PID Chapter 25.2

One more update since its basically the same chapter~

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Chu Jinglan’s head rested near Xiao Mo’s neck, his feverish breath hot enough to roast the demon.

 

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The merchant caravan of five wagons had traveled some distance through the mountain path and was about half a day’s journey from the main road when suddenly someone rushed out from the roadside, startling the lead horse.

 

One of the Qi Condensation guards hired by the caravan pulled hard on the reins and called out warily: “Who goes there!”

 

Looking closely, they saw it was two people—a young man in fine clothes carrying someone on his back.

 

The young man was strikingly beautiful. If not for his panicked expression, he might have been mistaken for a forest spirit, like those in storybooks that lure people away. Despite the guard’s shout, the young man’s eyes lit up, and he ran towards them with the person on his back.

 

“Help… help us…”

 

The caravan owner pushed open the carriage door: “What’s happening?”

 

He met the young man’s eyes and was momentarily stunned.

 

The young man said: “Are you in charge? My younger brother and I were on our way to Wei City to visit relatives when we encountered bandits. We gave up our valuables and barely escaped, but now my brother has a high fever. He’s burning up.”

 

The young man bit his lip, lowered his brother from his back, supporting him with one arm while reaching into his sleeve with the other. He pulled out a small piece of silver.

 

“I… I managed to hide a little. Could you take us to the nearest official post station? This is for the fare. If not, even just a dose of fever medicine would be a great help. We would be eternally grateful for your kindness.”

 

Hearing this, the merchant examined them closely. Both wore fine clothes, unlike children from poor families. The one speaking looked at him anxiously yet hopefully, while the other seemed to have fainted, his head resting on his “brother’s” shoulder. Though his face wasn’t fully visible, the unnatural flush on the visible part indeed suggested a fever.

 

The Qi Condensation guard whispered in the merchant’s ear: “They’re not cultivators. There’s no spiritual energy around them.”

 

The merchant was kind-hearted but cautious: “Your carriage was robbed. Where are your attendants and others?”

 

Young masters from wealthy families wouldn’t travel alone to visit relatives.

 

The young man bit his lip: “My brother and I have practiced martial arts. This time, only the two of us set out, with two horses being sufficient. The bandits were quite formidable; even our swords were broken…”

 

Speaking of their defeat, he seemed a bit frightened and frustrated, like a young man who had faced setbacks in his adventures.

 

The merchant looked at them, feeling sympathetic. Since they weren’t cultivators, and his caravan had cultivator guards, helping them wouldn’t be a problem.

 

“Come aboard. We’re heading to Wei City as well, so you can travel with us.” He thought for a moment, then took the silver from the young man’s hand. “This will be your fare.”

 

The young man’s face lit up with joy: “Thank you! You’re truly a kind person!”

 

He spoke so sincerely that the merchant couldn’t help but smile, gesturing: “Hurry, I have a doctor here who can check on your brother.”

 

The young man was led to the last wagon, which contained miscellaneous goods and two servants. The wagon stopped, and the two servants got out to stretch their legs and make room for the doctor to examine the patient.

 

The young man thanked them and laid his “brother” down.

 

Then he let out a long sigh—acting was difficult, but fortunately, they had met kind people who didn’t question them too much.

 

Indeed, these two young men who claimed to be visiting relatives but were robbed on the way were Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan.

 

Xiao Mo had been lucky to encounter a merchant caravan with a doctor, which was perfect timing.

 

Taking advantage of Chu Jinglan’s inability to speak, Xiao Mo had claimed the role of “older brother”—the unconscious one had to play the younger sibling.

 

When the doctor arrived, the merchant had the caravan stop and came to take a look himself. Now able to see Chu Jinglan’s face clearly, he remarked: “You two brothers indeed look alike.”

 

Xiao Mo, having hidden the red lotus mark on his forehead, smiled: “Yes, people often say we look like twins.”

 

The caravan’s doctor was an ordinary person, unfamiliar with certain injuries specific to cultivators. After taking Chu Jinglan’s pulse, his expression grew serious: “His blood flow is sluggish, and his qi and blood are depleted. This body needs nourishment.”

 

Xiao Mo followed along: “Yes, he sustained internal injuries from martial arts practice years ago. We’ve been nurturing his health ever since.”

 

The doctor nodded: “The fever isn’t difficult to treat. I’ll prepare some medicine; two doses should bring it down.”

 

Xiao Mo quickly said: “Thank you, doctor.” He didn’t forget to thank the merchant again, “We’re truly grateful to you.”

 

“Oh, don’t mention it. Besides, you’ve paid your fare,” the merchant, a plump man, smiled warmly. “I have children at home too. Seeing you two reminds me that I haven’t seen them in a while.”

 

As the wagon started moving again, the two servants climbed back in to ride with them. Xiao Mo let Chu Jinglan rest against his shoulder. The young servants, not shy, smiled at Xiao Mo with bright eyes: “Young master, you two are really handsome.”

 

Xiao Mo smiled back: “Thank you. You’re both very cute too.”

 

His smile made the two opposite him blush even more.

 

The doctor in the front wagon had set up a small stove to brew the medicine, which was then brought over. The two young servants eagerly offered: “We’ll help!”

 

They assisted in propping up Chu Jinglan while Xiao Mo took the medicine bowl. He blew on it to cool it down, secretly using spiritual energy to chill the bowl. When he felt the temperature was right, he spooned some medicine to Chu Jinglan’s lips.

 

But Chu Jinglan was deeply unconscious, his mouth tightly shut. The young servants tried to lift his jaw to open his mouth, but found that even unconscious, the patient’s bones were rigid. His neck seemed to have a stubborn set to it, refusing to yield.

 

Xiao Mo was puzzled. In the days just after Chu Jinglan had been crippled, he had secretly fed him second-grade spirit medicine while he was unconscious, and it had gone smoothly.

 

Confused, he first handed the medicine bowl to one of the young servants and reached out: “Let me try.”

 

His cold fingers pressed against Chu Jinglan’s jaw. Chu Jinglan frowned, restless even in his unconscious state. His neck had been tense just moments ago, but as the cool touch met his skin, the tension eased. Following Xiao Mo’s guidance, his lips parted slightly.

 

One of the young servants smiled: “Oh, look at that. He recognizes family even in his sleep.”

 

The outsider spoke sincerely, but only Xiao Mo knew the truth… I’m not his family.

 

Xiao Mo rubbed his fingertips, still warm from the contact. He didn’t understand it either, finally concluding that perhaps his unique body temperature was comforting to the feverish man.

 

After all, besides being as cold as ice, he had no other special qualities.

 

The young servant helped hold the medicine bowl while Xiao Mo supported Chu Jinglan’s jaw with one hand and fed him with the other. They managed to get the entire bowl of medicine down successfully.

 

A while later, Xiao Mo felt Chu Jinglan’s forehead and found that the temperature was indeed dropping, finally allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

Before nightfall, the caravan set up camp by the roadside. They had enough tents, and Xiao Mo and Chu Jinglan were given one. The servants and guards started a fire, set up a pot, roasted meat, and cooked some porridge. They brought two bowls to Xiao Mo.

 

After feeding Chu Jinglan, Xiao Mo looked at his own bowl of fragrant porridge with meat strips. While Xiao Mo undoubtedly loved good food, faced with such a tempting aroma, he found himself hesitating.

 

After a brief pause, Xiao Mo still ate it, his expression unchanged.

 

It was delicious—human food, a comfort he hadn’t enjoyed in a long time.

 

A moment later, Xiao Mo had to temporarily ask the young servant to watch over Chu Jinglan. Embarrassed, he pointed to the bushes: “I need to relieve myself.”

 

The young servant nodded, assuring him not to worry. Xiao Mo hurried into the bushes, going a bit farther away. He pressed on his stomach, bent over, and opened his mouth, spitting out some black powder. From a distance, it looked like a spray of black blood mist.

 

“Puh, cough, cough cough!”

 

Inner demons naturally don’t need to eat, but since he was pretending to be an ordinary person without spiritual energy, he had to eat. If the food were made from spiritual ingredients, he could convert it all into spiritual energy. But ordinary human food contained too many impurities. The black powder was these impurities, which would only make his spiritual body uncomfortable if left inside.

 

“Cough…”

 

After expelling the impurities, Xiao Mo used a cleaning technique to wipe his lips, giving a bittersweet smile: “Finally got a chance to eat, and it turns into torture.”

 

The taste was actually quite good.

 

“It’s alright, host,” the system consoled, “Once Chu Jinglan recovers his cultivation and infiltrates a major sect, you’ll be able to eat all the spiritual delicacies you want.”

 

“Hmm,” Xiao Mo replied half-heartedly, “I’ll look forward to that.”

 

At this point in the original novel, the narrative focused mainly on Su Baimo’s perspective, describing his entry into the Huanjian Sect in the middle realm. Using his life-saving favor to Dai Zisheng, he gained access to the sect’s resources and Dai Zisheng’s protection, cultivating while entangling himself in new love and hatred.

 

The novel barely mentioned the hardships Chu Jinglan endured on his path to rebuilding his cultivation. When Chu Jinglan reappeared in the story, he had already become a brilliant young talent in the upper realm.

 

It was as if his previous crippling had been just a dream, and he had always been a heavenly prodigy, as bright as the moon.

 

His reentry was described as graceful and stunning from Su Baimo’s perspective, deeply moving readers who exclaimed that he was indeed worthy of being the first love. It seemed to showcase the purest emotions of youth, and readers felt that among all the characters, the author particularly favored Chu Jinglan, always portraying him so handsomely.

 

Xiao Mo scoffed at this.

 

Favoritism? Nonsense.

 

They had just left Mu City and were already struggling. The hardships Chu Jinglan would face on his journey upwards were yet unknown, but all of this was glossed over in the novel. It only allowed people… no, it only allowed Su Baimo to see the brilliant and talented Chu Jinglan.

 

The suffering seemed insignificant. Everyone thought he was born in the heavens, and no one cared about the injuries he had endured.

 

Xiao Mo returned to the campsite and sat by the fire, letting Chu Jinglan’s head rest on his shoulder as he slept.

 

It didn’t matter if others cared or not. He was going to accompany Chu Jinglan on this journey, to be a witness.

 

Thinking back to his initial resistance and decision to not get involved when he first arrived… ah, how embarrassing.

 

Can’t be helped, Xiao Mo thought. After all, the person beside him was flesh and blood, not just a character on paper.

 

Everyone was still gathered around the fire, chatting. A man casually conversed with Xiao Mo: “It’s good for young people to travel and experience setbacks. It’s all part of gaining experience.”

 

Xiao Mo naturally nodded in agreement.

 

Someone else asked: “Which relative are you visiting?”

 

Xiao Mo improvised: “Our uncle. We haven’t seen him in a long time.”

 

A local from Wei City chimed in: “Where does he live? I might have seen him!”

 

Xiao Mo: “…”

 

Good question. How would he know where this non-existent uncle lived in a city he’d never been to?

 

“System, quickly find some street names in Wei City!”

 

System: “Right away!”

 

As Xiao Mo hesitated, a voice from his shoulder continued the conversation: “East Hua Lane. Although our uncle is of a higher generation, he’s about our age. He loves to stay indoors reading and rarely goes out.”

 

Chu Jinglan had awakened, his voice still a bit hoarse.

 

It wasn’t clear how much he had heard, but he smoothly picked up Xiao Mo’s story. Well done, perfect teamwork.

 

The man laughed: “If he doesn’t go out much, I probably haven’t had the chance to meet him.”

 

Chu Jinglan slowly moved away from Xiao Mo’s shoulder. Xiao Mo reached out to feel his forehead, relieved: “Hmm, the fever’s gone down.”

 

As the cool, delicate touch met his forehead, Chu Jinglan’s shoulders tensed. Perhaps due to his weakened state, he didn’t instinctively avoid the contact. Feeling the comfort on his forehead, his shoulder bones quietly relaxed, and he softly hummed in acknowledgment.

 

A man across from them called out: “It’s good that you’re awake! Young man, you’re lucky to have such a clever brother. Having a brother is great. You should treat your brother well in the future; he’s been taking care of you while you were sick.”

 

Brother?

 

Chu Jinglan slowly looked at Xiao Mo.

 

Xiao Mo, having taken advantage of the situation, showed no guilt and nodded: “Don’t worry, my brother is sensible and respects his elder brother greatly.”

 

He spoke so convincingly that the others couldn’t help but praise their brotherly affection.

 

After listening for a while, Chu Jinglan finally spoke slowly and deliberately: “Yes, I will always remember his kindness. We support each other, brother.”

 

The last two words carried an inexplicable warmth. The others didn’t notice, but as Chu Jinglan’s inner demon, Xiao Mo’s perception was too keen. He couldn’t help but press his tongue against his teeth: … Why did that sound so… tingly?

 

Wasn’t he the one who had taken advantage of the situation?

 

Seeing Xiao Mo’s silence, Chu Jinglan slowly and deliberately repeated the words: “Right, bro-ther?”

 

The flickering firelight danced in his eyes, deep and mysterious. His gaze, combined with his tone, enveloped Xiao Mo completely, making his bones and heart tremble.

 

Since spiritual bodies don’t have bones, his entire being trembled instead.

 

Xiao Mo: “…”

 

Help—I was wrong, please stop calling me that. You can be the older brother, okay?

 

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1 Kofi = 1 extra update ~