Chapter 43

In the darkness, Huo Jinchen’s gaze darkened.

He reached out, intending to touch Lan Yun’er, but a wave of fatigue suddenly swept over him. The fatigue was so overwhelming that he yawned. His expression became heavy with exhaustion, and he felt strange—why was he so tired all of a sudden? It was as if he had run ten miles.

“It’s nothing, just go to sleep. Good night,” Lan Yun’er said.

Huo Jinchen, still puzzled, climbed into bed. Lan Yun’er sighed, thinking that his earlier call for her had made her believe he was going to do something tonight. However, tonight felt a bit odd. Usually, after she gave him water with added ingredients, he would be ready to fall asleep as soon as he entered the room. But tonight, he seemed full of energy when he came in. Could it be that the ingredients she added tonight weren’t effective? Perhaps the materials were too dry, losing some of their medicinal properties?

Lan Yun’er was very confused. She stared at the man lying in bed, deep in thought. After half an hour, unable to come up with any answers, she decided to sleep. But before drifting off, she reminded herself to be more cautious in the future. It seemed that she would need to change the ingredients, find something with more stable effects.

Around 1 a.m., Lan Yun’er woke up.

She had important business tonight—she still had to go up the mountain. During dinner, she had arranged with the second house to treat Huo Junli’s leg after breakfast the next day. Originally, she had planned to go up the mountain at dawn, consult the tree spirit, and then return to treat Huo Junli’s leg. However, this would raise suspicion, as it would be strange for her to go to the mountain and spend a whole day there instead of quickly treating Huo Junli after breakfast. So, she had arranged to treat him after breakfast tomorrow morning.

After waking up, Lan Yun’er didn’t rush to get out of bed. She turned over to look at Huo Jinchen, who was lying with his eyes closed, deeply asleep. She furrowed her brow and softly called out, “Jinchen? Jinchen?”

There was no response.

Seeing that his breathing was even and there was no reaction, she relaxed a little. However, she didn’t want him to wake up and become suspicious if he noticed she was gone, so she quietly got out of bed, walked to the window, and summoned a bird. Taking a medicinal herb from the bird’s beak, she returned to the bed.

Her night vision was excellent, so she could move freely in the darkness. Sitting gently on the edge of the bed, she squeezed the herb in her hand, extracting its juice, and poured it into Huo Jinchen’s mouth. The juice was tasteless and colorless, like water.

After he swallowed, it seemed that he slept even more deeply. Satisfied with the result, she quickly got up and headed for the door.

Lan Yun’er thought Huo Jinchen was in a deep sleep, and that he wouldn’t notice her leaving. But just as she stepped out of the room, Huo Jinchen, who had been lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes.

In fact, when she had woken up, he had also been awake.

He had heard her calling him.

At first, he had intended to respond, but hearing the probing tone in her voice, it seemed like she was testing whether he was asleep. After thinking for a moment, he chose not to answer.

When he didn’t respond, she got out of bed and walked to the window. He heard the sound of a bird from that direction. Then, she returned to the bed and held something in her hand that looked like medicinal herbs. She poured the juice into his mouth.

Though the juice had no taste, he knew it must have some kind of effect. Before he could even guess what, it was, she stood up and left the room.

Her footsteps were so light that he could hardly hear them. In an instant, she was gone from the room.

He was a little puzzled. How could she move so quickly in the dark? Didn’t she worry about tripping or bumping into something? He sat up, thinking for a moment, then quickly got out of bed. Feeling around in the darkness, he found his military coat and draped it over his shoulders.

Lan Yun’er was already heading up the mountain along a small path.

Huo Jinchen followed behind, frowning. Why was she going up the mountain at this hour? What could she possibly be doing there at night? His eyes locked onto her figure as she picked up speed. He also hastened his pace to keep up.

Lan Yun’er, however, was completely unaware of him following her.

Though her cultivation hadn’t yet fully recovered to its previous state, she was still much stronger than ordinary people. If anyone were following her, she would have sensed it.

But this time, she didn’t sense him at all.

She thought her husband was still in bed, deeply asleep, and the medicinal herb she gave him was working.

What was strange, however, was that she noticed a mouse behind her, scurrying along and wagging its tail. She turned her head to glance at it and smiled faintly. “You can follow me,” she said softly before turning back and continuing her journey.

When Huo Jinchen saw her turn around, he quickly crouched down behind a bush. Fortunately, the grass was thick enough to hide him.

He was relieved that she hadn’t spotted him.

However, after twenty minutes of following her, Huo Jinchen lost sight of Lan Yun’er.

Her pace had increased, becoming so fast that he couldn’t keep up.

He was confused. Why was his wife moving so quickly? It was as if she was flying.

Watching her figure disappear into the night, he furrowed his brows, sitting down against a tree. He was now certain that she wasn’t meeting anyone. She had already fallen out with Wang Zhiqiang, and there was no one else she could be meeting.

But if she wasn’t coming up the mountain to meet someone, then what was she doing here?

His gaze deepened as he thought to himself. Maybe his wife wasn’t as simple as he had imagined.

A rabbit darted past, and Huo Jinchen realized something.

He found that his night vision had improved. He could see things in the dark as if it were daylight.

He should have noticed earlier. When he first stepped outside, it had been so dark, and if not for his improved night vision, he would never have been able to follow her so far.

He raised his hand to look at his fingers in the dark, noticing the calluses on them. His expression became even more serious.

Why had his night vision improved so suddenly? This was strange…

Meanwhile, Lan Yun’er continued her rapid ascent up the mountain. After a while, she started flying, only to return to walking again as she reached the tree spirit’s location.

She woke the sleeping tree spirit and said, “I want to discuss something with you.”

The tree spirit, excited, immediately responded, “What is it? Hurry up and tell me!”

Lan Yun’er, hearing its excited voice, felt a little tired. Furrowing her brows, she slowly said, “I want you to teach me medicine.”

The tree spirit, sounding even more excited, answered eagerly, “Of course! I will teach you everything I know. You’ll become the greatest healer in the world!”

Lan Yun’er bent down to sit on the ground. “Thank you then.”

“No need to thank me! You’re my disciple now. It’s my duty to teach you,” the tree spirit replied.

Lan Yun’er frowned slightly and replied, “Well then, let’s become sworn siblings. I think that would suit us better.”

After a moment of stunned silence, the tree spirit replied, “I don’t want sworn siblings. I want a disciple. If you want to be my disciple, stay and I’ll teach you medicine. If not, then leave.”

Lan Yun’er, frustrated, reluctantly agreed to become the tree spirit’s disciple. As she said the words “Master,” she almost wanted to bite her tongue off. She, a thousand-year-old demon, had just called a few hundred-year-old spirit “Master.” Though she had prepared herself for it mentally, the actual words still made her feel humiliated.

After spending more than two hours on the mountain, Lan Yun’er saw that dawn was approaching. It was time to go back.

She stood up and told the tree spirit, “I’ll go now. If your method works, I’ll treat my second brother according to your plan.”

The tree spirit nodded kindly. “Yes, use that method. But before you leave, take something. You need it to treat him properly.”

Suddenly, ten silver needles sprouted from the tree spirit’s trunk, gleaming in the moonlight.

“These are the Xuantian Needles. They’re a treasure in the medical world. When used to treat someone, they’re extremely effective,” the tree spirit explained.

Lan Yun’er took the needles and nodded. “I understand. Thank you… Master.”

The last two words were hard for her to say.

“Go down the mountain quickly. If you don’t, the sun will rise,” the tree spirit urged.

Lan Yun’er’s mind felt like it was going to explode.

A thousand-year-old demon, calling a few hundred-year-old spirit “Master.” What was she even doing?

With a heavy heart, she descended the mountain and returned to the house. She walked quietly into her room, where Huo Jinchen was still asleep in bed. Her mood softened, and she took off her cotton coat. She slowly climbed onto the bed.

The person next to her had his back to her, but just as she lay down, his eyes suddenly opened.