On his way back, Han Li encountered few people. Only a few senior brothers passing by glanced at his limping figure with some surprise, but none of them said anything to him. It seemed no one paid much attention to this junior disciple.
Once he returned to his quarters, the pain in his foot intensified. Han Li quickly sat on the edge of his bed, gently removed his shoe and sock, and examined the injury.
The swelling was severe! The big toe on his right foot was badly swollen, the skin stretched taut, red and shiny like a large crimson chili pepper.
Han Li hurriedly reached for the wooden pillow on his bed and pulled out a small medicine bottle from underneath. This was an externally applied trauma medicine carefully concocted by Dr. Mo. It was remarkably effective for bruises, swelling, and even bleeding. He had gone through great effort to obtain it from Dr. Mo, originally intending to keep it on hand for Zhang Tie in case of injuries during his training in the “Elephant Armor Technique.” Unexpectedly, he ended up using it himself first.
As soon as he opened the bottle cap, a strong medicinal aroma filled the entire room. He gently sprinkled the powder onto the swollen toe, and an immediate cooling sensation spread through the area. Truly, it lived up to its reputation as Dr. Mo’s secret remedy—it took effect instantly. Dr. Mo’s medical skills were truly beyond doubt!
Han Li found a clean cloth and wrapped the injured toe into a large bundle before putting his sock and shoe back on.
Hmm! Much better—the pain had subsided considerably.
He took a few slow, careful steps back and forth, quite satisfied with his quick handling of the injury.
Now it was time to deal with that mysterious bottle—the culprit behind his severe injury.
Han Li pulled the bottle from his robe, found a cloth, and wiped it clean until its full appearance was revealed.
The bottle was not very large; it could be entirely held in one palm, even slightly smaller than his medicine bottle. It was pale green all over, with several dark green patterns on its surface shaped like leaves, so lifelike they seemed almost real, as if actual leaves had been inlaid into it. When touched, they felt raised.
He weighed it in his hand—it was quite heavy. Yet, it was clearly not made from any metal he knew, nor any type of porcelain he was familiar with. When touched, it lacked the cold feel of ordinary metal and the smooth texture of typical ceramics.
After careful observation for a while, Han Li concluded that the bottle was made from some unknown material. The pale green color also appeared natural, inherent to the material itself, rather than something applied afterward.
When he saw the tightly sealed cap, Han Li decided to satisfy his curiosity and open the bottle immediately to see if there was anything inside.
Once again, he placed his hand on the lid and twisted with all his might. Once, twice, three times…
The lid and the bottle seemed cast as one, utterly immovable. The cap showed no signs of loosening.
Han Li was startled. When he first picked up the bottle, he hadn’t been able to twist it open either. But at that time, preoccupied with his injury, he hadn’t exerted much effort or paid it much mind. He had assumed that using his full strength would make opening it effortless. To his surprise, it still wouldn’t budge.
Han Li tried twisting it over a dozen times in a row until his arm grew sore, but there was still no success, so he stopped.
He shook his arm and flexed his wrist; he had strained himself from using too much force.
Holding the bottle up to his eyes, he inspected it meticulously once more. Unfortunately, he found no hidden mechanisms or tricks.
Now Han Li was troubled. Without opening the bottle, how could he know if there was anything inside? If there was, given how peculiar the bottle was and how tightly it was sealed, whatever was inside must be extremely precious.
Clutching the bottle tightly, Han Li stared at it in a daze for a while. Finally, he decided to let Zhang Tie, who was much stronger than him, try to open it. After all, Zhang Tie could now lift buckets weighing dozens of pounds with each hand and run swiftly up and down the mountain. The large water vats in the valley were filled by him punctually every day.
Having made up his mind, Han Li went to Zhang Tie’s room to wait for him, hoping he would return soon.
The wait felt interminable. Han Li thought time passed incredibly slowly. After what felt like an eternity, he finally heard the creak of the door as Zhang Tie pushed it open and entered.
Looking up, Han Li saw Zhang Tie wearing a thin blue shirt, faint steam rising from his body, and sweat pouring down his face. Han Li knew this was normal after a training session, so he wasn’t surprised.
Zhang Tie was taken aback to see Han Li in his room. Before he could say anything, the impatient Han Li immediately handed him the bottle. “Brother Zhang, could you do me a favor and try to open this bottle?”
“Where did you find this? It looks quite nice!” Zhang Tie paused briefly before taking the bottle.
*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!*
“Hey! This thing is really sturdy. It’s hard to open! What is it made of?” Without wasting words, Zhang Tie took the bottle and applied force with both hands, but he still couldn’t open the lid.
“No good, I can’t twist it open. Maybe you should ask another senior brother to try?” Zhang Tie shook his head apologetically at Han Li, tossed the bottle back to him, and offered an alternative suggestion.
“Even you can’t open it?” Han Li grew anxious and began pacing around the room.
“Hey, what’s wrong with your foot?” Zhang Tie finally noticed something off about Han Li’s walk.
“Nothing, just kicked a stone while walking.” For some reason, Han Li didn’t want to tell him the truth about the bottle. Perhaps it was just subconscious, but he had already begun treating the matter of the bottle as his little secret.
Feeling deeply disappointed, Han Li lacked the energy to chat idly with Zhang Tie. After asking a few polite questions about his training progress, Han Li left his room, intending to return and find a way to solve the bottle mystery on his own.
Back in his small room, Han Li placed the bottle upright on the table. He leaned on one side of the table, staring intently at the bottle while his mind raced, trying to come up with a solution to the problem.
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