74: My Godly Father (Part 5)

"Give the medicine... back to me."

A cold voice rang out.

The laughter of the children who were still jeering came to an abrupt halt.

What kind of eyes were they seeing?

That was not the gaze a six-year-old child should have.

There was no childhood innocence, no tears of pain, only a dead silence, cold to the bone.

Stared at by these eyes, the lead child's hand trembled, and the half-section of medicinal herb he had snatched fell to the ground.

"I'll... I'll give it to you then."

He spoke stutteringly, involuntarily taking a step back.

The other children were even more frightened, their faces turning pale and their calves trembling.

In Quan Yun's mind, countless fragmented images were frantically surging, and a massive consciousness was about to awaken.

Right then, the light blue tower-shaped mark on his chest suddenly flickered.

A gentle yet powerful force erupted, forcibly suppressing and sealing that consciousness that was about to awaken once more.

Quan Yun's body trembled violently, his face instantly turning deathly pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The dead silence in his eyes quickly receded, restoring the ignorance and confusion a child should have.

"What just happened?"

"How did I seem to see a cluster of nine-colored flames?"

"How strange... are there really nine-colored flames in this world?"

He only felt his head aching as if it were about to explode.

At the village entrance, several women chatting under a large tree felt an inexplicable chill on their backs, as if a gust of yin wind had blown past, causing their chatter to pause for a moment.

They saw nothing except those children, usually overbearing bullies, running away as if they had seen a ghost, leaving that little fool behind and scrambling away... At the end of the village, in that lonely little courtyard.

Inside a dim room, the middle-aged man known as The Cripple Li sat withered before a wall.

The aura on him was dejected and deathly silent, like a lifeless statue.

Suddenly.

He snapped his eyes open.

From those originally dim and lightless eyes, a terrifying brilliance burst forth, instantly piercing the darkness of the room.

He looked toward the village entrance, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

The middle-aged woman mending clothes in the courtyard was also startled.

"Madman Li, what's gotten into you?"

The Cripple ignored her, staring fixedly in that direction, his voice hoarse and dry with excitement.

"Old woman... did... did you feel it just now?"

The middle-aged woman's expression changed.

Of course she had felt it.

In that instant just now, a terrifying aura that made even her heart palpitate had flashed through the village.

That aura was ancient, vast, and carried supreme majesty, as if it were a deity that had slumbered for ages... Though it lasted only for an instant, it made even her tremble.

"Who... who is it?" the woman murmured to herself, her face somewhat pale... After running some distance, the children who had been scared off looked back and saw Quan Yun had returned to that foolish state, sitting on the ground in both confusion and pain.

Their fear instantly transformed into anger born of humiliation.

"You little fool, how dare you play ghost to scare us!"

"Beat him!"

They rushed back and gave Quan Yun a round of punches and kicks.

Quan Yun just held his head and curled up his body, letting the blows fall upon him.

He no longer had any strength; the sharp pain in his head made it impossible for him to even stand up.

After venting their anger, the group of children left while cursing.

Quan Yun lay on the ground for a long time before slowly crawling up.

He picked up the half-section of medicinal herb that had been trampled into a mess and limped toward the small courtyard at the end of the village.

With every step, intense pain radiated through his body, but he still tightly gripped the remaining herb.

Finally, he saw that familiar brushwood gate.

"Grandmother..."

He pushed open the door and saw the woman dazing in the courtyard; his tears could no longer be held back and came gushing out.

He knelt on the ground with a "thud," holding that pitiful bit of medicinal herb fragments above his head.

"Grandmother... please..."

"Save Sister Yu..."

Looking at his body covered in bruises and blood, and his eyes red from crying, the woman felt an inexplicable pang of sorrow in her heart.

She sighed, helped Quan Yun up, and pulled him into the house.

On the dim bed lay a young woman with a sallow complexion and as thin as a lath; it was Xiao Yu.

Over the past six years, her vitality had been dissipating bit by bit; despite the medicinal herbs, it was to no avail.

Her body was already like a lamp running out of oil.

"Silly child, your sister's injuries are too severe."

The woman stroked Quan Yun's head, unable to bear telling him the truth, so she made up a reason.

"For this kind of injury, the Foundation is ruined. Unless... unless those Immortals from the heavens take action with Immortal Pills and miraculous medicines, only then might she be saved."

"Immortal..."

Quan Yun's small face was full of confusion.

But how could an Immortal care about the life or death of a tiny Mortal like him?

A massive sense of powerlessness washed over him.

He looked at Sister Yu on the bed, whose breath was as thin as silk.

He remembered how over these six years, even when Sister Yu was too sick to get out of bed, she would always save her own portion of food for him.

He remembered Sister Yu dragging her sickly body to teach him to read and mend his clothes.

He remembered Sister Yu always smiling and telling him that Yun'er must grow up quickly to protect her in the future.

No.

He couldn't give up.

Quan Yun wiped away his tears and looked up, his gaze showing a determination unbefitting his age.

"Grandmother, I won't give up. I must save Sister Yu!"

The woman looked at the light in his eyes and seemed somewhat moved.

She was silent for a moment and suddenly mentioned something.

"I heard from the Village Chief that in a few days, an Immortal Sect will come to the village to select children with Aptitude to be Disciples. If you can be chosen, perhaps... your sister's illness can really be cured."

Quan Yun's eyes instantly lit up.

But that light quickly dimmed again.

He had self-awareness; he had been physically weak since childhood, much smaller and thinner than children his age, with Innate deficiencies like a premature baby.

The children in the village all said he was a fool and a sickly person.

Would an Immortal take an interest in him?

He grabbed the woman's sleeve and pleaded with all his strength.

"Grandmother, help me..."

The woman looked at him and gave a long sigh.

"I cannot help you."

She shook her head and looked toward the adjacent room that saw no sunlight all year round.

"Go find that Cripple."

"If he... is willing to help you, you might still have a glimmer of hope."

...Quan Yun found The Cripple.

He was standing on a small hillside at the head of the village, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance at the continuous, majestic mountains.

The wind blew his tattered clothes; he remained motionless, as if he had already merged with the entire mountain.

Quan Yun walked up behind him, about to speak his request.

But The Cripple spoke for no apparent reason, his voice low, as if talking to himself or testing him.

"Observe the mountain, observe its momentum..."

Quan Yun was stunned.

He didn't understand what "momentum" meant.

He simply followed The Cripple's gaze and looked at the mountain.

As he looked, the mountain in his eyes seemed to change.

It was no longer just lifeless rocks and trees.

He saw a giant sword piercing the sky, its tip pointing straight to the clouds.

He felt that the wind in the mountains was no longer wind, but wisps of dissipating Sword Qi.

He didn't think; he almost blurted it out.

"The wind has stopped."

"The mountain is about to strike with its sword."

As the words fell.

The Cripple's figure jolted violently.

He turned around abruptly, and from his dim eyes, an astonishing brilliance erupted, pinning itself firmly onto Quan Yun.

This child is only six years old and possesses a mere Mortal Body.

How did he see it?

How could he have such startling Comprehension Ability? Such Comprehension Ability should not appear in a Mortal Body!

Unless...