Upon arriving at the treatment room, Wu Tian sat down on the bed that had been prepared for him. Not long after, a young woman with blond hair and green eyes approached him. Her youthful face was delicate and gentle, yet at the same time radiated an aura of maturity.
Wu Tian noticed that the woman was wearing red robes. He now understood that red garments were likely worn only by disciples of high status.
"Junior, are you listening to me?" the woman asked as she leaned closer to Wu Tian's face, snapping him out of his daze.
"It's rude, you know, to be lost in thought when someone is speaking to you," she sighed softly as she straightened her posture.
"Sorry, Senior. It's just that you're too beautiful, so I lost my focus," Wu Tian replied with a warm smile.
The woman turned her head slightly away, but Wu Tian could clearly see the faint blush on her cheeks.
"I'm here to check your condition. You're lucky—your injuries aren't too serious. Take this pill to restore your energy and repair the internal damage. As for your external wounds, use this ointment."
She extended her hand, revealing a pill and a small container of ointment.
Wu Tian took the pill and swallowed it immediately. He quickly felt his energy recovering, and the pain from his injuries gradually faded.
"Hurry and apply the ointment. Your wounds won't heal just by swallowing that pill. Or do you want me to call another woman to apply it for you?"
Wu Tian pondered briefly. At this rate, his injuries indeed wouldn't heal in time. Although he didn't really care—such minor wounds wouldn't hinder him—he decided to continue pretending.
"I want Senior Sister to apply the ointment for me."
The woman's cheeks flushed once again, and she quickly turned her face away.
"Fine… I'll help you this time."
She sat beside Wu Tian and began applying the ointment over his body.
When Wu Tian removed his clothes, the woman was startled by the wounds left by Yang Fei.
"Why did you fight so fiercely even though you knew you couldn't win? Didn't you feel pain?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
Wu Tian laughed at the question. He couldn't win? Wu Tian feared that no one would be able to stop his finger if he became even slightly serious.
Turning his head, Wu Tian looked at her face.
"It does hurt. But isn't pain proof that I'm still alive?"
The woman stared straight into Wu Tian's eyes. Her expression was flat.
"Moreover, it's this pain that shaped who I am now. I can't hate this pain. I can't hate myself."
Her eyes trembled, her pupils widening as she heard his words.
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Wu Tian. And you are?"
"My name is Xu Lingyue. If I may ask, are you from the ancient Wu Family?"
Wu Tian was startled by the question. Previously, he hadn't paid much attention to his name. Besides, the notoriety of a good-for-nothing wouldn't last long, and the Wu Family would certainly suppress the news to prevent it from spreading.
"You're right. How did you know? Am I really that famous?"
"I was only guessing. You have extraordinary talent and bear the Wu surname—surely that isn't a coincidence. What's truly strange is seeing you wandering around at the Qi Condensation stage without any protection. Even if the Wu Family—a first-tier family—were wasting a top-tier talent like you, that would still be impossible unless they had lost their minds."
"Have you ever heard rumors about Wu Tian from the Wu Clan?" Wu Tian asked.
Xu Lingyue shook her head.
"What about the 'trash young master, drunken debauchee of the Wu Family'?"
This time, Xu Lingyue was startled, as if recalling something.
"I've heard of that. A few years ago, that rumor was quite widely discussed, though only a few people believed it."
"That's not a rumor," Wu Tian interjected. "It's the truth. And the person in that story is me."
Xu Lingyue was shocked once more, utterly confused.
"But aren't you extremely talented? There's no way they'd treat you like that. Then why didn't you cultivate properly instead of wasting your time like that?" she asked curiously.
Was Wu Tian talented? Of course. But was he on the level of a true genius? Absolutely not. If he hadn't used Qi Reaver to deceive the tower, he would likely have only reached the sixth or seventh floor.
So why did he laze around instead of cultivating to prove himself?
Memories began swirling through Wu Tian's mind. From every scene, it was clear that the previous owner of this body had truly been lazy and easily gave up. Yet Wu Tian understood—though he couldn't feel that person's emotions, he could comprehend them.
"Do you have something you like?"
He smiled faintly, as if the question had pulled him back into the past.
"I didn't know the answer back then either," he said softly. "My life was too noisy… too chaotic. I thought fear and exhaustion would accompany me forever."
He lowered his head briefly before continuing.
"One day, I found a book. It wasn't special—the cover was worn, almost torn. At first, I opened it without any expectations."
"But once I started reading, something strange happened. The noise around me disappeared. My ears, which were usually filled with clamor, became quiet, as if something was blocking the outside world."
"My mind, once filled with fear, gradually emptied. Then it was filled—not with anxiety, but with happiness. The world inside that book felt so alive. I felt as though I was being drawn into it."
He smiled again, this time more sincerely.
"For the first time, my constantly sorrowful heart felt warm. I could laugh with the characters, cry with them, and forget myself entirely."
He fell silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"From that day on, I knew the answer. I like books."
"When the world becomes too noisy, I read. When I'm afraid, I turn to the next page. And in that moment, I thought… maybe I really can live in this world."
He smiled faintly.
"If only I were a character inside that book."
Wu Tian realized that he had strayed, telling a story that no longer fully related to who he was now.
"You know, in the end, that tranquility couldn't last. When I entered a brothel, I realized that no one would disturb me there. From that moment on, I drowned myself in alcohol to forget the world."
When Wu Tian turned his head after receiving no response, he found Xu Lingyue lowering her head, carefully applying the final layer of ointment to his wounds.
As Wu Tian was about to touch her, she suddenly looked up, her expression returning to normal.
"All right. My task here is finished. I'll be leaving now."
She stood up, preparing to leave.
"By the way," Xu Lingyue asked without turning around, "don't you hate your family? Or perhaps… do you want to take revenge on them?"
Wu Tian thought for a moment, weighing the possibility that Xu Lingyue might reveal his identity and ambitions, and how the sect would react if they believed accepting Wu Tian meant opposing the Wu Family. In the end, he decided to answer honestly.
"I don't actually harbor resentment toward them. At the same time, I don't have any good feelings toward them either. So if I were to meet them on the road… I might kill them," Wu Tian said calmly.
"It's good that you don't hold a grudge," Xu Lingyue said. "In truth, I was assigned to investigate your identity. My master and the other elders were going mad, thinking you were an illegitimate child of the Wu Family, and they feared that one day you would leave once the Wu Family came to claim you."
After saying that, Xu Lingyue suddenly vanished from Wu Tian's sight.
Wu Tian realized that he had spent quite a long time talking with Xu Lingyue. Without wasting any more time, he immediately stood up to carry out his plan.