"I'm coming, I'm coming." Sister-in-law Wang's voice, choked with sobs, came as she opened the door.
"Qingzi, your Uncle Wang went to sleep last night, and this morning he just lay on the bed, not moving. How could I not be worried? There's no one in the village who can treat illnesses."
"That Liu Family's Woman up on the hill is always muttering nonsense. I don't trust her one bit."
Sister-in-law Wang still had tear tracks at the corners of her eyes. She had a particularly sturdy build, especially her arms. Her exposed palms were dark and calloused, looking much stronger than Su Qing's own frail arms.
Su Qing asked hurriedly, "Sister-in-law Wang, what's wrong with Uncle Wang? Wasn't he fine yesterday?"
"Sigh..."
Sister-in-law Wang sighed, pulling Su Qing inside. "Come in, come in. I'll take you to see your Uncle Wang."
After Su Qing came in, Sister-in-law Wang had stopped crying, but she still felt terribly depressed.
She led Su Qing to the bed where Wang Liu was lying.
Wang Liu's face was deathly pale, and his breathing was incredibly faint. He was covered by a thick quilt that had been washed until it was stark white.
Su Qing felt that something was wrong.
"Sister-in-law Wang, may I touch Uncle Wang?" Su Qing asked.
"Go ahead. His body is already getting cold. Covering him with the quilt doesn't help." Sister-in-law Wang sighed again. Looking at Wang Liu on the bed, if not for Su Qing's presence as an outsider, she would have burst into tears.
Su Qing touched him and found his skin was indeed ice-cold, like touching well water.
"Sister-in-law Wang, could Uncle Wang be possessed by a ghost? Why is his body so cold?" Su Qing asked.
"I don't know. That husband of mine, Six, aside from going up the mountain, he's almost always with me, working the fields. The last time he went up the mountain was the day before yesterday. You two only got back yesterday."
"This..."
Su Qing didn't know. At that time, he had been synthesizing something within the Illusion Realm, and then the Illusion Realm was quickly destroyed. Wang Liu had been in the Illusion Realm the entire time, only waking at dawn.
'Logically, his Yang Qi must have been drained by the ghostly wild boar.'
"This..." Su Qing didn't know what to do.
Su Qing felt Wang Liu's arm. It was exceptionally cold.
"Sister-in-law, did Uncle Wang eat anything last night?"
"Barely. He ate a tiny bit, then started feeling unwell last night." Sister-in-law Wang was utterly disheartened. Seeing Wang Liu like this, he must have encountered something malevolent on the mountain.
It was too late to say anything now.
"Sister-in-law, I'm going home to see if I can find a way to help Uncle Wang."
"I'm leaving now." Su Qing left, carrying his small log, and quickly returned home.
Then, from his pocket, he took out the slightly grimy Great Replenishing Pill.
He looked at the Great Replenishing Pill in his hand.
'I wonder if this will work. This is the kind of thing that would make an elephant go wild if it ate it.'
'Uncle Wang said there are Martial Artists in the outside world. They rely on their vital energy, and ordinary ghosts don't even dare to get close.'
'The Great Replenishing Pill… it should work, right?'
'Even an ordinary person would feel their blood boil after eating it.'
In truth, Su Qing had no idea if it would work.
Because the Great Replenishing Pill's effects were a bit outrageous, he had no choice but to take the only sharp hatchet in his house and carefully slice off a third of it.
'This should be enough.' Su Qing held the one-third piece of the Great Replenishing Pill, determined to help Uncle Wang.
After all, Uncle Wang had helped him before.
He was the type of person who repaid his debts of gratitude.
His only fear was that the medicine would have an adverse effect, and he would end up being blamed for killing Wang Liu.
Since it had come to this, Su Qing decided he had to discuss it with Sister-in-law Wang.
Su Qing took out half a bowl of water.
He then placed the small piece of the Great Replenishing Pill into the water and stirred it around.
The once-clear water turned a vibrant red.
Su Qing then carried this half-bowl of water to Uncle Wang's house.
Su Qing knocked on the door. "Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law."
"It's me, Qingzi."
"Ah, the door's not locked. Come in," Sister-in-law Wang called out.
Because Su Qing had only just left.
Not even a quarter of an hour had passed.
Su Qing made his way into Wang Liu's room.
He looked at Sister-in-law Wang, who was sitting by the bed.
"Sister-in-law, this is a medicine from my home. It's specifically for replenishing qi and blood."
"I don't know if it can help Uncle Wang."
As Su Qing spoke, he placed the half-bowl of water on the table next to the bed.
When Sister-in-law Wang heard this, a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes and a faint smile touched her lips. "That's right! Six often tells me that people with strong vital energy won't attract ghosts and evil spirits."
"Sister-in-law, be careful. I really don't know what Uncle Wang's condition is," Su Qing said to her seriously.
Sister-in-law Wang's smile froze, and she replied to Su Qing with a grave expression, "Qingzi, thank you. But as long as this bowl replenishes qi and blood, it should be fine."
Sister-in-law Wang picked up the half-bowl of water from the table. She looked at the red liquid, sniffed it lightly, and caught a faint medicinal scent. She made up her mind. 'It'll definitely be fine. It's not like Six's condition can get any worse.'
Very carefully, Sister-in-law Wang put the half-bowl of water down by the bed, then helped Wang Liu sit up.
"Six, it's time to drink your medicine," Sister-in-law Wang's voice became very gentle as she spoke softly into Wang Liu's ear.
Watching from the side, Su Qing was filled with emotion. 'Ancient times really were great. I'm so envious of a love like this.'
While Su Qing was lost in his thoughts, Sister-in-law Wang quickly finished feeding him the half-bowl of water.
Once Wang Liu subconsciously swallowed the liquid, his body began to warm up. Color returned to his entire person, and his hands and feet were no longer so cold.
Only then did Sister-in-law Wang let out a sigh of relief.
Sister-in-law Wang gently let Uncle Wang lean back against the headboard.
Tears were about to stream from her eyes.
"Qingzi, your sister-in-law thanks you! I'll kneel for you!" Sister-in-law Wang said, and made to kneel.
How could Su Qing let Sister-in-law Wang kneel?
He rushed to support her. "Whoa! Sister-in-law, please don't."
"How is Uncle Wang now?"
"Your Uncle Wang is better! Qingzi, don't say another word. From now on, you are our family's savior."
Sister-in-law Wang let Su Qing help her up.
Su Qing looked at Sister-in-law Wang. The whites of her eyes were slightly red, and they shimmered with unshed tears, looking as if she had been crying for a long time.
He said, "Sister-in-law Wang, Uncle Wang has taken care of me, so I'm just returning the favor. Since he helps me, of course I have to help him. Please, think nothing of it."
Su Qing disliked such emotional scenes. He made some small talk, and after confirming that Wang Liu was truly alright, he bid farewell to Sister-in-law Wang.
He still had to go back and deal with the log he had chopped.
「Back in his own shabby little courtyard.」
In a corner of the courtyard lay a few sections of chopped green bamboo.
[Several broken pieces of wood: Fuel. Somewhat sturdy, highly malleable. The wood itself has a slight toxicity.]
Su Qing glanced at the information on his synthesis panel.
He then saw the Level column.
'Anyway, as long as I synthesize something, I get experience. I want to see if I can level up tonight.'
'It's just pulling weeds, isn't it? As long as I have hands, I can do it.'
'Turn the wood into blow-darts, synthesize nine darts into one, and see if I can create a superior blow-dart. As long as I get my chance, those three bastards are definitely going to die.'
Without hesitation, Su Qing picked up the hatchet and began to work on the wood for a while.
Then he froze. It seemed making blow-darts was impossible.
The wood wasn't hollow, and there was no way he could drill a perfect hole through it with a hatchet.
This was the problem with not having bamboo.
'Damn it! Blow-darts won't work, and I don't have an elastic cord for a slingshot. What the hell am I supposed to do?'
'Should I just give up?'
Su Qing began to hesitate. As a well-educated, model youth from the 21st century, he felt a flicker of hesitation about taking a human life.
But then he remembered that those three thugs had actually tried to kill him.
Su Qing's heart grew resolute.
'I can't possibly spare them!'