Suffering on Either Side

Quinlan recognized her at a glance, despite the sorry state she was in. Still, as expected of a recluse like him, the thought of helping her up didn't cross his mind at all.

"Rather, why does my body hurt like hell?!"

Quinlan looked around, seeing the still-open system windows from before. From there, he read how Meng Yinuo forcefully reached the 2nd Stage of Qi Refinement, causing his body to suffer internal injuries and preventing him from cultivating for two days.

"Ugh...!"

Now that he realized what was wrong with his body, he felt like the pain suddenly rushed into his brain. Sparks flew in his vision, and his senses started to feel awry. The world spun as he fell forward, noticing the red stains on the white blanket covering him halfway up.

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock!*

The sound of hurried knocks echoed, causing Quinlan to turn his blurry eyes to the door. As soon as he did, a bunch of white-robed individuals entered with rushed steps.

"Quinlan?! What happened?!"

The doctor with brown hair asked, looking around the devastated room with a face filled with shock. "Lady Melody!" and quickly panicked upon seeing Melody's sorry state.

Among the few doctors, one of them quickly picked her up before running out of the room, heading to the first-aid station to address her injuries and get her checked. The doctor, seeing that Melody was already moving to safety, turned to Quinlan with a worried gaze.

Rushing to his side, he first checked his pulse. It was erratic, as if his heart were doing acrobatics, with each beat's timing different than the next.

"This is bad. For some reason, he's suffered heavy internal injuries! We need to move him to the medical pod again!" As the doctor was suggesting so, a stretcher appeared outside the door, ready to carry Quinlan away.

With his hazy senses, it was hard to even keep his eyes straight. Before he realized what was going on, he was already inside the dry medical pod, naked, and wearing the oxygen mask firmly.

A murky green fluid started to fill the pod until Quinlan's body was floating in the middle of it. Just as he was getting accustomed to the pain from his injuries and the cold sensation of the medical fluid touching his skin, a blue window suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Warning! The Effect of the Switch Card will run out in 10 seconds.]

"...!"

Quinlan was shocked awake. He was thinking of filling his thirst for touching machines there, but it seemed like time ran out with him not being able to touch a single piece of machinery. With a heavy heart, Quinlan's consciousness faded.

Just as his senses were coming back, the first thing that welcomed him was another wave of intense pain. "Argh!"

With a short cough, blood bubbled up his throat and was sprayed on the one lying helplessly before him: Xiyadie. However, he couldn't bother thinking about Xiyadie's now bloody appearance.

The wave of pain was stemming from all corners of his body, as if he were being subjected to Iron Maiden torture. It was so painful, he wished he could just faint then and there. Unfortunately, his wish wasn't granted.

"Ugh! A-Anyone...! Please call for help...!" Unable to stay still any longer, he raised his voice to ask for help from the bystanders looking at them.

However, everyone only looked on with scared and worried expressions. They didn't even have the slightest intention to help, seeing their expressions.

"You're the young lady from before!" Just when he was losing hope, a familiar voice cried in surprise.

Turning his head, Quinlan saw the old man from the workshop stall staring at them with shock on his face. "If I recall correctly, you're from the Meng family, right?! I'll call for help from them immediately!"

He exclaimed before screaming at the young man behind him, probably his apprentice. "Pin, go to their manor and call for help! Tell them that their young lady is injured and needs healing!"

"A-As you wish, master!" The young man answered in fear before jogging away.

"Hurry up, you dimwit! Run as if your life depends on it! It's the Meng Family, you know?! Who knows what benefits we'll get from helping their young lady!"

"..."

Quinlan wanted to punch the old man, muttering self-centered ideals, but his body refused to move. Well, someone acting with their personal interests as the basis was still better than those who refused to move at all. After about three painful minutes, a rescue team was finally dispatched.

They were carrying only one stretcher and were about to load Quinlan into it. However, when Quinlan noticed that they were planning to leave Xiyadie behind, his body moved, slapping the face of the one who was loading him onto the stretcher.

"L-Lady Yinuo?!"

The other man was similarly confused, staring at his partner, who was holding his cheeks with a face as pale as sheet ice.

"What the hell are you two doing?! Don't you see Xiyadie is in a worse situation than me?! Carry her instead, I'll walk!"

Her words sounded righteous and even grasped the hearts of some of the bystanders, thinking that Quinlan was more worried for his maid than his safety. The ability to worry for their subjects is what makes one a great ruler!

However, in his mind, a different scenario was rolling.

'You dare leave Xiyadie behind? Do you want to kill me? What would that damned Meng Yinuo think if her precious one's injuries worsened?!'

With what happened a little earlier, Quinlan was sure that Yinuo was a dangerous being. If, based on what she taught him, she reached the Soul Formation Stage, then he fears that she would take his life personally... for real.

'I definitely can't stay weaker than her. I need to cultivate faster and reach a higher stage than she could!'

Quinlan's eyes sharpened as he gazed at Xiyadie being loaded onto the stretcher. A sinister thought, unbecoming of him, crossed his mind. He wanted to deny it, shaking his head, but he knew that it was the most optimal path that he could take to ensure his safety.

"Xiyadie... I'll be using you as my shield!" Quinlan whispered in a low voice.

After Xiyadie was lying on the stretcher comfortably, the other man holding the other end turned to Quinlan and spoke in a reverent tone. "Young Miss, then, please follow us."

"..."

Quinlan just stared at them, however. The two wondered why Quinlan wasn't standing up and got worried. Just as they were about to drop Xiyadie off to check up on his state, the young apprentice of the workshop came to his side, helping Quinlan stand up.

"P-Please don't punish me, Young Lady Yinuo. I'm just following my master's order!" The man whispered as he placed Quinlan's arm across his shoulder, supporting him as they walked one step at a time.

Quinlan doesn't really mind his help; rather, he is even thankful. However, he still sighed and wanted to curse. Meng Yinuo, that woman, broke both bodies and let him suffer the pain from the injuries! "She's definitely a demon!" Quinlan convinced himself.