311: Chapter 311 Valley Master

This path was a bit longer than expected.

Bai Nianci walked in the front, her steps somewhat hurried, and her footsteps falling on the bluestone bricks were fine and constrained.

Chen Ran followed behind, unhurried and leisurely, slowly scanning everything around him.

The next moment, he mobilized [Skynet], and an intangible mental fluctuation spread outward, enveloping half of the small island.

The auras of all the Disciples in Ciyin Medical Valley began to surge toward him endlessly from all directions like threads.

No threat.

The strongest in Ciyin Medical Valley was at most that Valley Master of the Late Stage Innate Realm.

The remaining Elders were at most at the Early Stage Innate, and the rest of the auras were uneven, roughly scattered around the Third Rank.

After all, it was merely a faction focusing on medical treatment; although the Disciples' Realms within the Medical Valley were not low, they were incomparable to solid top-tier martial arts factions.

Turning a corner in the corridor, Bai Nianci suddenly stopped, turned around, and faced Chen Ran.

Chen Ran followed behind her, and seeing her stop, he also halted, lowering his eyes to look at her.

Bai Nianci lowered her head, gripped her sleeves, and spoke:

"Young Master..."

She paused, as if weighing her words.

"Elder Sister Shen's body is very weak."

"She has lived in the Medical Valley for many years, has a quiet temperament, never argues with others, and never harms anyone."

Bai Nianci raised her eyes, looking straight at Chen Ran, a trace of earnestness in her gaze:

"No matter what Young Master is here to seek her for... I ask Young Master to show mercy."

Chen Ran stared at her for a moment.

This girl has quite some nerve.

However, he didn't say anything, only calmly speaking:

"Lead the way."

The backyard was in the deepest part of the Medical Valley.

Passing through a patch of slender bamboos and bypassing a moon gate, a remarkably quiet small courtyard appeared before them.

Several white plum trees were planted in the courtyard, with rugged branches; although there were no flowers blooming at this moment, the leaf color was as dark green as ink.

Silence surrounded them.

Even the chirping of birds seemed to have stopped on the other side of the moon gate.

Chen Ran's gaze swept across the courtyard and finally landed under the veranda.

A woman was sitting under the veranda.

She leaned against the veranda pillar with a scroll of a book resting on her knees, unaware whether she was reading or spacing out.

She wore a plain white dress with a color so pale it was almost transparent, blending seamlessly with the serene and lonely atmosphere of the courtyard.

Her skin tone was as pale as paper, unnaturally white, as if blood had never lingered on that face.

Her features were delicate and her facial features were exquisitely formed. Even though ten years had passed and there were traces of time on her face, it was still evident that she must have been a beauty in her prime when she was young.

Chen Ran quietly looked at her for a moment.

That old crone hadn't lied.

The phrase that her physical constitution was even worse than an ordinary person was probably an understatement.

He raised his foot and stepped onto the stone path.

As the footsteps stepped onto the bluestone, Shen Wanying slowly raised her head.

Meeting her eyes was a young man with a straight posture, followed closely by the nervous Bai Nianci behind him.

"Xiao Ci..."

Shen Wanying slightly opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but suddenly sensed something amiss.

Suddenly, as if realizing something, she wanted to stand up.

But the young man had already stopped in front of her, looking down at her condescendingly, and calmly said:

"Miss Shen, please accompany me back to the capital."

Shen Wanying was silent for a long time before speaking:

"Did it finally come after all?"

"I can go with you... but all of this has nothing to do with the Medical Valley, do not punish them."

Obviously, Shen Wanying mistook Chen Ran for a character sent by the Great Wei Court.

After all, paper cannot wrap around fire; during the years she recuperated in Ciyin Medical Valley,

the imperial court had not failed to send people to investigate, but every time the people sent were brushed off by the Medical Valley. Being discovered now was only a matter of time.

Chen Ran calmly scanned the surroundings, seeing that Shen Wanying had no major issues on her body, only a somewhat fragile constitution.

"You have hidden in this place for so many years, it is time to go out."

Shen Wanying lowered her eyes, her fingers gently rubbing the edge of the book on her knees.

The wind passed under the veranda, and the leaves of the white plum trees rustled softly before returning to silence.

A rare trace of faint light emerged in Chen Ran's pitch-black eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up:

"Miss Shen, do not worry, I will take you to a good place..."

When Chen Ran returned to the main hall, the old crone was still sitting in that chair, like a section of withered wood melting into the light and shadow of the hall.

Hearing the footsteps, the old crone slowly opened her eyes.

"It seems the Young Master has already resolved the problem."

"Mm, pretty much."

Chen Ran sat down by the chair and spoke:

"However, Valley Master, I have one more matter to inquire about."

The old crone looked at him with a calm gaze:

"Young Master, please speak."

"The Medical Valley's successive generations of book collections and martial arts Cultivation Techniques, I wish to borrow and peruse them."

The old crone did not answer immediately.

The hall was quiet for a moment.

A moment later, she slowly nodded:

"Very well."

Chen Ran paused slightly.

The other party agreed faster than he expected.

Originally, he thought this trip to Ciyin Medical Valley would have some twists and turns in the middle, but he didn't expect the other party to be so magnanimous,

letting him take someone away and also letting him borrow Cultivation Techniques.

Leaning on her crutch, the old crone slowly propped herself up from the chair, walked to a bookshelf by the side of the hall, took out an ebony box from the bottom layer, placed it on the low table beside her, and pushed it toward Chen Ran.

"The top-tier martial arts Legacy of the Valley is all in here."

"If Young Master is interested, feel free to peruse them."

Chen Ran lowered his head to look at the wooden box, then calmly looked at the old crone:

"The Valley Master is quite generous this time."

The old crone sighed, slowly walked back to the chair, settled into it, and adjusted her breathing:

"Old body's action this time is not merely to thank the Young Master for saving those Disciples."

She raised her eyes, looking straight at Chen Ran:

"Old body still has one matter that requires troubling the Young Master."

Chen Ran raised his eyebrows slightly.

"What does the Valley Master mean by this?"

The old crone did not explain immediately, then slowly spoke:

"Does the Young Master know the current predicament of Great Wei?"

A deep sense of vicissitudes emerged in the old crone's eyes:

"The Liao Kingdom in the northern border invades the border year after year, lasting for over a decade."

"The elite of the Great Wei border army have suffered countless losses, and the various passes in the northern border are defending in a state of utter exhaustion, already stretched to the limit."

She paused,

"This is also why the Red Lotus Demonic Cult has been able to grow strong in the hinterland of the Central Plains all these years, while the court has consistently lacked the strength to carry out a thunderous crackdown."

Chen Ran's heart stirred slightly.

He had indeed heard that border wars were constant and frictions frequently occurred, but he didn't expect the two nations to have reached such a state of utter exhaustion.

The old crone continued:

"Today, Great Wei has the iron cavalry of Liao in the north, the separatist regime of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult in the south, the Sea Kingdom in the east making restless moves, and the barbarian tribes in the west also waiting for an opportunity to rise."

"Chaos surrounds on all four sides, and the interior is hollow."

She paused slightly,

"Back then, the previous dynasty Great Zhou was the strongest in the world; all countries in the four borders submitted to its orthodox rule and feared its might, not daring to act rashly."

"Great Wei overthrew Great Zhou and replaced its position. At first, its prestige was extremely grand, and its commands were obeyed by all within the four seas."

"It's just that..."

The old crone sighed, a trace of helplessness emerging in her eyes:

"The Emperor is infatuated with cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao, court affairs are increasingly neglected, military preparations are slack, and laws exist in name only."

"Twenty years of accumulated weakness, the current situation, its roots were already planted decades ago."

"Those surrounding wolves are precisely because they saw this clearly that they are one by one baring their fangs."

The old crone raised her head to look at the hall ceiling, her voice even lower:

"The Disciples of the Medical Valley are nothing more than ordinary women. Entering the Valley to learn medicine is simply wanting to save people, wanting to live, and wanting to guard a piece of peace in this troubled world."

"Yet every few years, the court demands the conscription of Medical Valley Disciples to follow the army northward."

"The northern border is bitterly cold and the battlefield is perilous; of ten who go, fewer than three return alive."

"Old body has watched these children being sent out batch by batch..."

She stopped and closed her eyes.

Only the subtle sound of the candle flames dancing lightly remained in the hall.

"Old body has watched for too many years, is advanced in age, and does not have many days left to live."

"However, there are still many Disciples in the Valley who are still growing. Most of them are refugees we took in from the wars, cultivating medical arts in the Valley to cure diseases and save lives in the future."

"If old body dies, I fear the Disciples in my Valley will be completely incorporated by the court and wholly thrown into the wars."

"I ask Young Master to grant a path of survival to the Disciples in our Valley; old body, in her remaining years, is willing to serve the Young Master."

Chen Ran sat there, not speaking for a long time.

He looked at the aged face of the Ciyin Valley Master, running these words through his heart word by word.

Great Wei's mess was even more thoroughly rotten than he had imagined.

Rotten to the extent that even an old crone residing in a small island in the southern borders with one foot in the grave clearly understood that this tree had long rotted from the roots and could not hold out for many more years.

He was silent for a long time.

Then, he spoke faintly:

"Is the Valley Master... planning to rebel?"