Chapter 89: Clues of infants

The epidemic of refugees seems to be of great interest to Yuanchen, and he came outside the city the next morning to observe the recovery of those children.

Ji You also came outside the city subsequently, standing in front of Wei Rui's porridge stall, giving porridge while watching this scene with Kuang Cheng.

There is an old saying in Azure Cloud that illness comes like a mountain collapse and goes like pulling silk.

But under the treatment of the Pill Sect's wonderful techniques, the children, including Qingwa, all recovered their energy and spirit in a short time.

They can use pill Qi to suppress the wind evil invading the body, and even lead it out, and can even use pill light to enter the patient's lesion directly.

Ordinary pills are taken with water, which takes time to dissolve and take effect, and sometimes is limited by the patient's absorption.

But in the hands of a pill master, it can be catalyzed by pill Qi, which is immediate.

This has already deviated from the category of "medical treatment" and is truly a wonderful hand to rejuvenate. 【

Xiang Kuangcheng possessed the demeanor of a gentleman, conducting himself with a calm and unruffled attitude; even upon seeing such mystical arts, he would exclaim in disbelief.

"I have never seen an alchemist before. In the past few days, I've been thinking, if ordinary physicians also had such methods, perhaps..."

"This is a world that only cultivators can touch. Don't overthink it if you accidentally catch a glimpse of it. The more you think, the more cynical you will become."

Xiang Kuangcheng was suddenly startled by Ji You's words, then he sobered up.

In truth, there are many things in this world that exceed the imagination of ordinary people, but these things are not accessible to ordinary people.

Just like the slight display of skill from Yuan Chen that made people hail him as a divine doctor, it was merely the most basic technique of their Pill Sect disciples.

Xiang Kuangcheng was silent for a moment before sighing: "Brother Ji is right. If it weren't for you, these poor children might have died here; how could they ever have access to such divine and miraculous arts?"

Ji You turned his head to look at him: "It wasn't entirely me, either."

"?"

"That kid Yuan Chen is actually kind at heart and easily inspired. He's practically a perpetual motion machine for chicken soup. It's just that he's been in the Pill Sect all along and never thought about how he should live, so what you just said might actually have the possibility of being realized."

"Just now...?"

"Yuan Chen is a direct disciple of the Pill Sect and is very likely to become the next Pill Sect Abbot. What he thinks and contemplates will be the future path of the Pill Sect."

Xiang Kuangcheng was startled upon hearing this, the words 'direct disciple' exploding in his mind: "How did Brother Ji come to know a direct disciple of the Pill Sect?"

Ji You crossed his arms, standing beside the morning dew-covered wild grass: "I was sent by the Heavenly Academy to Qiling and met Yuan Chen looking for his sister, so I helped him rescue her."

Wei Rui had been listening obediently on the side, but at this moment, she suddenly stopped her porridge spoon: "But I just heard Young Master Yuan address Young Master Ji as brother-in-law?"

"Ah... he does indeed want to marry his sister off to me, but I refused."

Xiang Kuangcheng's brow furrowed instantly upon hearing this: "Brother Ji is muddled! For the sake of all the people in the world, a woman of such status should naturally be taken as a wife!"

Ji You's mouth twitched a few times: "Did you forget the one I brought to your house last time?"

Xiang Kuangcheng was slightly startled upon hearing this, recalling the fairy who sat in his courtyard eavesdropping and eventually snapped a branch with a single finger.

That fairy, it seemed, was not to be trifled with.

"Brother Ji is truly too prone to flirting."

"How can you say that? Is it my fault that I'm good-looking?"

Ji You was a bit angry, complaining about the injustice of the world.

Just because of this heaven-defying appearance, I have to put in a hundred times the effort to possess the strength worthy of it. To whom can I speak of such hardships?

"However, Brother Ji is gifted with extraordinary talent, so naturally, you can marry them both."

Xiang Kuangcheng spoke with conviction: "Coupled with the Pill Sect's support, after you have children, you could become a noble family in Fengzhou. With you presiding, the people of your hometown could live a little better. It's certainly better than letting that so-called Fengxian Manor show off its power all day long."

"This line of thinking of yours..."

Ji You smacked his lips, thinking to himself that this line of thinking of yours is truly unique.

In the past, when seeing injustice in the world, he always thought about using strength to conquer the world, but you suggest I use my good looks.

Spreading the family line...

It truly makes a gentleman blush!

Ji You didn't know what he thought of, but he thought to himself, you scholar, you are truly lecherous beyond measure!

Wei Rui listened to their conversation, her eyes blinking lightly.

She usually spent time with Princess Changle and the others, so she felt that friends should be like that, but seeing Xiang Kuangcheng and Ji You, she seemed to feel that being friends with them was more comfortable.

She didn't like schemes and deceit; being with Princess Changle and the others always gave her a sense of urgency, unlike the ease she felt now.

It's just that some things the two of them said made people feel flushed and flustered...

At this moment, Yuan Chen had already walked out from the isolation area, fine sweat appearing on his forehead, which he wiped away with his wide sleeve.

Ji You looked up upon seeing this: "How is it?"

"He will recover after a few more days of rest, but that black Qi invading the body... is somewhat strange."

"Strange?"

"After that black Qi enters the body, it first occupies the internal organs, then begins to slowly adapt to the human body. The symptoms may not be obvious in the early stages, but once it matures, it will definitely become a violent disease. It can be seen as a poisonous fruit; once it bursts, it can spread throughout the entire city."

Ji You frowned upon hearing this: "Is this why you didn't let me go before?"

Yuan Chen stretched out his hand, a wisp of flickering black Qi trapped within the seven-colored alchemical light in his palm: "Brother-in-law, try to refine it in my palm with your spiritual energy."

Ji You flicked his finger upon hearing this, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy was channeled into his palm, only to find that the black Qi suddenly expanded, wrapping around all his spiritual energy as if preying upon it.

"Why is this?"

"It is just an epidemic in the bodies of mortals, but after infecting a cultivator, who knows what will happen."

Upon hearing this, Ji You's expression couldn't help but turn solemn.

The Lower Three Realms begin with Body Refinement, and a body tempered by spiritual energy is immune to all diseases.

Like Lu Qingqing, who wears only a thin shirt in the dead of winter, contributing glimpses of spring to Ji You's dull path of cultivation, it is because they do not catch colds.

Therefore, it would be terrifying if this black Qi could infect cultivators; this is no ordinary object.

The key question is, where exactly does this invading black Qi come from?

Just as he was thinking, Yuan Chen had already taken out three pills from his bosom: "Brother-in-law, take one too. Also, Young Master Xiang and Miss Wei, you should take one each."

"Then let's take them as a precaution."

Ji You tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it, then felt a surge of heat rising in his abdomen, constantly rushing to the top, followed by a fit of coughing. It felt like drooling even after being cured: "Is this medicine this potent?"

Xiang Kuangcheng looked on with lingering fear: "This... is a bit unrefined."

Yuan Chen spoke immediately: "Brother-in-law is a cultivator with a robust body, so I used a stronger dosage, but the medicine for you two has been diluted."

"I see."

Xiang Kuangcheng took the pills and placed one of them into Wei Rui's hand.

At this moment, Wei Rui recalled Xiang Kuangcheng saying yesterday that he wouldn't wash his hands for a few days, and her cheeks turned red again. She didn't know if he really hadn't washed them, but after much deliberation, she still swallowed it with water.

After a few light coughs, Xiang Kuangcheng looked at Yuan Chen again: "How is Qingwa now?"

"His symptoms were more severe. After waking up, he drank some porridge. He can speak without issue, but he still needs rest if he wants to walk."

"Can he be questioned?"

"Of course."

Xiang Kuangcheng then looked at Ji You: "Brother Ji, I need to go to the orphanage."

Ji You turned his head to look at him: "Why, going to donate money again? Leave my name this time."

"It's not about donating money. There are some things that need to be confirmed. I'll tell you in detail after I return."

After saying this, Xiang Kuangcheng walked towards the city, following the wet stone-paved street after the rain, circling all the way to the edge of the city, and even bought a bunch of candied haws along the way.

At this moment, in the orphanage, a bright-eyed boy was sitting in the courtyard, looking at the high sky.

Xiang Kuangcheng walked up to him and squatted down: "Huwa, what are you looking at?"

"I don't know. Brother Xiang, have you found my sister?"

After Huwa's parents gave birth to his sister, they fled far away because they couldn't afford the tribute, and he and his sister in swaddling clothes were sent here.

But they didn't have peace for long before his sister was taken away.

Xiang Kuangcheng had promised to help him find his sister, and hearing the inquiry now, he didn't quite know how to answer.

After returning from Qiling, he and Ji You had discussed this matter while Yuan Chen was treating the patients.

According to Ji You, those infants were indeed taken to Qiling, because the wife of the miner Luo You had said that for more than three years, there had been the sound of infants crying in the mountains every day.

This shows that the missing infants in Shengjing were just the tip of the iceberg; similar things might have been happening in other towns across the Nine Provinces all along.

It's just that the trail went cold once it reached Qiling; no one knew where those infants went, or whether they were dead or alive.

"First go and distribute the candied haws to everyone, then I'll take you somewhere."

Huwa opened his eyes wide: "Where are we going?"

Xiang Kuangcheng pursed his lips: "You'll know when we get there."

Afterwards, Huwa was taken to the refugee camp outside the city. Seeing Ji You's slightly furrowed brow, Xiang Kuangcheng pulled him aside: "This is the child who asked me to find his sister when I went to the orphanage to donate blankets before."

Ji You reached out and touched his round head: "This place is full of patients; why bring a little child here?"

"The thing on Qingwa's neck..."

"?"

Huwa's father was once a hunter and had used animal bones to polish two pendants, which he left to the two of them when they fled, perhaps also leaving behind a wish for them to recognize each other again.

When Huwa was begging Xiang Kuangcheng to find his sister, he had described this pendant.

Xiang Kuangcheng had seen it on Qingwa's neck.

However, it was precisely because he hadn't seen it with his own eyes that he brought Huwa here.

Since those infants were indeed taken to Qiling, and Qingwa and a group of children escaped from the White River Village on the south side of Qiling, then they might have seen them.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 89 =====

The ruins of Qiling were full of strange things, ending with a demon Daoist refining humans to ascend, and in the end, the mountain collapsed and people died.

But until now, the clue about the infants had still not been investigated, yet he didn't expect this matter to take a turn here.

He felt as if something was slowly being connected.

Afterwards, Huwa was brought into the refugee camp by Xiang Kuangcheng under the protection of Yuan Chen's alchemical light.

Before long, they walked out.

Because confirming one thing doesn't take very long.

"Is it?"

"It is."

That pendant was indeed it; it had already been confirmed by Huwa.

But Xiang Kuangcheng didn't ask directly to his face, because he knew that it was likely an extremely bad outcome, an outcome that Huwa could not bear.

Ji You pondered for a moment: "Bring Qingwa out; let's go back to your courtyard and ask."

"That's what I was thinking too."

(End of chapter)