CHAPTER 38: THE MAN IN WHITE

But after walking for the time it took a stick of incense to burn, Yue Mingxuan suddenly stopped. His face darkened slightly as he quickly hid behind a nearby tree.

Not far ahead, he saw two shadows moving in the moonlight. Could they be palace guards on patrol?

But that didn’t make sense, on his way here, aside from that man in white, he hadn’t met a single person.

While ressing himself against the tree trunk, he peeked out carefully.

A figure who is dressed completely in a black robe was standing behind the white robed man from before.

The man in black then spoke in a deep, low voice, barely audible. "Master Fu sends a message."

"What is it?" the white robed man asked.

"This time, the world’s greatest healer, Gongsun Xing, is coming as well."

"I see," the man replied lightly while waving his hand. "You may go."

The black robed figure the disappeared into the shadows.

The white robed man took a few steps forward and then he suddenly stopped.

He clutched at a nearby tree and his hand gripping his chest tightly as his body tilted backward.

With a dull thud, his tall figure fell to the ground and curling slightly as if in great pain.

Yue Mingxuan froze. He hadn’t realized that the man was sick.

For a moment, he just stood there feeling startled.

The man had saved his life earlier and even pointed him to the best reishi mushroom.

As a doctor, Yue Mingxuan couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

He ran over quickly and knelt beside him.

The man seemed to have already lost consciousness.

Yue Mingxuan placed his fingers on the man’s wrist to check his pulse, it was deep and weak.

Instantly, he understood: this man suffered from heart disease and was on the brink of death.

Without hesitation, Yue Mingxuan reacted out of instinct.

He half knelt before him and placed his hands one over the other and then began pressing rhythmically on the man’s chest

Once, twice... over ten times until finally, he felt the heartbeat return to normal.

The man was still unconscious, but his life was no longer in danger.

There were no advanced tools or medicine here and restarting his heart with just emergency pressure was already a miracle.

However, if he stayed unconscious in such a remote place, it could still be fatal.

After all that effort, Yue Mingxuan was exhausted.

He sat cross legged on the ground to catch his breath.

His hand brushed against the small pouch at his waist and then he remember that reishi mushroom could help with heart disease.

Without hesitating, Yue Mingxuan pulled out his precious harvest from the night.

After a moment of thought, he chose the fattest and healthiest one. He carefully squeezed out some of its juice and dripped it into the man’s mouth.

The soft moonlight fell gently across the man’s face.

Only then did Yue Mingxuan notice how striking his features were. He has sharp brows, long eyelashes that shadowing his eyes, a straight nose and thin lips. But his complexion was unusually pale and there’s no doubt it’s from years of illness.

Although the man’s eyes were still closed, Yue Mingxuan had to admit that he looked incredibly handsome.

It seemed that in this ancient world, good looking men were unusually common.

But after meeting Shang Qinghua, Yue Mingxuan was no longer easily surprised by such beauty.

Just as he was lost in thought, the man suddenly opened his eyes and a pair of bright star like eyes looked straight at him.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked plainly.

"I..." Yue Mingxuan froze for a moment before quickly replying, "I wasn’t staring at you!"

"Then what were you doing just now? Were you trying to flirt with me?"

Flirt with you?

Yue Mingxuan almost laughed from anger.

As if I’d want to look at you!

He was the one who had saved this man’s life, yet somehow, he was the one being accused.

Yue Mingxuan who is furious stood up abruptly and turned around to leave.

The man blinked his eyes and his mind become clear a little.

When he noticed the remains of reishi mushroom scattered beside him, his heart began to stirred.

Could it be that this person had saved him?

"Hey, was it you who saved me?"

"No," Yue Mingxuan said flatly.

He had no desire to get involved with a stranger, especially here, in the forbidden back mountain of the royal grounds.

"Then what about this mushroom?" the man asked.

Yue Mingxuan stopped.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to keep walking but the man in white had already stepped in front of him and blocking his way.

"It’s fine if you don’t admit it," the man said lightly. "But you can’t just take the reishi mushrooms away."

Yue Mingxuan sighed softly. "Since you have a heart illness, why aren’t you carrying your medicine with you?"

Rong Qinglei took a few slow steps forward as if trying to see Yue Mingxuan’s face more clearly.

However when Yue Mingxuan instinctively stepped back several paces, as though afraid he would be attacked, a faint smile curved at Rong Qinglei’s lips.

"I lost it earlier," he said calmly. "When I was saving you."

"Oh, I see," Yue Mingxuan blinked his eyes in realization. So in the end, they had saved each other’s lives. He had thought their debts were even, but now it seemed he still owed the man one.

"What are you doing here anyway? This place isn’t open to just anyone," Rong Qinglei asked, his tone calm but curious.

Under the moonlight, he noticed that the person before him looked stunning. He looks beautiful in a quiet and ethereal way almost like an immortal spirit from the mountains. For a moment, he wondered if he was dreaming, but the thought passed quickly.

Seeing that his tone was no longer harsh, Yue Mingxuan relaxed slightly and replied in a softer voice, "I’ve been short on money lately. I saw this mountain full of trees and herbs, so I thought I could find something valuable and sell it for a few coins. If that’s not allowed, I’ll return the reishi mushrooms to you."