The Healer Demands Payment!

“Meng Qiqi, is this your natal magic weapon?” Su Junmo stared at the black cauldron for a moment, but failed to identify its nature.

“Yeah.” Meng Qi nodded.

“It looks pretty spiritual,” Li Che said. With a wave of his hand, he also summoned out his natal magic weapon and had it float beside him.

Li Che’s natal weapon was an exquisite-looking bronze cauldron decorated with intricate details. Even untrained eyes could see that its quality was not low.

After Li Che’s natal weapon appeared, it quietly floated beside him. Although the cauldron was obedient to its master’s command, its behavior was nothing like Meng Qi’s five spirits cauldron, let alone knowing to act like a spoiled child.

When Meng Qi saw Li Che’s cauldron, her heart was stirred a bit. She remembered that Ji Wujiong’s eight trigram compass and saber were also quite spiritual, as if having a personality on their own.

Meng Qi quickly stopped thinking about the absent Ji Wujiong and put her attention back on the elegant-looking and handsome young medical cultivator in the blue robe.

Li Che.

She didn’t expect to see him here.

“Fellow Daoist Meng.” Li Che noticed Meng Qi’s gaze and gave her a polite greeting, “Since the day you saved my life…” Li Che’s opening remark aroused Chu Tianfeng and Qin Xiumo’s alertness. They quickly exchanged a glance before walking to Meng Qi’s side in a hurry. “…I always regretted having no chance to repay your life-saving grace. This time, when I learned that Fellow Daoist Su is looking for personnel to enter the Starfallen Sea to find you, I immediately went forward to recommend myself.”

The young man’s voice was gentle and clear, and his tone was full of sincerity. Still, Meng Qi felt embarrassed receiving such heavy gratitude from him — how could solving Ji Wujiong’s small trick be compared to taking a danger as big as entering the Starfallen Sea?

“It’s me who has to thank Fellow Daoist Li,” Meng Qi cupped her hands at Li Che.

Li Che returned the salute back. His gaze fell on Meng Qi’s small cauldron again. As if hesitating to speak, Li Che’s eyes flickered on Meng Qi’s face, but he quickly turned it away in a manner befitting a gentleman.

Then the young man waved his hand and put away his cauldron.

Meng Qi followed Li Che’s action and retrieved the five spirit cauldron. Beneath her calm demeanor, she was extremely ecstatic inside. Not only had she finished refining her natal magic weapon, but today’s battle had proven that the cauldron was more amazing than her initial expectation.

Sure enough, Yun Qingyan always gave her the best.

Thinking of Yun Qingyan, Meng Qi subconsciously looked up at the sky. The sky-viewing mirror only provided a one-way journey, but she swore to return to that island.

“It’s over~” Sikong Xing let out a long sigh of relief and quickly jumped to Meng Qi’s side. “Meng Qiqi!” Taking advantage of their difference in height, the red fox girl put her hands on Meng Qi’s shoulder and examined her from top to bottom. Her eyes soon turned red, “You are okay! Woooohoooo… I’m really glad!”

Sikong Xing opened her arms and hugged Meng Qi tightly: “You asked us to wait for you, but you never came back. We were worried to death, you know! Meng Qiqi…” The girl tilted her head and leaned her chin on Meng Qi’s shoulder, “It’s so dangerous here in Starfallen Sea, but you were all alone. Were you afraid?”

“I’m fine.” Meng Qi patted Sikong Xing’s back as warmth filled her heart. These friends who came here for her were genuinely worried about her and cared much about her safety.

“Still…” Sikong Xing let go of Meng Qi and straightened her back. Her eyes were still red, but her tone was full of joy after their reunion, “Starfallen Sea is really an excellent place to train yourself. No wonder my Master wants to bring me here to gain experience once I get to the fifth rank. The mutant beasts in the Starfallen Sea are extremely fierce, but the spiritual aura is equally abundant. Especially for us — one hour cultivating here is equivalent to three hours in the Demon Realm.”

“You’re right.” Meng Qi nodded. The entire Starfallen Sea was practically filled to the brim with starlights, day or night. It was indeed a very good place for the demon race, who depended on starlight to cultivate.

“However, this place is too dangerous!” Sikong Xing continued her mumbling, “These snow fang bees were too cunning. They actually mimicked a human voice to trick us into their lair. That’s how Su Junmo was stung!”

Hearing this, Meng Qi turned to Su Junmo. The white-robed young man was still leaning weakly on Li Che, his face paler than before. Light white frost had begun to form on his temples.

“I’m okay.” Su Junmo waved his hand dismissively, “I can still hold on for a few days.”

After a pause, he said again, “Brother Xue has given me a pill to withstand the cold poison, enough to sustain me for a while. But the Starfallen Sea is too dangerous…” Throughout his words, Su Junmo’s teeth chattered several times.

“Since we have found Fellow Daoist Meng.” Xue Chengxuan took over, “It’s better for us to leave as soon as possible.”

Finished with his words, Xue Chengxuan looked at Meng Qi quietly. Their last interaction was in the Apricot Forest that day, when he hurriedly stuffed his blood moon into Meng Qi’s hand. Since then, the two had never spoken again.

Xue Chengxuan had tried to find Meng Qi after knowing that his younger sister was leaving the Xue Clan. He wasn’t unaware of Xue Jinwen’s treatment in the family and also knew why she chose to stay in Beyond The Heaven. Still, he never expected that this third younger sister of his would leave the clan and family so resolutely.

But Xue Chengxuan actually understood Xue Jinwen’s feelings. In the Apricot Forest that day, he also stood with many fellow medical cultivators and saw the choices Meng Qi made with his own eyes.

He also witnessed it when so many of his peers were moved by her.

Xue Chengxuan had a wide range of friends, and he recognized many familiar faces among the excited crowd that day. Those guys racked their brains to come up with ideas to help Meng Qi, and among them, there were even some elders with high enough standing to be present on the twelve peaks.

Later, when Lin Yan appeared, Xue Chengxuan actually wasn’t that much surprised, even feeling it was a matter of course. He stood in the crowd, watching the reflection in the sky with many others. All of them were looking at Lin Yan, the legendary profound-realm healer, and also… at Meng Qi.

The twelve great medical sects had worked hard for thousands of years, only to see the treasure they sought fall into someone else’s hand.

Did he feel regret? There must be.

Upset? There was also that.

But more than anything, Xue Chengxuan was aware of the small sense of relief that came from the bottom of his heart — despite his best effort to suppress it.