Chapter 232

The imperial encirclement was gradually tightening.

But the speed of this tightening came later than He Pingsheng had imagined.

Only after a full month did three cultivators finally appear in this desolate mountain.

Three sword lights halted in midair.

He Pingsheng, Qiao Huizhu, the girl, and the old man all looked up.

He Pingsheng dared not extend his spiritual sense, so he did not know their cultivation levels, but since they could fly on swords, they were certainly at least Foundation Establishment.

"This is strange!"

One of the cultivators said: "This mountain is utterly uninhabited—why are there several ordinary people living here?"

Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…

The three descended in sequence.

Only when they landed on the ground did He Pingsheng clearly see who they were.

Two men, one woman.

Thump…

He Pingsheng was the first to kneel on the ground: "Immortal… Immortal Master… greetings, Immortal Master!"

After speaking, he quickly turned to the other three and shouted: "Why aren't you kneeling yet?"

The old man, the girl, and Qiao Huizhu hurriedly knelt down, visibly panicked.

"What's your name?" The female cultivator drew her sword and walked straight toward He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng "panicked," leapt to his feet, and ran.

The female cultivator laughed: "Why run? I'm not going to kill you!"

"Come here—I have questions for you!"

"Ah, ah, ah…" He Pingsheng shuffled forward timidly, then cautiously approached the woman and asked: "Lady… Immortal Master…"

The woman cut him off: "Call me Immortal Miss!"

"Ah… Immortal Miss!"

"Immortal Miss, please ask!"

The woman laughed again at his "Immortal Miss" title: "Country bumpkin—no sense!"

"Never mind. I'll ask you a few questions."

"What's your name?"

He Pingsheng took a deep breath: "Cheng Xifeng."

This wasn't a made-up name—it was the dead son's name of the old man.

"Good…" the female cultivator asked: "Are you all one family?"

She glanced at the others behind.

He Pingsheng hurriedly replied: "Yes… the one behind is my father, my daughter, and my wife…"

"You…" the female cultivator pointed at the girl: "Come here and answer."

The girl remained motionless.

The female cultivator frowned, her eyes flashing with sharp light.

He Pingsheng quickly said: "Immortal Miss, please calm down… she's our servant girl—born deaf and mute. She can't hear you!"

"Deaf and mute?"

Boom…

The female cultivator's spiritual sense surged out, engulfing the girl.

For cultivators, it was easy to detect deaf-mutes.

Deaf-mutes had incomplete six senses, producing a distinct feedback when scanned by spiritual sense.

So after scanning the girl, the female cultivator nodded: "Yes, she's truly deaf and mute."

"Cheng Xifeng, right…"

"Why do you farm in such a remote place?"

"Are you the only family here?"

He Pingsheng replied: "Yes… only our family lives nearby."

"It's over thirty li of mountain path to the town, but it's peaceful here."

The female cultivator asked: "Aren't you afraid of the wild beasts all over the mountains?"

He Pingsheng shook his head: "Wild beasts are less terrifying than people—we're not afraid of them."

"Hehe…" the cultivator chuckled: "You understand some basic truths."

She asked a few more questions, then stopped.

Instead, she turned to the two male cultivators behind her: "All four are ordinary people—no issues."

"But their presence here feels strange."

"We should ask our Master to verify."

The female cultivator sent out a signal light.

Less than ten breaths later, another light streaked from the horizon.

It landed above the thatched hut and hovered there.

He Pingsheng and the other three knelt again.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man—his cultivation level unknown.

The female cultivator stepped forward and explained the situation to him.

His spiritual sense erupted, sweeping over He Pingsheng and the other three, then scanning the surroundings.

After about half a stick of incense time, he nodded: "No issues."

The female cultivator said: "Master, but their farming here is still suspicious!"

"Nothing suspicious," the male cultivator breathed deeply: "When I was young, I came from the wilds—I know this kind of situation well."

"Look at this field—it seems simple, but it took decades of cultivation to become like this. If newly cleared, it would never look like this!"

"And the crops are nearly ripe."

"That man only fled a month ago—how could he grow crops nearly ready for harvest?"

"And these two oxen!"

"The stone rollers around them—worn smooth by grinding. It would take decades to achieve this shape."

"That well!"

"None of these could be casually constructed."

"And this thatched hut," the man casually pointed: "Its decay shows at least decades of use."

"But it's not leaking—someone maintains it regularly. They're permanent residents."

"I just checked—all four are ordinary people with no cultivation."

"Let's go."

After the Jin Dan cultivator's analysis, the four transformed into streaks of light and departed.

Only when they were far enough away did He Pingsheng slowly exhale.

The old man beamed: "Young brother… we passed the test…"

He Pingsheng whispered: "Old man, don't celebrate yet—we must remain as before. I fear they'll return."

In the end, the Jin Dan cultivator never returned.

But whether he secretly scanned the area with his spiritual sense, He Pingsheng didn't know.

The key was, he dared not use his own spiritual sense freely.

So he could only continue pretending to live here.

Unknowingly, another month passed. He Pingsheng felt it was safe enough to finally unleash his spiritual sense and scan the surroundings.

Under cover of night, he shot into the sky and searched the dozens of li around the mountain—found no cultivators at all.

With that, he was finally safe.

"We passed!" He Pingsheng finally relaxed.

He looked at the old man: "Old man, thank you for helping us this time."

"I'll keep my promise—I'll restore your granddaughter's deafness."

Deafness, deafness!

It was only deafness, really.

Because she'd been deaf since birth, unable to hear sounds, she never learned to speak—and grew up naturally mute.

Treating ordinary people's deafness wasn't difficult.

For cultivators, ordinary deafness was usually caused by innate deficiency.

Innate deficiency? Then replenish the innate.

The cultivation world had a Grade One elixir called 【Bu Yuan Dan】. After ingesting it, one could replenish innate deficiencies. Once the deficiency was corrected, the girl would gradually begin to hear.

Once she could hear, she would slowly learn to speak.