"I’ve never used a healing medicine this painful, but the effects are exceptionally good." Lin Mo felt as if he’d almost died from the pain, and he was still shaken.
He could feel new flesh growing bit by bit on his shoulder blade, rapidly filling in the missing tissue. The recovery speed was even faster than using a Recovery Potion when his body was at its peak.
"Are you sure what you used on me was only a Mid-level Compound Potion? The effect is better than even a Star-grade Medicine." Having recovered, Lin Mo was a little excited and became unusually talkative.
Chen Nan was startled when he saw the bruises on Lin Mo’s body. At first glance, he thought Ning Xuan had beaten him. It was only after seeing Ning Xuan applying medicine and hearing their conversation that he understood Lin Mo had been injured previously.
"Contractor, why not let Lin Mo rest in the cave tomorrow? I can go with you to find herbs," Chen Nan suggested.
"I’m already healed. I can go out with you tomorrow," Lin Mo interjected. After Ning Xuan had applied the medicine, the wound was still a little sore, but as the feeling of pain returned, so did his physical senses and Spiritual Sense. He could mobilize his energy faster, and even his Bloodline Talent felt much stronger than before.
"Contractor, if you hadn’t examined my wounds, I never would have realized I was poisoned by the miasma. I didn’t notice a thing. I have no idea where it happened," Lin Mo said with a sigh, looking at his injuries.
"Contractor, weren’t you and Lin Mo together? Are you all right? Do you feel unwell?" Chen Nan asked Ning Xuan with concern.
"I’m fine. My energy is circulating normally, and I’m not injured. Maybe because I only have B-grade strength, I didn’t feel any suppression." ’The miasma poison must have seeped into Lin Mo’s body through his wounds,’ Ning Xuan secretly guessed, ’and it probably happened before the Energy Field destabilized.’
"Tomorrow, we need to find more Star Grass, Snake Scale Wood, and Earth Dragon Saliva. These ingredients can be used to craft the Dragon Saliva Clearing Miasma Potion. We should stock up, just in case," Ning Xuan told the two men. The miasma in this Secret Realm seemed to numb a person’s senses, making it hard to detect. Since the Dragon Saliva Clearing Miasma Potion was effective against it, they naturally needed to prepare plenty.
"Okay, then we’ll head out together tomorrow and split up," Lin Mo suggested to Ning Xuan. By going out together, the three of them could search the same general area separately. It would be more efficient, and they could still watch out for one another—the best of both worlds.
"All right. Let’s get some rest. We’ll move out together tomorrow," Ning Xuan said to them.
"You should rest early as well." Seeing that Ning Xuan hadn’t summoned them to attend to her, the two men quickly stood and spoke.
Ning Xuan nodded, but she still crafted a few more bottles of medicine from the herbs she had gathered before finally resting.
「The next day,」 the morning mist had yet to scatter when Ning Xuan’s group set out. They hadn’t gone far when Leng Yue popped out of nowhere. With a cheeky grin, he stuck close to Ning Xuan’s side, insisting on acting as her bodyguard to repay her for saving his life.
Ning Xuan exchanged looks with Lin Mo and Chen Nan. They tried to lose Leng Yue several times but failed. With no other choice, Ning Xuan resigned herself to letting him tag along.
On the way deeper into the Secret Realm, Ning Xuan found several high-quality herbs, so her harvest was decent. Around noon, they encountered a large, ox-like Exotic Beast. The four of them worked together to kill it. Since it was lunchtime, Ning Xuan decided they might as well stop to eat.
Ning Xuan had brought many of her homemade spices and seasonings into the Secret Realm, all of which she had discovered herself. Most of them were dry rubs for grilling meat.
Ning Xuan set up a simple grill and started the charcoal fire while Chen Nan and Lin Mo skinned and butchered the Exotic Beast. Leng Yue ran back and forth, helping out where he could. Once the fire was ready, Ning Xuan chose the most tender cut of meat from the beast, tossed it to Leng Yue, and told him to cut it into cubes and put them on bamboo skewers.
The fire crackled, spitting sparks. When the charcoal Ning Xuan had prepared had burned from black to a faint red, Leng Yue drew a sharp dagger from his waist. He held the cut of meat in one hand and, with a few swift motions of the blade—SWISH SWISH SWISH in one direction, SWISH SWISH SWISH in another—he diced it. He then dropped it into a large bowl. The piece of meat, originally the length of a forearm, had been cut into countless small, uniform cubes, each one almost identical in shape and size.
"Your knife work is impressive," Ning Xuan couldn’t help but comment, glancing at the neatly arranged cubes of meat.
Leng Yue swelled with pride at the compliment, skewering the meat onto the bamboo sticks with even more vigor.
With everyone working together, the skewers were soon placed on the grill. The charcoal fire was perfect. Under the high heat, the meat quickly began to SIZZLE, and the dripping fat caused flames to occasionally flare up. The tender meat soon roasted to a golden-brown color. Ning Xuan sprinkled her prepared spices over the skewers, releasing an irresistible aroma.
Leng Yue, drawn in by the unique aroma he had never encountered before, couldn’t help but eat his fill. Afterward, he patted his stomach contentedly and mused to himself, ’The Marshal said Miss Ning came from a Low-class Star. But judging by her refined and meticulous ways, she doesn’t seem like a commoner from a Low-class Star at all. She’s more like a pampered young lady from a great family.’
After lunch, Ning Xuan and the others resumed their exploration of the Secret Realm. The Ghost-faced Red Vine was dormant, so without its help, Ning Xuan’s search for herbs was much less efficient than the past two days. That afternoon, she discovered a field of Purple Marrow Star Pattern Grass in a valley, which looked like a purple cloud from a distance.
Overjoyed, Ning Xuan ran toward the field of herbs. Before she could get close, however, her newly enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of a fierce battle, interspersed with desperate cries and shouts.
"My wound isn’t serious! I can walk on my own! Don’t leave me behind!" someone yelled in terror.
"She Jin, you cover our retreat! Everyone else, fall back!" someone commanded in a panic.
The sound of chaotic footsteps grew closer. It was obvious they were retreating in their direction.
Ning Xuan ducked behind a cluster of trees, and the other three, seeing her movement, quickly hid as well.
"There are so many Flying Elephant Ants... She Jin is holding them off alone. Do you think he’ll make it out?" someone whispered amidst the retreating crowd.
"The captain’s treating him like a sacrificial pawn," someone else sighed. "He’s already hurt that badly. Didn’t you see? The wound on his shoulder was down to the bone. There’s no way he’ll survive."