From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 66 People from Taiqing Palace

The sword light appeared without any warning.

The arrows didn't come from within the barbarian ranks; they came from inside the wall, from behind our own men.

Lin Yan didn't even have time to turn around; he only caught a sharp sound of wind breaking through the air with his [Viewing the Mountain] skill.

A chilling killing intent surged forth, the sword tip pointing directly at the back of his neck.

He can't avoid it.

Ye Qingxue stood opposite him and saw the sword light.

She didn't shout or draw her sword to block, because there simply wasn't enough time.

She took a step forward, blocking Lin Yan's path.

The sword pierced through his chest.

With a soft sound, the tip of the sword emerged from her back, spraying blood onto Lin Yan's face.

Warm.

Ye Qingxue looked down at the sword tip protruding from her chest, opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word before falling backward.

Lin Yan caught her.

The assassin drew his sword, intending to deliver another blow.

Lin Yan pressed his hand on the wound on her chest, blood kept gushing out from between his fingers, he pressed hard, but he couldn't stop it no matter what he did.

Xiong Kuo had already pounced on him.

This deserter, who had followed Lin Yan all the way, had bloodshot eyes and swung his thick-backed sword without any strategy, just fighting desperately.

The assassin parried with his sword, and Xiong Kuo was knocked back three steps.

But Sun Dayong pounced from the side, grabbed the assassin around the waist, and the two of them fell to the ground together.

The veterans swarmed forward.

The assassin struck three times, killing two veterans, but also took four or five stab wounds himself.

Seeing that things were not going well, the assassin kicked Sun Dayong aside and jumped off the wall.

"Chase!" Xiong Kuo roared, leading a dozen men in pursuit.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

The wall closed and quieted down.

Lin Yan held Ye Qingxue in his arms, his hand pressed against the wound on her chest.

Blood gushed from between his fingers, and he couldn't stop it no matter how hard he pressed.

Ye Qingxue's face was as white as paper, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but only the sound of blood bubbles churning in her throat could be heard.

"Don't speak." Lin Yan's voice was trembling, but he forced himself to calm down.

【Identifying Bones】

The senses spread out, penetrating the skin and flesh, reaching the bones.

He saw the bones inside her body.

Three ribs were broken, and at the break point of one of them, a patch of bone fragments exploded out, with fine bone shards mixed in with the flesh and blood, lodged right in the most vital spot of the meridian.

right here.

Her inner energy surged and crashed against the fracture site, causing her injuries to worsen with each impact, and her blood and qi seeped outwards along the gaps in the bone fragments.

If these bone fragments aren't removed, she won't last more than half an hour.

Lin Yan looked up and glanced around.

Old Meng was still bandaging other wounded soldiers. There were no surgical facilities, no clean cloths, no medicine, nothing at all.

Lin Yan's eyes were bloodshot as he frantically activated [Mountain Observation] to sense every place around him, hoping to find some medicine to heal his wounds.

It's not here... it's not there either...

Until his gaze swept across the grass at the edge of the wall, one blade of grass stood out as particularly unique.

It has seven leaves, which are sky blue in color, with faint silver edges.

Seven-leaf angelica.

When Lin Yan's gaze fell upon it, a line of words suddenly popped into his mind.

[Herbal Collection]

New techniques have emerged.

He saw its name, medicinal properties, harvesting methods, and so on. This knowledge appeared out of thin air in his mind, as clearly as if it had been carved there.

He had seen this thing once in a cave in Black Wind Ridge, but he didn't know what it was called at the time. Later, he heard an old doctor mention it in a pharmacy in Zhenbei City, saying that this herb could heal bones and mend veins, and that it was priceless and unavailable.

There was no time to think about why this kind of herb was here.

I didn't even have time to look at the specific function of [Herbalism] on the skill panel.

Lin Yan plucked a flower and stuffed it into Ye Qingxue's mouth.

She was already unconscious, but as soon as the food entered her mouth, her mouth instinctively began to chew.

He swallowed the herbs mixed with blood.

The wound is still bleeding, but the flow rate has slowed significantly.

At that moment, a bugle call sounded from outside the gate.

It is not a call to retreat.

Lin Yan looked up.

Countless soldiers clad in brand-new armor surged out of Guanzhong, routing the retreating barbarians and leaving them in disarray.

They finally held on until reinforcements arrived.

In the barbarian camp below the pass, the flags began to move north.

The heavy sweat subsided.

Zhenbeiguan Pass has been defended.

Scattered cheers rose from the fortified walls; some laughed, celebrating the retreat of the barbarians.

But Lin Yan couldn't be happy.

He looked down at Ye Qingxue in his arms. Her breathing was a little more steady than before, but she was still unconscious, her face was pale, and her lips were bluish.

Old Meng rushed over to check the wound, examined her eyelids, shook his head, and said, "A bone fragment is stuck in a meridian; there's nothing I can do."

"Old Meng, is there any hope for her?"

"Also, but for injuries of this severity, she needs at least a fifth-rank expert to protect her heart meridian with true qi, otherwise she won't last more than five days." Old Meng paused, "There are no Innate Realm experts in the Northern Territory. The General of the North is only a fourth-rank Qi Transformation Realm expert, but a fourth-rank expert's control over true qi is not enough to heal injuries. Damage to the heart meridian may hasten death."

Lin Yan carried Ye Qingxue down the wall and settled her in a stone house inside the pass.

Three days and nights.

Lin Yan sat at the entrance of the stone house, neither eating, drinking, nor sleeping.

The assassin was not caught.

Sun Dayong knelt at the door and cried, cursing himself for not blocking that sword.

Lin Xiu brought over the porridge and placed it beside him. The porridge cooled down and was reheated, then cooled down again, but he didn't touch it.

On the third day, news of victory arrived from Zhenbei City.

Liu Shijie personally led a group to escort grain and military equipment to the pass.

Seeing Lin Yan's appearance, he remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Captain Ye is a meritorious official of the military government, and the military government will do everything in its power to save her. I will go and ask General Zhenbei for help; the general will surely have a way."

Lin Yan remained silent.

He had heard this phrase far too many times. The military government would do its best, the imperial court would find a way, someone above would take care of it... He had heard these words at Black Wind Ridge, at Iron Coffin Cliff, and in far too many other places.

But every time I listen, the result is the same.

He was waiting for a miracle.

The miracle didn't happen, but someone else did.

On the morning of the fourth day.

Just as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, a gust of wind suddenly rose outside the stone house.

A figure descended from the sky and crashed onto the open ground in front of the stone house, cracking the bluestone slab beneath its feet with more than a dozen fissures.

It wasn't intentional showing off.

The person who came was too light-footed, and the force of their landing was not restrained.

Lin Yan stood up.

The man who arrived was middle-aged, very tall with broad shoulders and a wide back. He wore a plain-colored robe with two sword patterns embroidered on the cuffs.

His face was expressionless, his gaze passing over Lin Yan and fixed on the door of the stone house.

Where is Ye Qingxue?

The voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a drumbeat on your scalp.

Lin Yan stood in front of the door.

He hadn't slept for three days and three nights; his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse.

He looked at the middle-aged man and said, word by word:

"Who are you?"

The middle-aged man then glanced at him.

"Get out of the way."

"No."

The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and slapped him.

There were no moves, no variations, just an ordinary palm strike.

But the moment the palm strike came down, Lin Yan felt as if he had been hit by a mountain.

He drew his sword.

The knife broke.

The aftershock of the palm strike hit his chest, sending him flying. He crashed into the wall of the stone house, cracking it and sending pebbles raining down on Lin Yan.

Lin Yan coughed up blood and tried to stand up, supporting himself on the ground.

The middle-aged man didn't look at him again and walked straight towards the stone house.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side and firmly grasped the middle-aged man's wrist.

"Since when have people from Taiqing Palace started showing up uninvited?"

General Jiang Bufan, the General Who Guards the North.

This was the first time Lin Yan had met this legendary figure.

He was not tall, his face was dark and thin, he wore an old battle robe that had been washed until it was faded, and an iron sword without a sheath hung at his waist.

He looks like an old farmer who has just returned from the fields.

But the hand that was gripping the middle-aged man's wrist remained completely still.

The middle-aged man turned his head, looked at Jiang Bufan, and frowned slightly.

"Jiang Bufan".

Jiang Bufan also looked at the middle-aged man, released his grip, took half a step back, and bowed.

"Which elder is it in Taiqing Palace?"

The middle-aged man snorted coldly and said, "Enforcement Hall, Liu Xuan."

Jiang Bufan nodded: "Elder Liu, what brings you to Zhenbei Pass?"

"That's none of your business," Liu Xuan said. "I'm just here to bring back my disciples from Taiqing Palace."

"Disciples of Taiqing Palace?"

"Ye Qingxue".

Jiang Bufan glanced back at the stone house, then turned back.

"Lieutenant Ye served in the Zhenbei Army for three years, but never mentioned that she was from the Taiqing Palace."

"Of course she won't mention it."

Liu Xuan said, "She ran away secretly because she felt she was not well received in the Taiqing Palace."

Jiang Bufan raised an eyebrow.

"Back then, she secretly ran away from Taiqing Palace and infiltrated the border army under an assumed name. Taiqing Palace can let bygones be bygones for that." Liu Xuan's voice turned cold. "But she must come back with me."

Jiang Bufan remained silent for a moment.

"Elder Liu wants people, and this humble general has no reason to stop him."

He stepped back.