Ye Luan didn't press further, seeing he genuinely looked much better. Her heart relaxed; that Hundan Pill was indeed potent.
"Mm, then you all carry on. I'll be going now."
Xie Beihan smiled. "Go where? Sit and chat for a while."
As he spoke, Lu Feibai's gaze shifted towards them.
Xie Beihan rubbed his nose, saying nothing more, but his eyes were filled with a wicked smile.
Ye Luan ignored him and, as she was leaving, remembered Lu Feibai's condition. She spoke,
"Jingzhi, take care on your journey. If you find a permanent cure for Frost Disease, I will send word to Wuhui Sect."
Lu Feibai smiled. "Alright."
After Ye Luan left the small courtyard, she looked at the young boy sweeping the yard and felt a slight sense of relief.
It seemed the Hundan Pill had taken effect.
However, she needed to find a permanent cure as soon as possible, otherwise, he would still die.
When she returned to her own courtyard, she saw Xiao Chizhan, clad in a white robe, standing by the corridor, his eyebrows lowered, lost in thought.
"Your Highness, do you need something from me?"
Upon hearing her voice, Xiao Chizhan's cold expression immediately softened into one of innocent gentleness. He walked down and took her hand. "Your hands are so cold."
Ye Luan was too tired to comment on his actions. She casually withdrew her hand and walked inside.
"It's cold outside."
Xiao Chizhan followed her into the room and saw her packing her luggage. He asked, "Leaving?"
"Mm, I need to return to Daliang first."
She would have to travel extensively to find a permanent cure for Frost Disease, and she could only hope Lu Feibai could hold on for a while longer.
Xiao Chizhan walked up from behind and said, "Come with me to Yuehan Pass. I'll introduce you to a miraculous physician with divine hands."
A miraculous physician with divine hands?!
Ye Luan turned back. "What miraculous physician with divine hands?"
"You want to save his life, don't you? I happen to know of a divine physician who can bring the dead back to life. Perhaps they can cure his illness."
"Really?"
Xiao Chizhan lowered his gaze, looking at her eyes, as bright as black pearls, and his thin lips curved slightly. "Of course."
Ye Luan said, "Then thank you, Your Highness."
Daliang had been attacking Bei Qi's Yuehan Pass for several months, occupying several cities. The border was a scene of devastation.
A few of them left Wuhui Sect and rode their horses towards the Bei Qi border.
Now, with the snow falling, the ground was difficult to traverse. As dusk approached, they found an inn to lodge in.
The inns outside the pass were crowded and noisy. As soon as they entered, a cacophony erupted.
There were martial artists with swords drinking tea, along with merchant caravans from beyond the frontier. Even more prevalent were burly men from the frontier, drinking heavily and shouting so loudly they could shake the roof.
Several ill-intentioned gazes swept towards Ye Luan. The sand and wind in the frontier were harsh, and it was rare to see such fair and delicate young women.
Ye Luan noticed this and furrowed her brow almost imperceptibly.
"Three superior rooms."
The proprietress was a woman dressed in a flamboyant manner. Seeing Li Qiongyu at the counter, she said, "There's only one superior room left."
"What?"
"It's snowing heavily, and the nearby inns are all full. If you don't book it, we'll have to give it to someone else."
Li Qiongyu raised an eyebrow. "There are three of us. How can we stay in one room?"
"There's also a dormitory. Do you want it?"
Xiao Chizhan grabbed Ye Luan's hand and gestured towards Li Qiongyu with his chin. "You go sleep in the dormitory. You and I will share a room."
"Xiao Chizhan, have you no humanity? Making me sleep in the dormitory."
Did he want to suffocate him?
"Otherwise, you can sleep outside, with the sky as your blanket and the ground as your bed."
After saying this, Xiao Chizhan paid the money and pulled Ye Luan away. Li Qiongyu was so enraged that his teeth clenched, making a grinding sound.
Ye Luan couldn't be so delicate. Xiao Chizhan would never sleep in the dormitory, nor would he let her. It was freezing cold outside, and if they couldn't find lodging, they would have to make do.
After entering the room and putting down their luggage, Ye Luan said, "I'll go down to pack some food. What do you want to eat?"
The tables downstairs were all occupied by people, a room full of burly men, smelly and stuffy. She really didn't want to eat downstairs.
Xiao Chizhan opened the window to ventilate. "Whatever you want."
"Mm."
Ye Luan went downstairs. She scanned the area but couldn't see Li Qiongyu. She walked to the counter and tapped the table.
"Proprietress, what food do you have?"
"Here, look for yourself."
Ye Luan looked at the wooden board hanging on the wall. She felt her mouth water. After traveling all day, she was so hungry.
"I'll have a bowl of soup noodles, a milk bun, creamy tofu, roasted lamb, and barley porridge. How much is it?"
"Alright, three taels and forty wen."
Ye Luan paid the money and planned to wait downstairs.
Just as she was about to step out to admire the scenery, she was blocked by several fierce-looking men carrying curved sabers.
"Where did this girl come from? Come have a few drinks with us."
"She looks like a young lady from the Central Plains, so fair and tender. Hahaha, how about spending the night with this grandpa--"
A tall, thin man reached out as if to touch her.
Ye Luan dodged with a cold expression. "Scram."
"Oh? Quite temperamental, aren't we?"
"What's wrong with letting this grandpa touch you a bit?"
The moment the lecherous hand lunged, Ye Luan kicked him directly, and the knife in her hand mercilessly pierced his arm.
This commotion quickly attracted everyone's attention.
The proprietress slapped her thigh, annoyed. "What are you doing? Dare to cause trouble in my inn."
Those burly men were clearly used to being unruly. Seeing a young girl dare to fight them, they were enraged and all drew their sabers, charging at Ye Luan.
"Seeking death!"
The people of the frontier were accustomed to such excitement. Fights like these happened two or three times a day.
"You scoundrels, daring to bully a young girl in my inn! Ah Da, Ah Er, drag these scoundrels away."
But before the inn's thugs could even step forward, several hidden guards suddenly appeared from nowhere. Their attacks were vicious, and within a few moves, they had subdued all the burly men.
"What ignorant fools dare to attack your grandfather's territory? Are you tired of living?"
"Hurry up and release us, or we'll make sure you can't leave this frontier."
Ye Luan retreated a few steps in disgust. Damn it, their spit was almost flying.
"Oh? Where did you come from?"
Suddenly, a cold voice echoed from the corridor on the second floor.
Everyone looked up. They saw a man in a white robe looking down at the commotion below. His devilishly beautiful red eyes flickered with terrifying killing intent.
He was juggling two throwing knives in his hand, his gaze as if he were looking at the dead.
Those ignorant burly men were still clamoring.
"If you dare to touch a single hair on this grandpa's head, you'll regret it."
Before he could finish speaking, the blade suddenly slashed across, and a cry of agony rang out. A large amount of blood gushed from his mouth, staining the ground.
"So noisy."
Everyone watched the spectacle with great interest, eating with gusto.
Those burly men were intimidated.
A man wearing a headscarf shouted angrily, "Do you know who we are? Do you want to die in this frontier?"