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 from Fenglai Restaurant, successfully entered the Qi Refining Stage this morning!"

"How could I not have heard? I'm on my way to Fenglai Restaurant to congratulate her right now."

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

"What else? Spirit Stones, of course! From now on, Xiao Ling'er won't be a mortal anymore, but a true cultivator. And what do cultivators need most? Spirit Stones, naturally! Though with the few we have, who knows whether Xiao Ling'er would even think them worth taking."

Dragon Gate Town was only a small town. Its old, squat buildings made it clear that the place was far from prosperous—in fact, it was rather poor and backward.

Yet it was in this poor and backward place that a young girl had entered the Qi Refining Stage that very morning. From then on, she would no longer be a mortal, but a true cultivator.

The news swept through all of Dragon Gate Town like a tornado. In the time it took to eat a meal, everyone in town had heard that Xiao Ling'er, the treasured daughter of Fenglai Restaurant, had entered the Qi Refining Stage.

Those who were usually on good terms with the family and those who weren't all came to offer their congratulations. Those with a little money to spare even gave one or two Low-grade Spirit Stones as gifts.

It was called congratulations, but currying favor would have been a more accurate description. For mortals, successfully winning a cultivator's favor was no easy feat. Cultivators rarely socialized with mortals; after all, they belonged to entirely different circles. Even if you wanted to curry favor with one, you might not get the chance.

And Xiao Ling'er was the perfect opportunity.

Even now, you could count on one hand the people in all of Dragon Gate Town who had broken through their own shackles and entered the Qi Refining Stage. That showed just how difficult it was to enter the Qi Refining Stage and become a true cultivator.

Though it was difficult, succeeding brought boundless benefits. Most importantly, one's lifespan increased. A cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage could live to around a hundred and fifty—several decades longer than an ordinary person!

Entering the Qi Refining Stage was the sign that a mortal had become a cultivator. Mortals were countless, but the lucky few who could enter the Qi Refining Stage were exceedingly rare. Xiao Ling'er was one of them.

When one man attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascended to heaven! The residents of Dragon Gate Town hurried toward Fenglai Restaurant, excitement on every face. If Xiao Ling'er made something of herself and became a mighty cultivator with sky-reaching powers, surely they would benefit from her success as well!

Most of the town's residents shared this hope.

The only ones in town who didn't go to Fenglai Restaurant to congratulate Xiao Ling'er were Luo Mu and Father Luo. The Xiao Ling'er everyone in Dragon Gate Town was talking about was Luo Mu's fiancée.

Father Luo and Father Xiao had always been close. Years ago, Father Xiao had been gravely wounded. If Father Luo hadn't used his superb medical skills to drag him back from the gates of death, Father Xiao would have died then and there.

Afterward, Father Xiao had planned to open a restaurant in Dragon Gate Town to support his family. But he was short on money and didn't have enough Spirit Stones to get the business started. In the end, it was only thanks to Father Luo's generous support and loan of Spirit Stones that Fenglai Restaurant came into being.

In truth, Father Xiao's main reason for opening the restaurant had been Xiao Ling'er. Like Luo Mu, she was studying cultivation at the school in town. The school had been established by the great cultivation sect, Wanfa Sect. There was one in Dragon Gate Town, and every city and town within Wanfa Sect's territory had one as well. The schools in small towns taught students only the most basic knowledge of the cultivation world. To learn anything more advanced, they had to study at an Academy in a larger city. Even so, the tuition collected each year by the schools in every town was an enormous sum.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. If Wanfa Sect had built schools and Academies in cities and towns everywhere, it must have had something to gain. Otherwise, who would do something so thankless? There were no saints in this world.

One reason for establishing schools was to earn Spirit Stones. Another important reason was that Wanfa Sect could quickly learn which students at each school had good cultivation talent, then recruit and train them, eventually making them members of the sect who would live and die for it.

Earning Spirit Stones while also discovering talented disciples to serve its own ends—Wanfa Sect had come up with a clever plan to kill two birds with one stone!

Back then, Father Xiao had opened Fenglai Restaurant so that his daughter, Xiao Ling'er, could attend the town school and study cultivation. Father Luo's generous support had filled Father Xiao with gratitude.

The two men had already been close, but after this, they became as close as brothers. Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er had also been childhood sweethearts, their relationship just as close as that between their fathers.

Seeing how close the two children were, Father Luo and Father Xiao were delighted and arranged their engagement. From then on, Xiao Ling'er became Luo Mu's fiancée.

When Luo Mu and Xiao Ling'er learned of it, they were overjoyed. It was exactly what they both wanted. With their fathers' blessing, they could spend time together every day without having to hide it.

As time went on, everyone in Dragon Gate Town learned that Luo Mu was Xiao Ling'er's fiancé.

Today, Xiao Ling'er had successfully entered the Qi Refining Stage and become a cultivator. The teachers at the town school had already reported the news. It wouldn't be long before an advanced Academy came to take her away for deeper cultivation. This was wonderful news—a tremendous stroke of "immortal fortune" for Xiao Ling'er!

By all rights, every resident of the town should have gone to congratulate her on such a joyous occasion. Yet Luo Mu, Xiao Ling'er's fiancé, was at home with his father, the front door shut tight. He had no intention of going to congratulate her.

Father Luo lay on the bed, his whole body red. Burn scars covered much of him. He was barely drawing breath and seemed unlikely to last much longer.

"Father! Father! You have to hold on! You have to hold on!" Luo Mu knelt beside the bed, anguish and panic written all over his face.

Father Luo didn't answer. In his condition, he didn't have the strength to respond. His right hand trembled as he reached into his robe. Clutching a faintly glowing herb, he slowly pulled it out.

It was the same first-grade, lower-tier spirit herb Father Luo had found in the cave that day. It was also the reason he had ended up in this state.

Looking at the faintly glowing spirit herb in his father's hand, Luo Mu could no longer hold back. Tears shimmered in his eyes. He finally understood that his father's condition had everything to do with that herb.

He hadn't even reached the threshold of the Qi Refining Stage, yet he had already squandered the family's entire fortune. Now his father had suffered such a fate over a spirit herb. Luo Mu was consumed by guilt. He truly couldn't face his father.

"Father, it's all because your son is useless... It's all because I'm useless..." At that moment, Luo Mu felt like a complete waste. If he hadn't insisted on pursuing immortality and had simply lived as a mortal, his superb medical skills would have been enough to earn him a living. But now, his hopes of cultivation were gone, and his father was on the brink of death.

A sudden pang of regret rose in Luo Mu's heart.

He clutched Father Luo's hand tightly. Though Luo Mu tried with all his might to hold back his tears, they still streamed down his face.

Seeing his son like this, a glimmer of tenderness appeared in Father Luo's dim eyes. "In... in my robe..." After forcing out those few broken words, Father Luo's arm fell limp. His head tilted to one side, his eyes closed, and he stopped breathing.

Father Luo had suffered severe fire poison, yet he had made it home and held on until now. His exceptional medical skill was one reason. He had taken quite a few antidotes of his own making. Though they couldn't purge the fire poison, they had bought him some time. But what had kept him going until now was the conviction in his heart.

Only after he had returned home and placed the spirit herb in Luo Mu's hands did that last, stubborn resolve finally fade. As he passed, Father Luo was filled with such reluctance. He had exhausted every effort, spent the family's entire fortune, and even lost his life. All he had wanted was to see his son step onto the path of immortality, cast off his mortal body, and rise above the crowd to become a dragon among men.

But he would never get the chance to see it. That was why, in the instant he closed his eyes, he had looked so unwilling to let go.

"Father!!!" The moment Father Luo's eyes closed, a heart-rending cry tore from Luo Mu's throat.

While everyone was celebrating Xiao Ling'er, the sudden news that Doctor Luo had passed away sent the small town of Dragon Gate into an uproar once more!

Doctor Luo had a miraculous touch, and many of the town's residents had benefited from his kindness. His sudden death left a bitter ache in many hearts.

When they learned that Doctor Luo had died while searching for spirit herbs for his son, Luo Mu, everyone lamented the cruel hand of fate. Luo Mu's fiancée, Xiao Ling'er, had never taken a single spirit herb, yet she possessed immortal fortune and had successfully entered the Qi Refining Stage, setting foot on the path to immortality. Luo Mu, on the other hand, had suffered the exact opposite fate. He had taken countless spirit herbs without managing to enter the Qi Refining Stage, and in the end, he had even lost his father.

People had all sorts of opinions. Some residents said Luo Mu had overestimated himself: he knew it couldn't be done, yet still defied heaven and forced his way onto the path of immortality. In the end, he had squandered his family's fortune and even lost his only remaining family member, his father. But others said that Luo Mu and Father Luo's persistence was truly admirable. They refused to accept fate's decree and dared to fight against heaven. Though they had ultimately failed, few mortals could match their courage and resolve.

??

In the past few days, Luo Mu had sunk to the lowest point of his life. He had depended on his father since childhood, and from the moment he lost him, Luo Mu had kept asking himself whether the path he had pursued was right or wrong.

He refused to live an ordinary life. He refused to let others tread him underfoot. He refused to drift through life in mediocrity. He wanted to rise above the rest, and becoming a cultivator was the first step. But now, Luo Mu's feelings were a tangled mess. He truly didn't know whether he should keep holding on to his dream.

While Luo Mu had shut down his clinic and closed his doors to visitors, Fenglai Restaurant in Dragon Gate Town had welcomed a very important guest.

This important guest was a cultivator, someone mortals looked up to with admiration. And the reason this cultivator had come all the way to the little town of Dragon Gate was none other than Xiao Ling'er, the young girl who had just entered the Qi Refining Stage!