Chapter Thirty-One: Xiao Xianfeng

  For a hundred years, she has been reincarnated, never changing, and endless years have passed, but she doesn't know how many lifetimes she has lived. She was born with an illness that makes her suffer to the point of near death at the end of every month, but the next day she would be lively again. Some powerful forces had heard about her existence and sent people to find her, but they discovered that her physical body wasn't suitable for cultivation, just a mortal, so it was dismissed. This legend has been passed down until today, and it's all true, only nobody ever mentions it except the residents of Wuming Town, others wouldn't know.

  "So, Master Dao, how did you know?"

  Ye Chen felt a little absent-minded, and a wave of sadness surged in his heart. Hundreds of reincarnations? If it was true, then this little girl was absolutely not simple, but some powerful people from major forces couldn't see her special qualities. Was she really just an ordinary person?

  Endless years, every month bearing the pain of living not being better than death, what a cruel thing for a little girl, but in her eyes, in her world, it seems that there is never any worry or trouble, her gaze is so pure and carefree, so radiant.

  "As for Daoist master, how would I know? This question is really stupid." The lustful Daoist looked at Ye Chen with disdain and pointed to the divination cloth beside him. On it was written: Calculating heaven and earth, calculating Qiankun, knowing past lives, understanding this life, determining future lives, penetrating heavenly mechanisms.

  "Uh..." Ye Chen was sweating profusely, "Damn, can you be any more awesome?" However, his face showed admiration, and he said: "Alright, I admire Daozhang's divination skills, but there's still one thing I don't understand - why did Daozhang say she is my benefactor?"

  The Taoist priest had a mysterious look on his face, with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, and you will naturally know later that she can turn bad luck into good fortune." After finishing speaking, he reached into his sleeve and took out a small package, placing it in Ye Chen's hand, with a sly smile on his face. "This is ***, its medicinal power is strong, colorless and tasteless, even if a nine-stage master were to take it, they would become soft and weak. Make good use of it. Today, Daoist Master will close up shop. Fellow daoists, we have fate with each other, and we will meet again in the future."

  Ye Chen stared blankly at the packet of medicine powder in his hand. When he looked up again, everything on the stall had disappeared, and the vendor's figure was already far away. Ye Chen's pupils constricted, and in the few seconds he was stunned, the vendor had walked from in front of him to the end of the street.

  "This road is not simple, but why did he find me today? How much credibility does everything he said have?" Ye Chen lowered his head to think, and after a moment, he raised his head, put the medicine package in his arms, stood up, and scanned the street with his eyes, searching for the little girl's figure.

  The little girl had vanished, and Ye Chen took a step in the direction she had disappeared, finally seeing the frail figure at the end of the street on the other side. In front of a pharmacy, the little girl was hesitating, opening her small hand to look at the few copper coins in her palm, and then resolutely walked in.

  The owner of the pharmacy was an old man who looked to be in his sixties, with a kind face. When he saw the little girl come in, he didn't show any surprise, but instead smiled slightly and said, "Little fairy, you're here again today to get medicine for your mother?"

  Ye Chen heard it in his ear, and he was puzzled in his heart. Wasn't Xiao Xianfeng born from the immortal flower? How could she have a mother?

  "Yes, old master." Xiaoxianfeng lowered her head and looked at her own small shoes with several holes in them. She said weakly: "Old master, Xiaoxian only has seven copper coins today. I know this is not enough money to buy medicine, but mother's illness is very serious and she can't go without taking it. Old master, please be kind and give Xiaoxian a prescription first. The money owed to you, Xiaoxian will definitely work hard to help others and earn it back to repay you."

  "Alas..." The owner of the pharmacy sighed and said, "Little immortal, it's not that I don't want to help you. For a month now, you've been coming to my pharmacy every day to grab medicine, and they're all expensive medicinal materials. You already owe me quite a bit, and I really can't help you anymore. Moreover, your mother's illness is incurable, and taking medicine can only prolong her life for a few more days. What's the point of that?"

  "Old master, Little Fairy knows you're a good person, please be kind and give me another dose of medicine, I'll definitely repay your great kindness." Little Fairy held out seven copper coins in her hands, which were red, swollen and bruised, with many places scraped raw, making Ye Chen's heart ache.

  "Hey, little fairy, it's not that the old man doesn't want to help you. With all these herbs you've been gathering for a month now, I'm already having trouble making ends meet. This time, the old man really can't help you, so go back."

  Xiao Xianfeng hung her head, motionless. She couldn't leave, knowing that if she did, her mother would have no medicine to take today. If she didn't take the medicine, her mother would die.

  "Shopkeeper, how much gold coins did she owe you before? I'll help her pay it back. Also, catch another ten doses of medicine, the best and purest ingredients." Ye Chen couldn't bear to look at her anymore, looking at the frail little Xianfeng, his heart inexplicably ached, such an elf-like little girl, how could she have such a fate.

  "Who are you?" A young man suddenly walked in, not very old, but said he wanted to pay for the medicine for Xiaoxian. The shopkeeper was surprised and then showed a knowing expression, saying: "Young brother, you're not from this town, are you?"

  "I'm just passing by this nameless town and taking a temporary rest. What's it to you?" Ye Chen smiled and said.

  "No." The shopkeeper looked at Xiaoxian Shuang and then at Ye Chen, but ultimately didn't say anything else. He took out a bill, calculated it, and said: "This month, Xiaoxian grabbed 29 prescriptions, owing 170 gold coins. If you follow what you just said, and grab another 10 prescriptions of the same kind, that would be a total of 240 gold coins."

  "Big brother..." Little Xian Shuang faced Ye Chen, lowering her head and not daring to look at him, her voice trembling as she said: "Thank you big brother, Little Immortal will definitely repay you."

  "Big brother doesn't want you to repay." Ye Chen smiled and stroked her hair, then took out 240 gold coins and handed them to the pharmacy owner. Soon, the owner grabbed ten packets of medicine, tied them into a bundle and handed it to Ye Chen.

  "Come on, little fairy." Ye Chen held the medicine in one hand and pulled Xiaoxian's hand with the other, walking out of the pharmacy. They went straight to the second floor of the unnamed inn, where the wine and dishes Ye Chen had ordered were still on the table, hardly touched. He walked over to the table and let Xiaoxian sit down, then called for a few more dishes and asked for a set of bowls and chopsticks.

  "Come on, little fairy, eat quickly." Ye Chen's eyes showed a doting expression as he picked out various dishes for her.

  "Big brother..." Little Xian Shuang called out softly, her head that had been lowered finally raised up, a pair of pure and large eyes looking at Ye Chen. The kind of gaze, Ye Chen swore was the most pure and innocent he had ever seen in his life.

  "Big brother, why are you so good to Little Fairy?"

  Ye Chen felt a sourness in his heart, and he gently stroked her hair, saying: "Because big brother had the same childhood as little fairy, looking at little fairy makes big brother think of himself."

  "But, big brother can't be so good to Xian'er." Little Xianfeng's eyes sparkled with tears as she said: "Because those who are too good to Xian'er either die suddenly or fall ill, Xian'er is a unlucky star, and will bring harm to big brother."

  "Silly, Xian'er is so lovely, she must bring good luck to big brother. Don't think nonsense, hurry up and eat. After eating, big brother and Xian'er will go see your mother together, okay?"

  "Great, great." Xian'er's face lit up with a bright smile, she swallowed her saliva and said weakly: "Big brother, can I take these food away? Actually, I'm not hungry."

  "You didn't eat anything at noon, how can you not be hungry? These dishes are all prepared for Xian'er, and you mustn't not eat them."

  "Big brother, Xian'er is really not hungry. Xian'er didn't go back to cook, Mother must be very hungry. If Xian'er takes these dishes back, Mother will definitely be delighted. These dishes are nutritious, and if Mother eats them, she might recover from her illness faster."

  "Go ahead and eat, I'll prepare another serving for you to take away." Ye Chen felt a pang in his heart, spoke softly, then picked up the bowl and chopsticks and handed them to Xian'er.

  "Big brother..." Little Xian Shuang shed tears, sniffled her little nose, and carefully took the bowl and chopsticks handed over by Ye Chen. She began to eat slowly, her red and swollen hands, covered in wounds, almost every inch of them marred by new and old scars overlapping each other, leaving not a single unblemished spot on those small hands.

  Xiao Xianfeng held the chopsticks and tried to pick up food from the bowl, but several times she failed to grasp it firmly. Her hand was trembling, and the wound on her hand burst open with tiny mouths, bright red blood seeping out and dripping onto the table. But what struck him most was that there wasn't even a hint of pain on her small face.

  Ye Chen looked at her with a pang in his heart, thinking that Xiao Xianfeng had already gotten used to this kind of pain. At such a young age, she had endured too much hardship. Other people's children, at her age, were living under the meticulous care and protection of their parents, enjoying happy and joyful lives...

  "Come on, big brother will feed you, your hand is injured, don't move, or the wound will burst open." Ye Chen snatched the bowl and chopsticks from her hands, picked up some food and brought it to Xiaoxian Shuang's mouth. He saw a pair of tear-filled eyes, so pitiful and touching, that kind of gaze made his heart skip a beat.

  "Big brother, Xian'er has a strange feeling." Little Xianfeng said with a puzzled expression while eating the meal Ye Chen fed her.

  "What a strange feeling." Ye Chen said with a smile.

  "Xian'er had never seen her big brother before, but he was so good to Xian'er and she felt a sense of closeness from him. However, no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't figure out why this was the case."

  "Hehe, this shows that Big Brother and Xian'er are fated to be together." Ye Chen smiled and said, not paying attention to Xian'er's words, but instead continued to feed her.

  After Xian'er finished eating, Ye Chen carried another package of food and took Xian'er out of the unnamed inn. He bought her several sets of clothes and shoes at a tailor's shop before heading to where she lived together.

  Walked through several streets, came to the most remote corner of the unnamed town, where there was a dilapidated small courtyard, the earth walls around the courtyard had collapsed a lot, and in the courtyard there was a broken house with all windows and doors badly damaged.

  It's just a little bit away from being on the new book chart, friends who like this book, make an effort to push Sheng Huang to the top of the new book chart, dare you, hehe.