538: Chapter 538 He grasped the meaning of this trial, but what was the price?

After bidding farewell to the doctor, Qin Wangchuan pushed open the door to the inner room.

The Master lay on the bed, his face whiter than paper. He coughed incessantly, one fit after another, heart-wrenching sounds as if he were about to cough up his internal organs.

The Spirit Gathering Talisman beneath the flowerpot was still there, and Spiritual Qi flowed up through the stems and roots, but it was useless.

The Master's body was no longer something these things could fix.

"Wangchuan..." The Master opened his eyes, his voice drifting from a great distance, light as a breeze. "You're here."

"Yes, I'm here." Qin Wangchuan sat down on the edge of the bed.

The Master coughed for a while longer, his back hunched and shoulders heaving. It took a long time for him to settle down.

Qin Wangchuan looked at him, feeling a bitter pang in his heart.

Why was it useless?

He had even managed to get a talisman.

But in the end, the worst-case scenario had arrived anyway.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Was there any other way?

As he was thinking, the Master's large hand suddenly reached out, his withered fingers grasping Qin Wangchuan's wrist. The strength wasn't great, but the grip was tight.

"Wangchuan, I have some things to say to you. Remember them."

Qin Wangchuan didn't move, letting him hold on.

"That girl from the Wen family is very good," the Master said, pausing for breath. "Though she has a sharp tongue, her eyes sparkle every time she looks at you." He took another breath. "Also, you must be careful when you're blacksmithing in the future. Watch out for the fire."

"Don't take it lightly. I once saw a huge fire in the neighboring town, all because of a single small spark..."

He spoke a long string of words, as if trying to finish a lifetime's worth of advice in one breath.

After finishing with Qin Wangchuan's matters, he paused, then shifted to the children.

His gaze passed through the window, looking out into the courtyard.

Faint whispers of children could be heard coming from outside.

A youthful voice asked, "When will the Master get better?"

There was no answer.

"Those children..." The Master's voice lowered, his words cut off by a fit of coughing.

He coughed for a long time before recovering, gasping as he continued, "It's a pity..."

"If I had known it would be like this, I should have had them study less and taught them more about how to be a good person."

"If they only know how to read books, they will suffer in the future..."

Qin Wangchuan lowered his eyes and remained silent, listening quietly.

To be honest, even when he had lost to Chu Wujiu and the others back then, he still felt he had strength to spare.

But at this moment, he had truly exhausted every method he knew.

If only he had been more proficient in talisman arts before, if only he had learned Alchemy, if only...

Before his thoughts could finish, the Master suddenly coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. It splashed onto the quilt, a shocking brownish-red.

The outside immediately erupted into chaos, with people shouting, "Doctor! Doctor!"

Several people rushed in, crowding Qin Wangchuan to the side in their haste.

The doctor rushed in carrying his medicine chest, lunged to the bedside, peeled back the Master's eyelids, and checked his pulse. His face became as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Standing in the crowd, Qin Wangchuan watched the doctor's frantic movements, and for the first time, an indescribable feeling surged in his heart.

It wasn't panic, and it wasn't fear; it was a dull, heavy sense of powerlessness.

He lowered his eyes and whispered softly.

"So this is... a Mortal."

From this moment on, Qin Wangchuan began to understand the meaning of this trial.

Mortals are fragile.

Through this prologue of parting, he was made to view all living beings from a different perspective and realize the preciousness of those around him.

But...

What was the cost?

The Master's body grew thinner by the day.

That night, Zhou Heng went to keep watch over the Master. Qin Wangchuan continued to flip through medical books by the stone table. One oil lamp, a stack of paper, several brushes; the ink had been ground several times already.

He flipped to the last page of the medical book in his hand, then back again, over and over.

There was no solution.

Frustrated, he tossed the book onto the table and turned his head to look at the lamp on the wall.

The flame flickered in the night wind but then stabilized.

The shadow of the jujube tree fell on the wall, motionless, like an undried ink wash painting.

"Is there really no way?" Qin Wangchuan said in a low voice. "I just want to cure the illness and let the Master pass away peacefully... Is even that impossible?"

No one answered.

The wind stopped, the jujube leaves went silent, and even the chirping of insects at the base of the wall ceased.

The entire courtyard felt as if it were being smothered by something, stiflingly oppressive.

After a while, the main gate opened.

Bailu walked in, shook the dust off its body, walked up to Qin Wangchuan, and looked up at him.

"Master."

"That tiger has been found."

"The tiger?"

Qin Wangchuan was stunned for a moment and rubbed his temples.

His mind had been so crammed with prescriptions and herbs these past few days that everything else had been pushed aside.

"Right, the tiger that ate Brother Jiang's son."

He suddenly remembered that the tiger wasn't just an enemy; it was also medicine.

Tiger bone strengthens the sinews and bones, and tiger blood replenishes Qi and blood. For a tiger that was close to becoming a spirit, its medicinal properties would be at least ten times that of an ordinary tiger.

If he could bring it back... there might still be a turning point for the Master's body!

With this thought...

Qin Wangchuan turned and went into the house to put on an outer robe, tied his belt, and looked back at Bailu. "Lead the way."

Bailu did not move.

It had never seen Qin Wangchuan take action, so it naturally didn't know how strong his actual power was.

After hesitating for a moment, it spoke up:

"Master, that tiger has also become a spirit like me. It can speak and will likely be difficult to deal with."

Its intention was to persuade Qin Wangchuan to bring a few more people, at least Zhou Heng, or to find people from the martial arts hall.

In case something happened, they could look out for each other.

Qin Wangchuan had already reached the door and didn't look back. "Too many people will just get in the way."

Bailu did not try to persuade him further.

It hurried forward to lead the way, thinking silently: 'Master has shown me the grace of enlightenment. If something really happens, I will protect him.'

——

Beside Mount Diaojing, at Zouma Lake.

Moonlight fell upon the water's surface, breaking into fragments of white.

A fierce tiger crouched by the shore, head lowered to drink. Gulp, gulp—its Adam's apple rolled up and down, and ripples spread out from its mouth in circles, disappearing into the night.

It raised its head, licked the water droplets from the corners of its mouth, and looked toward the direction of Liuxi Town in the distance.

"I haven't been able to advance in my cultivation for a long time. If I want to take human form, I still have to use humans as nourishment."

The tiger muttered to itself, remembering the taste of eating humans in the past.

The meat of the elderly was tough, the young were smooth and tender, and children were the most fragrant—but that was all a long time ago.

It licked its lips, its Adam's apple rolling.

This time down the mountain, it would definitely eat its fill.

After eating, it would move to another place and continue eating.

At the thought of this, a greedy light overflowed from its eyes.

It stood up and shook its fur. The scar over its left eye was particularly striking in the moonlight.

The tiger's gaze slowly turned toward Liuxi Town.

Most of the lights there had already gone out, with only a few scattered sparks remaining.

It was the perfect place for hunting.