Chapter 118: Master, Woman

The Hidden Immortal

Rumble—

Thunder rolled in waves. Such heavenly might was enough to annihilate all things beneath heaven and earth.

Rain poured down in torrents, as if a hole had been torn open in the sky.

The birds, beasts, livestock, and wild animals in the mountain forest all hid in caves and beneath rocks, waiting for the heavy rain to pass.

Yet at the highest point of the mountaintop, a tall and thin stone pillar stood upright. Beside it were several iron rods of the same height.

The stone pillar was frighteningly tall, stabbing straight into the heavens.

A bolt of lightning flashed, brushing past the iron rods before striking the mountain.

Huge rocks were split apart, producing a deafening boom.

Only afterward did the rumbling sound arrive, shaking the heart.

The stone pillar and iron rods immediately sank back down. A bright yellow talisman fell from the sky and was caught in a hand.

Chu Xun looked up at the dark clouds overhead. Thunder spanning who knew how many li flickered in and out like a divine dragon.

“This talisman really can avoid lightning!”

After obtaining the talisman from Haixing County, Chu Xun had asked the City Gods of several counties to examine it.

In the end, those City Gods were all terribly frightened. The aura on the talisman was too upright and too powerful.

To underworld deities like them, it was like flames burning their bodies. Even looking at it made them uncomfortable.

In the end, it was Xingjing County who observed it from afar and said he had once seen a similar talisman recorded in the Supreme Three Caverns Divine Spells.

However, what he had seen was only a remnant page, and it was not completely identical to this talisman.

He could only judge that they were similar, but did not dare be certain.

Because of that, Chu Xun had come to the mountain and used iron and stone to attract lightning in order to verify it.

When lightning struck, it truly avoided this talisman.

But every time it avoided a lightning strike, the light on the talisman weakened slightly.

Without delaying further, Chu Xun flew down the mountain.

His speed was so fast that the birds and beasts in the forest trembled in fear, not knowing what had passed.

Several days later, Chu Xun arrived in Fenggu City.

Ordinary mortal lightning was somewhat different from the lightning tribulation of flood dragon transformation.

Whether a fifty-year-old lightning-avoidance talisman alone could help the green-white python withstand the lightning tribulation, Chu Xun was not certain.

He decided to use this Lightning-Avoidance Talisman as a model and try learning to draw one himself.

The difficulty of this talisman was far greater than that of the Soul-Dispersing Talisman.

Chu Xun had spent an entire day drawing his first Soul-Dispersing Talisman.

He had thought that was already slow enough, but he had not expected the Lightning-Avoidance Talisman to take far longer.

Moreover, ordinary yellow paper simply could not withstand it.

With a single stroke, it would be shaken into flying ash.

Cloth would not work either. It would burn away before he could complete even half.

He heard from the Zhangnan County magistrate that Fenggu City sold a type of parchment paper, thick and waterproof, even better than cloth.

This paper had spread over from Mobei. It was originally made by thinning sheepskin and removing all hair and fat.

After thorough tanning, it was processed through various complicated methods.

It took much time and labor, and was extremely expensive.

After being introduced to Jing Kingdom, it underwent several improvements. Extremely shredded sheepskin was mixed with wood pulp and cloth.

Although compared to true parchment paper, its durability was somewhat lacking, it retained the advantages of being waterproof, thick, and sturdy.

Most importantly, its price had dropped greatly.

True parchment paper required two taels of silver per sheet, while the improved version in Jing Kingdom cost only eight hundred copper coins.

Of course, to Chu Xun, even if it cost ten taels per sheet, as long as it could withstand the spiritual energy of the Lightning-Avoidance Talisman, it would be worth it.

Returning to Fenggu City after so many years, the place had changed greatly.

Back then, Liao Shouyi had resisted the refugee army here, fighting to a bitter stalemate.

Many civilians in the city had fled as refugees. Houses were damaged, and shops had collapsed.

It took many years after the war for the city to barely recover.

However, the layout inside the city was now very different from before.

The teahouse he had visited last time had become a three-story inn.

The bun shop belonging to Liang Shouzhuo and Liang Wuyan, father and son, had also been turned into the starting point of a street.

After asking nearby merchants, he learned that Liang Shouzhuo had been overly frightened during the war and died suddenly from illness.

Liang Wuyan had taken his father’s body out of the city for burial and never returned.

Chu Xun sighed when he heard this.

He still remembered that young man standing before the bun shop, secretly reading books not for the imperial examinations, but only because he wanted to see more of the world and write down what he saw and heard.

Afterward, Chu Xun arrived at a shop specializing in the four treasures of the study.

A middle-aged shopkeeper wearing a plain cloth robe and looking fairly tidy took the initiative to come forward. He cupped his hands and asked, “Sir, what would you like?”

“Parchment paper,” Chu Xun said.

The shopkeeper froze slightly and subconsciously sized Chu Xun up.

Parchment paper was expensive, and ordinary people had no use for it.

Only when someone had an extremely important matter to record would they occasionally buy a sheet.

After all, it was far too costly. Even after improvement, its price was dozens of times that of ordinary paper.

Although Chu Xun’s skin was fair, he did not have the air of a scholar.

On such a sunny day, he was holding an oil-paper umbrella, which looked rather strange.

Only his eyes appeared exceptionally bright.

The shopkeeper said, “How much would you like? This kind of special paper is not something our shop keeps much of. We only have two sheets. If you want to buy more, you’ll have to come back another day.”

“How long?”

“For a merchant caravan to make a round trip, at least three to five months. Unless you’re willing to pay ten times the silver and hire someone specifically to fetch and deliver it. Then it should take about ten days.”

Chu Xun frowned when he heard this.

Even paying ten times the silver still required ten days. That was too slow.

But he also knew that mortals traveled at this speed.

Sending someone to deliver the message and then having them transport the goods back would take about ten days, even if that estimate was slightly conservative.

He had originally wanted to make the trip himself, but after the shopkeeper brought out the parchment paper, Chu Xun gave up on the idea.

One sheet of parchment paper was larger than expected, enough to cut into more than ten talisman-paper-sized pieces.

Although there were only two sheets, they should be enough for the short term.

He took out money and bought them, then paid extra as a deposit so the shopkeeper would order more when the merchant caravan arrived.

Taking the two sheets of parchment paper, Chu Xun walked toward the remote little courtyard.

Before long, the tall old locust tree came into view.

Though there was no wind, its branches swayed and waved on their own.

The battle between Fenggu City and the refugee army had been fierce, but this little courtyard had been protected very well and had suffered almost no damage.

From one of the rooms came the clear sound of reading.

That was Liao Licheng’s son, who had come to take the imperial examinations.

Chu Xun used his Concealment ability, so even if the boy came out, he would not be able to see him.

Standing in the courtyard, Chu Xun looked up at the tall locust tree. After all these years, it had faintly begun to undergo unusual changes.

His qi-gazing ability unfolded, and he saw faint pale green qi gathering above the crown of the tree.

This meant the old locust tree had already developed spirituality, just like the crows, weasels, and other animals in the village.

Moreover, it had already lived for a very long time. Now that it had developed spirituality, its foundation was more solid than that of the other birds and beasts.

Blossoms of locust flowers appeared on one of the branches.

They weighed the branch down until it gradually drooped before Chu Xun.

“You’re always so polite.”

Chu Xun smiled and did not reject its kindness.

He reached out, picked the locust flowers, and placed them in his mouth to taste.

They were still as sweet as he remembered.

With a thought, large amounts of spiritual mist carrying spiritual energy gathered around the leaves and roots of the old locust tree and were quickly absorbed.

Only after all the locust flowers were plucked did the branch spring back up.

Inside the house, Liao Xingchang heard the movement and opened the window to look, but saw no one.

Only the old locust tree’s branches swayed slightly, while a faint fragrance drifted to his nose, filling him with confusion.

Where did this fragrance come from?

Liao Xingchang shook his head. After glancing again at the old locust tree, he felt it seemed somewhat different from before.

But he could not say exactly what was different.

“Could I have read too much and blurred my eyes?”

Liao Xingchang muttered a few words, then closed the window.

The clear sound of reading rang out once more.

After leaving the remote courtyard, Chu Xun looked toward a nearby residence.

That residence belonged to the escort named Wei Ting.

Next to it was the Pei family, whose entire household loved reading but refused to take the imperial examinations.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Xun first went over and knocked on the Pei family’s door.

However, when the door opened, the person who appeared was an unfamiliar middle-aged man.

Chu Xun glanced inside and saw none of the rooms full of books from his memory. Instead, the place was empty, with only a few pieces of furniture and decoration.

There was also a woman inside, with a five- or six-year-old child curiously looking over.

Chu Xun asked, “Where is the original owner of this house?”

The middle-aged man said, “They moved away several years ago. I heard they returned to their hometown to do scholarship.”

“Where is their hometown?”

“I don’t know.”

Chu Xun fell silent, then cupped his hands in thanks.

He had borrowed the oil-paper umbrella for so many years, but unexpectedly, he could no longer return it.

He still had a deep impression of this father and son who loved reading and only reading.

Now that he could not meet them again, he felt somewhat regretful.

Afterward, he looked at Wei Ting’s house for a while before going over to knock.

The old, crooked door opened. Wei Ting, with a head full of white hair, stood there.

Seeing Chu Xun, he froze slightly, seemingly failing to recognize him.

After all, when Chu Xun had come before, he had looked only sixteen or seventeen. Now, he looked middle-aged and elderly.

Even Wei Ting himself had become white-haired.

“You are?”

Chu Xun looked at him, then glanced inside the house.

The windows inside were closed, making it seem somewhat dark.

Wei Ting seemed a little wary and frowned as he asked, “Do you need something?”

Only then did Chu Xun say, “I am Chu Chen. Many years ago, you and I drank together in that courtyard.”

Wei Ting thought hard for a while before finally remembering.

He immediately became delighted and said, “So it’s you! After so many years without seeing you, I thought you wouldn’t come again.”

Chu Xun shook the oil-paper umbrella in his hand.

“I borrowed the Pei family’s umbrella back then and never returned it. I happened to come to Fenggu City today on business, so I bought one along the way.”

“So that’s it.”

Wei Ting quickly stepped aside and invited Chu Xun in.

Chu Xun stepped into the house and looked toward the bedroom.

“Sister-in-law, she…”

At the mention of his wife, Wei Ting’s expression changed somewhat.

There was worry and fear.

“She contracted a strange illness and can’t get out of bed,” Wei Ting said.

Chu Xun asked, “What strange illness?”

Wei Ting sighed and said, “More than twenty years ago, just a few years after that drink we had, I returned from escort duty and found something wrong with her.

She couldn’t move at all and was lying in bed, almost starving to death.

Luckily, I returned in time. But even after finding doctors, none could cure her.

You don’t know how I’ve lived all these years. I often have nightmares. Sometimes when I open my eyes, I see her turned into a skull, scaring me half to death.

It made me too afraid to continue escort work. I could only remain here and muddle through the days.”

Chu Xun sighed after hearing this.

“That truly hasn’t been easy. I didn’t expect something like this to happen after we parted. Brother, did you never think of going to the City God Temple to pray? Perhaps it might have helped.”

Wei Ting shook his head.

“I traveled north and south for many years and saw many strange people and extraordinary things. If praying to gods truly worked, how could there still be war and chaos? How could there still be injustice in the world?”

“Immortals and gods may exist, but they may not be able to manage so many things.”

At that moment, a weak voice came from inside the room.

“Who is speaking?”

Wei Ting hurriedly said, “It’s Brother Chu, someone I drank with in the past.”

As he spoke, he apologized to Chu Xun and pushed open the bedroom door to go inside.

Chu Xun glanced into the room and frowned slightly.

At that moment, a little girl with two horn-shaped braids ran in from outside.

After seeing Chu Xun, she stopped.

First, she exclaimed softly, then ran over and lifted her head to look him up and down for a long while.

Wei Ting happened to come out from the room. Seeing her like this, he said, “Youyou, don’t fool around. This is your Uncle Chu. Didn’t you meet him before? Hurry and greet him.”

Wei Youyou turned to look at Wei Ting, then looked back at Chu Xun and called with a giggle, “Uncle Chu.”

Chu Xun glanced at her horn-shaped braids and said, “I didn’t expect that after so many years, her appearance hasn’t changed much.”

The little girl’s eyes changed slightly when she heard this, and she could not help taking a step back.

Wei Ting, however, seemed not to notice at all. He chuckled and said, “Yes, she always looks like she never grows up. When the two of us pass away, I really don’t know who will take care of her.”

Chu Xun looked at Wei Ting and sighed.

“She may not necessarily need you to take care of her. As for you…”

Chu Xun hesitated.

Seeing Wei Ting appear somewhat confused, he said, “I’ll go buy some wine and dishes. Back then, you treated me to wine, so today I should return the meal.”

Wei Ting did not refuse.

He had not drunk wine in many years, and just hearing it made him crave it.

He said with some embarrassment, “I can’t leave the house unattended. I’ll have to trouble Brother Chu.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Chu Xun stepped out.

After he left, the little girl came over and pulled Wei Ting’s hand.

“Father, he’s so scary.”

Wei Ting patted her head.

“Don’t talk nonsense. When Brother Chu came back then, didn’t you say he was a great hero?”

The little girl drooped her head.

“It’s different now.”

Wei Ting did not know what was different. There seemed to be nothing different.

Chu Xun went to the street and glanced toward the direction of Fenggu City’s City God Temple, but said nothing.

He went straight to buy the best and most expensive wine in the city. One jar cost ten taels of silver, much more expensive than Bai Family Old Cellar’s aged wine.

Chu Xun did not even blink and bought two jars before returning.

Back at Wei Ting’s house, Chu Xun placed the wine and dishes on the table.

After so many years, the little girl seemed somewhat shy around strangers. She dragged her feet and had to be called several times before finally coming over to sit down.

Chu Xun picked up a bowl and poured most of a bowl for Wei Ting.

“Try it. I heard this is the best wine in Fenggu City.”

Wei Ting’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

“Could it be Chen Restaurant’s Evening Moon Listening?”

This rather elegant name had been given by a great talent.

After Chu Xun nodded, Wei Ting picked up the bowl and said with emotion, “I heard that scholar was extraordinarily talented, so brilliant that even His Majesty praised him. But he disliked officialdom. After serving as county magistrate for two years, he resigned and went traveling through mountains and rivers.”

“This Evening Moon Listening costs ten taels of silver per jar. It’s frighteningly expensive. I could never bear to drink it. I never expected that today, thanks to Brother Chu…”

As he spoke, Wei Ting raised the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he silently savored it for a moment before praising it aloud.

“Ten taels of silver isn’t expensive!”

Chu Xun poured him another bowl, then another.

Only after three bowls did Chu Xun look at the little girl sitting beside Wei Ting.

“Aren’t you going to eat something?”

The little girl picked up her chopsticks and poked through a pile of meat.

Chu Xun deliberately pointed at a plate of cold mixed vegetables.

“You should like this one.”

The little girl looked at him timidly.

“It’s spicy…”

She picked up a bowl, took some food, and said, “Father, I’ll go feed Mother.”

After she entered the room, Wei Ting smiled and said, “That girl is very filial. With her around, I can feel a little less burdened.”

Chu Xun fell silent for a few seconds and did not speak.

Instead, he turned the topic to the Pei family.

According to Wei Ting, the Pei father and son had left ten years ago.

No one knew where they had gone. He only knew that the carriages hauling their books alone numbered four.

“Unfortunately, their family never wanted to become officials. They even said some ancestral instruction claimed they would rather starve to death than write history for Jing Kingdom.

Those words are somewhat treasonous, but scholars are like that. Sometimes they seem weak and useless, and sometimes they have real backbone.”

Chu Xun nodded in agreement and said, “But not all scholars become weak while having backbone.”

For example, Tang Shijun.

And Zhang Jingheng.

This teacher and student were very typical representatives.

Each had a straighter spine than the other.

They ate, drank, and talked.

A long time later, Wei Ting became somewhat drunk.

His alcohol tolerance was very good. He only became drunk after both jars of Evening Moon Listening had been completely finished.

It was as though all the wine he had missed over these years had been made up in one go.

After Wei Ting became so drunk that he lay sprawled over the table, Chu Xun raised his eyes and looked into the room.

Through the wooden door, he saw the little girl standing behind it.

She was also looking outside, but did not dare come out.

Chu Xun stood up and walked over. The little girl quickly retreated several steps, as if truly afraid of him.

Stopping at the doorway, Chu Xun said, “The City God did not take you to the underworld, so I assume there is a reason. But as for what that reason is, I want to hear it.

If that reason is acceptable to me, I can ignore this matter.

But if that reason is not acceptable to me, then I will interfere.”

From inside the room, the woman’s weak voice came.

“What are you saying?”

Chu Xun did not speak. He only raised his hand slightly.

A heavy pressure immediately descended in the room. The marsh of heaven and earth could be as light as nothing, or as heavy as Mount Tai.

A muffled groan came from inside the room. The timid voice now carried a trace of pleading.

“I’ll speak. Please…”

“Youyou, who are you talking to?”

The woman inside seemed to have poor hearing as well. Even from such a close distance, she could not hear clearly.

The door opened, and the little girl walked out with a deathly pale face, full of fear.

It could be seen that she was terrified, yet she still did not forget to close the door behind her.

Chu Xun glanced at the hand she used to close the door, but saw that her eyes were on Wei Ting.

So he said, “Let’s speak outside.”

Then he stepped out first.

The little girl looked at Wei Ting, then looked back at the bedroom behind her, before lowering her head and going out.

After they left the door, the household now living in the Pei residence happened to come out. They raised a hand and greeted her familiarly.

“Youyou, not going to work today?”

“Guests came to the house today, so I haven’t had time yet.”

This voice was no longer a little girl’s childish voice. It was mature and clear.

When Chu Xun looked again, the one standing before him was no longer a little girl with horn-shaped braids.

Instead, it was an adult woman with her hair casually rolled up behind her head and a few tiny freckles on her face.

Even wearing plain clothes could not hide her beautiful appearance.

Her figure was slender, at least a head taller than ordinary women.

Chu Xun raised an eyebrow.

He had sensed something unusual long ago, but had not expected her to have two faces.

After that family returned indoors, Chu Xun said, “You can speak now.”

The woman standing opposite him had fear in her eyes. She lowered her head slightly and said, “That gang of bandits was called Guoshan Feng.”

This was an abrupt opening, seemingly unrelated to what Chu Xun wanted to ask.

But Chu Xun did not interrupt. He quietly listened as she continued.

“That gang of bandits was extremely vicious. The entire escort team was silenced, and all the goods were robbed clean.

When I arrived, Father was already dying.

But he wanted very much to go home. He said his wife and daughter were waiting for him there. So I gave him a strand of essence qi to support his soul and bring him back.

But I didn’t expect that Mother had been injured by a collapsing house during the war and could no longer move. His daughter was already dead.

I couldn’t bear to see him sad, so I resorted to this method and transformed into his daughter’s appearance, staying behind to help care for Mother.”

As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and quickly added, “I’ve never harmed anyone. Every day, I go into the city to work for people and earn some silver to bring back for Mother’s treatment and meals.”

Then she lowered her head again.

“But for some reason, the old locust tree in the neighboring courtyard kept producing spiritual energy, supporting his soul all the way until now.

I originally thought that once Father’s soul scattered, I would leave…

But now I can’t really bear to abandon Mother… She’s so pitiful all alone…”

Her voice and head both lowered more and more.

Although the beginning and end sounded somewhat disordered, Chu Xun still more or less understood.

The main reason was that before entering the house, he had already seen most of the situation.

But he still had doubts.

“Why were you willing to do this?”

“On the night of the full moon, I was about to take human form and was at my weakest. A bandit came at some point and tried to kill me and eat my flesh”

Father and the escort masters happened to pass by and saved me. Perhaps because of that, those bandits bore a grudge.”

Chu Xun slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and turned to look at Wei Ting sprawled over the table. His eyes were full of sorrow.

Wei Ting was not alive.

He was a wandering soul who had died more than twenty years ago.

By coincidence, he had not been taken by the underworld. Instead, he had remained in the mortal world for many years.

But Wei Ting had no idea he was dead. He saw his heavily injured wife and his lively “daughter.”

Perhaps because his one soul and seven spirits had long since scattered, leaving only the muddled Taiguang and Shuangling souls, he did not think there was anything wrong with his “daughter” never growing up.

The wine bowls on the table had never moved, and the wine was still there.

Only now, if someone picked it up to drink, they would find it icy cold to the bone, without the slightest taste of wine.

This was the first time Chu Xun had encountered such a thing.

He turned to look at the old locust tree in the remote courtyard and understood that the old locust tree must have known Wei Ting was acquainted with him, so it had subconsciously used spiritual energy to protect him and preserve his remnant soul.

But the old locust tree had not truly become a monster spirit. The underworld rarely paid attention to such half-formed spirits, as if fattening them up before slaughter.

Chu Xun sighed.

Back then, it was precisely because he had shared wine with Wei Ting that he obtained from Pei Luo and his son the method of metal essence countering wind.

It could not be called a great favor, but he did owe the man a debt.

He had not expected that after returning many years later, everything would have changed.

Chu Xun said, “He cannot remain like this. His remnant soul will scatter sooner or later. When that happens, he won’t even have the chance to reincarnate.”

Youyou lowered her head.

“I know, but I don’t know how to tell him.”

That was exactly the heart of the matter.

Not only did she not know, even Chu Xun did not know how to tell Wei Ting.

He had clearly existed in the mortal world for more than twenty years, only to suddenly be told one day that he had died long ago, and that his daughter was fake.

Was that too cruel?

But if they did not harden their hearts and simply watched him lose the chance to reincarnate, would that not be even crueler?

Chu Xun felt a headache coming on.

He had only come to buy parchment paper. How had he encountered such a difficult matter?

When emotions and reason intertwined, that was the most troublesome thing.

“Immortal Master, can you observe qi?” Youyou suddenly asked.

Chu Xun nodded, as though he knew what she wanted to ask.

“At most, three months of vitality.”

For a woman lying in bed unable to move, surviving more than twenty years was an unimaginable miracle in this world.

From this, it could be seen how well Youyou had cared for her.

She might even have sacrificed part of her own essence qi to maintain the woman’s life.

But such things always had a limit.

When a lifespan reached its end, no matter how much effort one made, it was meaningless.

If that woman had died back then, she would have been a wronged ghost whose lifespan had not ended, and might have developed resentment and become a vengeful spirit.

Twenty-five years of meticulous care had dissolved that resentment.

To be honest, after understanding everything clearly, Chu Xun no longer held any hostility toward Youyou.

People often said that no filial son remained by a sickbed for long. Though that sounded heartless, it was the absolute truth.

Even one’s own children and grandchildren who could care for someone for a hundred days without becoming annoyed were few and far between, let alone twenty-five years.

“You’ve done very well. There’s no need to be afraid. I won’t do anything to you.”

Chu Xun’s voice softened greatly.

Youyou raised her head to look at him, tears already in her eyes.

In three months, the mother she had cared for over twenty-five years would leave.

In truth, a monster spirit like her who could transform was not weaker than Chu Xun.

But when she saw Chu Xun, she had no intention of attacking at all. There was only fear.

This was a naturally kind monster spirit.

After thinking for a while, Chu Xun said, “I have a suggestion. See whether it works.”

“Please speak, Immortal Master!” Youyou looked at him with some anticipation.

“No need to call me Immortal Master. It sounds strange.”

“Alright, Master.”

She was so obedient that Chu Xun did not dare ask her to change it again.

If she removed one more word, he would become Grandfather.

“You all move with me to Pinecone Village. Once your mother reaches the end of her natural lifespan, I will personally send them to reincarnate.

I’m very familiar with the City God over at Pinecone Village. I can arrange for them to reincarnate into a good family.”

Youyou’s eyes brightened further, even carrying clear admiration.

“Master can even speak with the City God? So amazing!”

Her praise was entirely sincere, but Chu Xun felt his scalp tingle hearing it.

“Will you tell Wei Ting, or should I?” Chu Xun asked.

Youyou thought for a moment.

“You should say it. I’m afraid I won’t say it properly…”

Kind, obedient, unable to eat spicy food, and somehow a little inexplicably self-conscious.

Chu Xun was very puzzled.

“You can already transform. Why do you still seem so timid?”

Youyou lowered her head in embarrassment.

“I was bitten by a wolf.”

She always seemed to speak like this, clearly answering a question seriously, yet somehow sounding like she was not answering what had been asked.

After settling this matter, Chu Xun said no more.

He immediately cast a spell to awaken Wei Ting’s remnant soul and said, “Brother, I want to bring you and Sister-in-law to stay at my home for a few months. There are many small animals at my house, and your daughter wants to go too.”

Hearing this, Youyou trembled lightly.

She had already returned to the appearance of a little girl. Gently tugging on Chu Xun’s sleeve, she asked timidly, “There aren’t any wolves, right?”

The corner of Chu Xun’s eye twitched.

“Do weasels count?”

“Oh, then they don’t count.”

Wei Ting looked at his daughter in surprise.

“Didn’t you say you were afraid of him? How did you suddenly become so familiar?”

Youyou ran over and hugged his shoulder with a giggle.

“With Father here, I’m not afraid!”

In front of outsiders and in front of Wei Ting, she was completely different.

One timid, one lively.

Chu Xun used his qi-gazing ability and clearly saw that she carried only pale green clear spiritual qi. This showed that she did indeed cultivate the orthodox path and was not deceiving him.

Wei Ting still hesitated somewhat. His wife was bedridden. Staying at someone else’s home would be so inconvenient.

Chu Xun said, “I have lived alone for many years and often feel the house is too quiet. If you all come, it will be livelier.”

After Chu Xun and Youyou persuaded him one after another, Wei Ting finally agreed.

To make things more convenient, Chu Xun did not immediately take them away.

Instead, he waited until deep in the night, then cast a spell to make Wei Ting’s remnant soul fall asleep.

Youyou had already entered the room, wrapped the sleeping woman in a blanket, and carried her outside.

She blinked and asked, “Master, do you want to ride me? I run very fast.”

Chu Xun did not answer.

For this kind of question, whether he agreed or not felt inappropriate.

He immediately grabbed Wei Ting with one hand and reached toward Youyou with the other.

This girl did not hesitate in the slightest. She reached out and held his hand, following Chu Xun forward.

One step covered two hundred meters.

After only a short while, they left the city.

The branches of the old locust tree stretched out, its leaves rustling as if bidding farewell.

The spiritual energy no longer extended toward the neighboring house. The building rapidly became rotten and dilapidated.

With a loud crash, the entire structure collapsed.

The people living next door hurriedly ran out. Seeing this scene, they immediately shouted, “Oh no! Hurry and save them!”

Neighbors on the left and right were all woken and hurried over, frantically digging through the ruins.

However, after working until morning, they did not see the corpses they had expected to find crushed beneath the rubble.

“Huh? There’s no one in their house?”

Before dawn, Chu Xun had already brought Wei Ting’s family back to Pinecone Village.

As he stepped into the courtyard, the crows under the eaves, the weasels lying on their backs on stools, the field mice sitting on radishes and farting, and the rabbits gnawing on radish leaves all looked over one after another.

Youyou first carefully examined them all, then patted her chest.

“There really aren’t any wolves.”

Under Chu Xun’s guidance, she carried the woman into the last side room.

Only when she passed the room where the longswords were stored did her steps pause, reverence appearing on her face.

She quietly moved several steps away and took a large detour around it.

Chu Xun could only shake his head.

This girl’s strength was extraordinary, yet she was naturally timid.

A mere few thousand metal-essence longswords had frightened her like this. It was truly both amusing and exasperating.

Soon after, Wei Ting woke up.

He was not confused by arriving in this unfamiliar place overnight. Instead, he looked at the spacious courtyard and the many birds and beasts, praising them repeatedly.

“There really are many birds and animals!”

And so, this family temporarily settled in Chu Xun’s home.

In the blink of an eye, three months were almost up. It was already the tenth year of Changning.

Emperor Changning had ruled for ten years, yet the Mobei horse tribes were still unsettled.

Fortunately, although the southwest had lost the military god Liao Shouyi, Emperor Changning had strengthened troop deployments.

Liaoyuan City was guarded by heavy forces. The Wu Kingdom, whose ambitions had not died, might not be able to invade so easily.

On top of that, the divine weapons Chu Xun left behind were still playing a role.

It was just that as time passed, those divine weapons would eventually be exhausted. How much longer they could hold out remained unknown.

Crying sounded from the fields of Pinecone Village.

Another villager had passed away.

Chu Xun looked at the white funeral banner fluttering before the grave and sighed inwardly.

He had lived ninety-two years and personally watched Pinecone Village pass from the old village chief’s generation, to Li Shoutian’s, then to Qi Ermao’s generation.

Now another generation was leaving.

Witnessing the changes of life and death across four generations had allowed Chu Xun to see the mortal world more clearly.

With a thought, fine drizzle fell.

The cries of the villagers’ family members continued endlessly.

Youyou lifted her head to look at the fine rain falling from the sky, then looked at Chu Xun and asked quietly, “Master, why do you do this?”

Chu Xun said, “According to the customs here, if rain falls during burial, it means Heaven has come to see the deceased off, and they can reincarnate into a good family.”

Youyou nodded.

“I understand. Master is very familiar with the City God and can also make rain fall, so Master is Heaven.”

Chu Xun did not know how to explain to her that this understanding was twisted and incorrect.

Holding Youyou’s hand as she transformed into a six- or seven-year-old girl, he walked home. Along the way, villagers they met greeted them on their own initiative.

The villagers also liked Youyou, who had moved to Pinecone Village not long ago.

This girl was hardworking, sensible, and very nimble.

Her only flaw was that she was too timid. The slightest movement could make her jump in fright.

Oh, right. She also did not like spicy food.

Even a tiny bit of chili made her tears fall, making others feel both heartache and amusement.

They simply did not quite understand why Chu Xun had brought back a severely injured, immobile woman and her daughter.

Could he have secretly started a family outside?

Thinking of how Chu Xun had never married and had always ignored the flirtatious glances from young women, the villagers felt this guess was very plausible.

Chu Xun explained several times that they were the family members of an outside friend and had no one to care for them. Only then did he manage to smooth it over.

When they returned to his courtyard, four weasels were causing a ruckus.

Their speed was extremely fast, like streaks of yellow-brown wind.

A dozen or so field mice sat on radishes, squeaking nonstop as if cheering them on.

Only the crows had become increasingly steady.

They squatted in a row beneath the eaves, almost covering the entire roof.

There were still many weasels, field mice, rabbits, and other birds and animals in the village.

But the ones that stayed in this courtyard for long periods were only those born here.

If too many other animals came, the crows would pick them up and throw them out.

They were very good at controlling the balance, making the courtyard somewhat lively without making it too noisy.

The rain was still falling. It was no longer the effect of a spell, but real rainwater.

Youyou did not like rain. After returning, she ran to the side room to care for “Mother.”

Chu Xun entered the house. The moisture on his body naturally dispersed, leaving not the slightest trace.

He stopped before the table and reached out with a gesture.

A bright yellow talisman flew out from the cabinet and was pinched in his hand before being placed on the tabletop.

Then he unfolded the parchment paper he had just bought.

His finger lightly swept across the parchment paper, cleanly cutting it into several pieces.

Afterward, Chu Xun picked up the brush and carefully observed the talisman for a while before infusing spiritual energy and beginning to copy it.

The parchment paper was barely acceptable and could just about endure.

With the support of spiritual energy, the brush in his hand continuously shifted and turned across the parchment paper.

The greatest difficulty of the Lightning-Avoidance Talisman was that it had to be completed in one breath, without any pause in the middle.

And the spiritual energy at the brush tip could not change even slightly.

If there was too much in the previous stroke or too little in the next, it would immediately be ruined.

The precision required for controlling spiritual energy was practically abnormal.

Even after practicing for a year, Chu Xun had only barely managed to complete one so far.

He could not rapidly increase proficiency the way he had with the Soul-Dispersing Talisman.

Just the silver spent purchasing parchment paper cost more than what others spent pursuing scholarly honors.

This made Chu Xun sigh with emotion. No wonder books said there were four great necessities for cultivation: wealth, companions, methods, and land.

When one’s realm was low, one needed worldly gold and silver for support.

When one’s realm was high, one likewise needed heavenly treasures and earthly rarities.

[End of Chapter]