Taking off her outer coat and putting it away with her red staff, Lin Yue brought out a bottle of liquid and sprinkled it over herself and the donkey to neutralize the drug's effects.
Carrying her medicine pouch, she walked over to Hong Mei. Seeing her staring with wide eyes, Lin Yue smiled softly.
"I'm a doctor. I've seen plenty of blood."
The corner of Hong Mei's mouth twitched. Being accustomed to blood and slitting someone's throat without batting an eye were two entirely different things.
Lin Yue checked her pulse and found internal bleeding caused by organ damage. She applied acupuncture to stop the bleeding, and after taking the medicine, Hong Mei immediately sat cross-legged to circulate her internal power to heal her injuries.
She examined the others one by one. Most of the men had external wounds—slash marks across their arms, chests, abdomens, and backs. Some had been stabbed in vital abdominal organs, bleeding profusely; with current medical conditions, all she could do was let them speak a few last words.
Three sect disciples and five jianghu wanderers had died, including Lu Chuan and Zhu Guangbai.
There were many paths into Wangsu Stream. When forming the group, everyone had held a lingering hope—they all possessed some degree of martial arts, and if they managed to traverse Wangsu Stream, it would be something to boast about in the jianghu. None of them had expected to encounter such fierce wanted criminals right off the bat, shattering their naive optimism.
Fear took root in the survivors, leaving morale in the dirt. They turned to look at the massive boulders blocking their retreat. The cliffs on both sides were already steep and treacherous to scale; now, wounded as they were, climbing out was nearly impossible.
Leaning against a rock, the black-clad wanderer wiped the blood from her sword, paying no mind to the despair around her.
Frowning, Lin Yue observed her surroundings, feeling troubled. Traveling in their current state would be difficult; even Hong Mei, who was the least severely injured, would need two or three days to recover.
Having never traversed such a dangerous place before, Lin Yue felt hesitant to press on alone. If the black-clad wanderer chose to split from the group and leave on her own, Lin Yue would have no choice but to abandon these people and head back the way she came.
After a moment of thought, Lin Yue stood up and walked toward the black-clad wanderer, stopping in front of her with hands cupped in a respectful gesture. The wanderer glanced up briefly before resuming wiping her blade.
"Fellow traveler, everyone has suffered injuries to varying degrees and needs a few days of rest before continuing. What are your plans?"
Having spoken, Lin Yue waited for an answer. But the black-clad wanderer remained silent, so Lin Yue added, "If you aren't in a hurry, would you be willing to wait a few days before setting off?"
Sheathing her sword, the black-clad wanderer stood up, walked into the stone passage entrance, and disappeared around the bend.
Lin Yue let out a sigh of relief. The fact that she hadn't taken her horse meant she chose to stay.
Lin Yue returned to Hong Mei's side and quietly watched the passage entrance. Her donkey was being stubborn again, standing rooted to the spot while the nearby horse lazily grazed on the grass.
Darkness gradually fell. Fortunately, it hadn't rained over the past few days. With the black-clad wanderer still not returning, Lin Yue walked into the passage, passed through the cave, and emerged into a mountain forest.
The trees here were taller and larger than those outside, their thick, exposed roots intertwined. A thin veil of white mist drifted among the distant trees, and the humidity was noticeably higher. A narrow trail wound forward through the woods.
Scanning the area, Lin Yue spotted the black-clad wanderer sitting behind a boulder, guarding the entrance.
Glancing over, Lin Yue returned to start a fire. She boiled anti-inflammatory herbal tea in a small kettle for everyone to drink, also bringing a bowl to the wanderer.
On the evening of the second day, the black-clad wanderer carried back a small wild boar, its organs already removed. She hoisted it over the fire to singe off the bristles, scraped it clean with a dagger, and began roasting it. Fat bubbled up and dripped into the fire with a sizzle, filling the air with the aroma of roasted meat.
Wild boar had a strong gamy odor, so Lin Yue gathered nearby medicinal herbs, mashed them into juice, and brushed it over the meat to neutralize the smell. Once it was done, everyone received a portion. Lin Yue got a front leg—lean yet tender, juicy without being greasy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, wonderfully flavorful.
After finishing her meal, the black-clad wanderer returned to guard the passage entrance.
Having finished dinner, the rest of the group found spots to rest or chat.
Clear moonlight spilled from the sky as shadows of trees danced softly. Insects and birds chirped, fireflies flickered, and a quiet tranquility enveloped their surroundings.
Seven days later, those with severe abdominal injuries mounted horses, and a girl rode atop Lin Yue's donkey. With the black-clad wanderer taking the lead, the ten of them set off at an unhurried pace.
Laden with injured people, the group moved in fits and starts. Looking ahead, visibility was limited to only a dozen yards or so. A thin layer of damp mist shrouded the forest, the ground was wet, and vines coiled around massive trees, while the sound of birds flapping wings over water and animal roars echoed periodically.
The forest was quiet enough that every animal sound rang out clearly, yet the thick fog concealed their directions.
The black-clad wanderer suddenly stopped, and the clattering hooves behind her came to a halt as well.
Skittish as startled birds, the people behind scanned their surroundings in alarm, only to see her thrust a long wooden stick into the grass and flick it aside. A snake with black-and-white stripes sailed through the air into the distant brush.
Realizing it was just a snake, Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward.
Holding her red staff in hand, Lin Yue observed their surroundings. Not far away, the massive, sprawling shadow of a four-legged creature appeared, swinging its head and tail as it crawled into the swamp.
Seeing this, the group quickened their pace.
After several more days of walking, they reached the depths of the forest. The sky darkened and rain began to fall, prompting the group to seek shelter in a thatched shed by the roadside.
These thatched sheds were typically built by passing merchant caravans, offering convenience to travelers.
The rain here followed a regular pattern, falling every few days for half a day at a time, year after year. Consequently, caravan sheds had been erected at set intervals along the route. However, the caravans that originally used this path had rerouted to a safer entrance and ceased maintaining it, leaving this trade route abandoned.
Walking a few more days would bring them to the new trade route.
The new trade route featured merchant outposts, including the Longmen Inn run by the Longmen Escort Agency. Few people dared to make trouble there, making it arguably the safest location in all of Wangsu Stream.
Now, many animals sheltered from the rain inside the thatched sheds, while some sheds had been converted into makeshift houses inhabited by scattered desperadoes.
Desperadoes were numerous here. Fierce bandits guarded every pass and entrance, intercepting travelers attempting to enter Wangsu Stream to claim the first piece of the pie.
Those with weaker strength could only hide in the jungle, forming gangs to scrape together a precarious living on the leftovers.
Lin Yue's group encountered several waves of bandits, the largest numbering over twenty. Aside from the three severely injured, everyone joined the fight. The black-clad wanderer raised her sword and brought it down, killing one with every strike like an avatar of death, so intimidating that none dared cross her. Lin Yue similarly knocked them down with single staff strikes, while Hong Mei swung a broadsword with fierce momentum.
The bandits retreated.
After a single clash, the bandits realized why the big shots at the entrance hadn't managed to get a piece of these travelers first. They lived with their heads tied to their belts, but that didn't mean they lacked brains; doing business required weighing pros and cons, especially when trading with their lives on the line.
Having tasted blood, the survivors carried a malevolent aura, their gazes sharpening to fierce glares as they slit throats as casually as slaughtering chickens.
It had to be said that Wangsu Stream was truly a crucible; anyone who walked out of it alive emerged sharp as a blade.
Stepping onto the new trade route, the road became flat and wide.
At the junction of the old and new trade routes stood a Longmen Inn, serving as a rest stop for passing merchant caravans and jianghu wanderers traversing Wangsu Stream.
Currently, a merchant caravan several hundred strong was staying there.
The group breathed a sigh of relief and headed toward the Longmen Inn. The donkey brayed happily, and everyone's footsteps grew lighter.
A waiter stood guard by the inn's courtyard gate. Seeing the two leading the horses and donkey, he gestured to the right with a smile, his manner polite yet far from subservient.
"Honored guests, the livestock shed is this way."
He didn't step forward to help lead the animals, merely pointing out the direction.
Lin Yue nodded and walked around the inn to the right with the black-clad wanderer, arriving at a large livestock shed containing only a few horses.
Merchant caravans had many horses, usually watched over by coachmen who spent the night outside rather than entering the inn.
A worker guarded the shed. Seeing them arrive, he stepped up, took the reins, and said, "Alright, hand them over to me," leading them inside without a single question.
Lin Yue blinked, turned, and headed for the inn entrance. The black-clad wanderer had already walked off the moment the worker took the reins.
Nobody greeted her inside the inn; the workers and shopkeeper were all busy with their own tasks.
The black-clad wanderer had already asked the innkeeper for an upper room, hot water, and food and wine.
"Thirty taels!" the innkeeper said indifferently.
Thirty taels? Lin Yue raised an eyebrow. How outrageous! Even a top-tier room in the prefectural city cost five taels a night at most.
The wanderer paid the money, took the room key tag from the innkeeper, and went up to the second floor.
Seeing how decisively the wanderer handled it, Lin Yue had no choice but to accept the exorbitant price. When searching the corpses earlier, she had recovered a good deal of silver and banknotes from the bandits; since the wanderer hadn't wanted any, Lin Yue had split it with the others.
By now, the rest of the group had likely settled into their rooms to rest.
"Innkeeper, an upper room, some hot water, and a spread of food and wine."
"Thirty taels."
Lin Yue paid the money with a pained heart, took her room tag, and headed up to the second floor, with the voices of the innkeeper and waiter calling out behind her.
"Heaven Room Nine! Hot water, good wine, and fine dishes!"
"Coming right up! Hot water, fine wine, and good food for Heaven Room Nine!"
Lin Yue went into Heaven Room Nine. It came with a parlor, washroom, and bedroom, decorated rather simply; the only hints of its "Heaven-tier" status were its spacious size and silk bedding.
After waiting a short while, someone knocked on the door. A waiter carried in hot water, and Lin Yue bathed for half an hour. By the time she stepped out, the bathwater had turned murky.
Another half hour later, the waiter served her meal: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a pot of warm yellow wine, and a bowl of rice. In the prefectural city, this would have cost about five hundred copper coins at most.
Yellow wine helped dispel dampness. Taking a small sip, she found the taste smooth, slightly bitter, with a sweet aftertaste.
After finishing her meal, Lin Yue called the waiter to clear the dishes and went to sleep.
After staying at the inn for two days, Lin Yue spent seventy taels for herself and her donkey. It was completely unsustainable. Waiting half a day for the rain to stop, the merchant caravan outside set off, and the group checked out to follow them.
After all, the group consisted of skilled jianghu wanderers, so the caravan didn't drive them away; the more people there were, the safer the journey.
The caravan wasn't escorted by the Longmen Escort Agency, but by guards from the Zhiyuan Escort Agency. Word was that their master had family ties to Longmen.
After walking with the convoy for a while, a lean, capable-looking middle-aged man with a straight mustache and a podao hanging from his waist walked over with a smile. He introduced himself as Escort Master Wan of the Zhiyuan Escort Agency. The group announced their names one by one, and Escort Master Wan praised each of them before striking up a conversation about Wangsu Stream and sharing their respective experiences.
Anyone capable of traveling through Wangsu Stream was no push-over; Escort Master Wan's gesture was meant to make friends, for in the jianghu, having more friends meant smoother travels.
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