White-Robed Chief

The pain in his fingers intensified once more. It was multiple times more painful than when his fingers were chopped off because it now felt like his fingers were being sawed off. The intense pain came in waves.

He gritted his lips and forcefully suppressed his groans. He tossed and turned around in his bed and could not sleep at all.

This went on into the depth of night before the pain subsided slightly. The tiredness from the past two days had finally taken its toll on him as he fainted into a lethargic sleep.

The next day, he awoke gradually.

He looked left and right as the warming sunlight showered in from his window. His surroundings were incredibly quiet as the birds chirped away from where they were perched below the roof. It was another peaceful morning.

He got down from his bed to open the window and was immediately greeted with fresh air.

He felt incredibly refreshed and his body was incredibly light. In comparison to yesterday, it was as if he had arrived at heaven from hell. The difference was drastic.

He lowered his head to look at his left hand. His eyes widened immediately.

Two tenderly white fingers had appeared in place of his broken middle finger and index finger. They were completely different from the fingers around them, fair and incredibly tender. They looked so gentle and elegant that they looked like a woman’s fingers.

He moved them and confirmed that they were really his fingers. He then reached out a hand to pull out his hair using his index finger and thumb first before using his middle finger and thumb. The motion was incredibly smooth, there was no twitching or any abnormality at all. His fingers had grown back!

No words could express his happiness as the joy of recovery surprised him.

He opened the door with a “bang” as he strode out of the house to the Taoist temple. Zhao Haoran and Zheng Xiabo were practicing their Swordsmanship right in front of it. Their actions were slow as their swords flowed like water.

They looked at Wen Tingdao in concern once they saw him walking over.

Zhao Haoran exclaimed as he looked at him being lively, “You look great!”

Wen Tingdao raised his left hand up to spread his fingers in front of them. “Hey Senior Brothers, look! Look closely!”

The pair widened their eyes as they looked at his left hand.

“Are you serious?” Zhou Haoran walked forward before he spread out the two white, tender fingers.

Wen Tingdao put his two fingers together in a bid to clamp Zhou Haoran’s finger. Zhou Haoran’s fingers suddenly turned into the shape of a claw as it tried to grab hold of Wen Tingdao’s hand, but Wen Tingdao flicked his finger in retaliation.

“Slam!” It was packed with a good amount of force.

Zhou Haoran put away his hand in disbelief. “They’re really your fingers. To top it off, your strength didn’t reduce at all!”

Zheng Xiabo asked, “Did your fingers really grow back?”

Wen Tingdao laughed satisfactorily. “They’ve really grown back! These are my fingers! Haha!”

He always believed that his fingers were not valuable. However, after he had lost them and gained them back, no words could describe how much he actually cherished and loved them.

“To be able to grow out your fingers in two days. It’s a miracle!” Zheng Xiabo praised. “These Detachment Pills are exactly as the rumors described!”

Sword Moon Sect had been around for a long time and could be compared to the Holy Church of Light. They possessed a pill scripture called the Treasured Pill Scripture, which had described the Detachment Pills in it.

However, no one in the sect was able to make these pills before. Since they knew that no one was able to successfully make a Detachment Pill, this had caused them to not believe Chu Li was able to hand one over to them.

“Congratulations Junior Brother Wen!” The two fist saluted as they smiled.

Wen Tingdao fist saluted back as he laughed out loud. He then stopped abruptly and whispered, “Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Zheng, I’m thinking of Master’s Senior Hu right now!”

“Master’s Senior Hu…” The pair’s faces turned pale as they shared a look, their eyes gleaming.

Wen Tingdao smiled as he spoke, “If Master’s Senior Hu were to obtain the Detachment Pills, what kind of reaction do you think he would have?”

“We must obtain more Detachment Pills!” the pair exclaimed.

Zheng Xiabo continued, “Master’s Senior Hu’s Swordsmanship was unparalleled. However, he’s no longer able to hold any sword since his left and right thumbs have been chopped off. He loves his swords as if they were his own life. He’s currently imprisoned at the Tide-listening Temple as he wanted to learn the Bloody Garment Divine Power. If Master’s Senior Hu were to obtain these Detachment Pills, he’ll surely be over the moon… We, of the Sword Moon Sect would become much stronger!”

“Let’s not inform Master’s Senior Hu yet. He’ll definitely escape Tide-listening Temple and steal the Detachment Pills if he were to hear of this!” Zhou Haoran declared. “He’ll spoil our plan… This Zhao Dahe is a genius in pill making!”

“He’s someone to be trusted too.” Zheng Xiabo laughed. “If I were in his shoes, I might not have given Junior Brother Wen the Detachment Pills. These things are simply too valuable!”

“He must have more Detachment Pills in his hands!” Zhou Haoran harrumphed. “Let’s snatch some back for Master’s Senior Hu!”

“That’s one idea.” Zheng Xiabo shook his head. “However, we can’t do that unless it’s our last resort so let’s not decide right now. We still have a few Senior’s Masters who had their fingers chopped off. Some even had their arms chopped off too. We’ll be doing a tremendous service if we were to help them recover. We might also attract a few Senior’s Master’s attention and our Swordsmanship will skyrocket with their guidance!”

They were extremely excited as they went on.

Their Swordsmanship was their accumulation of experience. If they were to receive guidance from a reputable master and if their master was a reputable master to begin with, they would definitely improve a lot under the guidance of a few Master’s Seniors.

“What should we do?” Zhou Haoran asked.

Wen Tingdao pondered for a while. “My two Senior Brothers, why don’t we trade with him? We’ll give him any pill he wants in exchange for the Detachment Pills. What do you think?”

“That’s a good idea.” Zhou Haoran nodded as he smiled. “Li Dynasty’s alchemy is much worse than ours. He’ll definitely be in awe with the common pills we have here and he’ll definitely trade with us!”

“Don’t forget that he’s a Pill-refining Master!” Zheng Xiabo shook his head.

The three became silent.

Wen Tingdong pondered for a moment before he responded, “Let’s trade Common Knotgrass with him!”

“That’s reasonable!” Zheng Xiabo said, “However, you’ll have to be careful since this is a private trade. The Holy Church of Light might not allow their disciples to trade privately. After all, we’re not friends with the Holy Church of Light!”

“Alright, I’ll seek him discreetly.” Wen Tingdao nodded.

…

Dawn had arrived and the air was incredibly fresh.

Chu Li was training his thirty-six energy-nurturing forms in the back garden.

He stopped all of a sudden. “Since you’re here, please reveal yourself.”

Wen Tingdao was in a blue robe as he opened the fan in his hand and smiled. “I’ve personally come here to thank you. Thank you Brother Zhao for the Detachment Pills!”

“You’re welcome.” Chu Li continued training his thirty-six energy-nurturing forms. “It’s what we’ve agreed upon. I, Zhao Dahe, will never go back on my word.”

“I wonder if Brother Zhao still has any more Detachment Pills.”

“I do, but I have to present it to my Sect. I’ll be heavily rewarded for it.”

“Can you make four more for us…?” Wen Tingdao squinted as he smiled. “If Brother Zhao has any request, feel free to mention it out loud!”

Chu Li shook his head. “I was lucky that I was able to make them. It might not happen next time. I don’t have much left and there are many crippled people in my sect that need them. Hence, I won’t be exchanging it for something else and will not be making any trade with you!”

Sigh…” Wen Tingdao shook his head. ” The Sword Moon Sect has some spirit pills as well. Is Brother Zhao not interested in them?”

Chu Li shook his head.

“What if I trade the pills with you for a martial art?” Wen Tingdao smiled as he looked at him.

Chu Li responded immediately, “What martial art?”

“What martial art do you want?” A smile graced Wen Tingdao’s handsome face. “As long as it’s not martial arts belonging to our Sect, feel free to name your price.”

“I want the Reincarnation Temple’s martial art,” Chu Li said.

Wen Tingdao groaned. “The Reincarnation Temple’s martial art is inherited through enlightenment. No outsider is able to get their hands on it.”

Chu Li replied, “Then there’s nothing we can trade with.”

“The Reincarnation Temple’s martial art is not the best in the world.” Wen Tingdao shook his head. “There’s a way to counter it.”

Chu Li shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if it can be countered. I’m not skilled enough for it.”

“We’ve spirit pills that recover your inner energy.” Wen Tingdao smiled gently.

Chu Li frowned. “Is it similar to the Miracle Cure Pill?”

Wen Tingdao nodded slowly. “Exactly!”

Chu Li waved his hands. “I don’t want that!”

It would be too easy to use that against him since recovering one’s martial art through drugs was forbidden.

Wen Tingdao frowned as he continued looking at Chu Li. “The sword technique from Haicang Mountain!”

“Do you have the heart technique?”

“No…” Wen Tingdao shook his head. “Haicang Mountain’s heart technique is inherited secretly. No outsider can obtain it.

“What’s the point then!” Chu Li scoffed.

“Haicang Mountain’s sword technique is already incredibly good even though it’s weaker than ours, the Sword Moon Sect, by a level.”

“The Divine Light Sword Technique is also a sword technique that stands in the pinnacle of the world.”

“Haha!” Wen Tingdao laughed.

…