25: Cruel world

As soon as Chu Shengfan spoke, the noisy crowd around him fell silent for a moment, and looks of surprise or curiosity fell upon him.

Someone even stepped forward, trying to push away the woman in front of him to grab Chu Shengfan, asking, "Young man, can you really treat illnesses?"

Chu Shengfan dodged the reaching hand and helped the woman, who was still kneeling on the ground, to her feet. "One at a time. Whether I can treat it or not depends on what the illness is."

Trembling, the woman pushed through the crowd to reveal a young child, about five or six years old, lying on a soft chair.

The child's face was pale blue, and a thin layer of ice crystals clung to his exposed palms; it seemed this wasn't just due to the cold.

Chu Shengfan frowned. Of course, he didn't actually know how to treat illnesses. He extended his palm, and the portal to his Source Beast Space opened wide as a butterfly with wings like flower petals flew out from his palm.

Then, following Chu Shengfan's will, it scattered pinkish-purple pollen over the child's body.

Seeing Chu Shengfan summon a Source Beast, the crowd surrounding him instinctively took a step back, leaving him plenty of space.

Chu Shengfan's hopeful gaze fell upon the child, wishing that the powder would provide some relief for his symptoms.

The wounds on the child's body from scratching himself slowly began to heal, but the ice crystals clinging to him did not disappear, and the grayish-blue color on his face showed no sign of improvement.

Chu Shengfan sighed. [Flower Medicine Powder] could treat abrasions, trauma, and even burns, but it was completely powerless against frostbite deep within the body.

"This is a case of frostbite. I... cannot cure it."

Hearing Chu Shengfan's words, the woman's tears fell uncontrollably as she dazedlly repeated, "Thank you, thank you."

Then, as if she had lost her soul, she hugged the child on the chair tightly in her arms. "Little Bao'er, Mommy will warm you up with my body and you'll be fine. You'll be fine very soon."

Her low voice was exceptionally clear amidst the noisy environment. Chu Shengfan felt a pang of pity. The Flower Medicine Butterfly landed on his shoulder and rubbed its head against him as if offering comfort.

Chu Shengfan knelt down and held the child's ice-covered hand. It felt like an icicle; this was not a temperature a human should have.

The child's small face was tightly scrunched up, as if he were experiencing some kind of pain even in his weak slumber.

A faint floral fragrance from Chu Shengfan's shoulder enveloped the child. The child's eyelids fluttered, seemingly about to wake up under the stimulation of the scent.

The woman nearby also smelled the fragrance, and she looked at Chu Shengfan with hopeful eyes.

Chu Shengfan sighed. "This fragrance can reduce his pain and wake him from his hallucinations. If you have anything to say, say it quickly."

The light in the woman's eyes dimmed.

"Mommy."

The soft call from her arms immediately brought her back to her senses. She stroked the child's grayish-blue face and whispered a question.

"Little Bao'er, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"Mommy, don't cry. I don't feel uncomfortable, I just want to sleep."

Hearing the child say he wanted to sleep, the woman immediately became nervous. "Little Bao'er, be good. Let's not sleep. Look at Mommy. You can't sleep, okay?"

The child in her arms seemed to see the panic in his mother's eyes and nodded obediently. "Mommy, I won't sleep. Where are we?"

"The pharmacy, the place to treat Little Bao'er. Once Little Bao is treated here, you'll be better soon."

"Mommy, am I sick? Why can't I move my arms? Hehe." A smile spread across the child's lips.

"It's nothing, not a big illness. It'll be better soon. As long as Little Bao is good." The woman gently stroked the child's face, just as she did when he was an infant.

The child's eyelids partially closed, then he forced them open again, repeating this over and over.

Tears flowed uncontrollably from the woman's eyes. She patted the child's back and said softly, "Little Bao'er, if you're really tired, it's okay to sleep for a while. Mommy will sing to you, okay?"

"Okay." The reply was as faint as a thread.

"Good baby, sleep in the rice, when the old cat comes I'll chase it away..."

Amidst the colloquial nursery rhyme, the child's eyelids finally closed gently, hiding the innocent light within. A faint smile hung on his lips, as if he were having a beautiful dream before sleep.

Finally, a speck of ice crystal emerged from his body and slowly floated toward the Void Realm. The woman's gaze followed the crystal, and she reached out her hand to catch it.

But the ice crystal turned illusory at that moment, passing through her palm and continuing its ascent high into the sky.

"Bao'er, are you going to be reincarnated? Remember to find a wealthy family next time."

The woman no longer tried to touch the ice crystal. Instead, she adjusted her posture, pressing the child's head tightly against her neck.

She stood up and walked toward the entrance of Medicine Heart Hall with a hollow gaze.

Chu Shengfan reached out to stop her, but the woman bowed slightly toward him. "For the Young Master's kindness, this woman will repay it in the next life by Carrying Grass and Rings."

Chu Shengfan intended to speak up to stop her, but the people nearby actively cleared a path while advising him:

"Young man, just let her go. All six members of her family are dead; she's the only one left. Even if she pulls through, her life afterward won't be easy."

It seemed the neighbors all knew each other, as the rest of the people silently cleared a path for the woman toward the door.

The woman bowed again, thanking those around her.

Then, gently rocking the child in her arms, she stepped calmly into the wind and snow outside.

"Little Bao'er, let's go home."

But she could never go home again. Without the protection of the defensive shield, the extreme cold caused her body to stiffen and collapse to the ground after walking barely a dozen meters.

The people inside the hall immediately showed looks of pity, and Chu Shengfan felt even more at a loss. He only knew that a fire was burning in his heart.

Most of the injured at the front of Medicine Heart Hall suffered from frostbite. He and the Flower Medicine Butterfly couldn't be of much help here.

So, he turned and walked through the back door into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he found the person he was looking for.

Sun Chunchen looked calmly at the emotionally overwhelmed Chu Shengfan. "What are you planning to do?"

Seeing Sun Chunchen standing there, Chu Shengfan's mood suddenly calmed down. He looked steadily at Sun Chunchen.

"I want to go home."

"You want to go home at a time like this? Those Liu family disciples are searching everywhere for sacrifices. With your lack of combat ability, you little weakling, are you going out just to run into their blades?"

"I... the temperature outside is so low, I'm afraid..." that something might happen to his family.

Sun Chunchen naturally understood what Chu Shengfan was about to say.

"Your home is protected by that old man, your grandfather. There's no need for you to worry. Besides, the closer to the altar, the more dangerous it is. Your family is much safer in the village than here."

"But weren't the villagers of Qihe Village the first to go missing?" Chu Shengfan asked urgently.

"I think those villagers were just the first batch of test subjects. Once they verified it worked and had the entire town's population as sacrifices, why would they go to the trouble of traveling to remote villages to catch people?"

Sun Chunchen's words indeed made sense, and Chu Shengfan calmed down completely.

"How does it feel to face death for the first time?" Sun Chunchen spoke casually, but his eyes were full of scrutiny as he looked at Chu Shengfan.

"I... I don't know. I'm very angry. It feels unfair. Why should the lives of these innocent civilians be used as sacrifices just because their Liu family wants to advance?

I also feel afraid. Will we all unknowingly become some kind of disregarded consumable in the future?

I'm unwilling. I want to bring them justice."

In this instant, Chu Shengfan seemed to have grown a lot. Many things that weren't there before appeared in his eyes.

Sun Chunchen took a few steps forward, patted Chu Shengfan's shoulder, and spoke with a smile.

"Congratulations, young man, for officially stepping into this real and cruel world. I hope you can remain consistent and hold onto your original heart in the future.

The strong swing their blades at the weak, and the weak swing theirs at those even weaker. I hope that the more you know, the more you will still possess the courage to swing your blade at the stronger."

With that, Sun Chunchen stepped into the front of Medicine Heart Hall.

Chu Shengfan stood silent in the courtyard for a long time, holding the Flower Medicine Butterfly in his palm. His eyes were unsettled, seemingly reflecting on Sun Chunchen's words.