Over the span of three days Xue Qing Chu refined and redeveloped the pill four times. The first pill made Wu Yong extremely nauseous. The second made him lose his appetite. The third and fourth had little to no effect. As a result the wounds on his back and hands barely healed. Xue Qing Chu shook his head as he held up another pill, "I cannot make the pill do the opposite. I was hoping to create a pill that makes one calmer, hungry and heal faster all at the same time. The last four put into one would be the opposite of my desired pill."
"I certainly do not have any knowledge about medicine but can you use herbs that can yield the desired effects and use them to create the pill? There should be stuff to help calm nerves, make someone hungry or heal." Wu Yong wondered how much the medical world advanced since his imprisonment. Judging by Xue Qing Chu and his confusion, not a lot had changed. Or the doctor had only one goal which is to test as many combinations on Wu Yong before the man recovers completely.
"I tried that," Xue Qing Chu snapped quickly. Everyone was aware of his short temper that seems to burst when someone tries to guide his thoughts. "Unlike many healers I know, I am competent. I will find the perfect pill and my ultimate goal is to create the Immortality Pill. A small multipurpose pill should not be hard to make compared to the majestic pill of the gods."
"I think you are delusional," Wu Yong muttered sleepily. He covers his mouth as he yawned but he still speaks. "If you truly are competent, you would have found the Immortality Pill by this age. Old man, I am exhausted. Hearing people give themselves too much praise is tiring. Seeing a doctor worry about competence amongst his peers is alarming. I suggest you think about your patients before you compare yourselves to others. There must be many healers above you in this vast world."
"Shut up!" Xue Qing Chu shouted sharply. He glared at Wu Yong, satisfied when the younger man shrugged and lay down. The other patients have woken after hearing his shout. The doctor smiles sheepishly and gave an apology. Wu Yong rolled his eyes. The doctor pointed his finger at the snickering man. His chest rise and fell from labored breathing. "I am dissatisfied with you, lunatic. The only reason I allow you the chance to speak is because you are a rat I need. If you had no purpose I would not have brought you here."
"Even as a rat I have no purpose. I was just laughing out of amusement, nothing personal. You kept apologizing to the students as if your words will make them return to slumber." Wu Yong always had the habit of laughing whenever he hears an apology. He does not care for the context of the words because he knew that the chances of one being sincere is slim. "If you are sorry for waking them, keep your voice down or give them sleeping medicine."
"Fine," Xue Qing Chu huffed loudly. His face was red as he tugged his robes and walked away. The doctor vowed he would not treat the lunatic at the back nicely. Off to the side Xue Qing Chu told a passing disciple that if he is spotted acting kind toward Wu Yong, the disciple can slap his face. The startled boy nodded, a little thrown off by the sudden order. The old man cracked a grin, "Do not worry about me. Go deliver that soup to the third bed in the second row."
Wu Yong watched Xue Qing Chu slip out of the bed area. He thought of shutting his eyes but the voices around him kept his eyes open. The harsh words crashed into his ears relentlessly. He heard a young cultivator speak of a lunatic in the house using unorthodox methods to cultivate. Someone replied by saying that the ghost startling servants must be the works of the recently freed madman.
Wu Yong felt glad to know he could be interesting enough to be the topic of a conversation. He lay in his bed and listened to each word as if he was listening to a story. The boys paused their discussion to look behind them. Wu Yong smiled and waved at the gossiping boys. "I am so flattered. You all believe my body is strong enough to withstand the dark arts. Yes, I am the lunatic of Xue house! I have not been freed, I have been here for the last days."
"Who told you to listen to us, you cur*! You must be the lunatic if you are so proud to admit you are him. Say," The boy with an arm sling sounded curious for a moment. His eyes gleamed under the bright light. "Did you embark on the wrong path? Young Master Liang was spreading news of the madman practicing evil techniques. He said that if we find a man in rags, we can beat him."
"Sounds about right," Wu Yong nodded. He made sure to show his front teeth as he grinned. "If I say I cultivated overnight, who would believe me? Right, none of you. If I said I found a manual for cultivating through cheap means, it sounds more plausible. If that is what others want to believe about me, I will let them imagine. I am a lunatic who is stepping toward the darker forest. I will not be hurt if you all think I deceived a hundred cultivators."
"You are so detestable! We asked you for the truth yet you prove yourself to be an equivocator! I cannot understand how merciful the doctor is." The boy with the sling keeps speaking. His friends nod to support him and Wu Yong knew that this boy is the leader of the group. "The Sacred Stone has cracked even more ever since you touched it. Whenever we try to use the stone it reacts out of the ordinary."
"Oh?" Wu Yong had no idea the stone would defect under his touch and this made him look at his hands in sad wonder. "Did anyone investigate the stones during the past three days? I do not think a low level cultivator like me would break the indestructible rocks. What do you think about the matter?"
"What do you mean you could not break the stone? I think my brother told me that your face is too horrid for the holy rocks. Or did he say it was your demonic essence that corrupted the Sacred Stones?" Jian Wang responded timidly. He shook his head, "I forgot what he said. What I do know is that the Xue family are determined to prove you are a Demon. I even heard they would bring you to trial in front of the Cultivation Association. Or was it the Righteous Council?"
"Am I so important?" Wu Yong laughed like a man gone wild. He shook his head in disbelief, laughing until his sides hurt. Cultivators and non-cultivators knew that the two distinguished organizations work together to bring the evilest spirits to justice. Wu Yong did not think he could be qualified to be the subject of a trial held by either group. "I have nothing to hide."
"That may be true but the phoenix couple are great friends of the strongest members. You may not fear being exposed but you should fear your life." Mian Biaoqing whistled as she entered the room. The boys gasp in awe as the sole Demon studying in Xue Sect glided in. She is known for her tremendous skill of gathering juicy bits of information. She settled into a bed, squeezing her lower legs after jumping practice.
"She is telling the truth. We all know that if a prominent benefactor wishes to eliminate a rival the Righteous Council will gladly help." A small boy says as he carried a jug of water. "My parents were sent to a trial and never came back. I know they did not commit murders and robbery but they could not prove themselves as innocent. If you are brought to trial, speaking is the same as shutting your mouth. You will be convicted and killed anyway."
"Yes, the Righteous Council is not a group you want to meet. There are many old cultivators who loathe Demons and people who lost sight of the righteous way." The Demon girl shook her head. Her short hair made many of her peers mistake her for a boy and during this particular moment, she seems like a boy. "The Xue family believes you turned away from the correct path. They can say you use diabolic methods and that is how you end."
"I doubt the merciful Xue family would bother giving up their precious time to bring the lunatic to trial." Wu Yong wondered what Bu Xin meant. The boy with a strange voice stuck his nose in the air to challenge him. "He is not worth the time. I do not care if he dies or lives but I feel dying in front the Righteous Council would be terrifying. Well, enough talk! We have to recover from our soreness in a couple hours. Teleportation practice is going to be painful."
Wu Yong shut his eyes and ears to the world but he lay wide awake on the bed. The Xue family hated him to the core, it would not be a surprise if they do bring him to be judged by the Righteous Council. The group of cultivators would sniff his evil aura, no doubt. Once they do, he would have no way out and he might die on the spot. Bleeding to death in their courtyard is not an appealing thought. All he could no is hope the Xue family forgets him for the time being.
Suddenly, he regretted placing his hand on the Sacred Stone. He was not afraid at the time because he wanted to prove he had potential but now, it seems like he lost his mind that day. The Sacred Stone is slowly breaking apart and he knew the Xue family would not let the matter go if the stone does not return to its original form. No, he did the best thing in those circumstances.
Wu Yong convinced himself that if he refused to be tested by the stone, he would be either denying his potential or he would make the Xue family suspicious. He would continue his bleak life in the Forbidden House and that, he did not want. It was because he touched the stone that he could stay in the infirmary and talk to the students. To them he is a stupid person but he wanted to learn more about the world.
Wu Yong knew that staying in the Forbidden House would destroy his mind. He would know nothing about the changes of the outside world. He would never know that the apple orchard had been dug out and made into burial grounds. He would not even know that the maple tree he always looked towards was the tree Xue Liang put in the place where his tree stood. The lunatic chuckled to himself.
Mian Biaoqing raised an eyebrow right after his loud wheeze. Three days ago she finally saw the lunatic after months of not seeing him but she did not understand the title given to him. The rags and matted hair he had did make him look like a madman but she saw this his eyes told his true feelings. He is not crazy but he felt upset, tired, angry, lonely and misunderstood. In the past she listened to his words and they made more sense than whatever nonsense the Xue family spewed.
Deep down, she admired the young man for speaking boldly in front of onlookers. She knew he would act like a frightened kitten when it was just him and the Xue family but when he had a point to make, he had more courage when there are more ears present. He spoke against the family rules that were useless as no one truly followed them. He tried to prevent a few female students from being forced to stop cultivating to be sent to marry. He even dared to laugh during the funeral rites of a student who died.
As a former student of the Demon Sect, she knew the student did not die while fighting for justice. He angered a widow so much that the ghost of the woman returned to haunt him until he was driven to the edge of a cliff. Mian Biaoqing knew that the so-called lunatic already knew the story and laughed to add coal under the fire. She recalled Xue Weifeng pausing the monks to whip Wu Yong. All sixty lashes were done in front of a coffin.
No one is brave enough to provoke Madam Xue. No one but Wu Yong the lunatic. He must have been tired of living a hidden life to be able to confront the heads of the Xue Sect. The only way to cure him of merely existing was by acting crazy until some people would talk about him. Mian Biaoqing nodded as she thought of his pitiful existence. She knew that the brutal training in Demon Sect would be more interesting than his fixed life.
The Demon sympathized with him enough to understand why he is exhausted. He must be fed up with living gloomily. The malicious rumors concerning him always made their way to his tired ears. Some of the circulating tales were her own doing. His lips must be heavy from constantly fighting for his beliefs. She was also sure his own body disliked the large amounts of punishments he sets upon himself. The odd man somehow stayed firm in his beliefs and quiet with his presence. Mian Biaoqing knew that all humans have a breaking point. She wondered when his will come.
***
Cur: Rotten or lowly animate being. -Dictionary and Thesaurus (I used to use this word to insult people but I was just a kid so no one took me seriously. I am not sure if anyone else knows this word so I put this note here. Bonus if you knew.)