Seeing who had arrived at the door, there was no surprise. It was still the monk and his disciples.
Whether lying down or prone, they all displayed warm smiles in various strained postures. It was not merely because they were living under someone else’s roof. By now, how could they not know that it was the Dark Temple that had fished them out? Of course, they were even more aware that the Dark Temple was now treating them.
Even a dog wags its tail when someone throws it a bone, let alone a human.
Especially Nanzhu, who lay there with an especially fawning smile.
To him, this was the legendary Dark Temple that no one dared trespass upon and few could enter. He had never imagined, when waking from unconsciousness, that he would find himself in the Dark Temple. Back in that broken mountain hollow at the Daoist temple, how could he have ever thought he would have a day when he knew the Dark Monk? And not only had he received the Dark Monk’s personal treatment, he had even chatted with him.
Anyway, after waking up, he felt that the injuries he had suffered this time were rather an honour.
The suffering he had endured previously in the Coastal Defence Bureau prison suddenly seemed somewhat worthwhile upon seeing the Dark Monk.
The three master and disciple who entered the door wore expressions of surprise, their gazes rapidly assessing the wounded at the scene.
Baiyun tried asking, “Were you two just arguing?”
“Uh…” Yu Qing was somewhat embarrassed.
Nanzhu was also rather embarrassed, and said modestly, “Forgive us for the unseemly display, Master.”
Changkong and Baiyun exchanged glances. It was not that they found it unseemly, but that they were astonished by the vigour of both parties in the argument. Injured so severely, neither of these two was someone who should be able to get off the bed for more than a month. Only one day had passed, yet they were already able to argue until their faces were red and their necks thick with passion. That was what one would call abundant spirit and energy.
The three master and disciple all suspected they had heard and seen wrongly. If they had not personally diagnosed them, it would be unimaginable that these two had previously suffered such severe injuries.
Seeing the empty plank on the floor, Baiyun suddenly said, “Where is the other one?”
Yu Qing, “Gone upstairs to look at the sea, perhaps?”
Look at the sea? Changkong and Baiyun exchanged glances again. He could already run around upstairs and downstairs?
Nanzhu was already shouting at the top of his lungs, “Old Nine, Old Nine, come down quickly. The Master has come to examine us.”
There was no need for him to shout. The repeated calls of “Master” from downstairs had already alerted Mu Aotie above to come down. It was just that he walked rather slowly, his movements careful and cautious, clearly not daring to aggravate his wounds again.
He was also nearly barefoot, but both his forefeet were wrapped tightly in white cloth. He walked almost entirely on his heels.
By now, the three martial brothers could not easily judge who was more severely or lightly injured. From the perspective of post-injury condition, Mu Aotie was the crippled sort, while Yu Qing, even if his cultivation was ruined, was at least still a normal person.
Nanzhu was the one whose surface injuries looked the most miserable, the sort that was horrific to behold.
Changkong gestured for Mu Aotie to lie down, then unwrapped the bindings on both his feet to perform an inspection before changing the medicine.
Baiyun likewise lifted the covering on Nanzhu’s back, also performing an inspection before changing the medicine. But the shocking scars were enough to make one want to vomit, like a thick layer of filthy, dried mud.
The Dark Monk knelt on one knee before Yu Qing, one hand resting on his knee fiddling with dark prayer beads, the other falling upon Yu Qing’s body to inspect his injuries. Yu Qing’s injuries were also the most difficult to handle, requiring his personal attention, unlike the other two who merely needed their medicine changed.
Yu Qing also took the opportunity to voice his request, “Master, do you see, could you remove the restrictions on my body so I can circulate my energy? That way I can recover faster, can I not? Lying like this, unable to move at all, is truly too uncomfortable.”
The Dark Monk glanced at him and replied indifferently, “Not moving aids your recovery.”
He knew this one had been delivered while unconscious and still did not know the extent of his injuries. Otherwise, he probably would not be able to smile.
There was a reason for not removing the restrictions on the injured and not allowing them to move recklessly. The injured’s energy circulation meridians had been shattered into pieces, and great effort had been expended to gather and piece them back together. Some meridians had even been shattered beyond recovery.
That is to say, there were already many places in Yu Qing’s body where energy circulation meridians were missing. Whether this could be repaired through medicinal principles, even the Dark Monk had no confidence. If he could not recover, his cultivation would naturally be ruined, and his foundation for cultivation would be destroyed.
At this moment, the energy circulation meridians had just been pieced together. It was impossible to remove the restrictions on Yu Qing’s body. Once energy was guided from the dantian into the meridians, it would immediately collapse the newly pieced-together meridians again.
Not allowing movement was indeed to fix the meridians in place to facilitate recovery.
Hearing him say that, Yu Qing could only smile dryly, “Then I shall heed the Master’s advice.”
The restrictions on Nanzhu’s body had also not been removed. His external injuries were too severe, and it was likewise inadvisable to move recklessly, lest the wounds tear open. He needed to lie prone and recuperate properly.
Mu Aotie, lying on the plank, quietly glanced at Yu Qing. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes. He knew what the Dark Monk’s含蓄 words meant.
Of the three martial brothers, only the restrictions on his body had been removed. If he circulated his energy, it would aid the healing.
And when he had woken up, he had also immediately checked the injuries of Nanzhu and Yu Qing. He could not help but be concerned, so checking was inevitable.
He discovered that Old Seven’s external injuries were one thing, merely more suffering, but he would eventually recover. The real problem was Old Fifteen. His internal organs were all damaged, and his energy circulation meridians were shattered into pieces. That is to say, his cultivation was ruined!
The cultivation of the dignified Linglong Temple Sect Leader was ruined. He did not know how to face their little martial uncle after returning.
He also did not know whether Old Fifteen could accept this result after learning the truth.
He did not know what methods of torture the Coastal Defence Bureau had used to reduce Old Fifteen to such a state.
Faced with Old Fifteen’s injuries, his own loss of seven toes instead felt like nothing. His temperament was rather stoic.
Precisely because of this, he had not uttered a sound. Even when hearing Old Seven and Old Fifteen arguing, he remained silent, quietly withdrawing to the side, afraid that Old Fifteen would ask about his own injuries again. He dared not face the answer, afraid that Old Fifteen would see something amiss and be stimulated.
When Old Seven and Old Fifteen were accusing each other and competing over who had it worse, he had actually wanted to persuade Old Seven, to tell Old Seven the truth, to let Old Seven give way to Old Fifteen, because Old Fifteen was indeed more miserable.
The Dark Monk, his eyes slightly lowered, suddenly paused the prayer beads he had been slowly turning. The beads hung from his hand, swaying slightly, while the other hand that had been on Yu Qing’s body casting a spell to inspect his injuries suddenly sprang away, as if shocked by electricity.
His abruptly wide-open eyes were filled with astonishment and uncertainty as he stared at Yu Qing.
This reaction made Yu Qing’s heart feel somewhat hairy. How could someone of this stature have such a strong reaction? He could not help but try asking, “Master, are my injuries very severe? From what I feel myself, I seem quite alright. It is just that lying down for so long feels uncomfortable. This should not be a problem, right?”
Hearing these words, Mu Aotie, lying on the plank, turned his head to look at him. A sorrowful expression once again surfaced in his eyes.
Just then, Baiyun, who was inspecting and changing Nanzhu’s medicine, suddenly let out an “Eh?” and urgently said, “Master, come quickly and look?”
Nanzhu’s head could move. He lay there shaking his head left and right, but unfortunately could not see what was happening on his own back. He could only be anxious, not knowing what was wrong with his injuries to cause such a fuss.
Hearing the sound, the Dark Monk turned his head to look. Nanzhu was right beside him. One turn of the head and he could see the situation.
He saw Baiyun on one side lifting a corner of the disgusting scar on Nanzhu’s back, revealing new, tender skin beneath the scar.
When Baiyun had just been cleaning the wound, he had seen some charred flesh about to fall off. He had wanted to clean it off while he was at it. Who knew that with a light tug, a large piece came up, and then he saw the new, tender skin behind the scar. He simply could not believe it and quickly called his master to come see.
Changkong, who had glanced this way, had not yet finished completely unwrapping the bindings on Mu Aotie’s feet, but could not help getting up to go see what was going on.
The Dark Monk had already reached out to take over the scar his disciple had lifted. Still astonished, he continued slowly pulling up the disgusting scar, continuing to peel it back slowly.
Until the entire piece of scar was completely peeled off, the Dark Monk also stood up holding the thing, his gaze fixed intently on Nanzhu’s back.
A large, continuous patch of tender pink appeared on Nanzhu’s back. The skin beneath the peeled scar was pink and tender, truly the sort that would break with a puff of air. It was distinctly different from the other undamaged skin on his body, unnatural, as if it had caved in.
Baiyun and Changkong continued cleaning the remaining scars on Nanzhu’s buttocks and thighs, discovering that beneath the scars it was all the same. Having suffered such severe injuries, new tender skin had grown in just one day.
Although Yu Qing’s body could not move, his eyes could still see. This scene made him blink repeatedly, vaguely realising something.
Mu Aotie, who could not help but sit up, naturally also saw this. The scene of the three martial brothers cutting open the spinous process area at the back of their own necks flashed through his mind.
Only Nanzhu could not see what was happening behind his back. In short, he was very worried, and asked in a timid tone, “What is it, Master? Is it alright?”
The Dark Monk, holding the large piece of disgusting scar in his hand, slowly turned his head again to look at Yu Qing. He had already discovered this powerful recovery ability on Yu Qing’s body a step earlier, just now. He had been so startled that he withdrew his hand from Yu Qing’s body, thinking it was an illusion.
During his inspection, he had discovered that Yu Qing’s internal organs had already healed, and his bodily functions were operating normally. Also, those shattered energy circulation meridians had already returned to perfect condition, as if they had never suffered any damage, without any flaw to be seen.
Seeing Nanzhu’s recovery, he understood that his discovery on Yu Qing’s body just now was not an illusion, but had indeed recovered.
He suddenly looked at the sitting Mu Aotie again. “Unwrap the bindings on his feet.”
Changkong and Baiyun immediately stepped over quickly, squatted down, and each grabbed one of Mu Aotie’s feet. Their hands moved swiftly, releasing the wrapped feet, revealing the conspicuously incomplete soles, which only had three toes.
However, the scabs at the nine severed toe sites also fell off one after another as the bindings were undone. The miserable state of the nine wounds was gone, and new tender pink skin had grown over them.
Discarding the large scab he was holding, the slowly approaching Dark Monk stopped and gazed for a while, also slightly relieved. He had almost thought even severed limbs could regenerate. He said slowly, “It seems you no longer need your medicine changed.”
Changkong and Baiyun then had the same reaction in succession. They both ran over to Yu Qing’s side and squatted down, each reaching out to inspect Yu Qing’s internal injuries.
Before long, the two stood up one after another, exchanging wordless glances.
The gazes of the three master and disciple began to sweep back and forth across the three martial brothers’ bodies. Now they finally understood why, despite being injured so severely, they could still argue with such abundant spirit and energy, their faces red and necks thick. It turned out they had already recovered almost completely.
Yu Qing suddenly let out a compliment, “The Master’s medical skill is truly brilliant!”
Nanzhu, whose gaze had been drawn back from the large scabs on the floor, also seemed to understand something. Awakened by the sound, he immediately nodded repeatedly along with Mu Aotie, expressing agreement.