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Dao of Healing - Chapter 58
🕑 Added 2025-02-10 14:52:07 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 57 | Index | Chapter 59 >>
I stood beside Gao Deng Luo, the former councillor. His elder cousin lounged on the throne, watching us with disinterest.
I dared not move, in case the powerful cultivator decided to act and end my life. He seemed content to allow Gao Deng Luo to play his games for now, but it was in my best interests to try and sow discord between the two.
When the white worm had entered my dantian, I had prepared myself for the worst. For my soul to be ripped from my control as I was forced into submission and left at the mercy of the sick former councillor.
Instead, the seemingly endless void in my dantian which had done nothing but devour the impurities left behind by my alchemy experiments for the past couple months had awoken and torn the worm apart, swallowing the remains. And that wasn’t all.
Rather than remain silent as it had done for a while, it seemed ready to spit something out. Given how much it had been fed I was worried that whatever it released might attract the attention of Gao Shan, so I did my best to suppress it until I was alone with Gao Deng Luo.
Luckily, the man turned to stride out of the throne room shortly after. I didn’t move an inch. He turned and snarled, “Follow me, worthless dog.”
I began to walk after him as he stormed out of the throne room. He didn’t make any detours, heading directly for the palace gates to carry out Gao Shan’s orders.
Unfortunately I would not get the chance to be alone with him. Two of the shadowy cultivators followed after us, trailing from a distance.
Gao Deng Luo seemed annoyed at their presence but he was far from powerful enough to defy his elder cousin. Despite the numbers putting me at a disadvantage, I felt confident.
The former councillor was only a three-star Qi Gatherer, while the two shadowy figures were two and three-star respectively. With my peak five-star Qi Gathering cultivation it would be a tense battle, but one I could win without too much difficulty.
Choosing the right time to act was essential. I couldn’t wait until we arrived at my clinic. He had already made his intentions clear—to have me kill Xiao Cui with my own hands.
That would not be happening. We walked through the streets of Three River City as the sun shone high in the sky, approaching its zenith. It was a busy day, with hundreds of people milling in the streets and going about their business.
However, many seemed to have dark clouds hovering above them. I heard whispers of the evil Zhao Dan and his poisoned pills, making me curse internally.
Gao Deng Luo was a vile man. His grievance was with me, but instead of fighting me directly he had chosen to slaughter innocents. Every one of his actions was unforgivable and worthy of death.
Pretending that I had fallen under the control of his strange worm, which I now knew was called a hypnosis gu, was quite difficult. Keeping my movements stiff wasn’t hard, I had near total control over my body and that only became more true the further my cultivation advanced.
What was tough was maintaining the neutral facial expression and dull, glazed eyes under the constant insults and threats that Gao Deng Luo was spewing. He couldn’t even be dignified in carrying out his vengeance.
“I can’t wait to see you squeezing the life out of that little bitch. You were so protective of her in the palace, begging for her life at Teng Shi’s mercy like a dog. It will bring me great satisfaction to enact the heavens’ justice,” he cackled.
We were only a few streets away from my clinic now, close enough that I could throw out my senses to check who was inside. Unfortunately such an act would instantly draw attention to the fact I was not under the control of the hypnosis gu.
Since I was not able to ascertain who would be in danger, I needed to act before we reached the clinic. There were still too many innocent citizens around us, but it was unlikely that would change.
I picked a moment where there were just two mortals in the street. They were under the awning of a restaurant, conversing in whispers as they threw glances at the councillor.
They might still be in danger from our techniques, but unfortunately there would be no better moment. Gao Deng Luo had just finished another round of his endless gloating and the two shadows were too far to react in time.
In a single fluid motion I kicked against the tiled road, shattering it to dust with the force of my step. I crossed the distance of a few steps to Gao Deng Luo in a single breath and reached out to grab hold of his head.
His eyes widened in surprise, his neck half-turned towards me as he realised I had broken the control of his worm. He opened his mouth to say something, but I no longer cared to listen to his venomous prattling.
My fist closed around his skull. I unleashed my corrupting touch as I squeezed, reducing the integrity of his head. The swelling flesh burst like a melon in my hands, covering me and the nearby street in brains, blood and shards of bone.
I spat out a fragment of his skull as his headless corpse fell to the ground. I didn’t even care to store the body or loot it, but even if I’d wanted to there was no chance.
The two shadows had begun to move as soon as I had. They were too slow to save their master’s little cousin, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try to kill me.
They were unswayed by his death, only glancing at the body with annoyance before their attention returned wholly to me. Even though I had superior cultivation, I wouldn’t take them lightly.
Unlike the arrogant bastard Gao, who had been caught by surprise and was far from a martial expert, these two were direct subordinates of the fearsome Gao Shan. Even though I knew he was just as despicable as his younger cousin, he seemed less childish.
I had no doubt the shadowy figures would be well trained in combat. That suspicion was confirmed as they moved in sync, one cutting off my path of retreat as the other drew twin daggers.
I felt their qi flowing smoothly through their bodies, guiding two lightning fast stabs as the other shadow drew a spear and thrust it towards the side of my ribcage. It was a perfectly constructed cage that a cultivator at their own level would find impossible to escape.
However, I was a peak five-star Qi Gatherer and I was no slouch myself when it came to combat. I’d experimented using my qi to reinforce my body and I had the advantage of eleven stars in Body Tempering, making my physical body a weapon in itself.
I stepped backwards, avoiding the spear thrust and grasping the shaft of the spear in the same breath. With a second breath I kicked the spear wielder’s chin, his neck snapping as his eyes rolled back into his head.
My feet pivoted, shifting my weight onto my front foot. The first dagger had been aimed at my heart but it instead sunk into my shoulder. My flesh burned as the poison coating the blade instantly started to seep into the muscles surrounding the wound.
The shadow was caught off guard by my sudden movement, but he maintained his course. The second dagger was less than a centimetre away from my gut as I struck his ankle with my back foot.
He stumbled. I grabbed the spear with both hands and shoved it into his chest. The strike pushed him away and cut his second strike short as he coughed blood.
I’d pierced his lung with my strike, but he was still clinging to life. I ripped the speartip from his chest, causing blood to spray over me once more.
He staggered, spitting blood then tossing a healing pill into his mouth. I watched the medicinal energy spread across his chest and the hole in his chest started to close. His movements were shaky but he recovered before I could strike a second time.
We circled each other. The other shadow was dead, but he was the two-star Qi Gatherer. With such a difference between us and the decisiveness of my strike he stood no chance.
The shadowy figure took a sudden step forwards and lashed out with one of his daggers. I stepped back and prepared to engage, raising the spear.
I was no expert with the spear but it allowed me to keep the man at a distance. Range was a great advantage against an enemy wielding daggers.
However, as soon as I stepped back he kept his daggers. Then he turned on his feet and vanished, throwing an object at the ground.
A thick cloud of smoke billowed outwards as it exploded on the tiled road, briefly blocking my vision. If it was ordinary smoke it wouldn’t have posed much of an obstacle, but it was infused with strands of qi that matched the cultivator’s own qi, giving the illusion that there were many copies of him in every direction.
Rather than waste time, I opted to remove the smoke with the fast method—inhaling it all. A simple smoke bomb was a far cry from Huo Ze Qiang’s firestorm technique and I barely felt a burn as it entered my lungs and was refined into a thin trickle of healing energy.
I shook my head to clear my senses and immediately felt the shadow racing off towards the palace. I had to commend his decisive action.
He immediately knew he was outmatched and could not defeat me. Instead of throwing away his life he’d decided to go and bring his master to kill me.
That left me in a difficult situation. Gao Shan could squash me like a bug as easily as turning his hand. I didn’t want to flee the city while my reputation was still in tatters and the citizens were suffering from the evil schemes of the Gao Clan.
However, staying would lead to death. Before figuring out my next steps I raced towards the clinic to ensure that little Cui and the village head were safe.
I frowned as my senses passed over the building, feeling only a single presence within. I unlocked the door and stormed upstairs to find Village Head Wei reclining in a chair while reading from a scroll.
“Village Head! Where is Xiao Cui?” I exclaimed.
“Cultivator Zhao, I am glad to see you are safe,” he replied, leaping from his chair to greet me. “When the young city lord came to our door, hovering between life and death, we feared the worst. He travelled along with little Cui and Young Miss Yu to the Cloudy Falls Sect. They wanted to enlist the help of your friend, Wang Ren, to save you.”
“Wang Ren?” I replied with a quizzical look. There was a lot of information to digest at once, but at the very least I was glad to know that Xiao Cui was safe.
Yu Chun had apparently returned to the clinic even though I’d told her to remain at the blossom parlour. And then there was the matter of Teng Sheng, the young city lord.
Again, I was relieved to hear the young man had escaped the grasp of the Gao Clan. If he’d been placed under their control or worse, killed, I had no doubt he would be facing a grim fate.
My heart warmed to know that the three of them had gone to such lengths to try and help me, but I couldn’t help but despair. Wang Ren was a powerful cultivator, able to fight opponents at a higher cultivation than his own thanks to his devastating glaive techniques.
However, Gao Shan was still a deadlier opponent than either of us were ready to face. Even working together I wasn’t sure we’d be able to defeat him.
That was made worse by the fact I still wasn’t sure of Gao Shan’s exact strength. He was so much stronger than me that I hadn’t even been able to sense the depths of his cultivation. For all I knew he could be an Early stage Foundation Building master.
To take on such an opponent as Middle stage Qi Gatherers would be suicide. I paced the room while tapping my chin at regular intervals. Village Head Wei watched me with an amused look in his eyes.
“Don’t overthink things, Cultivator Zhao. You have done more for each of us than you had to. We are all grateful. Even if the situation spirals out of control, know that it is not your fault,” he said, placing a hand on my arm.
His words were kind and I returned a smile, but inside my heart I knew it wasn’t true. I had been the one to bring little Cui here. I could have chosen to send her back to Nine Paddy Village rather than bring her with me.
Although even then she may have been slaughtered along with her parents. That was on the city lord’s head, unless it had been Gao Deng Luo behind that despicable act as well.
“Your words mean a lot, Village Head Wei. Thank you for being such a steadfast friend and watching out for little Cui. You should escape the city while you still can. Gao Shan will arrive soon. I will do my best to defeat him, but my chances are slim,” I sighed, making up my mind.
Even if I stood no chance, I was not a coward. I had decided to face every challenge on my path no matter how insurmountable it seemed.
If I died here then so be it. However, I had many techniques at my disposal that might allow me to take Gao Shan by surprise. Perhaps I could fight fate and overturn the order of the world, defeating the terrifying bastard.
Wang Ren would be on his way by now. If I was able to weaken Gao Shan even a little, my dependable Senior Brother might gain an opportunity to strike the finishing blow.
“If you will it, Cultivator Zhao, then I will leave. Thank you for everything you have done for us. Good luck. May the heavens favour you,” the village head said as he hurried to gather his things.
It had been around the time it took to eat a meal when I heard a deafening roar from the direction of the palace. Village Head Wei had departed around ten minutes ago and I was alone in my clinic.
I hoped Grandpa Guan had insurance on this place. I doubted it would survive the battle ahead. A few breaths later I felt an overwhelming pressure drown out the world around me.
I blinked and suddenly found myself bathed in sunlight. In a single strike, Gao Shan had blasted the roof of the clinic to smithereens.
“Zhao Dan! You dare take the life of my cousin and defy the Gao Clan? I shall make an offering of your head to herald the patriarch’s arrival,” he snarled, crushing me with the full weight of his cultivation.
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Comments
Ariana Q
Hey, I don't think so! There was some time between Zhao Dan returning to the palace and them leaving, plus its only the village head's assumption that they are returning, he didn't know for sure yet. When the time comes to edit the story I will defo have a look to see if I can make it clearer, thanks for the suggestion :)
Storyflower
I think there are timeline issues. Zhao Dan went to the palace, got infected and immediately went back to the clinic. The former city head's son could not have had much of a head start, yet they now seemed to have already travelled to the sect and Wan Ren is already on his way back. I remember a waiting time at the sect of an hour,, but also travelling as a mortal over there takes days, no?
