Now that he had all the medicinal ingredients he needed, Bei Feng immediately began concocting the antidote and treating Qing Ting.
Bei Feng was truly a capable physician. Under his care, Qing Ting's condition took a drastic turn for the better. Her rate of recovery seemed to be nothing short of a miracle, and she was already looking much better within a matter of days.
During this time, Village Chief Qing Weihu strictly banned everyone from visiting Qing Ting, for fear that the treatment might be affected in any adverse manner.
And for a while, everything seemed to be going well.
However, after four days, a ruckus finally occurred in front of Village Chief Qing Weihu's house.
"Village Chief, please let me see Ting'er!" a young man desperately pleaded.
Facing the young man, Village Chief Qing Weihu let out a helpless sigh. "Luo Quan, I've already told you multiple times that it is impossible between you and Ting'er now. Please just leave."
When facing Luo Quan, Village Chief Qing Weihu could not help but feel a prick of guilt in his heart.
Luo Quan had always been regarded as the most promising young man within Green Seed Village.
In fact, there was even a passing cultivator who saw the potential within him a few years ago and ended up leaving him a cultivation method that allowed Luo Quan to begin on the cultivation path.
Even though the cultivator only left him some simple advice before departing, Luo Quan was still able to cultivate to the point of reaching the Peak Foundation Building realm.
To have accomplished that on his own and without any support from a proper cultivation sect or faction, Luo Quan's talent was definitely undeniable!
The entire Green Seed Village saw him as their pride, and Village Chief Qing Weihu was no exception.
That was why, when he realised that Luo Quan and his daughter were in love, he had been fully supportive of the relationship.
But now, things had changed.
Having promised his daughter Qing Ting to Sheng Huoyuan in exchange for saving her life, how could he still allow the young couple to continue meeting?
A lady's reputation was extremely important.
What would he do if his daughter were to be accused of cheating on her fiance?
An unfaithful woman would not only be spurned by all, but Sheng Huoyuan's group might not take it lying down either!
And who knew what these mighty cultivators were capable of when angered?
Even so, it was not easy to convince the young man, especially since he had done absolutely nothing wrong to deserve this.
This was not the first time that Luo Quan had come over in the past few days, and Village Chief Qing Weihu had steeled his heart to send him away each time. Clearly, that alone was not nearly enough to break his determination.
"But why?! Ting'er and I have always been deeply in love, and Village Chief has always been supportive of us too! So, why are you doing this all of a sudden?" Luo Quan retorted in indignance. "Please just let me talk to Ting'er! Just one time will do!"
"That's not going to happen!" Village Chief Qing Weihu answered. "I have already told you that she is now betrothed to Young Sir Sheng. Please just stop thinking about her and move on. That will be the best for both of you!"
"No! This time, I'm not leaving until I see Ting'er!" Luo Quan insisted. "I want to hear what she has to say about this! Until she tells me personally that she no longer loves me, I will not give up!"
"How are you so stubborn?!" Village Chief Qing Weihu yelled in exasperation. "If you really insist on staying, then don't blame me for chasing you away by force!"
"Village Chief!" Luo Quan could not believe his ears.
Compared to the kind and amiable village chief that he had known since he was young, the current Qing Weihu almost seemed to be a completely different person now!
"Let's just go, Brother Quan..." the young lady beside him gently tugged at his sleeve.
"That's right, Ah Qing. Bring Luo Quan back," Village Chief Qing Weihu said with a sigh. "And please stop him from coming again."
With that, Village Chief Qing Weihu turned around and went back into the house.
"Village Chief!" Luo Quan called out again, but to no avail. Village Chief Qing Weihu did not turn around even once as he closed the door behind him.
Luo Quan felt the urge to just force his way in to see Qing Ting, but he knew that was impossible.
Standing guard outside the house were two middle-aged men – cultivators who were currently staying at Green Seed Village. They were currently guarding the door on Sheng Huoyuan's orders, preventing anyone from entering so as to ensure Qing Ting remained undisturbed.
Even with his strength at the Peak Foundation Building realm, there was no way Luo Quan could stand up to the two guards.
As though reading his mind, the two guards smirked in triumph.
"Just get lost, kid," one of the guards said. "I don't know what relationship you had with the young miss, but she is now out of your league."
The other did not say anything, but shook his head with a condescending smile.
Luo Quan clenched his fists in anger. But before he could say anything in response, he felt another tug on his sleeve.
"Let's go, please..." Ah Qing pleaded.
Luo Quan let out a deep sigh before turning to the young lady. "Ah Qing, you can go back first. I will try talking to Village Chief one more time."
"Please wake up, Brother Quan! How many times have you asked already? No matter how many times you ask, Village Chief will not open the door for you!" Ah Qing shook Luo Quan by the arm in frustration.
"Then what am I supposed to do?! Am I supposed to just stand by and watch Ting'er get married off to some strange man whom she barely knows?" Luo Quan retorted. "I have to do something!"
Ah Qing felt her heart ache upon seeing the sheer desperation in Luo Quan's eyes.
Even though they were not blood siblings, Luo Quan had always treated her as a real younger sister. In return, she also saw him as a true elder brother, one who had always made her proud.
This was the first time in her life that she had ever seen her genius elder brother in such a pitiful state, and she could not help but feel devastated in her heart.
"Brother Quan, I know that you really want to do something about it, but this is not the way," Ah Qing tried to persuade him once more. "Let us go back and think of a proper plan."
Luo Quan was filled with indignance, but he also understood that Ah Qing was right. After shooting one last glance at Village Chief Qing Weihu's house, he finally left with great reluctance.
***
Inside Village Chief Qing Weihu's house, the beautiful Qing Ting sat in her bed while drinking a bowl of medicine. From her room, she could hear nothing that was happening outside of the house, courtesy of a special array that Sheng Huoyuan's group had set up to block all sound from entering.
The bitterness of the medicine caused her to grimace, but she still managed to down it all in one go. After multiple times of taking the same medicine, she had started getting used to it somehow.
"Very good, Ting'er. With that, you have finally completed the full course of medicine," Village Chief Qing Weihu nodded in satisfaction. "According to Sir Bei, the poison in your body should be mostly neutralised by now. You will be back to normal in no time!"
"Father, since even Sir Bei has said that I will be fine, can I go out for a while?" Qing Ting said with a smile.
Village Chief Qing Weihu looked at his daughter and sighed in his heart.
How could he not know what his daughter was thinking?
There was no doubt that she wanted to go look for Luo Quan!
This was also what he had been trying to avoid the most.
Out of fear that Qing Ting's recovery would be affected, he had yet to break the news of her betrothal to Sheng Huoyuan. And he was intending to keep it that way until she had fully recovered.
No, it would be better if he could let her spend some time with Sheng Huoyuan before breaking the news. That way, perhaps the shock would not be as great.
For now, all he had to do was delay.
"Sure, it is about time that you go out and take in a breath of fresh air," Village Chief Qing Weihu said. "Let's go visit Young Sir Sheng and Sir Bei today. You have yet to thank them in person, have you?"
"Mm, I suppose you are right. I really should go thank them for saving my life," Qing Ting thought about it and agreed.
Back when Sheng Huoyuan and Bei Feng came to treat her, Qing Ting had been in an unconscious state. Even after Bei Feng concocted the medicine, her father Qing Weihu had been the one responsible for feeding it to Qing Ting.
That was why Qing Ting had not had the opportunity to properly thank the cultivators.
Since they had effectively saved her life, Qing Ting thought that it was only right for her to go thank them in person.
As for her initial intention of finding Luo Quan, there was plenty of time to do so in the future!
Seeing that Qing Ting was agreeable, Village Chief Qing Weihu let out a sigh of relief.
After making sure that Luo Quan was no longer outside, he quickly brought Qing Ting to where the group of cultivators were staying.
***
The group of cultivators were all male, so seeing the beautiful young lady enter the house made their eyes light up in surprise.
Even so, none of them made a move on her.
All of them were aware that she was their leader's woman, so they greeted the duo respectfully before calling for Sheng Huoyuan.
"Greetings, Village Chief Qing! And good afternoon to you, Young Lady Qing. How are you feeling at the moment?" Sheng Huoyuan came out of his room to greet them with a wide smile, with Bei Feng following right behind him.
"Greetings, Young Sir Sheng," Qing Ting did a polite bow. "I am feeling a lot better, all thanks to your help."
"Hahaha, don't mention it! This is the thing with me – I just can't stand by and watch someone suffer, especially if I have the means to help!" Sheng Huoyuan laughed.
"You look much better now," Bei Feng nodded approvingly. "It seems like you have almost fully recovered."
"I owe my life to the both of you, Young Sir Sheng and Sir Bei. If there is anything you need that I can help with in the future, please feel free to say it," Qing Ting said.
"Hahaha, there really isn't any need for that kind of thing between us. But when we return to the Sheng Clan, there will be a lot to do, so you might have to brace yourself for that," Sheng Huoyuan answered.
"Eh? What does Young Sir Sheng mean?" Qing Ting asked in confusion.
Sheng Huoyuan frowned before turning to Village Chief Qing Weihu. "Has Village Chief Qing still not talked to Young Lady Qing about this matter?"
"R-Regarding this... Ting'er is still recovering, so I thought the time is not quite ripe..." Village Chief Qing Weihu stuttered for a moment. "But why are you suddenly mentioning it? Didn't we agree that I would be the one to break the news?"
"Village Chief Qing, it is not that I want to be difficult, but when exactly are you planning to break the news to her?" Sheng Huoyuan said with a frown. "Young Lady Qing has mostly recovered, and we have also stayed here for far too long now. I simply cannot wait much longer."
"What is this all about? Is there something that I should know?" Qing Ting asked.
"Don't worry about it for now, Ting'er. Why don't you return first while I talk to Young Sir Sheng?" Village Chief Qing Weihu quickly suggested.
However, Sheng Huoyuan was not intending to let the matter go just like that.
"In order to save your life, your father has already betrothed you to me, Young Lady Qing," Sheng Huoyuan said without hesitation.
"What?!" Qing Ting was completely caught off guard.
"Young Sir Sheng!" Village Chief Qing Weihu snapped. "You promised to let me break the news!"
"I've had enough of waiting!" Sheng Huoyuan retorted. "How much longer do you intend to make me wait? I am not just here alone. I have my brothers to account to as well. We have to return to the Sheng Clan soon, and have no time to idle around here for weeks!"
By now, he was really starting to lose his patience.
"Father, is this true?" Qing Ting took a step back in disbelief.
"Listen to me, Ting'er," Village Chief Qing Weihu tried to calm her down. "Father had no other choice–"
"No! This cannot be happening!" Qing Ting yelled. "You know that I am already in love with Luo Quan! How could you do this?!"
"Listen to me, Ting'er!" Village Chief Qing Weihu anxiously said. "Young Sir Sheng is much more capable than Luo Quan! He is a mighty cultivator from the powerful Sheng Clan. If you follow him, you would be set for life!"
"I don't care! I am not going to marry him! If it's going to be like this, then you should have just left me to die!" Qing Ting yelled before turning around and running out of the house.
"Ting'er!" Village Chief Qing Weihu was about to chase after her when Sheng Huoyuan held him back by the shoulder.
"Village Chief Qing, don't you think you owe me an explanation here?" Sheng Huoyuan said with a cold tone.
While he had heard from his men that a young man had been trying to see Qing Ting these past few days, he had never been told anything about them being in love.
Faced with the intimidating aura of a mighty cultivator, Village Chief Qing Weihu felt a chill run down his spine.
"Don't worry, Young Sir Sheng," Village Chief Qing Weihu quickly tried to appease him. "A child's marriage is decided by the parents. Since I have already decided, she has no choice regarding this matter. As for Luo Quan, you don't have to worry about him. He is just a childhood friend of Ting'er, and nothing has ever happened between them. I assure you that he will not be a problem."
"We had an agreement, so that'd better be the case," Sheng Huoyuan said coldly. "Otherwise, don't blame me for taking matters into my own hands!"