Chapter 22: Cang Zhou of Guping City Part 1

Faint, rhythmic sounds at his ear, as if someone were feasting.

Lin Zhuoyu curled in the corner, listening to the uncanny sounds, rubbing his wrist with a trembling hand—he had once worn a protective artifact from Chaoping Marsh on that wrist, but ever since he’d been dragged to this nameless place, everything on him had been confiscated.

Beneath him lay a damp, reeking pool of blood. Lin Zhuoyu forced himself not to think about where it came from, and bit open his fingertip, trying to draw the sigil his mother had taught him.

But he had been locked in here for who knew how many days, in perpetual gloom, his eyes unable to see clearly, and the sigil broke apart again and again.

“Hahaha!” Someone laughed beyond the bars of the Cage. “The Little Immortal Lord still won’t give up? Go on, go on, draw faster! Summon the Great Immortal Lord to come save you—or the next one we eat is you!”

Lin Zhuoyu went rigid and shrank deeper into the corner.

That muffled, hollow voice was still laughing, punctuated by the grating sound of flesh being gnawed. “First bite takes off your head. Second bite opens your belly… hahaha, such a little thing, the Little Immortal Lord—we’ll finish you in three.”

Lin Zhuoyu’s lips trembled, but he said nothing.

All this while, demons had come to jeer and menace him, hoping to see this six-year-old child scream and break down and weep. They were disappointed every time.

Since being locked in here, Lin Zhuoyu had only ever huddled in his corner, silently drawing that sigil that could never possibly succeed. Beyond that, not a single reaction.

The demons decided the child had been frightened witless, and redoubled their efforts to break him.

The Tiger Demon outside the bars tossed aside the severed arm in his hand, saying with a grin, “Little Immortal Lord, why so quiet? Are your eyes blind now, and your tongue gone too? Your elder brother had far more backbone than you. Word is, even as he died, he was still—AH!”

BANG.

A bloom-like burst of spiritual power shot from the corner and smashed squarely into the Tiger Demon’s face, popping open in a small cluster of sparks.

Lin Zhuoyu’s face was white as paper. He had flung out the sigil—the one that had failed a hundred times and finally, finally condensed. His cheeks were hollow with weakness, but those eyes were still bright.

“Demon spawn,” Lin Zhuoyu’s voice was faint, and against the cage full of shrill screaming it seemed impossibly small. “The decree resounds; evil is banished, spirits expunged.”

It was the Evil-Slaying Decree of the Demon Suppression Bureau of Chaoping Marsh.

Even though the sigil carried hardly any force, the Tiger Demon flinched at the words out of pure instinct, and slid back half a step without meaning to.

The moment he realized it, fury at his own humiliation took over. He flung the cage door open, grabbed Lin Zhuoyu by the collar with one large palm, and hoisted his light little body up, baring icy fangs. “Courting death?!”

But Lin Zhuoyu only looked at him, his pupils clear and pure, without a trace of fear.

The Tiger Demon gritted his teeth hard. Leader’s orders be damned—he would eat him in three bites, starting now.

Just then, someone knocked hard on the cage, and a displeased voice said, “What do you think you’re doing?”

The Tiger Demon jolted, hastily dumped Lin Zhuoyu on the ground, and went groveling over. “Lord Guan! What brings you here? This is…”

Guan Shan carried in his hand a small demon with fox ears and a fox tail, and gave the Tiger Demon a cold glance. “He’s still of great use. Don’t forget our master’s orders.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

Guan Shan tossed the little demon into the cage and added, “The master’s orders: watch him well. Don’t let him escape again.”

The Tiger Demon blinked, then recognized the small demon—the stubborn little face was none other than Young Master Qi. He said carefully, “Isn’t that…”

Guan Shan glanced at him.

The Tiger Demon quickly amended: “Then… lock him up for how long?”

“Lie low,” Guan Shan said flatly. “He maimed his brother and plotted against the master. He should have been executed. The master took pity and granted him a way to live.”

The Tiger Demon nodded knowingly.

Which meant: locked in here until he died.

Qingshan Qi bared his teeth and lunged at Guan Shan, who knocked him flying with one palm. He crashed into the pool of blood, too broken to crawl.

And still he would not submit. Gritting his teeth, he spat out a bloody tooth and glared with cold malice. “If you won’t kill me now, one day I’ll kill every last one of you!”

“Do tell,” Guan Shan said mildly, “when you get out.”

With that, he gave his instructions and swept away.

The Tiger Demon locked the cage fast, shot a cold look at Lin Zhuoyu in the corner, and left, sneering.

A drone filled Lin Zhuoyu’s ears. He curled up, drifting in and out, his whole body burning with fever, that false warmth almost carrying him back into his parents’ embrace.

Afterward—whether the fever had scorched it or not—everything in his memory seemed to film over with gray dust.

In that cage full of despairing screams, someone seemed to be speaking to him all along, a weak and ice-cold warmth wrapped around him.

Until one sound—CLANG!

Someone broke through the darkness. The smell of blood lay everywhere.

Lin Zhuoyu, at his last gasp, forced his eyes open with the final scrap of his strength—and saw only darkness still.

But a pair of warm hands lifted his skeletal body gently, wrapping him in a cloak that smelled of snow plum.

Lin Zhuoyu murmured, “Elder Brother…”

“Everything is all right now,” said the one who held him, softly. “I’m taking you away.”

Lin Zhuoyu didn’t catch the words. He had not shed a single tear in all his days of captivity—but after struggling so long at the very edge of despair, something in him simply let go, and like a drowning man seizing a straw, he clutched that person with the last of his strength as the tears came flooding down.

“Senior Brother!”

Lin Zhuoyu woke with a jolt, his hand reaching out in front of him, reaching to embrace the one who had carried him out of despair.

…And caught empty air.

Lin Zhuoyu stared blankly at the unfamiliar bed curtains overhead, letting his scrambled thoughts circle for a good while before he finally came back to himself.

The first thought that surfaced was: Didn’t I die?

A forced breakthrough, organs gravely wounded, life force draining—he was still alive?

Heaven truly does smile on me.

Lin Zhuoyu had no trace of some self-destructive melancholy; having managed to cut down his enemy and still keep his life, his mood turned excellent at once.

He amused himself for a while before finally taking stock of his surroundings.

It seemed to be a human dwelling. Hanging on either side of the bed curtains were two fluffy snow-white pom-poms, like rabbit tails—rather charming.

Lin Zhuoyu was pondering this when he tilted his head and caught sight of a familiar figure.

The sun stood high in the sky. Qingshan Qi had returned to his boyish form and lay sprawled over the edge of the bed, fast asleep. From Lin Zhuoyu’s angle he could see just the youth’s pale face and handsome features lit by the sun.

—Though why anyone slept with his neck craned like that, deliberately putting his face on display, was beyond him.

Lin Zhuoyu was still marveling when Qingshan Qi’s lashes stirred, and he opened his eyes, heavy with sleep.

The moment his gaze landed on Lin Zhuoyu’s face, the boy lit up and pounced. “Brother! You’re finally awake!”

Lin Zhuoyu took the pounce head-on and blinked. “Lu Qi?”

Qingshan Qi disliked that name. He buried his forehead in the crook of Lin Zhuoyu’s neck; a flicker of irritation crossed his expression, but he swallowed it quickly and gazed up beseechingly. “I thought you’d never wake…”

Lin Zhuoyu hadn’t expected to live either, and offered a sigh of his own, before remembering to ask. “Where is this? How did you get back?”

“This is Guping City, the residence of the Divine Physician Cang Zhou.” Qingshan Qi could spin ghost-stories in his sleep; a few sentences and the lie was woven whole. “Not long after I escaped, the Barrier dissolved. When I got back, the fox demon was already dead, and a Gold Talisman had preserved your heart-meridians, Brother.”

Gold Talisman?

Lin Zhuoyu froze, reaching up to touch his chest—there seemed to be a lingering warmth there, one that belonged to Yan Su alone.

Qingshan Qi wasn’t pleased to be ignored. He tugged Lin Zhuoyu’s forearm with just enough force to pull back his attention. “Brother, are you feeling better now?”

“Much better.” Lin Zhuoyu probed his organs and found, to his astonishment, his Origin Core perfectly intact. He clicked his tongue in admiration. “I once heard my Senior Brother speak of the Divine Physician Cang Zhou’s great name. Who knew he really could bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones! I must pay my respects and thank the Divine Physician properly!”

“No need to thank him…” Qingshan Qi said idly.

Lin Zhuoyu was surprised. “Hm? Why not?”

Qingshan Qi hastily corrected: “…I’ve already thanked him on your behalf.”

“That still won’t do. I must thank him myself.”

Qingshan Qi nodded meekly and agreed.

Lin Zhuoyu’s meridians had healed, his organs restored—but whether it was his imagination, his Origin Core didn’t quite circulate smoothly. Strange.

Yet when he examined himself thoroughly, he could find nothing wrong, and chalked it up to being newly arrived at the Spirit Solidification Realm, still unaccustomed.

Lin Zhuoyu changed into a fresh robe. Before he’d finished dressing, Qingshan Qi’s voice came from outside.

“Brother, the Divine Physician is here.”

Lin Zhuoyu froze.

He was on his way to pay respects to the physician—so why had the boy fetched the man over without a word?

How could that be proper?

Lin Zhuoyu hurriedly draped his Azure Robe over his shoulders and rushed out—finding a man in a moon-white robe cowering there, head ducked, without the slightest air of some aloof master beyond the world.

Lin Zhuoyu had a sudden realization. Truly, great masters hide in the marketplace. Who ever decreed that a Divine Physician must float like an immortal and lord it over everyone?

Qingshan Qi said with a smile, “Brother, this is the Divine Physician Cang Zhou.”

The physician was too timid to make conversation, so Lin Zhuoyu unleashed his full charm, stepping up and bowing with great ceremony. “Divine Physician! You are exactly as approachable as I imagined. That you saved my unworthy life—this little token of thanks is unworthy of the favor, but I beg you will accept it!”

Cang Zhou blinked at him, nonplussed.

Seeing him seemingly struck dumb, Lin Zhuoyu said feelingly, “To toil so tirelessly and work such miracles, and not ask a single thing in return—what a blessing you are to the Three Realms!”

Cang Zhou was still stupefied, evidently not having expected anyone to be this good-tempered.

Qingshan Qi came up behind Lin Zhuoyu and settled his robe, glancing a cold look at Cang Zhou. “Divine Physician?”

The physician dropped to his knees at once with a thump.

Lin Zhuoyu: “?”

Lin Zhuoyu didn’t quite understand what this meant, but making one’s savior kneel was unseemly—so he promptly knelt down too, matching him bow for bow.

Qingshan Qi: “…”

As the two of them made to complete a full three bows, the veins at Qingshan Qi’s temple jumped. With a gentleness that tolerated no refusal, he helped Lin Zhuoyu up. “It’s nothing. The Divine Physician expended too much spiritual power yesterday. He’s feeling unwell.”

As he spoke, that hand which could snap a rabbit’s neck without effort reached out, tender as anything, clamped around Cang Zhou’s forearm, and hauled him upright. “Isn’t that right, Divine Physician?”

Cang Zhou: “…”

Cang Zhou nearly died on the spot to prove it, and nodded furiously, fighting back tears. “Exactly so.”

“Oh ho.” Lin Zhuoyu drew another bottle of top-grade Spirit Pills from Qingru. “These are Rejuvenation Pills refined by Lord Qingxiao of Floating Jade Mountain. I know the Divine Physician lacks nothing in the way of pills—but you spent your own strength to save me, and the guilt weighs on me. Please, accept this small token.”

Rejuvenation Pills were rarely seen in the world; those refined by Lord Qingxiao could fetch tens of thousands of Crystal Jade on the black market—and he’d just handed over a whole bottle, casually?

Cang Zhou began staring again.

Perhaps with that cursed thing Qingshan Qi for contrast, he found that Lin Zhuoyu seemed to radiate a saint’s own halo, and it stung until his eyes burned with tears.