Chapter 21: Painkiller

Senior Brother Li's eyelids were trembling gently, and it could be seen that he was undergoing an unusually intense ideological struggle in his heart.

After a short while, his tightly closed eyes opened, staring fixedly at the pill in Han Li's hand, his eyes revealing a fanatical gaze.

Han Li didn't say anything more and stuffed the pill into his mouth, watching him swallow it dry with saliva, and only then did he gently pull out the silver needles stuck in his body one by one.

When all the silver needles were removed, the medicinal power of the pill began to take effect. A few abnormal blushes rose on Senior Brother Li's pale face, and his whole cheeks gradually turned blood red. At this time, his body twitched again, his hands and feet began to tremble, and a burst of low groans came from his mouth.

It could be seen that he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of Han Li and had tried his best to lower his voice, but this inhuman pain still made him roar out.

Senior Brother Li's roars became louder and louder, and his body shook even more violently. After a long time, his roars began to lower slowly until the roars disappeared completely.

His face began to return to its normal luster, and his body stopped twitching. It seemed he had survived the most painful stage.

Senior Brother Li slowly sat up straight, crossed his legs, closed his eyes again, and sat in meditation to adjust his breath in place. Han Li found a clean mountain stone, sat on the side at will, and watched him use his internal energy to recover his vitality.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, Senior Brother Li, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes, pulled out the long blade placed beside him, jumped up, and swung his arm with force. Only then did a blade light flash, and the bright blade edge was already placed on Han Li's neck.

"Give me a reason not to kill you!" Senior Brother Li's eyes shot cold light, full of murderous intent.

"I just saved your life; does that count as a reason?" Han Li's face didn't change, but his eyebrows jumped slightly, which couldn't be noticed without careful observation.

Senior Brother Li's face softened slightly, but he still stared fiercely at Han Li with both eyes.

"Before I saved you, I already knew that you would likely kill me to silence me in order to keep the secret. It's just that I didn't expect you to act so quickly." Han Li finally gave a bitter smile, and a bit of self-mockery appeared on his face.

"Cough! Even knowing that saving you was actually looking for trouble for myself, since I learned medicine, I couldn't just watch you die." Han Li sighed.

After Senior Brother Li heard this, a bit of embarrassment appeared on his face, and the blade edge moved slightly away from Han Li's neck, but he didn't completely take the blade away from his neck.

Han Li secretly let out a breath of relief, and the tone in his mouth became even calmer.

"You don't have to worry that I will tell others about your secret. One look and you can tell I'm not a big-mouthed person. If you really aren't at ease, I can take a poisonous oath. You should be able to tell that I don't know any martial arts. If you find that I have violated the oath, you can easily behead me." Han Li calmly proposed a suggestion.

"Take the poisonous oath." Senior Brother Li said quite straightforwardly.

Only then did Han Li put his heart completely at ease. Although he had observed this person's face before treating Senior Brother Li and felt that he wasn't an ungrateful, vicious, and cruel person, this couldn't be taken as completely accurate. If he were a villain who returned kindness with enmity, he would only have to use his only self-defense means.

Thinking of this, Han Li quietly moved his finger away from an iron tube hidden in his sleeve.

After Han Li solemnly took a poisonous oath, Senior Brother Li finally took back the long blade and inserted it back into the scabbard.

Han Li touched his neck. A shallow bloodstain was drawn by the sharp blade edge, and it felt a bit sticky to the touch. He felt a chill on his back, looking like he had broken out in quite a bit of cold sweat.

"This time it was really dangerous! I still didn't consider it thoroughly enough. I must learn from this lesson and never do such thankless, ridiculous things again. Whether others live or die is their own business; what does it have to do with me." Han Li thought with lingering fear.

"Without sufficient benefits and absolute certainty, I will never save anyone again next time." He made a fierce determination in his heart.

The bad consequences of Han Li's first attempt to save someone directly led to his bad habit of not getting up early without profit in the future. Although his originally somewhat simple nature was completely abandoned, and although he didn't become a villain, he was far from being loyal and kind.

"You saved my life and promised to keep the secret for me. I, Li Feiyu, owe you a big favor. As long as I'm not dead, if you have anything you need my help with, just come find me. As long as I can do it, I will definitely help you." Senior Brother Li had completely recovered his spirit from under the cliff, put away the sundries searched out by Han Li and placed on the ground, and only then came to him to sincerely state his name and make a promise.

"I'm afraid I won't have anything to trouble you with. Instead, you have quite a lot of trouble yourself, right?" Han Li smiled slightly and asked him back.

"How did you know?" Li Feiyu was startled, somewhat surprised.

"Anyone can guess it. You are just an ordinary Dharma Protector disciple, yet you are pressing down on a large group of Hall Masters, Elders, and even the Sect Master's beloved disciples. How could you have an easy life!" Han Li pointed it out directly.

Li Feiyu's face darkened, and he didn't speak for a long time.

"I don't want to manage your affairs, and I can't manage them. Instead, I can help you alleviate the pain caused by taking the Marrow-Extracting Pill."

"Really?" Li Feiyu's spirit was shaken, the gloom on his face flew away, and his face was full of joy. It seemed that the pain of the Marrow-Extracting Pill tortured him not lightly.

"Why would I lie to you?" Han Li rolled his eyes at Li Feiyu. Of course, he had such a prescription to alleviate people's pain. This was something he had specially researched for Zhang Tie when he was free. It could greatly reduce the human body's perception of pain and was very effective.

"This is truly great! Truly great!" Li Feiyu rubbed his hands excitedly, staring eagerly at Han Li.

"Why are you looking at me with such eyes? I don't have this medicine now. I have to go back to the God Hand Valley to prepare it before there will be finished medicine."

When Li Feiyu heard this, he was somewhat embarrassed. He had just threatened the other party with a blade, and now he was asking the other party to prepare medicine.

"Tomorrow at noon, come to the entrance of the God Hand Valley and wait for me. I will send it to you after I prepare the medicine. Doctor Mo is not at home now, so I can't let outsiders enter the valley at will." Han Li said slowly.

"Fine, I will arrive at the place on time. Thank you, brother." Li Feiyu hurriedly agreed, fearing that he would go back on his word.

"My name is Han Li, and I am Doctor Mo's personal disciple. Your martial arts are so high; just call me Junior Brother Han."

Han Li heard him say such an intimate word as "brother" and hurriedly told him his name, saving him from saying more mushy titles.

===== CHAPTER 22 =====