Chapter 359: The Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World
Xu Shenghua slowly regained consciousness, only to find himself lying on a sickbed with a warm, damp towel on his head. His head felt as if it were splitting apart, with what seemed like billions of voices screaming and roaring in his mind, and a ringing in his ears that wouldn't stop.
His head felt like it was about to explode. The tearing pain made him want to chop his head off and kick it as far away as possible!
He couldn't help but groan, and from the outer room came Jingyan's voice: "Is the young master awake?"
Jingyan hurried in, carrying the scent of medicine, looking at him with a mix of surprise and joy.
"I lost," Xu Shenghua said, his expression wooden.
Jingyan quickly said, "The young master has been asleep for a long time. I was brewing medicine for you..."
"How long have I been asleep? Where is this?" Xu Shenghua's mind was still filled with the roaring sound of his heartbeat, and he spoke dazedly.
"We're still in the capital. The young master has been asleep for over two days."
Jingyan helped him up, propping him half-sitting, half-leaning against the bed, and said, "Sister Yuliu heard that there's a divine doctor in the capital of Yan Kingdom with remarkable skills, so she hurried out to invite him."
Xu Shenghua tried to raise his hand, but suddenly let out a muffled groan, as if someone had just chopped his head with a knife.
"It's best if the young master doesn't move or think about anything!"
Jingyan quickly said, "The young master followed the rhythm set by that bastard surnamed Qin, involuntarily going along with him. He attacked while you defended, putting you at a disadvantage from the start. Coupled with the nature of the young master's cultivation technique, you had to constantly use divine abilities to counter his attacks, which drained too much mental energy. Moving a thought means using your brain. Now that the young master has injured his brain, it's best to rest and wait for the divine doctor to arrive."
Xu Shenghua closed his eyes, no longer speaking or moving.
He remembered the situation at the time. Qin Mu had first used the Sun-Sniping Divine Cannon to drain part of his mental energy. After he saw through it, Qin Mu applied psychological pressure, then led him along with his own rhythm.
As they walked, the battle of momentum had already begun, with Qin Mu on the offensive. The moment Qin Mu's killing intent stirred, Xu Shenghua immediately sensed the possible attacks he might face, so he instantly changed his body movement and adjusted his Yuan Qi flow, making corresponding defensive moves.
His cultivation technique was extremely wondrous, allowing him to create countering divine abilities based on the opponent's attacks. But Qin Mu didn't attack, so Xu Shenghua's divine abilities were only just created and hadn't been unleashed.
Thus, along the way, Qin Mu's momentum attacks continued, and Xu Shenghua kept defending. In just two hundred li, he had exhausted his mental energy. His brain couldn't hold up, his physical body also couldn't bear it, causing him to continuously vomit blood, his consciousness collapsed, and he fell into a coma.
At that point, Qin Mu stopped. If Qin Mu had continued walking, Xu Shenghua would have been dragged along until he vomited all his blood, until his mental energy was completely depleted and his brain died, turning into a corpse before stopping!
A complete defeat.
Xu Shenghua tasted such a failure for the first time, and there was even some bitterness in his heart. It was the first time he had tasted bitterness.
From outside came Yuliu's voice, saying, "Yanzi, come out for a moment!"
Jingyan quickly went out and said, "The young master is awake, but he still can't move. Have you invited the divine doctor?"
"I have, but..."
Jingyan walked outside, and a startled cry came, her voice losing its composure: "Why is it you again?"
Yuliu's bitter laughter came through: "I'm even more surprised than you, but I had to plead earnestly before he agreed to come..."
Xu Shenghua opened his eyes and said weakly, "Please invite the divine doctor in."
The door curtain was lifted, and Qin Mu walked in, smiling. "Brother Xu."
When Xu Shenghua saw him, he was stunned, and his head suddenly throbbed with intense pain. Qin Mu quickly stepped forward, took out a few Spirit Buddha Pills, and gave them to him, smiling. "It's best if you don't let your mind fluctuate too violently. I've been in this situation too. At that time, I was practicing a technique that caused my physical body to wither, and I almost died. Your case is due to overconsumption of mental energy and spirit, exceeding what your body can bear. Actually, your injury isn't serious. With slow recuperation, you'll recover in a month or two. But if I treat you, you'll be fine in half a day."
Xu Shenghua took the Spirit Buddha Pills and felt much more comfortable. Although his head still hurt, it wasn't as intense as before. Gradually, he could control his limbs again, and his body felt like his own once more.
"You're still a divine doctor?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"I'm not really a divine doctor, but my medical skills rank second. If you search in Yan Kingdom, you won't find anyone better than me."
Qin Mu diagnosed him for a moment, wrote a prescription, and ordered Yuliu to go get the medicine, smiling. "With my spiritual medicine for recuperation, the deficiencies in your body will be healed in just two or three days. Victory and defeat are common in military affairs, and also common for us cultivators. Don't take it to heart."
Xu Shenghua stared straight at him, then suddenly sighed. "In some ways, I am indeed inferior to you. You defeated me with strategy, but I can't feel any resentment toward you. I came down from the Upper Firmament on my master's orders to kill you, only thinking that after killing you, I would return. I never thought I would come to regard you as a friend in my heart."
Qin Mu sighed. "The Overlord Body is hard to find. But in the end, we are still enemies and cannot become friends."
The two fell silent.
After a while, Yuliu returned with the medicine. Qin Mu directly refined it into spiritual pills and gave them to Xu Shenghua to take.
Xu Shenghua staggered out of bed, his body still trembling slightly. He frowned and said, "I can clearly feel the injuries in my body healing, so why can't I stand steadily? My hands are still shaking..."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up, and smiled. "I know what kind of illness you have. Come with me." He stood up and walked outside.
Xu Shenghua wanted to follow him, but his body swayed, and his legs trembled. Yuliu and Jingyan quickly supported him as they walked out of the room.
As a disciple of the Upper Firmament, Xu Shenghua naturally couldn't stay in a shabby place. The inn was too noisy, so they had rented a courtyard, which was quite elegant and quiet.
Qin Mu led him to the street, looked around, his eyes brightening, and smiled. "The cure for your illness is right here."
Xu Shenghua was stunned, and the two women beside him were also stunned. Qin Mu had already sat down at a table in front of a noodle stall and said to the stall owner, "Ten bowls of noodles, large bowls. For the first bowl, no chili, no oil, just a little salt. Oh, and add an egg when kneading the dough. What are you standing there for? Sit down!"
Yuliu and Jingyan frowned as they looked at this shabby noodle stall. It was set up right on the street, with people coming and going, making it hard to avoid dust. The people eating here were all rough, burly men, obviously laborers from the countryside in the capital.
Where had they ever eaten at such a noodle stall? Usually, they wouldn't even glance at it, thinking it dirty.
After all, the Upper Firmament was high above, a sacred land of immortals. What they ate and drank were rare treasures unseen in the mortal world, and everything was unimaginably clean and tidy, not stained with a speck of dust.
The stall owner was also a burly man, pulling the dough with his hands and slapping it loudly, clearly not very clean.
But Xu Shenghua sat down, panting heavily.
Yuliu and Jingyan had no choice but to sit down as well, using their handkerchiefs to carefully wipe the oil stains on the table, frowning. The oil stains couldn't be cleaned at all. They sat there uneasily, even feeling that the stools under them were greasy.
Xu Shenghua, however, was calm, sitting there waiting for his noodles.
The first bowl of noodles was brought up—a clear soup with an egg, in a large bowl as big as a washbasin. The noodles were pulled evenly, each strand as thick as the next, like strands of white jade silk placed in the center of the soup, with a sprinkle of chopped green onions on top.
Xu Shenghua looked at the noodles, not knowing how to eat them.
Qin Mu handed him chopsticks. Xu Shenghua was at a loss, gripping the chopsticks and poking them into the bowl, unable to pick up the noodles. In the Upper Firmament, he had never used chopsticks. He ate spiritual pills and drank dew, not consuming the smoke and fire of the mortal world.
Xu Shenghua looked around at the people eating noodles at the stall and gradually understood how to use the chopsticks, trying to use them.
"Eat slowly."
Qin Mu said with a smile, "You've been hungry for a few days. Eating too fast will hurt your stomach and intestines. Your illness is hunger. Your mental energy was overconsumed, and the energy in your body was also transferred to your brain. When you fainted, you were already at the limit of hunger. Then you were hungry for another two days. No wonder you're dizzy, weak in the limbs, and unsteady. Drink some noodle soup first; it helps with digestion."
Xu Shenghua slurped the noodle soup, being very obedient.
Qin Mu's, Yuliu's, and Jingyan's noodles were also brought up. The two women were quite reserved, but Qin Mu didn't care about that. He splashed some chili oil on his noodles and ate heartily.
Xu Shenghua had already finished one bowl and was staring at them eagerly.
Qin Mu quickly said, "Let it digest first. You can eat the second bowl later."
Xu Shenghua obediently sat there. After Qin Mu had eaten his fill, three empty bowls were already on the table. Qin Mu nodded and smiled. "Brother Xu, you can start now."
Xu Shenghua immediately began eating, also learning from Qin Mu by splashing a layer of chili oil on his noodles. Soon, steam was rising from his body.
By the time Yuliu and Jingyan finished their noodles, Xu Shenghua had also finished seven bowls. He slumped back in his seat, feeling very comfortable.
Yuliu and Jingyan exchanged glances. Young Master Xu had never been so rude before—actually slumping in his seat!
"This human sovereign really has a demonic nature. If the young master interacts with him a few more times, he might even start picking his feet and smelling them!" The two women exchanged a look, feeling uneasy.
Qin Mu stood up and asked, "Brother Xu, do you have any Dafeng coins?"
Xu Shenghua was bewildered and shook his head. "Usually, Yuliu handles the payments."
Yuliu showed a troubled expression and whispered, "Young master, we used up all our money just now buying medicine. I pawned my hairpin at the pharmacy to get all the ingredients..."
Qin Mu took out a Dafeng coin and paid the bill, shaking his head. "I really don't know how you three managed to survive. This meal is my treat. Brother Xu, get up. After eating so much, it's best to take a walk."
Xu Shenghua stood up. Yuliu and Jingyan quickly stepped forward to support him, but Xu Shenghua shook his head. "Don't help me. My illness was indeed hunger. Now that I'm better, I can walk on my own."
The four of them strolled leisurely, walking unhurriedly.
Yuliu couldn't help but worry: "Is this human sovereign planning to walk the young master to death again?"
They arrived outside the capital, and Qin Mu led him once again toward the Supervisor's Workshop. Xu Shenghua's eyes flickered, and he said, "Brother Qin, why are you bringing me here again?"
Qin Mu smiled. "Don't misunderstand. In the two days you were unconscious, the base of the Sun-Sniping Divine Cannon has been refined and assembly has begun. I need to install the base and make adjustments to avoid any flaws in the cannon platform. By the way, when are you going to pay me for the medical consultation? My house calls are very expensive."
Xu Shenghua let out a muffled groan. "I have no money!"
"Then, Brother Xu..."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up, and he leaned in, speaking mysteriously. "Have you ever heard of the Celestial Sage Cult?"