On the bed, Mu Tong, who had just woken up, had no time to process his current situation.
His gaze was fixed unabashedly on Song Ruru's innocent little face, his breathing heavy and his eyes bloodshot.
Song Ruru didn't understand the meaning in the man's eyes, her own filled with naive joy.
"Big brother, you're finally awake! I'll go get Grandpa!"
With that, the little girl turned and hopped off the bed.
She was completely unaware that behind her, the red-eyed Mu Tong was reaching out to touch her.
But just as he raised his hand, before he could touch her, the pain from his wounds forced him to drop his arm limply.
The physical pain reached his brain, finally clearing the lust that had clouded his mind.
The events before he lost consciousness resurfaced in his mind.
Mu Tong gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to sit up, a woman's sharp, cold taunt sounded in his ear.
"Injured this badly, and the first thing you do when you wake up is lose control over a tasty little dish? Truly worthy of you, my dear brother!"
The woman who had been lying beside Mu Tong had woken up at some point. Her white undergarments clung to a slender yet well-proportioned figure, and her pale face was filled with mockery.
Her gaze fell unabashedly on the area below Mu Tong's waist.
Her eyes looked as if they were staring at something filthy.
Mu Tong turned his head to glance at her, sneering mockingly. "The Ancient God Society couldn't even finish you off? You're tough to kill, Mu Nan!"
Mu Nan's eyes grew cold, anger and loathing brewing within them.
But she didn't lash out. After taking a deep breath, she changed the subject.
"Get that thing below your waist under control. The people from the Ancient God Society are relentless. We're two fish that slipped the net, and given their hostility towards our Tianshan Sect, they're probably still hunting for us. The priority right now is to recover and get back!"
Mu Tong scoffed, turning to face Mu Nan, who was lying flat on her back.
His eyes roamed wantonly over her body.
"If that's the case, then to recover as quickly as possible, the only way is for us to dual cultivate."
Mu Nan was instantly nauseated, looking at Mu Tong with disgust.
"I really want to crack open your head and see what's inside. Isn't there plenty of blood essence here to refine?! And you liked that little girl from before, right? Just refine her!"
Mu Tong pursed his lips. Just as he was about to speak, he heard two sets of footsteps—one light, one heavy—approaching. Get faster updates on g.com.
The two of them instantly and tacitly fell silent.
Turning their heads, they saw Song Ruru leading Old Doctor Song into the room.
Seeing the two on the bed—awake, and though pale and weak, still lucid—a flash of astonishment crossed Old Doctor Song's eyes.
At first, when Song Ruru told him they were awake, Old Doctor Song hadn't believed her.
With injuries like theirs, it didn't seem possible for them to have woken up.
How could Old Doctor Song know that Mu Tong and Mu Nan were no ordinary people?
An ordinary person would never have survived such wounds after being submerged in the river for so long.
But for two people with cultivation, they would have woken up even without the villagers' help.
After a moment of surprise, Old Doctor Song quickly composed himself and placed the large bowl of medicinal soup he was carrying on the bedside table.
"You're awake? With injuries like these, you're truly fortunate to be alive. But your wounds are severe, and it will take some time to fully recover. Here, drink this medicine first."
Mu Tong and Mu Nan exchanged a subtle glance before sitting up, enduring the pain.
"I am Mu Tong, and this is my younger sister, Mu Nan. Thank you for saving us. May I ask our benefactor's name?"
Mu Tong forced a friendly smile onto his face. Paired with his pale, weak complexion, it was enough to make one lower their guard.
Old Doctor Song shook his head. "I don't deserve to be called a benefactor. It was the villagers who saved you. I am just the village doctor, and I took you in and treated you out of my duty as a physician."
"Besides, it wasn't for free. I've already taken the medical fee from your person, Young Master Mu. I'm just letting you know. The rest of your silver is in your outer clothes."
Mu Tong kept his friendly smile. "Even so, we thank you for your aid, Doctor. As for the silver, it is only right that you took it."
Old Doctor Song nodded. "My surname is Song. You can just call me Doctor Song. Can you two drink the medicine on your own? Or shall I help you?"
Naturally, Mu Tong and Mu Nan chose to drink the medicine themselves.
Taking the bowls of soup from the bedside, they first sniffed the contents. After confirming it was just herbs for replenishing qi and blood, they downed it in one gulp.
After finishing the medicine, Mu Tong asked, "Doctor Song, if it's not too much trouble, could you tell us where we are? And how were my sister and I rescued?"
These weren't difficult questions, so Old Doctor Song had no issue recounting the whole story to them.
Only then did Mu Tong and Mu Nan understand.
Yesterday, after being grievously wounded by members of the Ancient God Society, they had fallen into the water and lost consciousness. Then, by a stroke of luck, they had drifted down the river to Song Family Village, where they were discovered by a few village men and brought to Old Doctor Song for treatment.
Mu Tong and Mu Nan looked at each other, their eyes dark and unreadable.
Old Doctor Song didn't know what they were thinking. He looked at the sword and blade wounds on their bodies and hesitated to speak.
Old Doctor Song wanted to ask about their origins, including the source of their wounds.
Mu Tong and Mu Nan clearly weren't simple folk. He worried that saving them might bring trouble.
But he also worried that asking would just create more problems.
In the end, Old Doctor Song didn't press the issue. He decided to send them on their way once they could walk freely.
Taking the empty bowls, Old Doctor Song said, "You are both still weak. I will bring some food over later. You should rest up and not get out of bed, lest you aggravate your injuries. If you need anything, just call out. I will be able to hear you."
With that, Old Doctor Song led his granddaughter, Song Ruru, out of the room.
But as they turned to leave, Mu Tong's eyes followed Song Ruru's figure, practically drooling. He only reluctantly withdrew his gaze after they had disappeared from sight.
Mu Nan took in his expression and couldn't help but sneer. "My dear brother, so eager? How about we spare the little girl during the blood refinement and take her back to the sect for you to play with?"
He was long since immune to her sarcasm and taunts.
Thinking of the cute, well-behaved girl standing beside Old Doctor Song, Mu Tong licked his lips, his eyes full of wicked intent.
"Why go to all that trouble? It'll be the same if I blood refine her after I'm done enjoying myself!"
Mu Nan scoffed. "And here I thought you'd gotten attached and wanted to take your new prey back to the Tianshan Sect. It seems you're still the same cold-blooded Mu Tong."
Mu Tong raised an eyebrow, unconcerned, but he didn't want to continue the topic.
He nonchalantly changed the subject. "This Song Family Village is near that Liu Family Village we were at a few days ago. Quite a coincidence. One moment we're being chased by the Ancient God Society for smashing the statue in Liu Family Village, and the next, we coincidentally end up back here near it. Heh, I bet those folks from the Ancient God Society never expected this."
"Song Family Village has about a hundred people. After refining them, our injuries should be seventy to eighty percent healed."
"Oh, right, isn't this Song Family Village also one of the sect's targets? It seems they also worship a statue, and have for a long time. What's it called... Xuanqing Gong?"
"If it weren't for those troublesome bastards from the Ancient God Society, the sect would have already claimed the statue in this village."
Hearing this, Mu Nan raised an eyebrow. "So, this is a blessing in disguise? We can use these hundred-odd villagers for blood refinement to heal our wounds, and take the opportunity to seize the statue they worship here as well?"
Mu Tong nodded. "According to the files I read back at the sect, the statue in Song Family Village has been worshipped for a very long time. It should have developed a Divine Statue Anomaly. And with no leaders around, there's no one to share the credit with. It's all ours. When we bring it back to the sect, we're sure to get a hefty reward. Haha, it really is a blessing in disguise!"
The two chatted unscrupulously, thinking their voices were too low for Old Doctor Song to hear.
Little did they know, perched on the courtyard wall, a black cat with eerie green eyes was taking it all in.
Proofreader: Peter Pan