An old grandpa?

Sure enough, the system never disappointed.

"Ding! The system has received the host's request to cure the strange illness causing fear of sunlight, as well as facial disfigurement. Simplification in progress...

One simplification chance consumed. Remaining chances: 7. Simplification successful!

To cure the body's inability to withstand sunlight and the facial disfigurement, the solution has been simplified from consuming a special immortal herb and practicing a specific special cultivation technique to: bathing in moonlight + starlight. Receiving the cleansing of moonlight + starlight will rapidly cure the target's current illnesses."

Gotta hand it to you, System Bro. You're fucking awesome.

Liu Hao marveled inwardly. Although he was a little puzzled by the special immortal herb and special cultivation technique the system said would originally have been required, he did not dwell on it.

After all, he no longer needed them.

With a solution to his little brother's problem secured, Liu Hao thought of his mother's eye condition.

He was just about to ask the system when something suddenly occurred to him.

If his father's lame leg recovered, they could say he had stepped on an older, more potent medicinal herb, or perhaps a mutated one. Soul masters had stronger constitutions, so there were plenty of excuses. Besides, examples and methods of curing leg ailments were common in soul master circles.

His little brother's strange illness getting better would not be much of a problem, either. If they stuck firmly to the claim that he had suddenly recovered on his own, probably no one would investigate.

After all, this illness was exceedingly rare-perhaps even the first case in Douluo's history.

And since he had never left the house, nobody knew him.

The very few people who knew might only include the midwife, along with anyone she had told about his strange illness as an amusing anecdote.

People would listen to something like that for entertainment, then forget about it.

After all, the illness had not afflicted them personally, so they would not pay it much attention.

Nobody else needed a cure, and there was no market for one.

Thus, his father and little brother recovering would not really cause much trouble.

His mother's eye condition, however, was different. Since it was congenital, once she was cured, plenty of people would surely come flocking at the news to ask how.

Eye conditions were not uncommon, and many were difficult to cure.

If soul masters whose eyes had been injured in battle and could not recover learned of this, they would certainly be interested.

Would a method capable of curing a congenital eye condition work on other eye conditions?

They might well want to try it.

What excuse could he use? Treatment by a healing-type soul master? What level of soul master could cure someone born blind? Why would such a powerful soul master agree to treat her?

A heavenly treasure? Where had they gathered it? What was its location? Its shape?

Or they might be forced to reveal a prescription. After all, the market was enormous, and it would be valuable.

What? No prescription? Then tell us how she was cured.

In short, it was too complicated. There were too many angles to consider.

After all, the more people learned about their family, the greater the chance that soul masters would notice them.

Without sufficient strength, once they caught the attention of even a slightly stronger soul master...

They could lose their freedom, or even see their family destroyed and their loved ones killed.

After pondering it for a long while, Liu Hao finally held back and sighed.

He could only make his mother wait a few more years.

Once he had enough strength to keep his family safe and fend off any unforeseen danger...

Then he would treat her eyes.

After feeding his little brother porridge, Liu Hao took the Herb Hoe and a small bamboo basket for medicinal herbs, then left the house and headed toward Holy Soul Village.

He was not actually going to Holy Soul Village, though, but to the mountain between Qingshi Village and Holy Soul Village.

He would gather the medicinal herbs his father needed for tomorrow.

And try out the soul power cultivation method the system had simplified.

No matter how amazing the system made it sound, he had to experience it himself to know for sure.

After walking for about half an hour, he reached the shade of an old pagoda tree halfway up the mountain. Ignoring the dirt on the ground, Liu Hao eagerly lay flat on his back.

He closed his eyes and tried to sense the changes in his body.

Soon, Liu Hao noticed something.

About once every second, a surge of warmth appeared at a random spot inside his body.

He guessed this was what automatic cultivation felt like after the system's simplification.

That warmth might be the energy produced when soul power increased out of nowhere.

Next, Liu Hao tried lying flat in different places.

On the ground, on a rock, in a tree, on a slope, beside a tree.

He used these to test the system's so-called "lying flat" cultivation.

Did it depend on the material touching his body, or the angle at which he lay?

After experimenting for a while, Liu Hao made a discovery.

The system's definition of lying flat had nothing to do with the material.

But he had to straighten his body, keeping his posture as close to 180 degrees as possible.

And after he lay down, the angle between his back and the horizontal plane could not exceed 45°, or cultivation would stop immediately.

All in all, it was quite simple.

Sleeping in bed would definitely satisfy this requirement.

Once his tests were finished, Liu Hao decisively stopped cultivating.

Not because he did not want to, but because it was too comfortable. His whole body felt as though it were being massaged, and he feared he might fall asleep if he let his attention slip.

He was out in the wilderness, after all. Although people often visited this mountain, so there were unlikely to be wild beasts or soul beasts...

There were still plenty of venomous insects, snakes, and ants.

For safety's sake, it would be better to wait until he was home before cultivating.

Since these medicinal herbs worked best fresh, he usually gathered only a day's supply.

Thus, it took Liu Hao only about two hours to gather the herbs needed for tomorrow before he headed down the mountain and back home.

By the time he returned to the village, however, the Sun was already close to setting.

His father, Liu Jun, was standing with his crutch beside the bluestone path at the village entrance.

Clearly, Liu Hao's unusually late return had worried him.

"Hao, why are you back so late?"

His father's worried tone and the concern in his eyes warmed Liu Hao's heart.

After all, he had been an orphan in his previous life. This kind of care between family members still moved him deeply.

"It's nothing..."

Liu Hao was about to make up an excuse when he suddenly spotted the crescent moon just emerging over the distant horizon.

It gave him a flash of inspiration.

"Dad, I met an old grandpa I didn't know on the mountain today. He came over and chatted with me for a while. He seemed very knowledgeable, so I asked him about my little brother's strange illness and how to treat your leg."

"Oh? What did that old grandpa say?"

For some reason, a faint, almost imperceptible excitement stirred in Liu Jun's heart at those words.

"He said we could try letting moonlight shine on my little brother at night to treat his strange fear of sunlight. It might help."

"Well..."

Liu Jun frowned slightly, but did not object. His younger son did indeed seem to be in better condition at night.

It was just that he had always assumed the child feared all light, so he had never let moonlight fall on him.

Now that someone who sounded quite elderly had suggested this method, perhaps it was worth trying.

Before he could think any further, Liu Hao spoke again.

"As for your leg, Dad, drink your medicine tonight and see how it works. We can talk about it then."

"...All right."

Perhaps life's lash had made Liu Jun exceptionally steady in temperament. Or perhaps he was afraid of having his hopes dashed once again.

Liu Jun hesitated, but ultimately asked no more questions. After all, he only had to wait until tonight to see the answer.

He pondered silently, then put his thoughts aside and made his way home on his crutch, pausing with every step.

Once home, Liu Hao placed the Herb Hoe behind the door and hung the bamboo basket of medicinal herbs on the wall.

Then he went into the kitchen and found dinner already prepared.

His father's second dose of medicine for the day had also been warmed up. He could drink it after finishing his Rye Porridge.

After dinner, Liu Hao eagerly went to the kitchen and took the medicine out of the pot.

Holding the bowl in both hands, he raised it above his head and silently recited, System Bro is fucking awesome.

What a plain, unadorned incantation, Liu Hao thought.

Then he carried the medicine out and handed it to his father to drink.

Seeing no significant reaction right away, Liu Hao did not keep waiting and went to the bedroom.

"Mom, I heard an old grandpa say we could try letting moonlight shine on my little brother to treat his strange illness. It might help."