I Might Not Be A Physician By Profession, But I Still Know A Thing Or Two

"While your attitude has some room to improve, it seems that at least your eyes are still working fine," Wu Meng smiled in satisfaction. "While I always try to maximise my profits, I never cheat my customers out of what they truly need. This Yin Heart Stone might not be of the highest grade like you said, but it is not far from that either. Only something like this will be suitable for Protector Jun Mo's current condition."

Elder Gui Heng was too fascinated by the Yin Heart Stone at the moment to even catch the fact that he had been slighted, but Protector Jun Mo immediately narrowed his eyes upon hearing Wu Meng's words.

"My current condition?" Protector Jun Mo asked. "What does Young Sir mean by that?"

"Hahaha, Protector Jun Mo doesn't have to be wary of me. I might not be a physician by profession, but I still know a thing or two," Wu Meng laughed. "As its name suggests, the Yin Heart Stone is a precious stone of the Yin attribute, typically used as a way to balance a cultivator's internal condition when it tends too much towards the Yang aspect. From the sound of it, you have been looking for a Yin Heart Stone for a while now. So it is not too difficult to guess that your condition must have deteriorated quite a bit since the start."

"Young Sir is wise," Protector Jun Mo sighed helplessly. "Years ago, I received a heavy injury from an attack of the Yang attribute. While I have already largely recovered from it, this incident still left me with a physical trauma. As long as I am unable to recover from this physical trauma, I am afraid that it will be difficult for me to advance in terms of cultivation."

Elder Gui Heng and Elder Kang Xian fell silent as they heard this.

As his elders, they naturally knew what Protector Jun Mo had been through. This matter had caused him great distress for years now, and they felt bad for not being able to help much.

But now that they had finally managed to find a Yin Heart Stone, all of that was about to change!

"So, that is why you have been trying so hard to find a Yin Heart Stone," Wu Meng leaned back comfortably in his seat. "But you do know that while this Yin Heart Stone is necessary, just it alone is not enough to help you recover, don't you?"

"Eh?" Protector Jun Mo was startled when he heard that. "What does Young Sir mean?"

"As I thought, you are merely following the rumours without having done your own research," Wu Meng shook his head in disapproval. "The Thirteen Yang Divine Art can be said to live up to its name as a True Sovereign rank technique. Each move is not only strong and forceful, but also causes internal injuries that can last for a lifetime if not dealt with immediately. Just the Yin Heart Stone alone is naturally not enough to heal such an injury."

This time, his words drew a significant response from the trio from the Five Elements Valley.

Elder Kang Xian widened his eyes in surprise, while Protector Jun Mo and Elder Gui Heng furrowed their brows and eyed him with caution.

"Who are you? How did you know that the injury was inflicted by the Thirteen Yang Divine Art?" Elder Gui Heng questioned.

"Young Sir, please explain yourself!" Protector Jun Mo firmly added.

Aside from his master, he had never told anyone about his injury being inflicted by a user of the Thirteen Yang Divine Art. No one else in the Five Elements Valley knew about it, not even Elder Kang Xian who had a close relationship with them.

However, Wu Meng was still able to accurately say out the cause of his injury. This naturally resulted in them treating this matter with extra caution.

After all, it was a huge matter to have fought against someone who practised the Thirteen Yang Divine Art.

If word of this matter were to spread, their Five Elements Valley might be subjected to quite a bit of pressure from the other factions!

"Qing'er, this is what happens when people start viewing themselves as too important and end up overthinking things because of that. You must remember not to become like them in the future," Wu Meng nonchalantly reminded Zhang Wanqing who was standing behind him.

Zhang Wanqing could not help but curse in her heart.

Why do you have to bring me into the conversation the moment things got tense?

"Wait a minute, Mo'er. Is your injury really inflicted by the Thirteen Yang Divine Art?" Elder Kang Xian asked.

Protector Jun Mo glanced at him, not knowing what to say.

"This..." Elder Kang Xian could not help but take a step back in shock, having drawn his own conclusion from Protector Jun Mo's silence.

"Explain youself!" Elder Gui Heng bellowed in rage, having reached the limits of his patience.

The sudden outburst caused Zhang Wanqing to jump in shock, but Wu Meng was still as composed as ever.

"Why can't I know? Like I said, I might not be a physician by profession, but I still know a thing or two. As long as one has some basic knowledge of medicine and healing, such a matter is easy to deduce just by looking at him," Wu Meng shrugged. "In fact, I can also tell that you are still suffering from the backlash inflicted when you tried to forcibly rid him of the physical trauma as well."

"What?!" Elder Gui Heng was stupefied.

As his master, Elder Gui Heng had indeed tried to forcibly rid Protector Jun Mo of the physical trauma in the past. Unfortunately, not only did he fail, he even received a terrible backlash from doing so.

However, the latter portion was something that he had kept to himself, not even letting Protector Jun Mo know.

It was still understandable if there had been someone who secretly witnessed the fight between Protector Jun Mo and his opponent back then. However, the entire process of trying to rid Protector Jun Mo of his physical trauma had been conducted in the privacy of their chambers, so there was no way for there to be any witnesses.

Just how did Wu Meng come to know about it?

Could it be that he was really capable of seeing through them with a single glance?

In that case, rather than having spied on them, was this how he found out about Protector Jun Mo's condition as well?

"Master, is that true?" Protector Jun Mo asked Elder Gui Heng.

"...Yes," Elder Gui Heng answered reluctantly, understanding that there was no hiding it at this point.

"This..." Protector Jun Mo could not help but feel guilty.

So, he was not the only one who had been suffering for his past mistakes. He had even caused his master to suffer along with him!

"You didn't even let your disciple know about it? How noble of you," Wu Meng exclaimed in surprise. "But luckily for you, I happen to have just the thing you need!"

As everyone's attention fell back upon him, Wu Meng started rummaging through his wooden chest once more before pulling out a small porcelain vial.

"This is a vial of Dark Moon Dew. It..." Wu Meng paused for a moment as he took a quick glance at the trio. "Actually, what's the point of telling you so much? It is not like you people understand anything about medicine anyway. Just know that as long as you take this according to my instructions, your injury should go away in a year or so!"

Zhang Wanqing: "..."

My dear master, does it hurt you to be a little more tactful?

Even if you really do look down on the other party's medicinal knowledge, what's so difficult about keeping those thoughts to yourself?

No matter what, we are still in their territory. You might not be afraid of trouble, but I am!

Fortunately, the three of them had focused on the latter part of Wu Meng's words, and thus did not flare up as Zhang Wanqing had feared.

"Is that true?" Protector Jun Mo asked. "Will my master really recover after taking that?"

"As I said, I never cheat my customers out of what they truly need," Wu Meng affirmed.

"Then may I know how much Young Sir is selling it for?" Protector Jun Mo asked further.

"One hundred thousand spirit stones," Wu Meng replied. "No less than that."

"Wha-?!" Protector Jun Mo was taken aback by the astronomical price.

At no point in his life had he ever possessed ten thousand spirit stones at once, not to mention a hundred thousand!

Elder Gui Heng let out a helpless sigh. "It's all right, Mo'er. This only brings me a small discomfort and doesn't really bother me at all. Rather than spending such a fortune on a bag of old bones like myself, it will be better to save it for when you need it instead. You still have a long road ahead of you, and will surely need all the resources you can get if you wish to have any hopes of ever catching up to Deshan."

"No, I simply cannot agree to that. If I do, wouldn't that just make me an unfilial disciple?" Protector Jun Mo protested. "After all, Master only got your injury because you were helping me!"

"Aw, how touching," Wu Meng commented with a smile. "Seeing how nice you are to each other, even a stranger like me can't help but feel like crying. Because of that, I shall make an exception for you. I can allow you to have this vial of Dark Moon Dew in exchange for just that flexible armour you are wearing under your robe."

"You mean this?" Elder Gui Heng folded down his collar slightly to reveal a glimpse of the flexible armour underneath.

"Isn't that a given? Or are you wearing other flexible armours right now?" Wu Meng rolled his eyes.

Zhang Wanqing flinched.

Every time Wu Meng spoke in such a matter, her heart would skip a beat in trepidation.

"This..." Elder Gui Heng was caught in a dilemma.

He did not know if the vial of Dark Moon Dew was truly worth one hundred thousand spirit stones. However, he knew just how bad his injuries were.

If it could truly heal his injuries, then it should be no ordinary medicine.

In addition, the flexible armour was not exactly the strongest one in his possession. If one simply looked at its defensive properties, its value would be nowhere near that of the vial of Dark Moon Dew, and Elder Gui Heng would never have hesitated to agree to Wu Meng's offer.

However, the importance of this flexible armour lay not in its defensive properties, but in its sentimental value.

Nobody knew why, but this flexible armour had been passed down within the Five Elements Valley as one of its ten great treasures. It was only after Elder Gui Heng had made a great contribution to the faction that he was rewarded with it in the past.

Since then, Elder Gui Heng had been trying to unveil any secrets hidden in the flexible armour, all to no avail. After years of research, he finally realised that the flexible armour was nothing special, and was purely ornamental in value.

Even so, Elder Gui Heng had always worn the flexible armour around with pride.

Regardless of its defensive properties, the flexible armour itself was proof of how highly he was valued by the Five Elements Valley!

Considering that, even if the Dark Moon Dew could really help him recover, should he really trade one of the Five Elements Valley's ten great treasures to an outsider?

"Young Sir, this is one of the great treasures of the Five Elements Valley, so I'm afraid it is not up to us to decide if we can trade it away," Protector Jun Mo interjected.

"Mo'er, wait," Elder Gui Heng stopped Protector Jun Mo in order to address Wu Meng himself. "Does Young Sir know anything about this flexible armour?"

By now, his impression of Wu Meng was already completely different from before, which even affected the way he addressed Wu Meng.

Wu Meng had been able to completely see through their internal conditions with just a glance, which meant that he was definitely no simple character. Considering that, Wu Meng's request for the flexible armour had made Elder Gui Heng second-guess his past conclusion about the flexible armour.

Since Wu Meng was able to see through their internal conditions, perhaps he had also been able to see through the secret behind the flexible armour!

"Well, it looks pretty," Wu Meng shrugged.

"It... looks pretty?" Elder Gui Heng felt the corner of his lips twitch. "Is that all?"

"I am just doing you a favour now, so that's all the reason I need," Wu Meng answered with a smile. "Why? If I come up with some tear-jerking story about how it is my family's long lost heirloom, would it make you more willing to part with it? If so, then yes. My great grandfather's uncle's niece's friend's friend is a blacksmith, and that flexible armour just happened to be the greatest masterpiece in his life!"

Zhang Wanqing: "..."

Protector Jun Mo: "..."

Elder Gui Heng narrowed his eyes at Wu Meng, not knowing what to think about Wu Meng's response.

"I don't see what's wrong with this," Elder Kang Xian spoke up, seemingly having finally figured out what's going on. "But if Elder Gui Heng wants to do this, it's best to first obtain the blessings of the valley head."

"That's right, Master," Protector Jun Mo chimed in excitedly. "The flexible armour is but an ornamental item. If it can be exchanged for your well-being, I am sure the valley head will agree to it!"

With Elder Kang Xian on their side, it will be easier to convince the valley head as well!

"This... all right," Elder Gui Heng hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing. "I will seek Valley Head Nie's advice on this matter. However, what about Mo'er? Young Sir mentioned that the Yin Heart Stone is not enough to heal his injury, so what else does he need?"

Elder Gui Heng made this decision not just for himself, but also for the sake of his disciple. Now that Protector Jun Mo had learnt of his condition, he would surely continue to blame himself until the problem was resolved.

If not handled properly, this could even result in the formation of a heart demon that stood in the way of his cultivation path, limiting Protector Jun Mo's progress in the future.

That was the last thing that Elder Gui Heng wanted to see happening to Protector Jun Mo.

"Don't worry," Wu Meng waved it off casually. "Since I have been touched by the relationship between you master and disciple, I will treat this as a bundle deal and write down the method to properly use the Yin Heart Stone. As for the Dark Moon Dew, go speak to your valley head and see if he is agreeable to this matter. Remember, it is either that flexible armour or one hundred thousand spirits stones!"