On his way back, Han Li didn't encounter many people. A few passing senior brothers noticed his limping, but they didn't comment on it—no one paid much attention to him, the small junior disciple.
Once back at his quarters, the pain in his foot worsened. Han Li hurriedly sat on the edge of his bed and gently removed his shoe and sock to inspect the injury.
The swelling was intense! His right big toe had risen into a large, painful bump, its skin stretched taut and glowing red like a chili pepper.
Han Li quickly reached for a small medicine bottle from under his pillow. This was a concoction made by Doctor Mo, specifically for bruises, swelling, and even bleeding. He had managed to get this from the doctor, initially intending it for Zhang Tie in case he got injured while training the Elephant Armor Technique. But unexpectedly, it was Han Li who would end up needing it first.
Upon opening the bottle, a strong medicinal scent filled the room. Han Li poured the powder onto his swollen toe, and immediately, a cooling sensation spread through the injury. This was undoubtedly the effect of Doctor Mo's secret formula. It worked wonders as usual! Han Li couldn't help but marvel at the doctor's medical expertise.
He then took a clean cloth, wrapped the injured toe carefully, and put his shoe and sock back on.
Whew, much better now, he thought. The pain had reduced considerably. He tested it by walking a few steps and was satisfied with how quickly he had managed to treat the injury.
Now it was time to deal with the mysterious bottle, the one that had caused him so much pain.
Han Li took the bottle out of his robe and wiped it clean with a cloth. As he did so, its true appearance finally revealed itself.
The bottle wasn't large; it could easily fit into the palm of his hand. It was slightly smaller than the medicine bottle he had used for his injury. The bottle was a delicate light green, with intricate dark green leaf-like patterns on its surface. These patterns seemed to be almost alive, as if real leaves had been embedded into the bottle. The surface of the bottle was smooth to the touch but felt unlike any material Han Li had encountered before.
It was heavy for its size, but it didn't feel like any metal or porcelain he knew. There was no coldness typical of metal, nor the smoothness associated with porcelain. After a long inspection, Han Li concluded that the bottle was made from some material he was unfamiliar with. The light green color seemed to be natural, not artificially dyed.
Staring at the tightly sealed cap, Han Li's curiosity got the best of him. I have to open it, he thought. He immediately set to work, trying to unscrew the cap.
First one twist. Then another. And another.
But no matter how hard he tried, the cap didn't budge. It was as if the bottle and its lid were forged from a single piece. Han Li's arms began to ache from exertion, and after a dozen more attempts, he finally stopped, disappointed.
This is impossible... His arms felt sore from the strain. He shook his arms out and flexed his wrists. He had overexerted himself, but still, the bottle remained closed.
He examined the bottle more closely, looking for any hidden mechanisms that might explain why it was so tightly sealed. But there were no signs of any traps or tricks.
Han Li felt frustrated. Without opening the bottle, he couldn't know if it contained anything, and if it did, it was likely something extremely valuable, given how difficult it was to open.
After a long moment of thought, Han Li came up with an idea: If I can't open it myself, maybe Zhang Tie can do it. He's much stronger than me now. Zhang Tie had become quite powerful in the past few months. He could easily lift water buckets that weighed dozens of pounds, and he practically flew up and down the mountain.
With that in mind, Han Li left his room and made his way to Zhang Tie's quarters, hoping his friend would return soon.
Waiting felt like torture. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly. Finally, after what felt like forever, the door creaked open.
Zhang Tie entered, his body radiating heat as sweat poured down his face. He was wearing a thin blue robe, and Han Li could tell that he had just finished training. Han Li wasn't surprised—he was used to Zhang Tie looking like this after training.
When Zhang Tie noticed Han Li sitting in his room, his eyes widened in confusion. Before he could ask anything, Han Li immediately handed him the bottle.
"Zhang Tie, could you help me open this? I can't get it open."
Zhang Tie blinked in surprise, then took the bottle from Han Li. "Where did you find this? It looks pretty cool!" he remarked, his curiosity piqued.
Without wasting any more time, Zhang Tie gripped the bottle with both hands and started twisting the cap. Screech, screech, screech!
"Wow, this is really tough. It's hard to unscrew..." Zhang Tie murmured, clearly struggling. After a few more attempts, he gave the bottle back to Han Li. "I can't open it either. Maybe you should ask another senior brother to try?"
"You're sure you can't do it?" Han Li asked, his voice tinged with frustration. He began pacing the room, unable to sit still.
Zhang Tie frowned, then noticed Han Li's unusual gait. "Hey, what happened to your foot?"
"It's nothing," Han Li replied quickly, brushing it off. "I just kicked a rock while walking."
Han Li didn't want to talk about the bottle's significance yet—it felt like too much of a secret. He wasn't sure why, but the bottle seemed to be something he didn't want to share with anyone else, even Zhang Tie.
Disappointed, Han Li left Zhang Tie's room after a brief chat, where he asked about his training progress. He headed back to his own quarters, determined to solve the problem of the unopenable bottle on his own.
Back in his room, Han Li placed the bottle on his table and stared at it, deep in thought. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan to open the mysterious bottle. There has to be a way to get this open, he thought, his gaze fixed intently on the strange object in front of him.