Chapter 99: Still Can't Figure Out What's Going On

"This stuff smells harsh; it's clearly not a gentle application—putting it on is practically torture." Bai Lang thought. Anyway, he had just noticed the ointment was quite pungent, and besides, it wasn't being applied to him, so as an onlooker he had everything under control. Murong Ronghua promptly passed out from the pain, then the second application woke him up again, repeating until his whole body was covered in the dark, grimy plaster—next came the time to wrap the rice dumplings.

After bandaging himself all over, Qin Lian'er also said, "Fortunately it's just excessive blood loss damaging his vital energy; after applying the medicine, taking a strong tonic will fix him." Then she likewise blushed furiously—even more than Bai Lang—and hurried away. Seeing Murong Ronghua's deathly state, Bai Lang didn't dare say more and could only leave—Murong Ronghua, having taken a pill, was indeed drowsy, which helped his recovery.

"But I recall they previously exchanged some medicinal pills, right?" Bai Lang pondered, yet still couldn't remember what pills they had exchanged. At the very moment he stepped out, two other people appeared almost simultaneously in the hallway. Both were likewise soaked in blood, their condition probably just a bit better than Murong Ronghua's, and Qin Lian'er quickly brought them into the room to treat their wounds—given the urgency and that they were all wandering martial artists, there was no need to avoid suspicion, so they treated them together at once.

Bai Lang didn't go in; while a doctor and patient needn't avoid each other, his entering would be improper. So after sending Ma Rulong inside, Bai Lang came back out.

That day nobody went out again—except Qin Lian'er, as the others found movement difficult. However, thanks to the divine medicine of Medicine King Valley and each person's own cultivated martial arts, by the time dinner approached, everyone's condition had greatly improved. Bai Lang only felt an itch deep in his bones, wishing he could reach into his flesh to scratch the bone, but with bandages and splints on, and still possessing his reason, he endured.

Although Murong Ronghua's appearance earlier seemed near death, he is now healing the fastest—the ointment from Medicine King Valley, while domineering, has a miraculous effect of staunching wounds, generating flesh, and replenishing blood. Ma Rulong and Murong Jiu Xiu are not better off than Bai Lang; they suffered serious internal injuries, and if Qin Lian'er hadn't used a yang-type pill to expel the yin-cold from their meridians, they would likely have turned into frozen corpses shortly after returning.

Even after expelling the yin-cold, their meridians suffered severe impact from the yin-yang clash; without miraculous medicine to nourish them and gradual internal force repair, serious trouble would ensue. Though the internal injuries are not light, the external ones pose no major hindrance—now they merely lack vigor when speaking. These few also went downstairs, gathered together, and discussed what they had encountered the previous night.

"Everyone, we were all sitting here last night, right? I don't know when I got separated by the Ghost Realm..." Bai Lang spoke first, recounting his night's experience in detail and even gave this situation a name: the Ghost Realm. "Did you hear footsteps? I heard weeping and laughing alternately far and near outside the door, but heard no footsteps..." Murong Ronghua said. "I saw a light ball jumping on the stairs." "A black wind tore off the roof..." Qin Lian'er, Ma Rulong, and Murong Jiu Xiu also spoke up in turn.

"After the sound came from outside, I noticed everyone had vanished. I went out to check and saw only that inexplicable ghostly apparition—able to whip up a whirlwind, its whole body like a blade, a half-floating skeleton ghost...... and thus I became like this." Murong Ronghua said, glancing at Bai Lang with a feeling of shared hardship. "A blade-like skeleton?" Bai Lang muttered, thinking that if he encountered such a monster he might fare better? Probably Murong Ronghua thought the same...

In Qin Lian'er's account, she encountered an extremely tall, thin figure whose front she could never see, forever facing away—very troublesome, because no matter how she used her Lightness Skill to flee, the strange figure could retreat and catch up, and seemed even capable of instantaneous movement. However, Qin Lian'er had a trump card—poison... which even killed yin entities. "No, I didn't use poison; I just took some pure-yang attribute pills..."

No wonder Qin Lian'er was hardly injured; now Bai Lang understands. Meanwhile, Murong Jiu Xiu and Ma Rulong, together, encountered a cow-headed monster taller than a house that had lifted the roof—plus it was a three-headed, six-armed cow-headed monster, each hand wielding a different weapon. In any case, it was a fierce battle; the two, coordinating in a suicide-like fashion, finally severed the monster's head, thereby escaping the Ghost Realm.

Bai Lang also let out a long breath; speaking of toughness, that ox-headed monster was undoubtedly the toughest, though it makes sense they entered together. "This is only the first day; the second night is coming up soon—what do you all think?" Bai Lang asked. "On the first day we already suffered five strains and seven injuries; for the second day...... should we try facing it alone or together? After all, we still haven't figured out what's really going on."

Upon Bai Lang's words, Ma Rulong nodded, "Though it's dire, I think facing it alone might still offer hope; if we all go together and encounter a monster of the caliber I and Martial Sister Murong faced, at least three of us would likely die." Everyone's condition is not great; the strongest fighter is basically Qin Lian'er, who retains most of her strength, while Bai Lang and Murong Ronghua can muster about sixty to seventy percent—this calculation ignores possible worsening of later injuries. As for Ma Rulong and Murong Jiu Xiu, they're practically crippled...

However, Bai Lang has broken through the fourth level of the Golden Bell Shield, so there might still be some variables.

After the deliberation—actually they were collectively at a loss, just waiting for fate—everyone sat downstairs as they had the first night. Until the third watch, nothing changed; "Going on like this isn't a solution; we might as well each return to our rooms," said Ma Rulong. Nobody spoke much, and they all went back to their rooms.

Bai Lang paid no heed to anything else; he flung himself onto the bed, closed his eyes to rest, and didn't realize when he fell asleep. He was awakened by sunlight shining on his face—this night, for him, nothing at all happened. "How did I just fall asleep?" he himself found it strange; logically, having cultivated his martial arts, he shouldn't sleep if he didn't want to...... but he didn't dwell on it. After the night passed, he felt his condition had improved considerably.

His flesh-and-blood wounds were fully healed; even the soreness around his broken bones had lessened considerably, his internal force flowed vigorously, and the recovery of his Golden Bell Shield was remarkably good—almost ninety percent restored.