Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
It was the start of Autumn season, not time for the leaves to fall yet, but all the trees within five kilometers of the camp were bare.
Ever since Han Jin had completely activated the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix, gales would constantly surge. Strangely enough, the broken branches and leaves, which covered the hill, didn’t move in the wind. It was as though they were frozen in time. Only Hayden and Charles were hampered by them, while everyone else could move freely inside the gales. Obviously, Han Jin was not satisfied with their previous punishment.
However, their attitudes changed overwhelmingly after the battle. For the past few days, they had been gossiping about how Gibran had changed, how he liked to spend time with a bunch of dumb and naive kids, but after witnessing the power of the matrix, they became less chatty. Even though they knew the master of the matrix was toying with them, they gritted their teeth and kept quiet.
Part of the group was responsible for clearing the battlefield, while everyone else returned to the camp. Edwina had been placed back in her own shed, but her situation was far from good. She was still unconscious from the kidnapping, and remained unresponsive no matter how hard Julia called out to her. The two female deacons decided, after a long diagnosis, that something harmful was circulating within her body, but they had no idea how to resolve it.
They were only deacons after all, the lowest title within the priest professions. If they could find a cardinal, he could probably cure Edwina, but inside this forest, you couldn’t even find a bishop or an assistant bishop, let alone a cardinal.
A solemn mood fell on Gibran and everyone else who stood beside Edwina’s bed. Everyone’s faces were livid, yet no one had no ideas on how to proceed. All the while, Julia sobbed beside Edwina’s bed.
For the Red Vanguards, today was historical. Gibran only ever killed and never got angry, but he did today. Julia was tough and never cried, but she did today.
The grass curtain opened, and Sunier and Han Jin walked in together. Unlike Gibran and his companions, Sunier didn’t appear worried at all, since she honestly wasn’t worried – all because Han Jin was here.
Han Jin didn’t waste time talking. He walked straight toward Edwina and grabbed her wrist while Julia tearfully gave him a confused look. Hayden and Charles looked the other way and pretended they hadn’t seen anything. If they had seen Han Jin being so rude before, they probably would have yelled to his face.
After a moment, Han Jin slowly said, “She’s poisoned.”
Poisoned? Julia hurriedly wiped away her tears. Could this Raphael be a priest in addition to being a powerful magician?
“Oh.” Sunier’s face looked funny. She wasn’t surprised Han Jin could immediately diagnose Edwina’s symptoms, but by why hadn’t he started treating her yet? At this point, Sunier trusted Han Jin more than the man himself. “Raphael, do you need anything else?”
“Poisoned? By what??” Julia asked anxiously.
“I don’t know, but she is rapidly losing her life force right now.” Han Jin grabbed Edwina’s hair. “Look!”
The tips of her hair had curled up, as though they had been burnt by fire, and were the color of wilting leaves. Han Jin touched it with his fingertip, and it instantly turned to dust.
Gibran and the rest had only focused on Edwina’s face and hadn’t noticed this kind of detail. They were all great startled by this scene.
“How vicious of that cursed Manteco!” Gibran cursed loudly. Apparently, Manteco hadn’t had any intentions of negotiating, which meant that even if they had surrendered, he would have killed them anyways.
“Master Raphael, is there any way to save her?” Julia asked nervously.
“If Edwina were still conscious and could work with me, I am confident I could have gotten rid of the poison in her body, but now…”
“What? Raphael, even you can’t save Sister Edwina?!” Sunier’s face paled instantly.
Han Jin smiled bitterly in his heart. Of course he had a way. Even if he were to ignore the friendship between Sunier and Edwina, Edwina had returned to Isolated Cliff City just to help him acquire more magic crystals, which had led to her kidnapping. He was morally obligated to save her! Han Jin just didn’t want it to appear too easy, or else Gibran and his followers wouldn’t feel like they owed him a favor.
“I… do have a way,” Han Jin said in a quiet voice. Looking at Sunier’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to act like that anymore.
“How confident are you?” Gibran immediately asked.
“About seven or eight out of ten chances of succeeding, and that depends on how strong Edwina’s physique is.”
“Then what are you waiting for?!” Julia abruptly stood up.
“Yalina, Sunier, and Julia, you three stay. The rest can leave,” Han Jin said.
Gibran waved his hand and, without hesitation, brought Hayden and the rest out with him, while Moxinke and Cessacioun stepped outside as well. The previously crowded shed instantly became more spacious.
“Julia, turn Edwina around and take off her leather armor,” Han Jin said.
“Right.” Maybe because of her anxiety, she appeared quite heavy-handed as she flipped Edwina around and untied her amor, exposing the light green dress beneath.
“Take off her dress too.”
“Uh…” Julia froze in place.
“This is why you needed to stay.” Han Jin smiled. “In her current condition, Edwina will only last about three to five more days. The later we treat her, the more she will be harmed, at which point, it will be hard for her to recover completely. Consider this carefully.”
Julia gritted her teeth and slowly lifted up Edwina’s dress. Now it was Han Jin’s turn to be surprised. Sometimes, people’s judgement were affected by their subconcious standards. Aftering growing up in a different culture, Han Jin had just assumed Edwina would be wearing underwear. But to his great astonishment, there was nothing but a thin layer of fabric underneath, which didn’t really cover anything; he could even clearly see her buttcrack.
“Is… this good enough?!” Julia lowered her head.
Han Jin cleared his mind and regretted his decision. If he had known about this, he would have thought of another way instead of putting himself in such an awkward situation. But at this point, he couldn’t explain himself either, or else it would look even more suspicious.
Han Jin formed a series of signs aimed at Edwina’s body, then yelled in a low voice, “Rise!”
Following his gestures, Edwina’s body slowly raised to midair at a slanted angle. Han Jin moved his index finger slightly, and Edwina’s right butt shook with his finger, as if the two of them were connected in some way.
Han Jin’s finger started to move even faster as if he were performing a fast paced song. Likewise, Edwina’s body moved faster and faster; her sturdy yet round arms swayed in the hair, her light brown hair dancing. Under the thin layer of cloth, her butt shook around in waves. Fortunately, there was no one in front of her.
From a psychological point of view, a half exposed girl was way more attractive than a fully naked one. Edwina’s upper body was almost completely naked, but her leg armors were still on, and a pair of delicate combat boots were even on her feet. The stark contrast formed quite a visual spectacle.
Julia bit her lips as she gripped Sunier’s hands. She was very anxious and didn’t know if she had made a mistake or not. In reality, Sunier didn’t feel much better. If not for the year she had spent with Han Jin, and her trust in him, who knows what she would have done at this point.
It was awkward for Han Jin too. The poison had poisoned Edwina’s bloodstream, which meant that the toxins were hiding inside her blood. At the moment, Edwina’s blood was flowing at an extremely slow pace, and was severely affecting her various bodily functions. To completely cleanse her of the toxins, Han Jin must speed up her blood flow, which was not something Daoist Arts could help solve – at least not at his current stage. Hence why he had said at the beginning that he was only confident if Edwina were conscious and could cooperate with him.
Han Jin’s other hand didn’t remain idle either. One after another, rays of light streaked into Elina’s spine, and something strange started to happen. Her shaking spine started to turn into a darker and darker shade of blue, eventually turning into a depressing shade of black. A cobweb of black lines ran downward from the center of her spine, and eventually covered her entire back.
The thin yet dense net of webs looked sinister and appalling, which made Sunier and Julia’s eyes widen. Only then did they truly believe Han Jin: it was undoubtedly poison!
Han Jin’s signs started to form even more rapidly. Suddenly, he paused for a moment, and with a wave of his arm, a sharp sound echoed across the shed. A x-shaped bloody wound appeared on Edwina’s back.
Typically, an assistant would be responsible for this part, but that required a lot of explaining. Since Han Jin didn’t have the time to do so, he had to do it himself.
“Agh…” Julia cried out.
Sunier gripped Julia’s hand, signaling her to not distract Han Jin.
“Julia, are you ok?” Gibran asked nervously from outside.
“I’m fine…” Julia said. She then realized she was talking to Gibran too nicely, and hastily added, “None of your business!”
A stream of a thick black liquid flowed out of the wound and down her back, which was promptly shaken off by her shaking body. Knowing it was the poison, Sunier and the rest carefully stepped aside.
The wound on Edwina’s back was startling. Han Jin hadn’t cut too deep, but it wasn’t light either. Black flesh started to be exposed as the wound opened even more. Julia had to close her eyes, because she didn’t want to look anymore.
When the black liquid started to fade and eventually turn red, Han Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Following his gesture, Edwina was slowly lowered from the air and back onto her bed. “Sunier, clean Edwina’s back with clean water. You must clean it thoroughly!”
“Got it,” Sunier replied and hastily charged out. When she got to the door, she paused, and yelled, “Step aside everyone, step aside!”
A wave of shuffling came from outside the curtain. Sunier opened the curtain a crack, and only charged out after confirming that no one could see inside.
Sunier quickly returned with two bags of water, gave one to Julia, and started to carefully clean Edwina’s back with her bag of water.
A thick, stomach turning stench, lingered in the shed, but neither Sunier nor Julia had the time to worry about that. The leftover black liquid was quite stubborn, and the two of them were only able to finish cleaning half of the wound with the two bags of water.
Sunier was about to run out again when Yalina wearily said, “Did you forget about me?” Before she finished speaking, a large ball of water appeared above Edwina, slowly approached her, and instantly shattered as it came into contact with her.
With a magus’ mastery of water, the water ball was completely harmless, and only slightly shook Edwina’s body. Sunier smiled wearily at Julia; both of them had been too worried about Edwina, and had forgotten they had a magus right next to them.
One after another, balls of water appeared above Edwina. Yalina was far more efficient compared to Sunier and Julia, and completely cleaned Edwina’s back after seven or eight water balls. Due to the impact of the water, her back appeared a little red. Edwina’s dress, which had been dyed completely black, also stuck tightly to her butt, which was a truly enticing scene.
“Are we good?” Sunier looked at Han Jin. “What do we do… with this?” She meant the dress.
Han Jin grabbed Edwina’s wrist again, and after a moment of listening, he aimed a few more signs at Edwina’s wound. “Throw away her dress later and give her a good shower. You must shower as well, do you understand?”
Sunier nodded and quickly grabbed a sheet to cover Edwina. Even Julia, who was extremely anxious about her younger sister, hadn’t moved as fast.
“Are you sure she will be fine?” Julia looked at Han Jin in anticipation.
“She’s going to be fine.” Han Jin smiled warmly. “She should be back to her old self after a few days of rest.”
“Is everything fine now?” Gibran called out from outside. He could clearly hear the commotion inside. “Can we come in now?”
“Yes, you can.” Han Jin decided for Julia.
The grass curtain was violently flipped aside, and Gibran shot next to the bed like a streak of lightning. He carefully inspected Edwina who was wrapped in a blanket, with only half of her face exposed. Although she still looked extremely pale, there were signs of life, which was a big improvement from the deathly aura she had been giving out before. Combined with the fact that the shed was filled with a stomach turning stench, Gibran was certain that the poison inside of Edwina was completely gone!
Gibran’s expression turned solemn as he looked at Han Jin, then bowed deeply. He didn’t say anything, but during times like these, actions spoke louder than words.
On the other hand, Moxinke, Cessacioun, and the rest who had followed them inside were staring at Gibran. They remembered how proud the Red Vanguards had been when they had first met in Isolated Cliff City. They, and most of the other mercenaries, were people who needed to be admired from a distance! Yet, in less than a year, they had earned the right to fight alongside them, and now, Gibran was even bowing to them. The stark contrast gave both Moxinke and Gibran an overwhelming mix of emotions.
