Chapter 78: This Is the Work of the Demonic Path

No one could know the grief and fury in Shang Chaozong's heart. His family had fallen from greatness, and matters had deteriorated to the point where a frail woman accustomed to ink and books had to go onto a battlefield and help sustain the army's morale.

If anything truly happened to his younger sister, dying ten thousand deaths would not atone for his guilt. He would have no face to meet his dead parents and elder brothers.

"Brother, I'm fine."

Shang Shuqing weakly shook her head. Niu Youdao flashed over. He immediately struck several acupoints on Shang Shuqing's body to stop the bleeding, then took her pulse and examined the wound across her back. When it came to this woman, Niu Youdao truly did not know what to say.

He had believed avoiding danger in something this perilous was only natural. There was no reason to throw his own life away for someone else. Then this woman had charged onto the battlefield herself. Some strange feeling he could not quite describe rose inside him. If nothing else, there was a trace of shame. Naturally, none of it showed on his face. Now he was more worried about Yuan Gang. If even he felt somewhat guilty, who knew what Yuan Gang was feeling after being stopped from charging after them?

Niu Youdao could only smile bitterly inwardly.

"Your Highness, the Commandery Princess is all right. She has simply lost too much blood. After a period of recuperation, she'll recover. The wound across her back is rather large, however. It will probably need to be stitched closed. Otherwise, she'll be left with a sizable scar."

Hearing that his sister was not in serious danger, Shang Chaozong relaxed slightly. But the mention of stitching the wound made him look uncertain.

"Stitched? How?"

"Uh..."

Niu Youdao froze. Only then did he remember that people here did not have such a concept.

He explained, "Use a needle and thread to sew the wound closed, the way you would sew torn clothing. It helps the wound heal and reduces the scar as much as possible. It's much better than leaving the wound gaping open like this."

Shang Chaozong sucked in a breath. Being hacked by a blade would not have made his scalp crawl, but hearing someone suggest treating flesh like cloth and sewing it with needle and thread did.

"A body of flesh and blood isn't clothing. Master Dao, are you joking?"

Niu Youdao rubbed his forehead. This was a problem of ingrained ideas. Explaining further probably would not accomplish much. After thinking for a moment, he simply could not be bothered. Whatever.

Shang Shuqing, however, weakly asked, "Master Dao, will stitching the wound really help the injury recover?"

Niu Youdao nodded. "Of course."

Shang Shuqing asked, "Then could I trouble Master Dao to stitch the wounded brothers below as well?"

"Hiss..."

Several wounded personal guards nearby sucked in cold breaths. A chill seemed to run straight down their spines. Covering their wounds, they subconsciously backed away a step. Their reaction was the same as Shang Chaozong's. Treat their own flesh like torn clothing and sew it back and forth?

Was he joking?

Shang Chaozong frowned.

"Qing'er, how can something like this—"

Shang Shuqing interrupted him.

"Brother, I trust that Master Dao wouldn't speak without reason. If it works, then it's good for the wounded brothers."

She glanced at the terrified personal guards around her and decisively added, "Master Dao, stitch mine first!"

She was clearly volunteering to set an example. Niu Youdao laughed.

He turned and said, "Monkey, prepare the things we need. Boil some water for sterilization!"

Yuan Gang nodded and went to make the preparations. With one gesture from him, Yuan Fang and the monks of Nanshan Temple immediately hurried after him to serve as assistants. Lan Ruoting crouched nearby, opened a bundle, and took out two porcelain bottles. From them he poured one red pill and one green pill, then had Shang Shuqing swallow both. The pills looked somewhat familiar to Niu Youdao. He had read descriptions of them in books, and had just seen many wounded men taking the same medicines.

He asked experimentally, "Qi-and-Blood Replenishing Pill and Cooling Pill?"

"Yes."

Lan Ruoting nodded. The purpose of the Qi-and-Blood Replenishing Pill was obvious enough. As for the green Cooling Pill, taking it could prevent a wound from festering. In Niu Youdao's understanding, it was essentially an anti-inflammatory medicine. Both were standard medicines carried on battlefields in this world. Shang Chaozong did not remain beside his sister the whole time. Nor could he. Many of the brothers below were wounded, and others had died.

However reluctant he was to leave Shang Shuqing, he still entrusted her to Niu Youdao's care and went to deal with the other matters himself. Before long, the bodies of thirty-odd personal guards had been recovered and laid together. Shang Chaozong stood before them in silence.

After a time, he slowly raised his head and looked at the Yingyang and Wulie battle standard planted nearby, fluttering in the wind. Thirty-three men had died. Around a hundred more were wounded, some lightly, some severely. Judged against the result of the battle, this was unquestionably a victory. But with Shang Chaozong's current manpower, the losses were not small. He could not afford many more battles that consumed his men like this.

Not far away, Feng Ruonan periodically turned her head to look at Shang Chaozong, whose entire body was stained with blood. Now and then she looked back toward the wounded Shang Shuqing as well.

Remembering the scene from before—a dignified Commandery Prince throwing himself into deadly combat at the front, while a frail woman carried the battle standard into the charge—Feng Ruonan found herself deeply shaken by the character of Prince Ning's household. No wonder Prince Ning had been able to forge an army that shook the realm. She also had to admit that her prejudices had caused her to misjudge the brother and sister. She had underestimated them. Naturally, she would never admit that aloud.

In the end, however, she still walked over to Shang Shuqing.

She asked indifferently, "The Commandery Princess is all right?"

"Sister-in-law, I'm fine."

Shang Shuqing answered weakly. Feng Ruonan gave an acknowledging sound. Then she noticed Niu Youdao standing nearby, and disgust immediately entered her eyes. When everyone else on this side had charged forward, this retainer cultivator had hidden safely behind them instead. She had never seen a retainer cultivator like this. She could not help giving a cold snort.

"Shameless rat!"

"..."

Niu Youdao wanted to answer back. After thinking about it, he decided against it. This time, he would endure the insult. Feng Ruonan turned and called Wenli over to care for Shang Shuqing. There were no other women on Shang Chaozong's side, and a crowd of men tending an injured woman was inconvenient. A temporary tent was erected. Yuan Gang prepared everything they needed, and Shang Shuqing lay facedown on a felt mat. Niu Youdao was about to begin when he reached toward her back and froze.

Remembering the proprieties between men and women, he hesitated.

"Commandery Princess, I may need to tear open some of the clothing across your back."

Shang Shuqing understood what he meant. He would see the bare skin of her back. Her teeth lightly caught her lower lip.

She was secretly embarrassed, but said aloud, "On a battlefield, saving the wounded comes first. There is no need to fuss over such things. I trust Master Dao is not an improper man."

The final sentence was clearly still a reminder: don't take liberties. Niu Youdao chuckled. He tore the clothing open farther across her back.

As he cleaned the blood and dirt from the wound, he discovered that although this woman's face was ugly, the skin across her back was delicate and fair as porcelain. Such unusually fine skin marred by this shocking wound truly was a pity.

"Too bad there's no alcohol for sterilization. When I get the chance, I should make some..."

Niu Youdao muttered to himself. He picked up the boiled needle and thread. They were plainly unsuitable. The needle was meant for sewing clothing, and the thread was cotton thread. But under present conditions, they had no choice but to make do. Seeing Niu Youdao thread the needle, Shang Shuqing's scalp tingled. She hurriedly turned her head away so she would not have to watch. Niu Youdao pressed an acupoint to numb the pain, then quickly stitched the wound closed.

He worked carefully and meticulously, hoping it would heal as cleanly as possible and leave little visible scarring. Perhaps it was his way of easing that faint guilt in his heart. Only now did Wenli, watching from the side, realize what they intended to do. Terror covered her face. Her chest tightened, her breathing shortened, and her hands and feet went cold. How could anyone torment human flesh like cloth? It was horrifying. Once everything was finished, Niu Youdao helped Shang Shuqing sit up.

"All done. Be careful not to pull at the wound. Once it heals, we'll remove the stitches. It shouldn't leave a very obvious scar."

"The scar doesn't matter."

Shang Shuqing shook her head. No matter how ugly a scar on her body might be, it could not compare with the hideous birthmark on her face. What she cared about was whether this method could truly help the brothers recover more quickly. She and her brother already had very few people they could use. Every man who recovered sooner mattered. She shifted her body slightly. Finding that it did not seem particularly bad, and nowhere near as terrifying as she had imagined, she smiled.

"Then I'll trouble Master Dao to stitch the wounded brothers as well."

Niu Youdao laughed and turned toward Yuan Gang.

"You handle it. Take Old Bear and the others with you. Let them practice too. There are quite a few wounded. The more people who know how to do it, the faster it'll go."

He had no intention of personally stitching every single man. Yuan Gang turned and left. Wenli helped Shang Shuqing drape a robe around herself. Niu Youdao looked back at Shang Shuqing's pale face and could not help sighing.

"You clearly aren't suited to charging into battle. Why force yourself to go out there and show off?"

"My brother and I have no right to keep selfish thoughts hidden in our hearts while watching our brothers go to their deaths. If everyone cared only for themselves, there would be no Yingyang or Wulie Guards."

Shang Shuqing explained it calmly. The words left Niu Youdao somewhat embarrassed. He had been the one among them keeping his own selfish thoughts.

Shang Shuqing glanced at him, then suddenly asked, "Master Dao, if Master Yuan had charged onto the battlefield, would you have gone?"

"Depends on the situation."

Niu Youdao tossed back the answer with a smile and slipped out of the tent. He did not want to discuss it further. Once Shang Shuqing had been settled, Wenli hurried back to Feng Ruonan and told her what she had seen. Feng Ruonan's expression changed. Sew living human flesh as though it were clothing?

Bai Yao commented, "This is the work of someone from the demonic path!"

His gaze toward Niu Youdao in the distance became somewhat thoughtful. But Shang Shuqing had already set the example herself. Shang Chaozong's wounded personal guards could no longer escape the treatment. Yuan Gang led the Nanshan Temple monks through the wounded, stitching injuries closed. The technique itself was simple and quick to learn. The only question was whether someone had the nerve to push the needle through flesh.

With Yuan Gang's fists and feet hanging over them, Yuan Fang and the others had to steel themselves and do it whether they dared or not. As for the quality of their stitching, that varied considerably. Before long, Shang Chaozong's wounded personal guards were screaming one after another like pigs being slaughtered. These grown men were not afraid of losing their heads, yet they were terrified of this. Niu Youdao wandered around with his hands behind his back, looking them over and repeatedly shaking his head.

Of course, part of the problem was that Yuan Gang and the others did not know how to strike the proper acupoints to numb the pain. Hearing that the wounded Yingyang and Wulie Guards were all receiving this strange treatment, Feng Ruonan became suspicious. Could this be some special method used by the Yingyang and Wulie Guards?

She had already developed an interest in observing and learning everything she could about them, so she personally went to inspect the treatment. In the end, however, a woman's instincts were difficult to suppress. The sight made her heart pound, chest tighten, and breathing turn shallow. She could barely bear to look.

Combined with the pig-like screams of the personal guards, it quickly killed any idea she might have had of treating her own wounded the same way. By then, the sky had grown dark. The group did not attempt to pass through Wolf Fang Ridge at night.

Instead, they gathered on a mountain position that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, planning to set out again after dawn. The casualty figures and circumstances of the attack were sent by Goldenwing in an urgent report to Feng Lingbo. The Tianyu Sect had also lost more than a dozen cultivators and would need to dispatch additional manpower to replace them. Those matters would come later.

[End of Chapter 78]