Chapter Twenty-Two: Where Lies True Affection

In the northern corner of Bluestone Town, a few low, modest houses stood quietly, their presence almost forgotten. Despite its proximity to the Beast Territory, the town was bustling, teeming with travelers and adventurers. The constant flow of people had made Bluestone Town’s inns, teahouses, and crystal core markets thrive, and overall, it was a prosperous little place. Yet, while the rich feasted behind carved doors, the poor froze in the streets.

“Father, Father!” came a tearful voice from one of the small houses.

Within the narrow room, a middle-aged man lay on a simple bed, his eyes tightly shut, breathing faintly. His body bore many wounds, but what shocked most was the strange blue-purple hue of his skin—so unnatural it was almost inhuman.

Beside the bed knelt a young girl, perhaps ten years old, her face twisted in worry and helplessness.

Half a month ago, the man had ventured into the monster mountain range to hunt. There, he encountered a mid-tier, second-rank Violet Patterned Serpent. Though his cultivation was only at the early stage of the Two Principles, he fought with desperate resolve and, after a grueling battle, managed to slay the serpent. But in the heat of the fight, he was injured by the serpent’s venom. By the time he staggered home, the poison had already taken hold; he collapsed onto his bed, unable to rise again.

The days passed. The venom spread through his body, turning his skin the eerie blue-purple shade, his breath growing weaker by the hour. The girl had sought doctors in town. Each examined him and declared that he had been poisoned by the serpent’s “Patterned Venom,” a cold and sinister toxin that could only be cured with the gall of a Gale Beast as the primary ingredient, supplemented by other rare herbs.

The Gale Beast was a second-rank monster—common enough, and traded in town, but its price was astronomical for the girl. She sold every possession she had, yet still lacked the money to buy even a single Gale Beast. Desperate, she risked stealing a summoning scroll for the beast, but was discovered. By fortune’s grace, she encountered Ye Zihan, who helped her escape and gave her the scroll.

With the scroll in hand, she rushed to the doctor, only to be told that treatment and medicine would cost ten taels of silver—a sum utterly unattainable for her. Every other pharmacy she begged gave the same answer.

In this world, no one pitied the poor.

Hopeless, the girl returned home. Watching her father’s condition worsen, powerless to help, she broke down in tears, the scroll lying discarded by her side.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind her. She turned to see Ye Zihan, dressed in crimson, following her into the room.

“Bro... Brother?” she asked, startled. Then, as if grasping a lifeline, she spun around and knelt before him, crying, “Brother, please save my father, please, please...”

She did not know if Ye Zihan possessed any medical skill, but in her desperation, he was her last hope.

Ye Zihan was taken aback and quickly helped the girl to her feet. He had followed her, watched her struggle with the Gale Beast scroll, and guessed she must have someone in need at home. Now, seeing the sick man, he was sure.

“Don’t worry, let me take a look first,” Ye Zihan comforted her, then approached the bed to examine the patient. The man’s skin was tinged purple, his breath shallow, and on his shoulder was a palm-sized pattern, resembling serpent scales.

“It’s the Patterned Venom of the Violet Patterned Serpent,” Ye Zihan declared after careful inspection.

The girl’s eyes brightened; to diagnose so quickly meant Ye Zihan’s medical skills were not lacking—perhaps he could save her father. Hope flickered in her heart.

“Brother, please, you must cure my father,” she pleaded, her voice still trembling but steadier.

“Don’t worry, I will,” Ye Zihan replied, confident in his ability to cleanse the venom. He gently patted her shoulder. “Go fetch a basin of clean water for me, will you?”

She nodded eagerly, grabbed a wooden basin, and hurried out.

As soon as she left, Ye Zihan picked up the summoning scroll, opened it, and summoned the Gale Beast.

He drew a short blade from his spatial scroll, his eyes cold and impassive. With a swift motion, the blade slid into the beast’s belly.

A second-rank monster no longer posed any threat to Ye Zihan—especially one reduced to a summoned creature.

He worked quickly, opening the beast’s abdomen and extracting the gall, also cutting out a complete pelt.

By the time the girl returned with water, Ye Zihan had finished. He placed the gall in the basin, carefully washing it, afraid to rupture it.

The girl saw only a pool of blood left and Ye Zihan cleaning the gall, realizing how swift he must have been. In the brief time she fetched water, he had already retrieved the gall.

Ye Zihan’s haste was intentional; he did not want the girl to witness such a bloody scene. The request for water was merely an excuse to send her away.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl, born to a hunter’s family, was already used to slaughtering monsters.

After washing the gall, Ye Zihan pierced it with the blade, letting its juice drip into a prepared jade vial. He crushed the gall afterward, placing it in the bottle, then drew several herbs from his spatial scroll.

Having lived in the Beast Territory for four years, Ye Zihan always carried medicinal herbs—both for healing and to hone his alchemical skills. All these herbs were gathered from the wild.

He prepared the ingredients, summoned a medicinal cauldron, and placed them inside. He instructed