Chapter 286

Chapter 286: Returning Home in Splendor

In the early morning, at Chuxia Mountain.

The name sounds beautiful, but in reality, aside from seeing the morning glow, little else can be found on Chuxia Mountain, which is known for its poor conditions and bad waters. The past two years have been slightly better; everyone is barely managing to fill their stomachs.

Many little ghosts have grown into young men, digging a water reservoir at the mountaintop, cultivating fields halfway up the mountain, and building makeshift walls at the foot of the mountain.

Despite its remoteness, barrenness, and hardship, they manage to survive without worrying about the oppressive taxes from the authorities or fear of bandits robbing them, finding joy in their leisurely lives.

However, the situation outside is getting tighter. Zhu Tianci can no longer find food, and though he has money symbols, he cannot spend them, watching as they near starvation, leaving him anxious and restless.

“Second Uncle, hurry and check on Mingming! She has been having a high fever since yesterday, and her forehead is burning hot,” Dogzi called out to Zhu Tianci. Mingming is the youngest girl on the mountain, born when her mother died during childbirth. Her father saved Li Hui’s life once but didn’t make it in the end.

As Zhu Tianci entered the thatched hut, he saw Mingming clutching a doll, dazedly calling out, “Little Uncle, Mingming is so hot! Where are you? You promised to make snow ice for me in the summer, but I haven’t had any yet!”

The little girl looked very pale, her body burning with fever.

“Where is the cat grass?”

“I’ve eaten it, but it doesn’t work.” Dogzi’s face was filled with worry. Cat grass is the best herb on the mountain, capable of clearing heat and detoxifying, but it isn’t effective for Mingming and merely made her vomit and have diarrhea. Seeing her little face grow smaller, he felt so anxious he wished he could take her place and be sick instead.

“Second Uncle, it’s bad…” A young man ran to the thatched hut and yelled, “Niu Wu is out there digging for yam.”

“Wasteful! All he knows is to cause me trouble! The yams aren’t even grown yet. How many meals can we eat by digging them up now?” Zhu Tianci furiously slammed his fist. Food is extremely scarce, and young men need to eat; Niu Wu, being stout and starved with eyes turning green, can’t contain himself after having spent the night thinking about that little bit of yam—this is really unbearable!

At that moment, a wild wind swept through the mountainside, stirring up clouds of dust. Eighteen giant red-crowned cranes flapped their wings and landed gracefully. Niu Wu widened his eyes and looked up, dropping the yam from his hands with a “thud.”

Then someone laughed heartily, “Haha, Little Five? My goodness! I can hardly recognize you! You’ve grown so strong! When I left Chuxia Mountain, you were just a little sprout.”

A young man in splendid clothing jumped down from the red-crowned crane’s back.

Niu Wu snapped back to reality, staring at the giant crane with his mouth watering. “So big! We can eat for many days!”

“Hey, you’ve grown taller, but your wits haven’t improved; you’re still as foolish as ever.” The young man approached without anyone noticing and playfully tapped Niu Wu on the head. Only then did Niu Wu snap out of his dream about a giant roast chicken, turning to see his little buddies fleeing.

“Ah! Please spare me, grandmaster!” Niu Wu cowered to the ground, sticking his backside up high.

Seeing him so cowardly, the young man burst into laughter: “Hahaha! I told you back then to stick your backside up high when you see a cultivator so they can give you a kick. That way, you might save your little life. You really believed it?”

Niu Wu looked up, puzzled as he stared at the young man. The more he looked, the wider his eyes grew, and suddenly he couldn’t control himself, tears streaming down his face.

“Little Uncle?”

“Ah! Right! You silly boy still remember me.” Li Hui waved gently, and Niu Wu floated up in the air.

“Wow! Little Uncle, you’re finally back! Niu Wu has been starving every day!” The burly young man hugged the youth, crying like a child.

“Little Five, don’t worry. I told you not to starve; we keep our promises, even bringing a chef with us.” Li Hui patted Niu Wu’s shoulder.

Chef Zhao looked completely astonished, realizing that Li Hui brought him back just to feed this big teddy bear. No, he should call him a hero of Chuxia Mountain, but it’s so desolate there that he hadn’t even seen a single crooked tree, yet they managed to raise someone of such exaggerated size—it truly is unbelievable!

Niu Wu stood at nine feet tall, towering over the average person, and he was only sixteen! He was at the stage of growing, and he would keep getting taller, and with a sturdy frame, he really did resemble a bear.

“Little Uncle is back! Everyone come out! Little Uncle is back…” Niu Wu excitedly ran up the mountain, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Li Hui’s status on the mountain means that many adults must salute him as "Little Uncle," let alone someone like Niu Wu. The young man walked along the mountain path leisurely, his eyes suddenly sparkling before he vanished from sight.

When Li Hui appeared again, he was already beside Zhu Tianci.

“Elder Brother, I’m back!” Just a simple sentence startled Zhu Tianci as though he had fallen into a dream, feeling it was so distant and unrealistic.

“Huh?” Li Hui didn’t have time for small talk and quickly approached the bed to check on the girl, taking her wrist to feel her pulse carefully. After a long moment, he said in astonishment, “Ice Marrow Physique? You need to open up the acupoints and cultivate a water or ice cultivation method to survive. Luckily, I arrived just in time. If I had been a few days late, Mingming might have lost her life.”

It was only then that Zhu Tianci realized, looking incredulously at Li Hui, “Third Brother, how have you changed so much? Have you turned back to your youth? I remember when you left Jade Spring Mountain you were tall and handsome, but less than two years later, you’ve returned looking as young as you did when you left Chuxia Mountain?”

“Ha! There’s no such thing as turning back to youth! I should have aged and died, but due to eating a Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King, I fortuitously appear younger. I’m actually almost twenty years old,” Li Hui said with a bitter smile, taking out a ginseng slice the size of a fingernail and feeding it to Mingming.

Not long after swallowing the ginseng slice, Mingming’s complexion became rosy, and mist started to rise above her head, making Zhu Tianci and Dogzi’s eyes widen in surprise.

Li Hui didn’t mention that these were rare ginseng roots taken from the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King, which contained at least five thousand years worth of medicinal power, terrifyingly potent. Naturally, the little girl couldn’t bear it. Fortunately, she had a unique physique, allowing her to use the Mysterious Water Pearl to suppress the medicine’s power, gradually breaking it down and merging it.

“Records state that Ice Marrow Physique has a chance to become an innate Dao body; she should be able to be nurtured in the Mysterious Water Pearl.” With a wave of his hand, Mingming disappeared, successfully sent into the Mysterious Water Pearl where the Ice Butterflies reside.

“Where is she?” Dogzi panicked.

Zhu Tianci tugged at Dogzi and said, “Silly boy, that’s your Little Uncle; Mingming is saved! Hahaha, it looks like Third Brother has made progress!”

“My cultivation isn’t that great! Where’s Sister-in-law?” Li Hui wondered. Sister-in-law cared the most for Mingming, so how could he not see her with the little girl in such poor health?

“Alas!” Zhu Tianci sighed, “Your sister-in-law has good fortune; she caught the eye of a high-level demon cultivator on her way back and was taken to their sect to train. It will take a long time for her to return. She left without a word or even a message.”

“What?” Li Hui felt something was off. “Sister-in-law left without a word? That’s impossible! She wouldn’t do that! Elder Brother, think carefully about the situation back then and tell me clearly.”