A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 11: A Difficult Bottle to Open

On the way back, Han Li didn’t encounter many people. Only a few fellow disciples passing by noticed him limping and looked somewhat surprised, but none of them said anything. It seemed no one paid much attention to this little junior brother.

Back at his own quarters, the pain in his foot worsened. Han Li quickly sat on the edge of his bed and gently took off his shoes and socks to examine the injury.

The swelling was severe! His right big toe was bulging high, the skin around the injury red and shiny, looking like a bright red chili pepper.

Han Li hurriedly reached under his wooden pillow and pulled out a small medicine bottle. This was a specially prepared external wound medicine from Doctor Mo, effective against bruises, swelling, and even bleeding. It wasn’t easy to get, originally meant as a precaution for Zhang Tie in case he got hurt while practicing the elephant armor technique, but unexpectedly, Han Li ended up needing it first.

As soon as he opened the bottle cap, a strong medicinal fragrance filled the entire room. He gently poured some powder onto the swollen toe, and a cool sensation instantly spread through it. No wonder Doctor Mo’s secret wound medicine worked so quickly. Doctor Mo’s medical skills really were unmatched!

Han Li then found a clean cloth and wrapped the injured toe tightly before putting on his shoes and socks again.

Phew! The pain had lessened significantly.

He slowly took a few careful steps back and forth, quite satisfied with how quickly he had treated the injury.

Now it was time to deal with that mysterious bottle — the very cause of his serious injury.

Han Li took the bottle from his pocket and wiped it clean with a cloth. Only then did the bottle’s full appearance reveal itself to him.

The bottle wasn’t very large; it could be held entirely in one palm, even a bit smaller than his medicine bottle. Its entire surface was a pale green, decorated with several dark green patterns shaped like leaves. The patterns were vivid and textured, almost as if real leaves had been embedded onto it.

He weighed it in his hand—it was heavy. Yet this object was clearly made from a material unfamiliar to Han Li, certainly not any metal he knew, nor any kind of porcelain. Touching it, it lacked the coldness typical of ordinary metal, and didn’t have the smooth surface texture of usual porcelain.

Han Li studied it carefully for a long while, then concluded that the bottle was made from some unknown material. The pale green color appeared natural, inherent to the material itself, not dyed or added afterward.

Seeing the tightly sealed cap, Han Li’s curiosity got the better of him. He immediately tried to open it and see if there was anything inside.

He placed his hand on the cap and twisted hard.

One turn, two turns, three turns... but the cap and bottle seemed fused together, not moving an inch. There was no sign the lid would budge.

Han Li was shocked. When he first picked up the bottle, he had tried and failed to twist it open, but back then he was more concerned about his injury and hadn’t exerted much strength, so he hadn’t minded. He thought that now, using all his strength, opening it would be easy. To his surprise, it still wouldn’t open.

After twisting it a dozen more times, his arms ached, and seeing no success, he stopped.

He shook out his arms and moved his wrists to relieve the strain from overexertion.

Bringing the bottle close to his eyes, he inspected it carefully again. Unfortunately, he found no hidden mechanisms.

Now Han Li was truly troubled. Without opening the cap, how could he know if there was anything inside? If there was, the bottle’s unique appearance and tight seal meant it must be extremely valuable.

Han Li gripped the bottle tightly and stared at it, lost in thought for a while. Finally, he decided to ask Zhang Tie, who was much stronger than himself, to see if he could open it. After all, Zhang Tie now could lift water buckets weighing several dozen jin in each hand and move swiftly up and down the mountain. The large water jars in the valley were all filled by him daily.