Shi Lang came inside the small courtyard and sat down under the porch. He did not intend to go inside but asked Hao Mei, "Girl, do you have a master to follow?"
Hao Mei was surprised and replied, "No, Senior."
Shi Lang was surprised and asked, "Then how do you cultivate?"
Hao Mei replied, "A few years ago, a passing immortal noticed that our village was situated in a remote location, and he found that a few children had the talent for cultivation, so he imparted us a technique. We all followed that technique and learned to cultivate."
Shi Lang raised his brow and looked at Hao Ren. He asked, "Boy, do you know what that master looked like?"
The young boy shook his head, and Hao Mei said, "Senior If I remember correctly, that senior wore a white hanfu and looked very handsome."
lightsnοvεl.cοm Shi Lang asked, "Hao Mei, do you know about this?"
The girl revealed a bitter smile and replied, "Sir, I was not blind from the beginning. A deviation in my cultivation made me lose my eyesight."
Shi Lang furrowed his brows. His heart was filled with doubts. He asked, "If you do not mind, I can check your pulse. I have some understanding of medicine."
Hao Mei was shocked, and so was Hao Ren. The latter asked agitatedly, "Old man, are you telling the truth? I am telling you, if you dared scheme against my sister, you would suffer my staff's wrath."
Shi Lang chuckled and said, "It is up to your sister to believe me. What are you getting so worked up for? I am only going to check her pulse, and that does not even require physical contact. Your brain sure is filled with rotten thoughts at this young age."
Hao Ren pointed his finger at the terran and wanted to rebuke him, but Hao Mei stepped up slightly and said, "Senior, thank you very much."
Shi Lang nodded waved his hand, and the spiritual energy condensed into a thread. The thread wrapped around her wrist. Shi Lang did not say anything and sensed the spiritual energy fluctuation in her body. He took a deep breath and suddenly found the reason for her ailment.
Hao Mei was not suffering from a spiritual deviation, but it was an insect planted in her brain. This parasite was now big enough to collide with her optical nerves. Shi Lang felt a chill down his spine. He was sure that such a thing was a scheme of a demonic cultivator.
The plausible suspects were the apothecary or the immortal master who had imparted her the cultivation technique. Shi Lang took his hand back and said, "The good news is that your illness can be cured."
Hao Mei was stunned, and Hao Ren was ecstatic. He skipped over and asked, "Do you mean it?"
Shi Lang nodded calmly and said, "I do not have any reason to lie about it. However, the treatment will cause you great pain. If you fail to endure, you might not make it."
Hao Mei and Hao Ren froze. The ice on their hopes had yet to be thawed when Shi Lang dropped the bomb. Hao Mei hesitated but asked, "Sir, can you tell me what is my ailment?"
Shi Lang gazed at Hao Ren and delivered the words directly to the girl with spiritual communication. He told her the details of the ailment honestly. The girl was shocked but did not show anything on her face. She was wise enough to realize that Shi Lang did not say it out loud because of her brother.
She strengthened her heart and bowed before saying, "Senior, thank you. I want to take the treatment. I have always felt that things are not as simple as what I thought them to be."
Shi Lang thought about it and then nodded. He said, "I will treat you tomorrow, for today, you shall rest and consolidate your mind."
Hao Mei nodded and then entered the house. Hao Ren was confused and asked, "Can you tell me what is the big deal? Why did I not hear anything?"
Shi Lang shook his head and said, "You do not have to think so much. Tonight, you will rest in the house. Do not wander outside. It is not safe."
Shi Lang sensed that the bug in Hao Mei's head was not simple. This thing was feeding on her spiritual energy and also her Yin energy. The rate of absorption was very slow, but the flow was steady. This parasitic bug would not have been noticed until it was too late.
The bug's shape was akin to a spike, and given that victims died from snake bites, Shi Lang concluded that this was a Yin Yang Spike Gu. This bug would stay inside the host's body till it is mature enough to divide. After division, this guy will have a Yin bug and a Yang bug. It will then leave the host's body and release a strong toxin in the host's body to kill it. n-.o.(V/-e/-L)-b--1).n
If he followed this line of thought, Shi Lang was almost sure that it was not the apothecary who was responsible for all these murders. However, he would not leave anyone out of the circle.
After sending Hao Ren inside the house, the terran sat in meditation. He was not cultivating but pondering over the doubts and theories in his mind. He wanted to know the person's motive rather than how he did it. Another question in his mind was if this was the work of one person or a group.
If it were a group, he would have to come up with ways to defend the people in the town. Shi Lang sighed internally at this thought, and he did not expect the difficulty of this task to increase so sharply.
The day passed quickly, and the moon rose high in the sky. Shi Lang opened his eyes and looked at the sky. His sensory ability caught a few traces of human movement around the house, but none of the people revealed any malice. However, just now, he sensed something.
It was a fleeting sensation, but Shi Lang could tell that it was a strong intention of killing pointed towards himself. The terran was not in a hurry to take action because he could sense the person's movement around the house.
It seemed to him that the other person was also measuring him. However, Shi Lang did not reveal any spiritual fluctuation in his body for the enemy to gain any advantage over him. He was going to play possum and lure the predator close. It would not be easy, but only this way would he be able to ensure a sure kill.
If the person were a demonic cultivator, he would not need to use any weapon; a condensed lightning blade would be enough to kill this person. Shi Lang sat down till the middle of the night. Suddenly, he sensed some movement inside the house. It was Hao Mei, and she was moving around, going back and forth in her room. Shi Lang could understand that the girl was troubled with her ailment.
Shi Lang sighed internally but could not say anything about it. This was the path of cultivation, and she needed to tread with a firm mind and heart. He watched silently as the night passed. While one part of his soul was worried about the situation in the house, another half of his mind was occupied with the man hiding in the dark.
Shi Lang did not move, but as the night darkened, the air became heavy. Suddenly, there was a dull thud inside the house. The terran found that Hao Mei had fallen to the ground. However, he still did not respond.
Just as he wondered if the dark hand would make a move, a gust blew around him. Shi Lang sensed someone appearing before him. The terran opened his eyes and asked, "I was beginning to think you had no guts to make a move."
The person was taken aback for a second. He calmed quickly and said, "I was also beginning to think. How come none of you righteous pieces of shits showed up till now."
Shi Lang smiled and said, "We had to come and entertain ourselves. After all, you insects crawl over from the darkest corners repeatedly."
The demonic cultivator chuckled, and then his figure flashed. He appeared close to Shi Lang, and his palm was wrapped around Shi Lang's neck. He asked playfully, "What would you like to do now?"
Shi Lang smiled and then touched the demonic cultivator's dantian. Then, his spiritual energy charged into the latter's body. The energy attack turned off the cultivation of the demonic cultivator completely.
The grip around Shi Lang's throat loosened, and the demonic cultivator fell to the ground. He looked at Shi Lang with great shock in his eyes. He could not understand what had just happened.
The terran smiled and said, "Hello, I have a lightning spiritual energy."