A Strange Illness

"Dad, Mom, I'm home!"

The guards at the gate originally intended to stop Xie An, but upon seeing his appearance and hearing his words, they quickly shouted out loud.

"Old Master, great news! The Temple Master is back, the Temple Master is back!"

Xie An's parents heard this quickly and stood at the doorway of the house to welcome him.

"My child, it's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Mom is going to make you your favorite meat pies."

Xie An's father was somewhat silent, and the father and son walked together in the courtyard.

Xie An followed the few sporadic impressions in his brain, wanting to find something familiar to him from the Xie Family.

However, it was a pity that a hundred years had passed, and the Xie Family was no longer what it used to be.

The thing closest to his memory was the room he had lived in a century ago, which was about seventy or eighty percent similar.

Xie An shook his head with some regret and said to his father, "The house has changed quite a bit."

"Yes, the Clan Head sent people over to renovate it. He sent a bunch of things every holiday, but I refused them. Why are you back this time?"

After hearing this, Xie An shook his head and said, "It's nothing, just a whim. I wanted to come back and take a look."

Xie An remembered the system mission and asked his father, "Oh, that's right, is there a child named Xie Xie in the family?"

Xie's father thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, I do have an impression. That seems to be a child from the second branch. It seems he awakened Twin Martial Souls, but his father is rarely home, and his mother seems to be very ill."

Xie An confirmed that this was indeed the Xie Xie from the original work. After finishing his meal, he said goodbye to his parents, feeling that he should go and see this future member of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Xie Xie was now a seven or eight-year-old child, currently taking care of his sick mother by the bedside.

"Mother, don't worry. I have Twin Martial Souls, and the family values me highly. Once I become strong in the future, I will definitely find the best healing-type soul master on the continent to cure your illness."

The young boy's mother looked like a beautiful middle-aged woman. Although the sickly look on her face could not be hidden, she still smiled gently after hearing the child's words, "Good, my Xie Xie is the best. You will definitely be able to find a healing-type soul master for Mom in the future."

The young Xie Xie did not hear the sickness in his mother's voice and did not know that his mother was about to pass away. He continued to talk excitedly about what happened today.

"Your mother's illness is a bit strange."

Xie An pushed the door and entered. The two people in the room were stunned to see a stranger, and it was Xie Xie's mother who forced herself to speak uncertainly, "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Xie An," Xie An replied.

"Mom, Mom, this person looks exactly like the portrait in the Ancestral Hall!" Xie Xie said with some excitement.

Xie Xie's mother quickly forced herself to bow, "Greetings to the War God Temple Master."

Under his mother's signal, Xie Xie also followed suit and bowed.

[Ding! System mission completed.]

[Subsequent functions unlocked.]

"Forgive me for asking, but can you tell me how you got this illness? Although lovesickness can sometimes trigger illness, it is very clear that your illness was not caused by lovesickness."

Xie An signaled for the two to stand up and asked.

"I dare not deceive the Temple Master. My illness was caused by missing the child's father. Later, the first branch sent me medicine that they claimed was newly developed by the Spirit Pagoda, saying it could suppress the longing. Although it did not cure the root cause, it did not worsen."

The middle-aged woman replied respectfully.

With Xie An's spiritual power, he could naturally see that Xie Xie's mother's body had not improved at all; on the contrary, her condition was becoming increasingly heavy.

If he had to describe it, it was more like morphine from his previous life—masking the pain while the illness remained untreated.

"Medicine that suppresses emotions? Interesting. I didn't expect the Spirit Pagoda to start researching this now."

"I just don't know if there are any Evil Soul Masters involved. Forget it, I'd better investigate."

Xie An whispered to himself. His figure disappeared from the room, and he used the power of his Demigod realm to cure Xie Xie's mother's illness, extracting the residual medicinal effects from her body.

The two in the room looked at each other in confusion. Half a quarter of an hour later, Xie Xie was pleasantly surprised to find that his mother's complexion was rosy and the sickly look had been swept away.

"Mom, your illness is cured!?"

Xie An hovered above the city of Eastsea City. He did not immediately check the system; his vast spiritual power swept over every corner of the city like an invisible tide.

Soon, he discovered clues in the West City Underground Black Market, where the same medicine Xie Xie's mother had taken was being sold secretly.

Many unemployed vagrants felt extremely depressed after taking it, followed by extreme excitement.

"Brother, how do you sell this medicine?" Xie An restrained his aura and flashed near the merchant.

"One price, five thousand Federal Coin, or you can pay with rare metals like Mithril."

Just as Xie An was about to continue asking, a middle-aged man behind him pulled him and sent a voice transmission to Xie An.

"Which young master are you? Don't touch this stuff; it's addictive. Is your life too comfortable? This involves the Spirit Pagoda behind the scenes; do you not want to live? Get out of here quickly."

Xie An sensed that the man had no malicious intent, so he let him pull him away.

"Which family's kid are you? Looking at you, you're not even twenty. How dare you come to a place like the black market!"

When they reached a quiet place, the man finally stopped, turned to look at Xie An, and scolded him.

Seeing that Xie An looked extremely young and, while not dripping in gold or silver, was clearly dressed in clothes no commoner could afford, the man noted his lack of the typical caution found in underworld figures. He concluded that this must be some young master out on a whim to satisfy his curiosity.

"I heard from a few friends that there's a very novel item sold here, and I wanted to come and try it."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man became even more certain of his assessment. This kid was definitely some pampered young master who had been egged on by a few bad influences to come and buy some of this stuff to try.

"Nonsense, is this the kind of thing you can just try on a whim?" The middle-aged man pointed a finger toward a few vagrants huddled in the corner of the street. "See those vagrants? Most of them ended up like that because they consumed this drug."

The middle-aged man paused, then lowered his voice and said, "Furthermore, there might be a shadow of the Spirit Pagoda behind this drug, and it might even be related to that War God Temple Master."

Xie An frowned slightly, thinking to himself how he had ended up becoming the subject of gossip about himself.

"I wonder if you could explain in detail, senior, how this involves the Spirit Pagoda and even the War God Temple Master?"

After hearing this, the middle-aged man waved his hand, refusing to answer Xie An's question, and said with a solemn expression: "Don't ask anymore, kid. Honestly going home to cultivate is what you should be doing. Knowing certain things won't do you any good."

"When you're out and about, don't believe everything others tell you. This world isn't as beautiful as the books make it out to be."

The middle-aged man put his hands behind his back, striking the pose of a seasoned expert.

"Do you have any proof for what you're saying? The Spirit Pagoda is a good organization that serves the people of the Douluo Continent; how could they be involved with something like this?"

Xie An feigned the appearance of a hot-headed youth and asked indignantly.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't have proof. I once saw someone from the Spirit Pagoda deliver this drug to the Xie Family. Do you know what the Xie Family is? It's the home of the War God Temple Master!"

The middle-aged man stopped there and did not continue.

"Sigh, why am I telling you so much? Hurry home; knowing too much is dangerous."