Tang Qinghe opened his eyes and looked outside at the little boat Old Jack had rowed over. He extended his right hand, pretending to make a casual gesture, while silently ordering in his mind, System, extract the Immortal Herb.
As the words fell, a jade bottle appeared in Tang Qinghe's hand.
He pulled out the stopper and tipped a pill from the bottle. It was a white medicinal pellet, faintly glowing with a jade-like sheen.
Tang Qinghe bent down and looked at Han San on the bed. Han San's mouth had fallen open in his sleep. Tang Qinghe took out another pill, pinched it between his fingers, slipped it into Han San's mouth, then leaned over and firmly closed Han San's jaw. Afterward, he put the empty bottle away.
Once he was done, Tang Qinghe straightened up, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
Just then, outside, Xiao Wu's furious voice rang out. "Tang Qinghe, you bastard! What exactly did you do to San-ge?"
Tang Qinghe walked out of the house and looked over. Xiao Wu stood with one hand on her hip and the other pointing at him, her expression filled with a mixture of resentment, hatred, and fear—emotions she had never shown him before.
[ Xiao Wu's resentment +88888 ]
[ Xiao Wu's resentment +128888 ]
Looks like I really did scare her half to death. No wonder she'd want to kill me. Tang Qinghe thought for a moment, then raised a sly smile. "But San-ge's father is an Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon, after all. I wouldn't dare just do whatever I pleased to him."
"Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon?!"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened as if she'd been struck by lightning. Her face turned deathly pale, and her whole body froze. The resentment she'd felt toward Tang Qinghe vanished from her eyes, replaced by nothing but terror at the thought of the Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon. For a moment, she felt as if the whole world had gone blank.
[ Xiao Wu's fear +888888 ]
Hah, just hearing the name "Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon" had scared her witless. Sure enough, the rabbit's fur made a fine cloak.
Tang Qinghe thought to himself, inwardly pleased.
After a moment, Xiao Wu snapped out of it. She realized Tang Qinghe was trying to scare her and shot back, "You're talking nonsense! San-ge said his father was just an ordinary blacksmith. He wasn't even a Spirit Master. How could he possibly be the Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon?"
"Believe it or not." Tang Qinghe didn't explain. He planted the seed of doubt, and that was enough.
Before leaving, Tang Qinghe called back over his shoulder, "If you don't believe me, ask him when he wakes up. Of course, I doubt he'll be willing to admit it. You'll have to understand that I'm telling you this for your own good. He'll be even less willing to admit it."
Not long after Tang Qinghe left, Xiao Wu dragged the still-dazed Han San out of the house Tang Qinghe had already built.
But by now, she'd lost the carefree, cheerful attitude she used to have, and no longer seemed fearless of anything under the sun.
Her face was full of worry and fear.
Tang Qinghe had said Han San's father was an Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon. If he was lying, then he'd only been trying to scare her. That would be for the best.
But if it was true, wouldn't that mean she'd been living under the watchful eye of an Immortal Herb Ghostly Demon every day?
At that thought, Xiao Wu felt a wave of dread.
On the other side, Tang Qinghe had arrived at Old Mu's home, where Old Jack was also present. Their families had all moved into town, so the two old men often got together.
Sometimes Old Mu went to Old Jack's place, and sometimes Old Jack went to Old Mu's.
When they saw Tang Qinghe arrive, Old Jack greeted him cheerfully. "Qinghe, why did you come with San and Xiao Wu? Weren't they supposed to be going to see you?"
"They're over at that big house." Tang Qinghe's home was at the far end of Holy Soul Village. Since the nearby residents had to move to town, Old Jack had gone to help with the farmland.
That was why no one had been around to watch Han San and Xiao Wu leave together.
Tang Qinghe turned to the two old men and said, "As it happens, Grandpa Jack and Grandpa Mu are both here. I've already become a Spirit Master, and I'm planning to go to the Jedi Academy to study. I won't be staying in the village to waste away. Before I go, I have something to give you. Take these Million Year Spirit Stones and use them to improve your lives."
With that, he waved a hand over his waist and took out eight bags of Million Year Spirit Stones, each containing a hundred coins.
The two old men were both stunned. They laughed, thinking Tang Qinghe was just being cautious because he was going out into the world. At the same time, Old Mu sincerely hoped Tang Qinghe would one day become a Spirit Saint, or even a Spirit Ghostly Demon—surpassing the Spirit Saint whose name had been given to the village.
Old Jack was so shocked that his pipe nearly fell from his mouth.
Tang Qinghe smiled and said goodbye to the village where he'd lived for six years.
First, he went to the Jedi Academy and gave the five gold Spirit Stones to the dormitory supervisor. That secured him a spot as a student in Jedi City for the coming month, and he could make his way toward becoming the "Jade Little Sister's husband."
The supervisor didn't dare refuse Jade Little Sister's future husband.
Besides, Tang Qinghe had revealed that he'd reached the first stage of Spirit Essence and had another five gold Spirit Stones to spare. He'd promised to make a donation to the academy, so even if the supervisor wanted to refuse, he didn't have the nerve to offend Tang Qinghe.
Tang Qinghe left the Jedi Academy, satisfied, planning to wait in Jedi City until Jade Little Sister learned what he'd done and came running to him, drowning him in tears of gratitude. He could then comfort her, soothe her, and give her a chance to repay his kindness.
He immediately headed to the market, bought plenty of food and water, rented a carriage, and set off for Heaven Dou City.
He wasn't actually sure where he was headed. All he knew was that he was going to Heaven Dou City.
Since he could no longer go to the Jedi Academy, heading to a larger city made sense. It was too early to seek out the Imperial Academy; he wouldn't be able to meet the Three Excellencies there yet.
So he planned to go to Heaven Dou City and first find an excuse to enroll at the Imperial Academy.
Then he'd look for an opportunity to snatch the Immortal Herb from Old Poison.
Even if he couldn't steal it right away, he could at least figure out where Old Poison had hidden it.
Then, once he arrived and Old Poison left the Imperial Academy after defeating the Heaven Ghost Emperor, he could take advantage of that window and steal the Immortal Herb.
Tang Qinghe was in high spirits as he set out to steal the Immortal Herb.
At that moment, the System notification suddenly rang in his mind.
[ Han San's resentment +888888 ]
[ Han San's resentment +1288888 ]
[ Tsk, Han San's favorability -20. Congratulations, Host. You've earned another chance to draw a ten-year reward. ]
[ Xiao Wu's resentment +188888 ]
[ Xiao Wu's resentment +288888 ]
At the same time, Holy Soul Village, beneath a certain thatched roof.
As the sun set, Han San slowly woke from his daze. It was already late in the day.
Pain!
Pain that cut deep into his bones.
Cold!
Cold as if he were trapped in an ice cellar.
He suffered for a long while amid the torment of it all.
Han San finally struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Xiao Wu's tear-streaked face, brimming with worry.
When she saw him wake, Xiao Wu let out a long breath and asked, "Han San, are you all right?"
She didn't call him San-ge anymore, nor did she call him Xiao San.
Instead, she addressed him by his full name.
Because she wasn't sure whether Tang Qinghe had really been trying to scare her.
Han San had only just woken, and he didn't notice Xiao Wu's change in how she addressed him. He simply felt a burning pain in his stomach, and the memory of Tang Qinghe's torturous treatment flooded back into his mind.
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