Can the last prescription work?

In the midst of the swirling snow, Bai Ke could barely feel any cold. It was as if he were a stranger who had accidentally stumbled into this fragment of time, watching a play unfold—one in which he himself was the protagonist.

There was likely no experience more surreal than this.

Yet, despite the peculiarity of it all, Bai Ke felt his long-dormant emotions stirring with each step he took.

It was like discovering an old wooden box, forgotten in a dusty, cobweb-filled corner. A box he had hidden himself but had long since forgotten, along with its contents. Now, brushing off the dust and prying open the lock, he was overwhelmed by an inexplicable mix of nervous anticipation and an aching sadness that tugged at his chest.

Unconsciously, Bai Ke walked forward through the snow toward the massive dark stone.

His memories were a tangled mess, making it impossible to piece anything together clearly. He couldn't recall what had happened here before, who might have been present, or what awaited him. But instinct told him to keep moving, to get closer to the sacred stone.

As he approached the massive black stone, his dark hair flowing loosely around him, a figure suddenly emerged from below the cliff's edge, where the clouds stirred and snowflakes danced in the wind.

The newcomer was clad in robes as dark as the stone itself. The wind revealed a robust, powerful physique. His hair was tied tightly, leaving not a single strand out of place, which emphasized the sharp, angular contours of his resolute face, giving him an air of imposing confidence.

"Junxiao..." Bai Ke's lips moved reflexively, but he quickly realized the man could not hear him.

The Junxiao who climbed up from the cliff belonged to this moment in time, thousands of years ago. Though his brow was furrowed, his face heavy with thoughts, his demeanor was clearly different from the Junxiao Bai Ke knew in the present—a youthfulness still clung to him, unfaded by the passing of centuries.

For an instant, Bai Ke was struck by an inexplicable urge to step forward and pat him to comfort him.

Fixing his gaze on Junxiao, Bai Ke noticed the strange stiffness in the man's right arm as he landed. It was an unnatural posture, as though the arm was injured and unable to move properly. But Junxiao seemed to pay no mind to his condition; he appeared driven by urgency. The moment his feet touched the ground, he hurriedly followed another path leading away from the cliff.

Under ordinary circumstances, Bai Ke would have had no hope of keeping up with Junxiao's pace. But as Bai Lingchen's soul, he now found himself effortlessly matching the man’s strides.

Trailing Junxiao, Bai Ke descended the cliff, arriving at the next tier of the Yunfu Palace. Without hesitation, Junxiao slipped into the palace and made his way directly to the eastern chamber of the rear hall.

As Bai Ke followed, he realized that despite being a soul, unable to feel cold or make any sound, he could still detect a faint, bitter scent as he stepped into the room.

The aroma was intertwined with a delicate, cool fragrance that enveloped him, momentarily making Bai Ke feel in a trance.

It was familiar, though he couldn’t immediately recall why.

After a brief daze, recognition struck. This scent was remarkably similar to the bitter fragrance he had encountered earlier in the dense forest of Hengtian Sect. Each time he smelled it, he would find himself trapped in an illusion.

What had happened mere moments ago now felt like an event from the distant past.

However, the scent in this chamber had a subtle difference from that in the dense forest. It seemed more deeply embedded in his memory, evoking a wave of emotions. Staring at the room and inhaling the fragrance, Bai Ke felt as if he had once spent an eternity sleeping in this very environment.

"Master Ancestor, we’ve gathered all the materials!"

Junxiao’s sudden voice broke Bai Ke's reverie, pulling him back from the flood of emotions.

Bai Ke steadied himself and focused his gaze, quickly noticing that Bai Lingchen, who had previously been lying on the stone platform, was now resting on a bed in this room. Standing at the bedside, with his sleeves folded, was Yu Xian—the same person who had been transferring spiritual energy to Bai Lingchen earlier.

As soon as Junxiao landed and spoke, Yu Xian, who had been as still as a statue, came back to life. He snatched the embroidered silk pouch with faint patterns from Junxiao’s hand, opened it to glance inside, nodded while mumbling to himself as he counted the contents, and then clapped Junxiao on the shoulder.

"All here! Good lad, materials like these, scraped together from the ends of the earth, and you actually managed to gather them all. Were you hurt in the process?"

Junxiao waved his hand dismissively. "Hurt? Me? Not a chance! Since you have everything, Master Ancestor, hurry and start refining the medicine. Nothing else matters—saving my Master is the priority!"

Yu Xian clearly understood there was no time for idle chatter. He he couldn't delay, so he pulled the loose rope, tightened the pouch with a quick pull of its drawstring and patted Junxiao on the shoulder. Tossing out a quick, "Stay here and guard him. My spiritual energy has just been withdrawn. Once three moments pass, you’ll need to pick up where I left off. I’ll start the furnace now!" he vanished like a gust of wind.

The moment Yu Xian left, Junxiao’s previously tense demeanor finally relaxed. He raised his hand and conjured two small blue flames, muttering, "The materials are complete. Report back quickly!" He then flung the flames outward, and they transformed into bird-like shapes that flew out of the hall and disappeared in an instant.

Bai Ke observed as Junxiao took a step toward the bed, then knelt on one knee beside it. He gently took Bai Lingchen’s hand, which was resting at his side, and held it in his own.

At the moment Bai Lingchen’s hand was grasped, Bai Ke inexplicably felt a faint sensation of warmth and texture in his own right hand, though it should not have been possible in his current form.

Junxiao, still holding Bai Lingchen’s hand, brought it closer to his cheek, seemingly about to press it against his face. But he restrained himself, likely aware that the room wasn’t empty—they were not alone; the attendants of Yunfu Palace were also present.

After a silent moment, Junxiao stood and sat on a chair beside the bed. He turned to one of the attendants and instructed, "Mingyuan, fetch me some water."

The attendant with the rounder face nodded and dashed off. In no time, he returned with a basin of clear water.

Bai Ke watched as Junxiao sat by the bed and removed half of his outer robe, exposing his right arm, revealing the dripping flesh and blood inside.

A chunk of flesh was missing from his upper arm. The wound was dark purple, and the surrounding skin had an unhealthy grayish-green hue, clearly indicating it wasn’t an ordinary injury. Judging from Yu Xian’s earlier question, it seemed Junxiao had been bitten or attacked by something poisonous while gathering one of the required materials.

Even as a bystander, Bai Ke couldn’t help but clench his teeth at the sight of the wound. Junxiao, however, remained expressionless, treating it as though he were handling someone else’s arm entirely.

The standing attendant appeared shocked upon noticing the injury. Startled, he quickly rummaged for medicine and gauze to help, but Junxiao raised a hand to stop him.

"The poison is potent. I can endure it, but you can’t risk touching it," he said flatly.

As he spoke, he cleaned the wound with the clear water, carefully washing away the blood around its edges. Then, placing his left hand over the wound, he curved his fingers into a claw-like shape.

Black, tainted blood began to seep out of the wound, drawn by his hand. It dripped through his fingers and into the basin below, rapidly turning the clear water a murky black.

Blood continued to drip from Junxiao’s fingers, dark and tainted, until it finally turned bright red again. Only then did he withdraw his hand. He grabbed a silk cloth to wipe his fingers clean and took a medicine bottle from the attendant. Without even blinking, he sprinkled the powdered medicine directly onto the exposed and torn flesh of his wound. Using two clean strips of silk, he quickly bandaged the injury, then slipped his robe back on as though nothing had happened.

When the attendant reached to take away the basin of blood-stained water, Junxiao waved him off, handling it himself. He stepped outside, swiftly disposing of the poisoned water and washing his hands thoroughly before returning to Bai Lingchen's bedside.

Junxiao silently observed Bai Lingchen. When the three intervals Yu Xian had mentioned had passed, he noticed Bai Lingchen’s fingers twitch slightly, and a strong suction force began to emanate from his body. Without hesitation, Junxiao activated the array and started channeling spiritual energy into him.

There was no time to rest—not even for a moment.

Bai Ke stood quietly behind Junxiao, watching him. Because he was tied to Bai Lingchen’s soul, Bai Ke could feel the surging flow of spiritual energy within his own body as Junxiao channeled it into Bai Lingchen. It was as though he were the one lying on the bed, absorbing the energy.

As Bai Ke stood in this eerie stillness, the scene before him wavered like rippling water. The distortion left him dizzy, and he instinctively closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the scene had changed once again—

Bai Lingchen still lay on the bed, and Junxiao was still channeling energy into him. However, Junxiao now looked as though he had been holding the array for an unbearably long time. Additionally, three new people had entered the room: Yu Xian, who had left earlier to refine medicine, a tall and scholarly-looking young man with an elegant demeanor, and a young woman in plain white robes, whose face was radiant yet carried a quiet sorrow.

Although Bai Ke had never seen these people before, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and an aching tenderness toward them. It was akin to watching someone you cherished deeply, burdened with sorrow, without being able to intervene.

Yu Xian glanced at Junxiao by the bed and, with a hoarse voice, addressed the other two. “The medicine isn’t working—it’s troublesome. You two, as his junior disciples, stay here and keep an eye on Junxiao. That stubborn boy has been reckless since he was young. Even if he’s at his limit, he won’t let go. When you see he’s had enough, switch him out immediately. I’m going back to the furnace to see if the last prescription will work.”

Yu Xian sighed, visibly frustrated. “Also, keep a close watch for any news from outside. That icy-faced scourge has only been temporarily beaten back. It’s already claimed the lives of dozens of small sects. If someone foolish enough lets it out again, there won’t be another sect like Yusheng Gate to bear the burden.”

His words left the three of them in heavy silence.

After a moment, the young woman’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she hesitantly asked, “Master Ancestor... will the last prescription work? If it doesn’t, then Master—”

“Junior Sister!” the scholarly young man abruptly interrupted her, his tone sharp. He pressed his lips together, casting a quick glance at Junxiao and Bai Lingchen, then said firmly, “Master will be fine. There will be a way.”

Bai Ke listened to their conversation and quickly pieced together who the two must be—Junxiao’s junior disciples, Wu Nan and Shen Han, whom he had mentioned in the past.

However, after Wu Nan’s declaration, he and Shen Han exchanged a fleeting glance. It was subtle and went unnoticed by Yu Xian but not by Bai Ke, who caught it clearly. The look between them seemed to hold a silent agreement, a shared resolution.

For some reason, that glance sparked a troubling thought in Bai Ke’s mind. The moment the idea surfaced, his heart skipped a beat. He desperately wished his suspicion wasn’t true, but the chaotic fragments of memory clamoring in his mind seemed to confirm it. A deep unease settled over him, as though he had indeed guessed correctly.

 

Translator : DarNan