After traveling for two to three days, Lin Wuming and He Yingying finally left that godforsaken place.
They hired a carriage and journeyed toward the Central Plains.
It wasn’t until half a month later that they reached their destination.
Luoshui City—this was the city where Lin Wuming had been born and raised.
Located in the southeast of the Yanhuang Empire, it wasn’t exactly a famous metropolis, but it was still an ancient city with a long history.
Though he’d returned to the city, Lin Wuming had no intention of going back to his family.
For now, he simply stayed in an inn.
Throughout the journey, he had made it a point to provoke He Yingying constantly.
More than once, he saw his little junior sister gnashing her teeth, clearly angry but unable to say anything.
Even though she said nothing on the surface now, Lin Wuming figured she must really hate him by now.
That meant the timing was just about right.
After settling into the inn, he immediately took her to find a doctor.
But the result… was extremely disappointing.
“What kind of skills are those? Can’t even treat a few minor injuries? And you call yourself the best physician in Luoshui?”
Half an hour later, Lin Wuming left the clinic with his junior sister on his back, grumbling all the way.
It was exactly because of quacks like this that skilled physicians on the Canglan Continent were so rare and valued.
What Lin Wuming didn’t know, though, was that the physician inside was equally enraged.
Just look at the girl’s injuries—her knees had been completely shattered, her eyes poisoned by some exotic toxin, and her meridians?
Don’t even mention them!
Even if she were taken to the imperial palace and treated by the royal physicians, it would still be nearly impossible!
Coming to a small clinic like his—wasn’t that just making things hard on purpose?
He Yingying, however, wasn’t the least bit surprised.
She knew her own body.
Those who had hurt her had clearly done so with intent.
Even if they couldn’t kill her, they wanted to make her a total cripple.
Even if she returned to the palace now, at best they could only heal her legs.
As for the strange poison in her eyes—who knew if even the royal physicians could handle it?
And her meridians… well, unless the Valley Master of Shennong Valley personally intervened, there was basically no hope.
But the Yanhuang Empire wasn’t what it used to be.
Even her father the emperor would find it extremely difficult to invite the valley master.
And besides, as the ninth princess with mediocre talent, she was never someone he truly cared about.
For her, the emperor would never owe Shennong Valley a favor.
He only had eyes for the empire’s interests.
How could he ever consider the well-being of a daughter like her?
She had never placed any hopes on her father.
What she didn’t understand was—why her?
Among all the royal princes and princesses, her talent was the worst.
She was invisible in the palace, not favored at all.
So why was she targeted?
What for?
What had she done to deserve this?
All she wanted was to live quietly, cultivate properly, and one day earn some glory for her mother—so that her mother could live better in the cold palace.
But even that wish had been destroyed by a ruthless scheme…
Of course she felt wronged.
Of course she was bitter.
But right now, her personal grievances weren’t the priority.
She was more worried about her mother.
Her mother had never been favored in the harem.
Now that she, He Yingying, had been attacked, those people might target her mother next.
The only small comfort was that her mother resided deep in the inner palace, where outsiders would find it hard to reach her.
But what if the threat wasn’t from outsiders?
Her heart burned with anxiety, but there was nothing she could do.
She was just a useless cripple now.
Even before, her reversed meridians had made cultivation near-impossible.
Now that her meridians were completely severed, she had lost even the right to cultivate.
What could she possibly do?
Silently, she clutched the back of Lin Wuming’s shirt.
Then, without a word, she leaned her head against his shoulder and let the tears fall.
Lin Wuming felt the wetness on his shoulder and froze.
Sarcastic words were on the tip of his tongue—but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say them.
Forget it.
He’d already teased her all this way—what was one more jab going to do?
Seeing the fragile girl weep quietly on his back, he really couldn’t bear to continue.
Back at the inn, Lin Wuming placed her gently on the bed.
“Stay here and behave. Don’t cause trouble. I’ve got things to do—got it?”
He Yingying didn’t say anything, just held onto his sleeve.
The world before her was total darkness—she couldn’t see his face.
But surely, her senior brother had a kind and gentle expression, didn’t he?
During their journey, she had realized that her senior brother was deliberately trying to provoke her.
No, more than that—he was earnestly trying to test her, trying to help her grow.
And despite how biting his words were, the care and tenderness in his actions always managed to shine through.
In the tiniest of details, she could feel a warmth she had never known before.
It reminded her of her mother—but also felt different…
It was a warmth that didn’t exist in the cold, harsh reality of the palace.
She nodded and let go of his sleeve.
“Senior brother… he must be going to buy medicine for me…”
Even if he didn’t say it, He Yingying could tell.
After all, her senior brother was really easy to read.
They’d only known each other for just over ten days, but she already had this strong belief—’because he’s my senior brother, of course he’d do that.’
And as it turned out, she was right.
Just over half an hour later, her senior brother returned.
The moment he opened the door, she could already faintly smell the scent of medicinal herbs.
She didn’t say a word, but a soft smile tugged at her lips.
It felt like someone had tucked a piece of candy into her mouth—sweet and warm.
‘Senior brother always lets these little details slip…’
Even though he’d bought the herbs, Lin Wuming didn’t plan to start treating her injuries right away.
For one thing, he wasn’t confident yet.
For another—he remembered that old man Ma once boasted that if his medical techniques were paired with spiritual energy, their effects would multiply significantly.
So to be safe, Lin Wuming figured he should cultivate first, and only when he had spiritual power in his body would he start treating his junior sister.
The past ten days had been spent traveling.
He hadn’t even had time to properly look at the technique he got from the last mission reward.
[Basic Vitality Cultivation Technique.]
Just hearing the name sounded a little… basic.
Compared to the Creation Saint Dao Manual , it was leagues inferior.
But he didn’t have a choice—this was the only cultivation technique he had.
And any cultivation method was precious!
His birth family had once been fairly influential—one of the three major families in Luoshui City.
Yet even so, they only had one decent technique in the entire clan.
Only the direct bloodline of the clan leader had access to the complete version.
The rest of the branches got scraps—or had to rely on incomplete, off-brand methods.
As someone without parents, Lin Wuming had it even worse.
No one ever taught him even a fragment.
That’s why he remained a mortal for more than ten years.
Now, finally, he had a complete cultivation technique before him.
This was his gateway to the immortal path—his first real step on the road to cultivation!