In the black night, the rain was pouring heavily.
Atop a desolate peak, a few Taoist temples stood tall. Above the profound and ink-dark sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared, as if it was the end of the world.
Under the heavy rain, the Taoist temples were eerily deserted at this moment, with the occasional light flickering in a handful of rooms, accompanied by some mocking voices.
"Hey, have you heard? Qin Shang from master Lingshan's line got a bit soaked today and actually fainted."
"That loser can't even cultivate, it's unexpected that his physical constitution is so weak, just like a sissy."
"He's such a waste, it's a complete disgrace to our Dongxu Taoist Temple. I bet this waste is too scared to participate in the martial arts competition the day after tomorrow and is pretending to be sick on purpose."
"If it weren't for his father's old relationship with our Lingshan master, he would have been kicked out long ago."
"I've heard the Qin family used to be a prominent family in our Great Chu Empire, but who knows who offended someone and got wiped out overnight."
"Who knows, huh? Seeing his father who's now like a dog, if his family used to be a prominent one, then I might as well be the emperor!"
In a simple and plain room, it was now filled with people, all of whom were fixated on a fifteen-year-old boy lying on a hard wooden bed. His face was pale, and his body was frighteningly cold.
"I have lost everything... I can't lose Shang'er... Taoist master, I beg you to save Shang'er!" A middle-aged man in a robe full of patches said anxiously to a fat Taoist master. From his eyebrows, one could see traces of might, indicating he was once a handsome man. Yet now, he slightly hunched and even his temples had turned white, although he looked to be only in his forties.
"I've tried everything, but... his body is frail, and his meridians are so weak that he can't practice at all. Now he has ended up like this after merely getting rained on... ah..." The fat Taoist stroked his whiskers, sighed slightly, his usually ruddy complexion now filled with melancholy.
"Master, is there really no way to save junior brother at all? He's already very pitiful!" A young man around twenty clenched his fists, closely watching Qin Shang, who was still lying on the bed unconscious and grinding his teeth. He had a steady temperament, filled with valor between his brows; he was the eldest martial brother, Chen Ming.
"Heavens, please show some mercy to save our junior brother, if you can awaken him.... I... I might as well eat less every day, and offer the rest to you...." The usually quirky and sprightly Qi Fei was also gritting his teeth. Seeing Qin Shang, who was motionless on the bed, his eyes reddened.
A graceful maiden stood near the door, she had brown eyes, but the corners of her eyes were now red. She quietly looked at the boy lying on the bed, her lips pursed. Her already pale face became even paler, her fingernails scratching the palm of her hand, yet felt no pain. Her purple-brown eyes seemed like vortices, currently emitting a faint purple light, but she herself hadn't even noticed.
The plump Daoist Master sighed as he glanced at Qin Zhantian, whose face was filled with anxiety, and said softly, "His physique is rather weak, and he shouldn't consume too much of the medicinal herbs, but we can only hope for the best right now. The Daoist Master of Lingxu owns a hundred-year-old Panacea Mushroom, and on the sheer cliffs of this mountain grows a fifty-year-old Heart-Protection Grass... Combined together..."
He stopped talking at this point. However, everyone in the room widened their eyes upon hearing this. Indeed, there was a fifty-year-old Heart-Protection Grass on the cliffs of the mountain, but even the most powerful Daoist Master Dongxu on the mountain couldn't harvest it due to the lack of footholds. Moreover, Lingxu's faction has always been at odds with their own, Qin Zhantian and his son faced countless obstacles from them when they first came to the mountain...
At the thought of this, the Eldest Disciple Chen Ming and the novelty-loving Qi Fei both turned to look at Qin Zhantian.
Qin Zhantian seemed as if he hadn't heard them. He glanced at the unconscious youth lying in the bed, his face full of fondness.
"Eventhough... he can't cultivate, he is still my son. I will save him, even if it costs me my worthless life. He is everything to me!" Having said this, Qin Zhantian, without any further ado, headed straight into the pouring rain towards the territory of the Lingxu faction.
He is my son! I will save him even if it costs my life! He is everything to me!
No one noticed that when Qin Zhantian finished saying this, tears streamed from the tightly shut eyes of the boy lying on the bed!
The young girl standing at the door, with her large brown eyes, watched the figure that had disappeared into the rainy night.
Suddenly she laughed, her beauty could topple nations!
It was hard to imagine that she would become another gorgeous femme fatale once she grew up.
She suddenly rushed out, her swift movements shocked everyone. She was headed directly where the Heart-Protection Grass was located. The bitter wind and rain beat on her delicate face, but she gritted her teeth and stared intently at the precipitous cliff.
"Ai..." The plump Daoist Master watched as the two figures disappeared into the rainy night, and sighed once again.