Chapter 162: Chapter 162
Both were covered in blood, their clothes ripped to shreds by something, looking quite disheveled.
Especially the Crown Prince, whose white garments made his blood-stained figure even more noticeable.
Jun Ning and a protector left behind by the Crown Prince had been waiting downstairs at the inn, and upon seeing their state, immediately rose from the table to welcome them.
Jun Ning ran the fastest, reaching the Crown Prince first, looked at him with a furrowed brow and asked, "Brother, you were only out for a short while, what happened to cause such injuries?"
They had encountered several fierce beasts.
The Black Forest truly lives up to its fearsome reputation.
Being asked, the Crown Prince sighed and remained silent for a while.
After a long pause, he patted Jun Ning’s head and simply said, "Don’t worry, I’m fine, the blood isn’t entirely mine. I just have some superficial injuries that will heal with some medicine and bandages."
Qi Qin also said, "Dad is fine too, don’t worry."
Just then, the inn’s attendant saw their condition and skillfully approached to ask the Crown Prince and Qi Qin, "Do you gentlemen need a doctor? Our inn has one on standby."
"What does this mean?" Jun Ning asked in confusion.
What kind of inn has a doctor on standby?
It seemed unprecedented.
The attendant threw the towels over his shoulder, pulled over a low stool, and sat at the edge of the table, explaining in detail, "We are the only inn near the Black Forest. Anyone wanting to cross the Black Forest to seek medicine at the Medicine King Valley stops here. Those coming out of the Black Forest pass by here injured, so we provide a doctor for the guests’ convenience."
Though the attendant was merely explaining the situation, Jun Ning had a vague sense of unease.
Why was their inn the only one near the Black Forest?
Could the innkeeper truly be so kind-hearted, providing a doctor for injured guests?
Such a person is either a true gentleman or a true villain.
The attendant’s next words confirmed Jun Ning’s suspicions. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩
The Crown Prince and Qi Qin exchanged a glance and in tacit agreement said, "Since there’s a doctor, please bring him at once!"
Though they weren’t mortally wounded, they had many external injuries constantly bleeding. Without treating them, the blood loss could lead to death.
The attendant raised a finger with a sly smile, "One hundred silver each, gentlemen!"
Such minor wounds requiring one hundred silver?
They were not life-threatening injuries!
Truly daylight robbery, a black-hearted inn through and through!
The innkeeper was undeniably a villain.
The Crown Prince remained unfazed, befitting his status.
Qi Qin almost flared up in anger, nearly hitting someone, but as he clenched his fist, seeing the attendant’s smiling face, he released it again.
As the saying goes, one does not hit someone with a smiling face, and this certainly applied here.
Moreover, if they refused to be taken advantage of, the alternative was to ride to a faraway place to get treated, a journey that would waste an entire day.
Time was precious to them now; they couldn’t afford to waste it.
Qi Qin, exhaling a sullied breath, pulled out a silver note and slapped it on the table, "Hurry and bring the doctor..."
The attendant took the silver note and hastily went to fetch the doctor, rather obligingly.
The doctor was brought promptly.
Experienced in treating such wounds, the doctor handled them deftly, completing the treatment in no more than the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn.
He also prescribed some medicine for the Crown Prince and Qi Qin, instructing them to take it on time.
The attendant, having pocketed the money, willingly took on the task of boiling the medicine, showing a modicum of ethics despite the exploitation.
The Crown Prince and Qi Qin then discussed, with furrowed brows, how to cross the Black Forest, but made no progress on a solution.
As night deepened, the inn’s lobby was empty save for the innkeeper and Jun Ning’s group.
Waiting aimlessly wouldn’t do, Jun Ning yawned and asked, "Brother, when are we sleeping?"
Hearing this, the Crown Prince glanced at Qi Qin and said, "Let’s rest first, and talk about it tomorrow."
Qi Qin nodded, "Alright."
This would be a restless night.
After taking the medicine, the Crown Prince and Qi Qin went to their rooms to rest, planning to set out for the Black Forest the next day.
But as they lay in bed, both stared wide awake, unable to sleep, still pondering how to cross the Black Forest.
"Brother, why aren’t you sleeping?" Jun Ning, lying next to the Crown Prince, asked.
This trip found the Crown Prince and Jun Ning sharing a room, as the Crown Prince was uneasy leaving Jun Ning alone, not even with his own guard watching.
He had to keep Jun Ning under his own watchful eye to feel secure.
"Going to sleep now!" The Crown Prince tucked Jun Ning in, saying, "You sleep too; I’ll protect you."
Jun Ning nodded and went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, seeing the Crown Prince finally sound asleep, she stealthily got out of bed and went downstairs to find the innkeeper.
The innkeeper recognized her as the child accompanying the two men who seemed nonordinary, rubbing his eyes and asking, "Little girl, why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? What are you doing up?"
"Do you have paper and pen here?" Jun Ning asked.
"Yes," the innkeeper replied.
"Let me borrow them."
Thinking the child might be missing her mother, wanting to write her a letter, he understood and didn’t make things difficult, giving Jun Ning a sheet of paper and a charcoal pencil.
"We don’t have brushes here, so make do with this!"
The innkeeper then rested his head, drifting back into his watch over the inn, half-asleep.
Charcoal pencils were good for drawing, much easier to use than brushes.
Jun Ning happily took the pencil and began drawing on the paper.
Soon, a wood kite-like shape was sketched.
Crossing the Black Forest wasn’t difficult, but required the right approach.
Without tools, relying on sheer human strength to fend off those beasts and cross the Black Forest would be exhausting.
Flying with tools was the best way.
After completing the drawing, Jun Ning asked the innkeeper, "Is there a woodcrafter nearby?"
The innkeeper yawned, casually replied, "Not far from here lives an old woodcrafter, skilled but always dabbling with flight instead of woodwork, not sure if he does his craft anymore."
The innkeeper, caught in fatigue, realized he was babbling to a little girl; could she understand?
"Stop asking, little girl," the innkeeper waved her off, "Go back to your adults, otherwise, if any evildoers harm you, it’ll be bad."
Jun Ning returned to the Crown Prince, unable to sleep, but looking at the completed drawing of the wood kite, filled with excitement.
Tomorrow she would go with Ming Yue to find the woodcrafter to have him make the wood kite.
However, the next day, when Jun Ning went to the woodcrafter’s residence, he was absent. The hunter living next door said he hadn’t been home for two days and might have died.