The Prince of Travelers

Chapter 072: Two Old Grandpa

“Take water in the lake that is down there!” said the old man commanding, “You must hurry if you want to save this boy.”

Without being ordered twice, Ma Yuan rushed to pick up the bucket that was beside the hut. He went down the slope in the direction pointed by the old man. Not knowing the terrain around, he could only follow the instructions given by the old man.

The sun is getting deeper in the earth. The light grew dimmer as the seconds of time passed. The cold began to be felt in the dense forest.

“Take the leaves of the fingers on the page!” tell the old geezer again, “You, get me a cobek and muntu in the same, then mash the roots in the old wooden container.”

“Hai, don't be quiet,” exclaimed the old man again, “Light the fireplace on the page immediately!”

The Swordsmen of Cenangkas carried out all those orders without complaining at all. They work as fast as possible before the sun is fully submerged. In the last tinge of sunlight, Ma Yuan came to bring two buckets of water from the lake in the valley. He looks very tired and tired.

“Finally come too,” the old geezer looked at Ma Yuan glaringly, “Cast here and clean your young master's wounds! Be carefull! Do not dip a dirty cloth in clean water, but pour clean water into a dirty cloth to clean it.”

“Ba–good!” Ma Yuan slightly wavered in response to the old man's orders. To be honest, he still did not believe her. However, he did not protest much because Wang Hongli did not protest either.

Outside, Jin Mi and Wang Hongli managed to make a fireplace. They made torches to illuminate the treatment process. Seeing that, the old grandfather also thrust an old lantern that was shaped like a long pitcher. It was a special lantern that came from the countries in the west.

Li An sounded moaning as Ma Yuan cleared his wound. He endured the growing pain from coming into contact with water. After the wound cleansing was over, the old man walked up to him and applied the herbs he had finished concocting to Li An.

“Hold a minute!” said the old geezer who understood clearly the suffering of Li An, “Sak is only temporary. You will recover in a few days as long as it is well cared for.”

“I wonder because this house is on,” the raucous voice of another old man is heard so that surprised the warriors—the existence of the grandfather was not detected at all, “Rupanya Tabib Ong is having guests after so long.”

“Oh, Old Hermit,” Physician Ong who just finished applying herbs to the first wound Li An looked happy with the arrival of the old grandfather, “It happened once. These poor boys are getting hurt. Help me teach them how to make herbs to treat themselves. They are also in danger if not treated immediately.”

“Hm, alright,” the old geezer called Old Hermit gave a brief nod. He also invited Wang Hongli and the others to concoct a new medicine, while Physician Ong still took care of Li An.

“Old Hermit's Grandpa,” call Wang Hongli who is now watching Old Hermit concoct medicine for them, “Actually, who are you two?”

“I?” the Old Hermit looked over. His white eyebrows shot up as he frowned, “I am only an old man who secluded myself from my people, whereas my friend who was there was a former great royal physician in the past. Due to the turn of the dynasty, he was forced to leave his country and live in this forest with me.”

“...”

“Old Hermit Grandpa,” call Wang Hongli again, “Why would you like to treat a stranger like us? What if it turns out we are the bad guys who could hurt you both?”

“You yourself how? Aren't we strangers to you?” the Old Hermit returned the question to Wang Hongli, “What if it turns out that the two of us are poison masters pretending to treat you, then took your treasures?”

Wang Hongli flinched. Had he not understood the slightest bit about herbs, his reaction would have been more extreme than that. So far, he observed that no poison was pounded in the process of herbal concoction. Therefore, he believed that the old man was a real healer.

“If you are a bad person,” the Old Hermit continues to pound herbs calmly, “You will surely soon get the punishment of God after harming us. It was a reply for the wrongdoers.”

“Old Hermit's grandfather came from where?” Wang Hongli felt that he had only heard the old Hermit's accent for the first time. During accompanying Li An, he had visited many areas. He has seen many cultures and heard various language accents that are typical of each region. However, the Old Hermit's accent had never been heard at all.

“I am from the Holy Land,” replied the Old Hermit, “The Peoples of the Village of Peace which is currently controlled by the people of Rum.”

“Rum?” Wang Hongli frowned, “Is Grandpa from the Western World?”

“Yes, hundreds of years ago, I was a monk there,” replied the Old Hermit again, “However, people began to rewrite the Book from God and change it. They take what they like and throw away what they dislike. When I gave them a warning, they booed me, even driving me away with the military might of the Rum people. Verily, the Holy Land will return to those who believe, while those who wronged will surely have its recompense

“...”

Wang Hongli was silent. He did not know much about the countries of the far West. His knowledge is only a little. That's also because he heard stories from Li An who sometimes likes to repeat the lessons he got while in Guangzhou.

The Holy Land was liberated from the Rum people. That was what Wang Hongli knew. But only that is limited. He did not know for sure who had expelled the Rum people from the Holy Land. The Swordsman of the Twin Cenangkas does not really remember the story that the Eighth Prince told.

“Lord Swordsman, every man will surely get glad tidings and warnings from his Lord,” continued the Old Hermit, “I am sure that after the faithful liberate the Holy Land, the, they will come to this land with their shari'a. This is just advice from me. When you meet them, look and see what they bring. When they bring the original laws from Allah, they are the believers

Without further information, Wang Hongli realized that he himself had met the believers the Old Hermit said. Only, he was still not so sure of the teachings they brought. Despite all the good teachings they brought, how could he know that their book was handed down by God?