Chapter 1: An Old Man Seeks Help for a Strange Illness

  After finishing dinner, everyone chatted again about those two mysterious people. Seeing that the time was not early, they had to stop here and each returned to their room to rest.

  Lying in bed, I couldn't help but think of the two mysterious men that my fourth brother saw. They wore the same clothes, had the same earrings, and carried the same large knives. Their tall and imposing figures were also equally terrifying. If Master were still young, wouldn't he look just like them if he wore those outfits? Perhaps what's missing is the aura of killing intent surrounding their bodies. It seems that Master must have a deep connection with them. Now that I think about it, everything is so mysterious, even Master's identity has become shrouded in mystery.

  "Could it be that Master used to sit alone on the mountain cliff, deep in thought and gazing into the distance, reminiscing about his past?" I exclaimed, suddenly recalling the scene of Master sitting alone on the precipice when he wasn't cursing, and my heart seemed to have a sudden realization.

  "What's wrong, Ghost Path brother? Are you still thinking about Master?" The hook spirit lying beside me was startled by my words and hurriedly sat up.

  I nodded and smiled: "Nothing, I just thought of something. How about you? Didn't you sleep either, Ling Mei?"

  "Yes, I couldn't sleep. The lost art of eye technique that my fourth brother mentioned has made me a bit uneasy. If those two people are not righteous, I'm afraid this world will stir up another bloody storm. Tomorrow, I'll write a letter and find someone to take it to the mountain stronghold. I must get this message to the king." Gu Ling said decisively, leaning on my shoulder.

  "It's alright, Ling Mei. If those two had ill intentions, your fourth brother would have been harmed long ago. Don't think too much about it and go to sleep early, the hour is late." I comforted Hou Ling.

  Hook spirit nodded and smiled with satisfaction, then lay down with me. After turning off the lights, Hook spirit had already fallen asleep, but I still couldn't fall asleep. Closing my eyes, my mind was filled with those two mysterious figures wearing black and white silk robes, carrying large knives on their backs and wearing hats. In the darkness, it seemed as if they were watching me from some unknown corner, making me feel very uneasy.

  After tossing and turning for a long time, I finally fell asleep, only to be suddenly awakened by the sound of noisy voices coming from outside. Opening my eyes, I found that it was already bright outside, with strong sunlight piercing through the windows, making me squint. Reaching out beside me, I found that Hook Spirit had somehow gotten up and was now standing outside, holding his head as if it was about to split open, wearing clothes. Seeing this, I got up and went outside, only to find several villagers who had come to see me. My fourth brother seemed to know that I was still sleeping and was trying not to disturb me, so he was desperately blocking them from entering.

  "What brings you folks here?" I quickly walked up and greeted them.

  "Ah, you're the Ghost Path Master?" one of the elderly men asked excitedly upon hearing my words.

  Seeing me nod, the old man looked flustered and hastily scolded a few people behind him: "Don't you kneel down to the divine person yet!"

  After finishing, it was a "plop" sound that led several others to kneel down and cry out in a hoarse voice: "God! Please have mercy on my son!"

  "Elderly man, please get up quickly." Seeing this, I hastily went forward to support the old man. No matter how hard I tried to lift him, he just wouldn't get up from his knees. I was afraid of hurting him and didn't dare use too much force. As a result, the elderly man remained kneeling on the ground for a long time, leaving me at a loss as to what to do.

  "Immortal, please save my husband. If you don't agree, we won't get up." A delicate woman next to the old man sobbed.

  Looking at their worried faces, they must have something urgent and need my help. Although I'm currently entangled in the curse of my master, since I have to wait for Sima Lin to arrive here, there's still some time left. It's better to spend a day or two helping them out; after all, I've got nothing else to do anyway.

  "I said, 'Everyone, please get up. I promise you, let's just hurry inside and sit down.'"

  After finishing, he helped them up and gestured for Xiaocui to serve tea. When they came inside, the old man took out a small cloth bag from his chest and placed it on the table, saying: "Master Dao, this is all that's left of our family's savings, please kindly save my son."

  Upon hearing his words, I couldn't bear it and hastily asked the old man to take back the money. "Uncle, what exactly happened to your son that you need my help with? Please tell me in detail. And please take this money back, I'm not a greedy person."

  The old man looked at me with a mixture of gratitude and pain and said: "Good sir! My son has contracted a strange illness."

  "What's wrong with him?" Old Six asked from the side.

  Seeing the old man nodding, I asked in confusion: "If he's ill, let's get a doctor! I don't understand medicine, how can I save your son?"

  The old man shook his head and said despondently, "If my son's illness could be cured by a doctor, I wouldn't have come here to find you today. There is much more to this than meets the eye."

  "What's going on? Please tell me in detail if I can help." I asked curiously.

  The old man wiped away his tears and snot, sat in the chair for a moment, and the sadness on his face suddenly turned into a color of fear.