Chapter 204: Qin Mu's Dark Past

Qin Mu and the Cripple stared at each other. Granduncle Ma, ever cold-faced but warm-hearted, said, "You're both adults now, don't throw tantrums. We came to see how you've been doing, and also to let you see if our hands and legs are still usable."

The Cripple chuckled, "Granduncle Ma traveled all the way from Great Thunderclap Temple, so you should know he specifically came to see you. Great Thunderclap Temple is tens of thousands of miles from here, but only two or three thousand miles from Disabled Elderly Village. As for me, I certainly didn't come to see you; my leg is at the Imperial Preceptor's Residence, which is closest to you."

Qin Mu felt a warmth in his heart. Granduncle Ma said, "Don't mind the Cripple's sarcastic remarks; he's actually a good person. When you were little, you often wet the bed. Grandma had never raised children, and you annoyed her so much that she wanted to give you away to the next village. The first day she sent you there, the next day you were back in Grandma's bed. After she sent you away several times, you'd inexplicably return each time. Of course, it was the Cripple who snuck you back."

The Cripple shook his head, "No way. I hate children the most. If I didn't only have one leg, I'd kick his backside every day."

Qin Mu felt a pang in his chest, somewhat disbelieving. "When I was little, I wet the bed, and Grandma wanted to give me away? Grandma loved me so much..."

"She sent you away several times."

Granduncle Ma continued, "Grandma had never given birth or raised a child. You peed like a waterfall, cried at night, cried when hungry, cried when full, cried when you couldn't sleep. Even the cow in the pen was almost driven mad by your crying in the middle of the night. It's no wonder Grandma was annoyed; the few of us old folks were bothered terribly too. At the time, the Village Chief and the Apothecary also said it would be better to send you away, for some peace and quiet."

Qin Mu's chest ached even more. His face darkened as he said, "Granduncle Village Chief and Granduncle Apothecary also said they wanted to send me away? How come I never knew about this?"

The Cripple chuckled, "You weren't even a year old then, how could you remember? It wasn't just that you wet the bed every day; the crucial thing was you also soiled it. The Mute originally said he'd give you away, along with a milk-producing cow. But then you stopped wetting the bed, which is why you weren't given to someone else..."

"Granduncle Mute also wanted to give me away?"

Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then said, "At least Granduncle Blind and Granduncle Deaf loved me."

Granduncle Ma said, "The Blind Man certainly loved you. But ever since he picked you up to play 'airplane' and you peed on his face, he said nothing when Grandma sent you away."

The Cripple said, "When you were little, the Deaf Man was most annoyed by you. You'd always climb onto his desk, getting ink everywhere, and even pee in his inkstone..."

He sighed, "You were still cute when you wet the bed. You stopped being cute as you grew a little older, climbing onto the village's stone statues to pee."

Qin Mu was greatly disheartened. He said with a strained voice, "Granduncle Ma, Granduncle Cripple, I'm the Cult Master of the Heavenly Devil Cult now, can we please stop talking about bed-wetting? I'll go check your legs and arms."

The Cripple laughed at Granduncle Ma, "Even after I'm dead and in my coffin, thinking about Grandma giving him away for wetting the bed will make me jump up laughing."

Granduncle Ma revealed a hint of a smile. "Me too."

Qin Mu, with a darkened face, walked into the courtyard, brought in the alchemy furnace and medicine cauldron, and began examining their arms and legs. He then took out the Shao Bao Sword, made a small incision on the Cripple's leg, and carefully examined a few drops of blood.

A moment later, he also cut Granduncle Ma's arm, took out a few drops of blood, studied them for a while, and said, "Although nearly half of the life force in Granduncle Ma's arm has been consumed, it has been preserved remarkably well. It's as if someone used Buddhist incantations to vibrate the blood within the arm, keeping it fresh. With some elixirs, its vitality can be restored, allowing it to be reattached. After a few more years of refinement, it will be as good as new."

Granduncle Ma said, "My arm was placed in the Pagoda of a Thousand Buddhas. The Pagoda contains the physical bodies of past Tathagatas, and monks recite incantations day and night to maintain their vitality."

Qin Mu was startled and exclaimed, "Are there really a thousand Buddhas in Great Thunderclap Temple?"

Granduncle Ma shook his head. "I haven't counted, but there should be."

Qin Mu composed himself and examined the Cripple's leg. He said, "Granduncle Cripple's leg... the blood has gone bad, and the leg is dead. It cannot be reattached."

The Cripple's face turned pale, and his smile vanished. He cried out, "How is that possible? I'm renowned throughout the world as 'Divine Leg'; these two legs were refined to a divine realm! How could they be dead? Besides, my leg was only cut off recently, just twenty or thirty years ago. I refuse to believe my leg is inferior to Granduncle Ma's divine fist; it must still be alive!"

Qin Mu showed a guileless smile. "Granduncle Cripple, please accept my condolences; it's dead and can't be reattached. Also, I just tasted your blood, and it had traces of five-spice powder and a smoky flavor. I suspect the Imperial Preceptor turned this leg into cured ham."

The Cripple laughed out of anger. "You brat, trying to fool me again! Is the Imperial Preceptor so poor he'd cure my leg for food?"

He then became anxious. "That fellow, the Imperial Preceptor, is indeed very poor. He didn't actually turn it into cured meat, did he?"

Qin Mu looked triumphant.

Granduncle Ma said, "Don't scare him. Thieves are timid."

Qin Mu chuckled, "Although Granduncle Ma's arm and Granduncle Cripple's leg have less vitality than Granduncle Butcher's lower body, fortunately, their life force remains. I'll first use medicine to nourish the vitality of your severed limbs. In ten days to half a month, they should be vital enough for revival. Reattaching them then won't be an issue. Granduncle Butcher's lower body grew on the Witch Venerable's body, leaving no hidden problems, but yours are slightly different as they weren't nourished by a living body."

Granduncle Ma and the Cripple each breathed a sigh of relief. Granduncle Ma said, "As long as they can be reattached, it's fine."

The Cripple chuckled, "I took a portion of each spirit medicine from the imperial treasury. See which ones you can use. If any are missing, I'll go... um, 'borrow' some more."

"No need, the Imperial Academy's treasury should have these herbs."

Qin Mu walked into the courtyard, about to inspect the types of spirit medicines, when suddenly Fox Spirit'er's voice came from outside, saying, "Young Master, the Imperial Preceptor is here to visit."

"The Imperial Preceptor again? Did Granduncle Cripple's incident come to light, and he tracked it back to me?"

Qin Mu's expression became serious. He turned around, closed the main hall door, straightened his clothes, and then opened the door to see Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang standing outside. The awe-inspiring middle-aged man seemed a bit awkward. After standing there for a while, he slowly said, "Doctor of the Imperial Academy, you are immensely wealthy; may I borrow some money?"

Qin Mu felt puzzled and chuckled, "Imperial Preceptor, did you come this time just to borrow money? How could the esteemed Imperial Preceptor of Yan Kang be short on funds?"

Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang was silent for a moment, then said, "I was away on a campaign, and my home was ransacked by thieves, completely emptied. Now I am quite broke, and I need to go pay my condolences at the Zhenbei Prince's Residence, so my finances are indeed a bit tight..."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. "Did Granduncle Cripple clear out the Imperial Preceptor's Residence, leaving him with no money at all? Granduncle Cripple might be missing a leg, but he's much more agile than me."

He chuckled, "Imperial Preceptor, how much do you need?"

Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang calculated for a moment and said, "My monthly salary is eight hundred Da Feng coins. I'll just borrow a month's salary to get through this difficulty for now."

Qin Mu said to Fox Spirit'er, "Spirit'er, bring a thousand Da Feng coins and give them to the Imperial Preceptor."

Fox Spirit'er acknowledged and went into the room.

Qin Mu chuckled, "How could the Imperial Preceptor be so impoverished?"

Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang shook his head. "Too many external possessions can hinder cultivation and wisdom. When desires are few, money becomes less important."

Suddenly, his eyes flickered, and he smiled slightly. "There are others in your room, a very powerful presence, like a Tathagata sitting there, unmoving... No, it should be two people. That person's body merges with heaven and earth, elusive, seeming ready to escape at any moment—a very clever movement technique that almost made me overlook him! Doctor, why don't you invite me in to sit?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "Imperial Preceptor, I won't invite you in after all. My elders have arrived, and they are injured, so it's not convenient for them to meet anyone."

Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang said, "So they are injured. No wonder there are so many spirit medicines in the courtyard. I am also injured, so it's indeed inconvenient to disturb them."

Fox Spirit'er walked over, carrying a large money bag. Qin Mu took the bag, handed it to Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang, and chuckled, "Imperial Preceptor, if you are not well-off, you don't have to return it. Imperial Preceptor, a noble person can endure poverty, but they don't have to be poor. Poverty is not a prerequisite for being a noble person."

Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang said, "I will return it. Once the Emperor's reward arrives in a few days, I can repay you. For now, this is just to get through these next few days."

He thanked him and took his leave.

Qin Mu waited until he was far away, then had Fox Spirit'er and Dragon Qilin guard outside. He walked into the main hall and asked, "Granduncle Cripple, did you empty out the Imperial Preceptor's Residence?"

"Empty out what?"

The Cripple shook his head. "His Imperial Preceptor's Residence didn't have much money to begin with, not even a single valuable piece of furniture. The most valuable thing there was probably the Deaf Man's painting, which is a priceless treasure."

Qin Mu was puzzled. Was Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang truly so impoverished? He was a powerful and influential minister at court; how could he have no assets? Some officials in Yan Kang bought mines, established smelting plants and foundries, and accumulated countless riches. As the Imperial Preceptor, how could he be so poor?

The Cripple produced a scroll from somewhere and unrolled it. "This 'Sword God Carrying Sword' scroll, it must be the Village Chief, right? The Village Chief in his younger days. That fellow the Deaf Man must have seen the Village Chief when he was young. Tsk, tsk, this painting shouldn't be looked at. One glance and you'll go blind..."

He rolled up the 'Sword God Carrying Sword' scroll and tossed it to Qin Mu. "Here, it's for you. Use it to ward off evil. If the Village Chief painted by the Deaf Man is used to ward off evil, even ghosts and gods will find it hard to approach. Don't open it; your cultivation is not strong enough. One glance and your eyes will go blind, and you'll die! The Deaf Man's painting dao hadn't reached the divine realm back then, but the person he painted was too powerful for you to behold."

Qin Mu was half-believing, half-doubting. He rolled up the painting and placed it in his Taotie bag.

Granduncle Ma said, "The Deaf Man indeed met the Village Chief. He respected and admired him, and in the village, his relationship with the Mute was the best. Now that the Mute left without a word, I reckon the Deaf Man won't be able to stay put either and will surely come out to look for him."

Qin Mu felt touched. Since he left the village, the residents of Disabled Elderly Village had also gradually left. Although these old men and women claimed not to miss him, they all left the village for his sake.

He concentrated on identifying the spirit medicines the Cripple had "borrowed" from the imperial palace. He thought, "The herbs from the imperial palace are indeed rare treasures, only slightly inferior to those in Granduncle Apothecary's herb garden. They are truly precious spirit medicines!"

With these spirit medicines, he already had a prescription to nourish Granduncle Ma's arm and Granduncle Cripple's divine leg. He only needed to procure some auxiliary herbs from the Imperial Academy's treasury.