Healing

When Li Guanqi returned to the room, he found Chen Xiaotian still frowning, deep in thought over what he had said. Yet, a hint of confusion lingered in the boy's bright eyes. It was only natural. After all, Chen Xiaotian was only seven years old—about the same age Li Guanqi had been back then. In those days, Li Guanqi had begged for scraps every day, seeing the full warmth and cruelty of the mortal world. He shook his head faintly; looking back, he had been far more worldly and sensible at that age than Chen Xiaotian was now. Catching sight of Li Guanqi out of the corner of his eye, Chen Xiaotian looked up in pleasant surprise. Li Guanqi could not help teasing him. "What? Afraid I'd left?" The boy did not hide it, shaking his head with a bashful look. Li Guanqi reckoned that the boy's mother would be returning shortly. He decided to simply excise the tumor on the child's neck first, leaving the rest to be monitored over the next few days. "Come, lie down." Chen Xiaotian guessed immediately what Li Guanqi was about to do. Apprehensive, he still obeyed and lay down obediently. Nervous, he clutched his clothes with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut. Li Guanqi's voice was gentle. "No need to be so nervous. Relax. Just close your eyes and sleep for a bit. When you wake up, it'll all be over." As he spoke, he channeled a soothing stream of primal energy to numb the boy's senses, easing him into a deep slumber. Chen Xiaotian had a wonderful dream. In it, he and his mother no longer worried about surviving or going hungry. He even dreamed... of roaming the world with the wooden sword Li Guanqi had given him, a wandering swordsman beneath the open skies! As the dream unfolded, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a pair of small canine teeth. Li Guanqi enveloped Chen Xiaotian with his divine sense. Once he had thoroughly examined the tumor, he pressed two fingers together like a blade. A spark of lightning flashed, descending with thunderous speed. The tumor, easily the size of a child's head, sheared clean off. Before it could hit the floor, a burst of flame reduced it to nothingness. On Chen Xiaotian's neck, however, a scorched black patch remained. Li Guanqi asked Pengluo for a tiny scrap no larger than a watermelon seed, gently crushing it until it yielded a single drop of milky-white sap. He let the droplet fall onto the boy's neck. In just a few breaths, the scorched flesh healed, leaving behind only a faint mark like an old burn. Li Guanqi could have made it flawless. However, he wanted the boy to always remember his childhood self and hold fast to his original aspiration. As for the wooden sword, one could call it an invaluable treasure, or equally an instrument of death. Li Guanqi had sealed Xu Jinglan's aura into the blade. If Xu Jinglan was still alive, should Chen Xiaotian ever wander more than a thousand li from her side, the sword would lash back against him. Only after Xu Jinglan passed away peacefully of old age would the seal on the wooden sword unravel. Though that might be decades away, for a seeker of the Dao... when was one's life not cultivation? He did not want a sliver of his goodwill to ultimately raise Chen Xiaotian into an unfilial scoundrel. If that ever came to pass, he would rather strike the boy down with his own hands! *Creak...* Dusted in wind and snow, the woman hurried back, carrying a bundle of supplies. Before even crossing the threshold, she craned her neck to peer inside. Only when she saw the vigorous firelight dancing within and that white-robed silhouette did she let out a quiet sigh of relief. Pushing the door open, she bowed hastily to Li Guanqi, full of apology. "I am so sorry, Immortal, for keeping you waiting! It took longer than I thought." The snow clinging to her knees had not even melted yet, showing just how frantically she had hurried back. Li Guanqi smiled and waved his hand. "Then I shall look forward to tasting your cooking." Just as the woman was about to reply, she caught sight of her son's neck. The massive tumor was completely gone. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Tears simply spilled over once more. No one knew how crushing the weight had been on her shoulders these past few years. Countless times, she had contemplated ending her own life. Yet she could never bear to leave her bedridden son behind. If Li Guanqi had not appeared today, she likely would have hanged herself the moment her son breathed his last. Li Guanqi's arrival was like a beam of light cutting through suffocating darkness, illuminating her and her boy's entire world. Fighting back her sobs, the woman turned away and quickly wiped her face dry. With a tearful smile, she choked out, "Please make yourself comfortable, Immortal. It will only take a moment." She busied herself briskly in the kitchen. Just then, Li Guanqi picked up a small wooden stool and carried it over beside the stove pit. Startled, Xu Jinglan instinctively reached out to help him up, only to yank her hands back, terrified of soiling his pristine robes. "Immortal... Immortal, please go back inside and rest! How could I let you do such dirty work?" "You... you are putting me to shame..." Li Guanqi smiled. "Pay me no mind. I used to do all this work myself. Back then... I was barely taller than this stove." The woman seemed to understand something in his words. Her eyes softened with a complex mix of awe and sympathy, and though still anxious, she no longer refused his help. Li Guanqi snapped the kindling and kindled the hearth with a wisp of heavenly flame. The gentle heat flickered against his face as he watched her deftly rinse the rice, wash the vegetables, and chop them with practiced ease. The sight left him momentarily dazed. Bathed in the warm glow of the fire, he withdrew his divine sense and closed his mind's eye. The world plunged once more into pitch-black stillness. Yet the fear he had known in his childhood was gone. Just as he had twelve years ago, he sat quietly on the little stool, feeding wood into the stove for a mother. In his ears were the crackle and pop of burning timber and the brisk, rhythmic tapping of the kitchen knife on the chopping board. The faint sting of woodsmoke... every last bit felt so vividly like the days of his past. When the woman inadvertently looked back, the firelight caught Li Guanqi's face. A knowing smile rested on his lips, while the corners of his eyes were glistening faintly with moisture. Ever since the ordeal with Cang Lu, Li Guanqi had harbored a deep aversion to being a soft-hearted meddler or helping strangers without cause. Yet this time... his heart was truly moved. Without him realizing it, the Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Immortal-Slaying Sigils on his skin were rapidly fading away. This meant the seal on his Ethereal Dao Body was steadily loosening. As his state of mind shifted, Li Guanqi felt an unprecedented clarity wash over his thoughts, smooth and untethered. It was as though the lingering weights buried deep in his soul were dissolving one by one. When the food was ready, there was no dining table in the house. Li Guanqi took out a low kang table from his storage ring and set the dishes onto it. As the fragrant steam rose, Li Guanqi lightly touched Chen Xiaotian between the brows. The boy stirred and slowly woke. Seeing the table laden with dishes—including meat—he rubbed his eyes, sat up, and muttered drowsily, "I must still be dreaming... How could our family ever eat braised chicken with mushrooms..." The woman let out a wet laugh at his words, her complexion noticeably brighter. "You silly boy, still half-asleep? Hurry up and eat." As she spoke, her voice trembled, choked with tears once more. Little did she know that Li Guanqi had already cured her illness as well, quietly and without a word.