Ch 26: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Xie Wang could more or less guess why this woman was so agitated.

From the appearance and dress of her family, it was clear their days were not easy.

And yet, this naturally frail young boy was fair-skinned, clean, and—aside from being thin—looked perfectly fine. It was obvious the family cherished him dearly.

If they loved the child, they would surely have tried to get him seen by a doctor, and would know exactly what condition he was in. Now, upon hearing there might be a way to treat him, it was only natural for her to be excited.

He said, “I do not dare make absolute promises. But under the heavens, if I cannot cure him, I fear there will be no one else in the world who can. Only… in my current state…”

Even if he wanted to, standing on the threshold of death left him powerless.

Zhang-shi gritted her teeth, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly turned around and took something from the crude basket on her back:

“Elder, please look—would this ginseng… count as a rare medicine?”

*

Madam Mu was called out of the house by Mu Jiawang’s loud voice. Her eldest grandson sounded urgent, and she hurried out into the yard, unsure what had happened.

“Grandma, Mother says you need to ask Uncle next door to help—go into the mountains to bring someone back!” Mu Jiawang came running, panting heavily.

Thinking something had happened to her own family, Madam Mu asked in alarm, “What is it? Who’s hurt? Did someone fall?”

Mu Jiawang shook his head. “It’s an old man we don’t know, badly hurt and hard to move. Mother told you to borrow a cart from Uncle next door.”

Mother had told him not to explain anything else for now, so he hadn’t mentioned more.

Hearing it was a matter of life and death, Madam Mu didn’t waste time. She quickly went to the neighbor’s to borrow a cart. That family, upon hearing someone in the mountains was injured, immediately took the cart and followed Mu Jiawang back.

When they reached the spot, Zhang-shi only said that Xie Wang was a distant relative from her mother’s side, a merchant who’d earned some money but had no children, and had come to see his niece. On the way, he’d been attacked by bandits.

Seeing the old man was dressed unlike mountain folk and did indeed look as though he’d been through an ordeal, the neighbor suspected nothing and helped lift him onto the cart, pushing him all the way to the Mu home.

Zhang-shi thanked the neighbor repeatedly before settling the old man in bed. Then she shut the courtyard gate and quietly told Madam Mu what had happened that day.

Zhang-shi was uneasy. “Mother, I didn’t discuss it with you before giving him that ginseng. It was my decision alone, and I was wrong.”

That ginseng was worth real silver, and if they waited until the old man passed away, they could still claim the generous wealth he’d promised. The money could have brought the Mu family an immediately comfortable life.

But now the ginseng was gone, the money too, and whether Xiaobao’s illness could truly be cured was still uncertain.

Madam Mu patted her hand. “I know what you were thinking. From what you’ve said, the ginseng was found by Xiaobao, and this old man was also discovered by Xiaobao. Clearly, this is Xiaobao’s blessing. Maybe Heaven sent him to cure our boy’s illness.”

Zhang-shi’s tears fell at once.

Her own life had not been easy—her mother died early, her stepmother treated her poorly, and when she reached marrying age, she wasn’t even given a proper bridal quilt. She’d carried her own small bundle to marry into the widow-and-orphan Mu family.

The Mu family was poor—so poor they had to ration their food.

But the people were good. Her mother-in-law was kindhearted, her husband diligent and caring.

She had never had any complaints.

Now the family’s life was slowly improving, her only worry was Xiaobao—afraid that one day, without warning, her well-behaved little boy might be gone.

Sometimes she’d wake in the night, look at Xiaobao sleeping quietly beside her, and be gripped with fear. If she had really hardened her heart and abandoned him back then, she didn’t dare imagine how much the child would have suffered.

Fortunately, though he’d been sickly from birth, they had managed to raise him to the age of three, and his health now seemed much better than before.

If this Elder Xie could truly cure him, it would be Heaven’s blessing indeed!

Following Xie’s instructions, Zhang-shi sliced the century-old ginseng into thin pieces, having Madam Mu give him one to hold in his mouth every hour. Then, taking the pouch of silver and the prescription Xie had written, she went alone to the county pharmacy to buy medicine.

When Mu Dazhu came home that night and heard the story, the usually silent man said nothing—he simply took over the task of going to the county for medicine.

Elder Xie ended up living at the Mu house for half a month. During this time, the three brothers’ room was given to him, while Mu Xing stayed with Madam Mu, and Mu Jiawang and Mu Jiafeng squeezed in with their parents.

Half a month later, Xie Wang could get out of bed.

With no family ties and injuries that would take a year or more to heal, he decided that though the place was poor, the villagers were honest and the scenery was good. So he spent money to have a small house built in the village and settled there.

Mu Xing then began formally following him.

At first, Xie taught Mu Xing simply to repay the Mu family’s kindness by nursing the boy’s health. But the more time he spent with the child, the more he realized his extraordinary natural intelligence—whatever he learned, he grasped instantly.

Having reached his seventies with no worthy successor—not for lack of offers, but because he looked down on mediocrity—he never expected to find such a rare jade so close to his grave.

He developed a true desire to preserve this talent, and while tending to Mu Xing’s health, asked if the boy would be willing to take him as his master.

How could Mu Xing refuse?

The more he interacted with Elder Xie, the more he realized the man was unfathomable—skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, and the arts of the five elements and eight trigrams—everything handled with effortless ease.

Not to mention, Mu Xing also knew that this Elder Xie was a master of martial arts.

Someone like that—if not for fate—he could have lived in Dazhuang Village his whole life and never encountered such a person.

The Mu family, of course, had no objections: if nothing else, the fact that Xie Wang was a learned man already made him, in their eyes, an extraordinary figure.

After a simple disciple ceremony, Mu Xing began studying under Xie Wang.

From the day Mu Xing was born until now, Mu Xiaobao’s life had completely changed.

*

In the blink of an eye, five years passed.

Eight-year-old Mu Xing had grown into a slender young boy.

His features were exquisitely fine, his whole demeanor scholarly. Aside from being a shade paler than most, anyone who saw him would praise him as a refined, handsome young gentleman.

Every time the people of Dazhuang Village saw him, they would sigh with envy, saying the Mu family must have burned high incense at their ancestral tombs—how else could a family of rough folk produce such a beautiful son?

Xie Wang stood in the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back. Five years had passed, yet his outward appearance was unchanged.

Mu Xing came in from outside holding a few apricot branches, placing them into a vase.

His master was a refined man—living in the countryside had not dulled his taste for elegance. Mu Xing rather liked this attitude toward enjoying life.

After arranging the flowers, he walked over to Xie Wang and said happily, “Master, I’ve already broken through to the fourth layer of the Xiaoyao Heart Sutra!”

Even knowing how gifted the boy was, Xie Wang was startled by this, then sighed—this child seemed born for the Xiaoyao path.

The word Xiaoyao—Free and Unfettered—already encompassed the essence of their sect’s heart method: in harmony with the workings of heaven and earth, true to one’s own heart.

His little disciple had a pure, childlike heart by nature, with a certain affinity for the natural world. More than once, Xie Wang had noticed wild creatures in the mountains approaching Mu Xing of their own accord.

In practicing the sect’s inner method, he encountered almost no bottlenecks at all.

While cultivating high-level martial arts to strengthen his foundation, he also took medicinal baths every three days. After persisting for five years, when Xie Wang took his pulse again, he no longer wore the look of “I’m worried my fine disciple might not wake up tomorrow.”

“Very good.” Xie Wang patted Mu Xing’s head. “Xing’er, with your current body, as long as you keep practicing the Xiaoyao Heart Sutra properly, your lifespan should be no different from an ordinary person’s. But you must still take care of your health—avoid extreme joy or grief.”

He never avoided discussing such things with Mu Xing, nor did he tell comforting lies just because the boy was young.

Mu Xing nodded. “Your disciple understands.”

The name “Mu Xing” was also given by Xie Wang.

He said that in the Xiaoyao sect’s generational order, Mu Xing’s generation fell under the character “Xing,” though since he didn’t intend to take more disciples, he simply gave the boy this name outright.

Once Mu Xing’s health began improving day by day, the Mu family regarded Elder Xie as though he were an immortal. And since it was natural for a master to name his disciple, they had no objections at all.

“By the way, Master, my eldest brother is getting married the day after tomorrow. He wants to invite you to the wedding banquet.”

Xie Wang waved a hand. “The wedding gift is already in the main hall—deliver it for me. I won’t be going.”

Mu Xing wasn’t surprised. His master was a lofty figure, and lofty figures always had their quirks.

Xie Wang’s temperament was a bit eccentric. He adored Mu Xing’s talent, treasured this disciple like a jewel, and would have gladly given his life for him.

But he disliked noise and “worldly folk.” Aside from the Mu family, whom he owed for saving his life, he had no wish to meet anyone else in the village. On holidays and festivals, he would send the family generous gifts. While nursing Mu Xing’s health, he had gone through all kinds of herbs and wild game from the mountains, taking only the essence and letting Mu Dazhu sell the rest.

Even so, he wasn’t particularly close to the Mu family.

Especially with Mu Xing’s older siblings—Xie had tried teaching them for a few days out of gratitude, only to confirm that his little disciple was the only “mutation” in the family. Compared to Mu Xing’s aptitude, calling the others “dullards” would have been a compliment.

Utterly unworkable material!

Fortunately, the others weren’t inclined toward scholarly learning anyway, and studying under Xie was pure torture for them. After barely learning some characters and basic skills for fitness, they themselves said they didn’t want to continue.

Now, at fifteen, Mu Jiawang was already an accountant in the county, married to the daughter of a restaurant owner.

Mu Jiajia had more interest in medicine, but Xie only taught prodigies who could grasp things instantly. Every time Mu Xing went home, he would break down the basics for her bit by bit. She wasn’t amazing, but could now handle common illnesses on her own.

Mu Jiafeng loved martial arts and had some talent, but Xie’s teachings were too profound for him to understand. At ten, he had joined a martial school in town—a decent path for him.

These days, when people mentioned the Mu family, Dazhuang Village was full of envy, saying every child had turned out well and that Mu Dazhu and his wife were blessed.

The only one unhappy was the light orb.

In recent years, it had grown much smarter, no longer saying the kind of things that instantly put Mu Xing off. But Mu Xing could still hear in its tone that his current life was not what it wanted for him.

That day, Mu Xing was once again pulled into a dream by the light orb.

It said to him, “The young master of the Marquis’s household fell into the water yesterday. The whole household is in a panic—they say the marchioness cried for an entire day.”

By now, Mu Xing knew that aside from entering his dreams, the light orb could do nothing to him at all, and he was no longer afraid of it.

He responded casually, “Oh? That’s nice.”

The light orb: “…”

Unwilling to give up, it said, “Think about it—if that young master just gets a fever and they worry so much, then if she knew her real son had been frail since birth, with several fevers nearly taking his life, how guilty would she feel?”

Mu Xing looked at it sincerely. “Be direct. Get to the point.”

The light orb: “…”

It spoke stiffly, “Congratulations. The Marquis’s household has discovered the child was switched back then and has already traced the Mu family’s identity. You’re about to live a life of wealth and luxury.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣