Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er

Chapter 2: Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er

"Have you heard? Xiao Ling'er, the daughter of Boss Xiao at Fenglai Restaurant, successfully entered the Qi Refining stage this morning!"

"How could I not have heard? Isn't that exactly where I'm rushing to right now to offer my congratulations?"

"You're going now? Wait for me, I'm coming too! But... but what kind of gift should I prepare?"

"What to prepare? Spirit Stones, of course! Xiao Ling'er is no longer a mere mortal from this day on; she is a true cultivator. What does a cultivator need most? Spirit Stones, obviously! Though, I doubt our meager stash will catch her eye."

Dragon Gate Town was merely a small town. One look at the dilapidated, stunted buildings was enough to see that it was neither prosperous nor wealthy, but rather poor and backward.

Yet, in this very place, a young girl had successfully entered the Qi Refining stage this morning, shedding her mortal coil to become a true cultivator.

The news swept through Dragon Gate Town like a tornado. Within the time it took to eat a meal, there wasn't a soul in town who didn't know that the precious daughter of Fenglai Restaurant had reached the Qi Refining stage.

For a time, friends and acquaintances alike flocked to offer their congratulations. Those with deeper pockets even brought one or two Low-grade Spirit Stones as gifts.

To call it "congratulations" was perhaps less accurate than calling it "currying favor." For a mortal, successfully buttering up a cultivator was no easy feat; cultivators rarely mingled with commoners, as they belonged to entirely different worlds. If one tried to curry favor, they often wouldn't even be given the chance.

And Xiao Ling'er was the perfect opportunity.

In the entire history of Dragon Gate Town, those who had successfully broken their own shackles to enter the Qi Refining stage could be counted on one hand. This showed just how difficult it was to reach that stage and become a true cultivator.

Difficult as it was, the benefits were endless. The most significant was the increase in lifespan; a Qi Refining cultivator could live to be about one hundred and fifty years old—several decades longer than the average person!

Entering the Qi Refining stage was the hallmark of a mortal ascending to the ranks of cultivators. Mortals were as numerous as the sands, yet the lucky few who could enter the Qi Refining stage were vanishingly rare. Xiao Ling'er was one of those lucky few.

When one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven! The residents of Dragon Gate Town were all brimming with excitement as they hurried toward Fenglai Restaurant. If Xiao Ling'er were to succeed in the future and become a powerful cultivator with heaven-defying abilities, surely they would benefit from her success as well!

Most of the residents held this very thought.

The only people in the entire town who did not go to Fenglai Restaurant to offer congratulations were Luo Mu and Father Luo. Xiao Ling'er, now known to every soul in Dragon Gate Town, was Luo Mu's fiancée.

Father Luo and Father Xiao had always been the best of friends. Years ago, when Father Xiao was gravely injured, it was Father Luo's exquisite medical skills that pulled him back from the gates of hell; otherwise, Father Xiao would have perished long ago.

Later, to make a living, Father Xiao wanted to open a restaurant in Dragon Gate Town, but he lacked the capital and had no Spirit Stones to get it off the ground. In the end, it was Father Luo's full support and loan of Spirit Stones that brought the current Fenglai Restaurant into existence.

In truth, Father Xiao's initial goal in opening the restaurant was for Xiao Ling'er. Like Luo Mu, she was studying cultivation knowledge at the town school. The school was established by the Wanfa Sect, a major cultivation power. It wasn't just Dragon Gate Town; every city and town within the Wanfa Sect's territory had such a school. These schools only taught the most basic knowledge of the cultivation world. To learn more profound techniques, one had to enter an academy in a major city. Even so, the annual tuition for these town schools was a terrifying sum.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Since the Wanfa Sect built these schools in every city and town, they must have had an ulterior motive; otherwise, who would do such a thankless task? There are no saints in this world.

Opening schools was one way to earn Spirit Stones, but there was another important reason: the Wanfa Sect would immediately identify any student with good cultivation aptitude, recruit them, nurture them, and eventually turn them into members of the Wanfa Sect, willing to live and die for the sect.

Earning Spirit Stones while simultaneously unearthing disciples with excellent cultivation potential—this was the Wanfa Sect's brilliant strategy of killing two birds with one stone!

Years ago, Father Xiao opened Fenglai Restaurant specifically so his daughter, Xiao Ling'er, could attend the town school and study cultivation. Father Luo's generous support had left Father Xiao feeling immensely grateful.

The two men were already close, and after this, they became as inseparable as brothers. Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er, having grown up as childhood sweethearts, shared a bond as strong as their fathers'.

Seeing this, Father Luo and Father Xiao were overjoyed and arranged the marriage between the two. From that moment on, Xiao Ling'er became Luo Mu's fiancée.

When Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er learned of this, they were overjoyed, as it was exactly what they wanted. With their fathers' permission, they could spend every day together in a legitimate, open manner.

As time passed, the entire town knew that Luo Mu was Xiao Ling'er's fiancé.

Today, Xiao Ling'er had successfully stepped into the Qi Refining stage and become a cultivator. The school teacher had already reported the news, and it wouldn't be long before a higher-level academy came to take her away for advanced training. It was, without a doubt, wonderful news—a massive "Immortal Fate" for Xiao Ling'er.

By all rights, with such a joyous occasion, every resident in town should have gone to offer congratulations. Yet, Luo Mu, the fiancé, remained at home with his father, the doors bolted shut, with no intention of going to offer his well-wishes.

Father Luo lay on the bed, his entire body flushed red, with charred scars appearing in many places. Seeing him barely drawing breath, it was clear he wouldn't last much longer.

"Father! Father! You must hold on! You have to hold on!" Luo Mu knelt by the bedside, his face twisted in grief and anxiety.

Father Luo did not answer; in his current state, he lacked the strength to speak. His right hand trembled as he reached into his robes, clutching a herb that emitted a faint, fluorescent glow, and slowly pulled it out.

This herb was the first-grade, low-tier spirit herb Father Luo had discovered in a mountain cave that very day. It was precisely because of this herb that he had ended up in this state.

Looking at the glowing spirit herb in his father's hand, Luo Mu could no longer hold back. Tears welled in his eyes; he finally understood that his father's condition was undoubtedly linked to this herb.

Thinking of how he had exhausted the family's savings without even touching the threshold of Qi Refining, and now seeing his father meet such a fate for the sake of a spirit herb, Luo Mu felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. He truly could not bear to face his father.

"Father, it's all this child's fault... it's all my uselessness..." At that moment, Luo Mu felt like a complete failure. If he hadn't insisted on pursuing immortality and had simply remained a mortal, relying on his exquisite medical skills, he could have made a living somehow. But now, the path to immortality was hopeless, and his father was hanging by a thread.

A flicker of regret suddenly surfaced in Luo Mu's heart.

He gripped his father's hand tightly, and despite his best efforts to control himself, tears streamed down his face.

Seeing his son in such a state, Father Luo's dim, lusterless eyes revealed a sense of reluctance. "In... in your pocket..." After stuttering these few words, Father Luo's arm fell limply, his head tilted to the side, and his eyes closed as his breathing ceased.

That Father Luo, riddled with fire poison, had managed to return home and hold on for this long was due in part to his unique medical skills; he had taken many self-concocted antidotes. While they couldn't purge the fire poison, they could sustain him for a time. But what truly kept him going until now was the conviction in his heart.

Only when he returned home and personally placed the spirit herb into Luo Mu's hands did that obsession finally fade. Yet, in his final moments, Father Luo was filled with such reluctance. He had exhausted his efforts, drained the family's wealth, and sacrificed his life, all because he wanted to see his son step onto the path of immortality, shed his mortal shell, and soar to the branches to become a dragon among men.

But he would never live to see it, which was why, the moment he closed his eyes, he appeared so unwilling to let go.

"Father!!!" A heart-wrenching roar erupted from Luo Mu's throat the moment his father's eyes closed.

While everyone was busy congratulating Xiao Ling'er, the news of Doctor Luo's sudden passing caused another sensation in the small town of Dragon Gate!

Doctor Luo was known for his miraculous healing, and many residents had benefited from his kindness. His sudden death left many feeling heavy-hearted.

Upon learning that Doctor Luo had lost his life while searching for a spirit herb for his son, Luo Mu, everyone sighed at the cruelty of fate. Xiao Ling'er, Luo Mu's fiancée, had never touched a spirit herb, yet she possessed the Immortal Fate and successfully advanced to the Qi Refining stage to walk the path of immortality. Luo Mu, however, had experienced the exact opposite: not only had he consumed vast quantities of spirit herbs without success, but he had also ended up costing his father his life.

The crowd whispered among themselves. Some said Luo Mu was overreaching, knowing it was impossible yet stubbornly trying to defy heaven to force his way onto the path of immortality, ultimately bankrupting his family and dragging his only kin—his father—to the grave. Others, however, said that the persistence shown by Luo Mu and his father was truly admirable. They refused to accept the arrangements of fate and insisted on fighting against heaven. Though they failed in the end, few mortals possessed the courage and resolve to go that far.

In recent days, Luo Mu's mood had hit rock bottom. Having relied on his father since childhood, from the moment he lost him, Luo Mu had repeatedly questioned whether his pursuits were right or wrong.

He was unwilling to be ordinary, unwilling to be trampled underfoot by others, and unwilling to live out his life in mediocrity. He wanted to be a person above others, and to become a person above others, becoming a cultivator was the first step. But now, his feelings were incredibly complex; he truly didn't know if he should continue to be so stubborn.

Just as Luo Mu closed his clinic and turned away visitors, Fenglai Restaurant in Dragon Gate Town welcomed a major figure.

This major figure was a cultivator, someone the mortals looked up to with awe. And this cultivator had come to this small, insignificant town of Dragon Gate solely for the sake of Xiao Ling'er, the young girl who had just entered the Qi Refining stage!