In that instant, a trace of fragile vulnerability, as though he could not maintain his expression any longer, flashed across the man’s face, though it disappeared in an instant, as if it had only been a trick of the eye. The Great Shaman caught it clearly, so he nodded and said, “I will not suggest anything of the sort again. I have a method that can preserve your martial arts and save your life.”

Wen Kexing sat up straight, about to speak up, but Zhou Zishu cut him off abruptly by asking, “If it can save my life, and preserve my martial arts...what will I need to sacrifice?”

His expression did not reveal the slightest bit of any other emotion. There was no trace of joy to be seen on his face; his gaze darkened, gravely solemn, as though he was not discussing his own injury with a healer and a friend, but was instead negotiating with some other party. Careful and thorough, paying close attention to all details, brimming with wariness--

How could such an effortless bargain exist in this world? Never could one have both fish and bear’s paw for the same feast[4]. Even though the time he had spent alive could not be considered ‘long’, Zhou Zishu felt that it was sufficient for him to understand this lesson--that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Even if these two people before him could be considered ‘friends’ if he were hard-pressed to, even if he was familiar with how the Great Shaman operated, he still dared not believe it so easily.

Because…it could hurt, this thing called hope.

Lord Seventh gently set the tea bowl in his hand aside, and spoke. "In these six months or more, we have sought out not a small number of places--you are aware of the might of the Shaman's Valley, you even helped build it yourself back in the day. As long as the herbs exist in this world, getting them is no trouble. Though these few herbs are more rare, we have, regardless, gathered all of them now."

As he spoke, the Shaman took out a small bottle from the front of his own robes. Zhou Zishu took it and opened the cap. In it was a full bottle's worth of pills. A medicinal fragrance with a slight hint of bitterness wafted out from within. The Great Shaman said, "Keep these. Take them at midnight. They can keep your Three Autumn Nails of the Seven Acupunctures from acting up, and gradually neutralise the poison on the nails."