Senior Brother Li's eyelids were trembling faintly, and it was clear that an intense inner struggle was raging within him.
After a brief moment, his tightly shut eyes opened, fixing on the pill in Han Li's hand with a feverish gaze.
Han Li said nothing more. He pushed the pill into Senior Brother Li's mouth and watched him swallow it dry with the aid of his own saliva. Only then did Han Li gently remove the silver needles from his body one by one.
Once all the needles had been withdrawn, the pill's medicinal power began to take effect. A few unhealthy flushes of color rose to Senior Brother Li's ashen face, and gradually his entire cheeks turned a deep crimson. At that point his body began to twitch again — his hands and feet started trembling, and low moans escaped his lips.
It was obvious he didn't want to lose face in front of Han Li and had tried his best to keep his voice down, but the inhuman agony still forced a roar out of him.
The roar grew louder and louder, and his body shook more violently. A long time passed before the sound finally began to subside, until it faded away completely.
His complexion gradually returned to normal, and his body stopped convulsing. It appeared he had endured the worst of the pain.
Senior Brother Li slowly sat upright, cross-legged, and closed his eyes once more, meditating quietly in place to regulate his breathing. Han Li found a clean boulder and sat down casually nearby, watching him circulate his energy to recover.
After about the time it took to eat a meal, the meditating Senior Brother Li suddenly snapped his eyes open, snatched up the long blade resting beside him, and leaped to his feet. With a powerful swing of his arm, a flash of cold steel appeared, and the gleaming edge of the blade came to rest against Han Li's neck.
"Give me one reason not to kill you!" Senior Brother Li's eyes were icy, brimming with murderous intent.
"I just saved your life — does that count as a reason?" Han Li's expression didn't change; only the faintest twitch of his eyebrow betrayed him, something you'd never notice without looking closely.
Senior Brother Li's expression softened slightly, but he still stared daggers at Han Li.
"I already knew before I saved you that you might very well kill me to keep the secret. I just didn't expect you to move so quickly." Han Li finally let out a bitter smile, a touch of self-mockery on his face.
"Hah! Even knowing that saving you would only bring trouble on myself, I've studied the healing arts, and I can't just stand by and watch someone die." Han Li sighed.
Upon hearing this, a hint of embarrassment crossed Senior Brother Li's face. The blade moved slightly away from Han Li's neck, though he still hadn't lowered it entirely.
Han Li quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone grew even steadier.
"You don't need to worry about me blabbing your secret to anyone. One look at me and you can tell I'm not the chatty type. If you're really that uneasy, I can swear a blood oath. You can clearly see I don't know any martial arts — if you find I've broken my word, you can cut me down without any effort." Han Li calmly proposed a solution.
"Swear the oath, then." Senior Brother Li's response was blunt.
Only now did Han Li fully relax. Although he had studied Senior Brother Li's features before treating him and felt that he wasn't the sort to be ungrateful or ruthlessly cruel, that alone wasn't proof enough. If by some misfortune he turned out to be the kind of wretch who repays kindness with enmity, Han Li would have no choice but to resort to his only means of self-defense.
With that thought in mind, Han Li quietly shifted his finger away from a small iron tube concealed within his sleeve cuff.