Jin Shu drove a qi-iomp into the man’s khe joint twisted with a siing crack, elig a pained scream.

  "Aah! Don’t… please… w-what do you want from me?!" the man blubbered, tears and snot streaking his scarred, torted face.

  Jin Shu’s cold gaze froze him in pce. "Yoing to answer some questions. If you don’t—"

  Bang! A deafening sh out as Jin Shu fired a bullet into the throat of the other nearby man.

  The sean staggered, clutg his neck as blood poured through his fingers. His gurgled cries sted only seds before he colpsed, lifeless.

  "—something even worse will happen to you." Jin Shu’s voice was calm, detached, as he turned back to the st survivor. The man was trembling untrolbly now, his eyes wide with terror.

  "I-I’ll answer! I’ll answer! Just… don’t kill me!" he stammered, nodding frantically.

  "That depends oher or not you tell the truth."

  "W-what… w-what do you want to know?"

  "Why were you chasing her? And where is her master?" Jin Shu gestured toward Fan Biyu, lying unscious a few feet away. His gaze flicked to her for a moment, silently calg how much time he could afford to waste on this.

  "If… if I answer… will you let me live?"

  "Answer. Now. Or I’ll put a few more holes in you," Jin Shu replied, his voice low and menag.

  The man flinched, stumbling over his words. "ere chasing the girl to ra—"

  Bang!

  The man screamed as blood seeped from a fresh wound in his leg. "Aaah! Why?!"

  "Ahe other question." Jin Shu’s jaw tightened, his qi roiling with suppressed fury. He didn’t o hear the rest—he already khe man’s vile i.

  The man sobbed, clutg his wounded leg. "H-her master is to the east! She’s fighting our b-bosses! W-we’re just l-ckeys, I swear!"

  Jin Shu’s eyes narrowed as he goward the east. For a moment, a flicker of movement in his peripheral visio him on edge. He tensed, prepared for ahreat, only to see a bird burst from a nearby bush, chirping as it flew away. He exhaled softly, his gaze returning to the man trembling at his feet.

  The man looked up with wide, desperate eyes. "Y-you’ll let me go nht?"

  Jin Shu’s expression darkened, his voice cold and unyielding. "Sure. You go."

  Bang!

  "To the afterlife."

  He stood silently, watg as the light drained from the man’s eyes. His cold detat wavered when a pained groan cut through the stillness, pulling him back to the present.

  Shit, Biyu!

  He spun around to find Fan Biyu struggling to sit up, her movements weak and shaky. In an instant, he was at her side.

  “Biyu, are you okay?” he asked, his voice ced with as he gently helped her into a sitting position.

  “Who…?” she murmured, her eyes fluttering half-closed.

  “It’s Jin Shu,” he said quickly, steadying her.

  “Jin Shu!” Her hands clutched at his robes as her body trembled with strain. “M-master… where’s my master?”

  “I’m not sure,” he admitted, trying to keep his voice calm. “The men chasing you said she was fighting to the east. My mother’s strong—I’m sure she’s fine,” he added, as much to reassure himself as her. “But why were they chasing you? Who were these men?”

  “We… we… on our way…” Biyu’s voice faltered, her words fragmented as her eyelids drooped. “...to your… your home… they… ambushed us… demonic… cultivators…” Her voice faded into silence as her body went limp, falling unscious in his arms.

  “Biyu! Fan Biyu!” Jin Shu shook her lightly, panic creeping into his tone. “Shit!”

  “Nano! What’s her dition?”

  “She is suffering from severe blood loss, in addition to other internal injuries that are not immediately visible," the nanobots replied in their ral tone.

  Only now did Jin Shu notice the dark stain of blood poolih her. His heart sank.

  “Damn it! We o get her treated, but I have to find my mother!” He gritted his teeth, torween his priorities. “Nano, you treat her like you healed me?”

  “We ot,” Nano responded. “We are boo your DNA on a molecur level and only be used by you or someoh a simir DNA structure.”

  Jin Shu cursed under his breath. His mind raced as he sidered his options, his frustration mounting with every sed.

  “Damn it!” Jin Shu puhe ground before standing, clutg Fan Biyu tightly in his arms. “First, we have to get her to a doother will be fine… she has to be,” he muttered, more to reassure himself than anything.

  He turned and rushed back the way he had e, his steps quid purposeful. Ahead, he spotted Yin’er flying toward him, her tiny wings fpping sluggishly.

  “Huff… D-daddy… y-you’re too fast…” she wheezed, nding shakily on his shoulder. “What… what’s wrong with her…?”

  “Do you remember her? She’s my mother’s disciple. You met her a month ago… or maybe longer? I don’t know. That doesn’t matter now. She got hurt by bad guys, so we o get her treated.”

  Yiilted her head, finally catg her breath. “Why doesn’t she heal like me or Daddy?”

  “Uh… we’re a bit special,” Jin Shu expined hurriedly. “Only we—well, I think only we— heal wounds really fast.”

  “Oh, okay!” Yin’er chirped, accepting the expnation without further question.

  ***

  Jin Shu paced anxiously in the courtyard of Bck Mountain City’s best physi. Half an hour had passed since he’d arrived with the injured Fan Biyu, but there was still no word on her dition.

  Just as he sidered barging into the treatment room, the doors creaked open. Dr. Bai and his assistant stepped out, their faces etched with exhaustion.

  Jin Shu rushed toward them. “Dr. Bai, how is she?”

  “Haa… she’ll live,” Dr. Bai sighed heavily, wiping sweat from his brow. “However, she’s in a a from the severity of her injuries. It’s unclear when—or if—she’ll wake up.”

  “A a? And there’s nothing more you do?”

  “I’ve done my best, Young Master Jin,” Dr. Bai said, shaking his head. “I’m only a mundane physi. If you find a Divine Physi, they may be able to do more for her.”

  “A Divine Physi?” Jin Shu asked, unfamiliar with the term.

  “They’re cultivators who specialize in healing other cultivators,” Dr. Bai expined, swaying slightly from exhaustion.

  Jin Shu noticed the wobble in the older man’s legs and the sheen of sweat on his forehead. “Thank you, Doctor. You should rest now.”

  Dr. Bai nodded weakly, shuffling toward a side room. Halfway there, he paused and turned back. “If you’re looking for a Divine Physi, I’d suggest speaking to your uncle. As the Emperor, he should have the es to find one.”

  “Thank you for the advice!” Jin Shu called after him, watg as the doctor disappeared into the room.

  “Young Master Jin,” the assistant said hesitantly, “would you mind helping me move Miss Fan to a patient room? I-I’d do it myself, but… I’m quite exhausted from the treatment.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Jin Shu replied. Then, as he thought about his words, he added, “Though ‘fine’ isn’t the right word, is it?”

  The assistant chuckled softly at his fumbling. Jin Shu blinked, momentarily distracted by how cute she looked when she smiled. What the hell am I thinking? I’m not some pubest teenag—oh, wait, I am a teenager in this world…

  Shaking off the errant thought, he stepped forward to help carry Fan Biyu to another room.

  ***

  “Thank you for your help.” The assistant bowed politely once Fan Biyu was settled.

  “o tha’s me who should thank you for treating my friend. Truly, thank you.”

  She giggled lightly, then excused herself to rest, leaving Jin Shu alone in the room with Fan Biyu.

  He sat down beside her bed, his thoughts drifting back to the se in the clearing where he’d found her. His worry for his mother resurfaced, as did memories of the ahat had ed him when the men spoke about her.

  What is wrong with me? he wondered, leaning ba his chair. I’ve never been so rash before. And why are my emotions so intense?

  He rubbed his temples, his mind ing. In my memories, I wasn’t like this iher of my lives. Is this a side effect of reination? Two sets of memories… double the emotions? He frowned. I also have this strange obsession with seeking my mother’s affeaybe it’s because I didn’t have a mother in my st life… But it wasn’t like this before my memories awoke. What’s happening to me?

  Jin Shu sighed deeply, his gaze lingering on Fan Biyu’s unscious form. Whatever it is, I o focus. I’ll work on calming my emotions iure.

  Leaning forward, he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. His fingers lingered for a moment before he pulled back. But first, I o find Mother.

  Straightening in the chair, he whispered, “I’ll be back soon,” even though he knew she couldn’t hear him.

  With a determined breath, he stood ahe room.

  Though he was leaving Fan Biyu behind, he vowed he would return for her with a Divine Physi to heal her.