19: Pills

The excruciating pain from the aftershocks of Qian Xunji's attack had not yet dissipated, and the coarse air, unique to the Monster Mountain Range on the Dou Qi Continent, mixed with decaying leaves and the stench of magical beasts, choked into Mo Yuhan's lungs.

Mo Yuhan fell heavily onto the cold, damp humus layer, desperately clutching the cold, heavy, soft body in his arms.

“Aunt…”

Mo Yuhan struggled to lift his head, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper.

And at this moment, Bibi Dong lay beside him, silent and still.

Her purple-gold Saintess robe, symbolizing supreme authority, was now covered in dust, torn in many places, and utterly disheveled.

Beneath the robe, her once tall, slender, beautiful, and delicate body lay limp, having lost all support.

Her face, beautiful enough to make a Divinity look twice, was so pale it was almost transparent, as fragile as porcelain, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Her violet hair was scattered loosely on the damp, decaying leaves, a few strands clinging to her sweaty, cold forehead, making her skin appear lifeless.

The dark red bloodstain congealed at the corner of her lips was like an ugly scar etched upon perfect jade.

What tightened Mo Yuhan’s heart most was the deep shadow beneath her tightly closed eyes—her once perceptive, majestic, and cold violet eyes were simply shut tight.

Qian Xunji’s enraged attack, with its terrifying shockwaves and Soul Power erosion, had almost extinguished her life force.

Mo Yuhan’s trembling hand reached for her neck; the pulse beneath his fingertips was as faint as a flickering candle in the wind, each difficult beat like a dull knife cutting into his heart.

He felt as if he could empathize with the chaotic Soul Power within her, like countless uncontrolled venomous snakes crashing and biting within her meridians; every subtle fluctuation of Soul Power caused her to unconsciously frown in pain, even in her unconscious state.

“Aunt!!” Mo Yuhan roared, his voice breaking.

Immense panic and helplessness washed over him like a cold tide.

He abruptly looked around: familiar twisted ancient trees, a strong scent of vegetation, and the faint roars of magical beasts in the distance—this was the Monster Mountain Range on the Dou Qi Continent, his secret base that he had made himself over the past eight years for convenient travel between the two realms.

Hidden beneath a massive tree root, the small hut, crudely built from logs and stones, was his only refuge during his struggle for survival over the past eight years.

A spark of hope was suddenly ignited in the abyss of despair.

Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Yuhan burst forth with strength beyond his limits, as if a wild beast roared within his small body.

He almost half-carried, half-dragged the unconscious Bibi Dong into the small stone hut, carefully placing her on his simple bed, which was covered with dry grass and animal skins.

Watching her pale face sink into the dirty animal skins, the stark contrast felt like countless needles piercing Mo Yuhan’s heart.

“Hold on! Wait for me!”

Mo Yuhan roared hoarsely at the unresponsive Bibi Dong, each word seemingly squeezed through gritted teeth, carrying a rusty, bloody taste.

He abruptly turned and, like a blood-stained arrow loosed from a bowstring, rushed out of the stone hut, sprinting towards the Qingshan Town market, the closest one in the outer reaches of the mountain range in his memory.

The narrow streets were filled with the stench of sweat, blood, the pungent smell of cheap pills, and the coarse language of mercenaries.

Mo Yuhan’s small figure darted frantically through the crowded street, his dark eyes veined with terrifying bloodshot lines, like two burning coals.

He no longer looked at the cheap stalls, heading directly towards the pharmacy he remembered as having a decent reputation.

“A grade-two Care Vessel Pill! A grade-two Bone Regeneration Pill! I need them now!”

He rushed into a shop with the sign of Wan Yao Pharmacy, his voice hoarse but carrying an undeniable urgency, like a knife scraping against bone.

The shopkeeper, an old man with a goatee, was startled by Mo Yuhan’s aggressive demeanor.

Mo Yuhan had never been to Wan Yao Pharmacy before, so the shopkeeper did not recognize him.

“Little… little friend, the pills you want are not low grade…” The shopkeeper glanced at Mo Yuhan. “This humble shop does have a few Bone Regeneration Pills, but the Care Vessel Pill… it’s a top-tier grade-two pill. You’re quite lucky; we usually wouldn’t have it here. It just so happens that a mercenary leader consigned one here a few days ago, but the price…”

“How much?” Mo Yuhan interrupted him, his voice as cold as ice.

He had no mind to haggle; his bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the shopkeeper, the burning anxiety and a deep pain within them almost solidifying and erupting, causing even the shopkeeper, who was accustomed to life and death, to feel a chill in his heart.

“The Care Vessel Pill is thirty thousand, and the Bone Regeneration Pill… ten thousand gold coins!” The shopkeeper tentatively quoted a price far exceeding the market value.

“Give me the pills!”

Mo Yuhan said no more, pulling out a small pouch from his embrace and pouring out the gold coins he had accumulated over the years.

His voice was not loud, but it carried a desperate resolve, almost bordering on madness.

The shopkeeper looked at the gold coins, then at the reckless glint in Mo Yuhan’s eyes, and quickly retrieved two jade bottles from deep within the counter, handing them over.

Mo Yuhan snatched them, not even glancing at the shopkeeper’s greedy yet wary eyes, and rushed out of the pharmacy.

When he returned to his small hut, clutching the cold jade pill bottles, his small body trembled slightly from exhaustion and immense mental pressure.

He carefully pried open Bibi Dong’s bloodless lips, but he couldn't open her tightly shut mouth.

In his desperation, Mo Yuhan chewed the purchased Care Vessel Pill and Bone Regeneration Pill himself, then, lip-to-lip, gently pried open his aunt's pearly teeth with his tongue, and gently transferred the crushed pills into her mouth, carefully guiding them with his own weak Dou Qi (Fighting Master).

Time dragged on in dead silence, and after an unknown period, just as Mo Yuhan was about to despair, Bibi Dong’s long eyelashes finally trembled ever so slightly, and she let out an almost inaudible groan of pain.

“Aunt!”

Mo Yuhan’s heart suddenly leaped into his throat; immense ecstasy instantly broke through his forced composure, and tears uncontrollably welled up.

He tightly grasped Bibi Dong’s cold hand, his voice choked, “You’re finally awake? How do you feel?”

Bibi Dong struggled to open her eyes; her violet eyes had lost their usual brilliance, leaving only deep exhaustion and confusion, her gaze unfocused for a while before finally managing to settle on Mo Yuhan’s small face, stained with tears and dirt.

Her voice was as faint as a wisp of smoke: “Han… Yu Han, where… is this…”

“It’s alright now! Aunt, you’re fine, Qian Xunji that beast didn’t succeed, we’re safe!”

Mo Yuhan thought she was worried about Qian Xunji, so he vigorously wiped away his tears and forced a smile that looked worse than a cry. “You’re badly injured, don’t speak, rest well! You’ve taken the medicine, you’ll be fine!”

However, his heart felt as if it were weighed down by a massive boulder.

The medicinal power of the Care Vessel Pill and Bone Regeneration Pill could only temporarily stabilize the injuries, protect her heart meridians, and repair some bone damage.

But Qian Xunji’s terrifying Soul Power erosion, imbued with the will of a Titled Douluo, was like maggots clinging to bone, entrenched deep within her meridians and spirit core, capable of erupting again at any moment and utterly destroying her.

Ordinary pills were simply powerless to reverse the situation.

Watching Bibi Dong weakly close her eyes and fall back into a semi-conscious state, Mo Yuhan sat on the cold stone floor, leaning against the equally cold wall.

The stone hut was filled with the smell of medicine and the increasingly faint cold violet fragrance from Bibi Dong’s body. Mo Yuhan’s dark eyes glowed astonishingly in the dimness, filled with immense heartache and boundless rage.

Tens of thousands of gold coins, all the wealth he had accumulated through eight years of struggle, only bought his aunt a brief moment of consciousness and a temporary reprieve.

This was not enough! Far from enough!

“If only there were grade-five or even grade-six healing pills…”

However, pills of grade five and above were incredibly expensive; hundreds of thousands of gold coins were simply beyond what a mere Dou Zhe like him could afford.

Suddenly, a name, a name occasionally mentioned with reverence and longing by mercenaries in Qingshan Town, a name he had repeatedly seen in the original work, flashed like lightning into his mind—Canaan Academy!

The secret pill reserves in the alchemy department of Canaan Academy must contain the Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill. If he could gain the attention of Canaan Academy, then perhaps there would be a way to heal his aunt’s injuries.