Chapter 29: Splitting Up

Beggars, the poorest people at the very bottom of society.

They lived by begging, without self-respect, a place to stay, or in most cases, even official household registration. When a beggar died, they were just dead. Even if they were beaten to death, no one would seek justice for them. After death, most were thrown into mass graves, while the lucky few were barely laid to rest in the dirt.

In his youth, Wen Xu had seen far too many beggars die for no apparent reason. It was precisely because he had seen so much that he understood how their lowly position at the absolute bottom of society made beggars the most adept group in the world at reading people and sensing danger.

Human life was as cheap as weeds, and a beggar’s life was worth even less.

Although the cultivation world was splendid and flourishing, there was never a shortage of poor people, nor of beggars who lived on charity. Wen Xu had seen quite a few beggars in Langyuan City.

“You mean we should go near Wushan Village to ask the beggars for information?”

Wen Xu shook his head. “There is no need to get too close. If disaster has truly struck Wushan Village, the beggars will have surely fled far away.”

Having been poisoned by television dramas for so long, Bian Chunzhou’s way of thinking had not yet completely broken free of those tropes. “But what if that evil cultivator is utterly ruthless and is capturing beggars to feed the Evil Seeds of the Jade Bone Acacia Tree?”

“They won’t,” Wen Xu denied immediately.

“Why not?”

Wen Xu smiled. “Do you remember the man we rescued? To be chosen by the brothel’s thugs, he must have been quite good-looking, right?”

Bian Chunzhou understood. “Holy crap, even evil cultivators are picky these days? Look at him, acting all high and mighty!”

What Wen Xu did not say was that beggars slept in the open, lived hand-to-mouth, and looked wretched. No matter how unpicky an evil cultivator was, they would never choose a beggar to host an Evil Seed. But there was no need to tell Chunzhou this.

As for Chen Zui, he had no patience for using his brain. As soon as he heard it was just a simple matter of gathering information, he immediately lost interest and had already gone outside to practice his saber.

The three of them rested in the city for half a day before setting off for the western part of Langyuan City.

Considering that the uniforms of Yonglu Mountain disciples were far too conspicuous, and Chen Zui was really not cut out for gathering information, Bian Chunzhou and Wen Xu decided to split up. However, Bian Chunzhou was a little worried about Wen Xu’s eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need Chen Zuizui to go with you? Or should we just stick together?”

“It would be too obvious. You can travel disguised as a wealthy young master with Chen Zui as your bodyguard, and no one will suspect a thing. But if I, a blind man, pretend to be a fortune teller while carrying around such a powerful guard, wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway?”

“Alright. If anything happens, remember to use a transmission talisman immediately.”

Wen Xu had already taken off the storage ring on his hand and hung it around his neck with a string. Hearing this, he patted his chest. “Don’t worry, my master gave me a life-saving measure.”

Wow, as expected of a divine dragon. Bian Chunzhou was finally reassured. Dressed in fine silk robes, he swaggered through the streets with his silent, hulking bodyguard in tow.

Sensing the two of them leave, Wen Xu lingered at the street corner for a moment before turning into an inn. Not long after, wearing a faded, threadbare green robe and carrying a battered dark wood chest, he set up a small free clinic stall at the entrance of the most dilapidated slum in the west of the city.

Indeed, Wen Xu did not play to his strengths by pretending to be a blind fortune teller; instead, he disguised himself as an itinerant doctor.

As for the ribbon covering his eyes, it was naturally tucked safely away in his storage ring.

There were countless miraculous methods in the cultivation world. As long as one had money and power, even a mortal could live free of all illnesses and enjoy a long, healthy life. But the prerequisite was having wealth and authority. Whether in the Mortal Realm or the cultivation world, those at the bottom were always cold, hungry, and destitute.

Wen Xu had disguised his face slightly. He could not remember his own face and had no concept of beauty or ugliness, so he used spiritual energy to alter his skin tone and darken the circles under his eyes. With messy bangs covering half his face, he looked like an ordinary, down-on-his-luck doctor traveling the land.

With this transformation, he blended perfectly into the entire slum district.

Wen Xu had not come to run a genuine free clinic, and whether anyone patronized his business was not his concern. He had chosen this method entirely because he was inspired by Spiritual Physician Ming.

Furthermore, if someone here had indeed fallen victim to an evil cultivator, most people in the slums could not afford medical treatment anyway. His sudden appearance, even if he looked rather unreliable, would likely prompt someone to give it a try.

Wen Xu was in no hurry. He had always possessed excellent patience. The weather was pleasant today, and unless they were physically unable to walk, most of the beggars in the slums would have gone out to beg. He had arrived early, and after sitting for a long time, he had only seen a few children poking their heads out to peer at him from the alleyway.

Wen Xu pretended not to notice, unhurriedly organizing the items in his wooden chest.

He had bought the wooden chest on a whim. Aside from a set of silver needles, it contained only a few empty bottles to put on a show. Calling it organizing was a stretch; he was mostly just idly shifting them around.

In truth, Wen Xu had learned some very basic medical skills, limited to dispensing cold remedies and treating simple wounds. He could even set broken bones, though his success rate was about fifty-fifty. Of course, he was now a cultivator, so locating acupuncture points and applying needles was child’s play. As long as it was not some rare, incurable disease, he could bluff his way through most things.

If all else failed, he had brought quite a few medicinal pills with him on this journey down the mountain.

By now, the sun had risen high into the sky. Wen Xu let out a lazy yawn. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep under the warm sun, a patient finally arrived.

It was an elderly grandmother, supported by two thin, frail children, though even with their help, she walked with great difficulty.

“Extend your hand.”

Wen Xu’s voice was indifferent, which actually made the two children less guarded. In the slums, the gentle concern of important people was what truly made one’s skin crawl.

“Wind-evil^[1] has invaded your body. A minor ailment has dragged on into a major illness. Sit still, and I will give you a couple of acupuncture needles.”

Though Wen Xu said he was applying needles, he was actually using spiritual energy to warm and nourish her internal organs. The elderly grandmother immediately felt refreshed, and even her head, which had been throbbing with a dull ache, no longer hurt as much.

“Thank you, divine physician! Thank you, divine physician!”

Wen Xu waved his hand, his attitude rather casual. But with the first successful patient, it was not long before a second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth patient came knocking on his door.

Wen Xu treated those he could and ignored those he could not. His bedside manner was hardly warm, but to the people of the slums, this aloofness actually made them feel more at ease.

Soon, the sun began to set, and he saw beggars returning in twos and threes, “calling it a day.”

“Treating illnesses? For real?”

“Of course it’s real. Old Lady Liu at the end of the alley was practically on her deathbed, wasn’t she? Today, she was already out carrying water.”

“Such a thing actually happened? Could it be an immortal from Yonglu Mountain descending to the mortal realm?”

“Not quite. That doctor… doesn’t really look like an immortal.”

Hearing this only made people more curious.

Seeing another wave of patients approaching, Wen Xu lost interest in continuing. He prepared to pack up and leave. Seeing him pack up, the crowd anxiously pleaded, “Divine physician, could you please spare us another half-hour?”

“Boring, boring. All I see are common ailments – colds, rheumatism, bruises, and sprains. I thought the slums would have some rare and bizarre diseases, but they’re all just the usual sicknesses. How dull.”

Wen Xu spoke this way on purpose to provoke them. His voice was cold and biting, showing utter disdain for the people before him. However, perhaps because they were so used to being ignored, the crowd did not find his attitude offensive and simply continued to beg him.

“Since you are begging me so sincerely, I am not a heartless man. Today was meant to be a free clinic, so I should see it through. But since you are benefiting from this, it’s only fair that I get something out of it too, right?”

“You speak the truth, divine physician. What is it you want?”

Wen Xu waved his hand. “It’s simple. I want to know if there are any patients with bizarre, incurable illnesses nearby. The stranger, the better. If there aren’t any, I’ll be leaving tonight.”

Bizarre illnesses? Was this divine physician out of his mind? Why was he so set on treating diseases that couldn’t be cured?

“Let me make this clear beforehand: I don’t treat venereal diseases, I don’t treat tuberculosis, and I don’t treat wicked people.”

This divine physician certainly had a bizarre temperament, but it was rare to find a doctor who offered free treatment and actually got results. No one wanted to miss out. After all, they might not run into another generous fool of a divine physician like him for another ten years.

But where would they find patients with rare, bizarre illnesses in the slums? Anyone who had one would have died long ago. How could they have survived until now?

“No, there is one. But… he doesn’t live here.”

Wen Xu immediately looked toward the voice. “He doesn’t live here? Then where does he live?”

The speaker was a thin, scruffy-haired beggar. Under the weight of Wen Xu’s gaze, he unconsciously spoke the truth. “In a small village outside the city. It’s pretty eerie there anyway. None of us have dared to pass by it lately.”

“Eerie? Sounds interesting. Tell me about it.”

The beggar scratched his head. “It’s just really strange. In the past, when we couldn’t beg any food, we’d often go into the mountains to pick wild fruit. The path into the mountains passes right by that village. One night, I was too lazy to walk back down, so I fell asleep in the mountains. In the middle of the night, I heard a female ghost screaming! It was a horrible sound, worse than a woman giving birth.”

Hearing this, Wen Xu showed an intrigued expression. “So, the patient you mentioned lives in that village? What kind of illness does he have?”

“This person has the aging sickness. Actually, I only heard about it from someone else.”

“Aging sickness?”

“Yes. He’s only supposed to be nineteen this year. He used to be a handsome young master famous throughout the surrounding villages. But do you know what? Now, he looks older than a fifty-year-old man. All his teeth have fallen out, and he barely has any hair left. I heard he looks absolutely terrifying now.”

“You make it sound so real. Did you see him with your own eyes?”

“A friend of mine saw him, but unfortunately, that friend fell to his death a few days ago.” He said “friend,” but it was actually just a fellow beggar.

Fell to his death?

Wen Xu finally asked, “What is the name of that small village?”

“It’s called… Wushan Village. Yes, that’s the name.”

What a coincidence. Their investigation mission was also in Wushan Village.

*

Meanwhile, Bian Chunzhou led Chen Zui through the streets, making a scene, teasing cats and chasing dogs. After spending money like water for half the day, they finally entered Biyu Tower. Yes, that was the very brothel where the two deceased men had worked.

Just as I thought, Bian Chunzhou mused. No matter where a transmigrator ends up, visiting a brothel is a mandatory rite of passage.

“Why are you dragging me along?”

Chen Zui frowned, thoroughly disliking the atmosphere inside. “Do we have to go in?”

“Don’t worry, the ladies in there don’t bite.”

Chen Zui, however, found the scent assaulting his nose truly unpleasant. “The two of us really don’t look like the type of people who frequent these places.”

Bian Chunzhou: …Thanks, but I’m an adult. I’m perfectly allowed to visit an R-rated establishment.