Lin Zhixue’s face was haggard and his eyes were deeply sunken, yet they burned with an intense, desperate longing.
It was as if he were staking everything on a single throw of the dice.
His guards wore thick robes, their hands wrapped tightly in cloth.
They carefully carried a sealed sedan chair, passing through the crowd that parted automatically for them.
Everywhere they went, people scrambled to get out of the way. These were contagious, malignant sores; no one wanted to get anywhere near them.
The sedan chair came to a steady halt in front of the Heart’s Desire Hall.
Ignoring the gazes of those around him, Lin Zhixue stepped forward and bowed deeply to Ku Chan, his waist bending almost to the ground.
He pleaded with a choked voice.
"Great Master! I beg for your mercy, Great Master! Please, save my son!"
He lifted his head, the rims of his eyes bright red.
"My son, Shaobin, was suddenly struck by a foul disease several months ago. His entire cultivation was lost, and he remains unconscious, his body... his body is covered in rotting sores.
"My Lin family has searched for every famous physician and exhausted our family fortune, but none could treat him. Instead, several servants caught the same affliction... I—I am truly at my wit's end!"
He became increasingly agitated, as if he were grasping at the last available lifeline.
"As long as the Great Master can save my son, my Lin family is willing to give everything!
"Spirit stones, mines, the treasures of our treasury—as long as the Great Master speaks the word, I, Lin, will not hesitate!
"Even... even if you want this old life of mine, I would give it willingly!"
Ku Chan’s exposed gums pulled back slightly in a grin, and he felt a secret joy in his heart.
He knew he had finally waited for today’s 'fated one'.
Ku Chan feigned a pious air, raising a single hand vertically in a Buddhist salute.
"Amitabha.
"Patron Lin’s love for his son is enough to move heaven and earth.
"Our God is merciful and also pities the suffering of all living beings.
"Since you are so sincere, let this poor monk observe your son's condition. If he is fated to be with our Heart’s Desire Hall, our God may descend his grace upon him."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhixue felt as if he were hearing the voices of celestials.
The Heart’s Desire Hall only took one guest a day; he hadn't expected to become the fated one on the very first day.
Lin Zhixue hastily signaled the guards.
The guards pulled back the sedan curtains and carried out the unconscious Lin Shaobin.
His entire body was wrapped in filthy, yellowed bandages. Pus seeped out continuously, and the smell was foul.
With a mournful expression, Lin Zhixue personally stepped forward. Unafraid of infection, he began to unwrap the layers of bandages from his son's body.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Lin Shaobin’s body was exposed.
His once handsome face was long gone.
His skin was rotted across large areas, covered in oozing sores.
And on his chest, arms, and even his neck, the seemingly haphazardly scattered sores faintly coalesced into the shapes of agonizing human faces.
Their features were clear and their expressions vivid, as if they were letting out silent roars.
Pus flowed continuously from the mouths, noses, and other orifices of these human faces.
A chorus of gasps erupted from the surrounding crowd. Many people couldn't help but gag and scrambled backward.
"Please look, Great Master."
Lin Zhixue’s voice trembled as he pointed at the terrifying sores on his son.
"These are the malignant sores on my son. They are extremely sinister and cannot be cured; they block one's spiritual energy and cause a coma.
"Lately, they have even become contagious, spreading to anyone who gets close. Several servants in my Lin family have already been infected."
As Ku Chan listened, his attention wasn't entirely on the disgusting sores themselves.
Narrowing his eyes, he keenly sensed a very deeply hidden ripple of Buddhist power entwined around Lin Shaobin.
It was a parasite.
The Buddhist Sect had always been adept at such methods.
Yet he couldn't be certain.
Those of the Aspect of All Beings would look for suitable monsters or humans to serve as hosts. Usually, they would use copper poison to temper the host's body and mind, helping them withstand the Buddhist power to eventually achieve an Arhat's body.
But he could not sense even a trace of copper poison on Lin Shaobin.
Furthermore, the choice of a host usually had to be at a stage no lower than oneself; otherwise, it would be of little use.
Unless the host had a special destiny.
Did this kid have a special destiny?
Ku Chan couldn't tell. Although he wasn't skilled in divination, the boy looked like a perfectly ordinary second-stage cultivator no matter how he viewed him.
Ku Chan even deliberately avoided the locations of the sores and secretly sent his spiritual energy toward Lin Shaobin's dantian and sea of qi, but he found no sign of any fellow sect member.
This made his heart pound with uncertainty.
He had indeed hooked a big fish, one that seemed desperate enough to perfectly showcase a miracle.
But the fish seemed a bit too big, exceeding his own capabilities.
He was just a low-level lackey of the Aspect of All Beings; his experience was still too limited.
Just as Ku Chan was hesitating over whether to directly report the situation to the God via the faith link and let Chen Zhou decide...
"Fck! What the hell is this? I can smell that filthy, pestilent stench from a mile away."
A gruff, irritable voice drifted out from within the Heart’s Desire Hall. Lord Rat cursed as he walked out, radiating a murderous aura.
He was still dressed in his human form with black robes and a misty face. His eyes were full of undisguised irritation and disgust.
As he stepped over the threshold, the baleful aura belonging to a high-level magic creature spread out.
Everyone at the door, including Lin Zhixue and the guards, reflexively turned pale. They all took a collective step back, feeling a chill in their hearts.
Lord Rat didn't even bother looking at these people. His gaze locked directly onto the carried Lin Shaobin.
Specifically, those oozing, malignant sores.
It was as if some extremely unpleasant memory had been triggered; the aura around him became even colder and more violent.
"Tsk," Lord Rat reflexively touched the misty mask on his face.
The cold mask helped him regain some semblance of logic. Lord Rat let out a cold laugh. "Human-face sores? This low-class, disgusting crap again!"
He turned his head and swept an impatient glance over the hopeful yet terrified Lin Zhixue, speaking at a rapid-fire pace.
"Listen up, old man. If you want to save your son, the solution isn't hard, but the materials are a bit troublesome.
"Find a pure lotus root of over a hundred years to serve as the main body. Use rootless water to boil detoxifying purple bamboo as a catalyst. Then, roast him with Yang fire continuously for seven days and seven nights to force out the poison from the sores.
"Remember, you must not let him stop breathing during the roasting, or all efforts will be wasted and the person will just be cooked through."
He finished speaking extremely quickly, as if looking for even a second longer was beneath him. Enduring his churning killing intent and irritation, he roared at Ku Chan.
"What are you standing there for? Close the door! Send them away!
"Get this pus-covered thing out of here immediately! Don't let him dirty Lord Rat’s territory!"
Lord Rat feared that if he looked at those disgusting human-face sores any longer, he would lose control of his temper entirely.
He had seen far too much of this stuff back in Tianchi Province.
Every time he saw it, it felt like a thorn being driven deep into his memories.
It always reminded him of another even more disgusting, even more damnable person.
No, he couldn't be called a person. He was a fiend that Lord Rat hated to his very marrow.
Seeing Lord Rat seething with such baleful aura—as if he would explode and kill someone if he looked for half a second longer—Ku Chan didn't dare to cross the master. He smiled apologetically and saw Lord Rat back into the house.
Then, he took out three second-stage pills and pressed them into Lin Zhixue’s hand.
"Patron Lin, do not panic.
"Lord Rat’s temper is a bit explosive, but what he said is true. Since he has pointed out the solution, your son still has a chance at life."
After saying this, Ku Chan didn't wait for Lin Zhixue to react. He hurriedly pressed his palms together toward Lin Zhixue, then turned and quickly retreated back into the Heart’s Desire Hall.
Ku Chan felt that Lin Shaobin’s coma was very similar to that of the little beggar from yesterday. It likely wasn't just because of the human-face sores.
He didn't dare to be negligent. Without worrying about whether he would disturb his God, he immediately contacted Chen Zhou.
Rate on N.U.
