"Tell me, how is my condition? Be direct," Lin Zhenfan asked, withdrawing his hand with a frown.
"Pavilion Master, your heart meridian is severely damaged. It's best not to use your internal energy carelessly in the near future," the Valley Master of Ghost Valley advised.
"Is there any way to quickly recover my internal injuries?" Lin Zhenfan asked straightforwardly, his deep pupils rippling with a faint glow.
"Yes, but such a thing is extremely rare," the Valley Master of Ghost Valley said with a serious expression.
"Speak, what is it? This Pavilion Master will find a way to obtain it," Lin Zhenfan's pupils contracted abruptly, his voice low.
"A Thousand-Year Warm Jade!" the Valley Master of Ghost Valley finally uttered the astonishing words after a moment of thought.
"Did you say a Thousand-Year Warm Jade?" Lin Zhenfan confirmed.
"Yes, it is the Thousand-Year Warm Jade!" the Valley Master of Ghost Valley repeated.
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhenfan's gaze flickered, but he remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
"More than ten years ago, the Chu family in Jiangcheng possessed a Thousand-Year Warm Jade. However, it was precisely because the Chu family had this Warm Jade that they suffered a clan annihilation. Later, the whereabouts of that Thousand-Year Warm Jade became unknown," the Valley Master of Ghost Valley deliberately stated.
"Then, Valley Master, do you know the whereabouts of that Thousand-Year Warm Jade?" Lin Zhenfan probed.
"No! Do you, Pavilion Master, know its whereabouts?" the Valley Master of Ghost Valley countered.
However, he suspected that the Thousand-Year Warm Jade was in Lin Zhenfan's possession.
Back then, when he led his men to massacre the Chu family, he had interrogated the Chu family heads and their wives. They had told him that the Thousand-Year Warm Jade had already been stolen, but he hadn't believed them. He thought the Chu couple was lying, so he resorted to more brutal methods to force them, but he still received the same answer: the Thousand-Year Warm Jade had been stolen.
He had spent a great deal of effort back then, slaughtering a large family of nearly two hundred people, yet he didn't obtain the Thousand-Year Warm Jade. He was furious and later set fire to the Chu family's estate.
Now, so many years later, whenever he recalled the events of that year, he couldn't help but suspect the Pavilion Master of the Dark Night Pavilion.
This was because during his severe interrogation, the Chu couple had mentioned a suspect, someone who wore a black hat and a black long robe. When he thought about it carefully, this was precisely the style of dress of the Pavilion Master of the Dark Night Pavilion.
"Since the Valley Master doesn't know, how could this Pavilion Master know the whereabouts of the Thousand-Year Warm Jade? This Pavilion Master has never even heard of such a thing," Lin Zhenfan vehemently denied.
"Pavilion Master, I was just asking casually. Don't be impulsive," the Valley Master of Ghost Valley chuckled, diffusing the awkward atmosphere in the room.
"Then, is there no other way?" Lin Zhenfan asked again.
"There is, and that is to take medicine for conditioning. However, this process will be very slow. The medicine I prepare requires seven days for one course of treatment, and the medicine for each course must be prescribed according to the patient's physical condition. You will need to take a total of seven courses. Would you like me to write you a prescription to start with?" the Valley Master of Ghost Valley asked with a solemn yet gentle demeanor.
"Write it, this Pavilion Master will first take medicine and slowly condition himself," Lin Zhenfan said, feigning helplessness.
"That's fine too!" the Valley Master of Ghost Valley agreed with a nod.
After speaking, Lin Zhenfan called for the attendant outside the door and had him set up the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for the Valley Master of Ghost Valley to write the prescription.
The Valley Master of Ghost Valley picked up the brush and quickly wrote a prescription, handing it to Lin Zhenfan.
"Have someone fetch the herbs according to this prescription and decoct them. I still need to go back and check on your nephew. I'll take my leave now!"
The Valley Master of Ghost Valley turned and walked towards the door, immediately leaving Lin Zhenfan's small courtyard.
Lin Zhenfan was left alone in the room, his expression grim.
Later, Lin Zhenfan handed the prescription written by the Valley Master of Ghost Valley to the attendant and asked him to go and fetch the medicine. His chest began to ache again, so he returned to his room.
That old fox, the Valley Master of Ghost Valley, was indeed a cunning villain. Don't think that Lin Zhenfan couldn't see his intentions; he merely wanted to probe whether the Thousand-Year Warm Jade was on him. Hmph!
However, this old fox had reminded him. Otherwise, Lin Zhenfan would have forgotten that the Thousand-Year Warm Jade also had a healing effect.
Indeed, Lin Zhenfan knew the whereabouts of the Thousand-Year Warm Jade. He had personally stolen the one from the Chu family in Jiangcheng. However, the situation had been urgent at the time, and he hadn't harmed the Chu family members. Instead, he was discovered by Madam Chu as he was escaping.
Now, that Thousand-Year Warm Jade was in the hands of her old flame, Consort Jing. It wouldn't be difficult for him to borrow the Thousand-Year Warm Jade. It seemed he needed to find a way to enter the palace in the next couple of days.
As he was contemplating, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared before Lin Zhenfan and knelt down. This was a death warrior he had sent to the Cold King's estate to gather information.
"Your subordinate greets Master!"
"What's the situation?" Lin Zhenfan asked indifferently.
"Reporting to Master, the hidden operative we infiltrated into the Cold King's estate has had his identity exposed. He is dead," the black-clad death warrior stated emotionlessly.
"All of you are useless trash!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhenfan was so enraged that he slammed his hand on the small wooden table in front of him. The wooden table let out a "clang!" and instantly fell apart.
The black-clad death warrior continued to kneel on the ground with an impassive expression as Lin Zhenfan raged.
"Have there been any major events in the Cold King's estate these past few days?" Lin Zhenfan asked again.
"Master, everything in the Cold King's estate is normal!" the black-clad death warrior reported truthfully.
"Good, you may withdraw!" Lin Zhenfan said, suppressing the anger in his heart.
After Lin Zhenfan dismissed the black-clad death warrior, he raised his hand, gathered a surge of internal energy, and gently swept it around his room, causing the items inside to be thrown about and destroyed.
After unleashing this surge of internal energy, his chest immediately throbbed with excruciating pain, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Then, overcome with pain, he slowly squatted down, sat on the ground, and then lay down, curling into a ball.
A while later, the door to Lin Zhenfan's room was knocked.
"Bang, bang, bang…"
"Bang, bang, bang…"
"Second Uncle, are you in there? I'm Lin Hongtao!" Lin Hongtao cheerfully knocked on the door.
However, after knocking for a long time, there was still no response from inside the room.
"Strange! The servant just said that Second Uncle returned to his room after seeing a guest. Why isn't there any response from inside the room now? Could Second Uncle have fallen asleep again?"
He gradually felt that something was amiss, so he walked to the window and looked into the room, instantly startling him.
Lin Zhenfan's room was in disarray, and he himself was curled up on the ground.
Lin Hongtao anxiously called out to several servants in the courtyard, opened Lin Zhenfan's door, and had them carry Lin Zhenfan to the bed.
"You, quickly go and call a doctor!" Lin Hongtao shouted at one of the servants.
His roar startled everyone. The servant, trembling, stumbled out of the room.