Chapter 2 - 1: Fallen Fairy
This was truly good news.
Lu Changyuan broke into a gentle smile and looked at the ethereal Fairy. "Miss, it seems you’re injured?"
The young man’s smile was so warm that, despite the downpour outside, it seemed to bring a gentle heat that made the rain feel a little lighter.
Combined with his naturally handsome features, it made him all the more approachable.
Qiu Yuehan’s cherry-red lips were sealed shut, not uttering a single word.
Lu Changyuan spoke again, "I’m a physician. Would you like me to take a look at your injuries, Miss?"
"No need."
She was surprisingly cold, but Lu Changyuan simply continued to watch her with a smile.
"You should move a little closer, Miss. You’ll get wet sitting by the entrance. I see that you’re injured, and if the rain gets on your wounds, I’m afraid they’ll only get worse."
This dilapidated Compassionate Temple no longer had a door. As the sound of the rain outside grew louder, droplets of water were carried by the wind into the temple, disturbing the peace and spattering onto Qiu Yuehan.
Seemingly finding sense in Lu Changyuan’s words and noticing a paint-chipped pillar not far away, Qiu Yuehan moved closer, half of her body concealed in the darkness.
Lu Changyuan could hear her breathing was extremely rapid—she was clearly racing against time to recover from her injuries. She would most likely have another battle to fight soon.
As if to confirm Lu Changyuan’s thoughts, the hurried sound of splashing through water approached.
A stronger scent of blood overpowered the damp chill of the rain.
A massive black shadow appeared at the temple’s entrance.
It was followed by a grumbling voice, "Damn it, what a vicious sword... To think there’s a temple of the Compassionate Palace here. Tsk, that Black Realm Compassionate Palace really gets its Incense Fire from even a shithole mountain village like this."
Lu Changyuan remained seated, staring at the newcomer.
It was a burly monk with a severed leg. Blood mixed with water trailed behind him on the ground, making him look like a snail.
"And... a mortal? Who are you?"
Lu Changyuan remained very polite, answering the question readily. "A humble physician from the mountains. I came up the mountain to gather herbs and was caught in the downpour, so I came into this temple to take shelter. And who might you be, Master?"
The monk also smiled.
A kind-looking smile.
Using his Chan staff as a crutch, he approached Lu Changyuan step by step, then offered a single-handed salute.
In the darkness, the monk’s bald head seemed to be illuminated by a flash of lightning.
"Amitabha. This humble monk is from the Eating Buddha Sect, and my Dharma name is Heart-Eating. You may call me the Heart-Eating Monk, benefactor."
’So it’s the Heart-Eating Monk.’
Lu Changyuan discreetly glanced toward Qiu Yuehan out of the corner of his eye, only to find that the Fairy had completely hidden herself in the darkness. Not even a trace of her figure could be seen.
"I have some Hemostatic Grass here. Master Heart-Eating, please take it to stop your bleeding."
The Heart-Eating Monk narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lu Changyuan with his senses. After thinking it over and over, he could only conclude that the person before him was a mortal.
Yet, he remained on high alert.
"Little benefactor, you don’t know of my Eating Buddha Sect?"
Lu Changyuan shook his head. "I do not."
’I’m not familiar with any of the newly established Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces. The Cultivation Realm I once knew changed a long, long time ago.’
The Heart-Eating Monk was greatly surprised.
The few Buddha-eating Monks of the Eating Buddha Sect were notoriously infamous. While maybe not enough to stop a child from crying, their reputation was at least enough to make people keep a wide berth. For this person to be completely unaware... could he really just be a mortal?
Lu Changyuan took a medicinal herb from his basket and handed it to the monk, just like a kind-hearted physician from the mountains.
"Master, did you happen to encounter a vicious tiger in the mountains, thus losing your leg? The tigers on this mountain have always been man-eaters."
The Heart-Eating Monk took the herb, crushed it, and applied it to his wound, but it had no effect whatsoever. He couldn’t help but curse, "She looks like a damn Fairy, but her sword is so vicious! That Miao Yu Palace is even more disgusting than my Eating Buddha Sect!"
Lu Changyuan followed up on his words, "Swordsmanship?"
The Heart-Eating Monk gave a strange laugh but didn’t answer Lu Changyuan’s question. "There is indeed a tiger in these mountains. A tigress, in fact. A very fierce one."
Lu Changyuan laughed along. "And how could you tell it was a tigress, Master?"
"That tiger is incredibly fierce. You can tell at a glance she’s lacking the suppression of a male tiger, lacking the harmony of yin and yang. That’s why her bestial nature has run wild."
Lu Changyuan let out a laugh. "You’re quite a character, Master."
He thought, ’A Fairy as ethereal as a wisp of cloud, as pale as the moon, being called a tigress... I wonder if the Miao Yu Palace Fairy, Qiu Yuehan, who’s hiding in the shadows right now, is about to explode with rage?’
"Amitabha."
"Master, what brings you to this remote mountain village of mine?"
The Heart-Eating Monk held nothing back in his explanation for Lu Changyuan. "Little benefactor, you should know that not far from here is the Capital City of the Glazed Dynasty."
Lu Changyuan knew this.
The Glazed Dynasty was a Dynasty where Immortals and mortals mingled. The imperial family’s surname was Su, and it had been founded over a thousand years ago, boasting a long history.
"I heard that the ancestor of the Glazed Dynasty had some connection to the Chang’an Daoist, so the Chang’an Daoist left a Heavenly Repair Pill for this Dynasty."
Lu Changyuan feigned ignorance. "A Heavenly Repair Pill?"
’I certainly didn’t leave any Heavenly Repair Pill for the Glazed Dynasty.’
A trace of longing showed in the Heart-Eating Monk’s eyes. "Yes, the legendary Heavenly Repair Pill, said to be able to seize the very fortune of the heavens."
Among all elixirs, the Heavenly Repair Pill was one of the most precious. Bringing the dead back to life, cleansing one’s marrow and purifying their body... any beneficial effect one could imagine, this Pill could achieve it.
So, when this news spread a little over a month ago, the entire Cultivation Realm was thrown into an uproar. Countless practitioners from both the Righteous and Evil Dao flocked to the Glazed Dynasty to search for traces of this Heavenly Repair Pill.
The Heart-Eating Monk was, naturally, no exception.
"This monk’s luck is pretty bad. While I was looking for the pill, I was unfortunately spotted by a meddler. We ended up in a Magical Combat that went on all the way here. It wasn’t until half an hour ago that the heavens opened up with this downpour. Otherwise, I would’ve slapped her to death with a single palm!"
Lu Changyuan looked at the Heart-Eating Monk in surprise.
’Qiu Yuehan only injured her arm, while you lost a leg. It’s hard to say who would have killed whom, don’t you think?’