Chapter Three: I Have Returned

Li Mu helped Yang Suying back into the small courtyard. It took her a long moment to recover from the scene she had just witnessed.

“My son! You mustn’t fight like that anymore!” Yang Suying grasped Li Mu’s arm, pleading earnestly.

“All right!” Li Mu nodded in agreement, finally easing her worries.

As Li Mu supported Yang Suying into the room, he noticed his father, Li Chengyang, lying in bed, struggling to sit up. Yet no matter how hard he tried, his lower body remained completely immobile.

“Dad!” Li Mu immediately stepped forward to help Li Chengyang sit up.

Li Chengyang had heard Li Mu’s voice earlier and thought it was just a hallucination. Now seeing him for real, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

“Xiao Mu, you’ve really come back? I’m not dreaming, am I?” Li Chengyang said in disbelief.

“Dad, I really am back!” Li Mu replied, then his gaze fell on his father’s legs, his expression darkening. “Dad, what’s wrong with your legs?”

Li Chengyang’s eyes dimmed. “It’s nothing, just a fall.”

“Dad, I’m not a child anymore!” Li Mu’s tone grew serious as he looked intently at Li Chengyang.

After a moment of silence, Li Chengyang sighed helplessly. “When you suddenly disappeared back then, your mother and I searched the entire city for you, then all across the country, but not a single clue.”

“To raise the reward money online for any news of you, your mother and I even planned to sell the family heirloom.”

“But your eldest uncle found out and came with his son to snatch it.”

“When your mother and I refused, they came down hard on us. Now we don’t even have the strength to reason with them.”

“Later, to buy medicine, your mother was tricked into borrowing from loan sharks. The interest piled up to two hundred thousand yuan.”

A pale shadow passed over Li Chengyang’s face.

Now he spent every day confined to bed, feeling as if he were just waiting for death.

Li Mu’s expression darkened. His eldest uncle’s family had never been respectable—they survived by petty theft and schemes. He never imagined they would bully his family while he was away.

“Dad, over the years I’ve learned some medical skills. Let me take a look at your legs,” Li Mu said, placing his large hands on Li Chengyang’s atrophied limbs.

Li Chengyang didn’t resist but felt no hope. Perhaps if they had sought treatment sooner, there might have been a chance. But without money, they missed the critical window—he was likely disabled for life.

Crack!

A sharp sound broke the silence.

Li Chengyang gasped and groaned, “It hurts!”

As soon as he spoke, he was stunned.

His legs actually felt pain?

“Xiao Mu, have you really mastered medicine? My legs just now actually felt sensation!” Li Chengyang’s heart swelled with hope.

Li Mu smiled reassuringly. “Dad, would I lie to you? I can heal you right now.”

He pulled out a box of silver needles and immediately began acupuncture.

With swift precision, silver needles flashed as they were inserted in a rhythmic pattern into the soles of Li Chengyang’s feet.

After the treatment, Li Chengyang felt a warm current radiating from the soles of his feet, coursing through his legs. His pale face, worn from five years bedridden, took on a rosier hue.

“Ah, that feels great!” Li Chengyang exclaimed.

“Xiao Mu, how many sessions will it take for my legs to fully recover?” he asked excitedly.

He knew such acupuncture likely required prolonged treatment to be truly effective, but at least now there was hope—a far cry from just lying in bed waiting for death.

Li Mu smiled. “Dad, your legs are already healed.”

“Already healed? How is that possible? It’s only been ten minutes since you started!” Li Chengyang looked incredulous.

Li Mu put away the needles and pushed a pair of shoes to the bedside. “Well, why don’t you get up and walk to see for yourself?”

Overcome with excitement, Li Chengyang tried lifting his legs—and they actually moved. Overjoyed, he clumsily began putting on his shoes.

Yang Suying was about to assist but was stopped by Li Mu. “Mom, let Dad do it himself. Let him truly feel it.”

“All right, as you say!” she agreed, watching intently.

Finally, Li Chengyang stood with both feet on the floor, straightened his body, and took tentative steps, gradually gaining confidence until he was walking briskly, a joyous smile lighting his face.

“My legs are healed, really healed! Ha ha ha!” Li Chengyang wept tears of happiness.

“Today brings double blessings—not only has Xiao Mu returned, but your father’s legs are healed. We have cause to celebrate!” Yang Suying beamed.

At that moment, Li Chengyang gathered himself and asked, “Xiao Mu, why did you disappear overnight back then? No matter how we searched, you seemed to vanish without a trace.”

“At our most desperate, your mother and I thought you were...” His voice caught with emotion.

Li Mu was their only son; they felt as if the sky was falling.

Hearing this, Li Mu felt a deep pang of guilt and explained, “Dad, Mom, you might find it hard to believe, but these past years I’ve been learning from a very powerful old immortal, mastering skills. I only descended the mountain yesterday.”

He didn’t mention the innate Yang pulse to spare them worry.

Though doubtful, Li Chengyang and Yang Suying didn’t press further.

“Your safe return is better than anything. Work hard, marry, have children—then your mother and I can rest peacefully,” Yang Suying sighed.

“Mom, none of that resting peacefully nonsense. I’ll support this family and make sure you and Dad live well!” Li Mu promised.

“That’s my grown-up Xiao Mu!” Yang Suying smiled with relief. Then, as if remembering something, she exchanged a glance with Li Chengyang and tentatively asked, “Xiao Mu, you’re not young anymore. You said you were studying skills all these years, but have you found a girlfriend? If you have, you must bring her home to meet us!”

Li Mu’s face flushed with embarrassment.

On the mountain, aside from stones, even the pigs were male—let alone a girlfriend. He hadn’t even seen a female mosquito.

Seeing his expression, Yang Suying and Li Chengyang knew the answer and sighed. “It’s okay if you don’t have one. Our conditions aren’t good enough now to treat a girl well. When we’re better off, it won’t be too late.”

Li Mu cleared his throat. “Mom, I don’t have a girlfriend, but I do have fiancées!”

Yang Suying and Li Chengyang froze, incredulous. “Really? What are their names? Which families are they from?”

Li Mu sheepishly replied, “Well... I don’t really know.”

He had been rushing down the mountain and hadn’t had time to learn anything about the fiancées on the marriage contracts.

Yang Suying eyed him suspiciously. “You don’t even know your own fiancées’ names? You’re not lying, are you?”

Li Mu turned and pulled out a stack of marriage contracts, placing them before them. “Look, the contracts are all here. How could they be fake?”

They eagerly flipped through the documents, which all bore their son’s name, and were overjoyed.

Only, were there too many marriage contracts?

“Xiao Mu, why do you have seven marriage contracts?” Yang Suying asked in puzzlement.

Li Mu wiped his nose. “That just proves how outstanding your son is! I brought back seven fiancées at once.”

Yang Suying hesitated. “Xiao Mu, aren’t you committing bigamy?”

“How could that be? We’re not married yet.”

“I guess these fiancées will be coming to our home soon. Then you and Dad can decide who you like best,” Li Mu said with a grin.

Upon hearing this, Yang Suying and Li Chengyang sprang to their feet. “They’re coming to our home? It’s such a mess here—we need to clean up quickly!”

Just as they were about to start tidying, Li Mu held them back.

“Dad, Mom, you rest. I’ll take care of it.”

With swift movements, Li Mu began cleaning. The gang had ransacked the place earlier, and by the time he finished, he was covered in dust and grime.

“Xiao Mu, go take a shower. How can you meet the ladies looking like this?” Yang Suying urged.

“All right!” Li Mu nodded and was about to enter the house when footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

Even from tens of meters away, Li Mu could hear them clearly.

Seeing him hesitate, Yang Suying pressed, “What are you waiting for? Go wash and change!”

Li Mu said, “Mom, I don’t think there’s time. They’re already at our door!”

No sooner had he spoken than the main gate was pushed open, and a group of men and women filed inside.