Upon hearing Lin Xiao's words, Liu Chun lifted his head and, choking with emotion, said gratefully:
"Thank you, Sect Master!"
For some reason, hearing Lin Xiao say this made him feel that his sister's chances of survival had greatly increased. The heaviness that had been pressing on his heart also eased a lot.
Jiang Youfu, noticing Liu Chun's tired and haggard appearance, took out a variety of spiritual foods he had made from his storage pouch and piled them in front of Liu Chun:
"Elder Liu, have something to eat and cheer up. Big Sister will definitely be saved."
Liu Chun gave him a gentle smile and replied:
"Alright, thank you, Elder Jiang."
At that moment, Liao Pantu emerged from his Soul-Nurturing Pendant. Sitting across from Liu Chun, he said:
"Your sister's condition is fortunate to have been held together by your talisman..."
After thinking for a moment, he took out a small medicinal bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Chun:
"I don't have anything particularly good with me right now, but here's a Yangyuan Pill. When your sister is able to take it, feed it to her."
Liu Chun did not refuse their kindness this time. Grateful, he accepted the bottle:
"Thank you, Senior Liao."
The group chatted for a while longer, and before Liu Qin's medicinal bath was over, Lin Xiao, who had only just returned not long ago, stood up and said to the others:
"Alright, let's not waste any more time. I'm off to visit the Yuan family."
With that, he left the inn.
By the time they made their way to and from the Yuan residence, Yuan Bi and Yuan Ruogu's conversation still had not ended.
After Lin Xiao and the others had left, the Yuan family guards had resumed their usual duties.
When Lin Xiao arrived outside the Yuan family's gate, he pondered for a moment before deciding not to visit directly. Instead, he sent a message to Yuan Qing, saying that he had an urgent matter that required a meeting with the head of the Yuan family.
Although he had just helped someone and said he didn't need repayment, it felt a bit awkward to immediately seek assistance. But thinking about Liu Chun, Lin Xiao couldn't afford to worry about that anymore.
A little thick-skinned was better than regretting later.
It wasn't long before Yuan Bi, after receiving the news from Yuan Qing, discreetly arranged for Lin Xiao to be brought into the Yuan family.
The two of them met in Yuan Bi's study, where Yuan Bi straightforwardly asked:
"Daoist Lin, if there is something on your mind, feel free to speak. Our Yuan family owes you a great debt. There's no need to feel embarrassed."
Lin Xiao couldn't help but admire how considerate Yuan Bi was. Not only did he anticipate Lin Xiao's concerns, but he also addressed them upfront, avoiding any awkwardness.
Lin Xiao didn't hesitate any longer and briefly explained the general situation of Liu Chun's sister's condition before asking:
"I've come to ask if there's any way your family can help save my friend's sister?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Bi was somewhat surprised that Lin Xiao had come to help someone else, especially since he had just saved their ancestor.
But after thinking about it, he realized the situation was quite different from that of their ancestor.
After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Bi suddenly thought of something and said:
"Our Yuan family has a Blue Wave Hot Spring in the back mountain that can nourish the body's meridians. However, from what you've described, that female cultivator's injuries are quite severe. Even with our hot spring, it wouldn't have a miraculous effect in the short term. If you want to use it, it would likely take a long soak to see any results."
Lin Xiao had only been hoping for a possible solution and hadn't expected the Yuan family to actually have one. Overjoyed, he quickly asked:
"May I borrow your family's Blue Wave Hot Spring? Are there any conditions for its use?"
Yuan Bi chuckled and said:
"Daoist Lin, what are you saying? It's just a pool of water. You're welcome to use it. There's no need for any conditions. However, when I said it would take a long time, I didn't mean a year or two. It could take five or ten years, or even longer. Would your friend be able to wait that long?"
He said this because the Blue Wave Hot Spring was quite large and divided into sections.
The lower part, which was the larger area, was open to members of the Yuan family.
The upper part was reserved for the head of the family and the various house leaders.
At the very top was the most exquisite small pool, which was exclusively for the Yuan family's ancestor.
Whether or not the ancestor's portion was lent out didn't matter to Yuan Bi. His branch wasn't using their allotted portion at the moment, so he saw no issue with letting Lin Xiao use it.
Hearing the time required, Lin Xiao hesitated, not having expected it to take so long. But he still responded:
"No matter how long it takes, my friend's sister cannot wait. I must borrow your family's Blue Wave Hot Spring. We will also seek other methods to try and help her recover as soon as possible."
He paused for a moment, recalling Yuan Bi's comment about not needing any rental fees, and didn't insist. After all, he had just saved their ancestor and said they should treat each other as friends. There was no need to be overly formal about this matter.
There would be many interactions between them in the future, and as long as they handled things appropriately, everything would be fine.
So, he agreed.
"Thank you for your generosity, Family Head Yuan. I'll return to inform my friend of this good news."
Yuan Bi nodded and said:
"Very well. I see the situation is urgent. Why don't you bring them to the back mountain in a while? I'll meet you there, and we'll enter through that side to avoid drawing attention. It'll be more convenient that way."
Seeing how considerate Yuan Bi was, Lin Xiao naturally agreed, and they arranged to meet at the back mountain in an hour.
As Lin Xiao left, Yuan Bi thought about the friend he had mentioned, someone named Liu Chun. The name seemed familiar, but he couldn't recall knowing anyone by that name.
Shaking his head, he didn't dwell on it and went off to make the necessary arrangements.
Back at the inn, once the time for the medicinal bath had passed, Liu Chun carefully brought his sister out and placed her back on the bed.
Liao Pantu thoroughly checked her condition once again.
He let out a long sigh afterward.
Liu Chun's sister, Liu Qin, even if her body were mostly repaired, would only be able to live like an ordinary person. Cultivating again would be impossible.
Her dantian was completely shattered.
For a cultivator, a damaged dantian was a fatal blow.
It meant they could no longer cultivate and that their previous cultivation level was gone.
Even living as an ordinary person would be much harder than normal, as they would be much weaker without an intact dantian.
In the world of cultivation, two situations were notoriously difficult to resolve.
First, when a heart demon invades.
Second, when the dantian is damaged.
And they were dealing with both at the same time.
If it were just her spiritual roots that were damaged, that would be easier to address. After all, their sect's cultivation method didn't rely on spiritual roots.
But with her dantian shattered, it was far from easy to repair.
When Lin Xiao returned, he told them about the Yuan family's Blue Wave Hot Spring.
Liao Pantu had heard of the Yuan family's Blue Wave Hot Spring in the past.