Chapter 113: Transfer Order

Chen Mo tightly gripped the heart in his hand; it felt quite fresh.

Even now, it remained warm, with a very slow pulse.

Observing this heart closely, Chen Mo could discover its profound mysteries.

It was constantly drawing and absorbing Heaven and Earth Power from its surroundings; if it were before, he might not have necessarily noticed.

But now that his own cultivation had broken through to Postnatal, and he could initially refine Heaven and Earth Power for his own use, Chen Mo could naturally observe the difference in this heart.

As Heaven and Earth Power was absorbed by it, heart blood gradually gestated within the heart; now, it already contained several drops inside.

Chen Mo's Inner Qi vibrated, drawing out one drop from within; he sniffed it lightly to ensure it was harmless to himself, then immediately swallowed it.

The pure power of Qi and Blood flowed into his body, and in an instant, it was absorbed by the Transformation Pearl.

Chen Mo's eyes lit up; looking at it this way, this heart was indeed a good treasure.

A single drop of heart blood was of little help to him, but he couldn't ignore the large quantity, and it could produce several more drops every day.

Most importantly, this heart blood might not only have an effect on himself; it could also be of great help to other Martial Artists.

He could take this heart blood out to trade, using it to exchange for Mirage Spirit or Blood Essence Stone for his own refinement.

The profit gained this way should be higher than him simply swallowing the heart blood himself.

Even if it couldn't be sold, keeping it to swallow himself was also a quite decent income.

Looking at it this way, he couldn't put it into his Storage Bag, as that would affect the efficiency of its absorption of Heaven and Earth Power.

Because inside the Storage Bag was another space created by a special Mirage Spirit, and it was not easy for this heart to absorb external Heaven and Earth Power while inside.

Chen Mo could see that the speed of the heart's pulse after being taken out was clearly increasing bit by bit.

It was just that it reached an upper limit very quickly and could no longer continue to grow.

Chen Mo immediately found a small square table and placed the heart on it as an offering, letting it properly absorb Heaven and Earth Power.

To tell the truth, the practice room was not particularly dim, but now that a heart that was still constantly pulsing was placed there, it really looked somewhat eerie.

Chen Mo brought over a blue cloth to cover it, and after confirming again and again that this would not affect its absorption of Heaven and Earth Power, he finally felt at ease.

Immediately after, he called for Zhao Yu and instructed her repeatedly not to move this blue cloth when she cleaned the practice room for him.

Zhao Yu did not ask further, only smiling and nodding in agreement.

"I previously went out and found a health-preserving technique called the Bright Jade Longevity Technique." Chen Mo picked up the technique from the desk and handed it to Zhao Yu with a smile.

"This technique is very simple; practicing it can prolong life, keep all illnesses at bay, and even slow down the aging of one's appearance." Chen Mo put his arm around her waist and smiled as he told her the benefits of this technique.

"Come, I will teach you the technique myself now." Chen Mo taught her to practice this technique hand-in-hand.

In the following few days, Chen Mo spent his time at home teaching Zhao Yu to practice, collecting the heart blood from the heart, and observing the condition of the cats and dogs that had swallowed the Nourishing Spirit Liquid.

After feeding them the Nourishing Spirit Liquid for a few more days, the cat and dog in the house both appeared much more alert and intelligent, and could even understand much of human speech.

Until six days later, Chen Mo, following his usual routine, stepped into the Wang Jia Dazhai at the midnight hour, took out incense, and inserted it into the incense burner inside the room.

Smoke drifted up, the scene before Chen Mo's eyes gradually changed, and he arrived once again in that decorated wedding room.

Wei Xia was still sitting quietly on the bed; seeing him arrive, she hurriedly bowed, "This commoner greets you, my lord."

This time she did not use a red bridal veil to cover herself, revealing a delicate, fair, yet slightly thin face.

"I have already arranged the matters of your family; your mother has no illness, she just lacks nutrition, so eating a few more good meals will suffice.

As for the thatched cottage you live in, I will arrange for people to repair it, and after the spring of next year, I will build a bluestone courtyard on top of it..."

Chen Mo spoke unhurriedly, stating one by one all the arrangements and care he had made for her family.

Wei Xia listened quietly on the side, her face already streaming with tears.

"This commoner thanks you, benefactor!" She immediately knelt down to kowtow in gratitude.

"Your great kindness is too much for this young woman to repay; I only wish to follow by your side as a beast of burden to serve you in return for your kindness!" She kowtowed very deeply, with the clear intention that if Chen Mo did not agree to her repayment, she would absolutely not get up.

"If you are willing to follow by my side, that is naturally a good thing, but there is no need to serve as a beast of burden." Chen Mo said with a smile.

From the current situation, Wei Xia's state was still very stable, and the obsession before her death had not been triggered.

The obsessions of Ghost Spirits are strange and varied, and they are not necessarily the things or people they cared about most while alive.

It is more likely to be the final recollection before death, or some things they could not let go of and deeply regretted.

Some people's obsession before death is even just to eat a full meal, so as to be a well-fed ghost.

But no matter which kind it is, one thing is certain: once a Ghost Spirit's obsession is triggered, they will not stop until they achieve their goal.

Unless there is someone extremely important to them who can soothe them, no one can stop them.

At that time, they will enter a state of extreme paranoia and will exhaust every means to complete their obsession.

Wei Xia's current state was relatively stable, so her obsession should not have been triggered yet.

Chen Mo could not figure out for the moment what her obsession actually was.

However, this kind of thing must never be asked; Ghost Spirits are not human.

If he does not ask, her obsession might even be ignored by her, until one day she suddenly remembers it.

But if he asks now, it is equivalent to triggering her obsession in advance.

This is not a good thing.

Since she hasn't remembered it, he should not ask. When she truly remembers it, he will help her solve it then.

Thinking about her status, even if she has an obsession left behind, it shouldn't be something too difficult to accomplish.

"Get up quickly." Chen Mo said softly, and only then did Wei Xia stand up.

On the ground and on her clothes, many of her tears remained.

"I went to your house for a visit; these things are what your mother asked me to give you before she left."

Chen Mo took a gray coarse cloth bundle out of the Storage Bag, which contained many odds and ends.

The Ghost Domain can be said to be a special area, in a certain sense close to the Mirage Sea here.

Wei Xia possessed a physical form in this area and was not merely an illusory soul; she could also touch the things he took out from the outside.

Wei Xia took the package with both hands and held it tightly to her chest.

"If you want to look, then look," Chen Mo said with a smile as he saw her continuously feeling the contents of the package.

Only then did Wei Xia dare to place the package on the table, carefully untie it, and look through it closely.

The items inside were quite fragmented: a cloth doll, a rattle-drum, a wooden hairpin, a little bit of crude rouge that had been left for who knows how long, as well as some paper scraps of various colors and two sets of clothes.

Looking at these things, she could not help but shed tears once again.

"I brought you some food; you can try the taste," Chen Mo said, taking out a roasted duck and a braised pig trotter.

He had noticed back when he was eating at the banquet that Wei Xia could only conceive of the scent and appearance of food.

And things conceived within a Ghost Domain are limited by the thoughts of the Ghost Spirit themselves.

This meant she had seen and smelled these things, but had never actually eaten them.

"Eat slowly," Chen Mo said, placing the oil-paper package containing the cooked food on the table before turning to leave.

There was no need to be too anxious about interacting with Wei Xia; taking it slow would suffice.

Having a Ghost Spirit by his side could effectively counter the Mirage Sea and would be of great help for his own explorations into the Mirage Sea.

Moreover, the Nourishing Spirit Liquid she condensed was of great help to his own Divine Sense cultivation.

Peaceful days always pass quickly; two heavy snowfalls occurred in succession, and the New Year festival had already arrived.

Three more months passed, spring returned to the earth, and all things began to recover.

In early spring of the third month, during the Grain Rain season, although Zhu Niu Ji was still chilly with the lingering cold of spring, many trees had already sprouted, and wild grass had grown out as well.

Chen Mo flipped through the Command Order in his hand; this document had not been sent by his foster father's men, but had been rushed all the way by the Post Station.

The Command Order was very simple: it told him to prepare to head to Jing Du.

It was not just him; the soldiers and Personal Soldiers under his foster father were basically all to be transferred into the Capital.

This Command Order was very brief and did not even require Chen Mo to hand over his current official position, but rather ordered him to enter the Capital first.

There was no need to guess; something must have happened in the Capital, or perhaps the current Emperor had run into trouble; otherwise, given his foster father's status, it would be impossible for him to suddenly lead troops into the Capital.

Over four hundred elite soldiers plus more than seven hundred Battle Soldiers—a full one thousand two hundred elites—was enough to do many things.

The Capital City was said to be guarded by two hundred thousand elite Imperial Guards, but it was hard to say if these two hundred thousand were truly elite, or even if there were two hundred thousand of them at all.

After all, these Imperial Guards were not Border Army troops who fought year-round; the level of the Imperial Guards was likely only slightly better than the Garrison Army.

Furthermore, they were not all in the Capital; most were stationed in several Guard Cities near Jing Du.

There were only fifty thousand Imperial Guards truly in Jing Du, plus the five thousand Yulin Guard responsible for guarding the Imperial City.

These five thousand Yulin Guard were the only elites worth mentioning, and their combat level was likely even a notch above the Personal Soldiers under his foster father.

Unless it was for attacking or defending a city, in field combat, these five thousand Yulin Guard were enough to hold off one hundred thousand Imperial Guards.

Although the one thousand two hundred soldiers under his foster father were far fewer than the Yulin Guard, as long as they entered the Capital, the role they could play would by no means be small.

Under normal circumstances, regardless of official rank, no one could personally lead troops into the Capital unless they held an Imperial decree.

Since the current Emperor had suddenly ordered his foster father to lead troops into the Capital, no matter how one looked at it, a major event was about to occur.

Moreover, this time the transfer might involve staying in the Capital for a very long time.

In an additional family letter sent by his foster father, he was also instructed to bring Zhao Yu along.

Otherwise, it would not be so easy to return once he went to the Capital City this time.

However, there was a good thing: as long as he entered the Capital, his official rank would certainly move up a notch.

And there were more powerful people in the Capital; with his strength, he could also learn things there and acquire more resources.

Chen Mo closed the official document and immediately set out to make preparations.

Fortunately, this Command Order was not particularly urgent; at least the one that reached his hands was not urgent.

The matters ahead were important, but not very pressing; his foster father had left him sufficient time to handle the affairs at hand.

"Go pack up first; in a few days we will have to move from here. The Imperial Court's Command Order has come down, ordering me to the Capital."

Chen Mo walked outside the house and said to Zhao Yu, who was practicing.

Over these past few months, she had gained some small success in practicing the Bright Jade Longevity Technique; at the very least, since she began practicing, she had never had a cold or flu, and had not even felt physically unwell.

Not only that, as she practiced this technique, her figure had become increasingly slender and graceful.

"Going to the Capital?" Zhao Yu stopped her practice and asked.

"Yes, we have to leave once we pack up. We will have to live in the Capital for a long time then."

If he did not have to live in the Capital for a long time, Chen Mo would not put Zhao Yu through the fatigue of the journey to the Capital.

"Alright, I'll go pack up then," Zhao Yu nodded in agreement and sighed softly.

Having lived in Zhuniuji for nearly a year and having had a long period of peaceful days, she was truly somewhat reluctant to leave this place.

But she understood the old saying: marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a monkey, roam the mountains.

Since she was Chen Mo's wife, no matter where he went, she had to follow him to feel at ease.

"I'm going to arrange some things. You pack up slowly at home; we aren't in a rush, we will set off in three days."

Chen Mo gave another instruction, then stepped away from the house to go arrange other affairs.

(End of chapter)