Return of the King, Dominating the City-Chapter 1620 - 1514: Waiting

"Xiao Qing, how are you feeling?" Song Yun asked with concern.

"I’m alright." Xiao Qing nodded with a smile, quickly moving her gaze away when meeting Song Yun’s eyes.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn’t hurt."

"Is it itchy?"

"No, it’s not itchy."

"Is there anything uncomfortable?"

Xiao Qing smiled faintly. "No."

"Old man, is it all done like this?" Song Yun, still worried, turned to ask the old man who was washing surgical knives in a basin.

"It’s done." The old man replied without turning his head.

"Is it all finished? Could there be any side effects?" Song Yun asked worriedly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Song Yun couldn’t help but worry. Although he trusted this eccentric old man the most, witnessing the treatment process made him more anxious. The whole process was very short; Song Yun even checked the time on his phone, and it only took nineteen minutes. Removing the gauze, using the knife, then applying a bowl full of black paste with a wooden piece he had sharpened to Xiao Qing’s face.

"It’s nothing. All done, all done. You guys should leave quickly; I’m exhausted," the old man said impatiently, putting the surgical knife in a small box and immediately taking out the ipadx Song Yun had given him from his pocket.

Seeing his actions, Song Yun squinted and smiled. "Old man, there’s something I forgot to tell you."

"What?" The old man looked up and asked.

"This thing needs to be charged," Song Yun said with a cunning smile, like a little fox whose trick has succeeded.

"Charged? What do you mean?" The old man was somewhat confused.

"It means using it like that will drain the battery inside. You need a device to recharge the energy. Without the charger, with how you’re using it, it’ll run out by tonight, and you won’t be able to turn this baby on again," Song Yun laughed as he explained.

"Where’s the charger for energy replenishment?"

"It’s with me."

"Give it to me."

"No." Song Yun shook his head with a smile.

"Why?" the old man asked anxiously. He didn’t want the movie to be over in just one day.

"I need to make sure you’ve healed Xiao Qing’s injury before I give it to you. Are you sure you don’t need to check anything again? Or is there any procedure you forgot? Or do you have any good medicine you haven’t used?"

The old man stared blankly at Song Yun for a moment, then ran inside and came out hugging a small bottle, angrily throwing it to Song Yun. "Apply it once a day, using two drops each time. Use sparingly, as this is the only bottle in the world."

Song Yun cheekily took it and asked, "Think again, is there anything else?"

"No more," the old man shook his head firmly.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. There really isn’t. You hurry and send the charger over," the old man shouted angrily, feeling tricked once again by this little rascal.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is the latest solar-powered ipadx. Just leave it in the sun for half an hour and it’ll be fine. Old man, thank you. I’ll come back to see you often. Take care," Song Yun waved at the old man and helped Xiao Qing get ready to go down the mountain.

"Damn it, don’t come back ever again. I’m dead, I’ll be dead soon," the old man shouted in frustration from behind.

······

When Song Yun went to see Xiao Qing, she was in the room staring blankly at a bronze-edged mirror. The two had intentionally avoided each other for a few days, but they had to meet eventually. Today was the day the old man had instructed to wash off that layer of black mud from her face, and Song Yun came to witness this important moment together with her.

"Xiao Qing," Song Yun called softly while standing at the door. Since it was daytime, her room door wasn’t closed.

Xiao Qing was startled out of her thoughts, glanced at Song Yun and quickly turned away. Her intact face tinted with a layer of red.

"You’re here."

"Yes. How are you feeling?" Song Yun asked with a smile.

"I’m alright." Xiao Qing pointed to the chair beside her and resumed staring deeply at her left side of the face covered in black paste in the mirror.

"Today you can wash it off," Song Yun said with a smile, though he felt a bit anxious inside. Although the old man was famed and Song Yun had seen him heal others effectively, he didn’t have any license, essentially a Martial World doctor. What if he had a grudge against Song Yun and deliberately left a problem?

Song Yun had decided that if Xiao Qing’s face didn’t recover to what he wanted, he would go back to retrieve the ipadx. Refuse? I’d kick the damn bastard.

"Yes," Xiao Qing responded softly but didn’t move.

Song Yun sat for a while, noticing she was still staring into the mirror. He knew she was frightened, having come with hope only to find her face still unhealed despite such sacrifices; he feared she couldn’t bear the heavy blow.

"What’s wrong? Scared?" Song Yun walked over, placing his hand on Xiao Qing’s shoulder. Her body trembled again, but she didn’t reject the touch.

Looking into the mirror at Xiao Qing’s face, Song Yun comforted her gently, "It’s alright. Trust me, and trust that old man. Although he’s ugly, his character isn’t great, and he’s rather twisted, but his medical skill is indeed impressive. Do you know why I took you from the hospital and brought you here? Because I believe in him. Over ten years ago, I saw him perform such a surgery. It was one of our sect’s female disciples; she majored in commercial espionage and was disfigured during a mission after being discovered. She was worse off than you, but after the old man treated her, she recovered to her original appearance, even more beautiful."

This story was fabricated by Song Yun. There had never been a case of a female disciple in their sect being disfigured. It was just a kind lie to comfort Xiao Qing.

"Where is she now?" Xiao Qing showed interest, her confidence somewhat restored, and asked with concern.

"She’s out on a mission. After that failure, she never messed up again."

Xiao Qing nodded, looked into the mirror again at her face, and finally made up her mind. "I have to face it sooner or later. Let’s wash it."

"Alright. I’ll go get some water." Song Yun smiled and ran out, bringing back half a basin of cold water, then added some hot water to adjust it to a constant temperature. This was specifically instructed by the old man.

"Thank you." Xiao Qing glanced at Song Yun briefly, quickly turned away, tested the water temperature, found it suitable, hesitated a moment, then gently applied a handful of water to her face. The black, muddy substance was immediately soaked, starting to peel away in chunks.

"How is it? Any effect?" Xiao Qing paused the water pouring action, nervously asking.

Song Yun looked at the skin where the black mud was peeling off, adopting a serious expression and said, "Keep washing."

Xiao Qing’s expression froze, her hand stiffened. In a reckless manner, she desperately splashed the water from the basin onto her face, soaking her face, hair, and clothes. After emptying the basin, she stood there silently weeping.