Harvest

Three days later.

In a remote little village stood low, old mud-brick houses.

The village was not far from Qingya County. When Chen Luo had sought out Old Man Tian that day, he had asked him to take him here. Having taken the money, Old Man Tian had kept his word, spending a day and a half dragging the unconscious Chen Luo out of the mountains.

After staying in the little village for two days and confirming that Chen Luo was out of danger, the four of them finally set out for home.

Tian Danu had lost his job on this trip, and whether his Boss was even alive was anyone's guess. He had to return and find another way to make a living. The brothers Fang Cun and Fang Shan were the same; they had families to feed. Old Man Tian was also preparing to head back. He had been away several days longer than expected, and he feared his old partner would worry.

After trying to persuade them to stay a few times, Chen Laosan rose and saw them out of the village.

"Everyone, thank you!"

Chen Laosan solemnly bowed to the four of them.

"No need to be so polite. We were just doing a job for the money."

Old Man Tian grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

The old man looked slovenly, but he was exceptionally true to his word. This time, he had truly done Chen Luo a great favor.

"Business is business, and gratitude is gratitude."

As he spoke, Chen Laosan took out four money pouches he had prepared long ago and handed one to each of them. The sums were not particularly large, but they were more than enough for Old Man Tian and the others.

A favor that could be repaid with money should be repaid with money.

Chen Laosan no longer lacked such a small amount of money. With the dirty money Chen Luo had looted, he was flush with cash.

After another round of polite back-and-forth, the two sides finally parted ways.

"How do you feel?"

Returning to the village, Chen Laosan pushed open the door. Looking at Chen Luo sitting on the bed with his eyes closed in rest, he asked.

Chen Luo had awakened that morning. It was precisely because they had seen him wake that Old Man Tian and the others had left. First, they wanted to ensure Chen Luo was safe; second, they wanted to see whether Chen Laosan was truly his relative, lest they send him to the wrong place and ruin everything.

That was also Old Man Tian's principle in life. He could take petty advantages, but he would never do anything that pricked his conscience.

"Much better. Have they all left?"

Chen Luo did not explain his experience to Third Uncle in detail. What had happened this time was rather mysterious; saying too much would only be harmful. If they encountered some Martial Arts Master capable of soul-searching, it might bring unnecessary danger to Third Uncle.

"They left. I gave them five hundred taels. The three young men got a hundred taels each, and the old man got an extra hundred."

Chen Laosan pulled over a small stool and sat beside him, tapping the bowl of his smoking pipe twice against the wall, leaving behind a black smear.

His hobbies were that vulgar.

He sought widows in the alleyways and smoked opium at his doorstep.

Back when he had no money, he had to bury corpses to earn a living. Now that Chen Luo had given him a thick stack of banknotes, he had quit the corpse-burying work as well. Qingya County no longer even knew of him, so he might as well retire and live as a leisurely gentleman.

"The favor we owed has been repaid."

"That's good."

Chen Luo nodded. Chen Laosan had already spoken to him about giving them money.

"I never should have taken you to learn martial arts." Chen Laosan raised the pipe to his lips and took a puff. After a long while, he finally forced out those words.

This time, Chen Luo had been hauled back in an ox cart, and it had nearly scared him to death.

Having buried the corpses of Jianghu Wanderers for more than half his life, he had seen far too many dead men. The overwhelming majority had been experts who practiced the Martial Dao. Compared to them, Chen Luo was still far too green.

Fortunately, it had only been a false alarm.

But even so, Chen Laosan had not dared bring him back to the village.

He had feared the old people in the village would worry.

Chen Luo's parents were getting on in years, and there was also a little girl at home. Better fewer troubles than more.

"No. I'm very grateful that Third Uncle helped me change my fate."

Chen Luo shook his head. He did not agree with Chen Laosan's way of thinking.

Practicing the Martial Dao had been an extremely important beginning for him. Crippled Ma's guidance had spared him many detours. Otherwise, even if he could use Brain Borrowing to cultivate, he would have wasted a great deal of time before stepping onto the true path of cultivation.

Had he missed that juncture, he might not have survived the later crisis in Qingya County, let alone snatched an immortal cultivation opportunity from the flames.

"Rest well. Call for me if you need anything."

After finishing a pipeful, Chen Laosan got up and left.

Chen Luo was still recovering. The doctor had said he needed plenty of sleep, so Chen Laosan did not wish to disturb him further.

Watching Third Uncle's retreating figure, Chen Luo slowly closed his eyes on the bed.

This experience had been exceedingly perilous. He had nearly never returned. The Pale Blue Energy that had killed Old Daoist Lichen remained within his body, neither dispersing nor merging with him.

Under the influence of that power, his consciousness and body had constantly felt out of sync. He had tried to mobilize the energy, but without the Blue Gem's boost, neither the Jade Slip nor the energy inside the body paid him any heed.

Fortunately, his physical injuries had mostly recovered.

The recovery ability of a Bone Forging Realm martial artist was truly formidable. Had an ordinary person suffered such grave injuries, they would have needed to lie in bed for at least half a year before getting back on their feet.

"The body's assimilation rate is very slow, and only the Royal Family Brain can absorb this power. Even if I cultivate with the Royal Family Brain every day, I can only digest a single wisp. Any more, and I can't bear it."

Chen Luo summarized the results of using the Royal Family Brain to cultivate over the past two days.

What he called mobilizing it was merely repeating the process from when the Jade Slip had erupted, still using the Internal Qi of the Black Tiger Fist.

This method had an extremely low conversion rate and was also exhausting to use.

It felt like using human strength to pull a massive cart.

They were incompatible.

But he had no choice for now and could only make do. Fortunately, Blue Energy was of an extremely high level. Even if it was only the tiniest wisp, Chen Luo's strength had undergone earth-shaking changes. At the very least, ordinary Grandmasters were no longer enemies he could not contend against.

"I just wonder what exactly the 'Immortal Script' represents."

Chen Luo recalled Old Daoist Lichen's words before his death.

That old daoist had definitely known something, but unfortunately, he was already dead. Even if he were alive, he certainly would not have told Chen Luo. He would most likely have wanted to kill him and swallow all the benefits alone.

He reached up and touched the Jade Slip at his chest. It was still tucked in his clothes, looking utterly ordinary in daily life. Only when Chen Luo mobilized the Pale Blue Energy did it give off a little warmth. Apart from that, there was no other abnormality.

After putting the Jade Slip away again, Chen Luo closed his eyes and slowly drifted into sleep.

The External Brains appeared one after another, using their own methods to try and digest the Pale Blue Energy. Over the entire night, every one of the more than one hundred brains took a turn. The result was the same as before: only the Royal Family Brain succeeded.

And so, in the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

Half a month later, Chen Luo could finally go outside. The wounds on the surface of his body had mostly healed as well.

The feeling of discord remained, but it no longer affected his movements.

After informing Third Uncle, he left the house.

On his first day out, Chen Luo went straight into the county and treated himself to a lavish meal. Fish, meat—he ate whatever was available. He had been lying in bed these past days, following the doctor's orders to eat bland tea and simple food every day. His mouth had nearly faded into a bird's beak.

He did not rise to leave until noon.

After leaving the restaurant, Chen Luo first went to the County Yamen.

The Qingya County Yamen, having endured its calamity, had now changed hands. The stationed military officer had also been replaced. No one knew where Commander Zhu had been transferred, and all the newcomers were unfamiliar faces.

"Luoxia Valley is still fighting. I heard they discovered a gold mine."

"Even Corpse Buriers aren't enough. Who knows whether there'll be mutations later on."

The idle chatter of several yamen runners reached his ears.

Chen Luo glanced back, then turned onto another street.

He did not rashly infiltrate the County Yamen. After the previous incident, the people residing there now were surely all experts. By his calculations, Prince Ning's people should have arrived as well. Sneaking into the County Yamen at a time like this would be no different from delivering himself to their door.