I don't know how long I slept in a daze, but Nie Kong was jolted awake by sounds of frantic, mournful weeping. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and the sudden brightness seared into his pupils. Only then did Nie Kong realize a shaft of golden light was streaming in from the window—the sun was obviously beginning its descent.

He’d slept all the way until the afternoon. Nie Kong gave a wry, internal smile; he had been utterly exhausted last night, but achieving the breakthrough to the ninth rank of Spirit Gathering made it all worthwhile.

The moment Nie Kong stirred, Hua Mei, who had been practically draped over him, noticed instantly. She stared, almost unable to believe her eyes, and after a moment of frozen shock, she snapped back to reality. She hastily straightened up, wiping away tears with a mixture of relief and elation, a flush rising on her cheeks. “Uncle, you’re awake.”

“Mm.”

Nie Kong responded with a soft acknowledgment, pushing himself up to sit by propping himself on the bed with his arms. He glanced down at himself and saw that his entire body was covered in dense, coagulated blood scabs. He looked like a veritable man of blood—truly terrifying. He really should have cleaned up before sleeping, but he hadn't been able to control himself at the time. His gaze drifted to the tear-filled, rain-soaked face of Hua Mei, and Nie Kong felt a surge of guilt. He apologized softly, “Sister-in-law, I made you worry.”

Hua Mei grew slightly embarrassed, her delicate face flushing, but she waved her hands repeatedly, murmuring urgently, “No, no, I knew you woke up last time, so I was sure you would be fine this time too.” As she spoke, her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and her expression brimmed with happy relief.

Nie Kong was momentarily speechless and couldn't resist a small jest. “If you knew I was fine, then why are your eyes swollen into walnuts from crying, Sister-in-law?”

Hua Mei became even more bashful, lowering her head demurely and stuttering, “I… I just couldn't help it.” Having said that, she herself couldn't help but let out a soft giggle.

However, recalling the scene from earlier, Hua Mei still felt a lingering dread. When she didn’t see Nie Kong emerge from his room that morning, she hadn't paid it much mind. By late morning, when Nie Kong still hadn't appeared, Hua Mei began to feel a flicker of concern. But remembering the precedent from before, she worried he might be engaged in some intense physical cultivation again, so she forced herself not to go in and check, only occasionally coming by to tap lightly on the door a few times.

By noon, Hua Mei could no longer sit still. She forced her way into the bedroom and found Nie Kong lying sprawled out on the blood-soaked sheets, his entire body flushed red, and the room saturated with a thick, acrid scent of blood.

In that instant, Hua Mei felt her heart being ripped in two; she felt as though the heavens had collapsed, and the world around her faded to grey. Stumbling to the bedside, she was slightly relieved when she detected a faint breath and a heartbeat from Nie Kong, but her tears fell uncontrollably, dropping like pearls from a broken string.

After crying out and calling to him for a long time with no reaction from Nie Kong, Hua Mei’s heart was once again suspended in fear, terrified that he might simply fall into a deep slumber and never wake up, having only just recovered from his previous malady. Only when Nie Kong finally opened his eyes did her heart settle back into place.

At this moment, Hua Mei’s hair was disheveled, and tear stains mottled her face, making her look even more fragile and pitiable. A wave of tenderness washed over Nie Kong’s chest. He couldn't resist reaching out, gently sweeping a strand of her hair—clinging to her cheek with tears—behind her ear, and then tenderly wiping away the teardrops at the corner of her eye.

Hua Mei was stunned by this sudden, intimate gesture from Nie Kong; she froze, unable to react immediately, simply staring blankly at him with wide eyes.

It wasn't until Nie Kong's thumb had brushed across her tear duct several times that Hua Mei suddenly snapped back to awareness. Like a little lamb pinned beneath a tiger’s paw, she shrieked and jumped away from his fingers, both shy and flustered, stammering, “Uncle, I… I’ll go boil some water for your bath…”

Watching Hua Mei's graceful figure vanish in a flash, Nie Kong shook his head and smiled. Recalling the captivating look of shy apprehension on her face just moments ago, it was as if the smooth, soft sensation still lingered on his fingertips. A string within his heart seemed to have been gently plucked by Hua Mei's small hands. A girl like this was far superior to the two girlfriends he’d had in his previous life; marrying her might actually be a wonderful thing.

The original owner of this body would certainly never have entertained such a rebellious thought. Although the current Nie Kong still addressed Hua Mei as "Sister-in-law," he didn't truly endorse the relationship between her and Nie Qiong. Hua Mei had only been brought in to marry him for good fortune (), and before the wedding was even completed, Nie Qiong had died.

Furthermore, although Nie Kong was influenced by the body’s memories, he hadn't truly integrated himself into this persona and lacked a deep sense of identification with his current status. In his eyes, Hua Mei was simply a woman who had become a widow before her marriage was ever truly consummated. It was only natural for him to develop such feelings toward her.

“Let nature take its course, then.”

Noticing the flood of thoughts that had rushed through him in an instant, Nie Kong chuckled softly. He then settled his mind and began circulating the Five Stars Shifting Technique to regulate his breathing. After sleeping for so long, Nie Kong’s body still retained significant residual effects; he would need to perform the 'Nine Revolutions Golden Needle Technique' once or twice more to eradicate them completely…

...

The search was conducted with great fervor. The Nie family and the Spirit Treasure Pavilion joined forces, searching openly and covertly until the entire city of Jiyang had been turned virtually upside down, yet they could not locate the fellow: sallow-faced, hoarse-voiced, of average height, in his twenties, speaking with a local Jiyang accent.

This massive undertaking, however, left the smaller and medium-sized families in Jiyang feeling alarmed and uncertain. As for the hidden agents dispatched to Jiyang by the great aristocratic clans of the Dacheng Empire, they acted like sharks smelling blood, quickly reporting the incident upward. Consequently, over the following few days, quite a few unfamiliar faces quietly appeared in Jiyang. Moreover, some families familiar with the Nie clan paid visits under various pretexts, subtly trying to pry information about the identity of the man who could provoke such a massive mobilization from both the Nie family and the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.

As the source of all this commotion, Nie Kong possessed absolutely no awareness of being the instigator.

In the morning, he went from home to the training ground, utilizing the Red Bloodwood and the gyroscope for cultivation. In the evening, he returned from the training ground back home. Time slipped away quickly in this monotonous routine between two fixed points. In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had quietly trickled through Nie Kong’s fingers.

With two large sacks of medicinal herbs, the little fellow known as Purple Phantom Spirit Incense was happier than a pig in clover, sleeping when it wasn't eating, and eating when it wasn't sleeping. Every night, it would perform the "Medicine Cauldron Phantom Body" technique, assisting Nie Kong in refining spiritual elixirs. By October the thirteenth, Nie Kong's pet inventory held thirteen bottles of Rejuvenation Dew.

Six bottles were refined from the herbs he claimed on the first day of the month. The herbs for the other seven bottles were collected on the eighth day. For now, Nie Kong could only store the Rejuvenation Dew safely away.

After noticing Jiyang becoming increasingly lively, Nie Kong hadn't even bothered to purchase the allocation device or the spirit cards, worried that someone might track him down using those items. To avoid exposing the existence of the "Purple Phantom Spirit Incense," Nie Kong chose to remain as cautious as possible.

Currently, all Nie Kong needed to do was focus entirely on his cultivation, summon the Medicine Cauldron outside his body as soon as possible. Once he had the cauldron manifested by the little fellow, he could then carry a small cauldron with him, eliminating the need to explain how he was refining medicine inside his stomach—even if his identity were exposed, it wouldn't matter much.

By that time, the Nie family would be there to support him.

“Bang!”

Another "Flower Blast" struck, and a burst of dazzling green light diffused out from the spirit patterns covering the surface of the Red Bloodwood. After practicing in front of this wood for an entire afternoon, Nie Kong looked like a drenched chicken pulled from a river, completely soaked. Seeing the sun sink below the mountains, Nie Kong stopped lingering, wiping the sweat from his brow as he prepared to head home. However, just as he reached the edge of the woods, he was called out by a familiar voice:

“Nie Kong, the Ninth Elder wishes to see you!”

Behind him, Nie Qingfeng, his face covered in whiskers, grinned widely and let out a triumphant laugh…