Chapter 39

Cheng Yunqi did not know much about healing souls, but in fact, the attainments of Mount Mingzhi in soul matters were very high; Cheng Yunqi only regretted that he had not spent time researching them before.

However, he had experienced soul-traveling himself. Although he did not know if there were many herbs in the world that could repair souls, he knew that the green-leafed, purple-vine He Shouwu he had seen during his trial on Mount Mingzhi would definitely work.

The old chief was very surprised and glanced at Cheng Yunqi.

Cheng Yunqi asked the chief if there was such an herb in the nearby mountains: heart-shaped green leaves, white leaf veins, deep purple vines, and thick roots.

The chief was a bit confused after hearing this; he was old and had gone out of the village less and less, so he had no impression. But he immediately relayed the description to the warriors by the bed. One of the warriors nodded excitedly upon hearing it and pointed in a direction.

Upon hearing that this herb might cure the child, several warriors and the child's father immediately wanted to go out.

The chief stopped the child's father; it was night, and the father did not have enough Yang energy, nor did he have a rooster-feather crest, so going out would be suicide.

Cheng Yunqi also stopped the warriors. He said to the chief,

"Master Munai, just knowing where it is is enough, otherwise it would take me more time to search. You wait here for me, I will go and return quickly."

The old chief grabbed Cheng Yunqi tightly again, saying that he was an outsider and did not know the strangeness of the forest at night.

Cheng Yunqi smiled at the old chief. "Master Munai, I did not enter the forest during the day; before coming to the village, I had already spent several nights in the forest."

The old chief hesitated upon hearing this, his grip on Cheng Yunqi's hand loosening, but he quickly tightened it again. He was worried that Cheng Yunqi had just been lucky not to encounter any demons or evils before.

Seeing the child's breathing fading away, Cheng Yunqi had no heart to explain or hide anything and directly summoned the "Dragon Carriage."

A cloud of fire appeared in the room, and the heat caused the temperature in the house to rise rapidly.

Cheng Yunqi stepped onto the cloud and asked the old chief to describe the appearance of the mountain carefully.

The people in the house were frightened by the sudden cloud of fire. The old chief also let go of Cheng Yunqi, stammering to let the warrior from earlier describe the location and appearance of the mountain, which he then relayed to Cheng Yunqi.

Cheng Yunqi nodded, walked outside, and flew away on the cloud.

The people by the bonfire saw a flash of fire fly out of Donghuo's house and were all startled, not knowing what had happened.

Cheng Yunqi flew the cloud directly to the west, crossed the mountain where the terraced fields were, and passed over two more peaks. Sure enough, he saw a pond on his left and a hill behind the pond, so he hurriedly landed.

He put away the cloud in mid-air and landed on the hill. Just then, a cold fog suddenly rose from the pond not far away. Looking closely, the cold fog vaguely had human facial features. At the same time, there was an old willow tree by the pond, and under the willow tree was a dirt hole from which a yellow cat and a white snake crawled out.

A chilling night wind blew, and the cold fog actually covered Cheng Yunqi under the blowing of the wind.

The yellow cat and white snake were also restless.

When he first entered the forest, Cheng Yunqi had seen some small demons and Yin ghosts, but at that time he felt that it was not easy for small demons to become refined and that it was a creation of heaven and earth, so he avoided them. He did not expect these beasts to love eating people!

The cold fog approached his back. Cheng Yunqi was still walking forward, but he twisted his waist, turned his upper body slightly backward, drew a semicircle in the air with his left hand, pointed his index finger, and chanted:

"Burn!"

The cold fog let out a piercing shriek and was burned into nothingness in mid-air.

The yellow cat and white snake turned to flee, but before they could leave a few steps, fire suddenly ignited on their bodies, and within a few breaths, they turned into ashes.

"Zhao!"

Light burst forth from his hand, illuminating the hill, and Cheng Yunqi lowered his head to search.

Here!

Cheng Yunqi indeed saw the purple-vine He Shouwu, stretching into a patch, about seventeen or eighteen plants.

He dug up five in a row, cut off the roots, and left on the cloud.

In Lixi Village, the people by the bonfire were still discussing what that fire was when they saw the fire cloud return.

A sharp-eyed child saw at a glance that the Daoist in the firelight was the new guest and shouted out loud, causing the crowd's discussion to grow even louder.

Cheng Yunqi landed directly on the house, entered the room, and only then remembered that the child was dying and could not eat. Although Cheng Yunqi was not skilled in alchemy, he knew some crude methods. He summoned fire to directly refine a piece of root into spiritual liquid and forcibly pried open the child's mouth to pour it in. He did not know if it would work; this was truly a case of treating a dead horse as if it were alive.

Everyone stared intently at the child, not daring to breathe, not even daring to look at Cheng Yunqi.

About half a cup of tea's time passed.

The mother, who had been holding the child's hand, suddenly screamed; she seemed to have felt the child's pulse again.

The old chief hurriedly stepped forward, listening to the heart and looking at the eyes, confirming that the child was slowly "coming back to life."

The child's father fell to his knees at Cheng Yunqi's feet, knocking his head against the ground with a thud.

Cheng Yunqi hurriedly pulled him up.

Several rooster-feather warriors standing by the bed also ran out, laughing and wanting to tell the rest of the village the news immediately.

Donghuo's baby was saved! The new guest is a god!

After checking the child, the old chief also wanted to kneel to Cheng Yunqi, but the youth dared not accept it and used his hand to support the old chief, who could not kneel down no matter what.

"If Master Munai wants to thank me, just pour me more 'White Knife'."

Cheng Yunqi said with a smile; just in that short while, he had fallen in love with this fire-like fierce wine.

=9+Shu_ba

Hot tears flowed down the old chief's dark face, and the old man nodded incessantly.

This herb in the mountains could cure souls. Now it had only saved Donghuo's baby, but in the future, who knew how many people it would save!

At this time, the news reached the bonfire, and the cheers were like the fire, dispelling the silence and sorrow of the village just a moment ago.

————

The next day, Cheng Yunqi woke up from his bed, his head still a bit dizzy.

He walked outside; the Great Sun was hanging high, and the world was full of light. People were working in the terraced fields opposite.

At the same time, he was surprised to find that He Shouwu had already been planted on the gentle slope on the north side of the village. The soil was still fresh, so it seemed that someone had gone to the hill to dig up the vines as soon as it was light.

Cheng Yunqi followed his routine of exercise and Qi-breathing.

Not long after, the old chief brought three people up. Cheng Yunqi looked and saw it was Donghuo Nai's family from last night. The child's steps were light, and he did not even catch his breath while climbing the stairs; it seemed he was fully recovered.

The old chief led the three to Cheng Yunqi, and the three knelt down together.

Cheng Yunqi went to help them up again but was stopped by the old chief. "This is as it should be."

Cheng Yunqi then accepted the gesture.

Donghuo Nai took a small white puppy out of his bosom. The puppy was curled into a ball like a rice ball, its nose and mouth pink and tender; it was extremely cute and was held up to Cheng Yunqi by Donghuo with both hands.

"This is?"

Cheng Yunqi looked at the old chief.

The old chief said with a smile: "Donghuo's White Dragon gave birth a few days ago. This is the eldest, short-haired with a red nose, tough ears, and a clear mouth; it is of top-tier quality. In our Hong River Miao village, roosters cannot be given away, so giving a White Dragon is the greatest etiquette, expressing the highest gratitude."

Cheng Yunqi scratched his head upon hearing this. Should he raise a dog?

Two chapters released at once, this is the second.

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(End of chapter)