138: Chapter 138 The Scent of Herbs and My Thoughts

Her wrist went slightly limp the moment the pill solidified, and the golden pill, suffused with the fragrance of medicine, nearly slipped from her fingertips.

She quickly caught the pill with her other hand, her slender fingers tightening slightly against the scorching heat of the golden pill.

The lingering waves of spiritual power backlash echoed with even more intense pain in her meridians, spreading from her fingertips to her palms, and finally to her entire forearm, as if thorns were carving deep marks into her meridians.

Wang Sheng watched this scene from the entrance of the Medical Tent.

He saw Hua Jieyu's fair fingertips trembling slightly, saw the beads of sweat on her forehead glistening in the light of the spirit lamp, and saw that her almond-shaped eyes, usually filled with a gentle smile, were now entirely focused and filled with endurance.

He also saw that at the collar of her light-green Savage Beast silk medical robe, a very faint layer of red had appeared on the patch of fair skin below her collarbone.

That was the mark of spiritual power backlash, spreading from below her collarbone to the side of her neck.

"Hua Jieyu." His voice was steady and deep within the Medical Tent.

Hua Jieyu's shoulders trembled slightly. She did not turn back, but quickly placed the golden pill into a Savage Beast leather medicine pouch, her slender fingers tying a gentle knot on the pouch.

Her hands trembled slightly while tying the knot, but the knot was as perfect as before—gentle and meticulous, just like her.

"Chieftain." She turned her head, the gentle smile returning to her almond-shaped eyes, like warm sunlight in the Spirit Garden shining through the soft morning mist.

Two shallow dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth when she smiled, making one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

The marks of the spiritual power backlash were seamlessly covered by her gentle smile, and a faint flush of pink appeared on her fair cheeks, as if nothing had happened.

But Wang Sheng's gaze fell upon her fingers.

Her long, fair, and slender fingers were slightly flushed in the warm yellow light of the spirit lamp; the faint green spiritual light at her fingertips was at least thirty percent dimmer than usual, and the lingering waves of spiritual power backlash were still trembling slightly at her fingertips.

Her wrists were slightly pale at the cuffs of her white medical robe, the pain from the spiritual power backlash making her veins visible beneath her fair skin.

"What medicine are you refining?" He walked to the side of the Savage Beast leather low table, his gaze sweeping over the residual golden spiritual powder in the mortar.

The golden powder glittered with a scorching light in the spirit lamp, completely different from the pale green spiritual power of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal; it was the residue of holy-attribute spiritual power.

"An improved version of the purification potion." Hua Jieyu's voice was gentle and calm, like quiet spirit herbs in the Spirit Garden swaying slightly in the morning breeze.

"Zhao Mang's vanguard consists of ten Shadow Clan warriors at the first rank of Barbarian General. The depth and breadth of the shadow burns will be much greater than the previous Beast Tide, so I am improving the potion's formula to increase purification efficiency."

Her voice was gentle, composed, and flawless.

The professional judgment of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal was an indispensable part of the preemptive strategic deployment; improving the purification potion was a reasonable and necessary preparation, without any flaws.

But Wang Sheng's gaze did not move away from her fingers.

"Your spiritual power consumption is very high." His voice was deep. The golden spiritual power of a Barbarian General made his perception at least twice as precise as before; he could clearly feel that the power of the hundred herbs within Hua Jieyu was less than sixty percent remaining.

For a non-combatant Hundred Herb Medical Immortal, spiritual power below seventy percent meant that the endurance of her meridians was nearing its limit.

"Refining medicine consumes spiritual power in itself." Hua Jieyu's smile did not waver in the slightest, the gentle smile in her almond-shaped eyes like the warmest sunlight in the Spirit Garden.

"The spiritual power of a Hundred Herb Medical Immortal recovers very quickly; a sleep is all it takes to replenish it."

She stood up, her mulberry silk medical robe flowing in gentle curves over her. She walked to the medicine rack, her slender fingers gently adjusting the labels on the pouches, her movements gentle and meticulous, just like her.

"Are the reserves of the purification potion sufficient?" Wang Sheng watched her back.

"The regular reserves are sufficient." Hua Jieyu's fingers paused on the medicine pouch for a moment, her almond-shaped eyes lowered slightly, her eyelashes fluttering gently in the light of the spirit lamp.

"But if the shadow burns from the Shadow Clan vanguard exceed expectations, another batch of the improved version will need to be refined."

"Then refine it." Wang Sheng's voice was deep and firm. "Whatever materials you need, I will have Su Mengyao and Zheng Liuli assist you."

"That is not necessary." Hua Jieyu turned around, the gentle smile in her almond-shaped eyes deepening by a fraction, the two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth appearing and disappearing in the light of the spirit lamp.

"The formula for the improved version requires me to control the heat myself; others cannot help. I will refine it as soon as possible."

Her voice was gentle and composed; the professional judgment of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal seemed irrefutable within her gentleness.

But Wang Sheng looked at her flushed fingertips and slightly trembling wrists; the perception of a Barbarian General was telling him a truth she was trying to hide—spiritual power backlash.

He did not expose her.

"Make sure to rest." He turned and walked toward the entrance of the tent, the curtain fluttering slightly behind him.

"Chieftain." Hua Jieyu's voice sounded behind him, as gentle as a beautiful rose in the Spirit Garden swaying slightly in the morning breeze.

He turned back.

Hua Jieyu stood by the medicine rack, her almond-shaped eyes holding a gentle smile in the light of the spirit lamp, but deep within that smile lay a trace of a very faint, almost invisible anticipation, like the inner petals of a flower in the Spirit Garden waiting for the gentle morning light.

"When Zhao Mang's vanguard attacks, I will not shy away from the battle." Her voice was gentle but firm. "I will ensure that every injured tribesman receives the best treatment."

"Mm." Wang Sheng looked at her, his powerful golden spiritual power flowing slowly within him. "You have always been very reliable, Jieyu."

Hua Jieyu's almond-shaped eyes trembled slightly when he said the words "Jieyu," the two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth appearing and disappearing as she smiled, but the trace of faint anticipation deep within her smile was covered by a deeper gentleness, like the petals in the Spirit Garden, gently responding and blooming after the arrival of the gentle morning light.

"This is my duty." Her voice was gentle and calm.

After Wang Sheng walked out of the Medical Tent, Hua Jieyu sat back down on the Savage Beast leather mat.

Her fingers reached into the mortar for the third stalk of golden spirit herb, the pale green spiritual power of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal once again condensing at her fingertips, her slender fingers gently grinding within the golden spiritual powder.

The pain from the spiritual power backlash spread from her fingertips to her palms, then throughout her entire body, carving deeper marks; her brows furrowed slightly, and the gentle smile in her almond-shaped eyes was replaced by deeper pain and endurance.

But she did not stop. Because the third golden pill she was grinding was not an improved version of the purification potion. It was a Holy Light Amplification Elixir.

The concentration of golden spiritual powder in the mortar reached its highest point as the third pill was being refined.

Denser beads of sweat seeped from Hua Jieyu's forehead, and the red of the spiritual power backlash on her fair cheeks spread from the side of her neck to her earlobes.

Her fingers trembled slightly in the Savage Stone mortar, her pale green spiritual power becoming increasingly unstable under the impact of the golden spiritual power; the pain from the spiritual power backlash spread all the way from her fingertips to her shoulders, carving the deepest and most painful marks into her meridians.

The third golden pill solidified at her fingertips. But the moment the pill solidified, her hand could no longer hold on.

Her slender fingers spasmed slightly in the scorching heat of the golden pill, and the golden pill slipped from her fingertips, rolling half a circle on the low table.

Hua Jieyu braced her arms on the low table, her forehead resting against the edge of the mortar, the spiritual power of the Hundred Herb Medical Immortal churning violently in her meridians with the lingering waves of spiritual power backlash.

She closed her eyes, the pain from the spiritual power backlash causing her to bite her lips slightly, their color paling by a few shades.

Her medical robe rose and fell with her trembling body, and below her collarbone, the red on that patch of fair skin spread from the side of her neck to her chest.

But she reached out and picked up the golden pill once again.