Chapter 334: The Mu Family

At this critical moment, a Holy Maiden no one had ever heard of appeared, introduced by a good friend of Inspector Li. Desperate enough to try anything, no one cared whether she was reliable or not at a time like this. They immediately invited the Holy Maiden into the residence.

But the moment everyone saw that this Holy Maiden was a girl not yet fifteen, accompanied by a young maidservant only three years older, their hearts sank. She was barely old enough to be married off — what medical skill could she possibly have? Still, at this point, they had to treat a dead horse as if it were alive!

The outcome, however, was completely unexpected. The Holy Maiden shut the door and performed a ritual, and that very night, the Li family boy pulled through. Moreover, the Holy Maiden did not rely solely on magic; the next day she began using medicine, and even had her own ideas about his diet.

So many famous physicians had failed to cure him, yet under this Holy Maiden's care, the Li boy's health improved day by day.

This was truly a blessing sent from heaven — the Holy Maiden had indeed manifested her power. With this result, all prior doubts vanished like smoke, leaving only heartfelt gratitude and reverence.

She was offered a rich reward, but the Holy Maiden politely declined. When asked if she needed anything else — Inspector Li had connections reaching everywhere in Linqing and Dongchang Prefecture, and even building a temple to worship the gods was not beyond his means — the Holy Maiden also refused, saying only that Young Master Li's illness had not yet been fully rooted out and required monitoring. She also wished to spread her teachings in Linqing and asked only for a quiet residence.

In the panic of a life-threatening crisis, no one thought much, but now that everyone had calmed down, they began to feel the Holy Maiden harbored ulterior motives. A teenage girl, pretty and neatly dressed — though she usually carried herself with dignity, occasionally she had a flirtatious, seductive air. Anyone who looked at her felt an itch in their heart.

Could she be planning to use her charms to seduce the Li family's young master, Li Yuliang, and then seize this vast family fortune? Even if Inspector Li's whole household didn't think of it these days, others would think of it for them.

Although Li Yuliang was only eleven, among children of wealthy families, it was not uncommon for boys his age to have already lost their innocence. To guard against this, Inspector Li did not even allow women under thirty to serve at his son's side.

Guarded as they were, she had just saved his life after all, and it would not do to simply turn hostile and throw her out. Besides, everyone feared a relapse of the old illness, so they could only keep her on and watch her more closely.

To their surprise, it really was just treatment. Though they met every day, there was never the slightest hint of anything between man and woman. In his meals, fish and meat were halved, while the portions of various vegetables and fruits were increased; fine grains were halved and replaced with coarse grains. And every day, she urged Li Yuliang to exercise without pause, having him practice martial arts with training equipment.

After several months like this, a previously sickly young master had actually grown robust and healthy, bouncing with boundless energy every day. And compared to the spoiled, rotten temperament he had before, he was now more sensible, showing proper manners in dealing with people.

Such a transformation was an astonishing, wonderful surprise. The suspicions of Inspector Li's entire household vanished completely. This Holy Maiden was truly a holy maiden — keeping her in the family home would surely bring blessings. Moreover, Inspector Li had calculated it clearly: if this Holy Maiden left and his child fell ill again or returned to his old ways, wouldn't that be losing the hen and breaking the eggs?

Amid this joyful atmosphere, no one paid much attention when several maids and servants in the Li residence suddenly fell gravely ill. Inspector Li quickly had them sent out of the household, even reproaching the steward — these were the very ones who had served the young master or been close to him. Perhaps they were the ones who had passed the illness to him. What if they infected Li Yuliang again? Wouldn't that be a disaster? Once the maids and servants left the residence, some said they died of illness, others said they went home — in any case, no one cared.

All Linqing knew was that Inspector Li had specially purchased the neighboring residence to give to that Holy Maiden to live in. Everyone knew how gravely ill the Li family's young master had been, and many had even visited him. No one had expected him to recover completely. Could it be that this Holy Maiden truly possessed some divine power?

Gradually, people began seeking the Holy Maiden for diagnosis and treatment. Her rules were simple: to request a meeting, one had to send a visiting card three days in advance. The Holy Maiden would perform a divination — if there was affinity, she would see them; if not, she would not.

Some thought this was just playing tricks, but it turned out that among those denied for lack of affinity, some were simply not ill, while those with affinity did have ailments. She was not avoiding difficult cases or taking the easy way out. And whenever she granted a meeting, she could often describe the illness from behind the curtain and would bestow medicinal pills.

Some were cured, some were not, but since more were cured, those who were not would believe they lacked sincerity, and that was why the pills were ineffective. Others asked about fortune and misfortune, or about miscellaneous matters, and the Holy Maiden would often answer each one, usually with great reason.

Those who could associate with Inspector Li's household were all wealthy and noble. When cured by the Holy Maiden or when their doubts were resolved, they could hardly refrain from offering silver as alms and offerings. The Holy Maiden took only a small portion of this silver for her own use, while the majority went to relieve the poor and aid the weak.

If healing and divination kept her reputation within the wealthy class, then these charitable acts spread her fame among the common people. Among the visiting gentry were quite a few literati and scholars, who caught vague, shadowy glimpses of the Holy Maiden's figure through the thin gauze and bamboo blinds and were utterly awestruck, praising her extravagantly in private.

If the Holy Maiden had only done these things on her own, it would ultimately have remained a story spread within a small circle, mere gossip for some of Linqing's residents.

But the Holy Maiden's deeds always spread far and wide. Less than a month after curing the Li family's young master, there were already commoners who had traveled specially from Liaocheng to kowtow before the Li family gate and beg for treatment. Even people in Yanzhou Prefecture had heard of this Holy Maiden's good works and miraculous powers.

To avoid disturbing the Li household, the Holy Maiden specially purchased a small residence outside the city. Every seven days she would go there to heal the sick and relieve the common people. After she made this decision, a market immediately sprang up around that small residence, even drawing merchants and peddlers to gather there.

Each time the Holy Maiden traveled from the Li residence to that place, she rode in nothing more than a single horse-drawn carriage, accompanied by two old women and two servants — exceedingly simple. At first, only a scattered few would kowtow by the roadside, but the number of worshippers grew and grew, until in the end, every trip stirred the entire city.

After arriving at the small residence outside the city, the Holy Maiden would give money and grain to the poor, medicine to the sick, and then expound the scriptures to the masses. She did not speak of any great calamity, only saying that a spirit fox had once presented incense to her master, instructing her master and herself to aid those in distress, do good deeds, and accumulate virtue. She also said that by worshipping and burning incense in daily life, one could go to the Pure Land in the next life.

The Holy Maiden never appeared for long each time, but she never sought anything, only devoting herself wholly to charity and helping the common people. Those qualified to visit that small residence and seek aid saw no sign of the Holy Maiden indulging in offerings or incense money; her personal habits were very frugal.

All of this combined made the reputation of this Holy Maiden, who had appeared out of nowhere, resound throughout Linqing, its influence gradually spreading across the entire Dongchang Prefecture, and even reaching neighboring prefectures and counties.

Outsiders might imagine this Holy Maiden spending her days in that small Li family residence diligently cultivating or performing rituals to aid all living beings, but in truth, the Holy Maiden was no different there from any ordinary young girl.

The "smallness" of that residence was only relative to the vast Li family compound. The courtyard itself was quite spacious, but it had no furnishings or garden scenery — only flat, open ground.

An eleven-year-old boy in a short robe was jogging breathlessly around the courtyard. He looked very thin and frail, but his complexion was good.

Two old servants and two women, carrying various implements, stood in the yard watching the boy jog, ready to attend to him at any moment. These servants also glanced from time to time toward the other side, where the door of a room stood open, a bamboo blind hanging over it. Behind that blind was the Holy Maiden.

"... Our young master really looks the part now. Everyone used to say he wouldn't live long, and then he got that terrible illness. Who'd have thought he'd be fine now? His body looks stronger by the day. There's just one thing — for no good reason, he's gained an elder sister, and now that he has this sister, he won't even acknowledge his real sisters..."

"... I think it's a good thing. Those in the main house have too many schemes — every one of them wishes the young master an early death. This girl here has a kind heart and is sincerely protecting our young master..."

"... You should call her Her Holiness the Holy Maiden, not 'this girl.' But she truly is kind-hearted, teaching our young master principles and training his body. In so many great households, the elders build up the family fortune, and the young ones squander it all away. Now it looks like our young master will amount to something. Didn't everyone used to say this family fortune would either be wasted by the young master or divided up by the concubines?"

The two old women had clustered together and were chattering away happily. One of the old servants standing in front glanced back at them, his gaze extremely stern, but the two women were not the least bit afraid and simply glared back. They had about the same seniority — who was he to throw his weight around?

The old servant shook his head, glanced at the door over there, then turned back toward the young master. After watching for a while, he spoke: "This Sister Lan is from the Incense-Smelling Sect, isn't she?"

"Old Li, you're only figuring that out now? Who couldn't tell?" the man beside him replied.

"Our Li family is tangled up so deeply with this sect — this is no good thing." He sighed after saying this.

"You think the master doesn't know? Because of the master's background, how many people in the city paid him any mind all these years? But now look how many come and go. Don't you think about whose credit that is? And do you really think this sect is breaking any laws? How many people on the river practice this? How many in our own household have started burning incense now? Even the concubines have grown devout."

As they spoke, the boy had run over to the doorway. With a pained expression, he said, "Elder Sister, when can I stop running?"

"Be good, run two more laps, then wipe off your sweat before you come over." A crisp, clear voice came from behind the bamboo blind.

"Elder Sister, what will you teach me today?"

"Today, Elder Sister will teach you fist and foot techniques."

Hearing this, the boy immediately shouted an excited agreement and sped off running again.

"Xiao Lan, you need to deal more with Li Meng, Inspector Li. What use is it spending all your time with this child? A child like this has no cunning — what if he leaks secrets or something?"

"Xiao Lan is doing the right thing. Do you think that man Li doesn't know our intentions? It's simply a matter of each taking what they need!"

"Xiao Liang is a good child. Seeing him reminds me of Brother Xiaojin and the others when they were little. I've been alone since I was small — I've always wanted a little brother too."

Three people were conversing behind the blind. The one called "Xiao Lan," who also mentioned "Brother Xiaojin" — in all the world, there was only one such person: Mu Shulan.