu . Yes we don't have anything else to discuss , so you can leave."
Liu Ying just nodded at the both of them before walking out , hugging the samples.
Yang Changtian and Li Cheng watched Liu Ying's back exit the tent.
Li Cheng shook his head , " I'm glad she's on our side. She would be a nightmare to deal with otherwise. Then Brother Yang , I ought to take my leave too , you must be tired after today's mission. "
Yang Changtian stopped Li Cheng, " Brother Li, I still have to discuss something with you. "
Li Cheng looked at him confused, " What is it Brother Yang ?"
Yang Changtian stared at Li Cheng , he looked conflicted , he finally moved his hand and grabbed the lotus charm . He placed it on the table.
Li Cheng looked at it before picking it up. " This is.."
Yang Changtian nodded , " It's Jingyou's hairpin "
Li Cheng clenched his hand around the hair pin. It felt cool to the touch. " This …. How ?"
" When I was in the cave today , all the Crazies ganged up on me , they overwhelmed me . But when I opened my eyes , I was covered by a blue barrier . The barrier saved my life , and it felt very familiar."
" It was my Senior Sister ." Li Cheng breathed out. " I can vaguely feel her mana in this."
Yang Changtian also nodded , she must've casted a protective spell quite recently.
" But why is she hiding ? " Li Cheng questioned , his hands clenching tighter. Yang Changtian noticed , he quickly opened Li Cheng's hand and took out the hairpin." Brother Li , don't go crushing it now."
Li Cheng slowly turned to Yang Changtian , " So I was right before."
Yang Changtian stopped wiping the hair pin , he lifted his head to look at Li Cheng. " What do you mean ?"
" Today , when we were resting , I smelt a familiar fragrance , lotus and gardenias . " Li Cheng replied .
Yang Changtian rushed to grab Li Cheng by the shoulders , " Where ? When ? " he questioned, shaking him.
" Li Cheng shook his head , "I dashed outside to check , but the scent disappeared "
Yang Changtian released Li Cheng , walking back , he collapsed on his bed.
" I will write a letter to Baihua, the protective barrier likely activated her spiritual core , I'll ask her to immediately check the Spirit Lamps." Li Cheng said, rushing out.
Yang Changtian lay on his bed , his hand still tightly clutching the lotus charm. He clenched the charm hard , bringing it over to his heart. " Jingyou , why are you hiding ? " he breathed out.
The lotus charm still had a light coolness left , he continued to clutch the charm tightly , savouring the familiar feeling.
Soon the exhaustion of the day caught up with him, lulling him into a deep sleep .
Li Cheng rushed to his tent , he found Mo Ling waiting for him there.
" Senior Brother…" Mo Ling croaked. " Today , Yang Changtian was saved by a blue barrier in the shape of a lotus. It was…" he broke down.
Li Cheng walked closer to him and tapped in on the shoulder. " I know."
Mo Ling sat down to stabilize himself, " Why is she hiding from us ? Is she tired of us ? "
Li Cheng sat down next to Mo Ling and patted him on his head. " She must have her reasons , but I can guarantee one thing , she'll never be tired of us. If she was , she would've left way earlier , like right after you almost got killed by that young master of the Ling family for messing with his fiancé . Now , come on , stop crying , you're so big now , why are you still crying ? Well seeing you like this , Senior Hei would probably run away further."
Mo Ling stopped his sniffling, " I just miss Oldest Senior sister so much."
Li Cheng nodded. " I know , I miss her too. She probably has her reasons for hiding , but today's incident proves that she's protecting us , and watching us from the shadows . We just need to give her time. Now go get some rest , your throat must be sore from all the yelling you likely did in the cave."
" I didn't yell , it was Zhang Anying who yelled and provoked the Crazies." Mo Ling replied, pouting .
Li Cheng shook his head laughing ," Okay Okay , whatever you say. Now go . I have some work to do ."
Mo Ling nodded and walked out.
Li Cheng immediately pulled out a piece of paper. Writing his message on it , he placed it in a small tube. He walked out his tent and grabbed a whistle that was hanging from his neck , blowing on it , he summoned his message hawk. While the Guanghui sect usually uses pigeons , his own sect prefers using hawks. His bird soon landed on his outstretched hand , a magnificent creature of brown with streaks of black , with a temperament very much alike to that of his master's.
Li Cheng used his free hand to pet the hawk , he then tied the tube around its foot. " Take it to Baihua." Li Cheng instructed. The hawk squawked , and flew off.
Li Cheng stood outside for a while , the sky was particularly bright today. As he was admiring the night sky , he heard a rustle coming from the medic tent , he turned to Liu Ying coming out.
Liu Ying spotted him and nodded at him in greeting, then she began walking towards him.
" I'm assuming you just finished treating the patient ? Li Cheng asked her , turning his head back to admire the sky.
" Yes , I just finished administering the medicine. We had some turmeric and ginger left over , so I decided to add them in too. And the infection finally stopped spreading." Liu Ying replied.
" That's good." Li Cheng said, nodding his head. " Ms. Liu , if you don't mind me asking , why did you insist we save the critical patient first ? "
Liu Ying also lifted her head to observe the night sky , " I have a few reasons. One , he is the person who needs help the most at this moment , he is fighting so hard to stay alive , you just can't ignore that and just focus on the other two. He deserves that medicine , now I'm not saying that the other two don't deserve it , but he is just fighting so hard for his life. Two , he is a member of our team , we already lost quite a number with the previous incidents. We need to protect our people , even more so in this current situation, where we are isolated, they are our support system here. Those people came here to accompany and help us , so we have a duty to return them back to their homes. I couldn't help the others who died , so I'm not watching him die too. As long as there's a way to save all of them , no matter how hard its going to be , I will choose that path."
Li Cheng turned to observe Liu Ying's serene expression. ' Why is she so similar to Senior sister ? '. Covertly , Li Cheng checked Liu Ying's mana. But he was surprised to see that she didn't have any mana.
" Then Mr. Li , you'll have to excuse me , I have to go do some experiments." Liu Ying nodded at Li Cheng before leaving.
Li Cheng turned to watch her leave, after their conversation just now , a small seed of suspicion was planted in his heart. How is she so similar to Senior Sister? Yang Changtian's words before and the vague scent he smelt before he saw Liu Ying coming out from the medic tent in the afternoon flashed through his mind. So he made the rash decision to check her mana. It's just not possible , they were so similar in temperament. But any hope Li Cheng had in his heart disappeared when he saw that Liu Ying had no mana.
Li Cheng sighed deeply before walking back to his tent. Unbeknownst to him , Liu Ying had stopped and she was looking at him. A soft smile was plastered on her face, " Stinking brat. You think you can fool me, you obviously did a mana check on me. In case you forgot , I taught you all of those tricks. " she whispered under her breath. Still smiling she shook her head , before heading back to her tent.