Chapter 1657: The Paralytic in the Village
The little girl who had been running around the tree also stopped, curiously gazing at Qin Mu.
The youth butchering the pig under the tree wiped the blood from his face, glaring over with fierce eyes, seemingly full of hostility.
The old woman and the middle-aged woman also turned to look. The middle-aged woman wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand and said with a simple, honest smile, "Our village hasn't had visitors in a long time. It's rare for a young master to travel so far to find this place—why not stay for a meal before continuing on your way?"
The old woman grinned, revealing two or three teeth, and said shakily, "Eat a meal before continuing on..."
Qin Mu stopped in his tracks, turned around, and said seriously, "I shall gladly accept your kind invitation. Since you all are so insistent, I'll shamelessly impose on your hospitality." With that, he walked toward the village.
As he passed by the pig-butchering youth, the young man gripped his butcher knife, the muscles and veins on his arm bulging. He suddenly shrugged his shoulders and let out a threatening growl from his throat.
Qin Mu smiled slightly. "Fine blade."
The pig-butchering youth stuck out his tongue, licked the pig blood off the blade, and grinned with a chuckle. "Naturally, it's a fine blade!"
Qin Mu walked past him. The young man held the knife, staring at his back, but Qin Mu seemed completely unaware, walking straight ahead until he reached the stone stool.
The young man never found an opportunity to strike, and praised, "Fine divine art! Young master, you're harder to deal with than any pig I've ever slaughtered!"
Qin Mu looked back and smiled brightly. "You're not bad yourself."
The old man was too old and struggled to rise. Qin Mu hastily bowed and reached out to support him, helping him to his feet.
The old man's withered five fingers gripped the pulse gate on Qin Mu's right wrist, looking up at him with a beaming smile. Qin Mu's left hand naturally rested on the old man's lower back, at the kidney point, gazing at the old man's eyes with concern.
The two laughed heartily. The old man released his pulse gate and waved his hand, saying, "Though this old man is aged, I'm still strong-willed! I can walk on my own! The young master is a good man—one who respects the elderly!"
Qin Mu silently withdrew his left hand and praised, "Elder, you are vigorous despite your years. I admire that."
"Young master!"
The little girl with the pigtail braids ran up to Qin Mu, tilting her head up with bright, sparkling eyes. She held a fruit in her hand, raising it high with her arm stretched straight out. "Young master, eat the fruit!"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the fruit in her hand. It looked like it had just been picked from that tree—the stem was still fresh.
Qin Mu smiled. "I won't eat it. You eat it, little one."
The pigtail girl stretched her arm out, pushing the fruit to his lips, and said crisply, "Young master, eat!"
But just as the fruit reached Qin Mu's lips, his palm was already blocking the way. One finger pressed against the fruit in the girl's hand, gently pushing it back, and he smiled, "You eat it, little one."
The girl struggled with effort, watching as Qin Mu slowly pushed the fruit back to her own lips, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Suddenly, the girl withdrew the fruit and hopped away, running off. "If the young master won't eat, then I'll eat it myself!"
The old man laughed. "The young master has no small amount of strength."
Qin Mu said modestly, "My strength is only a little greater than the little girl's. I'm just a few years older—nothing impressive."
He walked into the village with the old man. The pig-butchering youth carried half a pig and the pig offal into the courtyard.
The middle-aged woman had already finished washing the clothes. She wiped her hands on her clothes and hurriedly greeted Qin Mu, saying, "The young master is a distinguished guest! I've lived here for so long and have never seen anyone with such an air of wealth and nobility as you!"
She circled around Qin Mu, looking him up and down several times, and praised, "Truly handsome!"
Qin Mu smiled and blocked her hand as it reached for his face, saying gently, "Men and women should not touch."
The woman's fingers trembled, but Qin Mu always blocked her at just the right moment. The woman laughed and said, "The young master's hands are handsome too!" With that, she withdrew her hand.
The old woman under the eaves snorted and muttered quietly, "Wandering hands..."
The middle-aged woman glanced at the old woman, her anger flaring, and cursed, "You have the nerve to say that! Your whole family eats, drinks, shits, and sleeps every day—who takes care of all of you if not me? If I weren't here, you'd all be eating the northwest wind! I'm not eyeing the young master's good looks—I'm scouting a husband for the little girl! In this godforsaken mountain village, finding a man is hard enough!"
She cursed for a while, and the old woman was so angry she rolled her eyes repeatedly.
The middle-aged woman stormed back into the room, slamming the door heavily.
The old woman calmed down, raised her blurry old eyes to examine Qin Mu, and said with a kind face, "Young master, what do you think of the little girl? Would you consider staying and forming a marriage?"
The pigtail girl, upon hearing this, was overcome with shame. She hid in the corner of the wall, secretly peeking at him, a blush spreading across her face, too shy to come out.
Qin Mu shook his head. "I am already married. My wife is gentle and virtuous."
The old woman sighed. "What a pity. This old woman's body is not well. Young master, would you be willing to climb that tree and pick a fruit for me?"
She raised her hand and pointed. Qin Mu followed the direction of her finger and saw four fruits hanging from a large tree, along with a blooming flower.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and smiled. "The tree is too tall—I'm afraid I can't climb it. However, I do have a fine sword, extremely sharp. I could just chop the tree down. I've cut down similar trees before."
The old man hastily said, "Don't chop it, don't chop it! If you chop it down, how will we eat the fruits?"
The old woman laughed. "He's truly a young master from the city—can't tell wheat from chaff, doesn't know the five grains. Saying something like chopping down the tree. Though this old woman is advanced in years, I do love beauty. There's no mirror in the village, so I'd trouble the young master to go outside and cut a piece of mirror for me."
She emphasized the words "from the city" heavily.
Qin Mu smiled. "The stone stele outside is too hard—I'm afraid I can't cut it."
The middle-aged woman was inside preparing the pig-slaughter feast, turning the pig offal into various dishes. Qin Mu chatted idly with the old man and old woman outside.
"Your village doesn't have many people, but you have quite a few trees."
Qin Mu glanced around and said, "Six people, eight trees."
The old man laughed. "Where are there six people? Young master, can't you even count? It's clearly our family of five."
Qin Mu glanced at the half pig hanging under the tree at the village entrance, smiled slightly, and said nothing more. He asked, "Elder, when did you move to this peaceful place?"
"I don't remember that."
The old man thought for a moment and said, "I only remember that the world was in chaos, the people had no way to live, and we were driven here by bad people. Young master, is it still chaotic out there?"
Qin Mu clapped his hands in admiration. "You are truly fortunate! It's even more chaotic out there now than before—fighting and killing every day, rivers of blood. It's better here—quiet, prosperous, carefree. Elder, your family should stay here and not go out."
The old woman smiled. "Staying here for so long gets rather boring. We'd still like to go out and stretch our legs."
Qin Mu smiled and shook his head. "It's better not to go out. It's too chaotic outside. I worry about the health of you two elders. If something were to happen, dying out there would be a loss not worth the gain."
The old woman and old man's expressions changed slightly. The old woman raised her hand to pull the hairpin from her head. The old man raised his hand to stop her, shaking his head silently, and the old woman lowered her hand.
Qin Mu pretended not to see and said, "Eight trees, but two extra. May I ask where the other two people are?"
The old man sighed. "As expected, we can't hide it from the young master. The other person is a paralytic. Bedridden for nearly ten years now."
Qin Mu was moved and sighed. "To be honest, I have studied medicine and am quite skilled in the healing arts. I have always had a compassionate heart for saving the dying and healing the wounded. May I ask where this paralytic is? Allow me to go and treat him—perhaps I can cure him."
The old man rose shakily. The middle-aged woman came out of the house, arranging the tables and chairs to set the dishes. Seeing them get up, she said angrily, "We're about to eat! Where are you two going now?"
"The young master knows medicine. He's going to take a look at the paralytic."
The old man seemed afraid of her and quickly said with an apologetic smile, "The paralytic has been lying there for a long time, always needing your care. Maybe the young master can cure him."
The middle-aged woman said suspiciously, "That paralytic needs me to clean up his shit and piss—can that even be cured? Do you really think this young master is a good person?"
"Treat a dead horse as if it were alive, I suppose."
Qin Mu followed the two old people into the room. He saw a young man lying spread-eagled on the sickbed, completely devoid of breath—already a corpse.
Qin Mu looked at this young man. After a long while, he slowly said, "Lord of the Heavenly Capital, I have finally met you."
The old man and old woman's faces changed drastically, and they almost couldn't restrain themselves from attacking and killing him!
The old woman forced a smile. "Does the young master recognize this paralytic?"
"There are not many people qualified to die at the hands of the Master of the Miluo Palace. The Lord of the Heavenly Capital is one of them."
Qin Mu carefully examined the wounds on the paralytic's body. They were wounds caused by Primordial Chaos divine arts—even more complex and profound than the Red Rope Knot he had seen in the Guixu Abyss!
Only the Master of the Miluo Palace possessed such power!
Although the Eldest Young Master had inherited everything the Master of the Miluo Palace had taught, Qin Mu had seen the Eldest Young Master's seals before. Though exquisite, they had not surpassed Qin Mu's knowledge and insight.
But the wounds on this young man's body had already surpassed Qin Mu's knowledge and insight. Only the Master of the Miluo Palace could have left such wounds.
Qin Mu had once viewed the world through the Lord of the Heavenly Capital's perspective, watching the cultivators of the Heavenly Capital join forces to split open the heavens and create the world. He had also seen, through that perspective, the Master of the Miluo Palace murder the Lord of the Heavenly Capital. That was why he could make this judgment.
And the reactions of the old man and old woman confirmed his speculation!
"The Lord of the Heavenly Capital, who opened up the Seventh Era of the universe back then—I never thought his physical body would be suppressed here after death."
Qin Mu straightened his back and shook his head. "His wounds—I cannot heal them. But there is one person who can. The purpose of my journey is to find this person. His name is Taiyi. Do you know him?"
The old woman and old man exchanged a glance and each shook their heads.
Just then, the middle-aged woman's voice came from inside. "The food is ready! You two old bastards, hurry up and invite the young master to eat!"
At the dining table, Qin Mu sat down. The old man and old woman sat with him, the pig-butchering youth sat across from him, and the middle-aged woman continued cooking. The pigtail girl squatted under the tree with a bowl, slurping her food noisily, not sitting at the table.
"In this mountain wilderness, we have no fine wine to offer a young master from the city. Please forgive us."
The old woman was very attentive and said, "Young master, eat!"
Qin Mu did not pick up his chopsticks. He looked around and said, "Eight trees, but only seven people have appeared. Where is the remaining one?"
The old man pretended to be deaf and mute. The middle-aged woman brought a basin of pig-slaughter stew, set it down, wiped her hands on her apron, and said with a simple smile, "What remaining one? Counting the paralytic, there are only six of us. Add the young master, and that makes seven, right? A young master from the city must not be good at arithmetic!"
Qin Mu smiled. "If not everyone is present, how can we start eating?"
The old man opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the pig-butchering youth across from Qin Mu flew into a rage. He pulled out his butcher knife and stabbed it with a thud into the center of the dining table. Killing intent soared to the heavens as he shouted fiercely, "Enough with all this pointless talk! I can't take it anymore! Let's just kill this bastard with the knife!"
The food on the plates flew up in a clatter. Slices of pork and the pig offal from the stew all rose into the air, assembling into half a pig in midair, its eyes bulging wide.
The other half pig hanging at the village entrance sprinted over on two legs. The two halves merged together, and it shouted, "Exactly right! When have we ever been afraid? Who cares if he's the Seventh Young Master of the Miluo Palace—let's just chop him down!"