Chapter 231

"You don't need to be afraid!"

He Pingsheng smiled warmly at the old man and said, "First, I won't rob you!"

"Because you have nothing!"

As he spoke, he pulled a gold ingot from his pocket and said, "I have plenty of money myself!"

"I won't take anything from your home either!"

Hearing this, the old man thought carefully: it was true.

He has what he needs; our family is destitute—what could we possibly offer him?

Take my granddaughter?

My granddaughter is just a cripple who's deaf and mute—how could that be?

"I believe you!" The old man tapped his cane on the ground, then sat down beside He Pingsheng: "Young man, just say what you need!"

"I can tell you don't even need this sip of water!"

Though the old man was a mortal, his experience was vast.

He Pingsheng nodded and said, "We do have a favor to ask, but we won't ask for free—she…"

He Pingsheng pointed at the girl: "If you help me, I promise to cure your granddaughter!"

"Not just her crippled leg—also her deafness and muteness!"

"I can cure them both!"

"Really?" The old man stared at He Pingsheng in shock, his beard trembling with excitement.

He Pingsheng said, "Truly!"

"Have her come over—I'll show you!"

"Yes, yes, yes…" The old man stood up excitedly, leaned on his cane, walked to the girl, gestured to her, then pulled her toward He Pingsheng.

The girl approached.

She looked at He Pingsheng and Qiao Huizhu with timid eyes.

He Pingsheng pulled a Yuxue Pill from his storage pouch.

And it was a top-grade Yuxue Pill.

He handed the pill to the old man and said, "This pill can cure her leg injury… go try it on her first!"

"Give it to her!"

"Now!"

The old man took the pill but hesitated.

After all, it was from a stranger—what if this pill wasn't for healing, but killed her outright?

What then?

At that moment, the girl began gesturing to the old man.

The old man gestured back a few times.

The girl suddenly snatched the pill and swallowed it whole.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

After swallowing the pill, the girl lay writhing on the ground in agony, moaning for about half a stick of incense.

There was no help for it—rebuilding bone and flesh was inevitably painful.

After another half stick of incense, the girl rose straight to her feet.

She jumped a few times, then ran wildly across the open ground before the thatched huts.

The old man clutched his cane, trembling with excitement.

"Thank you, thank you…"

Thud…

The old man dropped to his knees before He Pingsheng: "Thank you, Immortal Master, please heal my granddaughter's deafness and muteness too, wu wu wu wu…"

"Wu wu wu…"

Overcome with emotion, the old man burst into tears.

He Pingsheng said calmly, "Stand up and speak."

"Since you've figured it out, I won't hide it!"

"Yes, I am indeed a cultivator!"

"I can cure her deafness and muteness," He Pingsheng said, "but only after you help me."

The old man instantly calmed down: of course—nothing in the world is free; without giving, how could anyone help you?

"Alright…" the old man said, "Immortal Master, speak! If you heal my granddaughter's deafness and muteness, I'll do anything—even give you my old life!"

He Pingsheng said, "I don't need your old life!"

"Old man, don't kneel—sit down and talk."

"I have a few questions to ask."

The old man stood up excitedly and sat beside He Pingsheng: "Immortal Master, ask!"

"Hmm!" He Pingsheng nodded and asked, "First question: do you and your family ever interact with people outside?"

This question was critical.

If you had contact with others, my disguise as your son could be easily exposed.

"Almost never!" the old man said. "There are no villages nearby—only a town thirty li down the mountain path."

"We go to that town to buy supplies."

"So we have no familiar people."

He Pingsheng exhaled in relief.

He asked, "How many years have your son and daughter-in-law been gone?"

The old man said, "My daughter-in-law passed away over ten years ago!"

"At that time, this girl was only a few months old!"

"My son died last winter—so it's only been a few months."

He Pingsheng asked again: "Did your son have any friends? Where did he like to go?"

The old man wondered why He Pingsheng kept asking such trivial questions, but dared not ask, and quickly replied: "We've lived here for decades—no villages nearby, so who could we have as friends?"

The old man wondered why He Pingsheng kept asking such trivial questions, but dared not ask, quickly saying, "My family has lived here for decades, and there are no villages nearby—what friends could there be?"

"Good!" He Pingsheng said, "Old man, here's the truth:"

"Like you, we're hiding in the mountains to escape our enemies!"

"When my enemies find us, I'll pretend to be your son!"

"And this woman…" He Pingsheng pointed to Qiao Huizhu, "is your daughter-in-law!"

"As long as my enemies can't recognize us, we're safe."

"Will you agree?"

"Once my enemies are gone, I'll keep my promise and cure your granddaughter's deafness and muteness!"

"Once our enemies have passed, I'll agree to stay and cure this girl's deafness and muteness!"

He Pingsheng looked at the old man: "And for these few days, we'll live together so we can get to know each other."

"Fine!" the old man said, "No problem!"

And so He Pingsheng settled in there.

That night, while everyone was unaware, He Pingsheng took flight on his sword again, heading to 【Jixi City】, where he bought high-quality Jinchuang Ointment, strengthened it in a basin, then applied it to Qiao Huizhu's face.

That night, while everyone was unaware, He Pingsheng once again took to the sky on his sword, heading to 【Xijicheng】, where he bought high-quality golden wound ointment, strengthened it in a basin, then applied it to Qiao Huizhu's face.

But Jinchuang Ointment was no spiritual item—just ordinary mortal medicine. Even after He Pingsheng strengthened it, Qiao Huizhu's face still bore many scars.

Layers of scars piled up, obscuring her original features.

Layers of scars piled atop one another, burying her original features.

"Look—how's this?"

"Does it look like him?"

He Pingsheng stepped out from one of the thatched huts.

This time, he had taken the form of a middle-aged man.

The old man and the girl froze in place.

"It's… it's… so much like him… wu wu wu… my son… my son…"

Seeing his son "come back from the dead," the old man wept uncontrollably.

He Pingsheng had modeled his appearance after a portrait, but the portrait wasn't very accurate—so he adjusted his features gradually based on the old man's descriptions, until he resembled him more and more.

He couldn't claim a perfect likeness, but the shock on the old man's and girl's faces proved he was close enough.

Now, he could not claim it was identical in every detail, but the fact that it startled both the old man and the girl showed it was very close.