Chapter 36: Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan
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Chen Ming carried Dugu Yan in his arms and ran swiftly toward the infirmary. Taking Dugu Yan’s condition into consideration, he chose the least crowded routes wherever possible without wasting time. However, a route with fewer people did not necessarily mean there was no one there at all.
On the way, Chen Ming saw a young man dressed in the uniform of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan speaking with two youths wearing the uniforms of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He also passed a group of noble scions who were so drunk they could barely walk straight, as well as several people who appeared to be members of the academy staff.
Among them was an old man with a head of completely white hair. Chen Ming had no idea whether the man was in charge of discipline or something similar, but the moment he saw Dugu Yan in Chen Ming’s arms, he immediately stretched out a hand to stop him. Chen Ming nimbly left him behind.
Well, Chen Ming did not believe he had lost the man because he was faster. His body was indeed in excellent condition, but while carrying Dugu Yan, he would be lucky to reach the speed of an ordinary agility-type Soul Elder. Even a slightly older, experienced Soul Ancestor—or an ordinary Soul King—could catch up with him without much effort.
The greater reason he had not been caught was simply that the other man had never truly intended to give chase.
It could not possibly be because, despite his advanced age, he had not even reached the Soul Ancestor realm, could it?
At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, such a thing was virtually impossible.
After running for some time, Chen Ming finally reached the vicinity of the infirmary by following his memory of the map.
However, the so-called infirmary of Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not merely a simple room. Although it appeared as no more than a small dot on the map, it was actually an extensive complex of wooden corridors and buildings.
Medicinal herbs filled the grounds in every direction, leaving only paths wide enough for three or four people to walk abreast. Butterflies flitted among the flowerbeds on either side, while blossoms of every color—some rare, some precious—bloomed in profusion.
Compared with an ordinary school clinic, this place was more like a medical garden prepared by Heaven Dou Royal Academy for the mimicry cultivation and daily lessons of healing-type spirit masters.
Once they arrived, Chen Ming was at a loss.
He had only enrolled a few days ago and had yet to become fully familiar with the academy grounds. Although he knew this was part of the school hospital, he had no idea where the physician in charge was—or who that person even was.
With no other choice, Chen Ming nudged Dugu Yan at the waist. Dugu Yan lifted her head and shot him an annoyed look.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
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The numbing poison had gradually dissipated on the way, and Dugu Yan was slowly beginning to feel the pain inside her body. To keep herself from being jolted and suffering even more, she had wrapped herself tightly around Chen Ming, hanging from him like a koala.
She had just begun to grow somewhat accustomed to the pain and had assumed she would soon receive treatment. But Chen Ming’s sudden nudge made the pain flare so sharply that she nearly bared her teeth.
“I’ve never been here before, so I don’t know where the academy physician is. Do you?”
“I—I don’t know either.”
Dugu Yan wore a bewildered expression.
Whenever she entered Heaven Dou Royal Academy, all she needed to do was say the word, and nearly every teacher would rush over to wherever she happened to be. She had seen the teacher responsible for medical treatment within the academy, of course, but she had never paid the slightest attention to where that person usually stayed.
It was true that Dugu Yan had enrolled a few days before Chen Ming, but the moment she arrived, she had been surrounded by a swarm of ardent admirers. When would she ever have had the time—or the inclination—to wander around the campus?
As far as familiarity with the academy went, she was even less knowledgeable than Chen Ming, who had managed to explore it during his free time.
Besides, whenever she could not find her way, she simply asked someone else for directions. Whenever she did so, people were practically eager to escort her there themselves. Sometimes they were impossible to send away. Why would she ever need to memorize the routes?
“How about we follow this path toward the mimicry cultivation grounds for now? Aren’t the cultivation grounds usually assigned a teacher to oversee them? Even if that person isn’t a healing-type spirit master, we can still ask for directions.”
“That makes sense.”
Chen Ming nodded and carried Dugu Yan farther along the path.
Dugu Yan’s condition was not especially serious at present. Without a healing-type spirit master, medicine alone would probably take about a week before she could walk normally again. She would be unable to use her spirit power for half a month, and it would take at least three to five months for her to recover completely.
Her injuries were certainly not light, but at least they would not worsen, much less endanger her life. There was therefore no need to attract attention by shouting in a panic.
With a healing-type spirit master, treatment would be far more effective. A healing-type Soul King using their fifth spirit skill would probably be enough to restore Dugu Yan to the point where she could once again use her spirit power. Her meridians and internal organs were another matter; ordinary spirit skills were not very effective at healing them, so she would still need several days of rest.
Following the path, Chen Ming and Dugu Yan arrived at a place brimming with vitality. With their eyesight, they could easily tell that the flowers, grasses, and trees growing all around them were life-attributed materials suitable for use as medicinal ingredients.
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Among the flowerbeds, a young girl sat astride a stone in a thoroughly unladylike manner. She clutched a handful of flowers and tore at the petals listlessly. Sometimes she pulled off one or two petals; sometimes she plucked away an entire handful. She looked completely lost in her own world.
“Ahem, excuse me…”
“Huh?”
At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Ye Lingling, who had been sitting astride the stone, was startled. Her body immediately slipped off the rock, and she landed hard in a sitting position with her legs splayed out before her.
Healing-type spirit masters generally paid little attention to physical training, and Ye Lingling was a girl besides. The sudden fall strained the muscles on the insides of her thighs, and the pain twisted her originally gentle features into a grimace.
Even so, Ye Lingling remembered her strict upbringing. She quickly smoothed out the spasms on her face, then rose while bracing herself against the stone, her feet turned inward. She hurriedly summoned her martial soul and cast two spirit skills on herself. Only then did she recover the cool, distant expression she usually wore before outsiders.
Looking at Chen Ming, who was carrying someone in his arms, Ye Lingling suppressed the emotions stirring within her and maintained an impassive expression.
“Who are you? What are you doing at the mimicry cultivation grounds for healing-type spirit masters?”
“Hello. My friend ran into some trouble while cultivating and suffered internal injuries, so I brought her here to find a teacher for treatment. But the two of us are both new students, and we don’t know where the teacher is. We could only follow the path and ask for directions if we happened to meet someone. I apologize for disturbing you.”
“Someone has internal injuries? Let me take a look.”
The moment she heard that someone was injured, Ye Lingling immediately became serious. She examined the figure in Chen Ming’s arms, whose head was tucked down like an ostrich. The longer she looked, the more familiar the figure seemed.
That familiar build and those familiar clothes looked exactly like those of her roommate. But that could not be right. Given her temperament, even if she were beaten to death, she would never assume such a posture.
The more Ye Lingling looked, the more puzzled she became. After a moment of silence, she tentatively spoke a name.
“Dugu Yan?”
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