Chapter Thirty: The Hero's Downfall

  "How old do you think I am?" His cheek muscles twitched a few times, stiffly asking an irrelevant question.

  "Judging from your appearance, you're probably over sixty years old. But since you asked this question, your age must not match your appearance. Are you even older or much younger?" Han Li said with a calm tone, but was slightly surprised in his heart.

  "Wow! It's no wonder you've practiced 'Changchun Gong'! A young whippersnapper from the countryside has become such a sharp and clever person!" Mo Dafu couldn't stop marveling, his eyes burning with excitement as he stared at him.

  "You guessed it right, I'm only thirty-seven this year." A number that left Han Li incredulous came out of Mo Da's mouth.

  "Impossible?" Han Li's calm demeanor was shaken for the first time.

  "Impossible! It's really impossible! People who see me, let alone think I'm sixty years old, even if they claim to be seventy years old, I'm afraid no one will suspect." Mr. Mo's voice suddenly became high and sharp, and it was so piercing and unbearable in Han Li's ears, as if it had touched the most painful part of his heart.

  "I, Mo Ju Ren, was once renowned in the state of Yue, particularly in the city of Lan Zhou's Wu Lin. I made a name for myself, creating my own legend with nothing but my bare fists. Ha! Back then, who in Lan Zhou didn't know about the prestige of my 'Ghost Hand'? Whether you were from the righteous or evil path, those who submitted to me lived, while those who opposed me died." Mo Daifu returned to his normal tone, using a low and calm voice to recount his story. As he spoke, his eyes gleamed with a sharp, sword-like intensity, as if he had once again become the confident and powerful figure of his youth.

  Hearing Mo's words, Han Li was secretly surprised, never expecting that his nominal master would have such a big background.

  "Unfortunately, good times don't last. Just as I was entering middle age and wanted to further showcase my skills, I was secretly plotted against by a trusted person who used underhanded tactics. Although I managed to control the spread of the injury with my medical expertise, I couldn't recover from it, and my martial arts skills were greatly reduced, making it impossible for me to stay in the north. Afraid of being targeted again, I had to abandon my original business and family, and go into hiding in other parts of Yue State to search for a cure, hoping to restore my former abilities." As he recounted his subsequent experiences, he became completely absorbed in the story, clenching his fists tightly with his fingers deeply embedded in his palms, causing blood to flow freely. However, he seemed oblivious to this, only revealing a ferocious and ruthless expression on his face, which sent chills down one's spine. It was clear that he harbored deep hatred towards the person who had poisoned him."

  He heard the resentment in his words and Han Li couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, leaving a lingering coldness in his heart.

  "Heaven has eyes, and finally in some mysterious place, I unintentionally obtained a strange book. This book is abstruse and profound, and it took me the strength of nine cows and two tigers to barely understand a little bit. And from it, I found a shortcut to recover my powers. I followed the method described in the book, and as a result..." Mo Dafu paused for a moment, not continuing immediately, but his annoyed expression was evident, mixed with some regret."

  "As a result, you've become this ghostly figure now." Han Li coldly finished the sentence that he had wanted to say but hadn't.

  "Not bad, I didn't expect that after following the method in that book, my skills were restored, but I rapidly aged and became this half-human, half-ghost appearance." Mo Tai Fu nodded gloomily, not getting angry at Han Li's teasing.

  "You should have found the reason by now."

  "I was due to improper practice, invaded by evil energy and now I live one day equivalent to ordinary people living ten days of physical consumption, every moment is heavily overdrawn life, fortunately, I am proficient in nourishing techniques, and according to the book, I prepared a kind of secret medicine, only in recent years can slow down the aging speed, supported until now."

  "What I've practiced is a mnemonic device, what does it have to do with solving your troubles?" Han Li's naked words struck at the core of the issue.

  "I soon discovered the solution to break through from my studies in books, which is the "Changchun Gong" you are cultivating. As long as there is someone who has practiced it up to the fourth level to help me with qigong and tuina, using Changchun Qi to stimulate the secret acupoints, I can get out of my current predicament and regain the lost essence."

  "Why must you find me? Can't anyone else practice this oral decision?" Han Li hesitated for a moment, and asked a question that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

  "Do you think that 'Changchun Gong' is something that any Tom, Dick or Harry can learn? This mantra not only requires young people to start practicing from scratch, but also requires the practitioner to have a 'Linggen' physique. Although I don't know what 'Linggen' is, I've already looked for hundreds of children before you and none of them could practice Changchun Gong." Mo Dafu's face was full of annoyance.

  "Is this really happening?" Han Li was taken aback, not expecting the cultivation of this oral decree to be so harsh.

  "In the remaining years, I thought it was impossible to find someone who could inherit my skills, so I gave up and pretended to be a wandering Jianghu rogue. Unexpectedly, I met Wang Zhengyi, the master of the Seventh Mystic Gate, who had also been secretly plotted against. We sympathized with each other's misfortunes and I saved his life. Under his invitation, I became a guardian of the gate and planned to hide my name and live out my last days in seclusion on the mountain.

  Heh heh! A miracle happened after all. Initially, I was afraid that my medical skills and martial arts would be lost, so I brought you two into the valley. Indeed, I wanted to take you as apprentices, but for some reason, I let you try to cultivate the Long Spring Skill instead. Perhaps it was still a lucky mindset at the time.

  Even if you couldn't cultivate this skill, I would have taken you in and passed on all my knowledge. But unexpectedly, you actually had a reaction to this skill! Haha! It's really true that heaven doesn't abandon people!"

  Mo Dai Fu let out a breath and revealed all the answers, his face flushed with excitement, looking very pleased with his own luck.

  "I haven't even mastered the fourth layer of Changchun Gong, why do you want to suppress me now and lay everything out with me?" Han Li finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.

  "This is all your fault, I've spent so much effort and energy on you, but you can't even satisfy me, always playing tricks on me. Now it's just this last step, but you're hesitant to take it further. Originally, I could have waited for you for two more years, but this time when I came down the mountain, I was recognized by an enemy and after a fierce battle, although I killed him, I also exhausted my already limited energy, and my lifespan has been greatly shortened. Even if I use all my strength, I can only make myself live for another year, how can I wait any longer?" Mo Dafu's smug expression disappeared without a trace, replaced by a fierce glare, and he finally bellowed at Han Li.

  Han Li listened and his expression remained unchanged, with no signs of being moved on his face.

  But in his heart, he was turbulent and completely unlike the calm and composed appearance on the surface.

  Although he had long anticipated that Mo Dafu had deep intentions for himself, he never thought there would be such a big inside story. The other party's life experience, practice, and oral decision were all beyond his imagination.