Song of Adolescence

Chapter 188 Seven-day Deadline

Four days later, He Qu and He Cong finally arrived at Sword Heart Tomb. They rushed directly into the Sword Pavilion. "Hua Jin? Where’s Hua Jin?"

The Sword Guardian, Wu Fa, stepped out. When she saw the expressions on the other two, she was puzzled and said, "What\'s wrong, you’re looking terribly anxious. Hua Jin and the old master went to the back mountain to pick medicinal herbs. They should be back soon."

"No, I have to look for them. We can’t delay any longer." He Qu turned his head and walked out, but he heard voices, one old and one young, talking just outside the door. Hua Jin was already on her way in with the old Tombmaster, Li Suwang.

"Hua Jin, Hua Jin! Come with us to Lei Clan Fort immediately!" He Qu cried out anxiously.

Hua Jin looked dumbfounded. "Huh? Why should I go to Lei Clan Fort?"

Li Suwang could see that even the always calm He Cong was very tense, and he knew that the situation must be extremely urgent. "Speak slowly and explain everything clearly first."

He Qu didn’t even draw a breath and just as he was about to speak, he felt a wave of dizziness and fainted. He Cong hurried to support him and Hua Jin stepped forward to take his pulse before she said, "He’s okay. He must have been exhausted from rushing all the way here. With all this stress on his heart all at once, he just fainted. He Cong, what’s going on? Why do I need to go to Lei Clan Fort?"

"Do you still remember Xiao Se, the young man who came with the young master that day?" He Cong asked.

"Of course I remember." Hua Jin nodded.

"This time, the Hidden River attacked the Heroes Banquet. In order to protect all the heroes who were there, he forcefully exerted his power. Now he’s been critically injured and he could die at any time. Thankfully, the Senior Confucian Sword Immortal Xie Xuan was there and he managed to save his life for now. But, Senior Xie said he could only sustain him for four days at most. With the addition of the Three-Day Pill, we have at most seven days. That’s why he ordered the two of us here to bring Miss Hua Jin back!”

"Three-Day Pill!" Hua Jin was shocked. "He took the Three-Day Pill?"

"What’s wrong?" He Cong was taken aback.

"The Three-Day Pill will stimulate a person’s entire life energy so that no matter how serious the injury, he will be able to live another three days. But, if after three days, his injury is still not healed, then even the gods will not be able to save him." Hua Jin turned around and picked up her medical case. "Old master, I must hurry there."

He Cong nodded. "Yes, we can’t delay any longer. I\'ll go with you."

Li Suwang shook his head. "It will take four days at our fastest to get to Lei Clan Fort. You take my violet-grade colt. He Cong, you’re at your physical limit. Wu Fa, you go with Hua Jin."

"Yes," Wu Fa replied, and rushed out of the pavilion with Hua Jin.

Li Suwang looked at their retreating backs and frowned slightly. With a sigh, he said, "Looks like it has really begun."

Lei Clan Fort.

Xie Xuan and Wuxin walked out of the room at the same time, both of them looking extremely exhausted. For four consecutive days now, they’d taken turns transmitting their qi into Xiao Se. Even for them whose cultivation base had reached the Heavenly Realm, sustaining the treatment was still very difficult.

"How is he?" Lei Wujie asked.

"The Three-Day Pill is indeed the most miraculous medicine in the world. Right now, Xiao Se’s pulse is steady and his qi is flowing smoothly. At a glance, you’d think his injury was completely cured," Xie Xuan said.

"Then… he’s all cured?" Lei Wujie didn’t understand.

"He’s fine for the time being. But, no matter how you look at it, it’s just four words," Wuxin said suddenly.

"Which four words?" Everyone asked in unison.

"Final radiance of sunset," Wuxin pronounced each word clearly.

Xie Xuan nodded. "It is indeed the final radiance of sunset. But, one thing’s for sure. In three more days, if that little genius doctor doesn’t arrive, then no matter how much more effort the two of us give, there’s no saving him."

Lei Wujie clenched his fists, turned his head and looked into the distance. In a low voice, he said, "Hua Jin, you must get here in time."

Wuxin walked to Lei Wujie\'s side and patted him on the shoulder. "Don\'t worry, Xiao Se won’t die so easily."

"Hey, Monk, didn’t you go back to Outerheaven? Why did you come to Lei Clan Fort?" For the past few days, Wuxin was either treating Xiao Se in the room or resting to conserve his own energy so Lei Wujie hadn’t had a chance to speak to him. Now, he could finally ask the question that’d been weighing on his heart for a while.

"I came to save you all. We Buddhists always preach returning kindness with favour. You guys saved me once, so I also came to save you all too." Wuxin smiled. "So you see, I’ve come all the way from that faraway place, Outerheaven. If Xiao Se still dies in the end, isn’t that very embarrassing for me?"

"You have a way?" Lei Wujie said with joy.

"I have no way." Wuxin spread his hands. "Don\'t look at me here talking and laughing with you now. In fact, I don’t even have the strength to walk back to my room."

"Then why are you still standing here?" Lei Wujie was puzzled.

"I wonder if Lei-xiong would consider the fact that I came all the way here to rescue you guys to help me out and carry me back to my room?" Wuxin pressed his palms together with a sincere expression on his face.

"This monk, you really haven\'t changed at all." Lei Wujie complied and bent over to lift Wuxin onto his back. "Let\'s go."

The two left slowly. General Ye Xiaoying, who was standing at the door with his daughter, looked thoughtfully at Wuxin\'s back, and suddenly turned around and asked Xie Xuan, "Mister Xie, although I’ve never met Ye Dingzhi, there’s something familiar about this young Sect Leader of Outerheaven."

"Oh?" Xie Xuan\'s expression was calm. "Who does he look like?"

"Don\'t you think so, Mister?" Ye Xiaoying asked back.

Xie Xuan shrugged. "He looks like Ye Dingzhi."

"Then it must be Xiaoying who’s seeing things." Ye Xiaoying shook his head and did not continue.

Ye Ruoyi nodded, and said softly, "He does look very familiar indeed."

"Hey, Monk, how’s life as the Sect Leader of Outerheaven? Is it an easy life?" Lei Wujie asked as he walked.

"It\'s not bad. Every day, I just drink wine and watch the snow. The days go by easily and comfortably. If it weren\'t for your business, I\'d still be sleeping in that blessed land," Wuxin said lazily while yawning.

Lei Wujie sniggered and said, "Although my experience in the martial world is not too deep, don’t think you can lie to me. Even Snow Moon City didn’t know about this business of ours. You’re thousands of miles away in Outerheaven. How did you find out? I didn’t want to expose you earlier in front of so many people. Come on, tell me, why are you really here?"

"I really came here to protect you guys. Someone requested for me to abduct Xiao Se, so I conveniently hitched a ride here," Wuxin replied helplessly. "You brat, after getting mixed up in the martial world for only half a year, you’ve gotten smarter."

"Of course," Lei Wujie said. "I learned from Xiao Se, you know."

"Then, you listen well. Three days from now, if that little genius doctor gets here in time and cures Xiao Se, you must grab the first opportunity you can to stand beside Xiao Se and protect him. You should already know his identity, and you should also know that in this Lei Clan Fort, there are many people who want to grab him." Wuxin\'s tone was rarely so serious.

“How about you? Are you going to grab him too?” Lei Wujie asked in a low voice.

“No.”

“Why?”

Wuxin raised his head and the sunlight lit up his face. He smiled. “Because we’re friends, you know.”