870 A Pool (1/2)
This was the first time that Tie Linglong had ever been wounded. During a tangled fight, the side of her waist had been slashed. Despite the damage, she was responding well to treatment, and she was very happy about it. ”'A killer without any scars is not a good killer.' The Dragon King always says this.”
While putting away his medicine chest, Doctor Sun said in a complaining tone, ”Those words of the Dragon King will do you no good. You're just a young girl. Why the hell do you want to be killer and get scars? If you really want them so bad, isn't it much easier to just stab yourself with a saber a couple times?”
”That's different,” Tie Linglong explained, smiling. ”I'll get experience if I am jabbed at by someone else. But I'll get nothing if I jab myself.”
”Nonsense. There isn't any difference in the scars of the two if you are jabbed in a vital part.” Doctor Sun cautiously scratched the little hair bun that sat on top of his head with a meaningful look on his face. ”During all my years in Jade City, I've treated a lot of killers, and I've also seen a lot of killers die before me. So while my kung fu may be just average, my eyes are pretty sharp. To be honest, you don't count as a killer at all.”
Tie Linglong's face went cold, her right hand immediately going to the hilt of the saber. ”Are you suggesting that I don't dare to kill people?”
”What's the big deal with killing people?” Doctor Sun was not afraid at all. Judging by this reaction of hers alone, he was positive that this little girl was definitely not a killer. ”Even a child can kill people if it's really necessary, but killers are different. In their eyes, people's lives are nothing, and they neither feel guilty nor proud of killing. But look at you – you became so excited after merely being jabbed.”
Tie Linglong released her grip on the saber hilt and inhaled deeply, affecting an air of thoughtfulness. ”It takes time to become a true killer. I'm still learning.”
Shaking his head, Doctor Sun didn't agree with Tie Linglong's confident words at all, ”Don't wield a saber or practice kung fu for the next three days lest you aggravate the injury.”
”There were several occasions when the Dragon King was wounded even more seriously, but I didn't see him sit still.”
Doctor Sun got angry at those words. ” Dragon King, Dragon King – is he a doctor? Is he capable of treating diseases? You want to hop around? Fine! When you start bleeding badly, I'm more than willing to dress your wound again – as long as you don't feel embarrassed.”
Tie Linglong blushed and, with that, she realized a killer shouldn't feel embarrassed, so she tried to put on a severe look. While she was struggling and dithering about, Doctor Sun picked up his medicine chest and was about to walk towards the doorway. But when he turned around and raised his head, he saw the Dragon King and Han Wuxian together.
Doctor Sun was afraid of the Dragon King and even more afraid of Han Wuxian. Although it had been Lotus who had previously imprisoned him, he could strongly feel the style of the Waning Moon Hall in Han Wuxian, and that sent shivers down his spine.
”Dragon King, Hall Leader Han,” Doctor Sun greeted them flatly and then ran out of the tent with his head down. Grasping his little hair bun, he intensely felt that he had compromised his image of a divine doctor.
But Tie Linglong was both surprised and rejoiced. She wasn't angry that the Dragon King had used her as a bait at all. On the contrary, she felt complacent about it. ”Did I delay anything, Dragon King?”
”No. You did a very good job,” Gu Shenwei said as he pointed at Han Wuxian. ”Hall Leader Han wants to talk to you.”
Tie Linglong had a special place in her heart for Han Wuxian. She liked the Jueyin Finger Techniques that Han Wuxian had taught her, and although she was wary of the way Han Wuxian did things, every time she met her, she couldn't help trusting her. Even at this moment, Tie Linglong still felt a sense of intimacy that connected her and Han Wuxian, and it was even more intense than her feelings for the Dragon King.
”About what?” Tie Linglong asked, perplexed.
”Stop practicing the Jueyin Finger Techniques that I taught you,” said Han Wuxian gently, as if she were trying to persuade a child who was already full to stop eating.
”Um. I'll… stop practicing,” Tie Linglong orally assented, but because of the Dragon King's presence, she had more self-control than usual. She felt vaguely uneasy and also somewhat surprised that she was so obedient.
Standing to the side, Gu Shenwei remained silent.
Han Wuxian walked up to Tie Linglong, stretched out her hand and stroked Tie Linglong's face. ”Do you know why you should stop practicing it?”
”Because… you don't want me to?” The uneasiness in Tie Linglong was intensifying with each passing second. She had never pledged allegiance to Han Wuxian. On the first day when she had started learning kung fu from Han Wuxian, she had made it very clear that she wouldn't apprentice herself to Han Wuxian. 'Since when did I start to care about Hall Leader's thoughts so much?'
”No. You have to keep thinking. Think deeply. Find a reason of your own.”
Han Wuxian's eyes were like two gleaming pools and they gradually merged into each other. Tie Linglong was involuntarily fascinated, mumbling ”think deeply” to herself repeatedly. But actually, her thoughts had already fragmented and all she wanted to do was dive into the pool.
But someone blocked her path. It seemed to be the Dragon King, but it also seemed to be Chu Nanping, and it even looked somewhat like Nie Zeng at times. But mostly, it looked like a stranger. Tie Linglong detested it, so she stretched out her hand and tried to push that figure aside, but there was always a distance of two or three inches separating her fingers and the target. Every time she took a step forward, the figure would take a corresponding step backwards.
The area that that figure took up in her view grew larger, and eventually, it nearly blocked her sight of the pool. And its gaze was also getting severer and more distinct. It kept moving its lips and seemed to be blaming her for no reason.
Irritated, Tie Linglong roared ”step aside,” but even she herself didn't hear the two words.
She whipped out her saber and desperately slashed at the figure. When the blade was about to reach its head, she abruptly woke up.
In front of her, there were neither any pools nor any figures that looked both familiar and unfamiliar. She was still standing in the tent, but she was actually holding a narrow saber and had slashed at the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei peered over the wicked-looking saber before him and looked at Tie Linglong. ”Fortunately, you woke up by yourself.”
Hands trembling, Tie Linglong put the narrow saber back into the sheath. She had broken out in a cold sweat. Lowering her head, she saw that blood was oozing out of her newly wrapped wound. ”It turns out that the Jueyin Finger Energy was a lie.”