Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

"Does the steward not know?" Ye Mingluo felt incredulous and said, "The steward is a member of the Ying Family, having grown up in this ancient city, how could you not know the situation in there? Surely there are people you know who are informed?"

"Isn’t there at least someone you know working inside the Medicine King Tower?"

The steward felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Only the highly respected elders from the clan can enter and exit the Medicine King Tower. I suppose those who bring meals to the victorious contestants are also outstanding young people from the clan."

The steward gave a bitter smile and said with shame, "To be honest, if I were skilled in cultivating herbs, I wouldn’t have ended up as a steward outside the mountains."

In the eyes of the Ying Family, doctors are the most noble and outstanding members of the clan, followed by pharmacists. Even attendants are considered contributors to the family.

Those sent out to learn how to be stewards, responsible for receiving guests, are regarded as the bottom-tier trash of the family.

"So, it seems that even the steward doesn’t know the true situation inside the Medicine King Tower." Ye Mingluo exchanged a glance full of contemplation with Xu Xingguang and the others.

Back at their residence, once the steward had left, Ye Mingluo asked Xu Xingguang, "Master, why did you ask me to inquire about the situation inside the Medicine King Tower from the steward? If you really rank among the top three in the future, can’t you just go in and see for yourself?"

Xu Xingguang did not tell Ye Mingluo about the Divine Martial Realm; Ye Mingluo wasn’t suited for intrigue. He was best suited to be a pure-hearted doctor.

Knowing too much wouldn’t be good for him.

"To prepare for entering the Medicine King Tower."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingluo gave Xu Xingguang a thumbs up, "My master is truly amazing."

"We’re leaving tomorrow morning, and it’s getting late, so everyone should get some rest." Huo Wen’an pulled Xu Xingguang back to their bedroom. Huo Wen’an went into the bathroom to run a bath for Xu Xingguang, taking a quick shower himself while the water was running.

Once he finished, the water in the bathroom was nearly full. "Xingguang, you can go in and have a soak."

"Alright."

The Ying Family had prepared herbal bath packages for the guests. Huo Wen’an had already mixed the herbal bath package into the hot water as per the instructions. Xu Xingguang undressed and sat in the suitably warm bathtub, contemplating all the events of the afternoon and evening.

For a moment, his mind was filled with questions.

Noticing Huo Wen’an standing at the door, Xu Xingguang said to him, "Leave the door ajar so we can talk." Bath time was when Xu Xingguang’s thoughts were most active, and he liked to ponder issues then.

Huo Wen’an gently pushed the door ajar and stood outside listening to her express her concerns.

"If the Medicine King Tower really is related to the Divine Martial Realm, how could Old Madam Ying permit me to participate in the Hundred Medicines Conference? Isn’t she afraid I might successfully rank in the top three, enter the Medicine King Tower, and uncover the Ying Family’s secrets?"

Washing her face with warm water, Xu Xingguang answered herself, "Or is she deliberately waiting for me to discover the secrets, only to then silence me?"

Xu Xingguang personally leaned more toward the latter possibility.

She asked Huo Wen’an, "What do you think?"

Huo Wen’an said, "I think there’s a high chance she already knows we’ve sensed the existence of the Divine Martial Realm."

Xu Xingguang was taken aback, "How could that be possible?"

"Do you remember what you said before? You wondered how we can know if the sky we look up at is the real starry sky or a satellite monitor of the sky?"

Huo Wen’an leaned against the door frame and said thoughtfully, "If your guess is correct, then our every move is being monitored by those people. Do you think their monitoring system could have ’sensitive banned words’ set up?"

Xu Xingguang felt a chill up her spine.

She quickly regained her composure and continued to think along the lines of Huo Wen’an’s analysis.

"Sensitive banned words?" she said, "Perhaps ’Divine Martial Realm’ is such a sensitive word."

Nodding slightly, Huo Wen’an added, "Your father told you that the world is a prison, and the Ying Family is the Prison Director. So, when a prisoner in the prison starts questioning this world and wants to climb over the high walls to see the real world, how does the Prison Director react without alarming the other prisoners?"

Xu Xingguang attempted to consider how, from the perspective of the Prison Director, to perfectly resolve this crisis.

After a moment, she said in a cold voice, "Come up with a plausible reason to lure her out of the high walls. The moment she steps out of the prison gates, out of the criminals’ sight, strike her down instantly!"