A Mother Free of Illness for Life

"Surnamed Gu!" Those two words caused Gu Huo's heart to tremble, and his eyes grew faintly moist for a moment. He lowered his head to drink, concealing the shift in his expression. Physician Xu's father-in-law's aunt—which was his grandmother's generation—dated back many years. At the very least, fifty-odd years had passed. If that was the case... "What is your father-in-law's family name?" Gu Huo could not resist asking Physician Xu. "His surname is Liu." "Ah." Disappointment stirred in Gu Huo's heart. His own mother's surname had been Zhang, not Liu; they were not of the same family after all. Yet even merely hearing that his father-in-law's aunt had married into Elm Gully, and even if they did not share a surname, Gu Huo suddenly felt an indescribable warmth of kinship welling up within him. Once all the dishes were brought out, Liu Taohua did not immediately sit at the table. Instead, she perched on the edge of the heated kang, stitching shoe soles while keeping them company in conversation. Only after Gu Huo repeatedly insisted did Liu Taohua finally take a seat to join them for the meal. Together, they began to speak of the old days—the endless poverty, the blizzards, droughts, and locust plagues—each memory accompanied by heavy sighs. When the talk turned to several famine years when people had starved to death, the atmosphere grew especially solemn. Once Gu Huo had gathered enough information about the past, he smoothly steered the conversation back to their present life. Only then did everyone's spirits lift once more. Gu Huo possessed exceptional conversational skill. Over the course of a single meal, he drew out the entirety of Xu Yao's family background, while the boy's parents remained completely oblivious. Amid waves of laughter, even the tale of how Xu Yao had wet the bed in the exact shape of a square as a child was laid bare. "That rascal has given us grey hair since he was tiny! He once grabbed a snake that thick and crawled right into the quilt with it, insisting it felt nice and cool to hold!" "When he was three and a half, he rode a big gander all over the place. The gander bolted down the hillside straight into the river and nearly drowned him! It was Old Yellow who dragged him out by his collar..." "The neighbor's old yellow dog had a litter of pups, and he stubbornly wedged himself into the doghouse to nurse! He wouldn't come out for love or money, and he wouldn't let the pups feed either. The poor puppies were howling with hunger... That mother dog was so furious she was foaming at the mouth, yet she still had to nurse him..." "When I went to pull him away, he clamped down on the teat and wouldn't let go, stretching the poor dog's belly out so far! The dog was yelping in pain, and he started wailing like he was the one wronged. After we finally dragged him back from the doghouse, that very night he wet the bed in one big, neat square—soaking right through quilt, mattress, sheet, and the straw mat underneath until the mat rotted..." "He rode the neighbor's big dog all across the hills, playing at war on horseback..." "That old yellow dog lived until he was sixteen before dying. In her final days, she even came specially to lick his hands..." As she spoke, Liu Taohua's eyes grew red. Xu Yao was so mortified he wished the ground would swallow him whole. *Mother, please stop talking! Your son's dignity is completely ruined! This is my superior's superior's superior's... highest superior!* Physician Xu, having traveled far and wide in his time, had met his share of notable figures. He showed no stage fright, refilling Gu Huo's cup to the brim and hospitably pressing him to drink. Seeing the conversation grow increasingly warm and lively, Physician Xu began to test the waters. "One glance tells me you are a person of great stature, Brother. My boy is mischievous and headstrong, and living out in the countryside, we two don't know how to properly teach a son. If you're inclined, Brother, could you give him a word or two of guidance on dealing with the world? Let the lad broaden his horizons and learn a little about life beyond these mountains." Physician Xu looked at Gu Huo with an anxious, hopeful gaze, unsure whether the guest would grant him such face. Mountain folk knew nothing of worldly affairs. They could only seize every possible chance to curry favor with any person of standing, doing whatever they could to smooth their son's path. Gu Huo understood Physician Xu's intent perfectly. Smiling at Xu Yao, he said, "I have no life advice to teach you. The lessons that experienced men like your father and I have gathered are useless to the young. Even if I repeated them a hundred times, when you truly encounter those situations, you still won't escape paying your dues." Those words made Physician Xu sigh softly. Taking a deep gulp of wine, the father nodded in silence. "However, since I have shared a meal under your roof today, I will leave you with a few words," Gu Huo continued. "Please speak, sir," Xu Yao replied with utmost gravity. He knew this man's true identity, and he was well aware that whenever someone of his stature chose to speak, his words would be pure gold. Physician Xu and Liu Taohua instantly brightened with excitement. Liu Taohua stood up happily. "I'll go whip up another dish!" she said, hurrying into the kitchen. "Go out and experience things. Go and stumble into pitfalls," Gu Huo said slowly to Xu Yao. "You only need to know how to reflect after every experience and every wound. That is what makes a person truly successful." "Only by experiencing the human heart can you learn to see into it. A person's whole life is nothing more than tumbling and thrashing through the shifting hearts of others." "Do not lightly claim to have seen through worldly ways, nor glibly lament the coldness of human nature." Gu Huo said calmly, "Because you yourself live your entire life in pursuit of your own interests. When another person harms your interests for the sake of their own, it merely means your interests have suffered; it has nothing to do with the broader nature of the world. That is all there is to it." "First recognize clearly what it is you desire, and only then look with detachment upon the treacherous deceit of mortal life." "The human heart is simply so." "When judged by the secret desires of the heart, every person under heaven—oneself included—deserves death!" As Gu Huo spoke those words, the memory of his master, Lord Bai, surfaced in his mind. His master had said precisely that: *Judged by their hearts, all beneath heaven deserve death!* "Thank you..." Xu Yao took every single word to heart. He originally intended to say, *"Thank you for the guidance, my Lord,"* but the words *"my Lord"* simply would not leave his throat, as though an invisible seal had been slapped over his lips. In haste, he changed his phrasing: "Thank you for the guidance, Mister." The moment he switched to *"Mister,"* the words slipped out with effortless ease. He could not help marveling inwardly at the wonder of it. This Lord Gu truly possessed supernatural, unfathomable methods. After finishing the meal, Gu Huo sat and sipped tea for a while before finally rising to take his leave. He had originally planned to stay only for the duration of a quick meal, but the longer they talked, the warmer and more familiar it felt. Reluctant to depart, he had lingered for so long and drunk quite a bit of wine. It was already the dead of night. Physician Xu tried earnestly to convince him to stay, but Gu Huo insisted on leaving, and nothing they said could sway him. "Big Fatty, walk Mister out a way." Physician Xu and his wife stood by the doorway, seeing them off with their eyes. Xu Yao took up the task of 'guiding the lost Mister Gu out of the mountains,' and the two walked out together. Gu Huo walked ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, silent the entire way. Only upon reaching the crossroads did he turn around and say softly, "Xu Yao, be good and filial to your mother." Xu Yao assented, though he felt a touch bewildered inwardly: *Both my parents are hale and hearty. Shouldn't your words include my father as well?* Gu Huo came to a stop and offered him a faint smile. He produced a jade vial containing two medicinal pills. Handing it to Xu Yao, he said in a gentle voice, "Have your parents take these. I guarantee that a mother shall live free of illness for the rest of her days." "Thank you, my Lord!" Xu Yao accepted the vial as though it were the rarest treasure, his eyes shining with vibrant excitement. With these two pills, his parents' health was truly secured, lifting all worry from his mind. Gu Huo looked at him, his gaze distant and profound. Though Xu Yao stood before him, Gu Huo's sight looked through the boy to see that child from decades ago—shivering and weeping in despair amid the driving snow—and to see that mother, desperate and helpless against the bitter blizzard. It was as if two different spans of time had converged before his eyes at once. The searing contrast sent a tremor through his very soul. Consider this an act of redemption for the mother and son torn apart by life and death in the snow so long ago. Deep in Gu Huo's eyes, a fleeting trace of envy and melancholy flickered past. Both were born in these very mountains, their two villages neighboring each other, separated by only a single ridge. Yet why were their destinies so vastly different? This youth was about to step onto the path he had once walked. And yet, Gu Huo had only stepped onto that path after enduring life and death, tempered through a thousand tribulations. At the thought, his heart felt an even sharper twinge of envy. *What good fortune he has.* Not only did the boy still have a mother, but his road ahead was so smooth. The only respect in which he lagged behind Gu Huo was that Gu Huo had met his master right at the starting line, whereas this lad... was not quite as lucky on that front. "Why would my Lord..." Xu Yao was somewhat perplexed. To his eyes, everything Gu Huo had done today defied comprehension. With a rank and stature such as his, why stoop to such things? Initiating a conversation with a rustic village woman, condescending to visit a humble peasant courtyard, eating coarse fare, drinking harsh mountain spirits, chatting about trivial household matters... How did any of this resemble the conduct of a great figure dwelling in the clouds? Gu Huo smiled faintly, offering no explanation. "I must be going," he said. "Work hard. You are grown now, a man. Take good care of your family." "Yes, sir." Xu Yao nodded in agreement. Then, suddenly summoning his courage and steeling his resolve to seize what might be the only opportunity in his entire lifetime, he asked, "My Lord, how far am I... from becoming a Demon Suppression Warrior?"