Old Hu raised his head slightly and looked carefully at Wang Qiang: "Sir, I urgently need money. My father is currently bedridden with illness."
"oh?"
Wang Qiang's eyes lit up.
"If I could cure your father's illness, what would happen?"
Old Hu stared wide-eyed, his expression one of disbelief: "Sir, don't joke with me. You don't look like a doctor to me."
Wang Qiang smiled slightly and told a lie, saying, "I do know a few folk remedies for treating illnesses, so I might as well give them a try."
Old Hu hesitated for a moment before saying, "The doctor said I need to go to a big city for treatment, so I had to painfully cut my wrist to sell this precious sword."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't sell it."
"If you can truly cure my father's illness, then I will give you this precious sword."
Wang Qiang nodded. "Alright, it's a deal then. Let's not delay, why don't we go now? What do you think?"
Old Hu agreed. "Okay, then please follow me."
Wang Qiang followed Lao Hu through a dilapidated courtyard to another residence, which looked old but was very clean.
Upon entering the house, Wang Qiang saw an old man sitting on the earthen bed, covered with three or four quilts. His face was thin, and his skin was sallow.
The old man, who was originally drowsy, seemed to be stimulated when he saw Wang Qiang enter.
Wang Qiang noticed that although the old man's face looked sickly, his eyes were gloomy, and he didn't seem to be sick from his gaze.
As Wang Qiang approached, the old man reacted more and more intensely, gesturing wildly and muttering incoherently, as if telling Wang Qiang not to get closer.
Old Hu was also startled by what he saw. Since his father fell ill, he had been in a daze, and he had never been seen gesticulating and babbling like this before.
He turned around and saw Wang Qiang. “Sir. The doctor said my father’s illness is a rare and difficult-to-diagnose disease. They don’t know the cause at all. He has been paralyzed in bed for several months, and his energy is getting lower and lower.”
"I don't know what's wrong with me today, but seeing you made me feel more energetic."
Wang Qiang calmly watched the elderly man gesticulating wildly, his arms crossed. The old man, under Wang Qiang's gaze, seemed like a cat with thorns stuck in its side. Fear flickered in his gloomy eyes.
"Your father and you were in the same business. He encountered something while going down into the tomb."
Wang Qiang had just finished speaking.
Old Hu looked incredulous. "I believe you now. You can definitely cure my father. He really did become like this after the Western Xia tomb."
Wang Qiang stopped Lao Hu, not letting him continue. "Go out first. Close the door and don't peek."
Old Hu borrowed the Kunwu sword he was carrying and handed it to Wang Qiang.
"Aren't you afraid I'll run away with the stuff?" Wang Qiang took the Kunwu sword.
Old Hu laughed heartily: "I believe you."
After saying that, Lao Hu turned around and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Wang Qiang approached the old man with a grin. The old man's expression grew increasingly fearful. Then, Wang Qiang waved his hand and pulled the old man into the space.
"Who are you?" The voice came from the old man, but it was extremely sharp. Wang Qiang was certain that this was not the old man's original voice.
Are you scared?
Wang Qiang countered with a question.
"You're courting death." The thing attached to the old man seemed to know that he had no way out, and desperately drove the old man's body to pounce on Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang struck out with a palm, sending the old man flying five or six meters away. The old man coughed up black blood, but the blood, once it hit the ground in the spatial dimension, was instantly absorbed and purified.
"Ah, how is this possible? Where am I? Why am I feeling increasingly suffocated?"
The shrill sound grew increasingly terrifying.
"Don't come any closer."
Seeing Wang Qiang walk towards him, the thing manipulated the old man, making him struggle to his feet.
In that instant, Wang Qiang was already in front of him. He grabbed the old man by the shoulder and casually tossed him into the Ruyi Pool.
Immediately following was that piercing sound, a heart-wrenching scream. The sound grew weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely. A wisp of black mist emanated from the old man.
Then it was firmly bound by the Eight Virtues Water in the Ruyi Pool and vanished into nothingness.
Half an hour later.
The old man awoke from the Ruyi Pool.
His previously sallow face had become rosy and radiant. His gloomy eyes had disappeared, replaced by clarity. His once tattered clothes had regained their original color.
The strong earthy smell that had been emanating from his body had also disappeared.
The old man opened his eyes and looked at everything in front of him. Before he could react, Wang Qiang led him out of the space.
"You may come in."
Wang Qiang shouted outside.
Old Hu waited anxiously outside, wanting to peek, but remembering what Wang Qiang had said, he suppressed his curiosity. Then he heard Wang Qiang's voice coming from inside.
Old Hu excitedly pushed open the door and walked in. He found that his father, who had previously looked sickly, was now radiant and full of energy.
Not only did she recover from her illness, but she also seemed to have become younger. She had a faint fragrance on her body, but without the unpleasant odor that is common among elderly people.
"Son, who is this? Am I dreaming?" Old Hu's father was still in a daze. He thought he had just had a dream, but it felt so real.
"Da, this is the doctor who will treat you."
Old Hu told his father what had happened.
After hearing this, Old Hu's father stared at Wang Qiang in disbelief. Suddenly, he said to Old Hu...
"Kneel down and call him Master immediately."
Old Hu looked at his father with some confusion.
"What are you standing there for? Meeting such a master is your good fortune."
Old Hu was an extremely filial son. Upon hearing his father's request, he wanted to become Wang Qiang's apprentice, but Wang Qiang stopped him.
"That won't do. There's a huge age gap between us. Besides, I have no intention of taking on any apprentices."
The old man became somewhat anxious upon hearing Wang Qiang's words. Then, his eyes darted around, and he stood up, saying to Wang Qiang...
"How about this? If you don't mind, sir, I'd like to become sworn brothers with you. And my son can then recognize you as his godfather."
"What?"
Wang Qiang doubted his ears. This old man was at least seventy or eighty years old. He was old enough to be his grandfather, yet now he wanted to become sworn brothers with him.
"Sir, are you still not well?"
The old man laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Yes," Wang Qiang said.
"Sir, you heard me right. To be honest, what we do isn't exactly honorable, but we're just trying to make a living. The thing Natsume encountered that day was called a 'mei,' the 'mei' of 'demons and monsters.'"
"This thing is most adept at bewitching people and controlling their bodies. If I hadn't met you, sir, I'm afraid I would have been devoured by it long ago."
“It’s rare to find someone with such high cultivation these days. As the ancients said, how can one miss an opportunity to befriend a person of great ability? Our meeting today is fate, and I would like to have my son recognize you as his godfather. What do you think?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
