"Dead?" Shen Qing looked at the little girl, somewhat puzzled, and said, "You’re fine, why say you’ll be dead tomorrow?"
The little girl blinked her bright eyes and said innocently, "I’m going to serve Huang Daxian tomorrow. All the children from the village who went there never came back, so I guess I won’t come back either, which means I’ll be dead."
Shen Qing continued to ask, "Huang Daxian? A demon?"
"Shh!" The little girl made a hushing gesture, worriedly looking around, and said cautiously, "Huang Daxian doesn’t allow others to talk about it like that."
So, it was a demon.
Shen Qing understood in his heart.
"A Liang said that Huang Daxian likes children. If a village doesn’t send anyone, it gets very angry. Many villages have been completely eaten by it for not sending children. I don’t want my parents to die," the little girl said seriously.
Shen Qing looked at the little girl’s innocent face and, after a moment, said, "Aren’t you afraid?"
The little girl smiled brightly, her eyes curving into crescent moons, "Not afraid. A Liang said that when people die, it’s just like falling asleep; it doesn’t hurt."
Shen Qing said, "So you want to die?"
The little girl shook her head, "I don’t want to."
Shen Qing asked, "Do you want to live?"
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The little girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Hmm, I want to take care of my parents before dying."
Shen Qing said solemnly, "Then don’t go out tomorrow. Stay by my side."
The little girl waved her hand, nervously saying, "Tomorrow, Huang Daxian will send someone over. If you stop them, they’ll kill you."
"No problem, let them come and kill me," Shen Qing said indifferently.
The little girl glanced at Shen Qing, seeing his pale face and somewhat weak appearance, yet somehow feeling reassured by him.
She hesitated for a moment, nodded firmly, "Okay. Big brother, you’re like A Liang."
Shen Qing asked, "Who is A Liang?"
"My big brother."
"Where did he go?"
"He went to Huang Daxian and died."
Shen Qing fell silent.
With a creak, the worn wooden door opened.
A dark-skinned woman pushed the door open and walked in.
She held a basket filled with freshly picked vegetables from the field, exuding an alluring fragrance.
"Niuniu, come quickly, there’s your favorite sweet potato," the woman said gently, shaking the basket slightly.
The little girl ran excitedly to the woman’s side, "Wow! Great, I want to eat, I want to eat."
"Don’t worry, it’s all yours."
A mist of tears covered the woman’s eyes, as if she was trying hard not to cry.
After a while, the woman came out of the kitchen with a plate of freshly steamed sweet potatoes, steaming hot.
The little girl grabbed one and took a big bite, very happy, as if eating a lavish feast.
Chen Gouzi and the woman couldn’t bear to watch this scene and went outside.
Shen Qing took it all in.
A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he looked away, slowly closing his eyes, seriously cultivating to heal his injuries.
Shen Qing gently touched his treasure pouch, taking out a golden yellow pill, its rich medicinal fragrance spreading.
This was a Revitalizing Pill he had scavenged from Xue Zhao, greatly beneficial for healing and restoring spiritual power.
Shen Qing pinched the Revitalizing Pill between two fingers and threw it into his mouth to chew.
At that moment, a fresh and fragrant aroma wafted from his mouth.
This was the unique medicinal fragrance of the Revitalizing Pill.
Shen Qing couldn’t help but think of the chrysanthemums he saw at the Chrysanthemum Festival; amazingly, this pill was comparable, with traces of spiritual essence.
As Shen Qing continued to chew, the pill gradually turned into a warm, spiritual liquid, sliding down his throat into his abdomen.
Immediately, a warm and powerful force began to spread within him, like countless small streams converging into rivers, flowing ceaselessly.
This force was full of vitality, nourishing every inch of his flesh, reviving it anew.
Shen Qing closed his eyes, focused, guiding this force through the specific meridian routes of his cultivation technique, first rushing straight up the Governor Vessel, then slowly sinking via the Conception Vessel, permeating every acupuncture point, forming a perfect cycle.
In this process, the damaged meridians, muscles, even bones, and primordial spirit within him were visibly recuperating under the nourishment and restoration of this spiritual power.
Shen Qing felt his broken bones rejoining, his damaged meridians becoming unobstructed, even the ghastly wounds on his body rapidly scabbing over and falling off, revealing intact skin.
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When the last trace of spiritual power integrated into his Qi Sea, and the refinement was complete, Shen Qing exhaled heavily. He felt the previous weakness and powerlessness gradually dissipate, replaced by an unprecedented ease and comfort.
This good medicine had been immensely helpful to him.
However, the spiritual energy here was sparse. Relying solely on spiritual energy to heal injuries was extremely slow, not to mention the slow refinement of the medicinal power.
Shen Qing slowly opened his eyes, seeing the light outside the window, realizing he had unknowingly practiced until late at night.
The Chen Gouzi family had already gone to rest.
He flexed his fingers, sensing the changes in his spiritual power within, about four to five-tenths of what it was in his peak state.
Not enough.
Shen Qing then consecutively took out two more pills from his treasure pouch, putting them into his mouth, continuing the refinement and healing process.
Time ticked by.
The east turned white, the village rooster crowed repeatedly, and many men in the village got up to work while the weather was cool.
The household where Shen Qing stayed, Chen Gouzi’s family, also got up early.
But unlike others, Chen Gouzi did not go out after getting up early. Instead, he sat dazed at his doorstep.
That morning, the little girl wore new clothes, lively and vibrant, shedding much of her unique rustic aura.
The woman specially cooked two eggs, peeling one and handing it to the little girl while saying, "Be good when you go to Huang Daxian today, understand?"
The little girl nodded heavily, her eyes fixed on the white egg, her legs swinging under the chair, "I got it, mom."
"Eat up."
The woman handed the egg to the little girl, who sweetly ate it, then suddenly remembered something, picked up the last egg on the table, and offered it to Shen Qing, "Big brother, do you want an egg?"
Shen Qing opened his eyes, looking at the lone egg in her hand, feeling a mix of emotions.
He wasn’t someone who liked meddling in others’ affairs.
But as the saying goes, a gentleman does not save the world, but a sage must act.
Some things, he could take charge of.
Shen Qing was about to say something when suddenly there was a commotion outside.