Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
Xu Shenghua gradually awakened and noticed that he was lying on the sickbed. There was a warm, wet towel on his forehead, which felt like splitting. There seemed to be millions and millions of voices screaming in his mind, ringing beside his ears.
His head was on the verge of exploding, the splitting pain making him want for nothing more than to chop his head off and kick it as far away as possible!
He couldnât resist groaning, and Jing Yanâs voice came from outside, âYoung Master is awake?â
She hurried over, bringing with her a medicinal smell. She looked at him in surprise and delight.
âIâve lost.â Xu Shenghua had a stupefied expression.
Jing Yan immediately said, âYoung Master has slept for a very long time, Iâm brewing some medicine for youâ¦â
âHow long have I been asleep? Where is this place?â Xu Shenghua asked with a muddled head as the sound of his heart beating boomed in his mind.
âWe are still at the capital, and Young Master has slept for over two days.â
Jing Yan helped him up to lean against the bed. She said, âSister Yu Liu heard that there was a divine physician in Eternal Peace capital whose abilities are remarkable, so she went out in a hurry to invite him.â
Xu Shenghua wanted to raise his hand, but he suddenly groaned. It was as if his head got split by a knife.
âItâs best for Young Master to not move or have any thoughts!â Jing Yan immediately said. âYoung Master got led by Bad Guy Qin and followed him unwillingly. He attacked and you defended which had placed you in a disadvantageous situation. In addition to the technique, you needed divine arts to continuously break through his attack, so you exhausted too much brain power. If you start thinking, you will be using your mind, and since Young Masterâs mind is injured, itâs best for you to rest now. Wait for the divine physician to come.â
Xu Shenghua closed his eyes and didnât say anything. He didnât move anymore as well.
He remembered the situation back then. Qin Mu had first used Sunshot Divine Cannon to exhaust a portion of his brain power, and after he had seen through that plot, the other pressured him mentally and led him along at his tempo.
When the two of them were walking, they were competing with their aura. Qin Mu held the upper hand to attack. When he released his murderous intent, he immediately felt that he could get attacked, thus he immediately changed his body movements and the flow of his vital qi, taking the corresponding defensive position.
His technique was extremely marvelous and could create divine arts to counter the opponentâs attacks. However, since Qin Mu didnât attack, Xu Shenghua could only create and not unleash the divine arts.
And just like that, Qin Mu attacked non-stop with his aura, while Xu Shenghua had to defend non-stop. In just a short distance of two hundred miles, he exhausted all his brain power and his mind couldnât endure it any longer. His body also couldnât take it anymore, which caused him to vomit blood continuously. His consciousness then crumbled, and he fainted on the spot.
Back then, Qin Mu had stopped in his footsteps, but if the other had continued on, he would have been dragged forward until he vomited all the blood, all the way until his brain became tired itself to death. He would have only stopped when he became a corpse!
A crushing defeat.
It was the first time Xu Shenghua had tasted such a defeat, and he was actually slightly bitter in his heart. It was his first time feeling such an emotion.
Yu Liuâs voice came from outside. âYanâzi, come out for a moment!â
Jing Yan immediately went out and said, âYoung master is awake but he canât move. Have you invited the divine physician?â
âIâve invited, itâs just thatâ¦â
Jing Yan walked out and an astonished cry could be heard outside. âWhy is it you?â
âI was even more astonished than you; however, I pleaded him for a while until he was willing to comeâ¦â Yu Liu said with a bitter smile
Xu Shenghua opened his eyes and said weakly, âInvite the divine physician in.â
The curtain was parted and Qin Mu walked in with a smile. âBrother Xu.â
Xu Shenghua looked at him and was stunned. His head started to ache severely, and Qin Mu immediately went forward. He took out a few Spirit Buddha Pills for him to consume and said with a smile, âItâs best if your mind doesnât fluctuate too much. Iâve experienced a situation like yours before as well. My body was exhausted by cultivating a technique, to the point I almost died. Your symptoms are from overexertion of your mind and brain power beyond the limits of your body. Your injuries are actually not severe and you can recover in a month or two by nursing it slowly. However, with me treating you, youâll be fine in half a day.â
Xu Shenghua consumed Spirit Buddha Pills and felt much more comfortable. His head was still aching, but it wasnât as severe as before. He could slowly control his arms and legs, and his body also seemed to belong to him once more.
âYouâre also a divine physician?â he croaked.
âI canât be considered a divine physician. My attainments in the art of healing are at most number two. However, you canât find anyone better than me in the art of healing in Eternal Peace Empire.â
Qin Mu diagnosed his condition for a moment and wrote down a prescription for Yu Liu to grab some herbs. He smiled and said, âWith my spirit herbs nursing you, the deficiency in your body will recover in two-three days. Victory and defeat are commonplace in military operations, and itâs also common for us cultivators, donât put it to heart.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Xu Shenghua looked at him in the face and suddenly sighed. âThere are some places in which Iâm really inferior to you. You schemed to defeat me, but I canât bear any hatred for you. I have come under the orders of my master to kill you and only wanted to return to High Heavens after accomplishing my mission. Never would have I expected to treat you as a friend.â
Qin Mu sighed. âOverlord Bodies are hard to find. However, you and I can only be enemies; itâs impossible for us to be friends.â
Both of them fell silent.
Not long later, Yu Liu came back with the medicine and Qin Mu refined the spirit pills for Xu Shenghua to consume.
The young man walked by the bed unsteadily, his whole body trembling. He frowned and said, âI can clearly feel that the injuries are recovering, but why canât I stand steadily? My hand is still shakingâ¦â
Qin Mu pondered it for a moment, then his eyes lighted up. He smiled. âI know what illness youâre suffering. Follow me.â When he said that, he walked outside.
Xu Shenghua wanted to follow him, but his body was still shaking. His legs wobbled, so Yu Liu and Jing Yan had to help him out of the room.
Since Xu Shenghua was a disciple of High Heavens, the place he stayed at naturally couldnât be too shabby. An inn would have been too noisy, so they rented out a house that was quite tranquil.
Qin Mu brought him to the streets and looked around with bright eyes. He smiled when he saw for what he was looking. âThe medicine to cure your illness is here.â
Xu Shenghua was stunned, and so were the two girls beside him. Qin Mu sat down in front of a stall and said to the stall owner, âTen bowls of noodles, extra large bowls. Donât add chili and oil in the first bowl, just a bit of salt is enough. Thatâs right, when you knead the noodles, add one more egg. What are you standing there in a daze for? Come and take a seat!â
Yu Liu and Jing Yan frowned. They looked at the old noodle stall which was placed out on the street. With people walking to and fro, dust couldnât be prevented. The people sitting there to eat were all burly men. One look at them was enough to know that they were country folk who did bitter work.
When had the group from High Heavens eaten dinner like that, at a noodle stall? They would usually find too dirty to even think about it.
One needed to know that High Heavens was a sacred ground of gods that were high at the top, so what they ate and drank were all rare delicacies in the mortal world. They were also unimaginably clean and untainted by even a speck of dust.
The boss of the noodle stall was also a burly man. He pulled noodles with both his hands and smacked them loudly. It was obvious that they werenât clean.
Yet Xu Shenghua sat down while gasping for breath.
Yu Liu and Jing Yan could only sit down next to him and use a towel to wipe the oil stain on the table. They frowned when they couldnât do it. They couldnât sit still, feeling that even the stool under their butts was also greasy.
However, Xu Shenghua was calm and sat calmly while waiting for his noodles.
The first bowl of noodles was served, and it was clear soup egg noodles in a bowl as big as a face-washing basin. The noodles were pulled with equal thickness and were like white jade threads placed in the middle of the soup. The top was garnished with chopped onions.
Xu Shenghua looked at the noodles and didnât know how to eat such a thing.
Qin Mu passed a pair of chopsticks to him, but Xu Shenghua was still at a loss. He held the chopsticks and jabbed into the bowl, but he couldnât pick up any noodles. He had never used chopsticks in High Heavens before, since all he ate were spirit pills, and all he drank was dew. He had never eaten the food of the mortal world before.
Xu Shenghua looked at the people eating noodles and gradually learned how to use a pair of chopsticks.
âEat slowly,â Qin Mu said while beaming at him. âYou have been starving for a few days, so it is easy to damage your stomach if you eat too fast. Your illness is starvation, and because your brain was overly exhausted, the energy in your body had been redirected to your brain. When you fainted, you had used up all your energy, but then still continued to starve for two more days. So it would only be weird if you werenât feeble. Drink some soup first, it will help with digestion.â
Xu Shenghua gulped down the soup while listening to his words.
Qin Mu, Yu Liu, and Jing Yanâs noodles were also served. The two girls were quite reserved, but Qin Mu didnât care and just poured lots of chili oil in his bowl, eating to his heartâs content.
Xu Shenghua finished a bowl of noodles first and looked at them impatiently.
Qin Mu immediately said, âDigest it first, there will be a second bowl later.â
Xu Shenghua sat there obediently. When Qin Mu finished, there were already three more bowls of noodles on the table. Qin Mu then nodded and smiled. âBrother Xu, you can begin.â
Xu Shenghua immediately started eating. Having learned from Qin Mu, he poured a layer of chili oil on top of the bowl. Instantly, his body started steaming with hot vapor.
When Yu Liu and Jing Yan finished eating the noodles in front of them, Xu Shenghua had finished his seventh bowl and slumped down in his seat, feeling very comfortable.
Yu Li and Jing Yan looked at each other in dismay. Young Master Xu had never been so lacking in manners. He was actually slumping!
âThis human emperor is truly devilish. If young master interacts with him a few more times, you will be able to smell the stink!â The two girls looked at each other and felt uneasy in their hearts.
Qin Mu rose and asked, âDoes Brother Xu have any great abundance coins?â
In a daze, Xu Shenghua shook his head. âYu Liu is usually the one in charge of finances.â
Yu Liu revealed a troubled expression and said softly, âYoung Master, we have spent all our money buying herbs just now. I even used my own hairpin to mortgage. Only then did I manage to get all the herbsâ¦â
Qin Mu took out a great abundance coin and went forward to pay the bill. He shook his head and said, âI really donât know how the three of you get by. Iâll treat this meal. Brother Xu, get up, now that youâve eaten so much, itâs best to take a stroll.â
Xu Shenghua got up. Yu Liu and Jing Yan immediately went forward to support him, but Xu Shenghua shook his head and said, âThereâs no need to support me. I was indeed suffering from starvation, but Iâm much better now. I can walk by myself.â
The four of them took a casual stroll at a leisurely pace.
Yu Liu couldnât help worrying. âIs this human emperor going to stroll young master to death again?â
When they came to the outskirts of the capital, Qin Mu brought them in the direction of the manufacturing factory. Xu Shenghuaâs gaze flickered, and he asked, âWhy did Brother Qin bring me to this place again?â
Qin Mu smiled and said, âDonât be mistaken. When you were unconscious these two days, the base of Sunshot Divine Cannon had been done, and we are starting to assemble it. I need to install the components of the base so that nothing goes wrong. Thatâs right, when will you give me the money for treating you? My treatments are very expensive.â
Xu Shenghua groaned. âNo money!â
âIn that case, Brother Xuâ¦â Qin Muâs eyes lit up as he came forward and said mysteriously, âHave you heard of Heavenly Saint Cult?â