The night had grown colder, and the narrow street beyond the clinic was completely deserted. Only a lantern hanging beneath the clinic's eaves illuminated the entrance.
Ye Cheng looked at the closed clinic door from time to time. He was truly worried about Bai Jing. He doesn't know what happened at home, he only hopes that Bai Jing survived. Otherwise, he would never get rid of this regret.
Ye Cheng lowered his head and stared at his hands. It was true that Bai Jing spilled water on the Refining manual. But was everything really Bai Jing's fault?
Ye Cheng knew better than anyone how precious that manual was. It was the only refining manual he possessed and something he had spent years trying to earn.
If it was so important, why did he leave it somewhere that could easily be damaged? If he had properly put it away, Bai Jing could have knocked over ten bowls of water and nothing would have happened to it.
Yet the moment he saw the ruined pages, he was so angry that he lost his sense of reasoning.
Ye Cheng closed his eyes and sighed. During the past few days, he had repeatedly told himself that Bai Jing was the reason he had lost his opportunity to attend Limitless Academy. He treated their marriage as something forced upon him and consequently treated Bai Jing as though he were nothing more than an unwanted burden attached to it.
But Bai Jing was also forced into this marriage.
The more Ye Cheng thought about his behavior since they arrived in Longxu Village, the more uncomfortable he became.
Bai Jing did all he could to make their relationship work. Whatever resentment Ye Cheng carried toward their circumstances, Bai Jing was still his partner. He hadn't been considerate of him at all.
The sword spirit was strangely silent at this moment. When it comes to life lessons about family and relationships, it's better to let the youngsters figure it out for themselves.
Besides, he's a gloomy old man, what does he know?
The treatment room door suddenly opened, and Ye Cheng immediately raised his head.
A young medicine assistant came out and said to him: "Young Master Ye. Your wife condition has stabilized"
The tension in Ye Cheng's shoulders finally eased: "What about the child?" He asks
"The child is stable as well. Your wife is sleeping now. His body is extremely exhausted, so the physician wants him to rest."
Ye Cheng released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding: "I understand, Thank you."
The medicine assistant glanced toward the street and said: "You should come inside too. The night is cold, and sitting outside until morning won't help your partner."
Ye Cheng hesitated briefly before nodding: "Thank you."
The assistant led him into a small ward. Bai Jing was sleeping beneath a thick quilt.
His fever was finally low, although his complexion remained pale. The swelling around his eyes didn't disappear.
Ye Cheng quietly approached the bed. He pulled a chair closer and sat beside him. A few moments later, he reached out and carefully took Bai Jing's hand.
Ye Cheng lowered his eyes: "I'm not sure how our future together will be. But I promise to do better, and be a better husband."
...
Early the following morning, Ye Cheng opened his eyes from meditation. Bai Jing was still sleeping.
After checking that his breathing remained steady, Ye Cheng left the clinic and headed toward the morning market.
Several breakfast stalls had already opened. He bought a container of freshly cooked porridge before returning.
…
Bai Jing woke to an unfamiliar ceiling. His mind went completely blank for a moment and he began to panic.
"Where am I?"
He quickly tried to sit up, only for him to slide back down due to the weakness in his body.
He gave up sitting up and looking around the room. Several beds separated by wooden screens, including the medicinal cabinets and the unmistakable smell of herbs.
Bai Jing gradually relaxed: "A clinic… So this is how Clinics look like in this world. I'm sure the ones in the city should be much more grand."
Memories of the last night returned, and he instinctively placed a hand over his abdomen. As soon as he did, his eyes immediately reddened.
He had nearly lost the baby. His precious baby face that he hasn't even seen yet, almost left him. Bai Jing promised himself to be more careful from now on.
Before he could think further, a medicine boy passing through the ward noticed that he was awake and stopped by.
"You're awake? How are you feeling?"
Bai Jing nodded: "Much better, thanks for asking."
"That's good. Wait here, I'll let the physician know that you're awake." The boy immediately turned around.
A short while later, the old physician entered the ward. He approached the bed and checked Bai Jing's pulse. Afterwards, his expression relaxed.
"You're healing fast. Good, very good." The old physician said, nodding his head.
"Is my baby really all right?"
The old physician withdrew his hand before suddenly looking at him strangely: "Your baby is fine. But young man, you're quite bold."
Bai Jing blinked in confusion: "...What?"
"Using such powerful medicinal liquid on yourself without knowing how to properly control its effects. What a waste, oh a waste." The physician shook his head.
Bai Jing immediately thought of the bottle provided by the system.
"Was the medicine bad?" He asked uncertainty. Something from the system shouldn't be bad right?
"Bad?" The physician stared at him and laughed: "If that medicine is bad, half the cultivators in this town would happily drink poison."
The physician stroked his beard and continued:
"That was a high-grade Foundation Restoration Liquid. It is intended primarily for cultivators who have reached the Foundation Building stage. The liquid replenishes depleted spiritual energy, repairs damaged meridians, nourishes internal injuries and stabilizes a cultivator's foundation after severe spiritual exhaustion. Even someone suffering damage from a failed breakthrough could use it to protect their cultivation foundation."
The old physician sighed: "For someone at your level, it was far more medicine than your body needed."
Bai Jing finally understood why drinking it had hurt so much. The system also warned him that his body might not be able to bear it.
"Was it the medicinal energy that was too strong?"
The old physician nodded: "Fortunately, your body desperately needed energy at the time. A significant portion was also consumed protecting the fetus and repairing the damage caused by your spiritual exhaustion. More importantly, Foundation Restoration Liquid isn't something ordinary medicine refiners can produce. The ingredients must be purified several times, and the medicinal energies must remain perfectly balanced. Only a small number of experienced medicine refiners can successfully make one of that quality."
He looked directly at Bai Jing: "Where did you get it?"
Bai Jing's heart jumped. Naturally, he couldn't say a mysterious system had given it to him.
He racks his brain and comes up with the best solution he can think of. "My elder gave it to me as a life-saving medicine and that I should only use it when my life was in danger."
The physician's eyebrows rose. "Your elder?"
Bai Jing nodded obediently. "When the pain started getting worse, I was frightened. I only thought about saving the baby, so I drank it."
The physician sighed deeply: "What a waste. But what's done can't be undone"
Bai Jing didn't quite agree. Since the baby is safe, then it wasn't wasted. He doesn't care how much it costs him.
The medicine could be valuable enough to purchase an entire street for all he cared.
Bai Jing suddenly remembered another important problem and asked: "Physician, how much is the treatment?"
The old man laughed: "You don't need to worry about that."
"Why not? Are you treating me for free?"
"You wished!" The old physician rolled his eyes: "It's just that your husband already signed the payment form. So you don't have to worry."
Bai Jing stared at him: "My husband?"
"Young Master Ye. He brought you here last night."
So it really was Ye Cheng.
A strange happiness rose inside Bai Jing before quickly becoming mixed with nervousness. The last time they had seen each other, Ye Cheng was furious.
What would happen when he returned? Bai Jing spent the next several minutes anxiously watching the doorway.