Qin Mu and The Cripple stared at each other, while Master Ma, though outwardly cold, was warm-hearted inside. "You're all grown up now, stop throwing childish tantrums. We came to see how you've been doing these days, and also to let you check if our hands and legs still work."
The Cripple laughed. "Old Master Ma came all the way from Great Thunderclap Monastery. You should know he specifically came to see you. The monastery is tens of thousands of miles from here, while Village of the Cripple and the Old is only two or three thousand miles away. As for me, I didn't come to see you—my leg is at the Grand Tutor's manor, closest to you."
Qin Mu felt a warmth in his heart. Master Ma said, "Don't let The Cripple's sarcasm fool you—he's actually a good person. When you were little, you used to wet the bed often. Granny had never raised a child before, and she got so annoyed with your wetting that she wanted to give you away to the neighboring village to raise. The day she sent you away, the next day you were lying in Granny's bed again. She sent you away several times, and each time you mysteriously came back—of course it was The Cripple who stole you back."
The Cripple shook his head. "Not at all. I hated children the most. If I hadn't been missing a leg, I would have kicked your little behind every day."
Qin Mu felt a faint pain in his heart and didn't quite believe it. "When I was little, I wet the bed, and Granny wanted to give me away? But she loved me so much..."
"She tried several times," Master Ma said.
Master Ma continued, "Granny had never given birth to or raised a child before. You wet like a waterfall, cried at night, cried whenever you were hungry, cried when you were too full, cried when you couldn't sleep—the cow in the shed was almost driven crazy by you in the middle of the night. It's no wonder Granny was annoyed. We old folks were also fed up with it. At that time, both the Village Chief and The Medicine Master said it might be good to send you away—then there'd be peace and quiet."
Qin Mu's heart ached even more. He said with a dark expression, "Grandpa Village Chief and Grandpa Medicine Master also said to send me away? How come I never knew about this?"
The Cripple laughed. "You weren't even a year old then—how could you remember? You wetting the bed would've been one thing, but you also soiled the bed. The Mute originally said he'd give you away to someone else to raise, along with a milk cow as a bonus. But then you stopped wetting the bed, so they didn't give you away..."
"Grandpa Mute also wanted to give me away?"
Qin Mu fell silent for a moment, then said, "At least Grandpa Blind and Grandpa Deaf still loved me."
Master Ma said, "The Blind does love you. But after he picked you up and held you high, and you peed on his face, he didn't say a word when Granny wanted to give you away."
The Cripple said, "When you were little, what annoyed The Deaf the most was you. You'd always crawl onto his desk, get ink everywhere, and even pee in his inkstone..."
He sighed. "You were cute when you were wetting the bed. But once you got a little older, you stopped being cute—climbing onto the stone statues in the village to pee."
Qin Mu was deeply hurt. He said awkwardly, "Grandpa Ma, Grandpa Cripple, I'm now the Heavenly Demon Cult's cult master. Can we please stop talking about bed-wetting? Let me check your legs and arms."
The Cripple laughed to Master Ma, "Being sent away by Granny for wetting the bed—this is something that would make me laugh so hard I'd jump out of my coffin even after I'm dead."
Master Ma showed a faint smile. "Same here."
Qin Mu walked into the courtyard with a dark face, carried the pill furnace and medicinal cauldron inside, checked both their arms and legs, then took out the Shao Bao Sword and made a small cut on The Cripple's leg, drawing a few drops of blood for a careful examination.
After a moment, he cut Master Ma's arm as well, took a few drops of blood, studied it for a while, and said, "Although nearly half the vitality in your arm has been depleted, Master Ma, it's been maintained very well—as if someone used Buddhist mantras to vibrate the blood within, keeping it fresh. With some spiritual elixirs and medicinal herbs to nourish it and restore its vitality, it can be reattached. After a few more years of refinement, it will return to normal."
Master Ma said, "My arm was kept in the Thousand Buddha Pagoda. The pagoda contains the physical bodies of past Buddhas, and monks chant mantras day and night to maintain the vitality of the bodies."
Qin Mu was startled and blurted out, "Are there truly a thousand Buddhas in Great Thunderclap Monastery?"
Master Ma shook his head. "I never counted. There probably are."
Qin Mu composed himself and examined The Cripple's leg. "Grandpa Cripple, this leg of yours... the blood is bad, the leg is dead. It can't be reattached."
The Cripple's face turned pale, and the smile vanished from his face. He cried, "How is that possible? I was hailed as the God of Legs by the world! These two legs were refined to the realm of the divine—how could they be dead? Besides, I only lost this leg recently—maybe twenty or thirty years ago. I don't believe my leg is inferior to Master Ma's Divine Fist—it must still be alive!"
Qin Mu showed a simple, honest smile. "My condolences, Grandpa Cripple. It's already dead and can't be reattached. Besides, I just tasted your blood—it has flavors of five-spice powder and smoke. I suspect the Grand Tutor turned your leg into cured ham."
The Cripple was so angry he laughed. "You brat, you're trying to trick me again. Would the Grand Tutor be so poor he'd cure my leg for food?"
Then he grew nervous. "That fellow the Grand Tutor really is poor—would he really make it into cured meat?"
Qin Mu looked smug.
Master Ma said, "Stop scaring him—thieves are timid."
Qin Mu laughed. "Although your arm, Master Ma, and Grandpa Cripple's leg have less vitality than Grandpa Butcher's lower half, fortunately the life force is still there. I'll first nourish the vitality of your severed limbs with medicine. In ten days to half a month, they should be revitalized enough for reattachment. Then we can reattach them without issue. Grandpa Butcher's lower body grew on the body of the Demon Lord, leaving no hidden problems. Yours aren't quite as good—you didn't have living flesh to nurture them."
Master Ma and The Cripple both breathed sighs of relief. Master Ma said, "As long as they can be reattached, that's good."
The Cripple laughed. "I took a sample of every spiritual herb from the palace treasury. See which ones can be used. If you're still missing any, I'll go... 'borrow' some more."
"No need. The Imperial Academy's treasury should have these medicinal herbs."
Qin Mu went to the courtyard, about to check the types of spiritual herbs, when suddenly he heard Fox Spirit Ling'er's voice from outside. "Young Master, the Grand Tutor has come to visit."
"The Grand Tutor again? Could Grandpa Cripple's deeds have been discovered, and he tracked me down here?"
Qin Mu was startled. He turned around, closed the hall door, straightened his clothes, and opened the door to look. There stood the Grand Tutor of Yankang, the man who commanded respect in all directions. He looked somewhat awkward, standing there for a long moment before speaking slowly. "The Imperial Doctor is wealthy—could you lend me some money?"
Qin Mu was puzzled and laughed. "The Grand Tutor came here just to borrow money? The prestigious Grand Tutor of the State of Yankang is short on funds?"
The Grand Tutor of Yankang was silent for a moment, then said, "I went out on a campaign, and my home was robbed and cleaned out. Now I'm short on cash, and I also need to visit the Prince of Northern镇 to offer condolences. I'm really quite tight..."
Qin Mu's mind stirred. "Could it be that Grandpa Cripple cleaned out the Grand Tutor's manor, leaving him nothing? Even though Grandpa Cripple is missing a leg, his hands are still much faster than mine."
He laughed. "Grand Tutor, how much do you need?"
The Grand Tutor of Yankang calculated for a moment. "My monthly salary is eight hundred Dafeng coins. I'll just borrow one month's salary to get through this difficult time."
Qin Mu said to Fox Spirit Ling'er, "Ling'er, bring one thousand Dafeng coins and give them to the Grand Tutor."
Fox Spirit Ling'er responded and went into the room.
Qin Mu laughed. "How did the Grand Tutor end up so destitute?"
The Grand Tutor of Yankang shook his head. "Too many external possessions affect cultivation and wisdom. With fewer desires, money isn't that important."
Suddenly, his gaze flickered and he smiled. "There's someone else in your room—a very powerful presence, like a Buddha sitting there, unmoving... No, there are actually two people. One person's body merges with heaven and earth, ethereal and elusive, as if they could vanish at any moment—a very masterful technique that almost made me overlook them! Doctor, why not invite me in for a seat?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Grand Tutor, I'm afraid I can't invite you in. My elders are here, and they're injured. It's not convenient for them to meet people."
The Grand Tutor of Yankang said, "So they're injured. No wonder there are so many spiritual herbs in the courtyard. I'm injured too, so I shouldn't disturb them."
Fox Spirit Ling'er came over carrying a large money bag. Qin Mu took the bag and handed it to the Grand Tutor of Yankang, laughing. "If the Grand Tutor is short on funds, you don't need to repay me. Grand Tutor, a gentleman may be poor, but he doesn't have to be. Poverty isn't a requirement for being a gentleman."
The Grand Tutor of Yankang said, "I will repay you. In a few days, when the Emperor's reward comes through, I can return it to you. For now, I just need to get through these next few days."
He thanked Qin Mu and took his leave.
Once the Grand Tutor was far away, Qin Mu had Fox Spirit Ling'er and the Dragon Qilin stand guard outside. He entered the hall and said, "Grandpa Cripple, did you clean out the Grand Tutor's manor?"
"Clean out? What clean out?" The Cripple shook his head. "His manor didn't have much money to begin with—not even a single valuable piece of furniture. The most valuable thing was probably The Deaf's painting—a priceless treasure."
Qin Mu was puzzled. Was the Grand Tutor of Yankang truly that poor? He was a powerful minister with influence throughout the court—how could he have no property?
Some officials in the State of Yankang purchased mining rights, established smelting plants and foundries, and had incalculable wealth. As the Grand Tutor, how could he be so destitute?
The Cripple took out a scroll from somewhere and unrolled it. "This scroll, 'Sword God Carrying His Sword,' depicts the Village Chief, doesn't it? The Village Chief when he was young. That fellow The Deaf must have seen what the Village Chief looked like in his youth. Tsk tsk, this painting can't be looked at—just one glance and your eyes will go blind..."
He rolled up the 'Sword God Carrying His Sword' scroll and tossed it to Qin Mu. "I'm giving it to you for warding off evil spirits. If The Deaf's paintings of the Village Chief are used to ward off evil, even gods and spirits would have trouble coming near. Don't open it—if your cultivation isn't high enough, one look will blind your eyes and kill you! The Deaf's painting skills hadn't reached the divine realm back then, but the person he painted was too powerful for you to see."
Qin Mu took it with a mix of belief and doubt, stored the scroll in his Taotie Bag.
Master Ma said, "The Deaf did see the Village Chief. But he respected and admired him. In the village, he had the best relationship with The Mute. The Mute left without a word, and I suspect The Deaf can't stay put either—he'll definitely come out looking for him."
Qin Mu was moved. Since he left the village, the people of Village of the Cripple and the Old had gradually come out one by one. Although these old men and women said they didn't miss him, they had all left the village for his sake.
He focused on identifying the spiritual herbs The Cripple had "borrowed" from the palace, thinking to himself, "The palace's medicinal herbs are indeed treasures—only slightly inferior to Grandpa Medicine Master's herb garden. They're rare and precious spiritual herbs!"
With these herbs, he already had the prescriptions for nourishing Master Ma's arm and The Cripple's divine leg. He only needed to go to the Imperial Academy's treasury to purchase some auxiliary medicinal herbs.