Song of Adolescence

Chapter 189 Line between Life and Death

"Faster! Faster!" On the official highway, two horses were galloping at full speed. The one in front was the violet-grade colt and the girl riding it looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. She looked adorable and cute, but at that moment, she was waving her whip in a manner that was fierce and ruthless. Right behind her was another slightly older girl, her expression in a daze as she panted heavily.

"Hua Jin, I can\'t keep up anymore," she spoke with difficulty.

Hua Jin turned around, took a medicine bottle out from her clothes and pulled gently on her horse’s reins. "Take another flora qi stimulation pill, Wu Fa."

Wu Fa waved her hands. "No more, no more. If I eat that stuff again, I\'m afraid I will die."

"Then I’ll go ahead, and you catch up later!" Hua Jin poured a pill out of the medicine bottle, threw it into her mouth, and waved her whip again. "I\'m going ahead!"

"Hua Jin!" Wu Fa shouted helplessly, but she couldn’t stop Hua Jin, who looked like she was going mad.

"Don\'t you dare die. I haven’t learned the Soul Replenishment Technique yet, I haven’t cured your illness," Hua Jin whispered. The violet-grade colt she was riding was one of the best horses in Sword Heart Tomb and normally could ride a thousand miles without problem. But, after another tens of miles of riding, even this top grade horse could no longer endure the last few days of riding day and night without stopping. After riding alongside Hua Jin for another while, its legs finally weakened and it collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"Violet, get up! It’s another tens of miles to go and we’ll be at Lei Clan Fort!" Hua Jin desperately shook the violet-grade colt’s body, but the violet-grade colt twitched a few times and finally, still couldn’t get up.

"What do I do! What do I do!" Hua Jin knew that the violet-grade colt was already hopeless, and she started to look around. There happened to be a tea shop at the side of the road and she sprinted into the tea shop, shouting, "Who has a horse? Who has a horse! Sell it to me!"

The waiter of the tea shop saw the little girl running along the official highway on her own, and thought she must have separated from her parents. He couldn’t help but feel pity for her. "Little girl, are you separated from your family? How about resting in the tea shop for now? I will bring you to the government office to look for your family?"

"Who has a horse, I want to buy a horse! Who has a horse!" Hua Jin\'s mind was in total disarray, and could only repeat this sentence.

"Little girl, we’re a small roadside tea shop. Why would we have a horse? We do have a mule which we use to transport goods daily," the waiter smiled ruefully.

"Mule, mule. How much?" Hua Jin asked hurriedly.

"Little girl, even if you bought this mule, at the speed this mule rides, it’ll probably be dark by the time you reach Lei Clan Fort." A somewhat amused voice suddenly sounded beside her, and Hua Jin spun around. Standing right in front of her was a man in golden clothes armed with a long sabre astride a horse. The dark maroon horse was tall and hardy, with unusually handsome features. Just one look and you could tell it was a superb horse that could run a thousand miles, not inferior to the violet-grade colt.

"Your horse, sell me your horse!" Hua Jin demanded in a rush.

"My lady, are you heading for Lei Clan Fort?" The man in gold asked.

"That’s right. If you’re reluctant to part with your horse, then I will give you the silver. After I reach Lei Clan Fort, I’ll ask someone to send the horse back to you." Hua Jin knew that this horse must be a rare breed, so she thought of this deal.

"No need for such trouble. We’ll go together." The man in gold bent down and pulled Hua Jin onto the horse. He placed Hua Jin next to him, and his whole person engulfed her. "It\'s a coincidence. I’m headed for Lei Clan Fort too."

Hua Jin was taken aback all of a sudden, and the waiter in the tea shop was also dumbfounded. The behaviour of the man in gold appeared to be coercing the girl by force, yet his movements were so smooth that he didn’t give anyone a chance to resist.

"Ride!" The man in gold kicked the horse\'s sides abruptly and galloped ahead.

After a long time, Hua Jin finally came to her senses. "You…you’re going to Lei Clan Fort too?"

"That\'s right," The man in gold replied.

"Why are you going to Lei Clan Fort?" Hua Jin asked again.

"To visit a relative," The man in gold answered frankly.

"Visiting a relative? Then, your surname is Lei?" Hua Jin relaxed slightly.

The man in gold shook his head. "My surname is not Lei. It’s Xiao."

"Xiao? Could it be that you’re…" Hua Jin was surprised.

"You may not believe me, but it doesn\'t matter. You’ll understand when we reach Lei Clan Fort. But, on the way there, if you think that I’m lying to you, then just stab those two needles into my danzhong acupoint." The man in gold laughed lightly.

Hua Jin blushed when she realised her little trick had been detected, but seeing that this person spoke so frankly, she also lowered her vigilance a little. Not to mention that this man was so good-looking and dressed so wealthily that he couldn’t be some terrible villain. Now that she thought of it this way, Hua Jin kept the silver needles.

"I see that you’re in such a hurry. Are you going to Lei Clan Fort to save someone?" The man in gold asked.

"Yes." Hua Jin nodded.

"Is that person very important? Is he your good friend or your sweetheart?" The man in gold said quietly.

"He’s my patient." Unexpectedly, Hua Jin did not blush and instead spoke with a firm tone. "He was once my patient, so he will forever be my patient. If he dies, it’s this doctor\'s fault."

Seeing this little lady who was no more than thirteen or fourteen calling herself a doctor, the man in gold did not laugh, but was curious. "Oh? Once your patient, forever your patient. This is the first time I’ve heard a doctor say anything like that. Do you doctors have such rules?"

"Only our Medicine King Valley has this rule," Hua Jin said.

"Oh? Medicine King Valley?" The man in gold gave a meaningful smile but Hua Jin didn\'t see it.

Not long later, the two finally arrived at the front gate of Lei Clan Fort. However, the entire area was occupied by a military camp and many soldiers wearing military armor and armed with twin blades were patrolling.

"This is…" Hua Jin was startled.

Suddenly, the man in gold grabbed Hua Jin in his arms and pushed off his feet, jumping off the horse with a tall leap. He raised his head and shouted, "The little genius doctor of Medicine King Valley is here. Let us pass quickly!”

The army soldiers were already notified in advance that a genius doctor would be arriving these few days, and they didn’t dare to block their way. But, even if they intended to block their way, they wouldn’t have been able to. The man in gold exerted his powerful lightness skill, held onto Hua Jin, and with a few leaps, was already headed straight into Lei Clan Fort.

"That person just now…" Some of the soldiers with sharp eyes recognized the man’s outfit.

"The golden Lanyue Marquis," an officer spoke each word clearly.

"Why is he here?" The soldier who’d spoken earlier was puzzled.

The officer whispered, "Hurry, go inform the General!"

"Yes, sir!"

The man in gold jumped into Lei Clan Fort, raised his head again and shouted, "The little genius doctor of Medicine King Valley is here. Where is the patient?"

Lei Wujie, who was standing right outside the Qilin Pavilion, heard the voice, and his heart leapt with joy. He shouted in the direction of the voice, "Here!"

The man in gold smiled slightly. "Looks like we made it. Little genius doctor, let’s go!" After speaking, he continued to hold Hua Jin and sped towards the Qilin Pavilion.