The Cure for Mad Demon Disease

Seeing how well-mannered Chen Mo was, Chen Yin Fu felt relieved and waved his hand repeatedly. "There's no need to be so polite. I'm old now, so I can only count on you to make something of yourself. Sit down and talk."

Only then did Chen Mo sit. "Father, do you know the origins of Black Mountain Stronghold? And how powerful are the arts they practice against ghosts and evil sorcery?"

Chen Yin Fu shook his head. "Black Mountain Stronghold has always been mysterious. I don't know much about it, but Daoist Priest Li mentioned a few things to me when he performed the ritual for you last time."

Chen Mo immediately perked up. "Please tell me more, Father."

Chen Yin Fu said, "I didn't know there was a place like Black Mountain Stronghold outside the city, much less that Daoist Priest Li existed. It was Third Master of the Xie Family who told me. I was only able to invite Daoist Priest Li because Third Master vouched for me.

"I asked Daoist Priest Li a few questions while he was here. From what I gathered, Black Mountain Stronghold had ties to the Red Lantern Society, and the arts they practiced also came from the Red Lantern Society. But I don't know exactly what kind of relationship they have."

Third Master of the Xie Family... Wasn't that Xie Dong's Third Uncle, Xie Lianghong, the coroner at the County Office?

Black Mountain Stronghold... the Red Lantern Society.

No wonder Daoist Priest Li had murmured blessings from Goddess Hong Deng when he performed the ritual for Chen Mo, and even brought along a statue of her.

In Honghe County, Goddess Hong Deng was the only deity. Everyone revered her and offered incense.

And it was her arts that evil spirits and demons feared most.

But the Red Lantern Society had impossibly high standards and looked down on the Chen Family. Going there to learn was clearly out of the question. If Chen Mo could learn a few things at Black Mountain Stronghold, that would be wonderful.

When Chen Mo returned to the East Courtyard, he immediately told Qiulan to buy some Cold Night Grass at the pharmacy. Then he went back to the main room and shut the door.

He took out the Paper Figure and examined it closely.

There was nothing unusual about its appearance. It was simply marked with Chen Mo's name and Eight Characters of Birth.

And yet this little thing had nearly killed him.

Chen Mo was already a second-level Muscle Refining Realm martial artist. Among the many guards at Chen Mansion, his strength was above average. Yet when faced with this Paper Figure, he'd been completely powerless to fight back.

Even now, thinking about it made Chen Mo's heart pound with lingering fear.

He felt so terribly unsafe.

The Nightmare Suppression Technique...

Granny Li had failed to abduct him this time. She would surely try again.

But that raised a question...

Granny Li had clearly used a Red Candle to show him the way last time. Why had she suddenly set her sights on him?

What did she want to abduct him for?

Could it be because of her youngest daughter?

But even if Granny Li abducted him, what could she use him for in her daughter's case?

Chen Mo couldn't figure it out, and his unease only grew.

The greatest fear was the fear of the unknown.

Having an old woman like that set her sights on him made Chen Mo feel as if thorns were pricking his back. He couldn't feel at ease.

"In the end, I'm still too weak! That's why trouble keeps finding me. The hemp rope always snaps at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds the wretched. That's just how it is."

"I'll have to train hard from now on if I want to protect myself. There's still some time before Li Yuanlong's birthday. I'll master Blazing Palm first."

With that thought, Chen Mo no longer felt like resting. He began practicing Mysterious Yin Hand and Fuyang Saber Technique in his room.

At a quarter past five, Qiulan returned with the Cold Night Grass, just as he'd hoped.

The Cold Night Grass looked similar to the stems and leaves of Lycoris Radiata, but it was shorter and thicker, with much sturdier leaves.

Its strange, fragrant scent wafted into the air.

Just one breath of it left him feeling refreshed and clear-headed, as if it could wake the mind.

Qiulan reminded him, "The Pharmacy Manager warned me repeatedly that Cold Night Grass has a cold toxin and must be taken with caution. Too much can trigger the poison and cause all sorts of unpleasant symptoms—vomiting, diarrhea, chills, and so on..."

Chen Mo didn't think much of it. "It's fine. Take it and boil it."

By the time Qiulan had finished preparing the medicine, night had fallen. Chen Mo picked it up and drank.

With every sip, his body grew colder. His muscles and bones clenched, and bone-deep chills gathered in his stomach, as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar.

But Chen Mo had his Golden Finger, so he wasn't worried. He began practicing Blazing Palm.

Before long, the cold toxin began to spread as he circulated his energy through Blazing Palm. In the end, it infused the force of his palm technique, greatly accelerating his progress.

"It really does work wonders..."

"At this rate, I should be able to master the first level, Inch Force, in just a few days."

Lei Family Martial Arts School.

Liu Cui, Lei Peng's wife, waited at home for him to return.

At last, Lei Peng came back at daybreak the next morning. Liu Cui hurried over to meet him. "Did you manage to find a Daoist priest?"

Lei Peng shook his head, his face full of disappointment. "No. How's Xiao Ming?"

Liu Cui glanced around, then moved closer to Lei Peng. "While you were gone, Xiao Ming's Mad Demon Disease flared up again. I was completely panicked and didn't know what to do, so I gave him the pill from the Second Young Master of the Chen Family. His condition really did improve."

Lei Peng was shocked. "That's impossible. Mad Demon Disease is incurable. No one in the county has ever found a way to treat it. How could that good-for-nothing young master of the Chen Family have a cure?"

Liu Cui said, "Why would I lie to you? Come see for yourself."

Lei Peng was skeptical, but followed Liu Cui to a secret room in the back courtyard.

The walls of the room had clearly been reinforced, giving it excellent soundproofing. Its door was made of iron and secured with a thick iron lock. Only the husband and wife had keys. No outsider could get inside.

The secret room was small, barely a dozen square meters. A Horn Lantern burned inside, and a Palace Lantern hung from the rafters.

In the center of the room, a muscular young man lay facedown on the floor, his hands and feet bound with thick iron chains so he couldn't move. At that moment, he lay quietly, letting out a beastlike whine.

He was Lei Peng's son, Lei Ming.

Several months ago, he'd gone to Spring Breeze Tower to carouse with some wastrel friends. Less than two days after he returned, he fell ill and bit several maids at the martial arts school to death. To keep the matter under wraps, Lei Peng claimed bandits had attacked the maids and left no bodies behind. He also locked his own son in the secret room.

Lei Peng had tried every possible remedy to cure his son. On top of that, Blazing Palm had brought trouble to the martial arts school, and the once-prosperous Lei Family Martial Arts School had fallen into decline overnight.

Even so, Lei Peng hadn't given up on his only son.

Normally, whenever Lei Ming saw someone, he would struggle like a madman, as if he wanted to eat them.

This was the first time Lei Peng had seen him so quiet, and he couldn't help feeling surprised. "It really is true. He's been this calm ever since you gave him the medicine?"

Liu Cui said, "Xiao Ming was very agitated before. He calmed down after taking the pill. The medicine must have worked."

Then Liu Cui suddenly said, "Master, perhaps the Second Young Master of the Chen Family found an expert and got hold of a cure. You could go ask him for more medicine. He's been eyeing our Blazing Palm, hasn't he? It's hard to master, so if you teach him personally, he'll surely be grateful."

Lei Peng nodded repeatedly. "That could work. But I need to observe Xiao Ming for a few more days. If his condition stays stable, then we'll know the medicine really works."

Liu Cui was anxious, but she knew her husband was a well-known martial arts school master. Having to humble himself to ask a young master of the Chen Family for help was bound to sting his pride. Lei Peng was firm, though, so she didn't press him. She only murmured:

"We only have one son. You have to take this seriously."

"I know," Lei Peng said. "I'm also worried that the Second Young Master of the Chen Family might find out Xiao Ming has Mad Demon Disease. If he learns the truth and tells someone, we'll be in trouble."

Seven days flew by.

Winter had set in, and the weather grew colder with each passing day. It hadn't snowed yet, but a thick layer of frost had formed on the ground and rooftops of Honghe County, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Chen Mo hadn't gone out during that time. He'd devoted all his time to training and taking medicine.

Early that morning, Chen Mo got up and went to the courtyard to practice.

[Blazing Palm: Inch Force (Beginner)]

Looking at the information at the bottom, Chen Mo smiled from the heart.

"After seven days of grinding, and with the help of three stalks of Cold Night Grass, I've finally learned Inch Force."

"Let's see how powerful it is."

Chen Mo walked over to the table, slowly raised his right hand, and lowered it until it was barely an inch from the tabletop. Then he suddenly exerted force and slammed his palm down.

Crack!

The thick redwood table split at one corner under his palm, revealing the tremendous force behind the strike.

Chen Mo was thrilled.

Before mastering Inch Force, even a full-range palm strike couldn't do this kind of damage. Being able to unleash force at close range could catch an opponent off guard in a fight and often produce surprising results.

Still, he was nowhere near as skilled as Lei Peng had been that time.

Lei Peng had unleashed his force at point-blank range and even left a black palm print burned into the table. That level of skill was truly impressive.

"Lei Peng's probably at least a Five Passes: Blood Infusion Realm expert. I still have a long way to go. If Lei Peng could give me some pointers, I'd improve much faster. What a shame."

It was certainly important that the Golden Finger could identify key details, but receiving guidance from a master would naturally speed up his progress.

Chen Mo had Mad Demon Disease now. He had to race against time.

He'd already run out of Qi and Blood Pills, and he still couldn't see the threshold of the Three Gates Iron Bone Realm.

Buying tiger-bone soup was easy enough, but Qi and Blood Pills were hard to come by... He'd have to think of something.

Go back to Granny Li for more Qi and Blood Pills?

That would be tantamount to walking straight into a death trap.

Absolutely not...

Just then, a servant came to the door. "Second Young Master, Lei Peng of the Lei Family Martial Arts School is here to see you. He says it's urgent."

Chen Mo immediately perked up. "Quick, let Lei Peng in."

Chen Mo had already guessed more or less why Lei Peng had come.

The Lei Family Martial Arts School had once been quite renowned and surely had a recipe for tiger-bone soup. They might even know where to buy Qi and Blood Pills.

Granny Li wasn't the only person in all of Honghe County who had Qi and Blood Pills.

He'd come at just the right time.

A short while later, Lei Peng strode in wearing a martial arts outfit. He no longer seemed as aloof as before. Instead, he was very warm, even taking the initiative to lower his stance. "It's been a few days, Young Master Mo. You're looking better and better."

Chen Mo smiled. "You seem to be in good spirits, Master Lei. Please, sit.

"Qiulan, bring some tea."

Qiulan served the tea, then stood straight behind Chen Mo.

After some pleasantries, Chen Mo got straight to the point. "Has your son's condition improved?"

Lei Peng cupped his hands. "Thanks to the pill Young Master Mo gave me, my son's condition has improved. Would you be willing to give me a few more pills?"