Chapter 104 Master is in a Coma
The days were so peaceful that Ye Chi began to have a kind of illusion—he felt like a shipwrecked sailor who had finally found a harbor to dock in the vast ocean. Here, there was comforting laughter, the tender whispers of a lover, and the free spirit in the wind. Gone was the salty sea breeze; it was as if everything had returned to its original state. Ye Chi thought more than once that this feeling was like an exceptionally beautiful dream, a quagmire that dragged passersby into it, causing them to decay and rot along with it, gradually becoming part of the quagmire in the warm fantasy, turning into insignificant dust.
But dreams must eventually end.
“That’s it, Immortal Lord,” said an elderly woman, her slightly furrowed brows revealing a bright concern and worry. Even with wrinkles pressing against her eyes, a clear light still shone within them—the kind of gaze only the purest and kindest could possess. Her thin, bony hands trembled as she grasped the delicate hand of the person on the bed, stroking it in her palm, her eyes glistening with tears. “A-Ying is still just a child. I’ve been widowed for half my life, and she’s my only family. Please, Immortal Lord, think of a way…”
About two weeks ago, a strange disease suddenly became prevalent among the villagers.
This disease is very cunning. Unlike other common diseases, it doesn't have any warning signs. It comes on suddenly and is extremely violent. Often, villagers are perfectly fine during the day, playing, working in the fields, or doing housework, but at night they develop a high fever and fall into a deep sleep. No one can wake them up. It's like they've fallen into a huge, tangled dream, and they are trapped in it, unable to escape no matter how hard they struggle.
Ye Chi's brows remained furrowed.
The illness not only spread among the villagers, but also reached Ya Feiyu. Just last night, he figured the weather should be getting cooler, and thinking about Ya Feiyu's increasingly frail body, he prepared to gather some firewood to start a fire. After a busy day, he returned home late at night. After taking a bath, he went back to bed and, as usual, held Ya Feiyu in his arms to fall asleep, but was startled by the high temperature of the person in his arms.
Looking at Ya Feiyu's pale face again, it was hard to believe that nothing had happened.
In the past, if Ya Feiyu still possessed spiritual power, he could have attempted to communicate with her directly on a spiritual level. However, Ya Feiyu was now a cripple, and the once abundant spiritual power could not be squeezed out at all, let alone communicate telepathically. He stayed by Ya Feiyu's side for three days without leaving her side, searching for renowned doctors everywhere, examining both mortals and cultivators, but no one could diagnose the cause of Ya Feiyu's illness, only telling him to wait and see.
Wait and see? I'll fucking watch you!
Must we wait until the situation worsens again?!
Ye Chi was indignant at the doctor's incompetence, but he also knew that the current situation was probably not common. At least, he had been in the cultivation world for so many years and had read countless books, yet he was still helpless against this disease. There was no cause, and the infected people had almost nothing in common. He and Ya Feiyu had tried to isolate the patients, but it was of no use at all. The number of infected people continued to rise, and people of all ages, including the old, the weak, women, and children, were infected. Now, not only Ya Feiyu, but even A Ying was infected. This made Ye Chi's already anxious mood even more chaotic.
After much deliberation, he had no choice but to contact Xu Miaomiao. This young girl was a highly talented medical cultivator. Although they hadn't been in contact for quite some time, Ye Chi believed that she would definitely not refuse to come if it concerned Ya Feiyu.
Sure enough, after explaining the situation to her in the morning, a travel-worn figure appeared at the door before evening, followed by Shi Bai. He looked out of breath. As soon as the door opened, he rushed to the bedside without asking any questions. Ye Chi almost thought some big black rat had scurried in.
"Why is Master like this..." Shi Bai held Ya Feiyu's hand, looking at his pale face with great heartache.
Ye Chi rubbed his temples, and upon hearing this, could only sigh heavily. His brows and eyes were full of exhaustion. Shi Bai initially wanted to argue with him, but seeing his haggard appearance, he ultimately said nothing. Ye Chi said, "I don't know what happened either. There are many residents here with similar situations, so there are plenty of samples."
Xu Miaomiao came to the bedside and touched Ya Feiyu's forehead with the back of her hand. As soon as she touched it, she pulled back as if she had been electrocuted: "...So hot."
Ye Chi took a towel soaked in ice water, wrung it out, and placed it on Ya Feiyu's forehead. He pulled over a wooden chair from the table and carefully wiped the sweat from Ya Feiyu's neck. His brows furrowed, and he looked exceptionally gentle. He clearly knew that Ya Feiyu would not be woken up by him, but his voice was still very soft: "Master's fever subsided a bit during the day, so I took the towel off, but the fever returned."
"Although he had a high fever, Master had no other symptoms, just a simple fever and unconsciousness..."
Xu Miaomiao muttered to herself, seemingly unable to discern any problem with Ya Feiyu from his appearance. She gathered spiritual energy in her palm and pressed it against Ya Feiyu's pulse, her brows furrowing slightly, as if she could see the state of Ya Feiyu's body through the spiritual energy. After a long while, she slowly opened her eyes, her dark pupils filled with murky depths, and said, "Master... he's been bewitched by demonic energy."
Ye Chi was immediately taken aback: "Demonic energy?"
Xu Miaomiao nodded slightly. Although the events in Qing Shen Pavilion had caused quite a stir, out of concern for Ya Feiyu, Tantai Yue hadn't told the outside world that Ya Feiyu's golden core had been destroyed. Without spiritual power, the fragile balance between his body and demonic energy was instantly shattered. The energy flowed unchecked in Ya Feiyu's blood until the frail mortal collapsed and fell unconscious. Ye Chi felt a pang of pain, but he quickly sensed something was wrong. "I understand Master's situation, but what about those mortals? They haven't even been exposed to spiritual energy, so why are they also unconscious?"
Xu Miaomiao seemed lost in thought and did not respond. After pondering for a long time, she suddenly left, probably to find other patients, leaving only the silent Shi Bai and Ye Chi in the room.
He had heard everything that had just happened. Shi Bai looked at him hesitantly, choked with emotion for a long time, and then said in a hoarse voice, "Why is there such a strong demonic aura in Master's body? Where is Master's spiritual power?"
Cultivators are exceptionally sensitive to each other's spiritual energy fluctuations, able to immediately sense even the slightest movement, let alone their savior. Shi Bai practically memorized Ya Feiyu's aura. He sensed something was amiss when he arrived; the room only contained Ye Chi's spiritual energy, lacking Ya Feiyu's gentle, warm power. Instead, it was filled with a rampant, raging demonic energy. At first, he thought it was his imagination, or that Ya Feiyu's spiritual energy was temporarily weakened due to unconsciousness.
But the demonic energy has spread to this extent, and unless Ya Feiyu does not have a power within her to counteract it, it is almost impossible.
The only thing in a cultivator's body that can balance and counteract demonic energy is spiritual energy.
In other words, the disappearance of spiritual power was not his illusion, but rather that Ya Feiyu had indeed become a mortal without spiritual power.
Ye Chi didn't answer him, simply sitting on the wooden chair. He and Ya Feiyu, as the core leaders of the villagers, had previously taken turns leading this group of ordinary people. But now, with Ya Feiyu and A Ying falling one after another, disagreements had arisen among the villagers. Ye Chi hadn't had a proper night's sleep for several days in a row, dealing with these matters; the faint dark circles under his eyes made him look like a model worker. He couldn't answer Shi Bai's question, and Shi Bai felt he couldn't question Ye Chi either. After all, only Ye Chi had stood by Ya Feiyu's side during his adversity, so he certainly had no right to criticize him.
But... in his heart, that god who had always been so lofty had now been completely reduced to a mortal. This feeling was both strange and unfamiliar to him. Even someone as powerful as Ya Feiyu, whose name was repeatedly recorded in history books, was so fragile, no different from ordinary people like them...
Shi Bai remained silent, and the two of them, with remarkable tacit understanding, did not utter a single word. They simply stood quietly on either side of Ya Feiyu, waiting for a miracle to happen, waiting for him to open his eyes.
...
“Just as I expected,” Xu Miaomiao said as she pushed open the door again. It was late at night, and the flickering candle seemed about to go out as she did so. She quickly went to the bedside and said, “Everyone has fallen into a long coma because of demonic energy. It’s an illusion that is specifically designed for people with strong desires. Once you are bewitched by the dream, you will never be able to wake up unless you realize it and actively break free from it. No matter how much you call out to it, it will be useless.”
"Deep desires?" Ye Chi raised his eyes, the candlelight making his dark circles even more noticeable. "...What desires would Master have?"
Xu Miaomiao shrugged. "I don't know either."
Shi Bai frowned: "Would it be feasible to play the Qing Shen Qu (a type of folk song)?"
Xu Miaomiao paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then slowly shook her head: "...I don't think it's feasible, unless the power of this piece itself is great enough that only a tiny bit of your spiritual energy is needed to produce an unimaginable effect. Otherwise, the effect should be minimal, and it might even have the opposite effect, and..."
"Even if they realize they are dreaming, they have to be willing to wake up and actively detach themselves from the dream."
She looked at Ya Feiyu, and her usually resolute expression finally softened at this moment, revealing a hint of vulnerability, and one could vaguely see the shadow of her former timidity.
"Although I don't know what kind of dream could trap Master, I will definitely, I will definitely save Master..."
"Just like how my master saved me back then."
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