Chapter 89: Clues to the Infants
Yuan Chen seemed very interested in treating illnesses and saving lives, so he arrived outside the city early the next morning to observe the children's recovery.
Ji You also arrived outside the city shortly after, standing in front of Wei Rui's porridge stall, serving porridge while watching the scene with Kuang Cheng.
There is an old saying in Qingyun: "Illness comes like a mountain, but goes like pulling silk."
However, under the miraculous treatment of the Dan Sect, the children, including Qingwa, recovered their vital energy in a short period.
They could use Medicinal Qi to suppress the invading wind-evil and even draw it out, and they could also use Medicinal Light to directly target the patient's lesions.
Ordinary Medicinal Pills, when taken with water, require time to dissolve and take effect, and sometimes their efficacy is limited by the patient's absorption.
But in the hands of a Dan Master, they can be catalyzed by Medicinal Qi, yielding immediate results.
This has already transcended the realm of "medical treatment"; it is truly a miraculous return to life.
Kuang Cheng, with his gentlemanly demeanor, always conducted himself with composure, yet even he exclaimed in disbelief upon witnessing such profound techniques.
"I have never seen a Dan Master before. In recent days, I've been thinking, if ordinary doctors also had such methods, perhaps—"
"This is a world only accessible to cultivators. Do not overthink it if you accidentally glimpse a corner. The more you think, the more cynical you will become."
Kuang Cheng suddenly paused upon hearing Ji You's words, then quickly came to his senses.
In truth, there are many things in this world that transcend the imagination of Mortals, but these things are not accessible to Mortals.
Just like Yuan Chen's slight intervention, which made people exclaim him as a Divine Doctor, it was merely the most basic technique for a Disciple of the Dan Sect.
Kuang Cheng sighed after a moment of silence: "Brother Ji is right. If it weren't for you, these impoverished children might have died here.
How could they have benefited from such divine and miraculous techniques?"
Ji You turned to look at him: "It wasn't entirely me."
"?"
"Yuan Chen, that boy, is actually kind at heart and easily motivated. He's practically a perpetual motion machine for motivational speeches. It's just that he's always been in the Dan Sect and never considered how he should live. So what you just said might actually come true."
"Just now—?"
"Yuan Chen is a direct Disciple of the Dan Sect and is very likely to become the next Dan Sect Leader. What he thinks and plans will be the future path of the Dan Sect."
Kuang Cheng paused upon hearing this, the words "direct Disciple" exploding in his mind: "How did Brother Ji come to know a direct Disciple of the Dan Sect?"
Ji You crossed his arms, standing beside the dewy wild grass: "I was sent to Qi Ridge by Tianshu Academy, and I met Yuan Chen looking for his sister, so I helped him rescue her."
Wei Rui had been listening obediently by the side, but at this moment, she suddenly stopped stirring the porridge: "But I just heard Young Master Yuan call Young Master Ji 'brother-in-law'?"
"Ah—he did want to marry his sister to me, but I refused."
Kuang Cheng immediately frowned upon hearing this: "Brother Ji, how foolish! For the sake of all the people under heaven, a woman of such status must naturally be wed!"
Ji You's mouth twitched a few times: "Have you forgotten the one I brought to your house last time?"
Kuang Cheng paused slightly upon hearing this, recalling the Fairy who sat in his courtyard eavesdropping and eventually broke a branch with a single finger.
That Fairy seemed not to be trifled with.
"Brother Ji is truly too much of a philanderer!"
"How can you say that? Is it my fault for being good-looking?"
Ji You was a little angry, complaining about the unfairness of the world.
Because of this astonishingly beautiful face, I have to put in a hundred times the effort to possess strength worthy of my looks. Who can I tell of this hardship?
"However, Brother Ji is exceptionally gifted, so naturally, you can marry them all."
Kuang Cheng stated emphatically: "With the Dan Sect's assistance, after having many descendants, you can become a Worldly Family in Feng Province. With you overseeing it, the people of your hometown will fare better, certainly stronger than letting that Fengxian Villa swagger around all day. "Your line of thinking—"
Ji You smacked his lips, thinking to himself that Kuang Cheng's line of thinking was truly unique.
In the past, whenever he saw injustice in the world, he always wanted to conquer it with strength. Yet, Kuang Cheng suggested he use his beauty.
Having many descendants—
It truly makes a gentleman blush!
Ji You didn't know what he was thinking, muttering to himself, "You scholar, you're truly incorrigible!"
Wei Rui listened to their conversation, her eyes blinking slightly.
She usually spent time with Princess Changle and others, and she thought friends should be like that. But after seeing Kuang Cheng and Ji You, she felt more comfortable being friends with them.
She disliked scheming and felt a constant sense of urgency when with Princess Changle and her companions, unlike the ease she felt now.
It's just that sometimes, what the two of them said made one's face flush and ears burn—
Just then, Yuan Chen emerged from the isolation area, fine sweat on his forehead, which he lightly wiped with his wide sleeve.
Ji You looked up at the sight: "How is it?"
"He'll recover completely with a few more days of rest, but the invading black Qi is a bit strange."
"Strange?"
"That black Qi, after entering the body, first invades the internal organs, then slowly adapts to the human body. In the early stages, the symptoms might not be clear, but once it matures, it will definitely become a violent illness. It can be seen as a poisonous fruit that, once it explodes, can spread throughout the entire city."
Ji You frowned upon hearing this: "Was this why you didn't let me go earlier?"
Yuan Chen extended his hand, and within the seven-colored Medicinal Light in his palm, a wisp of flickering black Qi was trapped: "Brother-in-law, try to refine it with Spiritual Qi in my palm."
Ji You waved his finger upon hearing this, and a strong Spiritual Qi entered his palm, only to find that the black Qi suddenly expanded, engulfing all of his Spiritual Qi,
like a predator.
"Why is this?"
"It's just an epidemic in a Mortal's body, but after infecting a cultivator, who knows what it will become."
Upon hearing this, Ji You's expression couldn't help but become solemn.
The Lower Three Realms initially focused on Body Refining; bodies tempered with Spiritual Qi were immune to all illnesses.
Like Lu Qingqiu, who wore thin garments even in the bitter cold of winter, contributing streaks of spring light to Ji You's monotonous cultivation life, precisely because they would not catch colds.
So, if this black Qi could infect cultivators, it would be too terrifying; it's not an ordinary thing.
The key question is, where did this invading black Qi come from?
Just as he was thinking, Yuan Chen had already taken out three Medicinal Pills from his bosom: "Brother-in-law should also take one. And Young Master Kuang and Young Miss Wei should take one too."
"Then let's take precautions."
Ji You tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it. Afterwards, he felt a surge of heat in his abdomen, constantly rushing upwards, followed by a fit of coughing, as if he had been cured but was still drooling: "Is this medicine so potent?"
Kuang Cheng looked a bit scared: "This—is a bit uncouth."
Yuan Chen immediately spoke: "Brother-in-law is a cultivator, with a robust body, so I used stronger medicine. But your two doses were diluted."
"So that's how it is."
Kuang Cheng took the Medicinal Pill and placed one in Wei Rui's hand.
At this moment, Wei Rui remembered Kuang Cheng's words from yesterday about not washing his hands for several days, and her cheeks flushed again, wondering if he really hadn't washed them. But after much thought, she still took it with water.
After a few light coughs, Kuang Cheng looked at Yuan Chen again: "How is Qingwa now?"
"His illness was more severe. After waking up, he drank some porridge, and he can speak without issue, but he still needs rest to walk."
"Can we question him?"
"Of course."
Kuang Cheng then looked at Ji You: "Brother Ji, I need to go to the Orphanage."
Ji You turned to look at him: "What, going to donate money again? Leave my name this time."
"Not to donate money. There are some things I need to confirm. I'll tell you in detail after I return."
Kuang Cheng said, then walked towards the city, along the wet stone streets after the rain, winding his way to the edge of the city, buying many candied hawthorns along the way.
At this moment, in the Orphanage, a sturdy boy was sitting in the courtyard, looking up at the high sky.
Kuang Cheng walked up to him and squatted down: "Hu Wa, what are you looking at?"
"I don't know, Brother Kuang, have you found my sister?"
Hu Wa's parents fled far away after giving birth to Hu Wa's sister because they couldn't afford the offerings. He and his sister were sent here.
But they didn't have peace for long before his sister was taken away.
Kuang Cheng had promised to help him find his sister. Hearing the question now, he didn't know how to answer.
After returning from Qi Ridge, he and Ji You had discussed this while Yuan Chen was treating patients.
According to Ji You, those infants were indeed taken into Qi Ridge, because the miner Luo You's wife had said that for over three years, there had been infant cries in the mountains every day.
This indicates that the missing infants in Shengjing were just the tip of the iceberg; similar incidents might have been happening in other towns throughout the Nine Provinces all along.
However, the trail ended at Qi Ridge; no one knew where those infants went, whether they were alive or dead.
"First, go distribute the candied hawthorns to everyone, then I'll take you somewhere."
Hu Wa's eyes widened: "Where are we going?"
Kuang Cheng pursed his lips: "You'll know when we get there."
Hu Wa was then taken to the refugee camp outside the city. Seeing Ji You's slightly furrowed brow, Kuang Cheng pulled him aside: "This is the child I told you about, the one who asked me to find his sister when I donated blankets to the Orphanage before."
Ji You reached out and patted his round back of the head: "These are all patients here. Why bring a child?"
"The one on Qingwa's neck—"
"?"
Hu Wa's father was once a hunter. He had ground two pendants from animal bones and left them for the two children when he fled, perhaps hoping for a future reunion.
When Hu Wa asked Kuang Cheng to find his sister, he had described this pendant.
Kuang Cheng saw it, on Qingwa's neck.
However, precisely because he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he brought Hu Wa here.
Since those infants were indeed taken to Qi Ridge, and Qingwa and a group of children escaped from Baihe Village on the south side of Qi Ridge, then they might have seen it.
Ji You looked at Hu Wa after hearing this, his mind filled with thoughts.
The Qiling Relic was full of strange things, culminating in a demonic Daoist refining people for Ascension, and finally the mountain collapsed and everyone died.
Yet, even now, the clue about the infants had not been thoroughly investigated, but he hadn't expected this matter to take such a turn here.
He felt as if something was slowly connecting. Then Hu Wa was led into the refugee camp by Kuang Cheng, with Yuan Chen protecting him with Medicinal Light.
In a short while, they emerged.
Because confirming something doesn't take too long.
"Is it?"
"Yes."
The pendant was indeed the one, confirmed by Hu Wa.
But Kuang Cheng didn't ask directly in front of him, because he knew it would likely be a very bad outcome, an outcome Hu Wa couldn't bear.
Ji You pondered for a moment: "Let's bring Qingwa out. We'll go back to your courtyard and ask."
"That's what I was thinking too."