The Festival Invitation and a Peculiar Malady

Su Mo slept soundly last night, awaking with contented grumbles as she rolled about in bed.

However, today promised a multitude of tasks. She noticed the Zhang Manor was unusually bustling, clearly preparing for something.

“Xu Qingzhu, what are they preparing for?” Su Mo asked, grabbing his arm and making him pause.

He turned his gaze to her.

After a brief assessment, he spoke. “The Mortal Realm’s Festival of Inviting Deities, a major celebration for blessings, is approaching soon.”

“So, are we going?”

“First, we’ll familiarize ourselves with the apothecary,” Xu Qingzhu replied. “In a few days, we’ll be taking over one.” Displeased by her slowness, he took her hand directly.

Su Mo blinked, surprised that even after transmigrating into a book, she still had to work.

Yet, the thought of helping others in an apothecary made the prospect considerably more palatable.

‘I’ll grab some herbs while we’re there. The Nine-Tailed Fox Heart Sutra… I should start cultivating it today,’ she mused inwardly. ‘Perhaps during my bath, when no one is around.’ Lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into him.

Annoyed, she looked up, only to see him staring intently at an arriving guest, all traces of his smile vanished.

Following his gaze, she discovered the new arrivals were members of the Demon Suppression Bureau, clad in their distinctive black and white robes.

The Demon Suppression Bureau official, wearing a bronze mask, paid no heed to the Zhang Manor’s cautious atmosphere. Instead, he walked directly towards Xu Qingzhu.

With a simple bow, the official spoke with a smile. “Young Master Xu, Miss Su, our Lord wishes to invite both of you to a gathering on the day of the Festival of Inviting Deities. It will be held at the Drifting Fragrance Pavilion, a grand banquet. Many fellow cultivators will be present, offering an excellent opportunity for discussions over tea.”

“Many fellow cultivators? And is a Golden Core Lord hosting?” Xu Qingzhu inquired.

Nodding, the official explained. “Indeed. Furthermore, I have good news to announce: our Lord has recently taken on a new disciple who may well inherit the Demon Suppression Bureau of Dangyang County in the future, promising boundless prospects. Should the two of you attend, being of similar age, you are bound to forge connections.”

The official had even prepared reasons for them to attend. However, he was unaware that this new disciple was a mortal enemy to Su Mo.

“Might this be the young man named Xiao Yao?” Xu Qingzhu asked with a faint smile.

The Demon Suppression Bureau official visibly paused, then expressed slight surprise. “Ah, so you two are already acquainted? Then your attendance becomes even more imperative.”

“We will certainly be there,” Xu Qingzhu affirmed, cupping one hand in the other as a salute, partially obscuring his face.

Shaking his head with a smile, the official departed contentedly, not even sampling the tea and refreshments prepared by the Zhang Manor.

He seemed to be in a hurry, suggesting many invitations had been extended.

Once the official was out of sight, Su Mo nudged Xu Qingzhu and spoke with a grave expression. “The person who tried to kill me that day has actually become the disciple of Dangyang County’s Golden Core Lord?”

She deliberately phrased it this way, as if she had not been well-acquainted with Xiao Yao before.

Without exposing her pretense, Xu Qingzhu frowned and sighed softly. “If he is gathering all cultivators, he must have some scheme. You must not go to the Festival of Inviting Deities that day.”

Clenching her small hands, Su Mo glanced at him a few times, but ultimately offered no reply.

‘Is my strength so low that I’ve become a burden in his eyes?’ she wondered, a complex tangle of emotions churning within her.

She began to understand why those told ‘Don’t follow’ would inevitably go anyway, only to cause trouble.

This gentle protection brought joy, yet being inadvertently ‘belittled’ by those who cared for her was truly vexing.

The desire to prove herself stemmed from a longing for that tenderness, a willingness to rush headlong into danger like a moth to a flame.

‘Fortunately, I am Su Mo, the transmigrator. Do they truly think I’m foolish?’ she thought. ‘If I don’t have to go, I’m happy to enjoy my leisure.’ As soon as this thought solidified, Su Mo became carefree, her brows smoothing out.

Embracing idleness was truly delightful!

****

Leaving the Zhang Manor, their carriage was already prepared.

In the eyes of others, a couple sharing a carriage would not draw any gossip.

Su Mo, however, edged as far to one side as possible, careful not to touch him.

Xu Qingzhu raised an eyebrow, asking calmly. “Why?”

“I… I’m a little warm?” Su Mo replied, fanning herself with her hand.

He said nothing, simply closing his eyes and resting.

As the carriage rode on, he gradually leaned against Su Mo.

A faint, elegant floral scent wafted over him, a fragrance he found so familiar that his brows subtly relaxed.

Yet, he was unaware that he merely felt he was retaliating, much like a child.

“You—you shouldn’t lean on me,” Su Mo stammered, pushing him gently, yet afraid to use too much force.

“I’m tired,” he said, his voice flat and somewhat languid. “For the past few days, you’ve occupied the bed entirely.”

She lowered her head, carefully observing him. His features were relaxed in the afternoon sun, and he appeared serene. Su Mo pouted, then ceased pushing him.

‘He must truly be exhausted, especially after activating the medicinal formula for me,’ Su Mo consoled herself, imagining various scenarios.

Suddenly, she felt this man was incredibly dependable.

‘Pah! What am I thinking?’ she exclaimed inwardly, startled by her own thoughts.

A sense of fear crept in; she worried she was awakening some strange constitution.

****

The Zhang Manor’s apothecary had once been owned by Xu Qingzhu’s family. The old pharmacist there recognized him and spoke. “The little one from before has now grown into a dashing young gentleman.”

He then scrutinized Su Mo, remaining silent for a long moment, until he turned his head with a knowing, gratified smile. “She’s a fertile young lass,” he muttered under his breath, then bent down to fetch herbs.

Su Mo secretly pinched Xu Qingzhu. She had initially felt a fondness for the old pharmacist, finding him kind.

“I actually quite liked him…” Su Mo mumbled, pouting as she took the prescription slip from the pharmacy apprentice.

She already knew how to dispense herbs.

However, watching the old pharmacist, with his eyes closed, precisely measure out the perfect amount, she realized her own arrogance.

Just then, Su Mo heard. “Young lady, you’ve studied medicine before, haven’t you? But this path of healing is far from simple. You grope your way through it, and in the blink of an eye, a lifetime passes. When you first start, you understand nothing; after studying for a long time, you still feel like you understand nothing. There’s still a long, long way to go~”

He spoke continuously, his hands never ceasing their work of dispensing herbs.

Su Mo blinked, wondering if her decent grasp of language was making her think he was spouting ‘nonsense literature.’

‘Listening to your words is like listening to words,’ she thought, echoing a common idiom about meaningless talk.

Curious about Xu Qingzhu, she turned her head to see him seated upright, reviewing the recently acquired medicinal herbs.

“…Evening primrose. Is it truly unobtainable recently?” Xu Qingzhu murmured, casting a questioning glance at the purchasing clerk.

The clerk clapped his hands, shaking his head. “We’ve scoured the entire city, yet found not a single trace. When we inquired, all the herb gatherers said they dared not venture out. Moon Mountain has been exceedingly eerie lately!”

“Moon Mountain?” Xu Qingzhu muttered.

If true, that was precisely the path he had taken, rushing from Moon Mountain to Dangyang County.

He set down the book, his thoughts drifting to Granny Huang from the small village. She was a spirit medium, a master of enlightenment in folk traditions, possessing inherent mystical abilities.

Yet, the disturbances on Moon Mountain were so profound that even the herb gatherers, who made their living among spirits and monsters, were too terrified to go.

It was truly bizarre.

‘Granny Huang would not leave the small village,’ he decided inwardly. ‘When we have time, we should return there.’

They would also check on the situation at Moon Mountain.

“Doctor! Please, quickly examine my son! He was bathing by the river, and he returned like this!” A frantic patient burst in, startling everyone present.

Amidst such chaos, the old pharmacist merely sighed, accustomed to such sights.

Curiosity piqued, Su Mo stepped closer to examine the child as well.

With a teaching spirit, the old pharmacist took the child’s pulse, speaking as he did so. “Hmm, he’s caught a chill. It seems like a common cold… No, wait, this pulse is rather peculiar. It’s weak at times, then strong at others… almost as if it belongs to two different people? How strange…”

His heart racing from the strange pulse, the old pharmacist frowned, pinching the little boy’s face and looking him over from side to side.

Squinting, Su Mo felt a distinct pulsation within the child’s body, a subtle resonance.

‘Has something activated the Soul Chant Herb Formula?’ she wondered, focusing her mind and attempting to use the ‘medicinal formula’ within her.

“Buzz~” A faint hum resonated in her ears, and the world abruptly burst into a cacophony of sound.

She felt as though many ‘people’ were speaking, yet no one around her was making a fuss.

It was only when she looked at the little boy who had been playing in the water that she noticed his pale face seemed oddly distorted, as if another face were superimposed upon it.

It was smiling, its pupils milky white, and it stared directly at Su Mo.

It spoke with delight. “You can see me?!”