The Martial Doctor

West Gate Town, Youyang Inn.

Returning here once more, Lin Miao planned to take a good rest and continue the journey to Dongshan City the next day.

"Young master."

"Mr. Qiu, why is it you?" Lin Miao encountered Qiu Ze, who was presumably ordered to wait for them here and had already stayed for two days.

"Miss Si has instructed us to move ahead and escort you and the young ladies back to Dongshan City," Qiu Ze explained with a fist salute, "Also, we’ve gathered all the medicinal materials you wanted to buy."

"Alright, thank you, how many of you are there?" Lin Miao inquired.

"Including me, there are nine people in total."

"Then follow me back; I indeed need personnel," Lin Miao nodded. Qiu Ze was someone he brought out from Qingping Town, a part of his team though joining mid-way.

After formulating the hair dye for the foreign girl "Huo Wu," he tested it on some mixed-colored hair, and the results turned out well.

He applied it directly onto Huo Wu.

Her flaming red hair was too conspicuous and easily identifiable as a foreigner, but once dyed black, she wouldn’t be easily recognized.

Even the "flame" mark on her brow can be easily concealed. In this era, women don’t have the habit of painting "huadian," otherwise, the flame mark could be extremely beautiful.

With this change, the young girl completely transformed in appearance; assuredly, no one would recognize her as a foreigner when she goes out.

"Brother, I sense a trace of Southfire Qi in this girl’s body," Lin Miao suddenly received a message from the fire qilin.

Indeed, they had formed a kind of contract, as it’s difficult for them to speak openly in front of others, but communication is sometimes necessary.

The fire qilin and Lin Miao established a partnership contract, one that’s not binding and can be ended or annulled anytime, but the convenience is that communication doesn’t require spoken words, it can be done directly through their minds.

If Lin Miao hadn’t opened his Mud Ball Palace, the fire qilin wouldn’t even be able to form this kind of contract; powerful Spiritual Sense is essential.

Moreover, this communication has certain spatial distance limitations; it’s not like limitless distance and space are possible.

Aside from secret communication, another benefit is being able to sense each other’s location.

The closer the distance, the clearer it is; if farther, only a direction can be sensed, but as cultivation level improves, the sensing becomes clearer.

"Does Southfire Qi aid your growth?" Lin Miao asked in his mind.

"Southfire Qi indeed can aid my growth, but she currently isn’t able to help me; however, I can enable her to grow..."

"Are you worried about the frost beast?"

"Yes." The fire qilin nodded; if it were a man with the bloodline of Southfire Qi, he wouldn’t be so conflicted.

"Alright, I’ll be the bad guy," Lin Miao agreed firmly; since they’re partners, naturally, he’s obliged to shelter the other.

"Thank you, brother!" the fire qilin expressed gratitude.

...

"Mr. Helian." After much consideration, Lin Miao decided to gift a Celestial Essence Fruit to Helian Wanwan. Helian Wanwan is the mentor of Lianxin and Liansuo, always collaborating with the Snow Mountain Sect through the Su Family.

Now he needs to establish a direct relationship, and Helian Wanwan is the best intermediary.

Moreover, he noticed that Helian Wanwan was also quite good to Lianxin and Liansuo, and is a responsible person.

Especially sharing the experience of plotting to ambush Life-taking Saber Shen Hao.

This is about sitting in the same boat, hence he is one of us.

"What’s this?" Helian Wanwan saw Lin Miao being so solemn, taking the box. Upon opening it, her face instantly turned excited and flushed.

"Is this a Celestial Essence Fruit?"

"Yes, a mature Celestial Essence Fruit, more effective than those auctioned by Heaven-Dominating Tower," Lin Miao explained, "That’s why I went to Yingfeng Valley; this fruit was originally obtained from the Maze Valley by Mr. Wuhen. Heaven-Dominating Tower only found one plant, but two others grow elsewhere under better conditions."

"This gift is too valuable, I..." Helian Wanwan certainly desired the Celestial Essence Fruit, yet it was too precious a gift.

Having lived for several decades, she knew well that debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay.

"You’re the mentor of Lianxin and Liansuo, also from an elder generation. My future cooperation with the Snow Mountain Sect will be far more extensive. Your breakthrough to the Celestial Essence Realm will bolster your influence and thereby assist me; so there’s no need to decline this Celestial Essence Fruit," Lin Miao said, "Also, follow the prescription I gave for half a month to adjust your body to its best state prior to breaking through. If you feel unsure, you can seek me out; I’ll protect you."

"You’ll protect me with your cultivation level..."

Lin Miao slightly released the aura of the Meridian Passage Realm, which astonished Helian Wanwan. Eighteen and already at the Meridian Passage Realm, such a talent in the Snow Mountain Sect would certainly merit the position of the next master.

Even in top-tier sects like Qingping Sect or Spirit Sword Sect, one would be a strong contender for Saint Heir or Saint Maiden.

Especially since Lin Miao was previously a Loose Cultivator, without the cultivation resources of a sect. If he had been nurtured from youth, given his talent, then perhaps...

Helian Wanwan dared not to imagine.

Such a person exudes influence over his generation, akin to Mr. Xiao of Qingping Sect two hundred years ago, whose presence smothered the martial world until his passing allowed a breath of relief to the world. Is another similar figure emerging?

Luckily, his ambitions lie beyond the Jianghu.

"If that’s the case, then I won’t refuse." Helian Wanwan stored the Celestial Essence Fruit; it boosted her confidence vastly regarding her breakthrough.

...

At night, Lianxin entered Lin Miao’s room carrying a bowl of warm soup tea.

She had just come from her mentor Helian Wanwan’s room, knowing that Lin Miao gifted an extremely precious Celestial Essence Fruit to her mentor.

She was deeply touched. This was obviously for the two sisters. Otherwise, how could such rare and precious treasures be given away just like that?

"Young Master, thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Lin Miao chuckled. Lianxin wore a light green gown with narrow sleeves and a yellow belt, accentuating her slim waist. Her face was flushed with a charming red glow, especially under the lamp. Her fresh and lovely appearance made one want to take a bite.

"Young Master, giving the Celestial Essence Fruit, such a precious treasure, to Master..." Lianxin felt her heart flutter under Lin Miao’s gaze. The strong masculine aura overwhelmed her, and she felt a bit out of control.

Damn, why does the Young Master’s scent become more and more pleasant?

"It’s also your betrothal gift." Lin Miao chuckled again. Giving away the Celestial Essence Fruit was meant to build a good relationship with Helian Wanwan and also served as a betrothal gift.

Having obtained such a pair of stunning twins, he couldn’t just show no appreciation. Even if taking concubines, he had to offer a certain dowry.

Of course, when Lin Miao mentioned a betrothal gift, he didn’t intend to treat the sisters as mere concubines. Except for his senior sister’s status as the great lady, he treated his other women the same, differing only in the order of entry, without distinctions of rank or status.

The affection he gave them was not lacking, as long as they lived long enough.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"I don’t consider you as concubines. In the future, you may call me ’Husband’ or ’Spouse’." Lin Miao smiled.

"Youwei, the great lady, hasn’t married the Young Master yet. How could we change our address?" Lianxin quickly replied.

"As you wish. Keep an eye on Mu Yun and her mother and don’t reveal your whereabouts to avoid trouble," Lin Miao reminded her.

"My younger sister is watching. There won’t be any problems."

"Hmm, our whereabouts might be probed too. Be careful not to say the wrong thing."

"I understand, Young Master. Tonight, you..." Lianxin murmured, blushing, with a clear implication of wanting to come over.

"I will go to bed at the first quarter of Hai hour."

"Lianxin understands."

...

In an unnamed valley, the north wind howled.

Dongguo Sun was sprinting with a furnace on his back, pursued by a rapid clatter of hooves behind him, evidently a chase.

He had a trace of black blood at the corner of his mouth, his complexion a sickly gray, obviously injured in a previous fight.

"Damn, a bunch of relentless hounds..."

Even while fleeing for his life, Dongguo Sun couldn’t help cursing. These people seemed like persistent ghosts, still finding him after decades of pursuit.

If it weren’t for the sect’s Celestial Fire Furnace, he wouldn’t have exposed his whereabouts.

Unluckily, they had tampered with the Celestial Fire Furnace, and he, being careless, was tracked by these guys.

Were it not for their numbers and a Master at the Peak of Meridian Passage Realm among them, how could he be pursued so wretchedly, with his identity exposed?

"Dongguo Sun, you can’t escape..." The pursuers shouted on horseback, much stronger than his two legs could manage carrying a several-hundred-pound furnace.

At this rate, he would eventually be caught. They weren’t just numerous; they had also bribed many people from Li Hen City to chase him.

With wealth worth over a million taels of silver, why not hide in some cozy nook and live out the rest of his life in comfort? Why was he caught by this damn sense of responsibility?

Why not let Lin Miao handle it?

That kid was not only cautious but also slippery, obviously unwilling to even acknowledge the heritage of Huichun Valley, let alone shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing it.

He didn’t even glance at the Celestial Fire Furnace, clearly not wanting to get entangled with Huichun Valley’s affairs!

Why did his master, a good person, take on such a cunning disciple? It was incomprehensible.

Even while fleeing, he had thoughts about that. The pursuit was so close that he could see the riders’ hooves.

He needed a way to shake off these pursuers. Carrying the Celestial Fire Furnace severely hindered his speed. Otherwise, with his skills and knowledge of the terrain, losing these people wouldn’t be easy?

Whoosh!

A mouthful of black blood spurted out.

Damn scorpions, colluding with Wuyou Hall, the palm strike on his back was actually poisonous. Without time to detoxify, how could he be so passive?

Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Dongguo Sun suddenly burst forward, suddenly stretching nearly a hundred meters away from his pursuing enemies.

"Scorpion, that old guy still has strength..." A group of black-clad riders surrounded a tall, sturdy man with a horse-like face as they galloped forward.

The riders on horseback looked fierce, obviously not good people.

"He took a Five Poison Palm from me and can still hold on. He must be hiding deeply!" The horse-faced man snorted coldly.

"Big Brother, should we keep chasing?"

"Ahead is West Gate Town, right? The old guy is injured; he must buy medicine in town for treatment. Let’s wait there for him."

"Big Brother, he’s a physician himself, likely carrying medicine for his injuries. He won’t go to town to buy any, would he?"

"Even if he has medicine to heal and detoxify, it won’t sustain him for long. Around here, besides Li Hen City, only West Gate Town has a pharmacy. He’ll definitely have to go, otherwise if the poison spreads to his heart meridian, not even the gods could save him!" The horse-faced man said.

"As expected of Big Brother, your plans are flawless."