Your makeup is all smeared

Tong Jialiang was no longer completely incapable of living a normal life as he had been before. Take using the toilet, for instance. He used to lose control of his bladder and bowels outright, but now, at the very least, Baojian could support him to the chamber pot, help him undo his trousers, and let him sit down to relieve himself.

That was the improvement in his mental state. As for the physical damage caused by the Jishi Mine, he had already recovered completely.

All of this was the result of Sun Yigao’s efforts over the past three years.

But it was still far from enough to restore him to a truly normal person. According to Baojian, Tong Jialiang had just turned eighteen this year—the finest age of a person’s life. He should not be wasting it as a living corpse.

Thus, whenever he had a spare moment amid his busy schedule, Sun Yigao tirelessly pored over all kinds of ancient texts. Some he found in the local bookshops, some were given to him by Senior Liao, and some had been picked up by the people from the Finance Hall whenever they traveled to the cultivation world.

As he absorbed all this knowledge, he slowly worked out a treatment plan for Tong Jialiang.

The Lin family’s house had acquired many more household necessities, most of them added by Mo Yuanjiao and Han Weishu.

The everyday items belonging to Lin Dayou’s family—bedding, bowls, chopsticks, and the like—had essentially all been moved up the mountain. Even things that were of no immediate use had been placed in the storeroom.

Originally, Lin Dayou had not intended to move these things, thinking that they could simply use them. But Baojian had said that since they were borrowing the Lin family’s home, it would be inappropriate to use everything belonging to the owners. Seeing the unease on Baojian’s face, Lin Dayou had not insisted.

He had only left behind a few odds and ends that were convenient for Baojian and Tong Jialiang’s daily life, such as jars and pots.

Sun Yigao sat down inside the house. Baojian poured him a cup of weak tea, and after accepting it, he began to explain:

“Our sect’s Path of Inquisition can illuminate one’s true nature and draw out the fears and darkness hidden in one’s heart, forcing a person to face them. Jialiang’s problem lies in the fact that, in the midst of the simple life he had known as a boy, he suddenly encountered the nightmare of the Jishi Mine. If we want him to recover completely, I’m afraid we’ll have to send him back into that nightmare and have him truly walk out of it from within his own heart. Only then might he be healed.”

This was the conclusion he had reached after carefully discussing and researching the matter with others from his sect, as well as some travelers who had entered the Path of Inquisition.

There was no other way. When he entered it himself, he could neither feel nor see anything, so he could only ask other people about their experiences.

Even so, he still could not be entirely certain of the Path of Inquisition’s exact nature, since all he knew came from what others had told him.

It was only later that Lin Xiao gave him some advice, telling him that the Path of Inquisition would protect the minds of those who entered it. It would never allow someone to encounter a situation they could not face and then completely break down because of it.

If not for that assurance, Sun Yigao would never have had the confidence to propose this treatment plan.

After all, if Brother Xiao had spoken, it meant there should be no problem.

Hearing this, Baojian hurriedly rose and bowed deeply to Sun Yigao.

“Master Sun, I will never forget the immense kindness you have shown in exhausting yourself for Jialiang! Such a great favor can never be repaid with mere words. My body has already been sold to the Mo family, so I can no longer repay you in this life. I can only do so in the next. Jialiang is someone who repays kindness; if he can recover in the future, he will certainly be eternally grateful to you and the Lingxian Sect. He would even be willing to serve you like an ox or a horse!”

As the two men spoke, a sudden commotion came from the village road outside the courtyard.

“Mo Yuanjiao! Stop right there!” a girl’s voice cried out. She sounded as if she were shouting while running, her voice breathless with exhaustion.

Mo Yuanjiao’s voice came from outside in reply:

“You tell me to stop and I stop? How embarrassing would that be? Stop chasing me! You’ll never catch me anyway. When you get home, tell my mother that our engagement is off, then hurry back!”

“I’m not going home! If you stopped running, I could catch you!”

Sun Yigao and Baojian exchanged a glance, then tacitly walked out into the courtyard. The Lin family’s courtyard wall was very low, so the moment they stepped outside, they could see what was happening on the village road not far away.

A girl with sweat pouring down her face and her makeup smeared was running along the now perfectly level road, lifting her elaborate skirt as she gasped for breath. Mo Yuanjiao, meanwhile, kept just far enough ahead of her, maintaining a steady distance.

Seventeen-year-old Mo Yuanjiao had grown into his full height. His blue satin robes accentuated his tall, straight figure, while his skin was as smooth as polished jade. The handsome young man was brimming with vitality, and his bright eyes had gained even more brilliance as he grew older.

The girl chasing him had a lovely, radiant face. Even in her current disheveled state, it could not conceal her breathtaking beauty.

Many visitors in the village turned their heads at the commotion to watch the spectacle, only to be glared away by the two extremely sturdy maidservants following behind the girl.

They looked away, but every one of them pricked up their ears.

Mo Yuanjiao did not want the girl to catch him, but he was also worried that she might be bullied while out in public. Thus, he could only keep his distance and continue trying to persuade her.

“Your makeup is all smeared!”

He usually spent his time either cultivating on the mountain or studying formations. He only occasionally returned to the imperial capital, and he rarely showed himself in Xiushui Village. Moreover, he was not wearing the Lingxian Sect’s robes, so no one recognized this young man as an immortal of the Lingxian Sect. They merely assumed he was some wealthy young master visiting the area.

When the girl heard him say that her makeup was smeared, her expression froze and her body stiffened. Then, with an exasperated stomp, she hurriedly raised her sleeve to cover her face.

“Oh no! Then hurry up and stop looking!”

Mo Yuanjiao waved a hand.

“Then hurry home. If you go home, I won’t look anymore. If you don’t, I’ll have to use extreme measures!”

But the girl stubbornly declared, “I’m not going home! I’m going with you!”

Mo Yuanjiao had no choice but to let her follow. In any case, she would not be able to enter the Path of Inquisition.

As Xiushui Village became increasingly famous, more and more visitors arrived. Every day, large numbers of people entered the Path of Inquisition, stayed inside for two or three days, and then emerged looking weak and exhausted.

When Lin Xiao saw this, he decided that it could not continue forever. He therefore used the system to change the entry permissions for the Path of Inquisition, restricting access to members of the sect alone.

As a result, all the visitors who arrived later beat their breasts and stamped their feet, bitterly regretting that they had not come sooner to experience the path of the immortals.

Over the years, the Lingxian Sect had also gradually established a number of sect rules. One of them stated that, before ordinary people, unless carrying out a task assigned by the sect or facing an emergency, disciples were not permitted to casually use magic. They were even less permitted to use magic to deceive or manipulate others.

This rule existed to remind the sect’s members not to forget their original intentions and not to lose themselves in the superiority that came with transcending the ordinary.

Inside the Lin family’s small courtyard, Sun Yigao was somewhat curious. Before he could ask, Baojian explained:

“This young lady is the second daughter of Lord Xuanyuan, who serves in the imperial capital. Madam Xuanyuan and my lady have been close friends for many years. When my young master was little, Second Miss Xuanyuan loved following him around to play. It seems that the two madams may even have arranged a verbal marriage back then…”