Even though Yuchi Bing Xia would have liked nothing more than to grab the youth and carry him off to the Yun Zou Sect, he still had a sense of propriety. He silently sat next to him with Wu Min Huan, sorting through the things he had with him. Maybe bribing him would be possible?

Ah, don’t get him wrong. Normally, he wouldn’t behave like this but everything just seemed right. Not giving in to temptation even in a hopeless situation, holding on even with just one breath left inside him, and as for his cultivation … When he had checked just now he had gotten a pleasant surprise. This child actually had full spirit veins but he had already reached the third stage despite being only in his twenties. How many disciples of their Yun Zou Sect could say the same about themselves?

Normally, reaching the third stage this fast was something that only the talents with heavenly or paired spirit veins could do. To think that somebody with full spirit veins had achieved the same … It was unthinkable. Having somebody like that as one’s disciple would be a dream come true.

Yuchi Bing Xia couldn’t help but reach out again, taking the youth’s wrist and feeling for his pulse. It had already stabilized somewhat over the last few minutes. If he was given a bit more time, he should wake up again.

Yuchi Bing Xia didn’t have to wait long. Barely five minutes later, the youth’s eyelids fluttered and he came to with a groan. He looked up with dazed eyes and took a few shallow breaths. His eyes slowly cleared and he looked from Yuchi Bing Xia to Wu Min Huan and back again. "You …" He descended into a coughing fit, his body doubling over.

Yuchi Bing Xia hurriedly reached out and rubbed his back, trying to ease his pain. "Don’t worry, you’re safe now. We’re cultivators from the Yun Zou Sect. We were investigating some matters when we found you gravely injured."

The youth took in a sharp breath and reached for his stomach as if to try and see whether the wound was still there. His hands came back smeared with blood but he didn’t seem to feel much pain. With an incredulous look, he turned back to Yuchi Bing Xia and cleared his throat. "You … treated me?"

Yuchi Bing Xia nodded. "We’re all righteous cultivators. It’s only natural to help a fellow Daoist out. Well, even if you had been a mortal, we would help you. It’s the right thing to do." He carefully helped the youth into a sitting position, making sure not to aggravate the wound. "How do you feel?"

The youth kept quiet for a moment. He looked at his arm and clenched and unclenched his fingers. "My spirit veins …"

Yuchi Bing Xia patted his shoulder with a smile. "Don’t worry about it. They were merely blocked, not severely damaged. Just imbuing some spiritual energy of our own and guiding it through your veins unblocked them. With a bit of rest, you should be as good as new."

The youth nodded. "Thank you … I …" He shook his head as if he didn’t know how to continue.

Yuchi Bing Xia didn’t rush him. Who knew what exactly had transpired here? One could hardly call a young man of twenty-something years experienced. Having to deal with almost being killed at that age wasn’t easy.

He reached out and brushed the youth’s hair back, exposing more of a handsome face. Yuchi Bing Xia couldn’t help but smile. If he really managed to bring this youth back as a disciple, Wu Min Huan would finally have somebody who could rival him in both talent and looks. It would also be a valuable experience for him not to have everybody revolve around him. Some hardships would only make him stronger.

The youth looked at him in confusion.

Yuchi Bing Xia awkwardly cleared his throat and searched for something he could say to divert his attention. Unfortunately, he only came up with a blank. Ah, why had he been thinking about this?

Wu Min Huan looked at his Master who obviously had a lot of other things on his mind and leaned forward. "I’m Wu Min Huan. How about you?"

The youth glanced at Yuchi Bing Xia again before he turned to Wu Min Huan. "Yu Jin. Thank you again for saving me."

Wu Min Huan gave a bright smile. "Don’t mention it. But what happened for you to be injured this gravely?"

The youth pensively rubbed his stomach."I … I’m not sure. I think we might have been attacked."

Yuchi Bing Xia leaned closer and peered into Yu Jin’s face. "What do you mean? We? You weren’t alone?"

Yu Jin shook his head.

Yuchi Bing Xia and Wu Min Huan exchanged a glance. They hadn’t seen anybody else in the vicinity. So had the demonic practitioners taken the second person away? Or could it be that the person had also refused them and only the body was lying somewhere close by, still undetected? They couldn’t very well ask Yu Jin about that though. After all, what he had gone through was hard enough. There was no need to add to his worries.

Yuchi Bing Xia patted his hand. "Let’s not dwell on that for now. You still haven’t recovered from your wound. I would suggest we bring you somewhere safe where you can first nurture your health. There’s a small town close by where we could take you. Or maybe you would like to follow us back to the Yun Zou Sect? You could also tell us about everything when we’re there."

Yu Jin didn’t answer immediately. His gaze flitted about before he finally reached out for his robe. He silently closed his inner robe and put the outer one back on. His gaze slid to his belt next, taking in the cut fabric. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to wear that anymore. He held the robe close with his hands and got up, bowing to Yuchi Bing Xia and Wu Min Huan. "Thank you for the offer but I’ll first have to find my Master."

Yuchi Bing Xia sighed. Ah, so there already was a Master. Well, it figured. An excellent disciple such as this wouldn’t have taught himself. Even though his plan had failed, he still got up and caught him when Yu Jin tumbled.