It didn't take long before He Shan and the rest saw a pile of rubble and trees clustered together up ahead of them, and beneath it was a compartment that had caved in.
Zou Liqin immediately let go of Yu Mei once she spotted the rubble. Without care for her image, she ran into the piled-up mess ahead and started throwing the pieces of broken trees to the size as she yelled for Zou Yi.
"Zou Liqin, watch your voice will you? The crush has already created enough of a commotion as it is, we don't need to add any more to it by alerting every beast or participant out here of our location.
Nothing good will come of it if they decide to be curious and come here," He Shan austerely said as he went to Zou Liqin's side and helped remove some of the parts of broken trees and rocks.
He had an incredulous look as he removed the rubble. He couldn't understand how Zou Yi was even alive with such a scene on display. The piled-up trees and rocks had created a miniature mound that was at least 20 meters in height.
There was also a deep trench that had extended for a quarter of a kilometer and that was what he saw at the final scene. The attack from the snapping willow tree had launched Zou Yi for at least a kilometer and within that kilometer, he crashed into everything that was within that distance. Broken bones were the least of Zou Yi's injuries.
He Shan couldn't help but lament the current circumstance. Part of him even contemplated leaving, however, he wasn't in a good state himself, and if the journey up was anything like what they had just gone through, then his chances of making it up alone, were close to non-existent, he was better off teaming up with Zou Yi and the rest even if they didn't seem like much help at the moment.
The one saving grace was they had the opportunity to get stronger as long as they found a special zone. They could use whatever resources that were in there to strengthen themselves. He was eager to try the 108 steps of the autumn leaves cultivation art, especially the movement arts. From the brief glimpse he took, he found it more diverse and deeper than what he learned from his grandfather.
If she can improve, she can be a worthy teammate. Outwardly she doesn't seem like the tenacious sort, but she sure is full of surprises.
While he was removing the rubble, he spared a glance to observe Yu Mei who looked to be completely spent that a single gust of wind could likely topple her over.
Sweat had soaked her robes entirely to the point that one would think she had gone for a swim in them, her feet had more wounds on them, her hair was all over the place and with some sticking to her face and she was wheezing as she struggled to breathe. She didn't look like she was that far from keeling over and fainting, however even with her run-down body, her eyes still exuded a tranquil calmness as she carefully looked around.
He Shan couldn't help but admire her tenacity. Of the three, she was the only one he had the least hope for, but she turned out to be one of the biggest assets when the moment called for it.
Too bad even with all her tenacity, her body finally couldn't take it as her legs gave away and she fell on her side scraping her hands on some of the branches. She tried to get up but her arms soon followed.
"Don't force yourself or something worse will happen to your body, for now just focus on regulating your breath. Relax and gently take short breaths through your nose with your mouth and eyes closed. Empty your mind and just breathe.
Right now that should be your job, the rest leave it up to me and Zou Liqin. When we find Zou Yi we will need to get out of here," He Shan said when he saw the calm-eyed Yu Mei stubbornly try and get up.
Yu Mei hesitated for a moment before she silently nodded toward He Shan and did as he asked.
...
With He Shan and Zou Liqin working together it didn't take them long to empty out the rubble and find a badly beaten up Zou Yi who looked to just be hanging on to dear life.
His robes were in tatters, and some of the bones like the femur, radius, ulna, and clavicle were already showing. His whole body was covered in dirt and wood chippings that he had collected along the way, and it was held together by his leaking blood. His body looked like that of someone that had been charred.
Wait!! Is he smiling? thought He Shan as beneath that grime he saw what looked to be a weak smug smile.
Zou Liqin who was already at the edge seemed like she would lose it when she saw how beat up he was. However at the last moment she bit her lip hard to the point it dripped blood and gently went to her brother's side.
Zou Yi who had shallow breaths and eyes closed, opened them when he sensed Zou Liqin come over.
"L....i...i...."
He tried to open his mouth, but all that came out were low squelching sounds, that got drowned out by the blood he was coughing out when he tried to speak and move his hand toward Zou Liqin.
"Brother, don't move," Zou Liqin hurriedly said as she clumsily dug out a few herbs from her robe.
She spread them on the ground, quickly looking through them as she muttered words whenever her hands passed through each herb.
From what He Shan could tell, she seemed to be mentioning herb names and their uses. He heard a few names he was familiar with like; hidden toothwort, river mound morrel, and jade resplendent peony root to name a few.
Even if he couldn't recognize the first one he recognized the first two as go-to herbs for injuries. The hidden toothwort could be considered the prime herb of first aid, well to body refining experts like them, it was. It helped regulate the body's stress, and with a body in Zou Yi's state, he definitely needed it, before they could move him, the hidden toothwort would need to be applied to him, to help regulate his body from his bleeding, breathing down to the pain levels, which the hidden toothwort was excellent at. As for the river mound morrel, it would help in replenishing his blood essence along with boosting his healing abilities.
The more herbs Zou Liqin poured out, the more He Shan recognized. They were all restorative herbs, and for someone whose body was slathered in countless scars, the reason he was able to live through the injuries behind those scars, was through those herbs. Having one was like having another life.
The qualities are great too, by the looks ofit, and she seems to have gotten her emotions in check, thought He Shan as he scrutinized both the herbs and Zou Liqin who despite her urgency was very careful in picking the herbs she would need as she closely monitored Zou Yi's state to try which of his many injuries was the most dire.
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