Chương 11: Uninvited Guest

Chen Mo stuffed the last piece of cornbread into his mouth and was about to go to the well to fetch water to wash the dishes when the courtyard gate was suddenly kicked open.

"Bang!"

The wooden door slammed against the wall with a dull thud.

A young man dressed in a blue Taoist robe strode in, his nostrils flaring upwards. His gaze swept around the dilapidated courtyard before finally settling on Chen Mo.

"You're Chen Mo?"

His tone was stiff, carrying an air of self-righteous arrogance.

Chen Mo frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed. He put down the bowl, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and stood up.

"It's me. Taoist priest, what can I do for you?"

The man in the green robe snorted coldly and took out a palm-sized jade tablet from his pocket, on which were engraved the three characters "Tianxuan Sect".

"Zhou Han, an outer disciple of the Tianxuan Sect."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

It's him.

Six months ago, he was the guy who conducted a spiritual root test in the village and determined that he was a "mixed spiritual root" waste.

"Master Zhou, I wonder why you've come looking for me..."

"Stop talking nonsense." Zhou Han raised his hand to interrupt him.

"I'm asking you, do you know where a girl named Xiu'er lives in the village?"

Chen Mo's mind raced.

Xiuer has been taken away by Tianxuan Sect for half a year, so why would someone suddenly ask her where her home is?

"I know. What's wrong?"

Zhou Han's face darkened: "Take me there."

"Master, Xiu'er, she..."

"Just lead the way! Why are you talking so much!" Zhou Han waved his hand impatiently, and an invisible wave of energy surged from his palm, directly overturning the wooden table in front of Chen Mo.

The bowls and plates fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Chen Mo lowered his eyes, concealing the fleeting coldness in them.

Seven layers of Qi Refining.

It's a step up from what it was six months ago.

"Please wait a moment, Master, I will take you there immediately."

His voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of subservience.

Zhou Han snorted with satisfaction, put his hands behind his back, and followed Chen Mo out of the courtyard.

On the dirt road in the village, Chen Mo was in front and Zhou Han was behind.

"Master, if I may ask, how is Xiu'er doing at the Tianxuan Sect?"

"Whether it's good or not is none of your business," Zhou Han glanced at him sideways.

"But it won't hurt to tell you. That girl has a water-attribute heavenly spiritual root, and the elders in the sect treat her like a treasure. She started cultivating her Qi half a month ago, and she's already reached the first level of Qi Refining."

Chen Mo secretly made a plan in his mind.

In half a year, one can go from an ordinary person to the first level of Qi Refining. This is not fast for a genius, but it is not slow either.

"Then what happened to her...?"

"Her mother is sick," Zhou Han said impatiently.

"That girl cried and begged several times, and the sect leader softened and sent me down the mountain to check on her. I also wanted to bring her mother some medicine."

As he said this, a hint of disdain crept into his voice.

"What a nuisance. She was just an old mortal woman, she's dead, so what's with all the crying?"

Chen Mo paused slightly.

"You flatter me, Daoist. It's only natural for Xiu'er to be filial."

"Filial piety?" Zhou Han scoffed.

"A cultivator should have severed all worldly ties long ago. If she continues to be so fussy, even with her excellent water spiritual root, she's still useless."

Chen Mo did not respond.

The two soon arrived at Xiuer's house.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, and suppressed coughs could be heard from inside, mixed with a woman's weak groans.

Zhou Han frowned and raised his hand to push the door open.

"Wait a moment." Chen Mo called out to him, "Daoist Master, Xiu'er's mother is frail and cannot withstand any fright. I'll go in and inform her first, please wait a moment."

Zhou Han waved his hand impatiently: "Go and come back quickly."

Chen Mo pushed open the courtyard gate and strode into the house.

On the bed, Xiuer's mother lay there, her face ashen, her lips purple, and her chest heaving violently.

Several women from the village were gathered around the bed, some boiling water, others wringing out towels, the whole room bustling with activity.

"Xiao Mo is here!" Someone saw him and looked at him as if he were a savior.

Chen Mo quickly stepped forward and took Xiu'er's mother's pulse.

The pulse is disordered and the breath is weak and shallow.

The heart vessels are damaged.

And it's been going on for more than just a day or two.

His heart sank.

This disease cannot be suppressed by ordinary herbs; only miraculous medicines can be used.

"Aunties, you all go out first, I'll handle this."

The women looked at each other, but seeing Chen Mo's serious expression, they didn't dare to ask any more questions and all left the house.

Chen Mo took out his needle case from his pocket, picked out several silver needles, and precisely inserted them into several major acupoints on Xiu'er's mother's chest.

At the same time, a thought popped into his head.

Within her dantian, a wisp of spiritual energy, thinner than a hair, was extracted and slowly transferred into Xiuer's mother's body through the silver needle.

A gentle, soothing aura circulated around her heart meridian, temporarily stabilizing her disordered blood and qi.

Xiuer's mother's breathing gradually calmed down, and her face didn't look so scary anymore.

Chen Mo put away the silver needles, turned around and walked out of the house.

In the courtyard, Zhou Han was pacing impatiently.

"How is it?"

"His heart meridian is damaged; his condition isn't good," Chen Mo said calmly.

"Did you bring any medicinal pills, Daoist?"

Zhou Han took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and casually tossed it to Chen Mo.

"Here, the Heart-Nourishing Pill. It's a low-grade pill refined by our sect, more than enough for mortals."

Chen Mo caught the porcelain bottle, opened it, and took a look.

Three dark red pills, with a strong medicinal fragrance.

It is indeed a heart-nourishing pill, and the quality is quite good.

"Thank you, Taoist priest."

"Alright, the goods have been delivered. I should go back and report now." Zhou Han turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Chen Mo called out to him, "Daoist, these three pills might not be enough for Xiu'er's mother's illness."

Zhou Han paused, turned around, and looked at him coldly.

"What do you mean?"

"I have some medical knowledge," Chen Mo said respectfully.

"Xiuer's mother's illness has been prolonged, and her heart meridian has been severely damaged. These three pills can only temporarily stabilize her condition. To cure her completely, she will need at least three more."

Zhou Han's face darkened.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"I wouldn't dare," Chen Mo lowered his head.

"It's just that Xiu'er's filial piety is commendable, but if her mother does this... I'm afraid it will affect her Dao heart."

Zhou Han frowned deeply.

That hits the nail on the head.

Xiuer is a genius that the sect is focusing on cultivating. If her cultivation is affected because of her mother's matter, it will be difficult to explain to the sect leader.

"Okay, I got it. I'll send three more over later."

He waved his hand impatiently, turned around, and strode away.

Chen Mo watched him walk away, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Heart-Nourishing Pill?

He discovered this when he took her pulse; Xiuer's mother's heart meridian was damaged, and it wasn't an illness at all.

He was injured by someone using spiritual power.

Moreover, the technique is very subtle, something that someone in the Qi Refining stage cannot do.

At least a foundation must be laid.

Chen Mo turned around and went back into the room, looking at Xiuer's mother who was sleeping soundly on the bed with a deep look in his eyes.

Some people don't want Xiu'er to cultivate in peace.

Or rather, someone wanted to control Xiuer through Xiuer's mother.

He took out the bottle of heart-nourishing pills from his pocket, poured out one, and smelled it.

The aroma of the medicine is strong, no problem.

But he knew in his heart that this medicine only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

The real root of the problem lies with the person who secretly intervened.

Chen Mo remained silent for a moment, then put away the pills, turned around, and walked out of Xiu'er's house.

By the time I got back to my little courtyard, it was already completely dark.

He closed the courtyard gate, sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), and closed his eyes to practice the "Hibernating Dragon Returning to Origin Technique".

A system notification sounded in my mind.

[Host contact detected with "Zhou Han, outer disciple of Tianxuan Sect," triggering a hidden quest!] [Hidden Mission: Undercurrents] [Mission Description: The tranquility of Toilet Village is merely a facade; someone is reaching out to those around you. Find out the truth, or remain uninvolved.] [Task Reward:???] [Failure Penalty: None] Chen Mo opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

really.

He knew that there was no truly safe place in the world.

But he didn't want to get involved.

What does Xiuer's matter have to do with him?

He just wanted to cultivate peacefully, to survive until he reached the Golden Core stage, then the Nascent Soul stage, until the day when no one could threaten him.

but……

He recalled Xiuer's delicate face and the way she looked back at the village when she was taken away.

And there was Xiuer's mother's ashen face.

Chen Mo remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he sighed.

"That's enough."

He muttered to himself.

"Consider it repaying a favor."

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water.

A dog barked in the distance, then fell silent again.