The Martial Doctor

"Sister, did you sneak out to eat alone again last night?"

"I called you, but you didn’t come. So should I blame myself?" Lianxin’s cheeks flushed. While traveling outside, she needed to be a bit proactive, otherwise, once they returned, it wouldn’t be appropriate to be too indulgent at home.

After all, she had to consider the lady of the house.

Of course, the lady of the house hasn’t officially married yet. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many opportunities. Actually, being a maid in the young master’s room was far more pleasant than being a concubine.

"It’s only a two-day journey, and we’ll be back in Dongshan the day after tomorrow. Tonight we agreed, sister, you’re giving me the chance?" Liansuo said coquettishly.

"Alright, just don’t call for help at that time." Lianxin deliberately elongated her words.

"Lianxin, hurry up and pack, settle the bill, we’re leaving." Lin Miao’s voice came from outside.

"Coming, young master."

"Sister, it’s settled, tonight you’ll give me the opportunity..." Liansuo said.

Lianxin’s cheeks reddened. Her younger sister seemed to be becoming increasingly shameless, but then again, wasn’t she herself indulging in it too?

They had come with two carriages, but now that their numbers had increased upon return, two more were added: one for Mu Yun and her daughter, and one for Helian Wanwan.

As for Qiu Ze and the others, they were riding horses as guards on the sides.

The carriages were bunched together, along with supplies bought from Li Hen City and camping tents, quite a lot of stuff. As soon as they left West Gate Town, they got onto the main road.

Lin Miao and Sun Youwei were in the first carriage, and the driver was Lianxin. He only trusted Lianxin to drive this carriage, and if Lin Mao were a bit older, he could take over.

Inside the carriage sat three people.

Leaning against the soft cushions, with a book in hand, it was unclear whether Lin Miao was reading. Sun Youwei held a small black panther in her arms, playing with a little bell, and the other was Huo Wu, the girl from the Southern Wilderness Fire Spirit Tribe with her hair dyed black.

Of course, there was also a small lion, lying at Lin Miao’s feet, with droopy eyelids, snoring softly.

On the roof of the carriage was a white dog. No matter how the carriage swayed, it lay steadily there, as always.

The carriage interior was tranquil, except for the restless little cub darting to and fro.

They had traveled roughly ten miles, and West Gate Town was now just a black dot behind them, no longer visible, with the carriages speeding along the main road.

As the year-end approached, many travelers were seen on the main road heading home.

Everyone was silently on their way, rarely striking up conversation.

Although the journey from West Gate Town to Dongshan City wasn’t close, transportation tools made it faster. With fast horses, it might take just one day, but carriages were much slower, especially in this cold winter month, with the weather frigid and even the main road was difficult to travel.

The speed of the carriages was at five to six-tenths of normal. After estimating, including stopping for meals and rest, it would take roughly two days to reach.

However, Lin Miao intended to spend a night at the manor outside the city.

Yue Mei’Er had long informed him, and if he didn’t visit soon, his fake substitute would be exposed.

Ji Fei’Er also posed a problem.

He had to resolve it himself.

The carriage jolted fiercely; he must find a way to create springs, and fit the carriage with shock absorbers to make traveling more comfortable.

At least when traveling on flat ground, it wouldn’t be so bumpy. As for rubber tires, he wasn’t sure if they existed in this world; even if they did, making them wasn’t easy.

"Junior brother, move your hand away..." Lin Miao’s thoughts were wandering, his right hand unknowingly sliding to embrace his senior sister’s waist, rubbing that rounded part.

How could Sun Youwei bear this; her cheeks quickly turned as red as rouge, looking pretty and enticing.

"Ah, oh, sorry, senior sister, I lost my focus just now..." Lin Miao seeing this, quickly apologized.

Junior brother was becoming increasingly bold. It’s often said that girls like bad boys; perhaps that’s why junior brother was so beloved. But the number of female companions around him was growing; in the future, could his body handle it?

Da da da...

The urgent sound of hooves approached from afar.

A group of knights in black, at least close to twenty people, all riding excellent battle horses, sped from behind the convoy.

The leader was a horse-faced man.

"Bro, what a pretty chick..."

"Looking for trouble? Didn’t you see the Snow Mountain Sect’s emblem on the carriage!" Scorpio glared, cursing angrily. Though they were lawless, they knew whom not to provoke.

The Snow Mountain Sect’s carriage indicated the people inside had special status. Although the guards’ skills weren’t high, provoking them was still troublesome.

Right now, they urgently needed to catch Dongguo Sun, that old fellow, and retrieve the Celestial Fire Furnace; otherwise, they’d be in a mess.

"Greetings to the friends of the Snow Mountain Sect. May I ask if you’ve seen an elderly man..."

Asking for directions?

But how come the person they described sounded so much like Dongguo Sun, carrying a bundle? Could it be the Celestial Fire Furnace?

If Lin Miao didn’t know Dongguo Sun or the Celestial Fire Furnace, it would be fine. But he did know, and he also understood that Dongguo Sun went to the auction specifically for the Celestial Fire Furnace, even visiting the Raw Stone Hall to gamble, gathering a million taels of silver.

These people were actually inquiring about Dongguo Sun’s whereabouts. That old geezer had actually obtained the Celestial Fire Furnace.

Could it be that these people were using the Celestial Fire Furnace to lure interested parties?

Or were they targeting the descendants from Huichun Valley, or specifically Dongguo Sun...

This aligned with the bizarre situation at the auction where the auctioneer announced the Celestial Fire Furnace starting at one tael of silver. But why was the mastermind behind it making it so obvious?

Raising the starting bid to a higher price, wouldn’t that just force Dongguo Sun to show himself?

Or perhaps, even the person behind this isn’t sure; even if the Celestial Fire Furnace is auctioned off at a high price, it’s still uncertain who the bidder really is.

Their purpose is to tell Dongguo Sun that I’m coming for you, unless you don’t want to bring the sect’s treasured artifact back, you have nowhere to hide...

Playing tricks?

This person is somewhat twisted.

"We haven’t seen the person you’re talking about." Lin Miao didn’t show up, responding from inside the carriage.

"Thank you." The horse-faced man didn’t linger, leading his team swiftly away.

Alongside the official road, there are rest stops for tea at regular intervals, both for the convenience of travelers and as a business opportunity.

This business isn’t run by ordinary people.

After half a day’s journey, Lin Miao felt a bit tired, so he decided to find a place to rest and eat something.

"Innkeeper, innkeeper..."

"Hey, I’m coming, coming. Are you just stopping in for a bite, or staying?" A man in his forties welcomed them.

"Just stopping in, feed the horses with the best feed, and prepare some specialty dishes quickly, so we can eat and be on our way," Lianxin instructed.

"Alright!"

The owner recognized that everyone in Lin Miao’s group was dressed impressively, especially the women, each one a rare beauty carrying weapons, clearly not to be trifled with, and naturally agreed with a smile.

Though carrying their own provisions, no matter how good, dry food can’t compare to hot soup and rice.

This is the largest inn within a hundred miles, staffed with several people including the owner, attendants, and cooks, and with ample space inside.

It was just mealtime when Lin Miao and his group arrived; there were two or three tables of people already eating.

When Lin Miao’s group arrived, they instantly filled the whole hall.

The biggest table was given to Lin Miao.

Food and drinks were soon brought to the table.

Lin Miao tasted it; it was edible, and the wine was served hot, not very smooth but warm enough for the body.

"Innkeeper, innkeeper..."

"Yes, guest, what can I do for you?" The owner heard someone calling, and hurriedly went to greet them with a smiling face.

It’s them?

The newcomers were the group of horse-faced men they encountered on the road not long ago.

"Get us a meal, with good wine and dishes," a young man behind the horse-faced man said, throwing over a bag.

The owner caught it and looked inside; it was a bag of loose silver, weighing it by hand, there must be at least twenty to thirty taels.

"Sure, please wait a moment, right away." The owner took one, bit it to verify it was real silver, and replied with delight.

The horse-faced man noticed Lin Miao’s group, and when he saw Helian Wanwan sitting with Lin Miao and the others, his eyes narrowed a bit, showing a hint of fear.

"Big brother, that table has several pretty women..."

"You’re asking for trouble, that’s Helian Wanwan from the Snow Mountain Sect," the horse-faced man quickly reprimanded.

"Helian Wanwan." The speaker’s face changed with fear too; she is the Snow Mountain Sect’s elder, a renowned Meridian Passage Realm expert.

Lin Miao noticed these people too, but as long as they didn’t make trouble, he wouldn’t initiate conflict either; finish eating, everyone goes their own way.

"Hurry up, don’t dally!" A shout mingled with curses, as two men in black pushed an old man stumbling into the inn.

Sun Youwei recognized the old man with a shock, glanced at Lin Miao; she recognized him as Dongguo Sun, whom she and Lin Miao had met at the auction. By seniority, he was their sect uncle.

Of course, his identity remained doubtful.

But after spending a night together, she felt Dongguo Sun wasn’t a bad person; if he was truly their sect uncle, she would acknowledge him.

However, after the incident at the night market, she learned to keep her mouth shut, to avoid speaking wrongly and causing unnecessary troubles.

She didn’t want to create trouble for Lin Miao.

Sun Youwei recognized Dongguo Sun, so naturally, Lin Miao did too, but he pretended not to know him, still casually eating while subtly tapping his senior sister’s hand under the table to give her a reassuring signal.

That old guy was really careless, actually got caught.

But seeing the blood from his mouth and ears, and the blackish tint on his face, he seemed injured and poisoned.

No wonder.

Dongguo Sun spotted Lin Miao too; his eyes brightened momentarily but quickly restrained them to avoid detection.

Indeed, fate provides; unexpectedly met Lin Miao here.

"Why rush? Don’t you know I’m injured?"

"Old fool, courting death!"

"Give him two buns and a bowl of water, don’t let him starve," the horse-faced man instructed his subordinate.