The Healer’s New Path and an Immortal’s Grudge

A shiver ran through Su Mo, and she very nearly slapped the entity twice.

Had it not been for the bustling crowd, she would have dragged out the ghost and beaten it until its very soul scattered into oblivion.

“Xu Qingzhu, could you come take a look?” Su Mo asked, turning her head.

As he approached, the Old Apothecary surprisingly yielded the path, allowing him to occupy the primary position.

Though he discerned the issue with a single glance, Xu Qingzhu still feigned taking the boy’s pulse before finally speaking:

“He’s merely suffered a fright,” Xu Qingzhu reassured. “There’s no need to worry. A few packets of this medicine, combined with a short period of my assisted treatment, will set him right.”

“Thank you, Doctor! Many thanks, young master!” The patient’s spirits immediately lifted, and genuine gratitude shone in their eyes.

While ordinary people remained oblivious, Su Mo understood the true situation. Xu Qingzhu’s reassurances were merely a palliative to soothe the family’s anxieties.

In truth, the boy was possessed by a ghost, and there was a high chance that parts of his soul had already been devoured.

After quickly scribbling a prescription, Xu Qingzhu began to apply pressure and pinpoint specific acupoints on the boy’s body.

He then inserted several silver needles, and with a casual flick of his fingers across their ends, the needles began to tremble magically, sending ripples through the air.

Su Mo had observed intently, initially expecting him to outright annihilate the ghost. Yet, she had misjudged; he had merely suppressed it completely, without fully expelling it.

Xu Qingzhu then called out to her:

“Wife Su, could you lend me a hand?”

“…Mm.”

Their eyes met, and an unspoken understanding passed between them.

The onlookers murmured in surprise, and even the Old Apothecary’s interest was piqued, drawing everyone’s gaze.

Stepping closer, Su Mo closed her eyes. She then activated the ‘prescription’ of the Soul-Chanting Grass, directly manipulating the spectral entity.

With the ghost utterly suppressed by Xu Qingzhu, it offered no resistance, allowing Su Mo’s process to unfold with remarkable smoothness.

As if by telepathy, Su Mo appeared to draw something from her sleeve. In reality, she retrieved the ‘Ancient Horse Underworld Soul Battle Bell’ from her storage ring and shook it once above the boy’s head.

“Jingle, jingle, jingle~” A wave of disorientation washed over the onlookers, their vision blurring for a fleeting moment.

In that precise instant, the ghost was forcibly ripped from its host, devoured by the Battle Bell, and transmuted into raw power for the Ancient Horse.

Unbeknownst to Su Mo, the entity she referred to as Skinny Horse had, after absorbing a ghost, visibly gained mass and become noticeably sturdier.

Should it “consume” more, Skinny Horse would truly transform into a warhorse of the Underworld.

“Fa…ther…” The little boy stirred, regaining consciousness in a daze. His vital energy was clearly depleted, leaving his face alarmingly pale.

“He’s cured!”

“What miraculous methods!”

Paying little mind to the exclamations, Su Mo simply nodded, then followed Xu Qingzhu as they withdrew from the throng.

However, in her subsequent practice of medicine, some patients specifically sought out Su Mo, much to her embarrassment.

She was, after all, merely an intern—albeit one who had interned her way into an entirely different world.

Despite her initial clumsiness, she eventually managed to process all the day’s patient records and bid farewell to the last patient.

“Phew~” Su Mo exhaled, wiping her brow. She couldn’t help but lament the difficulty of studying medicine, and how practicing it was even more arduous.

Once the medicine cabinet was neatly organized, Xu Qingzhu ambled over, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“How was it?”

As if she had found an eager confidante, or was excitedly recounting a momentous ‘first,’ she launched into an unstoppable torrent of words.

He listened in silence, a faint smile gracing his features, yet profound surprise was what truly resonated within him.

He had fully expected Su Mo to abandon this path. By all indications, it simply wasn’t the kind of endeavor she would typically pursue with such tenacity.

‘To have once taken lives, and now to save them…’ He couldn’t quite discern whether the thought was absurd or filled him with a quiet joy.

Some delight in corrupting the innocent, while others find satisfaction in guiding the lost back to the right path.

Ultimately, it was the stark contrast, or perhaps the notion of others changing because of him, that held a certain appeal.

He meticulously reviewed his own conduct. Since his initial encounter with Su Mo, he had offered very little in the way of explicit advice or persuasion.

‘Her transformation shouldn’t be attributed to my influence,’ he mused, a hint of bewilderment clouding his thoughts over this unusual shift.

During their numerous interactions, whether carving curse marks or activating her medicinal body, he had always taken the opportunity to subtly examine her soul.

It was remarkably pristine, bearing no signs of having been possessed or taken over.

If that were the case, then she truly was herself. However, such a drastic, inexplicable shift in character was, in itself, unsettling.

Perhaps… it was all an act?

‘If you were to act for an entire lifetime before me, I genuinely wouldn’t know how to bring myself to harm you,’ Xu Qingzhu mused inwardly, a hint of playful amusement in his thoughts.

Yet, in the very next moment, no matter how he tried to convince himself, a heavy sense of unease settled in his heart, tinged with a flicker of bewilderment.

“Xu Qingzhu?” Su Mo called out, noticing his smile had vanished. She wondered if she had misspoken.

Tilting her head slightly, a fleeting impulse to playfully pinch him crossed her mind. Su Mo hesitated, then called his name again.

“Hm?”

“You’re lost in thought. What’s on your mind?” Su Mo asked, clasping her hands behind her back and turning to walk ahead.

Watching her robes billow softly as she ambled along, Xu Qingzhu shook his head, dismissing his earlier thoughts.

“Nothing at all.”

“Is that so…”

Just then, a small girl, resembling a delicate jade figurine, darted through the doorway, her voice ringing out:

“Immortal Sister!”

With a joyful leap, she launched herself into Su Mo’s arms.

Her train of thought abruptly broken, Su Mo fumbled in a moment of panic, almost failing to catch Zhang Jingmeng.

Pinching the girl’s chubby cheek, Su Mo feigned a stern expression.

“If you keep jumping like that, you’ll get hurt!”

“Hehe, Immortal Sister will always catch me, no matter what!” Zhang Jingmeng declared with an astonishing confidence, a truth she had believed implicitly since their very first meeting.

“Why is that?” Su Mo asked, momentarily stunned.

“I don’t know, I just feel like Immortal Sister is the *best* person in the whole wide world!” For a brief moment, a look of innocent confusion crossed her face before she playfully rubbed her cheek against Su Mo’s.

Gently ruffling her braid, Su Mo smiled warmly, offering a sincere promise:

“Then from now on, Big Sister will always protect you, alright?”

“Yay!”

Unable to suppress a smile, Xu Qingzhu stepped closer, adopting a deliberately serious tone.

“You will grow up, you know. Once you’re an adult, will you still need others to protect you? Who can truly protect you forever?”

“Xu Qingzhu!” Su Mo exclaimed, glaring at him with a hint of playful reproach.

“Hm?”

“She’s just a child, what are you filling her head with? Don’t worry about such things.” Su Mo said, gently swaying with Zhang Jingmeng in her arms, pointedly ignoring him.

With a helpless shake of his head, Xu Qingzhu followed behind, utterly unrepentant.

After all, everyone grows up, sooner or later.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle…” The Old Apothecary swept the floor, leisurely observing the trio of Su Mo, Xu Qingzhu, and the child.

A husband and wife with their child, a boisterous and truly blissful scene.

“Ha, they truly look like a married couple,” the Old Apothecary chuckled, bending his back as he finally departed, content.

****

The only one likely dissatisfied was Xiao Yao, currently within the Demon Suppression Bureau.

He shattered an ancient mirror with a furious swipe, causing Mo Lian, a Golden Core cultivator, to wince in pain.

Not being in charge of the household, or rather, overseeing the entire Demon Suppression Bureau, Mo Lian had no idea how rare such ancient mirrors—capable of monitoring half the city—truly were.

Angrily grinding the ancient mirror into fragments, Xiao Yao turned, his demeanor once again becoming aloof.

“I’ll be leaving the city soon,” he stated casually. “You’ll be responsible for the matters concerning the Fragrant Pavilion.”

Mo Lian looked up, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She had witnessed many of his peculiar methods in recent days, strengthening her belief in his ‘Immortal’ identity.

Yet, such a formidable figure had been defeated by Xu Qingzhu and Su Yao.

‘Who exactly are Xu Qingzhu and Su Yao?’ Mo Lian pondered, unable to comprehend.

Seeing her hesitation, Xiao Yao clarified:

“Regardless of any pleasantries you might need to utter, simply keep the guests stable. This banquet was never about me.”

“Immortal…”

“Hm?” Xiao Yao interrupted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Please do not bring harm to the common folk. The people of Dangyang County are diligent, hardworking…”

“Rest assured, you won’t have to worry,” Xiao Yao waved a dismissive hand, unwilling to listen further.

Ever since witnessing Su Mo and Xu Qingzhu’s ‘display of affection,’ he felt as if he was about to explode!

Having prepared various spiritual treasures and magical artifacts, Xiao Yao donned a black robe and departed under the cover of moonlight.

Once outside the city, he suddenly gazed up at the full, round moon.

“Speaking of which,” he murmured to himself, “Xu Qingzhu’s childhood sweetheart, Lu Yanling, should have arrived by now, shouldn’t she?”

A knowing smile touched his lips as he mused, then he let out a hearty laugh and vanished.

With a casual flick, he crushed a trailing phantom into dust.