Yi Xin cautiously approached the bed, again. In truth, he cannot be blamed for his momentary lapse. When he heard the Priestess was from Spirit Temple he assumed the woman was a noble beauty. After all, who in Lyra does not know that Spirit Temple only accepts disciples who are not only talented but beautiful as well.

Take for example the elders of Spirit Temple; Wan Yu, Rui Qin and Mei Ling are well-known beauties, hailed as Lyra’s Three Graces. Who would have thought the High Priestess of Spirit Temple, known for its grace, beauty and elegance, would turn out to be a lame woman whose face was half ruined?

Yi Xin sighed heavily in his mind. Although the Priestess’ face was half scarred, one could see from the unmarred side of her face that she used to be a great beauty. Though her unmarred skin is currently ashen it was clear and free of blemishes like a high-quality jade. Her brows were long and dark like a raven’s wings and thick lashes fanned her closed eyes. Her nose was tall and straight coupled with a full set of cherry lips. To ruin such a peerless face was indeed a tragedy. There has to be some story behind it and Yi Xin could not help but wonder who could be so cruel.

Yi Xin was about to let his thoughts run wild once more when he heard Zhang Lao discreetly cough on the side as a warning. Yi Xin judiciously composed himself and immediately recollected his wandering thoughts before reaching out to check the Priestess’ pulse. But before his fingers could graze the snow-white skin, he felt a sharp aura slap the back of his hand. Startled, Yi Xin immediately drew back and looked grievously at Xie Yuan.

Young lord, this little one is a trained physician. Differences between men and women are non-existent when it comes to treating a patient. Why are you so fierce? Yi Xin wanted to cry foul but he didn't dare to. He awkwardly smiled as he took out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and gently spread it on the Priestess’ slender wrist.

The moment he felt the weak and erratic pulse Yi Xin’s expression turned grave and without warning he pushed Xie Yuan aside. He took out his silver needles and immediately performed acupuncture. Yi Xin did not know how Xie Yuan would react to his sudden movements and mentally cursed himself for being a blundering idiot. But he had no other choice, he needed to act fast. Afraid that Xie Yuan would go berserk and attack him, Yi Xin explained the situation as he accurately inserted the needles.

“The lady is suffering from severe internal damage. It’s a miracle that she managed to survive until now. I’m performing acupuncture to protect her heart and other organs as well as to stop the internal bleeding. This is only the initial treatment in order to stabilize her condition. Her situation is grave and the injuries are far too many. We can only treat one at a time, starting with the most critical and working our way from there.” As soon as he finished inserting the needles Yi Xin took out a piece of paper, ink, brush and started writing. He handed the list to Zhang Lao when he finished writing and said, “Gather these medicinal herbs as swiftly as you can. If you cannot collect everything, at least acquire the first half of the list. Those are the ones that need to be ingested and are more important than the others. The rest can wait as it will be used for the medicinal bath that the young lady will need to soak in later.”

Zhang Lao received the list and handed it to He Heng who immediately went out with Li Song to collect the herbs.

“Young lord, forgive me but this young lady is gravely injured. I can help with her physical and internal injuries. With proper sustenance and treatment, I guarantee she’d be able to recover with very little possibility of lingering ailments in the future but it will need some time and effort. The real problem is her damaged dantian,” Yi Xin reported, his words clear and concise. “I am incompetent and cannot diagnose the extent of the damage so we would have to wait for my Master to know for sure. But I promise that her life would not be in danger once we pass this initial hurdle.”

Xie Yuan did not speak or look at him. He hummed in response to indicate that he heard what Yi Xin said but other than that he had no reaction. Xie Yuan sat by the bed again and gently reached out to hold the Priestess’ hand then continued to slowly infuse her with spiritual energy.

Yi Xin frowned and lightly shook his head. He’d seen a lot of patients, some he managed to cure and some he could not save. Often, those that he cannot cure are people whose cultivation base have been damaged or severed. A cultivator’s physique is sturdier than a regular person’s. There are various ways that could be employed on a cultivator but cannot be attempted on a common person.

From his examination, Yi Xin can only assume that the Priestess’ meridians have once been severed and were crudely mended to allow her to cultivate. It hasn’t been long since her meridians were repaired and there hasn’t been any supplement or added treatment to aid the mending process. This oversight caused a deficiency and made her restored meridians quite fragile. Due to the strain, part of her meridians are again starting to show signs of fracture. It is fortunate that she practices a special technique which cultivates both internal and spiritual energy. This happy coincidence most probably saved the Priestess’ life and prevented her from being permanently crippled.

The Priestess could be regarded as a rare talent who seems to have a profound understanding of ‘Dao’. To be able to attain her current cultivation level at such a young age is nothing short of genius. If nothing untoward happened to her one could only imagine how strong she could have been.

Unfortunately, the heavens were unforgiving. It’s a shame that she managed to rise above her previous circumstance only to fall once more. If Yi Xin’s Master doesn’t have a way to help the Priestess, even if she is healed from her physical and internal injuries, she can only live a normal life afterwards. This outcome would be a terrible waste for someone with her kind talent.

If the Priestess’ core is not fixed and if she cannot continue to cultivate, she will gradually age and will eventually die within a few years. This would be a great tragedy.

Yi Xin sighed heavily. He subtly examined the burn marks on the priestess’ face as he removed and reinserted the silver needles. The scars do not seem to be common burn scars but he cannot know for sure with just one look. Yi Xin needs to closely inspect the scars to see what could be done. There seems to be a blockage in the veins of her leg, the bone was not set correctly and the tears on the muscles and tendons did not heal properly.

The more Yi Xin looked, the more distressed he became. The more he thinks of the pain the Priestess went through and the trials she overcame the more he wants to help and cure her. This sort of situation is an experience, a first for him. It’s uncanny but was not wholly unpleasant. And for some unfathomable reason, Yi Xin feels a certain affinity with the person. If he could help fix the Priestess’ face and lame leg, aside from treating her physical and internal injuries, he would feel much better after all this is done.

After Yi Xin removed the silver needles for the second time, he carefully put them away and faced Xie Yuan who’s sitting by the side, quietly observing.

“Young lord,” Yi Xin said slowly. “You should stop infusing the Priestess with your spiritual energy. Right now, aside from alleviating some of her pain it does not do much.” What Xie Yuan is doing is synonymous to trying to fill a vat with a hole at the bottom. No matter how much water one pours or how long one tries, the vat cannot and will not be filled. It was useless and a waste of effort.

Xie Yuan shook his head in response. He affectionately tucked a loose lock of hair behind Xiao Xue’s ear. “It’s all right,” he answered, lightly tracing the line of her jaw. “As long as it keeps the pain away, it’s fine even if it’s just a little.”

Zhang Lao, He Ling and Yan Hao almost choked and vomited blood upon hearing those words and witnessing Xie Yuan’s affectionate and gentle actions. All three wanted to grab Xie Yuan and roughly shake him. Are you really our young lord? Speak! Who are you and where have you taken our young lord? Return him this instant!

This sort of behavior is not something their young lord was capable of and would display in front of people. Those tender words are definitely not something their young lord would say. There must be some conspiracy behind it!

The three collectively looked over at the unmoving form of the Priestess and tried to discern what’s so special about her. Right now, aside from a broken body they cannot see anything. Even Zhang Lao with his Divine Pineal Sight cannot perceive anything special with her physique. But the young lord does not seem to be pretending. What the hell is going on?! The three collectively screamed in their heads.

The glint on Zhang Lao’s eyes sharpened as he continued to stare at Xie Yuan and the Priestess. If the young lord is serious, the lady’s significance would have to be reevaluated. This is big news for the clan and it has to be reported to Master without delay.

Young lord has never shown any form of interest towards another person, much less a woman. Since he was young Xie Yuan’s view of people has been a bit skewed and distorted. Xie Yuan recently passed his twentieth spring and most men of his standing, at this age, would have a lover or two, perhaps even a wife and a child. But their young lord was never interested in those types of pursuits and was only interested in cultivation. Xie Yuan never paid particular attention to others, until this lady.

If the Mistress gets wind of this startling news she’d be nagging to take the young lady to the palace right away and with Xie Yuan’s temper, he will oppose his mother and will purposely keep the priestess away. If the Mistress is upset then Master would be as well. The worst is if the young misses…

Zhang Lao rubbed his temples in small, even circles. He was starting to feel a huge headache coming. It appears, in the near future, the continent of Lyra will suffer an upheaval if Xie Yuan continues to stay here. Zhang Lao would have to think of a way to convince the young lord to leave this realm sooner than planned and gradually make their way home without alerting him. He secretly peeked at the lady again and silently prayed to the ancestors for guidance. Zhang Lao seriously hoped that the Priestess would be able to handle what’s coming her way.