Chapter Thirty-Eight: Saving Lives

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When it came to treating souls, Yun Qi was not especially knowledgeable. In truth, however, Mount Meiji’s mastery over the soul was profound, and Yun Qi could only regret not having studied it more closely before. Still, he had once experienced his own soul wandering from his body. He did not know how many herbs existed in this world that could mend the soul, nor what their kinds were, but he was certain that the green-leaved, purple-vined polygonum he had seen during the Meiji Mountain trials would be effective.

The old chieftain was astonished, glancing at Yun Qi.

Yun Qi asked the chieftain whether such a herb could be found in the nearby mountains: heart-shaped green leaves, white veins, deep purple vines, and thick roots.

The chieftain looked a bit puzzled after hearing this. He was old and rarely left the village these days, so he had no impression, but he quickly repeated the description to the brave men gathered at the bedside. One of the warriors, upon hearing it, nodded excitedly and pointed in a particular direction.

When they heard this herb might cure the child, several warriors and the child’s father immediately prepared to set out. The chieftain gripped the father’s arm, reminding him it was night, and without enough vital energy or a rooster feather crown, venturing out was courting death.

Yun Qi, too, stopped the warriors. He said to the chieftain, “Chief Muni, as long as we know where to find it, I can save the time of searching. Now, you all stay here and wait for me. I’ll go and return swiftly.”

The old chieftain clung to Yun Qi, insisting that as an outsider, he could not know the forest’s strangeness at night.

Yun Qi smiled at the old man. “Chief Muni, I did not enter the forest by day. Before coming to the village, I had already spent several nights in the woods.”

Hearing this, the chieftain hesitated, loosening his grip, but then tightened it again, worried that Yun Qi had simply been lucky so far and encountered nothing sinister.

Seeing the child’s breath failing, Yun Qi no longer wished to explain or conceal anything. He summoned the “Dragon Chariot.”

A cloud of fire appeared in the room, its heat making the air swelter. Yun Qi stepped onto the flaming cloud and asked the chieftain to describe the mountain’s appearance in detail.

The people in the room recoiled in shock at the sudden fire cloud. The old chieftain, stammering, had the warrior describe the mountain’s location and features, which he then relayed to Yun Qi.

Yun Qi nodded, stepped outside, and soared away on his cloud.

Those gathered by the bonfire outside were startled when a streak of fire shot out from the House of Donghuo, wondering what had happened.

Yun Qi rode the cloud westward, crossing the mountain terraced with fields and then another two ridges. Sure enough, on his left he saw a pond, and behind it, a hill. He hurriedly descended.

Retracting the cloud midair, he landed atop the small hill. Just then, a chill mist rose from the pond, and if one looked closely, vague human features could be discerned in the fog. By the pond stood an old willow tree, and beneath it a burrow, from which emerged a yellow raccoon and a white snake.

A bleak wind swept by, sending the icy mist drifting toward Yun Qi.

The raccoon and white snake began to stir restlessly.

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When Yun Qi had first entered the forest, he’d seen some minor spirits and ghosts. At the time, he’d thought it rare for such creatures to gain sentience—it was, after all, a work of the heavens—and so he had avoided interfering. Little did he expect these beasts to feast upon humans!

As the cold mist neared his back, Yun Qi strode forward, twisted his waist, and with a slight turn of his upper body, drew a semicircle in the air with his left hand, his index finger extended, intoning:

“Burn!”

The cold mist shrieked, then vanished in a burst of flame.

The yellow raccoon and white snake tried to flee, but had only gone a few steps when fire suddenly engulfed them. In the space of a few breaths, they were reduced to ash.

“Shine!”

A radiance burst from his hand, illuminating the little hill. Yun Qi lowered his gaze and searched.

There!

Sure enough, he found the purple-vined polygonum, sprawling in clusters—seventeen or eighteen plants in all.

He quickly dug up five, sliced off the roots, and rode the cloud away.

Back at Lixi Village, people around the bonfire were still discussing the mysterious fire just now, when they saw the flaming cloud return.

A sharp-eyed child immediately recognized the figure in the fire as their new guest, shouting out and stirring the crowd into greater commotion.

Yun Qi landed his cloud atop the house, entered, and only then remembered the dying child could not swallow medicine. Yun Qi, though not skilled in alchemy, still knew some basic methods. He conjured flame and refined a piece of the root into spiritual elixir, pried open the child’s mouth, and forced it down.

He did not know if it would work; desperate times called for desperate measures.

Everyone watched the child intently, scarcely daring to breathe, not even daring to look at Yun Qi.

After about half a cup of tea’s time, the mother, who had been gripping her child’s hand, suddenly cried out—she felt the child’s pulse once more.

The old chieftain hurried forward, listening to the heartbeat and peering at the child’s eyes, confirming that the child was slowly “coming to life” again.

The child’s father collapsed at Yun Qi’s feet, knocking his head upon the floor with a dull thud.

Yun Qi quickly helped him up.

The warriors with rooster-feather crowns at the bedside rushed out, laughing aloud, eager to spread the news to the rest of the village.

The child of Donghuo’s family had been saved! The new guest was a true immortal!

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After checking on the child, the old chieftain also tried to kneel to Yun Qi. The young man was flustered, hastening to support him, and the old chieftain could not manage to kneel.

“If Chief Muni wishes to thank me, just pour me more of that ‘White Blade’ liquor,” Yun Qi said with a laugh—for in just that brief time, he had already fallen in love with that fiery spirit.

Tears streamed down the old chieftain’s weathered face as he nodded repeatedly.

This mountain herb could heal souls. For now, it had saved only Donghuo’s child, but who knew how many lives it might save in the future!

As news spread to the bonfire, cheers erupted like wildfire, banishing the silence and sorrow that had hung over the village.

———

The next morning, Yun Qi woke with his head still a little heavy.

He stepped outside; the sun was already high, the land bathed in light, and people worked in the terraced fields opposite.

To his surprise, he saw that the northern slope of the village had already been planted with polygonum—the earth freshly turned. Clearly, at first light, villagers had gone to the hill to dig up vines.

Yun Qi began his usual exercises and breathing practice.

Not long after, the old chieftain came up the slope with three others—Donghuo’s family from last night. The child now moved lightly, climbing the steps without panting, clearly recovered.

The chieftain led them before Yun Qi, and all three knelt in unison.

Yun Qi hurried to help them up, but the chieftain stopped him. “This is as it should be.”

Yun Qi accepted the salute.

Donghuo produced a small white puppy from his robe, curled up like a dumpling, its nose and mouth rosy and adorable, and presented it to Yun Qi with both hands.

“What is this?” Yun Qi asked, glancing at the chieftain.

The old man smiled. “Donghuo’s white dragon dog gave birth a few days ago. This is the eldest—a short-haired, red-nosed pup, with strong ears and clear features, a fine specimen. In our Hongjiang Miao village, we cannot give away roosters, so gifting a white dragon dog is the highest honor—a mark of our utmost gratitude.”

Yun Qi scratched his head at this—was he to keep a dog now?