Chapter 819: Immaculate
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Mo Wen lay on the bed for the whole night, motionless. It was not until the following morning that he could move his arm slightly. However, wanting to stand up was still somewhat difficult.
Mo Wen discovered that he lay in a shabby looking wooden house. The doors, windows, and furniture all seemed somewhat old, but they were very clean, and the ground seemed spotless.
He did not know how he had got here. In his blurry memory, it seemed that a young maiden had rescued him. He had been completely unconscious. However, an ancient martial art practitioner of his level would always maintain a sharp sense of the surrounding events. If danger approached, even if they were unconscious, they had the ability to somewhat respond.
He did not know how long he been lying on the bed for when he heard a creaking sound. The wooden door had been opened by someone from the outside. A little girl who was about fourteen or fifteen walked in. She wore a green dress and was holding a bowl of hot porridge.
“You’re awake?” Su Wan’er saw that Mo Wen had already opened his eyes. A look of joy flashed in her eyes.
“Did you rescue me?” Mo Wen gave Su Wan’er a curious glance. It turned out that the person that rescued him was very young indeed.
“I only brought you back from the forest. I did not do anything,” Su Wan’er said with a red face. She became embarrassed when talking with a stranger.
“Thank you.” Mo Wen smiled. This young maiden was kind-hearted.
“Eat this bowl of porridge. You are injured, so you can’t eat oily and spicy foods.” Su Wan’er walked up to beside Mo Wen and passed him the bowl.
Mo Wen originally wanted to say that he did not need to eat. In reality, even if he did not eat or drink for several months, it would not be a problem. But seeing Su Wan’er’s pure eyes, he swallowed his words and raised his hands to receive the bowl. However, his injuries were too severe. Although he could just about raise his elbow, he could not lift anything at all. He had only managed to lift his arm slightly when it fell straight back down again.
Su Wan’er immediately realized that Mo Wen might not be able to feed himself. In a panic, she said, “Sorry, sorry. Your injuries are quite severe, aren’t they? Do you want me to feed you?”
Mo Wen looked at Su Wan’er, then looked at the bowl in her hand. He did not speak for a while. He had never been fed porridge by a little girl. He was an adult, while Su Wan’er was just a teenager. This scene was somewhat strange no matter how he looked at it.
“This porridge… I cooked it… there is absolutely no problem with it…”
Su Wan’er saw that Mo Wen was staring at the bowl in her hand. She misunderstood and thought that Mo Wen was afraid that she had poisoned the porridge in the bowl. Sect Younger Uncle Liu, who loved to tell stories, always said that the Jianghu was fraught with danger. If one was careless, they would be poisoned to death by others. She thought that Mo Wen was worried about this.
Upon hearing this, Mo Wen did not know whether to laugh or cry. This young maiden was a bit too innocent. If it were any other person, even if they had not considered the possibility of poison would most likely be suspicious now that she had mentioned it.
“Then, thank you,” Mo Wen said with a smile.
Only then did Su Wan’er walk over demurely to the side of the bed. She used a spoon to stir and cool the white porridge while she scooped up the top layer of and delivered it to Mo Wen’s mouth.
Mo Wen did not hesitate either and opened his mouth to eat.
“I am Mo Wen. What’s your name?” Mo Wen said.
“Su Wan’er,” Su Wan’er said softly with a red face. She lowered her head and stirred the porridge in the bowl, somewhat bashful.
“Wan’er, what place is this?” Mo Wen tried his best to act in a friendly manner.
“This is the Five Tigers Sect.” Su Wan’er considered that Mo Wen might not be a person from the Jianghu and so would not know about the existence of ancient martial arts sects. She then immediately said, We are deep within the Taihang Mountains. It is not far from the forest that you were unconscious in. Why were you unconscious in the forest?”
Su Wan’er was just a young maiden. She was curious and could not help but ask such a question.
“I fell from the sky and landed in the forest. Fortunately, I did not fall to my death.” Mo Wen pulled a face to show he thought he had been lucky. In reality, he did not know how to explain it. He also did not want to trick this innocent little girl, so he only mentioned it briefly.
“Ah! Did you fall from the sky? You are really lucky.” Su Wan’er looked at Mo Wen in astonishment. She was scared just imagining falling from such a height. The innocent Su Wan’er did not think much of it. She had thought that Mo Wen must have fallen off a cliff to end up like this. She had frequently been in charge of gathering medicinal herbs in the Five Tigers Sect. Even those who practiced ancient martial arts could also fall from cliffs if they were not careful, let alone martial art practitioners. A few years ago, a sect senior brother had fallen off a high cliff when gathering medicinal herbs and had, unfortunately, passed away.
“Big Brother Mo, I need to go. I still need to gather medicinal herbs today. I will probably only be back at night. I’ll leave a few steamed buns next to you. If you are hungry, you can just turn your head and take a few bites,” Su Wan’er said. She was somewhat troubled. She knew that Mo Wen needed someone else to care for him, but she had to go. If she could not complete the task given by the sect in time, she would be banished from the sect.
In any sect, gathering medicinal herbs was hard labor. It was mostly handled by the sect’s lowest level ordinary disciples. Finding a stalk of precious medicinal herbs deep within the mountains was not an easy task. Many disciples were regularly unable to complete their tasks. If they did not complete the task assigned to them, they would be punished.
The sect consisted mostly of low-level disciples. Everyone took turns in the arduous task of gathering medicinal herbs. However, if they failed the standard task when gathering medicinal herbs, most of the time they would be punished by being told to gather medicinal herbs for a longer period of time, and the amount tasked to them would also be increased.
In order to save Mo Wen, Su Wan’er had not only given up on gathering medicinal herbs, but she had also come into conflict with her sect senior brothers and sisters, as well as being punished by the sect. For the coming month, she had to gather medicinal herbs every day, and she had to gather a certain amount tasked to her. Otherwise, they would increase the time she needed to gather medicinal herbs for. If she did not complete her tasks for a total of five days, it was possible that she would be banished from the sect.
Every day, many things were weighing Su Wan’er down; she did not have time at all to take care of Mo Wen.
“Go about your business.” Mo Wen nodded his head. Right now, he needed rest. He did not wish for others to disturb him.
For the next few days, Mo Wen lay in the wooden house, as motionless as a living corpse. His injuries were rather severe and would most likely be very difficult to recover from in a short amount of time. But after a few days of rest, his condition was far better than the previous few days. Various parts of his body slowly regained their senses. However, he still could not get out of bed and walking was still difficult.
Every day, Su Wan’er left early in the morning and returned late at night. He only saw her in the morning and at night. Every time she came, she would bring quite a bit of food for Mo Wen as well as medicinal soups. Mountain folk knew some medical skills; ancient martial art practitioners in ancient martial arts sects were even more proficient. Su Wan’er regularly gathered medicinal herbs so she was very familiar with them. She could treat a few common illnesses.
After a few days of observing Mo Wen, Su Wan’er realized that something was not quite right with him. His injuries were too serious. It seemed as though they were not ordinary wounds. The medicinal soups that she had concocted did not seem to have any effect. This conclusion caused Su Wan’er to feel heavy-hearted. She was afraid that her medical skills were not up to the task. If this continued and she missed the crucial period of treatment, not only would she not be able to save this Big Brother Mo, she would have killed him instead.
Su Wan’er was anxious. It was not that the sect had no seniors that were proficient in medicine. Each sect had people who specialized in medicine. After all, for the people in ancient martial arts sects, getting hurt was commonplace. Sects could not be without people who were proficient in medicine.
However, those sect seniors who were proficient in medicine were all people with high positions in the sect. It would be difficult for Su Wan’er to even meet them, let alone invite them to treat Mo Wen’s illness. Su Wan’er had been trying to find Mo Wen a good doctor for the past few days but to no avail.
“Big Brother Mo, let me give you some good news. I finally managed to ask Sect Younger Uncle Yuan to come and take a look at your injuries. He is proficient in medicine and has saved a lot of people. He is a well-known doctor in the sect.” Su Wan’er came over to Mo Wen’s place early in the morning as usual. Today was different. Her small face was brimming with joy and her steps were much lighter than before.
“Oh? Then, thank you, Wan’er,” Mo Wen said with a smile. He was lying against the headboard. Over the past few days, he had been able to sit up. He had even managed to get off the bed and to walk a few steps. The problem was that he could not walk naturally like ordinary people. The lightning power in his body, after being shaved away by the power of Ji Wuya’s inheritance, had been reduced a little. At least, it gave Mo Wen’s body some space to heal, and he was no longer as stiff as before.
Mo Wen estimated that if the lightning power in his body could be reduced by twenty percent, he could take control over resisting the destructive power in his body and slowly force the lightning power out. His body could gradually recover and would completely be healed in a short amount of time.
“Big Brother Mo, quickly eat up. Sect Younger Uncle Yuan says that he will be right over,” Su Wan’er said with an excited look on her face. As long as Sect Younger Uncle Yuan came to treat Big Brother Mo’s illness, he should be able to recover soon. She placed a bowl of rice in front of Mo Wen. Mo Wen had been able to eat on his own these past few days. Because Su Wan’er left early in the morning and returned late at night every day and could not take care of Mo Wen in between, she gave Mo Wen rice to eat in the morning to fill his stomach.
After Mo Wen finished eating, Su Wan’er did not leave immediately like she usually did. Instead, she waited in the house for Sect Younger Uncle Yuan to come treat Mo Wen’s illness.
However, she waited for two hours. Sect Younger Uncle Yuan said that he would come over immediately, but right now, after two hours, he still had not shown up.
Su Wan’er was like an ant on a boiling pot. She became more anxious, standing up one moment, then sitting down the next, and sometimes walking around the house. Every day, she was tasked to gather medicinal herbs. If she delayed her work any longer, it would be impossible for her to complete today’s task. If she could not complete a day’s task, she would be severely punished.
“Wan’er, if you have stuff to do, go ahead and do it. Don’t mind me,” Mo Wen kindly advised her. He could read Su Wan’er’s current state of mind. This little girl was very anxious, and she was still staying with him in the house even though she needed to leave. Sect Younger Uncle Yuan must have long forgotten about this matter. Heaven knew when he would come.
“Big Brother Mo, I have nothing to do today. Let’s wait a while longer.”
Su Wan’er tried hard to show a smile, but her smile was very forced no matter how one looked at it. If she left, and Sect Younger Uncle Yuan saw that she was not here, what would she do about Mo Wen’s illness if he got angry and refused to treat Mo Wen?