Chapter 43: Fairy Hurries Along

The next day, Qin Mu was awakened by the clamoring villagers. He got up to ask what was happening and learned that the watchman had suddenly died the previous night, which had startled everyone.

Qin Mu had cut down a tree the night before, and a large snake had burst out of it, which was already frightening. Now, with the watchman's sudden death late at night, the villagers were agitated and discussed it anxiously.

The couple approached, holding a platter draped with a red cloth, on which lay some tokens of gratitude. "Granny Si, young brother," the man said, "we are poor folks and have nothing valuable, but please accept these small gifts."

Qin Mu was about to decline, but the Blind Man interjected, "Mu'er, take it. Don't let them feel indebted to you."

Qin Mu collected the items from the red cloth and bid farewell to the couple. The man chuckled, "Young brother, you possess extraordinary skills; you're destined to become a truly exceptional individual!"

"What's so great about being an exceptional individual?"

Granny Si scoffed, "Dragon liver and phoenix marrow are just delicacies on a dining table. Don't become a dragon or phoenix; become someone who *eats* dragons and phoenixes."

The couple exchanged bewildered glances. Granny Si waved her hand, "Go home now. Mu'er, Blind Man, let's continue to the market!"

Qin Mu caught up with the elderly woman and asked curiously, "Granny, what happened last night? Was the watchman the one performing the ritual? How did he die? Also, what was that silver pellet floating between my eyebrows last night? Didn't you say everyone in our village is ordinary? I feel like ordinary people from other villages are a bit different from our village's 'ordinary' people."

"Why so many questions?"

Granny Si's head felt like it would burst; she looked at the Blind Man imploringly. The Blind Man, chuckling, walked cheerfully forward, then bumped into a tree with a thump and fainted.

Granny Si stomped on the Blind Man's face several times, but he remained stubbornly unconscious.

Qin Mu quickly picked up the Blind Man and looked at Granny Si with hope. Granny Si pulled a needle from her basket and jabbed it into the Blind Man's backside. His backside spurted blood with a sizzle, but he still didn't wake up.

Helpless, Granny Si blinked and said, "The watchman was indeed that devilish master who raised snakes. His abilities weren't weak; he used the Demonic Shadow Illusionary Arts, a powerful divine ability from the Heavenly Devil Cult, making him extremely difficult to guard against. I used the Shadow Manipulation technique to harm his shadow, thus injuring his main body through it. My inner demon was acting up, as I once promised someone I would never harm a disciple of the Heavenly Devil Cult, so I only made him retreat. The one who actually killed him wasn't me; it was the Blind Man."

Qin Mu blinked. "What about the silver pellet? Was that a sword pellet? Are you skilled in swordsmanship, Granny?"

Granny Si's eyes blinked and blinked, the elder and the younger blinking at each other until their eyes ached. Granny Si gritted her teeth and jabbed the Blind Man's backside again, but he still didn't wake up.

"A silver pellet? *Cough, cough*. Are you talking about this one?"

Granny Si flipped her palm, revealing a silver pellet in her hand. Qin Mu nodded eagerly, "Granny, teach me swordsmanship!"

Granny Si sighed. "It's not that I don't want to teach you, but I can't. While my swordsmanship is quite renowned, it's not the best in the world. If you learn my sword techniques, others won't be willing to teach you, so I absolutely cannot pass it on to you."

Qin Mu was disappointed, but then his spirits lifted. "The best swordsmanship in the world? Is it from our village?"

"Don't go guessing wildly."

Granny Si warned, "If you go begging him, he'll be even less likely to teach you. He'll only teach you when he's ready! You already possess several unique arts, none of which you've truly mastered. Wait until you can defeat Old Ma with your fists, cleave the Butcher with your blade, challenge the Blind Man with your spear, and outrun the Cripple, all within the same cultivation realm! *Then* you can think about honing your sword techniques! At that point, if he doesn't teach, we'll force him to!"

The Blind Man yawned languidly, "His knowledge is the highest, and his cultivation is the deepest. He's become even more terrifying over the years. Even if we all banded together, we might not be able to defeat him."

"So, you've decided to wake up?" Granny Si flared up and jabbed his backside with the needle again.

The Blind Man got off Qin Mu's back, leaning on his cane. "It's better if you explain this whole situation, I can't. But I can explain about killing the watchman. His Demonic Shadow Illusionary Arts were very powerful; he could swap places with his shadow. His physical body wasn't his true form; his shadow was. When fighting him, if you only attacked his body, you would be killed by his shadow. When he tried to kill me, I used my bamboo staff to pin his shadow, nailing him to the ground."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then asked, "So, he raised snakes and used the innate vital essence and souls of infants to cultivate what?"

The Blind Man said, "Granny, you're most skilled in demonic cultivation techniques; you explain it."

"That cultivation technique is called the 'Effortless Innate Art'."

Granny Si continued, "This art is a Heavenly Devil Cult technique that transforms acquired essence into innate essence. However, he must have obtained an incomplete scroll somewhere and practiced it incorrectly, resorting to using unborn infants for cultivation. The true Effortless Innate Art, although a demonic art, is noble and would never employ such despicable methods. Instead, it cultivates by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and drawing essence from the sun and moon."

Her expression turned slightly worried as she murmured, "People from the Heavenly Devil Cult have appeared nearby. It seems the Great Ruins will no longer be peaceful. These fellows often appear in swarms..."

The trio returned to Granny Temple. The market fair was still ongoing, but by afternoon, people from various villages began to leave, returning to their respective homes. Qin Mu also drove the ox cart back to Disabled Elderly Village.

"Mu'er, you can go hunting alone from now on."

Old Ma, sitting on the ox cart, swayed with the bumpy road, then suddenly said, "You've grown up."

A warmth spread through Qin Mu's heart. He turned back and smiled, the cowherd boy from Disabled Elderly Village beaming as brightly as early spring sunshine.

"However, you're only allowed to hunt exotic beasts, not challenge exotic beast lords."

Granny Si added, "And you must return every evening to herd the oxen, making sure they eat plenty of grass."

The cowherd boy's face immediately darkened. The two oxen quietly pulling the cart also bellowed indignantly, their eyes welling up with tears, looking extremely wronged.

Seeing this, Qin Mu eyed them suspiciously. "Granny, are these two oxen actually human too?"

"You guess," Granny Si chuckled knowingly.

Qin Mu didn't want to guess.

A gust of wind blew from behind, making the boy's heart flutter. He suddenly strode forward, leaped from the ox cart, and began chasing the wind. He wanted to catch it, to walk on its crests through the sky!

His speed was extraordinary. He leaped out of the pine forest, dashing across the treetops, gaining speed rapidly. He finally caught up with the head of the wind, soaring into the air. Though airborne, he immediately felt a strange upward thrust beneath his feet.

The boy cheered, his feet lightly tapping the air as he ran across the wind's crests.

The people on the ox cart looked up. The Blind Man, serene as ever, remarked, "Will he fall?"

The Apothecary caught a wisp of wind, sniffed it, and chuckled, "He will fall. This is a demonic wind, and a demon is traveling within it. It will stop once it discovers him. Who's going to catch him?"

Qin Mu's steps were swift, and the wind was equally fast. Unknowingly, he had run over ten *li*. The boy was exhilarated when he suddenly saw a snow-white fox flying beside him, sitting on a large banana leaf. Its two front legs were stretched straight out, while its hind legs were tucked beneath it.

He was stunned, and the white fox was equally startled.

Both boy and fox screamed in unison. Then, Qin Mu felt the whistling wind suddenly cease, and he tumbled down from the air, flailing his limbs. The fox remained on the banana leaf, pointing at him with a raised paw and yelping, clearly astonished.

"Oh no!"

Qin Mu rapidly changed his footwork, executing the Sky-Stealing Legwork, thinking, "As long as I run fast enough, I can walk in the sky..."

He then realized he wasn't running fast enough; his feet couldn't find purchase on the air, and he continued to plummet downwards!

Qin Mu looked down, his scalp tingling. Below was a rocky landscape, devoid of trees, only scattered boulders. If he fell onto them, he would surely be shattered.

Just then, the screaming white fox in the air came to its senses. The banana leaf swiftly flew back. Qin Mu immediately felt wind beneath his feet again, allowing him to step on the wind's crests. He quickly tapped his feet, stopping his descent, and finally, just as he was about to hit the ground, he leaped up, stepping on the wind's crests, and continued to ride the wind!

He sighed in relief, only to see the fox, still sitting on its banana leaf, catch up. Boy and fox stared at each other. The white fox spoke in a pleasant human voice, though its breath reeked of alcohol, and it seemed quite tipsy. It asked curiously, "What are you doing? How did you get into my wind?"

Qin Mu was surprised. "I wanted to try chasing the wind's crests and walking on the wind; I didn't know this was your wind. You can fly? And talk?"

"I use magic to command the wind, allowing me to ride it."

The white fox said, "I'm returning from a banquet, and it's getting dark. I'm in a hurry, so I won't see you off. I'll be going now. If fate allows, we'll meet again another day!" With that, it vanished in a gust of wind.

Qin Mu felt the wind beneath his feet gradually weaken. He quickly slanted his descent from the air and landed. Disabled Elderly Village was just ahead. He looked up, but the fox was nowhere to be seen.

"Returning from a banquet?"

Qin Mu was full of questions. "This talking fox knows magic and even goes to banquets? Is there really something so interesting? Next time I see it, I must ask for details..."

Two days later, an elderly and a young itinerant Daoist arrived at Zhang Village. Covered in dust, they entered the village. The elder said, "Kind villagers, could you spare us some water? We monks often travel, and our stomachs aren't good, so a bowl of hot water would be appreciated."

The villagers poured two bowls of water for them. The elder and the youth drank, then thanked the villagers. The elder, with kind eyes and a benevolent expression, smiled and said, "My disciple and I travel everywhere. We know a bit of magic. I sense demonic energy in your village; do you need us to exorcise it?"

The villager chuckled, "The demon has already been eliminated. It was a large snake hidden inside a tree, killed by a young boy from the neighboring village!"

The elder was surprised. "Why do I still sense demonic energy here? Has anyone died in your village recently?"