After being awake for only a short while, Lu Ye fell into a drowsy sleep again.
When he woke up again, he found a chair in front of him, and a young girl was sitting on it. Her head was drooping, as if she was dozing off due to exhaustion, her small head nodding slightly.
The room was filled with a strong smell of blood and an indescribable herbal scent.
Although he had been lying there for a long time, Lu Ye did not feel suffocated, and even the burn on his chest was not particularly painful, which made him feel strange. Upon closer inspection, he found that the part of the bed where his chest lay had been hollowed out. The person who placed him here was clearly very considerate, taking his injuries into account.
He struggled to move his body, trying to get up, but he had little strength. After a few attempts, he not only failed to get up but also broke out in a sweat from the pain.
The slight movement startled the dozing girl, who opened her eyes and stood up with a cry, "You're awake?"
She walked to the bedside and helped Lu Ye sit up. Despite her small build, she was a cultivator and had enough strength for this.
However, because Lu Ye had injuries on both his chest and back, he could only sit upright on the bed.
The girl then brought over a bowl of greenish medicine: "Sister Huaci instructed me to have you drink this when you wake up. It will help heal your injuries."
Lu Ye did not know who this Sister Huaci was, but he guessed it might be the plump woman he had seen before.
He took the bowl and said, "Thank you."
As he lifted the bowl to his mouth, a pungent smell hit him.
Lu Ye frowned; this stuff... was really intense.
But good medicine always tastes bitter, so he took a big gulp.
He was not worried about others harming him; if they wanted to, they would have done so already. There was no need for such trouble.
The next moment, his expression became rich...
This stuff was not only intense but also deadly. Lu Ye considered himself to have some endurance, but this one sip almost made him faint again. It was so bitter that he suspected he was drinking some kind of bile...
The girl seemed to have expected this, watching him intently and urging, "Sister Huaci said you must finish it. If you don't, she will be angry, and an angry Sister Huaci is very scary!"
Without needing more encouragement, Lu Ye paused for a moment and then drank the entire bowl of medicine.
The girl took the bowl and pulled out a grayish-brown object from her storage bag, handing it to Lu Ye: "Suck on this."
Lu Ye curiously took it and put it in his mouth, raising an eyebrow. It tasted like malt sugar.
Only then did he have the chance to look around. He was in a bamboo house, not very large, with simple furnishings. He did not know where he was.
While he was observing the surroundings, the girl was tidying up and said, "I'm Lingyu. What should I call you, Senior Brother?"
"Yeye." Lu Ye answered casually, then suddenly came to his senses, vaguely remembering he had heard this name before. After a moment's thought, he realized, "Did you save me?"
The woman had mentioned that Lingyu had saved him. If he was not mistaken, it was the girl in front of him.
"I just brought you back; Sister Huaci was the one who saved you." Lingyu smiled, "You were floating in the river, and I thought you were dead. I was going to loot the body, but then I found you were still alive, so I brought you back."
She said it with a light-hearted tone, and Lu Ye could not help but twitch his lips.
"Thank you anyway."
"It's nothing; we were all saved by Sister Huaci." Lingyu smiled at Lu Ye. The girl had a round face, fair and tender skin, and a dimple on her left cheek when she smiled, making her look very cute. She had finished tidying up, "Rest well. Sister Huaci went out on some business and will check on your injuries in the evening. If you need anything, just shout; I live next door."
Lu Ye nodded lightly.
Lingyu pushed the door open and left, closing it behind her.
Encountering some kind-hearted people... Lu Ye was secretly glad for his good luck. After all, they were all part of the Haotian Alliance. If he had encountered a group from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, he might have been looted.
He silently remembered this kindness.
His spirit weapon, a long saber, was still with him, brought back along with him and placed by the bed. A few storage bags were also neatly arranged on the bedside table.
Though they were strangers, the girl had done a lot, showing good character.
Although he had survived by chance, his injuries would take some time to heal. He had been beaten quite badly by Uncle Dong Shuye.
The most urgent task was to recover some spiritual energy. A cultivator with spiritual energy has the means to protect themselves.
He struggled to raise his hand, took out his storage bag, and pulled out a bottle of Spirit Nourishing Pills, taking one and quietly refining it.
After refining two Spirit Nourishing Pills, he activated the Spirit Gathering Pattern, which would greatly increase the recovery efficiency.
He then took a healing pill and began to construct a spirit gathering pattern in his spirit orifices.
The effort made him sweat all over.
It was almost evening outside. While Lu Ye was cultivating, he heard the door to the next room open, followed by Lingyu's clear voice, "Sister Huaci, you're back?"
"Um." The soft voice he had heard before responded, and the two women chatted for a while.
Outside the bamboo house, Huaci talked with Lingyu for a while, then looked up at Lu Ye's room. She faintly sensed that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was gathering around Lu Ye's room, though not obviously, it was still noticeable. She was slightly surprised; the talent of the boy Lingyu had found... seemed quite high.
She did not know that Lu Ye's ability to gather spiritual energy mainly relied on the Spirit Gathering Pattern. As for his true talent... it was a story of bitter tears.
"Go rest." Huaci patted Lingyu's head.
Lingyu smiled, "Do you need any help?"
"No."
"Then I'll go rest."
The two women said goodbye, and Huaci walked toward Lu Ye's bamboo house. She knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open and entering.
Lu Ye had stopped cultivating and even dissolved the Spirit Gathering Pattern. He had noticed a problem: once he activated the Spirit Gathering Pattern, the gathering of spiritual energy was quite noticeable. It was fine during cultivation, but if someone saw it when he was not cultivating, it would be hard to explain.
Seeing the woman enter, Lu Ye's eyes lit up. Yesterday, he had only seen her profile, but today he finally saw her face.
She was a beauty! A white dress with blue patterns hugged her full figure, accentuating her curves and contours.