Pushing open the main gate, Ma Xianhong unleashed a field of lightning beneath his feet, breaking through the gu barrier hidden underground. He raised an eyebrow.
The Medicine Immortal Society even had an illusion concealing the place. In an inconspicuous corner of this secluded courtyard, another hidden door lay concealed.
He snapped his fingers. His armor receded like a tide from his extremities, finally returning to his belt, and he strode forward and pushed open the door.
A petite figure caught his attention.
She was a girl of about ten from Miao Territory, adorned with silver jewelry.
Yet her green eyes were frighteningly calm, empty and utterly lifeless.
Ma Xianhong had never seen eyes like those. They were no longer an ancient well without a ripple, but a well that had dried clear to the bottom, leaving nothing but a desert.
She showed no reaction when she saw Ma Xianhong. Even her strongest emotion amounted to no more than an extremely faint trace of curiosity, and that was all.
She hardly seemed alive. No, rather, the little girl before him had no understanding whatsoever of what it meant to be "human."
Still, remembering the original story's descriptions of what the Medicine Immortal Society had done to them, Ma Xianhong was hardly surprised.
After all, they had only begun learning language at two or three years old, and even then, only the most basic language needed to understand the Gu Body Technique.
Then all manner of brutal training had been used to erase their instincts. Whether their innate nature or their humanity, it all had to be wiped away.
They were made ignorant and shameless, without fear or dread, joy or sorrow, worry or pleasure, able to speak yet not knowing how, able to act yet not knowing how.
During training, even a single unnecessary movement, a flicker of expression, or even the natural instinct to "eat" would get them mercilessly killed.
In her current state, Chen Duo was less a human being than a gu insect.
And after rescuing Chen Duo, the Company had clearly failed to recognize that. Even though Liao treated Chen Duo like his own daughter, it still had not led to a good ending. As Ma Xianhong understood it, in the original story, what Chen Duo ultimately wanted was even to return to an environment like the Medicine Immortal Society, only with Liao Zhong replacing the instructor.
It was like forcibly making a fish get used to living as a human. To ordinary people, the Medicine Immortal Society was hell itself, yet in her worldview, she savored it like the sweetest honey.
And from beginning to end, Liao and the others had never understood what Chen Duo actually needed, leading to that tragedy.
But...
With a faint smile, Ma Xianhong extended his right hand toward Chen Duo. There was no pity in his expression, only absolute confidence.
"You have a destined bond with my Jiejiao. Would you like to come with me?"
Chen Duo's past certainly deserved sympathy, but sympathy was of little use. Rather than dwell on past suffering, it was better to stand firmly in the present and create a future one could be happy with.
Never mind that Chen Duo's current understanding was close to a gu insect's-even if she really were a little animal, so what? Wasn't Jiejiao all about seizing a path from heaven and teaching all without distinction?
The Medicine Immortal Society had merely imposed constraints on Chen Duo's mind and body after birth. Nothing but a petty trick.
Yet Chen Duo's gaze remained empty as she looked at Ma Xianhong. She stood motionless, like a puppet.
After all, forget making a choice-at this point, she probably did not even know what a choice was. Worse still, she might not even know what she herself was.
She might not even understand what he was saying.
That was all right.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."
After waiting two seconds and seeing Chen Duo accept by default, Ma Xianhong nodded in satisfaction, his smile growing brighter.
But when he noticed the condition inside Chen Duo's body, his smile abruptly stiffened. At the same time, he realized there were no plants at all within ten meters of her, only withered desolation.
"Extensive ulceration across her body, internal organs corroded by a special energy-this should be fatal. Fortunately, a special cultivation method is fighting against it, keeping it confined to certain areas. But even so, the energy spilling out is still constantly damaging her body."
Sensing the shocking condition inside Chen Duo, Ma Xianhong considered it briefly, then flicked his hand and tossed over a green cloak that wrapped around her. He summoned the Kui Ox, and the cloak lifted Chen Duo onto its back.
The cloak had no special effects. It merely contained a vast vitality capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bare bones. And thanks to the way he had refined it, the cloak was also a little racially discriminatory: it suppressed the spread of gu poison and came with the ability to improve the wearer's physique.
Though he did not know how to handle gu, and barely knew anything about healing, he, Ma Xianhong, had the raw stats. No mechanic amounted to anything in the face of overwhelming numbers.
Sensing that Chen Duo's internal condition had reversed almost instantly, with the vitality inside her gaining the upper hand and her instincts using the Gu Body Technique to suppress the spread of gu poison, Ma Xianhong nodded in satisfaction and took her with him as he walked through the air.
"For now, your name will be Chen Duo. If you want to change it later, you can do that whenever you like. I'll support whatever you decide. If you have no objections, we'll leave it at that."
Suddenly remembering that Chen Duo apparently did not have a name yet, Ma Xianhong rubbed his chin and turned to address her casually. As soon as he spoke, he distinctly caught a flicker in her eyes.
Clearly, she still had a basic ability to understand.
Then there was no problem.
To put it plainly, Chen Duo was still a blank sheet of paper-only it was oiled paper slowly burning itself up, difficult to color by ordinary means.
Glancing at Old Meng, who was displaying his might in the distance, Ma Xianhong curled his lips slightly, clasped his hands behind his back, and swaggered away through the air. Before leaving, a thought sent golden armor covering his right hand. Drawing in energy from nature, his battle suit converted his qi into a mighty surge of lightning that struck down at the Medicine Immortal Society members still putting up a desperate resistance below.
High in the sky, Chen Duo sat on the Kui Ox's back, her large eyes blinking. Whether it was because this was her first time in the sky, because of Ma Xianhong's actions, or because the magical artifact around her made her especially warm, the emotions flickering in her eyes were much stronger than before.
Of course, certain people's emotions were surging even more strongly than hers.
A short while later, at the ruins of the Medicine Immortal Society.
"What? You still had a Gu Body Holy Child? Then where is she?!"
His eyes bulging like bronze bells, Liao stared in utter bewilderment at the Medicine Immortal Society survivor kneeling on the ground and confessing.
They had swept through the entire mountain village several times already. Where had this Holy Child come from?
Although the initial intelligence had indeed mentioned them, they had assumed those Holy Children had all died under the Medicine Immortal Society's brutal methods.
So they really had succeeded?
Then where the fuck was she?
"I don't know! She was in this courtyard before! Did someone else take her away?" The survivor was on the verge of tears. The gazes of those people, who looked ready to devour him, had frightened him so badly his legs had gone weak.
He really did not know! He had only been a low-ranking member. Having heard that the Holy Child's training had succeeded, he had wanted to use that information to seek leniency for himself. Why was there no sign of her?
"Fuck their grandmothers! Everyone, search!" His expression shifting darkly, Liao Zhong cursed furiously and ordered his men to dig three feet into the ground. When they still found nothing, his gaze at the survivor turned distinctly hostile.
He'd been wondering how a low-ranking member could have information like this. So he was bluffing? Which raised the question: was this bastard trying to buy time for someone, or trying his luck at earning some credit?
"Could there have been a traitor among you who made off with the Holy Child?" Cold sweat rained down his forehead. The survivor gritted his teeth, his voice almost entirely devoid of confidence.
"I think you're fucking asking for a beating! Talk! Where exactly is the Holy Child?" Liao Zhong grinned viciously as he accepted a stun baton from someone beside him, who said Duanmu Yan had supplied it.
Huh? Who was Duanmu Yan? He did not know, but since the man had fought alongside them, he was probably another member transferred over from one of the regional divisions.
Throwing the question out of his mind, Liao Zhong swung the stun baton, whipping the survivor around like a spinning top.
"Are you going to talk or not?!"
"I don't know..."
Smack!
"Still being stubborn?"
"I really don't know..."
Smack! Smack!
"That stubborn, huh? Won't say a single word?"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"Aaaaaaah-"
Before you continue