As the days rolled by, Duncan felt as if he was going mad. He was becoming desperate to obtain a cultivation technique as time passed. To feel the rush of energy each time he laid with Bessa and to not be able to step further drove him insane.
Hell, even Bessa was becoming more and more radiant these days. Feeling the effect in his body was one thing, but seeing Bessa becoming more and more radiant made Duncan burn with anger.
By now, he truly hated the old man who had shown him the glimpse and shut the door in his face. He even braved himself to ask about cultivation with the overseers who were overlooking the spirit mine.
Unfortunately for him, cultivators were a truly arrogant bunch of assholes. They viewed him like a vermin or shit on their shoes. While being brushed off hurt, the worst was those little sadistic shits who took pleasure in humiliating him and beating him up.
Truly, it was not the beating that bothered him much. No, it was the look of disdain and careless cruelty they showed that chilled his heart. Duncan's opinion of cultivators truly fell to the bottom with each and every incident.
Months rolled by as Duncan began to nurse this budding hatred towards the cultivators. All his free time was spent trying to obtain any information regarding the cultivation world and drinking away his constant disappointment and humiliation.
Bessa was the one bright spot in his life. Even the time he spent with her was marred by the fact that he could never truly enjoy what cultivation felt like as he was now.
Eventually, even his time in the mine became hard to bear when he realized how valuable the spirit stones he mined were to cultivators. To constantly touch something that the cultivators fought over, and yet unable to use them made Duncan very sullen and short-tempered.
His personal relationships became tense and brittle. He could hardly bring himself to care about some insult or the other he delivered unwittingly. Soon, the people around him started avoiding him.
Duncan didn't know how to bring himself out of this quagmire that he had been stuck in. As much as he tried to forget about the Coiling Dragon Sutra, he just couldn't do it. Especially when its effects were shown to him clearly in his daily life.
Duncan knew that he had to do something. Anything. He knew he couldn't just keep going like this. But, the trouble was that he didn't know what he should do. It was frustrating to him to the point of insanity.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Granny Jiao's hoarse but affable voice greeted him as he stepped foot into her home. "Are you sure you are at the right place, Duncan? You haven't drunk too much wine to know where you are at, do you?"
"Come on Granny Jiao, not you too," Duncan huffed exasperatedly.
"What else can I say, boy? You have been off your rockers for a while now. Picking fights everywhere, roaming around the town listless, searching for something that no one knows what it is about. I say you are one small step away from being deranged."
Duncan huffed without answering. Granny Jiao was kind of like a mother figure to him. Being an orphan who grew up on the streets, he didn't really know who his parents were. He had no one that could be called family, to look after him when he was young.
Granny Jiao was the one he came to when he came down sick with something. Having no one to take care of him meant that he had to sometimes spend weeks in her hut to get better. While he and Granny Jiao weren't related, she still took care of him during those troubled times.
So, naturally, Duncan had a large amount of respect for her. While he hadn't truly visited her since the incident with the old man, he would still drop by to check on her occasionally and buy her things that she needed.
Granny Jiao didn't mind Duncan's aloof attitude much. She busied herself in the kitchen for a few minutes before walking out. As she neared him, she took his hand and felt his pulse without even asking for permission.
Duncan was used to it, so he didn't mind it much. Granny Jiao hummed and nodded with a satisfied smile before letting his hand go.
"You are healthy as an ox. No need to worry about it. Dare I say that this is the healthiest I have found you! Even your cheeks are becoming radiant. Hmmm, so you weren't suffering from anything I know of," Granny Jiao stated as she made her way back to the kitchen.
"I know," Duncan grumbled.
"Then, what's got you in a twist, boy? I can see that you are restless. Your feet have been dancing ever since you stepped in," Granny Jiao said from the kitchen.
"Nothing, nothing," Duncan shook his head not knowing how to explain his predicament to Granny Jiao.
"Hmmm, anyway stay for tea. I have already put the teapot on heat," Granny Jiao said as she emerged from the kitchen.
Duncan could only nod as refusing will be too rude. He would never be disrespectful to Granny Jiao if he can help it. Sitting in the house, Duncan debated whether to ask advice from Granny Jiao as she went around the house preparing her medicines.
In the end, Duncan didn't hold out for long. While silence in the house was something he was accustomed to, he was chomping at the bits to figure out what to do.
"Say, Granny, I feel kind of, you know. Ahhh, I don't know how to explain this," Duncan said scratching his head causing Granny Jiao to look up from where she was pruning some herbal leaves.
"You know, it's just… I feel kind of…" Duncan once again trailed off not knowing how to explain his situation.
"…restless," Granny Jiao supplied calmly.
"Hmm, you can say that. But, it is not exactly that. I don't think you will understand," Duncan frowned.
"Bah, don't be a silly fool boy. Do you think I haven't seen young ones like you behaving like this before? You are not that special Duncan," Granny Jiao chortled shaking her head.
"What? You have seen others acting like me?" Duncan asked in surprise.
"Of course," Granny Jiao smiled mysteriously before chuckling. "As I said, you are not special Duncan. I have seen countless young ones acting like you. Wait, let me bring the tea. We can chat over the tea."
Granny Jiao walked into the kitchen and later emerged with two steaming cups of tea in her hand. Duncan took one cup from her hand and sipped it as Granny Jiao sat opposite to him.
They drank tea in silence for a minute or two before Duncan broke the silence.
"Granny, what do you mean that others have acted like this before me?" Duncan asked.
"Hmmmph, of course, I have seen other young ones acting like you. It is a kind of affliction that normally appears in young ones when they become men," Granny Jiao said with a mischievous smile.
"Huh, didn't you say that I am healthy?" Duncan asked in confusion.
"Oh no, this is not a physical affliction, my dear boy. But, this is a mental one," Granny Jiao chortled.
"What!?" Duncan shouted in surprise. "I am mentally afflicted. Then, will I become like Old Joe who had survived the cave-in a few years back?"
"Oh no, it's nothing like that. Old Joe's affliction is different from yours," Granny Jiao waved her hands as if she was batting away that thought. "Don't be too excited. This is not bad, per se. But, it does often occur in young ones."
"Oh," Duncan let out a relieved breath.
"Well, this affliction usually starts in young ones who had just turned into men. Usually, it happens after they experience something unusual causing them to start to feel restless and invoking in them a desire to do something…"
"Exactly," Duncan crowed eagerly, "Thank the gods I have you here Granny Jiao. That is exactly how I feel. I can barely concentrate on anything these days. It feels as if I need to do something, anything. But, I don't know what to do."
"Aha, then the affliction is at its final stage then. Tell me, do you feel like you are being caged, and is there some kind of suffocating feeling in you that you couldn't exactly point out?" Granny Jiao asked with a benign smile.
Duncan could only nod in reply.
"You don't need to worry about this much boy. It usually gets down after some years. But, if you feel like you can't wait that long, I can give you some suggestions," Granny Jiao said patting Duncan's hands.
"What do you think I need to do?" Duncan asked eagerly.
"Get married," Granny said with an impish smile causing Duncan to rear back in shock.
"What???" Duncan cried out in surprise.