Ruishan Tu's Grandmother

Ying Weiyang had originally planned to leave, but Xu Mu caught hold of her.

“Wait!”

Xu Mu held her back as they stood by the entrance.

“What is it?” Ying Weiyang asked, puzzled. “You still haven’t given up?”

“I’ve already figured out how to get close to her. Just wait here.”

After saying that, Xu Mu stood quietly where he was.

About a minute later, Tushan Rui came out.

Xu Mu immediately stepped forward and said with a smile, “Thank you for helping me just now. I’m willing to return the favor.”

“Hehe, there’s no need. It was nothing.”

Tushan Rui forced a smile at Xu Mu and prepared to leave.

“I’m only trying to help. I know a little about medicine. For example, I can smell the scent of Golden Autumn Grass and Dragon-Guard Wood on you. I’m guessing someone close to you is injured, and these rare treasures are being used to clear away blood stasis.”

After saying this, Xu Mu took Ying Weiyang by the hand and began to leave.

“Since you don’t need my help, we’ll be going.”

When Tushan Rui heard this, her eyes suddenly widened.

She immediately turned around and looked at Xu Mu, who had already turned away.

“Sir, wait!”

She had only helped prepare the medicine, yet this man had been able to identify the herbs by name and even determine that her grandmother was ill.

A faint smile appeared on Xu Mu’s face. It seemed his plan had worked.

He turned back and asked calmly, “What is it?”

“How did you know about her condition? Did someone tell you beforehand?”

Tushan Rui walked over and questioned him.

“No. These two rare treasures have many uses, but when they’re used together, they’re meant to clear away blood stasis.”

Xu Mu raised a hand.

“If you don’t believe me, I can take your pulse and see whether there’s anything wrong with your health.”

“Okay!”

Tushan Rui immediately held out her hand.

Anyone with enough determination could probably find out about her grandmother’s illness by asking around.

But she had never told anyone about her own condition. If the man before her could identify it precisely, then he had to be a true miracle doctor.

Xu Mu took Tushan Rui’s pale wrist and carefully examined her pulse. After about ten seconds, he let go.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

“Overall, you’re quite healthy. You’ve just been sleeping poorly lately, and you have a slight migraine.”

Xu Mu leaned closer to Tushan Rui’s ear and whispered, “Also, you’re on your period.”

Tushan Rui’s face flushed. She staggered backward several steps, but moments later she hurried forward again and grabbed Xu Mu’s hand.

“Miracle doctor! You really are a miracle doctor!”

She truly had not been resting well these past few days, and she had developed a migraine just yesterday.

She had never mentioned this to anyone. Since the man before her knew about it, he had to be a genuine miracle doctor.

“Sir, I need your help. I’m willing to pay any price. Please, all I ask is that you save my grandmother’s life.”

Tushan Rui pleaded desperately, as if she had finally seized hold of a lifeline.

The hidden injuries her grandmother had suffered had caused her condition to grow steadily worse.

Xiao Gui had previously searched for rare treasures many times to help her grandmother recover, but they had only treated the symptoms without addressing the root cause.

This time, Xiao Gui had specifically told her that he had once discovered a miraculous healing herb in the Fuso Inner Realm.

It was capable of completely rebuilding the body and would certainly cure her grandmother.

The reason he had not picked it back then was that it had not yet matured, so he had merely sealed it off with an array.

But by now, it should have fully matured.

When Tushan Rui first heard this, she had been overwhelmed with emotion, believing that her grandmother was finally saved.

Who could have expected that a few days ago, Xiao Gui would return and tell her that someone else had taken the divine medicine?

He had specifically tracked down the ruins where that person was located, but in the end, he had still failed to obtain it.

And now, she had unexpectedly met a miracle doctor.

“You’re too polite. You care so deeply for your grandmother that I’m touched. Your grandmother is my grandmother, too. Treating her will be a piece of cake.”

Xu Mu smiled as he spoke.

“Good. Please, come with me.”

Tushan Rui quickly turned around and led the way.

They had not gone far when Li Han and Hei Shen emerged from the orphanage.

When they realized that Xu Mu had followed Tushan Rui away, their expressions turned grim.

“Could that person be Xiao Gui?” Hei Shen said in a low voice.

“It’s certainly possible. The girl beside him doesn’t look very old either. She might be his daughter.”

Li Han nodded.

The two exchanged a glance. Their fierce eyes revealed that they had reached the same conclusion.

…

Xu Mu and Ying Weiyang followed Tushan Rui toward the center of the region.

Along the way, Tushan Rui explained that most of the ethnic factions in the Inner Realm were structured in this manner.

The ruins were mainly where members of each race lived, while the towns outside the ruins were much more mixed.

People of all kinds of races could be found there. Most of them were merchants, while some served as informants for other races.

After all, there was no internet access in the Inner Realm. Communication still relied on this relatively primitive system.

Whenever something happened within a race, these informants would spread the news.

“The Inner Realm is so vast. If the distance is great, doesn’t it take a very long time to deliver a message?” Xu Mu asked Tushan Rui after hearing her explanation.

“That’s right. In the past, it took at least a month to deliver a message over the greatest distances. But it’s much faster now.”

Tushan Rui explained, “That’s because communications in the outside world have become so advanced.”

“I understand. The people delivering the message first go to the outside world and use their phones to send it. Once the people on the other side receive the message, they travel to the Inner Realm closest to their faction.”

Xu Mu immediately figured out the process.

“Exactly. The major races and factions generally have areas where their territory intersects with the outside world. They keep people stationed there year-round for the purpose of relaying messages.”

As Tushan Rui spoke, they had already arrived inside the ruins.

The guards along the way bowed respectfully when they saw Tushan Rui.

Xu Mu studied the surrounding environment. This place was also situated deep in the mountains. Unlike the wooden buildings outside, most of the structures here were built inside hollowed-out trees.

Some wooden buildings had even been constructed directly on the branches.

The trees here were enormous, with most of them reaching four or five meters in diameter.

Xu Mu looked at the members of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan living here and saw that most of them were indeed of mixed blood.

Some clan members had beast ears and tails that had grown naturally, making them look like adorable beast-eared girls.

Others looked almost identical to ordinary humans. Xu Mu was reminded of Zi Wangyou, the woman from the Immortality Research Institute whom he had encountered before.

He remembered that she had revealed her tail back then, but hers had been formed from qi, proving that she was also of mixed blood.

The ruins were enormous. When Tushan Rui led them farther inside, she even used a teleportation array; otherwise, the journey would have taken a very long time.

Using the array, they traveled directly to a mountain at the very depths of the ruins.

On the other side of the mountain, Xu Mu saw a small lake and a simple wooden house beside it.

There was also a wall surrounding the building, though it was clearly only for show. It stood barely a meter high.

“That’s where my grandmother lives. She’s one of the clan’s senior elders. Unfortunately, she suffered serious injuries years ago and has been living in agony ever since.”

Whenever Tushan Rui spoke of this, her face filled with worry.

Xu Mu followed her into the courtyard, where he saw an elderly woman with a head of snow-white hair.

She was reclining in a wooden rocking chair, gently waving a folding fan.

“Grandmother!”

Tushan Rui cried out.

The old woman before them lifted her eyelids. After glancing at Xu Mu, she closed her eyes again. “I thought Xiao Gui had returned.”

Xu Mu was secretly startled. Hat Bro had clearly put down deep roots here.

He needed to work hard on his end as well. He absolutely could not let Xiao Gui continue to grow stronger.

Not only did he need to win Tushan Rui’s grandmother’s approval, he also needed to win Tushan Rui’s grandmother’s approval.