In the days that followed, Duan Mingyu stayed at home every day, unsure of what to do with himself, merely waiting for Rong Lü to return from the town. He had inquired about chores that could be done at home and heard that the locals often did handicrafts to supplement their income, so he decided to give it a try. However, he couldn't even remember the last time he had held a needle and thread. Naturally, the items he produced were unsellable, so he simply used the work to practice his skills and pass the time.
Rong Lü’s efficiency in earning money was quite high. He still possessed many spirit herbs brought from the cultivation world. Although selling them in large quantities would certainly attract unwanted attention, he made a point of traveling to different locations to sell small amounts. Once he had exchanged them for a substantial amount of silver, he immediately stopped.
Duan Mingyu, who lived in constant trepidation at home, gradually realized that the people from the cultivation world truly didn't seem to be pursuing them. Moreover, whenever Rong Lü returned, he brought back plenty of food, clothing, and silver. Their bare-walled thatched hut was soon furnished comfortably, and the panic of running out of Inedia Pills vanished.
"But Brother Rong Lü, our spirit herbs will run out one day. What will we do then?"
Hearing Duan Mingyu’s question, Rong Lü looked at the remaining silver and comforted him, "Actually, if we use this silver sparingly, it’s enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years. But I know we grew accustomed to life in the cultivation world and might not adapt to this kind of food... I’ll see if I can start a small business in town."
"That would be for the best," Duan Mingyu nodded. "Can I go to the town too?"
"It’s better if you don't. We don't have many Disguise Pills left. My face is nothing special, but you are so strikingly handsome; if you go out as you are, it would be too easy to attract attention." Rong Lü understood Duan Mingyu’s feelings, but he remained firm in his disapproval.
Duan Mingyu nodded gloomily, though the thought that Rong Lü was praising his appearance made him feel a bit better.
Early the next morning, Rong Lü set out. This trip might require him to stay in the town for a few days before returning. He was not a man of many words and wasn't really cut out for business, but manual labor paid far too slowly. For Duan Mingyu’s sake, he could only brace himself and try.
For the first few days after he left, Duan Mingyu stayed home obediently. But as time passed and Rong Lü still hadn't returned, he began to worry. There was only one communication crystal left in his storage bag; it would be too wasteful to use it for anything other than an emergency. Duan Mingyu held it for a while before tucking it back away.
To be honest, after staying in the mortal realm for this long, Duan Mingyu’s sense of crisis had largely faded. In the capital or large cities, there might still be noble families with channels to contact the cultivation world, but in this backwater wilderness, the villagers hadn't even heard of what a "cultivator" actually was. He felt that even if he went out occasionally, it shouldn't be a problem.
With this thought in mind, he changed into a set of plain cotton clothes, wrapped a headscarf around his head, and ran out. In such cold weather, many villagers bundled up this way for warmth. Although he was a newcomer, his appearance was likable. The villagers—especially the men and the elderly—found him handsome and felt an instinctive goodwill toward him. Seeing him wandering like a headless fly looking for the way, they eagerly told him how to catch a bullock cart to the nearest town.
The bullock cart jolted for two hours, leaving Duan Mingyu’s backside aching from the bumps. It wasn't until they reached the town that he let out a long sigh of relief. He tentatively pulled out a tael of silver to give to the driver. The driver had never seen a villager pull out a whole tael of silver for a single ride and hurriedly said he didn't have enough change. Duan Mingyu was distressed; Rong Lü had given him silver, but no copper coins. Seeing his predicament, the driver told him to go about his business and just come back to pay him once he had broken the silver into change in the town.
Duan Mingyu beamed, thinking he had truly met a good person. Looking at the town and marketplace, which were significantly more prosperous than the small village, he was overjoyed. He hopped off the wooden cart, saying he would return as soon as he found his companion.
The driver waited in place. After a short while, a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties approached. Dressed as a poor scholar, he asked if the driver was leaving.
"Well... I promised that young lad just now that I’d take him back to Hexi Village." The driver jerked his chin toward the direction Duan Mingyu had gone, signaling to the man.
"As it happens, I need to go that way as well. I'm in no hurry." Since the man said this, the driver figured it was fine and let him climb onto the cart to wait.
While waiting, the man naturally struck up a conversation. At first, it was just idle chatter about daily life, but gradually the topic shifted toward Duan Mingyu. The driver was a simple farmer and hadn't expected a learned man to be so willing to chat with him. He happily and enthusiastically told the scholar that Duan Mingyu and his brother had moved to the village not long ago, and that he had come to town this time to find someone.
The man nodded thoughtfully, then drifted the conversation to other matters.
Duan Mingyu’s search for Rong Lü was relatively smooth. He found out that the man had taken a job as a hired hand at a gambling den in town. Initially, the boss said they weren't short on hands, but after Rong Lü showed off a bit of his skill to the cheers of the crowd, the boss kept him on.
When Rong Lü saw Duan Mingyu run into town with only a headscarf for a disguise, he was frightened out of his wits. A gambling den was full of all sorts of people. He quickly pulled Duan Mingyu into a nearby alley and said sternly, "Why didn't you listen to me!"
Duan Mingyu hadn't received the joyful smile he expected from the man he came to visit. Instead, he was scolded. His whole body trembled, and tears immediately welled up. "You didn't come back for days. I was worried about you, so I ran out. I took a bullock cart here, and the jolting hurt so much..."
Seeing him cry out of grievance, Rong Lü immediately softened his tone and apologized. After a bit of coaxing, Duan Mingyu finally stopped his tears.
"On your way here, did anyone follow you or act strangely?"
"Of course not. In a small place like this, how could there be anyone from the cultivation world? Besides, the people here are very warm-hearted," Duan Mingyu said.
Hearing this, and considering what he had learned about the local situation recently, Rong Lü felt slightly more at ease. However, he refused to let Duan Mingyu stay. He told him to wait while he went to the nearby incense shop and restaurant to buy some things and get some copper change so that Duan Mingyu could head straight home.
Having finally made it to a town, Duan Mingyu was disappointed that he couldn't even enter the shops himself. But he also knew there were many people passing through those places, and it was safer for Rong Lü to go.
Carrying the incense and packed food, Rong Lü personally escorted Duan Mingyu to the edge of town before turning back in a hurry, not daring to leave his post for too long.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Duan Mingyu returned to the bullock cart and handed the driver the fare he owed from the trip there plus the return fare in copper coins.
He climbed onto the wooden cart clutching his things, only to see another man sitting opposite him.
"Young lad, it's rare to see someone go out carrying only silver and no copper coins! I imagine you weren't raised in a peasant family, were you?"
Hearing this playful remark, Duan Mingyu looked at him with a hint of wariness.
The man didn't press further, instead changing the subject. "My family fell on hard times as well, leaving me to scratch out a living by writing in this small place. Every family has its own cross to bear..."
Hearing the man start to pour out his woes, Duan Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief. He figured he had just run into a talkative fellow traveler.
The road back to the village was long. As they spoke, the atmosphere between them became less tense, and Duan Mingyu gradually lowered his guard. Seeing Duan Mingyu smile for the first time during their conversation, the man glanced at him and asked, "It seems your elder brother works in the town; it truly isn't easy. I see you should be literate. Would you like to earn some money by writing letters or copying books?"
Duan Mingyu had only been chatting casually, but hearing that he could earn money just by writing piqued his interest. Right, how could he have forgotten? Not everyone in the mortal realm was literate!
"How would I earn it?"
"As long as you have the heart for it, it's easy to arrange. I happen to know a shopkeeper in that line of work. If you don't mind, I can bring some books to you next time and come to collect them periodically. You'd just need to give me a small errand fee."
Duan Mingyu nodded. This way, he could earn silver without having to leave the house all the time—it was the best of both worlds. Thus, he told the scholar where he lived.
Back at home, Duan Mingyu was incredibly excited; he finally had work to do. He tossed the needlework he was so bad at into a bamboo basket and set it aside, looking forward to the man’s visit.
During this time, Rong Lü returned once. Duan Mingyu hesitated over whether to tell him about this, but remembering how Rong Lü had shouted at him just for going to the town, he felt a bit hurt. If he spoke now, Rong Lü would surely stop him. With that in mind, Duan Mingyu decided to copy some books and sell them first. Once he had earned some money, he would tell Rong Lü and give him a surprise, proving that he could earn silver even while staying at home.
A few days later, the scholar arrived. Duan Mingyu politely invited him inside for tea. The man said he was getting older and his eyes grew blurry after copying for too long, so such tasks were increasingly left to young people like Duan Mingyu.
"You only look to be in your thirties; how can you be considered old!" Duan Mingyu was amused by him. He thought to himself that he was also in his thirties, but unless a cultivator chose otherwise, their appearance remained eternally youthful, which was why he always looked like he was seventeen or eighteen.
The first time Duan Mingyu handed over the copied books, he was worried the man was a swindler tricking him into free labor. However, after some time, the man did indeed bring the money. Only then did Duan Mingyu truly set his heart at ease and begin to interact with him frequently.
As luck would have it, every time the scholar visited, Rong Lü happened to be away. Duan Mingyu even thought about letting Rong Lü meet the man when the opportunity arose. Based on his apparent age, this man was more than a full cycle older than Duan Mingyu, making him something of an elder. Furthermore, hearing that Duan Mingyu liked sweets, he would occasionally bring pastries made by his wife. At first, Duan Mingyu was uneasy and even found an animal to test the food. Finding that it was truly just ordinary food, he began to enjoy it without worry.
Rong Lü still only returned once in a long while, but when he did, he always brought plenty of delicious food and clothes made of fine fabric. Duan Mingyu thought about when to tell him about earning money through writing, but whenever the two met after a long absence, they couldn't help but fall into a passionate embrace and end up in bed. After several times, he still hadn't found the right moment.
On this day, it happened to be snowing heavily. Duan Mingyu remembered it was the appointed time for the scholar to collect the copies. He weighed the silver in his purse, thinking that perhaps when spring came, he could discuss moving away from this dilapidated village with Rong Lü and buying a better residence in town. Although they couldn't return to the cultivation world for the time being, there was no need for them to live so poorly in the mortal realm.
The only problem was cultivation. Without advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, they had no power to resist, yet even if he sat in meditation here in the mortal realm, his cultivation showed no signs of increasing. Duan Mingyu felt troubled at the thought.
Just then, the wooden gate outside the courtyard was knocked upon. Duan Mingyu hurried to open it.
"With such heavy snow, I thought you wouldn't come today."
"A promise made is a promise kept. I would never break my word," the man said resonantly.
Duan Mingyu smiled. "That's true! Come in quickly. I've already prepared everything."
He turned to walk into the room, failing to see the flash of a sneer on the visitor's face.
The weather was cold. Although they burned charcoal, Duan Mingyu was naturally prone to coldness; his hands were always stiff, so he hadn't copied many volumes. He handed the items to the man, who checked them over and handed him some copper coins and a package of snacks. "Business hasn't been good lately, so there's a bit less money. Take this food as a substitute."
Duan Mingyu expressed his understanding. After exchanging a few pleasantries as usual, the scholar left.
After closing the door, Duan Mingyu unwrapped the cloth covering the food box to find several servings of hawthorn lotus root slices. Every time the man brought pastries, there were only a few pieces, finished in two bites. However, since the man said his wife brought them along after making them for the family, Duan Mingyu thought it was normal.
As was his habit, he sipped hot tea to warm his hands while tasting the food. Just as he felt in the mood to go to his desk and look at some leisure books, he stood up and took two steps before suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness. His voice was trapped in his throat.
With a *thud*, he collapsed to the floor. Duan Mingyu frantically tried to circulate his spiritual power, only to find that his body showed no signs of recovery.
Was he going to die like this...?
Duan Mingyu’s mind went blank with panic, and all color drained from his face.
Not long after he fell, he heard a *creak* as the wooden door was pushed open again. Duan Mingyu struggled violently, a light of hope appearing in his eyes—it must be Brother Rong Lü who had returned!
But from his fixed perspective on the floor, he only saw a pair of shoe soles that he seemed to have just seen moments ago.
"Are you alright?"
Realizing the person was the very scholar who had just left, Duan Mingyu instinctively wanted to call for help. But then, remembering that he had lost all strength in his body after eating the food the man had given him, he tried to curl up in terror.
"Haha, hahahaha..."
Duan Mingyu heard the man let out a laugh that made his skin crawl. His pupils trembled as he wanted to ask why the man was doing this. He didn't sense that the man was a fellow cultivator. If it was for money, he was willing to give away all the silver in the house!
"I don't know why you've also been reduced to this... but in a world so large, for me to run into you like this, your luck is truly terrible." The kindness was long gone from the scholar's face, replaced by a look of madness in his eyes.
*Also...?*
Duan Mingyu was certain he had never met this man before.
"You... wrong person..."
Hearing the words Duan Mingyu struggled to squeeze out, the man sneered. "How could I possibly have the wrong person? I didn't expect that even now, you still wouldn't remember me. That's right, thanks to you, my face is much older than it was then, but I'm not completely unrecognizable. Ha, haha... I knew it. You never cared about me at all... I was foolish enough to help you, only to end up having my spiritual root destroyed by Qu Zhanmeng and being tossed back into the mortal realm. Haha..."
Duan Mingyu froze. After a long while, it finally clicked. "You... you're that..."
The man fell silent and stopped answering. He looked at the person he once thought was like a celestial being, now crawling on the ground and struggling bitterly. The last trace of emotion vanished from his eyes. He hadn't expected that even at this final moment of revelation, Duan Mingyu would not feel even a shred of familiarity toward him.
"Aaaah! It—it hurts! Aaaah—!"
Duan Mingyu let out a heart-wrenching howl, his voice so sharp it was almost ear-piercing. He was powerless to struggle or see what was happening, but he could feel something sharp piercing through his abdomen. He had never suffered such a severe injury in his life, and he didn't even have blood-stanching grass or Spirit-Returning Pills nearby. The man before him showed no pity upon hearing his screams; instead, he laughed with satisfaction.
He's mad! Duan Mingyu thought through the gaps of pain that threatened to make him faint. Was he actually going to be killed by a mortal who didn't even have a spiritual root anymore?
Despite Duan Mingyu’s screams, Rong Lü had specifically chosen a house at the foot of a mountain slightly far from the village to avoid detection. With the heavy snow falling, not a single villager could hear his cries for help.
"No... I don't want to die... It hurts so much... ah..."
Duan Mingyu moaned with a breath as thin as silk. The overwhelming pain seemed to break through the paralysis brought by the drug. He forced himself to reach into his storage space and crushed the communication crystal.
The man before him watched him do this but did not stop him.
How long would it take for Rong Lü to return? Before Duan Mingyu could even think of an answer, he suddenly felt a pain in his abdomen even more unbearable than before. It wasn't just the wound; it was the sensation of something shattering. The agony spread from his abdomen, permeating his entire body.
"Ah... my spiritual power..." Duan Mingyu felt in horror as if his body were riddled with holes. His spiritual energy leaked out rapidly, and no matter how he tried to circulate it, he could not gather it.
If the previous agony was merely physical pain, now Duan Mingyu was experiencing for the first time the icy, powerless sensation of massive blood loss.
"I don't want you to die so quickly..."
Duan Mingyu couldn't hear the words that followed. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead. Through his blurred vision, he seemed to see his skin gradually undergoing some kind of change...
At that moment, the wooden door was violently kicked open. Rong Lü leaped down from his flying sword, rushing in like a madman. With one stroke of his sword, he took the man's life. The man didn't even seem to intend to flee; he laughed loudly and was dead on the floor within seconds.
"Mingyu! Mingyu! How could this... Quick! The pills, the pills..." Rong Lü’s voice, filled with remorse and panic, reached his ears. Duan Mingyu felt something being fed into his mouth. Sensing that he was likely saved, he finally closed his eyes and lost consciousness completely.
***
