The sky darkened as evening settled in.
Two hours later, Zhou Jiangnan finished boiling the medicine and carried a steaming bowl to the main courtyard. As soon as he pushed open the door, he caught the scent of blood drifting from behind the screen.
Elder Shen had often coughed up blood before. Zhou Jiangnan’s face changed at once, and he hurried around the screen into the main room—only to stop short at the sight before him.
The once-neat couch was filthy and in disarray. Someone lay sprawled across it, their state unclear.
The child was barely three and a half feet tall. Blood and mud caked his body so thickly that it was impossible to make out his features; Zhou Jiangnan could only tell that he was a little boy.
Elder Shen leaned against the side of the couch, looking more tired than usual. His spirits seemed worse than they had been that morning, and he appeared close to exhaustion. When Zhou Jiangnan came in, he sighed. “Just in time.” He pointed to the child on the couch. “Give him the medicine first.”
Zhou Jiangnan stared. “Where did this child come from?”
“I found him.” Shen Yueshan rubbed his temples. “He was badly hurt, but his life is out of danger. He’ll probably need quite a while to recover.”
Before he had finished speaking, Shen Yueshan’s vision dimmed for an instant. He tasted blood in his mouth, but lowered his eyes without a word and pressed his lips together. They had already been pale; now they lost what little color remained.
To keep the child alive, he had poured spiritual energy into him for nearly an hour. In his current condition, using spiritual power was no easy matter.
Every time he did, it stirred the Ghost Breath lingering in his body into a frenzy, making every bone ache. The more energy he spent, the more the pain piled up, until it became almost unbearable. Even his soul was affected.
Zhou Jiangnan wrapped a cloth around the medicine pot’s handle and poured the medicine into the bowl, all the while chattering away. “We’re a long way from anywhere out here. A badly injured child just appearing in the middle of the wilderness? There’s probably a whole story behind it…”
When Zhou Jiangnan turned around, he saw that Shen Yueshan had grown even paler. A fine sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead. He looked far worse than the child on the couch.
Alarmed, Zhou Jiangnan said, “Maybe you should drink the medicine first, Elder Shen. I’ll make another batch for the child.”
“It’s all right.”
Shen Yueshan suppressed the pain in his bones and coughed twice. His voice came out weak and faint. “His spiritual meridians are badly shattered. He’s so young, and his life is still hanging by a thread. He needs the medicine to nourish him.”
Zhou Jiangnan couldn’t argue with that, but he didn’t know what to say, either. He couldn’t exactly blame the injured child. Deflating, he muttered, “I’ll send a message to Eldest Senior Brother in a bit and ask him to come take a look. We can’t have this kid drinking all the spirit medicine the Sect Leader set aside for you.”
“That would be fine.”
The pain in Shen Yueshan’s body was growing more pronounced. He headed for the bedroom and said hoarsely, “I’ll probably need a few days to recover. Keep an eye on the child for now.”
Zhou Jiangnan answered, “Yes,” and picked up the medicine he had set aside to cool. As he listened to Elder Shen’s muffled coughs from behind the bed curtains, he couldn’t help feeling awful.
All he could do was glare at the filthy, miserable-looking child on the couch. Elder Shen had finally started feeling better, and now he’s run himself ragged saving you.
Then a puzzled look came over Zhou Jiangnan’s face.
Strange.
The Sea Valley stretched for nine hundred li, and Elder Shen prized his peace and quiet. His home was in the most remote part of the mountains. Where on earth had a three- or four-year-old child come from?
Shen Yueshan had used up far too much of his strength this time. Given the state of his body, he couldn’t withstand a massive influx of spiritual energy. He could only slowly draw in the spiritual essence of heaven and earth to nourish himself.
He had no idea how much longer he could live in this condition. Until now, he had always kept the Ghost Qi under control.
But this time, he had used too much spiritual energy and upset the balance. The Ghost Breath was now running rampant through his body.
Purging it was agonizing. The Ghost Breath was almost fused with his soul, and the pain was no less than tearing his soul apart all over again.
On ordinary days, Shen Yueshan could remove a trace or two without so much as changing expression. But if he tried to purge even a little more, he could barely endure it.
The pain left him nearly spent. Sweat soaked through his underclothes, and he could hardly speak; in the dead of night, all he could do was gasp for breath.
Even after spending more than half a month at it, he had cleared away only a small portion of the Ghost Breath lingering in his soul. Most of it remained, still fused with him.
Fortunately, his condition had gradually stabilized. The pain in his body had begun to ease, and he no longer had to force himself to keep separating the Ghost Breath from his soul.
Once he finally relaxed, Shen Yueshan’s eyelids grew too heavy to hold open. He closed them and slept for two days, not waking properly until the morning of the third.
He opened the window. The main courtyard was quiet. Most of the osmanthus blossoms in the yard had withered, leaving only a few faint traces of fragrance in the air.
Shen Yueshan raised a handkerchief to his lips and coughed softly twice.
The chill in the wind was sharper than it had been half a month ago, and a thicker layer of frost clung to the osmanthus branches. He closed the window, put on his outer robe, and headed for the room next door.
Afraid of disturbing his recovery, Zhou Jiangnan had moved the child he’d found to the room beside his.
The child was lying beneath the covers. When Shen Yueshan approached, he saw that the boy had been cleaned up.
Beneath all that mud and dried blood was a small, fair face, delicate as a carved figurine. A hint of aloofness lingered in his features, though it was easy to imagine how handsome he would be once he grew up.
“Not bad-looking at all.” Shen Yueshan reached out and gently pinched the child’s cheek. When he let go, a little mark remained.
Soft, too.
He chuckled and checked the child’s pulse. Perhaps it was because the medicine they’d used had been of such fine quality, but the boy’s injuries had nearly healed, with no lasting damage.
“Elder Shen.” Hearing the noise, Zhou Jiangnan came into the room.
Shen Yueshan asked quietly, “Has he still not woken up?”
“No.” Zhou Jiangnan shook his head and set down the bowl of medicine. “Eldest Senior Brother came by to examine him and prescribed medicine. We’ve been taking good care of him, and his injuries healed quickly enough, but he still won’t wake up.”
Strange. Most people would be up and about after three or four days. Why is he still unconscious?
Shen Yueshan wondered if they had missed some internal injury, or if there was too much baleful energy clinging to the child.
Without his noticing, a thread of Ghost Breath slipped from the fingertips pressed against the child’s pulse and darted into the boy between the brows.
“Oh, right. I need to send a message to the Sect Leader first. He came back two days ago and said he wanted to see you.” Zhou Jiangnan took out the Summoning Bell and hurried out.
Shen Yueshan had found no hidden injuries or other problems, and there was nothing else for him to do. He picked up the bowl from the table and began carefully feeding the child.
Feeding medicine to someone unconscious was second nature to Shen Yueshan. A light tap at an acupoint in the throat would make the person’s mouth open on its own. Then he could feed them spoonful by spoonful without choking them or spilling a drop.
Back at the Gengchen Immortal Sect, whenever someone refused to take their medicine, this was how he made sure they swallowed it. It wasn’t very humane, but it worked remarkably well.
He was lost in thought when a sudden pain shot through the fingers holding the spoon. He released it without thinking. The spoon struck the bowl with a clear Clink.
Shen Yueshan came back to himself and looked down. At some point, the child had woken and sat up. His teeth were clamped around the bent index finger that had been holding the spoon.
The boy glared at him, his face solemn and his eyes narrowed. A bone-deep, cold malice shone in his gaze, giving the child’s delicate features an unexpectedly vicious cast.
What a temper.
Shen Yueshan laughed in disbelief and set the bowl steadily on the table. With his free hand, he flicked the child between the brows. The boy toppled back onto the bed as easily as if Shen Yueshan had pushed him with one finger.
“I save your life, and this is how you repay me? By biting me?”
Shen Yueshan narrowed his eyes and pushed up his sleeve, showing the child the bite on his thumb web from more than half a month ago. The tooth marks there had scabbed over. The fresh bite on his index finger stood out sharply beside them.
“Are you a dog? You’ve bitten me twice now.”
The boy said nothing. His dark eyes fixed on Shen Yueshan with a chilling glare.
“What’s your name?”
Shen Yueshan rose and went to sit at the long table. His ink-black hair fell down his back along with the hem of his robe. Unhurriedly, he arranged the tools for brewing tea and asked as if speaking to himself, “They say a life saved should be repaid with your hand in marriage. I don’t want a disciple, but I could use a son. You’re young enough that raising you would be just right. If you’re filial when you grow up, I might finally get a taste of the family life ordinary people enjoy.”
His cool, low voice drifted through the room, each word like a jade bead falling to the floor. His tone was distant, yet his words were anything but kind.
The longer Rong Huang listened, the more murderous the look in his eyes became. Deep within them, it was as if flames were burning; his anger climbed to its peak.
How dare he!
He was only trapped in a weak body for now. Once he had time to recover… He forced down the dark, blood-soaked thoughts rising in his heart and stared coldly at Shen Yueshan.
Shen Yueshan was lighting the tea stove and carefully brewing tea.
Every movement was unhurried. His long lashes lowered as he watched the leaves unfurl and rise in the teapot. A rare gentleness entered his eyes, as if he were looking at the most beautiful sight in the world.
“…”
At least he’s easy on the eyes.
Rong Huang irritably looked away. He would settle both old and new grudges eventually.
When the boy didn’t answer, Shen Yueshan said, “You don’t have to tell me. I’ll call you Little Wolf, then.” He thought it over and added earnestly, “Or Eggy. There’s a saying in the Mortal Realm: the cheaper the name, the easier the child is to raise.”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Shen Yueshan heard the boy grit his teeth.
“Rong Huang.”
His voice was still a little hoarse from sleeping so long, but it was strong enough. Shen Yueshan could hear how much he didn’t want to be called Eggy.
“What a pity,” Shen Yueshan said. “Since you already have a name, I suppose that settles it.”
Just then, the two bamboo bells hanging beneath the eaves chimed in the breeze. Along with them came Qu Xingyi, who rushed into the room in a flurry.
“I spent more than twenty days visiting over a hundred sects. I’ve smoothed things over with quite a few of them, so when the Tianfu Tournament comes around, you shouldn’t have to worry about anyone openly making trouble…”
Qu Xingyi was still talking as he accepted the tea Shen Yueshan offered. He had barely taken a sip when he sensed a third person in the room. His gaze shot to Rong Huang, who was lying on the couch.
Qu Xingyi swallowed his tea with difficulty. “…Where did this child come from?”
“Mine.”
Shen Yueshan slowly added water to the tea stove. “My son.”
Rong Huang had been lying perfectly still on the couch, but at those words, his gaze turned into a blade aimed straight at Shen Yueshan. If the time weren’t wrong, if he hadn’t yet reclaimed his source and been reduced to a weak body that could only transform itself into a child…
Qu Xingyi stared. “?”
Qu Xingyi stared again. “Don’t joke around. I’ve been away from the sect for less than a month. How could you have a child this old? It takes a bird three months to hatch an egg.”
“He’s my adopted son. That still makes him my son.” Shen Yueshan glanced at Rong Huang. “Call me Adoptive Father.”
Beneath his long lashes, Rong Huang’s dark, unreadable eyes met Shen Yueshan’s. He could just make out the dangerous message in them: Go ahead and refuse. See what happens.
“…”
Swallowing his anger, Rong Huang called him, “Adoptive Father.”
Shen Yueshan nodded in satisfaction. “Good boy.” Then he looked at Qu Xingyi. “You heard him, didn’t you?”
Qu Xingyi had never seen such a strange and unexpected way of becoming family. He didn’t know what to say, but Elder Shen had already claimed the boy, so he settled for, “Then I’ll be his eldest uncle.”
