Chapter 64#

Chapter Sixty-Four#

In an instant, the divine statue radiated a brilliant golden light as if it had gained sentience. Its originally compassionate and peaceful expression turned solemn and stern, making it hard for anyone to look directly at it.

However, Xue Jingci heard something unusual in that voice.

Empress Tianlu was a goddess, yet the voice just now sounded off, like a man pinching his throat to speak.

Pei Huang noticed this as well. He drew his sword and thrust it straight toward the dark red curtain behind the divine statue.

The sword energy surged, and a muffled gasp of surprise came from behind the statue.

Xue Jingci followed the sound and saw a youth holding his head, rolling out from behind the statue and landing right before them, crying out: “Spare me!”

His appearance was somewhat familiar. After a brief moment of reflection, Xue Jingci remembered that this was the young master who had previously galloped through the streets and was stopped by Lin Su.

Xue Jingci took a step forward, blocking Pei Huang’s blade, and said softly: “This person is an acquaintance of Lin Su.”

Pei Huang withdrew his sword and stared down at the young master, asking: “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

Wen Lingyun cautiously moved his head away from the sword’s edge and said softly: “I thought you were from that ghost theater troupe, so I intentionally spoke up to try and scare you away.”

Just then, a black shadow flitted across the eaves outside, as if a black cat had run past.

Wen Lingyun was startled, rubbing his arms as he said: “It’s eerie here. Can we change locations to talk?”

Xue Jingci nodded in agreement. The three of them carefully hid their forms and climbed over the wall to leave the theater troupe.

Wen Lingyun was bold. Seeing that Xue Jingci and Pei Huang were not bad people, he took the initiative to explain his reason for investigating this place, hoping to get some information from them as well.

“I came here to find someone. Half a month ago, I came to Nanzhou with a friend for fun. We heard this theater troupe was popular, so we came for a performance out of curiosity. To my surprise, the next day, my friend became somewhat muddled and couldn’t say exactly what was wrong. I suspected it was related to this place, so I came secretly to investigate.”

After saying this, he looked at Xue Jingci and asked: “And why did you two come?”

Pei Huang said: “My young master is ill. We heard from the innkeeper that there’s an old woman role player here who can communicate with spirits. The Empress Tianlu statues obtained from her are all extremely effective, so we wanted to try our luck. To our surprise, we came for seven consecutive days without being able to see her, so we had to visit late at night.”

Hearing that the two had come to seek a divine statue, a flash of disappointment appeared in Wen Lingyun’s eyes.

He had thought they might know something.

Wen Lingyun looked at Xue Jingci and saw that his breath was weak and his face was pale, likely due to a serious illness. After thinking about it, he added: “Since you’ve come, you should have also seen that this place is filled with ghostly energy and is definitely not a good place. Take my advice: don’t trust this evil statue, and certainly don’t invite it into your home.”

Pei Huang pressed: “Evil statue? But people here all say Empress Tianlu is very effective. If someone at home is sick, going to worship her will make them better.”

Seeing that Pei Huang seemed to believe firmly in Empress Tianlu, Wen Lingyun became a bit anxious and lowered his voice to say: “You probably don’t know, but a year ago I accidentally broke a divine statue… and within that female statue, there was actually a male statue hidden! It must be someone secretly using Empress Tianlu’s name to consume incense offerings.”

This matter was eerie; even thinking about it now, Wen Lingyun still got goosebumps.

Fearing they wouldn’t believe him, he wanted to persuade them a bit more. After all, having been in Nanzhou these days, he had personally seen many relatives of the seriously ill turn to any help they could find, treating Empress Tianlu as their only lifesaver and absolutely not allowing anyone to speak ill of her.

But just as Wen Lingyun looked up, he saw a familiar figure and immediately thought, “Oh no!”

Lin Su had actually discovered his secret departure and had come looking for him.

Wen Lingyun was about to flee when he saw Lin Su quicken his pace, leaping right past him to grab Xue Jingci’s wrist.

The familiar figure made Lin Su’s heart ache, and for the first time, he was unable to think calmly. His lips trembled as he called out: “Xue…”

Xue Jingci turned calmly. Feeling the immense force on his wrist, he couldn’t help but frown slightly and turn to look behind him.

Only when he turned did Lin Su see his face clearly.

This person’s appearance was not as stunning as Xue Jingci’s; his features were innocent, like an inexperienced youth.

Lin Su released his hand, his rationality finally returning completely. He let out a sigh and said: “I’m sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”

Pei Huang silently took Xue Jingci’s wrist and rubbed it. He was quite confident in his disguise techniques, but Lin Su was a man who combined roughness with attention to detail. If they stayed longer, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t notice something was wrong.

Thinking for a moment, Pei Huang looked at Wen Lingyun and said: “Thank you for the advice, young master. My master and I will look for other methods of treatment and will not seek this Empress Tianlu again.”

With that, he took Xue Jingci and left first.

Once the two left, only Wen Lingyun and Lin Su remained. Wen Lingyun had initially taken a step back guiltily, fearing Lin Su would blame him for acting alone so recklessly.

However, Lin Su showed no intention of speaking to him, only silently watching the backs of Xue Jingci and Pei Huang disappear.

Ten years had passed, and many people in the Upper Realm could no longer remember Xue Jingci.

But many others could never forget him.

Lin Su only learned of Xue Jingci’s death later, and then heard from Lin Heng that Xue Jingci had actually given him his natal sword so that he could be protected while in the Lower Realm.

He couldn’t help but think: if he had stayed in the Upper Realm then and hadn’t chased Lin Heng to the Lower Realm, could he have prevented all of this?

This lost look of Lin Su was truly rare. Wen Lingyun momentarily forgot his guilt and couldn’t help but lean in and ask: “Who did you mistake that young master for just now? I’ve never seen you lose your composure like this.”

Seeing that Lin Su didn’t speak, Wen Lingyun waved his hand in front of his eyes, finally calling Lin Su back to his senses.

He no longer had the energy to scold Wen Lingyun for his unauthorized actions. Shaking his head, he said: “That person has been gone for a long time; I was just momentarily dazed and mistook him. Let’s go, come back with me.”

Wen Lingyun followed him out of the long street, chattering about the eerie situation in the theater troupe.

Pei Huang was also discussing this with Xue Jingci.

The fact that another statue was hidden inside the divine statue was truly inconceivable, but they knew Wen Lingyun’s identity was special and he certainly wouldn’t lie to deceive them.

Xue Jingci frowned: “No wonder four incense sticks were lit; who knows what wild ghost is being worshiped inside.”

Pei Huang was lost in thought and didn’t respond immediately.

Today, when he went to the theater troupe to investigate, he mainly wanted to see if this matter had anything to do with demonic cultivators, or rather, with him.

As it looked now, it didn’t seem to be the work of demonic cultivators, nor was it directed at him.

In that case, Xue Jingci’s health was more important. There was no need for them to continue investigating.

Pei Huang looked at Xue Jingci and said: “I promised someone to help, and now almost everything that can be investigated has been. This water is murky; let’s not wade into it. These next few days, the priority is to enjoy the delicacies of Nanzhou.”

Xue Jingci was about to nod when he suddenly changed his mind: “Passing the trial period is the priority. Think again, what else counts as being good to you?”

His tone was serious. Pei Huang thought of that bowl of longevity noodles Xue Jingci had made himself, and his earlobes turned red uncontrollably.

Pei Huang looked away and shook his head: “I’ll tell you when I think of it.”

Hearing him say this, Xue Jingci felt at ease.

The system leaned in and joked: “Host, are you willing to do whatever he says?”

Xue Jingci said with certainty: “Pei Huang won’t make excessive requests.”

From their time together these days, anyone could see that Pei Huang had taken great care of him. The only somewhat difficult request had been to make a bowl of noodles personally.

But that day was Pei Huang’s birthday. As his disciple, this request was not excessive at all. In fact, every time Xue Jingci thought about it, he felt he hadn’t done enough.

He indeed was not as good as other masters.

The system flicked its tail, thinking that Xue Jingci was at ease far too early.

What Pei Huang wanted was more than just this.

But the system turned its head and saw Pei Huang going out to brew medicine, so it swallowed the words it wanted to say.

Xue Jingci suddenly remembered something and asked: “Since you woke up this time, why haven’t you been pushing me to do missions?”

The little cat thought of the conversation with 6B and guiltily stretched out its paw to pat the back of Xue Jingci’s hand: “Host, there’s no need to hurry. The points are growing very fast now!”

Ten years had passed, and both Xie Zheng and Xiao Xun had contributed a massive amount of “cremation” points.

Xue Jingci asked suspiciously: “But Pei Huang hasn’t officially become a disciple yet?”

The little cat explained solemnly: “The trial period also counts as a master-disciple relationship. Mainly, it’s because Pei Huang has outstanding talent and his cultivation progresses extremely quickly, so the points grow fast.”

Xue Jingci felt at ease, thinking to himself that he had finally taken a good disciple.

After this day, the two stopped caring about the divine statue and the disappearance of the prince, and enjoyed several days of peace and leisure.

But on the fifth day, while the two were eating breakfast by the street, they suddenly saw a crowd of people surging toward one place.

Outside the Prefect’s mansion, someone had posted a notice saying they were seeking a divine doctor with a heavy reward to treat an illness.

The crowd gathered, pointing at the notice and saying: “What divine doctor? Just go to the temple and worship Empress Tianlu!”

Someone else shook their head and sighed: “A few days ago, the government sent quite a few doctors to nearby villages to treat illnesses, and even advised those people not to worship gods anymore, saying taking medicine is the proper way. But look at the result: now the people within the government have fallen ill themselves, and those doctors can’t cure them either, so they have to seek another divine doctor.”

“It must be that they disrespected the spirits and are being punished by heaven!”

Xue Jingci and Pei Huang exchanged a look, a flash of surprise in their eyes.

As of now, others still didn’t know who exactly had fallen ill. But for the Prefect to take it so seriously, even posting a notice to find a doctor, it was likely Lin Su.

Pei Huang looked at Xue Jingci, not wanting him to get involved in the trouble.

But he also knew that if Lin Su’s life was truly in danger, Xue Jingci definitely wouldn’t sit idly by.

After thinking about it, he handed the steamed bun in front of him to Xue Jingci: “If you want to go, then go. I’ll accompany you.”

Xue Jingci nodded lightly: “Okay.”

He swallowed the bun, then pushed through the crowd, walked to the notice, and tore it down.

Seeing someone take down the notice so quickly, the crowd broke into a commotion.

Hearing this noise, a fifty-odd-year-old man opened the door and welcomed Xue Jingci and his companion inside.

He was the steward of the mansion. Over the past few days, noble guests in the mansion had fallen ill one after another, and having no other choice, they decided to post a notice for help.

Unexpectedly, someone had volunteered to take the notice so soon.

Although the steward was old, his eyes were sharp, and he had already secretly observed Xue Jingci and Pei Huang. Seeing Xue Jingci looking sickly and very young, he couldn’t help but feel uncertain and asked tentatively: “Are you two truly here to treat the illness?”

Xue Jingci nodded and said: “Where is the patient? Take us to see him.”

The steward did not immediately take the two to see the noble guest but took a detour to a side room.

The side room was dim and lightless. On the bed lay a guard moaning in pain, and beside him sat a doctor who currently had a look of bitterness on his face, with many medical books scattered at his feet.

The steward stood still, looked at the two, and said: “The person to be treated is here. Thank you.”

Pei Huang saw that the steward didn’t trust them and wanted to test their medical skills first, so he took the initiative to step forward and check the guard’s pulse.

His movements were quick, attracting the doctor’s attention, who thought he looked like a charlatan.

But soon, the doctor heard Pei Huang seriously analyze the pulse, and it was exactly the same as his own previous findings.

He couldn’t help but ask: “If it were you, how would you treat it?”

“This illness requires strong medicine; otherwise, the longer it’s delayed, the more the body’s energy will be depleted…”

In his early years wandering the Lower Realm, Pei Huang had learned many miscellaneous things, and reading pulses was one of them.

These days, in order to help Xue Jingci nurse his body, he would read medical books whenever he had time. His eloquent talk now actually fooled both the steward and the doctor.

The two exchanged a look, and the doctor nodded, a hint of approval showing in his eyes.

He had also looked at this guard’s symptoms. The pulse Pei Huang described was exactly right, but his approach to medication was different. He was used to focusing on nourishing the body and rarely used strong medicine.

However, this person’s bold use of medicine might actually have an unusual effect.

Gritting his teeth, the steward decided to lead the two directly to find Lin Su.

Now the prince was missing, and both Lin Su and the Prefect had fallen ill; the entire mansion had lost its core.

Many servants were even discussing whether it was indeed because they had defied the spirits that they were being punished.

Seeing that the matter could no longer be covered up and the doctors in the mansion were all at their wits’ end, the steward had no choice but to go outside to find a master among the common people.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he looked at the two and said: “Earlier, I didn’t know the depth of your medical skills, so I tested you cautiously. Please don’t take offense. Please come with me; the person to be treated is someone else.”

Xue Jingci and Pei Huang followed the steward and soon arrived near a room filled with the scent of medicine.

The door creaked open, and Lin Su was just coming out. Seeing the steward leading in unfamiliar people, his expression changed instantly, and he asked: “Who are they?”

The steward stepped forward and explained softly. Lin Su frowned: “Nonsense!”

He really hadn’t expected that after he had only slept for one night, the servants in the mansion would make such a big mess.

This time he had followed the Third Prince south specifically to completely resolve the matter of the wild god.

They had originally planned it out, specifically bringing imperial doctors from the palace south to treat the sick commoners using normal means.

In this way, the commoners would naturally not blindly believe in that suddenly appearing wild god.

But just as they were seeing initial results, the prince unexpectedly disappeared, and he himself had fallen victim, catching the same strange illness as those commoners—his mind often muddled and unclear, with many illusions appearing before him.

Lin Su had wanted to secretly contact Senior Sister Yin for help, but the people in the mansion lost their heads and actually posted a notice seeking a divine doctor.

This was practically telling everyone that the imperial doctors who came along were all useless and that seeking the god was more effective for treating illnesses.

Perhaps ill-intentioned people were already spreading rumors that they had fallen ill because they disrespected the spirits.

Thinking this, Lin Su’s expression became even more solemn. He only wanted to go out and investigate the situation to avoid all their previous efforts being in vain.

Seeing that he was about to leave, the steward became anxious and said: “These two are the divine doctors who took the notice…”

“No need.” Lin Su refused flatly and whispered to the steward: “Remember not to post the notice again, and our illness must never be leaked. As for these two, take them aside, give them some silver, and send them away.”

Xue Jingci saw that Lin Su’s steps were unsteady yet he wouldn’t let them examine him, knowing he didn’t trust them.

After thinking about it, there was only one way to make Lin Su trust him quickly.

He gave Pei Huang’s hand a little shake and said softly: “Remove the disguise.”

Pei Huang sighed in his heart, knowing he could no longer keep this person all to himself, but he still followed Xue Jingci’s wish and reached out to remove his disguise.

Lin Su was initially intent on going out, but suddenly seeing Xue Jingci’s undisguised face, he froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

After a long time, he asked with a trembling voice: “Junior Brother Xue… you, you’re still alive!”

Xue Jingci said: “It’s a long story. We’d rather see what illness you have caught.”

Lin Su said: “This is not the place to talk. Follow me.”

The three entered the room together. Only then did Lin Su sit back in his chair as if he had lost all strength, but his gaze was fixed on Xue Jingci, as if the person would disappear the moment he looked away.

Pei Huang silently gave his hand a tight squeeze, signaling Lin Su to look at him.

“Your pulse is steady; it doesn’t seem like an illness.”

Lin Su regained his composure. Facing Xue Jingci, he naturally had nothing to hide and told them everything that had happened recently.

“In recent years, a kind of wild god has risen in the south. The locals call her Empress Tianlu. At first, it was just burning incense and kneeling in worship, but gradually, people began to deliver oracles in the name of spirit communication, causing a lot of trouble. I’m currently working for the imperial family. This time I followed the Third Prince to Nanzhou to get rid of this wild god…”

Xue Jingci had already heard this from Pei Huang and didn’t find it new. What he was curious about was why Lin Su, as a cultivator from the Upper Realm, would work for the imperial family of the Lower Realm.

But now was not a good time to ask questions. Xue Jingci didn’t speak, silently listening to Lin Su finish.

Thinking of his experiences these days, Lin Su let out a sigh: “After arriving here, I immediately had the imperial doctors treat the sick. They are highly skilled but were at their wits’ end with many people’s symptoms. After consulting many medical books, they suspect it’s a kind of gu poison. After all, it’s currently the plum rain season, and perhaps gu insects have flowed in from the Southern Border.”

“Gu poison?” Xue Jingci pondered for a moment and suddenly thought of the Little Berry.

The day he was able to escape from Lingxu Sect was thanks to the Little Berry sucking out the gu poison from his body.

It’s just that these past few days the Little Berry had been elusive. Taking advantage of others being unable to see it, it always ran out to steal food.

When it returned, it would be in a state of food coma, and he didn’t know what it had eaten.

Xue Jingci spoke to the system in his head, telling it to turn back into a cat and go find the Little Berry.

The system had originally feared its appearance would make others easily recognize Xue Jingci. Now that Xue Jingci had no intention of hiding, it happily turned back into a cat, nimbly jumped over the wall, and within fifteen minutes returned with a rose-red little creature in its mouth.

Xue Jingci looked at Pei Huang. Pei Huang instantly understood his meaning, pretending to grab Lin Su’s hand while actually quietly letting the Little Berry bite him.

His fingertips moved slightly, as if casting a spell to hide the Little Berry’s movement.

Lin Su only felt a sting in his fingertip, and in the next second, something flowed out with the blood. A close look revealed it was a pitch-black gu insect!

He looked at Pei Huang and said: “Haven’t seen you in ten years, your power has increased a lot. Once this thing enters the body, it’s hard to find traces of it. You actually had a way to draw it out so quickly.”

Pei Huang didn’t speak, picking up the gu insect and frowning slightly.

Earlier he had suspected demonic cultivators were behind it but hadn’t detected any familiar demonic methods. But now seeing this gu insect, he wasn’t so sure.

Had some new power emerged in the Demon Realm in the past ten years?

Just as he was about to take a closer look, the gu insect actually self-combusted, instantly turning into a pool of water that dripped onto his palm.

Pei Huang said coldly: “Destroying the evidence quite thoroughly; the person behind the scenes is indeed cautious.”

He took a spiritual box from his storage bag, put all the toxic liquid into it, and when he looked up, he saw Lin Su with a strange expression, so he asked: “Did you think of something?”

Lin Su nodded: “It was just a guess before, but now seeing this gu insect, I’m ninety percent sure the person behind the scenes is Xiao Xun.”

Having not heard this name for a long time, Xue Jingci was stunned for a moment and said: “He is indeed skilled at using gu.”

Pei Huang did not echo their words. Although he was young, he acted exceptionally steadily and would never let personal likes or dislikes affect his judgment.

He spoke calmly: “The Xiao family is indeed skilled in puppetry and gu arts, but based solely on this, it’s impossible to directly confirm he is the person behind the scenes.”

Lin Su opened his mouth and said: “I can be sure it’s him because… because…”

He showed an expression of being hard to speak of, actually starting to stutter, and for a long time didn’t say the real reason.

Xue Jingci and Pei Huang were not people who pried into everything, but they knew Lin Su well. He was outspoken and always said whatever was on his mind. His current stuttering state was truly rare.

While they were at a stalemate, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Wen Lingyun burst in, shouting at the top of his lungs: “The medical cultivator Daoist Yin you asked me to find finally has news! She’s currently at…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly noticed others standing in the room and immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

The matter of searching for a medical cultivator was secret. These two looked like strangers, and he didn’t know their origins.

Hearing this news, joy flashed across Lin Su’s face, and he pressed: “Where is she now? You can speak freely. These two… are my old friends.”

Only then did Wen Lingyun feel at ease and continued: “She’s currently working as a traveling doctor near Suzhou and has no fixed residence. However, on the fifteenth of every month, she goes to the city to buy medicinal materials. Tomorrow we can go to the Chen Family Medicine Shop to wait for her.”

After saying this, he looked at Xue Jingci with some curiosity.

At first glance just now, he felt Xue Jingci’s face was unfamiliar, but after thinking for a while, he felt he must have seen this person somewhere.

Wen Lingyun thought back carefully, and suddenly something occurred to him. His eyes widened, and he actually instinctively took a few steps back.

He pointed at Xue Jingci and cried out: “You, you are the person hidden inside the divine statue!”