The young maiden was very curious. Why was there a person lying in the wilderness of this primeval forest? Was he dead?
Thinking about this, the young maiden firstly gave herself a scare. The image of a victim being killed in the wilderness and their corpse being disposed of in the forest immediately surfaced in her mind.
The steps she took as she walked over subconsciously slowed down. Encountering a dead person was still very terrifying for a young maiden.
"Su Wan'er, what are you looking at? Quickly search that side of the mountain. If we cannot finish the task today, we will be punished," a woman that was older than Su Wan'er said forcefully as she stood beside Su Wan'er.
Why was Su Wan'er so clumsy? They had come to gather medicinal herbs, but Su Wan'er seemed as though she was here for sightseeing. What was there to see in a rundown forest?
"Sister Yuting, there seems… seems to be a dead person there…" Su Wan'er said as she pointed her finger in the direction of the forest, clenching her clothes with her little hand. From where she stood, she could see the person lying there.
"What? A dead person?"
The woman called Sister Yuting also felt scared. There was not a village in sight, and aside from them, there was not a soul within a radius of a hundred kilometers. Apart from the few medicinal herb gathering disciples, no one would come here at all. Why was there a dead person in the forest?
Yang Yuting followed Su Wan'er's gaze She discovered that there was a person lying motionless on the ground.
"Let's check it out." Yang Yuting was much older, so she was naturally braver. She walked over straight away. Su Wan'er was curious, so she followed Yang Yuting.
The other medicinal herb gathering disciples saw the strange movements of these two. After hearing that there was a "dead person" lying over there, they also walked over curiously.
Very quickly, five disciples walked over to the person lying on the ground.
From a glance at the clothes that the person was wearing, they could see that he was not a member of their ancient martial arts sects. Usually, people belonging to the ancient martial arts sects mostly wore the sect uniform. The sects' uniforms were essentially retro type clothes. Even if some people had many different sets of clothing, they would very rarely wear them out.
"He is not from the mountains. He was most likely killed and his corpse disposed of here," a slightly older male disciple with a full beard said. When the ancient martial art practitioners encountered people from the outside, they would usually refer to themselves as mountain folk. Another meaning of mountain folk referred to the ancient martial art practitioners that practiced deep in the mountains.
"This person is quite young, roughly in his early twenties. He is so young. Why was he killed?" Yang Yuting said somewhat sympathetically. A youth of this age would probably be a child in a family outside.
She had a complete family back when she was ten. Her entire family treated her like a princess. Soon after this time, calamity struck and she became an orphan. After that, fate led her to enter her sect, and she began to practice ancient martial arts.
"Let's go! What's so interesting about a dead person?" The full-bearded man waved his hand. He turned and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute. It seems that he is still breathing." Su Wan'er, who had been constantly watching the "corpse" curiously, suddenly noticed that something was off. The person was actually still breathing faintly. Out of all of them, she was the most cautious, and at the same time, she had a very sharp sensory ability. Although the breathing was so faint that it could barely be heard, it could not escape her eyes.
"He is still breathing? Impossible!" a youth that was slightly older than Su Wan'er said in astonishment. How was he not dead after being so badly injured?
"He really isn't dead. I can feel his heartbeat." Su Wan'er took a step forward. After discovering that it was not a dead person, she was no longer afraid. Walking up to the person, she placed her hand on his chest. Although it was very slow, his heartbeat was still strong.
The person that she was looking down at was Mo Wen who had fallen into the forest.
Although he had killed the black-robed vampire, his wounds were pretty severe. Also, the most frightening injuries had been caused by the Heavenly Serpent Divine Spear. The recoil of the destructive lightning would most likely have turned him straight into dust and smoke if his body was not strong enough.
Upon hearing this, the others were immediately astonished. He was not dead, even in such a condition. He was very lucky.
The person's clothes were in tatters and there were bloodstains everywhere. There was a pool of blood on his chest that had drenched his clothes. With him lying on the ground motionless, anyone would think he was dead at first glance.
"I think he still can be saved." Su Wan'er checked Mo Wen's pulse and discovered that although his injuries were very severe, his pulse was still very stable. He did not seem like a dying person. Her face lit up.
"Saved? Even if he is not dead now, he will soon be. Even if he does not starve to death in this wilderness, he will be eaten by the jackals." The full-bearded man shook his head and said, "Let's go. Leave him alone. We have not completed today's task yet."
"How can we just leave him here? If we don't save him, he will really die." Su Wan'er was somewhat anxious. Kindhearted as she was, she did not wish to see a life lost when she had the ability to save it. She would feel very guilty about it.
"Sect junior sister Wan'er, you aren't thinking about bringing him back to the sect, are you?" The full-bearded man was shocked as he glared angrily at Su Wan'er. He understood the character of this sect junior sister Wan'er too well. She would certainly do such a thing. But how could they bring such a person back to the sect? The seniors in the sect would certainly disapprove.
"Yes. If we bring him back to the sect, maybe he can be saved." Su Wan'er nodded her head. She did not notice that her sect senior brother's tone was off. She believed that bringing a dying person back to the sect for treatment was what they were supposed to do.
"You…" The full-bearded man was extremely angry. Su Wan'er really could not read the mood.
"Sect junior sister, this person is no relation to us whatsoever. Why do we need to save him? We still have a task to complete. Bringing him along will be a burden. Do you want to be punished again for not completing your task?" another youth said, aiming to remind her of her obligations.
Bringing this person back to the sect was certainly not wise behavior. Their Five Tigers Sect was not a charity. How could they simply bring people back?
"Sect senior brother, saving a life is greater than building a seven-story pagoda. How can you all walk away and do nothing?" Su Wan'er said in objection. Since they had encountered such an incident, they had no reason not to save this person.
"Sect junior sister Wan'er, don't be mischievous. Listen to your sect senior brother on this matter. There are no benefits in saving him," the full-bearded man said nicely as he suppressed his temper. This sect junior sister was incredibly naive. She had not even considered whether this person was good or bad, and she wanted to risk saving him.
"No, sect senior brother. I feel that him encountering us is fate. Maybe the heavens are asking us to save him. I know that goodness will be rewarded. Since I was young, Master taught me to be good to others," Su Wan'er said adamantly.
The full-bearded man was completely helpless. He looked at Yang Yuting next to him and said, "Sect junior sister Yuting, please talk some sense into her."
"Sect senior brother Lu, you know sect junior sister Wan'er's temper. Once she makes a decision, even nine cows can't move her," Yang Yuting said helplessly.
Saving a life was an act of kindness, and one would be somewhat ashamed if they could save a person and yet left him in the forest to fend for himself. However, rationally speaking, Yang Yuting would still not save this person.
"Sect junior sister Wan'er, I will speak rather frankly. We came this time with a task. If we do not complete the task, we will all be punished. By bringing along this burden, you will encumber everyone," one of the youths said. He had not yet spoken and his expression was cold. It was not easy for them to search for precious medicinal herbs in the primeval forest. By bringing this person along with the, it would make things much for difficult for all of them.
Once he had finished speaking, no one else said anything further. They either lowered their heads and looked at their feet or glanced around. Although his words were somewhat overboard, it indeed was what they were thinking. It was just not convenient for them to say it aloud. If they brought along this living corpse, would they still be able to complete the mission?
Su Wan'er bit her lip and lowered her head. Tears welled up in her eyes. Only after a while, only did she lift her head and softly said, "Dear sect senior brothers and sisters, I know that doing so will add to your burdens. I don't want to wrong you, but I cannot watch a life slip past right before my eyes and not save them. Hence, I have decided to leave this medicinal herb gathering team. I will return to the sect and turn myself in."
As she said this, Su Wan'er bent over and picked Mo Wen up. It was strange seeing her petite figure picking up Mo Wen, but she was an ancient martial art practitioner, so it was not a problem for her to lift him.
The others watched as Su Wan'er's silhouette disappeared. Their eyes were full of complicated looks. Su Wan'er was the youngest sect junior sister among them. Usually, she was the one who was protected. But right now, they realized that Su Wan'er had courage and fortitude that they did not have.
No one noticed that when Su Wan'er picked up Mo Wen, Mo Wen's finger had trembled slightly.
When Mo Wen once again opened his eyes, the sky outside was dark. It clearly was night. Mo Wen lay on a bed with only his eyes open. He discovered that his entire body was stiff, as though he was sealed in rock. Waves of pain kept assaulting his mind. Even moving was difficult.
"This time, I was really unlucky." Mo Wen laughed bitterly. His injuries were more severe than he had imagined. His body was filled with a destructive lightning power which was destroying the organs in his body. What was more frightening was that this destructive power had blocked off the meridians in his body. Not only did it prevent his natural recovery ability, it also sealed his cultivation.
If he did not get rid of this destructive lightning power, he could not recover from his injuries. Right now, he lay on the bed, unable to move; he was no different from a cripple.
"I should have known not to have used the Heavenly Serpent Divine Spear." Mo Wen revealed a smile that was uglier than crying. Although the Heavenly Serpent Divine Spear's might was outrageously strong, he had only activated one attack and it had nearly taken his life. It would be better for him to not touch the Heavenly Serpent Divine Spear again when his ability was insufficient.
"Luckily, I still have leftover Vital Qi in my body as well as the power of Ji Wuya's inheritance. I can slightly resist the destructive lightning power and gradually let my body recover. Otherwise, I really do not know what else to do this time."
After noticing that there were still two powers resisting the lightning power in his body, Mo Wen breathed a sigh of relief. When his injuries had recovered slightly, he could open the medicine spiritual ring and retrieve the healing panaceas inside. They would more or less heal some of his injuries.