Not a Bed of Roses

It was already late by the time they returned, and Zhao Yunxiao simply went to bed after his daily meditation.

Early the next morning, Zhao Yunxiao met up with Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying at the canteen as always.

"Tomorrow is a big day for Junior Martial Sister Lu!" Gu Qiansi reminded Zhao Yunxiao the moment he sat down.

"Big day?" Zhao Yunxiao looked up from his food.

"I knew you would forget," Gu Qiansi rolled her eyes.

"I knew you would forget," Lu Zhiying repeated after Gu Qiansi while shaking her head in disapproval.

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

Since when did this junior martial sister of his become so cheeky with him?

Gu Qiansi glanced at Lu Zhiying and smiled before continuing, "Today marks the seventh day that Junior Martial Sister Lu has been with the sect, so she will be going to form her spiritual meridian root as well as select her sect job tomorrow. As her senior martial brother, do you have any advice for her?"

"So that's it," Zhao Yunxiao turned towards Lu Zhiying. "You aren't worried at all, are you?"

"Nope! Whatever the outcome is, I can only accept my fate anyway. It is not like my worrying can change the result," Lu Zhiying answered with a grin. "If I have to describe my feeling right now, it is probably just excitement? After tomorrow, I can finally be considered an official cultivator!"

Zhao Yunxiao nodded.

As expected of Lu Zhiying.

Though excitement was a given, most others would also be worried about the outcome from the formation of their spiritual meridian root.

Spiritual meridian roots were categorised into three main types – namely regular, true, and golden – in ascending order of quality.

The type of spiritual meridian root corresponded to the type of spiritual meridians that would be formed eventually, meaning that a regular spiritual meridian root will only form regular spiritual meridians.

And the higher the quality of the spiritual meridians, the easier it was for energy to flow through them.

This in turn resulted in better energy absorption and manipulation, which directly impacted both the cultivation rate and overall capabilities of cultivators.

Most people would end up forming regular spiritual meridians, while the rare few who managed to form true meridians stood a chance to eventually reach the Transcendent realm.

Of course, standing a chance and actually being able to convert that chance into reality were two entirely different things altogether, but having that possibility was definitely way better than not having it in the first place.

As for those who managed to form golden meridians, such people were fewer than few, but each of them was destined for greatness on the path of cultivation.

Since the type of spiritual meridian root had such a great influence on a cultivator's future, how could people not worry about it?

Or at least, that was what Zhao Yunxiao thought before meeting Lu Zhiying.

After interacting with this junior martial sister of his over the past few days, he genuinely believed her when she said that she was not worried at all.

That said, perhaps someone as talented as Lu Zhiying truly did not have much to worry about.

"It's good that you don't seem nervous at all. Just maintain that calm mentality and do your best. You should be fine then," Zhao Yunxiao advised. "What about your sect job? Have you decided on it yet?"

"That I haven't decided. I shall think about it tonight!" Lu Zhiying said between mouthfuls of food.

"Might as well. I will be bringing you to the Medicine Pavilion today, so you can take a look there too," Zhao Yunxiao said. "What about you, Gu Qiansi? What will you be doing today?"

"I will be going back to my garden plot."

"Again? Are you still not done fixing it after so many days?" Zhao Yunxiao frowned.

"We are done fixing up our individual sections, but in order to prevent the same thing from happening again, we are setting up defensive barriers around the entire plot," Gu Qiansi explained.

"Oh? Do let me know if you have any leftover materials. I would love to take anything to use it for my own plot too," Zhao Yunxiao remarked.

"Dream on, we purchased just enough after planning everything out," Gu Qiansi rolled her eyes. "Get your own materials instead of leeching on others if you want to do the same!"

"I was just saying, you don't have to be so harsh..." Zhao Yunxiao shrugged nonchalantly.

The trio finished up their meals and left separately, with Zhao Yunxiao bringing Lu Zhiying where he was scheduled to work today.

Medicine Pavilion – the central hub for all disciples who wished to embark on the path of healing, as well as for those who sought their assistance.

The pavilion itself was neither as grand as the Sect Market nor as exquisite as the Sect Library. However, it did exude an aura of calmness and serenity, feeling almost like a place of worship.

The three storey tall pavilion was separated into two main areas.

The first storey was the consultation area, where others could seek help from the physicians of the pavilion. There was even a separate section where those who were severely injured could stay and rest under the observation of the duty physicians.

Then there was the research area on the second storey that was reserved purely for the members of the Medicine Pavilion. This was where they usually performed experiments and conducted either debates or lessons on medical methods. To cater to everyone's needs, there was both a public section for open discussions and experiments, as well as a private section where disciples could do so in absolute privacy.

When Zhao Yunxiao and Lu Zhiying entered the pavilion, they were greeted with a familiar face.

"You are here, Senior Martial Brother Zhao. Oh, Junior Martial Sister Lu is here as well. Welcome!" Huang An's soft voice did not sound excited whatsoever despite the look on her face.

"Senior Martial Sister Huang! You are here too!" Lu Zhiying waved.

This was the second time that she was meeting Huang An.

The first time was three days ago when they met at the Lightwind Pavilion. Back then, Lu Zhiying had been completely enamoured with Huang An's exquisite zither skills.

"You are early as always, Junior Martial Sister Huang," Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile.

"I am not as busy as Senior Martial Brother Zhao, so I might as well come a few hours earlier to get some things done," Huang An replied. "That way, things will go smoother for everyone as well."

"A few hours...?" Lu Zhiying was shocked to hear that.

It was still early in the morning right now.

If Huang An came a few hours earlier... didn't that mean she arrived before the sun had even risen?

"You are as meticulous as always, arriving long before everyone else just to make sure that everything is in order. It is our fortune to be on the same team as you," Zhao Yunxiao praised.

"We are dealing with people's lives here, so I just want to make sure that nothing goes wrong," Huang An shyly scratched the back of her head.

"By the way, things are usually sorted by the previous shift of disciples before they leave, so things should be in proper order," Zhao Yunxiao explained to Lu Zhiying. "Junior Martial Sister Huang here is simply too responsible."

"That's not true at all! Everyone has days where they make mistakes, so it's always better to be safe than sorry!" Huang An retorted in her usual soft voice.

"You are right. That is my mistake," Zhao Yunxiao smiled in response.

He knew that Huang An was right.

If he was the patient, he would definitely hope that the physicians did multiple rounds of checks on their medicine and equipment too.

"I will be reporting to Senior Jin first, as well as to ask if Lu Zhiying can shadow me for today. See you later."

"All right, I will go get busy too," Huang An nodded.

With that, Zhao Yunxiao brought Lu Zhiying upstairs.

Jin Shang was the administrative deacon of the Medicine Pavilion.

After hearing Lu Zhiying's reason for wanting to take a look around, he naturally agreed to Zhao Yunxiao's request.

Upon receiving his permission, Zhao Yunxiao led Lu Zhiying back down where he showed her around both the research and consultation areas.

As the duty disciples arrived one by one and started settling into their work, Lu Zhiying began to realise that there was a stark difference in certain disciples' behaviours.

"Why aren't those people doing anything to help?" Lu Zhiying asked.

It was still rather early, but there had already been a few disciples who visited for consultation purposes, all of them seeking to be treated for one ailment or another.

The duty disciples took turns attending to them, including Huang An and Zhao Yunxiao with Lu Zhiying in tow.

However, there was a group of disciples who never bothered attending to these consultations, merely sticking to themselves and focusing on their research and discussions.

"Shh, don't say that so loudly!" Zhao Yunxiao quickly hushed. "In the Medicine Pavilion, outer disciples are in charge of treating light injuries and ailments while inner disciples are in charge of more severe cases. Those senior martial brothers and sister that you are talking about are all inner disciples. Since there hasn't been any severe cases today, they are naturally not expected to take action."

"Oh..." Lu Zhiying was obviously not satisfied with that answer.

Zhao Yunxiao realised that as well, but decided not to convince her any further.

The more they talked about this, the higher the chances of being overheard by the inner disciples.

And needless to be said, nobody liked to be talked about behind their backs!

The morning passed by rather smoothly.

There were not many disciples who visited for consultations after the first wave early in the morning, and almost everyone only had rather light ailments.

Lu Zhiying simply shadowed Zhao Yunxiao as he examined a few patients, at the same time striking up casual conversations where he tried to learn more about the recent ongoings in the sect.

When there were no patients to be looked at, they would go to the research area to observe others who were hard at work in the public section.

But just as noon arrived and the sun reached the zenith, the duo heard a sudden commotion coming from the consultation area.

Curious about what was going on, Zhao Yunxiao brought Lu Zhiying back down to the first storey to check things out, accompanied by many others who were at the second storey.

That was when they were greeted by a flurry of anxious people.

"Hurry! Carry them in!"

"Be careful not to drop him!"

"Watch his arm! Don't let that come into contact with anything else!"

"This one is of high importance! Get him looked at first!"

A large group of disciples were entering the Medicine Pavilion all at once, all of them ridden with injuries.

Some of them were fortunate enough to still be able to walk, but many had to be carried in while groaning in agony.

There were those suffering from deep lacerations and gashes, while some were just straight up unconscious.

"What happened here?" an authoritative voice drew everyone's attention to the top of the stairs.

Standing there was the administrative deacon Jin Shang – a man who looked to be in his fifties, with his hair tied back in a topknot and greying at the temples.

At this moment, his face was extremely dark as he watched the large group of patients entering the Medicine Pavilion.

"Reporting to Senior Jin," one of the more lightly injured disciples immediately answered. "We were on a demon slaying mission, but the target is simply much stronger than what was stated! The team was caught by surprise and ended up in such a state. It took us three days just to get everyone back to the sect. Please help to save them!"

"We at the Medicine Pavilion will naturally help anyone who comes to us," Jin Shang nodded. "Come, tell me more about this demon. Inner disciples, get off your asses and work! Huang An, join the inner disciples and tend to the heavily injured. Outer disciples, make sure you render your full support on everything else. I don't want anyone dying under my watch, understood?!"

"Yes, Senior Jin!"

Everyone answered in unison.

With that, the inner disciples who had only been idling before got busy as well.

They, together with Huang An, quickly started to examine the heavily injured.

At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao and the other outer disciples were in charge of the patients that had less severe injuries.

This also meant that the outer disciples were not nearly under as much stress as compared to the inner disciples, which allowed Lu Zhiying the time to observe the scene around her.

All around her, people were groaning in pain after suffering from all sorts of injuries.

Large amounts of blood could be seen with every turn of her head, its metallic smell silently spreading in the air.

She had always known that being a cultivator was not a bed of roses, but this was still her first time witnessing the carnage that could happen should something go wrong.

Fortunately or not, she was no stranger to seeing people in suffering, so she was not too affected by the scene before her.

Had it been any regular pampered girl in their mid teens, they would probably have felt nauseous after seeing all of this, while the weaker minded might even directly break into tears!

Still, that solemn expression of hers fell into the eyes of Zhao Yunxiao, who decided to try and take her mind off of the negativity.

"Do you see how Huang An is grouped together with the inner disciples?" Zhao Yunxiao casually remarked to Lu Zhiying while writing the prescription for a patient. "This shows how much Senior Jin trusts Huang An's skills as compared to the outer disciples. Impressive, isn't she?"

"Did you forget that you are one of those outer disciples that are not being trusted as much, Senior Martial Brother Zhao?" Lu Zhiying reminded.

"Huang An's ability in the art of healing has always been top notch, recognised by everyone in the Medicine Pavilion. If her cultivation level is just slightly better, she might have been invited into the inner sect long ago purely on the basis of her healing skills," Zhao Yunxiao conveniently ignored the burn from Lu Zhiying and continued. "Just look at how quickly she finds the crux of the issue and applies the corresponding treatment each time. That's skill right there!"

Lu Zhiying could not help but look over at Huang An.

Among the inner disciples, Huang An truly did not look one bit out of place as she moved from patient to patient, giving treatment after treatment in a decisive manner.

The way she issued instructions and prescriptions to her patients was firm and on point as well.

Purely from the way Huang An was acting right now, one could only see a talented physician and would never be able to guess how meek she usually was.

Indeed, someone could easily display a different side to themselves when it came to something that they were passionate about!

At the same time, the patient in front of them could not help but feel the corner of his lips twitch.

The diagnosis process had started off fine earlier.

But after hearing the contents of their conversation on top of seeing how distracted they were, he could not help but feel a growing lack of confidence in the treatment that he was receiving right now!