Mo Yuan and Shi Yu walked slowly out of the house. Mo Yuan’s deep eyes were filled with contemplation as he gazed silently at the tranquil village not far ahead.
“Why? Have you discovered something?”
After being called out by Mo Yuan, Shi Yu inwardly speculated that he might have uncovered something, and his tone unconsciously carried a hint of urgency.
“There is a book called The Chronicle of All Living Things in the sect’s library. It records a type of demon tribe that can transmit life force to others through their demonic core.”
Hearing this, Shi Yu raised his eyes and looked at Mo Yuan, his gaze filled with thought. “The Nine-Tailed Fox tribe.”
He also recalled this record. The system had previously stated that Ah Jiu was a member of the Nine-Tailed Fox tribe.
“Correct, but under normal circumstances, a Nine-Tailed Fox’s demonic core must leave the body before it can function.”
Mo Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against a tree trunk to the side, his charming peach-blossom eyes slightly narrowed.
Shi Yu’s tone was also filled with confusion. “Shi Yi must have done something to her, but why would they transmit life force to the villagers?”
“According to the information provided by Zemian Zun, the Emperor has sent Prince Shi Yi to Lannan County to investigate the epidemic this time. He should arrive in two days.”
Mo Yuan’s eyes gradually turned deep, his lips curled up slightly, and he let out a soft laugh, as if he already had everything under control.
Shi Yu also fell silent, thinking carefully. When he spoke again, his tone could not hide his anger.
“To use so many lives as a price, while using a fox demon to extend their life force, merely to promote his own talents.”
If Shi Yi truly could bring these corpses back to life, all power and reputation would surely be collected into his hands by then.
Shi Yu sank into the recollection of the plot, his mind constantly flashing with images of his innocent and kind-hearted younger brother. He slowly lowered his head, and a trace of disappointment could not help but appear on his cold face.
“A-Yu, the human heart changes.”
Mo Yuan straightened his posture, reached out his arm to pull the person beside him closer, and whispered a comfort.
Shi Yu gradually emerged from his feelings of disappointment. Keenly sensing Mo Yuan’s action, he lifted his leg and walked a little further away.
Mo Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, withdrew his hand, and took out the withered yellow leaf he had picked up by the well last night.
“The sect’s medicine should be able to save those villagers, but Ah Jiu’s mother.”
Mo Yuan gradually fell silent, appearing unable to bear speaking the truth.
Shi Yu also understood in his heart. After the depletion of the past few days, Ah Jiu’s mother must have been unable to hold on any longer.
“Let us notify the sect first and have them send people here.”
Shi Yu sighed slightly. He conjured a message crow out of thin air, which flew off toward Lingxi Mountain.
Shi Yu and Mo Yuan returned to the house to feed the medicine to the woman on the bed. Time slipped away bit by bit. All of them watched the person on the bed with tense expressions.
Finally, she slowly opened her eyes.
Ah Jiu’s eyes flashed with sudden joy, and he pounced on her, saying eagerly, “Mother, you have finally woken up! You scared Ah Jiu to death.”
The woman seemed to have just regained consciousness, her expression appearing somewhat dull, but she quickly came to her senses and hugged the child in her arms tightly.
“Cough, cough. Ah Jiu, be good. Mother is fine.”
The woman gave a muffled cough and comforted Ah Jiu gently.
Shi Yu and Mo Yuan simply stood quietly to the side and watched, as if recalling the warm moments deep within their own memories. It was not until the woman noticed them that they returned to their senses.
“Was it you two who helped me? I am truly grateful to both of you.”
The woman’s tone was weak but immensely sincere, though her face could not stop showing signs of illness.
Shi Yu nodded and asked softly, “Do you remember what happened before? Why did this place become like this?”
The woman seemed to recall the painful experience, and her expression turned to one of agony.
“I do not know who they were. After they took me away, they fed me something, and then I lost consciousness.”
Just as the woman was speaking, a commotion came from outside the house. Shi Yu immediately flashed out to investigate and saw a sneaky person fleeing in a panic.
At an inn near the official road of Lannan County.
A youth dressed in luxurious attire sat in the inn room, fiddling with a teacup, calculations visible in his eyes.
“How is that village?”
The servant beside him wore a sycophantic look and answered respectfully, “Your Highness, rest assured. Everything is under control. You only need to feed those people the prepared medicine, and everything will be accomplished. By then, everyone will think you are an immortal living among men.”
“Hmm, you may leave.”
Hearing the satisfactory answer, the youth closed his eyes in fatigue and signaled for the servant to leave.
Naturally, Shi Yu and Mo Yuan could not know anything about this.
After knocking out the person who had been eavesdropping outside, Shi Yu brought him back to the room. The woman immediately identified him as one of the people who had captured her.
Mo Yuan searched the man carefully and found a token, which he handed to Shi Yu.
Shi Yu felt the token in his hand and confirmed carefully, “It belongs to the Bo Prince’s mansion.”
Neither of them said anything else and continued to listen as the woman recounted her experiences.
After hearing everything, Shi Yu confirmed his suspicions. In order to obtain the position of Heir, Shi Yi truly stopped at nothing.
He had actually poisoned the villagers of Lannan County with a plague, only to step forward as the savior to gain a reputation. It was truly vicious.
Listening to the woman’s account, Shi Yu’s eyes were filled with fury.
When the woman finished speaking, she was exhausted to the extreme. She gently stroked Ah Jiu’s head, and soon after, Ah Jiu drifted off to sleep with a look of satisfaction on his face.
Mo Yuan narrowed his eyes, as if he had sensed something.
“Thank you, two young masters, for your rescue. However, my body has not much time left; I fear I will not be able to pull through.”
Shi Yu’s eyes turned slightly red. Looking at the frail woman before him, he understood that her judgment was likely correct, yet his heart still felt an unbearable sense of pity.
“Two young masters, could you please help me take good care of Ah Jiu? He is very well-behaved and obedient. He is still so small, and I truly do not know what he will do without me.”
Tears filled the woman’s eyes as she gently stroked Ah Jiu’s back, her gaze carefully tracing the child’s features, full of affection.
Shi Yu immediately promised, “Please rest assured, we will take good care of Ah Jiu.”
Mo Yuan also lowered his eyes and remained silent, silently agreeing.
“Without me transmitting life force to the villagers in the village, I fear they will not be able to hold on much longer. I can only let them hang on for a little while more.”
The woman smiled bitterly, and her figure gradually began to dissipate.
Shi Yu stared at the woman, a sense of powerlessness gradually rising until her figure vanished completely.
“Mission completed. Mission reward: Nine-Tailed Fox Core.” The system’s voice sounded.
Shi Yu had no time to attend to anything else at this moment. After settling Ah Jiu down, he turned to Mo Yuan and asked, “Shixiong, do you have any extra medicine?”
Mo Yuan took a medicine bottle from his chest and replied, “I did not bring much medicine out this time.”
“Never mind. The people from the sect should be arriving soon. Let us do our best to treat a few of them first.”
Shi Yu rushed toward the door, with Mo Yuan following closely behind.
After the two of them finished feeding the medicine they had, the other disciples of Lingxi Sect finally arrived.
“Mo Yuan Shixiong, Shi Yu Shixiong.”
The disciples bowed in unison. Shi Yu immediately sent them to treat the other villagers.
Those few worked busily for a long time before finally saving all the villagers.
“Shixiong, these villagers are very weak just after waking up and cannot speak yet. We have already sent other junior brothers to settle them.”
One of the disciples returned to report to Shi Yu. Shi Yu nodded while listening and gave a soft instruction.
“Very well. You have worked hard. Take good care of them over these next few days.”
As the disciples exited the door, Shi Yu slowly began to feel the disappointment he had been suppressing.
He gazed down at Ah Jiu in his arms, at a loss for what to do for a moment, and could only gently stroke the child’s head.
Mo Yuan walked into the room from outside. Looking at Shi Yu’s expression, he asked, “Have you thought about how to tell him?”
Shi Yu shook his head, a look of distress on his face.