Chapter 127: The Mysterious Tribe: Gu Miao

This energy fluctuation is highly peculiar, possessing a familiar quality. Where have I sensed this before?

A series of memories welled up from the depths of his mind, freezing on a single leaf.

It was the leaf from that Green Orchid in Lao Mountain, the one Crescent had given him that day...

The energy fluctuation from that leaf was far more potent than what was in this Solomon’s Seal, but the nature of the two seemed much the same.

Green Orchid—it is linked to the Otherworld!

The energy fluctuation upon it originated from the Otherworld!

Could it be that Peacock Valley is also a place connected to the Otherworld?

He entered the kitchen and carefully sensed the black-bone chicken. It, too, carried this energy fluctuation, though it was much fainter.

"How should I address you?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"My surname is Zhou. You can just call me Little Zhou."

"Little Zhou, are Wushen Mountain and Peacock Valley such magical places?"

"Indeed. They are not only magical but also very dangerous, especially for a handsome young man like you," Little Zhou said with a soft laugh.

"I can understand the dangers of great mountains and rivers, but I don't quite grasp the meaning of your second remark..."

Little Zhou explained.

Wushen Mountain and Peacock Valley are both territories of the Miao people. The Miao living there are known as the Gu-Miao. As the name suggests, the Gu-Miao are adept at the art of Gu—venomous charms.

Miao women are passionate. If they see a handsome man, they might place a Gu charm on him. Once you are charmed, you cannot leave her. If you venture more than a hundred miles away, the Gu insect within you will revolt, causing anything from minor injury to death.

Therefore, if you ever encounter a Gu-Miao woman on the street, you must first look at the peacock feather she wears.

If the peacock feather is on her wrist, there is no cause for concern, as it signifies she is already married.

If the peacock feather is on her neck, you must exercise caution, for it indicates she is still an unmarried maiden.

If the peacock feather is worn atop her head, you must be even more careful; it means she is courting you. If you so much as touch her peacock feather, it is considered an acceptance of her courtship. From that moment on, no matter where you go in the world, you belong to her. If you are fickle or abandon her, she will truly kill you.

Miao women are passionate, yes, but they are also genuinely fierce; they are quite unlike the women in modern society.

Lin Xiaosu was moved by these reflections. Truly, traveling ten thousand miles is better than reading ten thousand books. The things she spoke of were not found in any literature. Even with his knowledge, which could be considered peerless throughout the ages, he had remained unaware of these local customs.

Two hours later, the pressure cooker was opened, revealing a rich, milky-white black-bone chicken soup. Even a mere whiff of the aroma was incredibly potent.

Little Zhou found a sealed food container, packed it for him, and handed it over.

Lin Xiaosu expressed his sincere gratitude.

Faced with his thanks, Little Zhou smiled. "Your brother is a combat hero. It is they who protect our homeland. If I had assisted Dr. Zhang today in sawing off the legs of a combat hero, I would never have found peace of mind. Your arrival saved his legs and resolved my own inner conflict. I cannot do much else, but I will stew a bowl of soup for him every day from now on."

Lin Xiaoyang drank the soup.

Lin Xiaosu acted once more, using his internal energy to perform another treatment on his brother—if yesterday was a "repair" of the pipes, today's treatment was to reinforce them.

The following day, Lin Xiaoyang’s complexion had completely changed.

Little Zhou accompanied Lin Xiaosu to buy more black-bone chicken and Solomon’s Seal as usual. The older woman from before did not appear, but three or four others were selling the goods. Lin Xiaosu observed them closely; the three older ones had feathers tied to their wrists, though the feathers were nearly bald. If Little Zhou hadn't told him yesterday, he would hardly have believed they were peacock feathers.

The young girl, however, had a much more beautiful peacock feather, which was worn around her neck like an elegant choker.

Little Zhou used her eyes to signal Lin Xiaosu not to loiter around the girl, leaving him somewhat speechless. I’m a total stranger to her; surely I wouldn't just fall for someone I happened to pass on the street?

Yet, seeing the look in the girl’s eyes, he felt a bit startled. Could it be that I, Comrade Lin, have truly practiced the Rejuvenation Arts so much that my charm has increased exponentially? Why do her eyes look so bright?

One day passed, then two, then three.

On the morning of the fourth day, when Lin Xiaosu walked into his brother's ward, someone else was there.

Little Zhou emerged from the adjacent room, telling him with a smile, "Your brother has run off!"

"Run off?" Lin Xiaosu’s eyes widened.

Little Zhou giggled. "He got out of bed himself, packed his belongings, and ran to the ward next door!"

This was an intensive care ward. Lin Xiaoyang could have moved out by the second day, but the hospital felt they couldn't treat a combat hero that way and kept him in the ICU for three extra days.

Today, Lin Xiaoyang had simply gotten up, walked, and moved himself to a general ward.

Lin Xiaosu was overjoyed at this news.

Arriving at the next room, he found Lin Xiaoyang practicing his walking.

"Brother, you can walk!" Lin Xiaosu reached out and gripped his brother's shoulder from behind.

Lin Xiaoyang turned slowly. "Xiaosu, I... I wrote a report yesterday. I don't want to retire from the service."

"You want to return to the place where you once fought, don't you?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"Yes! Since my legs have been returned to me, I must return to the place where I belong!" Lin Xiaoyang said. "Mother... Mother will respect my choice, won't she?"

When he asked this question, he already knew the answer.

Seven years ago, when he joined the army, his mother respected his choice. Back then, the "concreteness" of a soldier's mission was not yet etched into her heart. But now it was different. He had hovered at the gates of death. The news that he was about to undergo amputation had burned the cruelty of the battlefield into his mother's soul.

Having narrowly returned from the brink, and with the possibility of being honorably discharged and settled, the sudden news that her son would not retire but return to the very hell that terrified her—how could the emotional turmoil and the sleepless nights be easily reconciled by a simple "respect"?

Lin Xiaosu pondered for a long time. "You have decided?"

"I have!"

"Since you have decided, then... I respect your choice!"

"The family... relies on you now!" Lin Xiaoyang patted Lin Xiaosu’s shoulder gently.

"After you are discharged, I will see you back to the place where you fought!"

"Good!"

A promise, perhaps meant for a lifetime. The warrior returns to his bloody battlefield, while the brother returns home to care for their aging parents. Based on country, based on family, based on bonds...

"Brother, I want to give you something," Lin Xiaosu said.

"What?"

"Ancient Martial Arts! The Rejuvenation Arts!"

Lin Xiaoyang was deeply shaken. Had this been before he entered the hospital, he would have had no concept of ancient martial arts. In modern society, they were mere legends. Soldiers are naturally the closest to "combat," but in the vast Southwest Military Region, he had never personally seen a "King of Soldiers" who had mastered ancient martial arts.

Yet, Lin Xiaosu, his brother, had arrived at the critical moment when his legs were about to be amputated and performed an ancient art that healed his injuries in an inconceivable way. His life would be inextricably linked to ancient martial arts from this day forward.

And now, his brother wanted to impart this magical, high-level art to him? (Yes, although his recovery was a secret, the military high command and the medical team knew, and it had caused quite a stir in their small circle.)

"The Rejuvenation Arts are best suited for soldiers like you who crawl through the lines of life and death," Lin Xiaosu said. "It not only helps injuries heal rapidly but also significantly enhances one’s combat prowess after practice, truly turning you into a nightmare for the enemy in the jungle."

Lin Xiaoyang took a long breath. "Is this art... easy to learn?"

Lin Xiaosu replied, "The biggest drawback of this art is that it is extremely difficult to master the basics."

Lin Xiaoyang shook his head gently. "Then... I probably can't learn it. You know my learning ability best; it was precisely because I couldn't get into books that I joined the army."

"This art is different from reading. It doesn't rely on intelligence, but on perseverance. Come, brother, let’s try!"

Although this was a general ward, it fully reflected the hospital's respect for soldiers; Lin Xiaoyang was the only patient in the room.

Once the door was shut, Lin Xiaosu began a brand-new endeavor. He was going to try to stimulate the "Origin Point" in his brother’s Dantian, allowing him to practice the Rejuvenation Arts.

As his brother had said, he was terrible at reading. If the manual for the Rejuvenation Arts were placed before him, he might not master the basics in a hundred years. But who told him to have a good brother? Who told him this brother was single-mindedly hoping his brother would have an extra means of survival on the battlefield? And who told him his brother possessed the "Silver Fish of the Sea of Consciousness," a cheating tool of a weapon?

He placed his palm on his brother’s Dantian, and the Silver Fish of his consciousness traversed the mountains and ridges to form a unified connection, leaving a strand of Rejuvenation Energy at his brother’s Dantian Origin Point.

This point served as a beacon in the labyrinth of the body, making the ethereal sensation of internal energy concrete. It also lowered the difficulty of cultivating the magical Rejuvenation Arts by ninety percent.

Even with such favorable timing, location, and harmony, Lin Xiaoyang gained nothing on the first day. He could not sense the beacon Lin Xiaosu had lit.

However, he had perseverance. For an entire day, he sat cross-legged in meditation; he didn't even notice when Zhijun came in to deliver food. The second day was the same.

Zhijun couldn't sit still. Taking advantage of a restroom break, he asked about it. Lin Xiaoyang told him the truth, and Zhijun became interested. "How about you let Xiaosu explain it to me, too? Let me give it a try?"

And so, at sunset that day, Lin Xiaosu left a similar point on Zhijun.

From that day on, a strange scene appeared before Little Zhou: two soldiers sitting in the ward practicing martial arts.

Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, Lin Xiaosu had been in this southwest border city for ten days. For a severe patient who would normally need a hundred days to recover from bone injuries, ten days was a very short time; against the shifting tides of the world, it was even shorter.

But in these ten days, there had been great changes in the outside world...