Chapter 252 – Two Field Doctors (Part One) (2/2)
The people that wanted to mess with these several hundred human cultivators in the Garden of Zhou was obviously the enemy of humanity.
The enemy of humanity was the demons.
”We must be careful.”
Qi Jian looked downstream at the open country and anxiously said, ”We have to think of a way to quickly inform everyone else.”
They were not sure, or perhaps they simply could not imagine, that demons had entered the Garden of Zhou. But it was true that a change had occurred in the Garden of Zhou and the gray strings had lost their effectiveness. In order to prevent the human cultivators from attacking too fiercely and inflicting irreversible damage on fellow humans when stealing treasures, it was necessary to transmit the news that the Garden of Zhou had closed as quickly as possible.
It was just that the Garden of Zhou was truly too vast. While several hundred human cultivators did not seem like a small number, when spread out over such a large area, they seemed extremely sparse. In addition, since the vast majority of the cultivators had entered the Garden of Zhou to search for treasure, presumably many people would go into hiding. In this sort of situation, even occasionally bumping into someone would be a rare event.
The reason why this group by the river had all met was because that they were all thinking about the same thing: the Sword Pool. Whether it was the Orthodox Academy, the Mount Li Sword Sect or the Heavenly Dao Academy, they all probably had left records regarding the evidence of the Sword Pool. Thus why they had all journeyed upstream and come to this place. This was something that they all mutually understood.
As for this master and disciple from Clear Void Monastery, from the moment they entered the Garden of Zhou, they had been following the senior and junior from Holy Maiden Peak. At a certain level, it could even be called shrewd and calculating.
In the vastness of the Garden of Zhou, there were three mountain ranges that divided it into three great regions. The famous plain,whose depths no one dared to venture into,was situated in the middle. On the edge of the mountain range, which was also the edge of the Garden of Zhou, were several gardens. Those gardens were rumored to be where Zhou Dufu used to live in the past, thus making them the place most likely to hold hidden treasure. Thus, when cultivators entered the Garden of Zhou, the majority of them would first search that region.
Liang Xiaoxiao said to Qi Jian, ”Those places are too far and going there is too time-consuming.”
Before he had finished his sentence, Qi Jian understood his meaning. Truthfully, everyone there had probably realized his meaning.
Apparently, the Mount Li Sword Sect had extremely strong information on the whereabouts of the Sword Pool, or perhaps over the past few decades, the elders of Mount Li had obtained some fruits from their analysis. So of course, Liang Xiaoxiao and Qi Jian were in a hurry to leave.
In the Mausoleum of Books, Chen Changsheng would frequently treat Zhexiu, so Zhexiu was well-acquainted with the contents of that box. It didn't take long for Zhexiu to prepare all the items that Chen Changsheng needed.
Chen Changsheng paid no attention to what the two disciples from the Mount Li Sword Sect were thinking about. Taking the tools, he squatted on the floor and began to treat the master from the Clear Void Monastery.
The application of the copper needles had already stopped the bleeding. What he was doing now was sewing up the wound.
Ye Xiaolian glanced over, and she could not help but turn pale at the sight.
Even that young daoist from the Clear Void Monastery, who was holding his master's hand, could not help but tremble.
As cultivators, whether it was exchanging pointers indoors or engaging in battles in the world outside, they had all seen blood before. But what they rarely saw was a metal needle weaving through the flesh of a human.
Once he had finished sewing up the wound, he packed it tightly with a clean cloth. Chen Changsheng had not yet finished his treatment, as he now began to use the copper needles to touch the meridians around the chest that had been damaged by Liang Xiaoxiao.
At this scene, everyone present had somewhat strange expressions, especially Senior Tong from Holy Maiden Peak.
Holy Maiden Peak's South Stream Temple as well as the capital's Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green were the two sects most skilled in medical treatment. A thousand years ago, amidst the fierce war between the humans and demons, one would always see the women garbed in white. In that war, they played an extremely vital role.
The senior had not imagined that today in the Garden of Zhou, she would be able to witness such an exquisite display of medical expertise. In addition, it was very clear that Chen Changsheng had not been trained in the Sacred Light technique of the Orthodoxy.
The riverbank was quiet, with only the sound of the water flowing by and the occasional muffled hum from the master from the Clear Void Monastery.
Everyone looked at Chen Changsheng, not daring to disturb him.
Zhuang Huanyu did not enjoy this sort of atmosphere. Slightly arching his brows, he nodded at Liang Xiaoxiao then he began walking upstream.
Chen Changsheng spied this out of the corner of his eye, but he did not attempt to dissuade him as he had done before.
After not much time had passed, he confirmed that the master from Clear Void Monastery was no longer in any danger. He stood and looked up at Qi Jian and said, ”I also have to go. I have to find other people. Just like you, I worry that the others don't know that the Garden of Zhou has closed. If a dispute were to occur, if they begin to fight, then it is certain that no one will back down. The ferocity of their battle will bring about problems, and people might even die.”
Thinking that these words were directed at him, Liang Xiaoxiao's face subtly changed. He didn't understand that this was just Chen Changsheng delivering his assessment of the situation.
Qi Jian replied somewhat awkwardly, ”We also have to leave for a reason.”
”I understand.” He turned to the pair from Holy Maiden Peak and asked, ”Could I trouble you two to temporarily watch over them for a while? I should be able to get back before midnight.”
Senior Tong was somewhat at a loss. She did not imagined that he would put forth such a request. After thinking it over, she agreed.
Taking care of their ambushers, if she had not been a disciple of Holy Maiden Peak, she really would not have accepted this task.
Chen Changsheng gave them a grateful smile, then he and Zhexiu once again proceeded downstream.
The sun shined brightly, dispelling some of the eeriness of the woods.
In the southeastern part of the Garden of Zhou, there was a garden that was constructed against the side of a mountain. According to the legends, this place was where Zhou Dufu, in his middle years, enjoyed listening to the song of birds, thus he built this garden. It was given the name 'Mountainside Whispering Wood'.
The Mountainside Whispering Wood was not the garden that was at the entrance to the Garden of Zhou, but it was the closest.
Because every cultivator had to pass through that garden at the entrance when they entered the Garden of Zhou, the place had long been picked clean. Since there was nothing to find in that garden for later cultivators, the vast majority of this year's cultivators would first visit the Mountainside Whispering Wood garden.
The birds happily sang out amidst the mountains, while the water noiselessly flowed through the garden. As for the viewing galleries, the overhanging eaves, the whitewashed walls and windows; in accordance with the iron law set down by the human cultivating world, besides magical artifacts and legacies, nothing else in the Garden of Zhou was to be touched. So even after the passage of several hundred years, this place still retained the atmosphere of seven parts serenity and nine parts nobility of the past.
Only now in a room in the depths of the garden, there was only fear and unease. The serenity and nobility had long been replaced by the scent of blood which rushed off into the unknown.
Around a dozen cultivators surrounded the scene and their faces were extremely unsightly.
A cultivator was collapsed on the floor. His abdomen had been run through by a sword, leaving a gaping wound around five fingers wide. His left hand was placed on the wound, attempting to hold it closed. Yet it could nothing to stop the blood from flowing. His intestines seemed to be on the verge of coming out. As he gasped his dying breaths, the gray string that he had grasped in his right hand had burned away long ago, leaving only ash.
The other cultivator’s face was deathly pale as he continuously said, ”I didn't do it on purpose, at most, I thought that my ‘Perching Tong’ move would just injure him! How was I to know that his true Qi would freeze and he would be unable to lift his sword? I really didn't do it on purpose, and anyway… this gray string doesn't work!”
The severely injured cultivator's stomach had been run through and his blood flowed like water. It was easy to see that he was about to die. The faces of the surrounding cultivators grew increasingly unsightly. The thing that made them the most concerned was, why had the gray string lost its effectiveness. Was the only thing that all of these people could do was watch this person die?
At this moment, several maidens dressed in ceremonial white arrived at the Mountainside Whispering Wood, and the garden was filled with the sounds of respect and pleasant surprise.
One of the maidens did not enter the room. She stood on the gallery bridge, looking at the distant sun which seemed to be gradually falling towards the plain. In her silence, it seemed that she had realized something.