Chapter 4: The Peerless Wonder of Pharmacists Blessing

Legend has it that during the time of ancient Chaos, Yin and Yang were inverted, the Five Elements were in disarray, and the rise and fall of the Mortal world occurred in an instant.

A Saint descended to the world, named the Pharmacist, who made Twelve Great Vows to deliver all living beings in the world.

The Pharmacist possessed a Thousand-Handed, Hundred-Eyed Dharma Form, illuminating the boundless world with his own Infinite Radiance.

Whatever was requested would be granted without exception.

The suffering of Mortals is nothing more than birth, old age, sickness, and death.

Worship the Pharmacist, and one can obtain longevity.

Worship the Pharmacist, and one can cure stubborn diseases.

There are only benefits, without having to pay any price.

Where else could you find such a wonderful deity?

The rituals for worshipping the Pharmacist in Songlin Village are divided into the Medium Rite, the Grand Rite, and the Super Grand Rite.

The Medium Rite requires the young and old of the entire village to set up incense altars in their homes during festivals, with family members bowing and worshipping in turn, calling out the divine name of the Pharmacist, and offering fresh fruits and melons.

The Grand Rite is personally presided over by the Great-Uncle, leading the young and old of the village to the old peach tree at the village entrance to offer the Three Sacrificial Animals, burn the Sacrificial Oration, and snap peach branches to dip in Divine Water to pray for the village.

The Super Grand Rite is only spoken of among the villagers and seems not to have been held for a very long time. It is said that it is only held when someone in the village achieves Immortal Ascension through Cultivation, at which time more offerings must be presented to seek the Pharmacist’s pity and protection.

Coming out of the noodle shop, Li Qiuchen jogged all the way to the village Ancestral Hall.

Pushing the door open, he saw the Great-Uncle sitting in a chair with his head lowered, dozing off. Li Qiuchen’s gaze swept over the Crayfish Spirit without lingering, heading straight for Hong Yang in the corner.

“Wu?”

“Shh—”

Li Qiuchen put a finger to his lips, signaling Hong Yang to remain silent, and took out a small knife to quickly cut the ropes on him.

Hong Yang stared intently at the Crayfish Spirit hanging from the roof beam, fearing it would make the slightest sound. However, the Crayfish Spirit only looked at them with a half-smile, saying nothing.

It didn’t even open its mouth to beg these two kids to take it with them as they escaped.

Why?

Hong Yang couldn’t understand any of it.

Following Li Qiuchen out of the Ancestral Hall in a daze and running to the village entrance, Hong Yang suddenly stopped and said, “Wait, I have to save Cherry Grass!”

“She can’t be saved. If you don’t hurry, you won’t be able to escape once the Great-Uncle wakes up!”

“I know!”

Hong Yang gritted his teeth and said, “Xiao Chen, the three of us grew up together. I can’t leave her here alone. You run first, I’m going back to save her!”

Li Qiuchen said helplessly, “Stop talking that nonsense. How long would it take for you to dig her out alone?”

Hong Yang let out an embarrassed chuckle.

The two turned back, stole two shovels along the way, and sprinted to the fields.

Cherry Grass’s lonely little head was still buried in the ground, and all the weeds around her had been pulled clean. The air was filled with the smell of medicinal liquid. The few emerald green sprouts growing from her facial features and Seven Orifices radiated a thick vitality.

The two of them swung their arms and used every ounce of strength they had to dig furiously.

Fortunately, Cherry Grass was still a child and wasn’t buried deep. The ground had been watered constantly, so the soil was soft. If an adult had been buried there, they might not have been able to dig them out even if they worked until dark.

Hong Yang’s strength was fierce; he dug over a foot deep in just a few strokes, and surprisingly, he still had the energy to speak while digging.

“Xiao Chen, did you already know about all this mess?”

“What mess?”

“The matter with the Great-Uncle.”

“I knew a little.”

“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“If I told you earlier, would you have believed me?”

“How do you know if I’d believe you if you don’t say anything?”

“If I tell you now that Cherry Grass is beyond saving and that she’ll be a corpse even if we dig her out, would you believe me?”

Hong Yang fell silent immediately.

With a forceful strike of the shovel, seeing that the soil was loose, Hong Yang stepped into the pit, grabbed Cherry Grass, gritted his teeth, and pulled hard, pulling her directly out of the ground.

“Run!”

Carrying the cold, unresponsive Cherry Grass on his back, Hong Yang dropped the shovel and took off running.

The two sprinted along, ignoring direction, rushing headlong down the winding mountain path.

They ran for half an hour. Seeing that the village was no longer in sight, Hong Yang slumped by the roadside, panting heavily.

After finally catching his breath, he looked back at Cherry Grass, who was as stiff as an old tree root. A surge of grievance instantly filled his heart, and tears fell like rain.

“Why did it turn out like this?”

Seeing Li Qiuchen catch up from behind, Hong Yang grabbed him and asked sharply, “Speak! Tell me! Why did it turn out like this?”

“Wasn’t it like this from the very beginning?”

Li Qiuchen asked back calmly, “Every household in Songlin Village is practicing Cultivation, yet in all these years, not a single proper cultivator has emerged. Don’t you find that strange?”

“Huh?”

Hong Yang looked blank.

People are like that; they don’t know pain until it hits them. Moreover, he was just a ten-year-old child who didn’t even have enough time to play every day. Why would he think about such complex problems?

“The Great-Uncle is a hundred and eighty years old. Where did he get such a lifespan? Why would the Pharmacist find him so pleasing?”

Li Qiuchen said softly, “The answer is simple. There is a monster in the village that eats young boys and girls, but it’s not the Crayfish Spirit; it’s the Great-Uncle. Why do you think he was so happy when Cherry Grass grew a Spiritual Root? Was he really doing it for her own good?”

“Wait a second!”

Hong Yang hurriedly stopped him. “My mind is a bit of a mess right now. Tell me slowly. When did you find out about these things?”

Li Qiuchen shrugged. “Two or three years ago, I think. At that time, I wanted to ask the villagers about my family, but none of them were willing to mention it. Later, after much inquiry, I found out that ten years ago, my eldest cousin, just like Cherry Grass, also grew a Spiritual Root. But unlike Cherry Grass, the Spiritual Root didn’t grow out of her mouth.”

“And then?”

“Then the Great-Uncle tried to plot against her Spiritual Root, but she noticed in time. She killed her entire family and successfully escaped…”

“Wait a minute!”

Hong Yang interrupted hastily, “What about the middle part? The Great-Uncle wanted her Spiritual Root, so why did she kill her own family?”

“That’s not important.”

“It’s very important! Don’t skip the most crucial part for me!”

Li Qiuchen said helplessly, “You wouldn’t believe it even if I told you.”

“Never mind whether I believe it or not, just say it first!”

“Do you think our village has a large population?”

“Quite a lot, right? I heard a passing Mountain Guest say before that our village’s population is almost catching up to a town…”

“Actually, there aren’t many people.”

“Huh?”

“There are over three hundred households and more than two thousand people in the village. More than half of them have been turned into Puppets by the Great-Uncle. The remaining living people are only kept alive to continue adding to the village’s population.”

“What?”

Hong Yang was dumbfounded.

Such an explosive statement was beyond his psychological capacity to handle.

“Everyone in the Li Family, high and low, had long since become the Great-Uncle’s Puppets. The Li Family’s Cultivation Technique was also taken by the Great-Uncle long before my cousin burned it, and it’s hidden in his house.”

“You even know that?”

Hong Yang was completely stunned.

You already knew your family’s Cultivation Technique was with the Great-Uncle, yet you could actually resist the urge to steal it?

Even if it was just to take a few peeks and then Cultivate in private… Wait, have you already practiced it?

Sensing Hong Yang’s skeptical gaze, Li Qiuchen shook his head. “I haven’t. Are you rested enough? You don’t think the Great-Uncle won’t be able to catch up after running just these few steps, do you?”

“You must have secretly Cultivated; otherwise, how could you have run this far with me without being out of breath?”

“How about you put Cherry Grass down then?”

“No!”

Hong Yang refused without hesitation. “She must still be savable. I’m going to take her to find a Physician! When we were little, we agreed that she would marry me when she grew up. I can’t just give up on her like this!”

She didn’t say that; her mother told you that, you remembered it wrong.

When she stole my family’s Cultivation Technique from the Great-Uncle and gave it to me, she said she only saw you as an older brother… It’s better not to tell you about such things that aren’t good for brotherly friendship.

Li Qiuchen silently calculated in his heart. If nothing went wrong, he and Hong Yang should be able to run twenty miles with Cherry Grass.

This wasn’t a random guess.

Last year, when that group of inexperienced Mountain Guests was preyed upon by the village, the fastest-legged guy only ran twenty miles before being caught by the Great-Uncle the next day.

Hong Yang sat for a while and recovered some strength. Knowing the seriousness of the problem, he didn’t care to listen to Li Qiuchen’s gossip anymore. He gritted his teeth, picked up Cherry Grass, and continued on his way.

He didn’t know where this road led; he only knew that outsiders would take this road into the mountains. Conversely, he could also walk out.

By now, the Great-Uncle should have woken up, but he wouldn’t realize they had run so far yet.

After all, Li Qiuchen hadn’t taken anything when he left, so it didn’t look like he was running away at all.

No one would believe that two children carrying a corpse could run very far from the village.

As the ancients said, the innocent counters the devious… no, it’s that no moves beat having moves.

I have no preparation and no plan; how could you possibly predict my next step?

This should buy more time.

The mountain road was rugged and difficult. The two of them stopped and rested along the way, not knowing exactly how far they had walked.

Not until the sun began to set and the sky grew dim did a dilapidated Earth God Temple appear by the side of the road ahead.

Hong Yang’s stomach growled, and he turned to ask Li Qiuchen, “Xiao Chen, did you bring any food?”

Congratulations! You finally remembered this!

Li Qiuchen fished out a piece of flatbread from his robe and handed it to him. “Only this.”

Hong Yang swallowed hard and said, “Break a piece for me, and keep the rest for yourself.”

“It’s all for you.”

Li Qiuchen stuffed the flatbread into his hand and said, “Your exertion is too great. If you don’t eat something, I’m afraid you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Then what will you eat?”

I’ll eat when I go back.

Li Qiuchen smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me. Staying in the mountains, where can’t I find something to eat?”

Hong Yang thought about it and agreed. Now that spring had arrived, the mountains were full of living things, and one wouldn’t starve. He nodded and said, “Tomorrow I’ll go hunting in the mountains!”

It would be best if we can hold out until tomorrow.

Li Qiuchen turned his head and glanced in the direction they had come from.

Green mountains and clear waters, lush and verdant. No sound could be heard, yet it seemed as if something was silently watching him from the shadows.