The moment they entered the room, they found that the windows and doors were tightly shut, and the light was very dim. At the far side of the room was a low bed draped with deep cloth curtains. On the bed lay a thin cotton blanket, barely showing any rise or fall beneath it, giving the impression that there might not even be a person there.
Du Chen, suspecting whether someone was really lying in the bed, took large strides towards it. When he looked closer, his face suddenly changed, and he froze in shock. The others followed suit, and seeing his reaction, they too leaned in to look. Both of the girls gasped sharply, and Sang Tian even covered her mouth, taking a few steps back, nearly letting out a scream.
In the shadow at the head of the bed, they saw a skull resting on the pillow. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the skull was covered with a thin layer of skin. The eye sockets were deep black, and the cheeks were sunken, giving it a completely skeletal appearance. It was clear that this was Li Er's son, Li Tonghan.
Canghai adjusted his glasses, walked to the bed, and noticed that the exposed hand of Li Tonghan was also extremely emaciated. His entire body appeared to be in a similar state, wasting away to the point of distortion.
"How did he get so sick? That he's still alive at all is nothing short of a miracle," Du Chen finally came to his senses and sighed as he spoke in the team chat.
"This is nothing but a slow death. To live like this... it's worse than dying," Canghai murmured with a heavy sigh.
As they were speaking, the boy on the bed slowly opened his eyes. His deep-set eye sockets revealed a pair of jet-black eyes, as calm and still as water. Upon seeing the strangers before him, he slowly shifted his gaze, first looking at his parents standing nearby, then his expression softened, revealing a gentle smile. Unbeknownst to him, this expression appeared so haunting and unsettling that it caused the others to take a step back in shock.
Li Tonghan slightly nodded to Du Chen and the others before weakly turning to his parents. His voice, barely audible, came out in rasps: "I have been unfilial, unable to serve you in your old age... My broken body... only burdens you both..."
Before he could finish, he broke into a coughing fit, struggling to catch his breath.
Li Er and his wife immediately rushed forward to comfort him. While wiping away tears, they spoke softly, "You are our flesh and blood, how could we say you are a burden? You need not worry, these are仙师 (immortals), their methods far exceed those of ordinary doctors. Take heart, they will surely heal you."
Li Tonghan nodded weakly, pressing his chest and taking a few breaths. His eyes, still filled with uncertainty, turned to the strangers, and he laboriously raised his hand in a weak salute.
Canghai frowned, then cast a healing spell. On the interface, he saw Li Tonghan's health bar jump twice and reach full capacity. Canghai shook his head and turned to the others, saying, "I used a level 1 healing spell, but it only restored this little bit of health. It seems the issue is with his maximum health."
Sang Tian, unable to bear looking at the boy on the bed, studied the interface carefully and said, "I don't see any negative status effects on Li Tonghan, but there is a number 0 below his avatar. It seems he has仙根 (immortal roots) after all."
"No matter what, we should at least try," Canghai said. He continued by casting "Disease Treatment" and even "Dispel Magic" on Li Tonghan, while Sang Tian used "Cure Poison" and "Remove Curse," but none of the spells seemed to have any effect.
Li Er and his wife watched as the two of them waved their hands, casting various spells. Li Tonghan's face soon regained some color. Seeing this, his parents, after so many years of struggle, felt both joy and sorrow in their hearts, and tears welled up in their eyes.
However, Canghai and the others weren't as optimistic. The dispelling spells had no effect, and Li Tonghan's maximum health was still diminishing. If things continued like this, no matter how much they kept healing him, he wouldn't last long. The doctors who predicted that he wouldn't live past fifteen certainly had sharp eyes.
Xiao Yue asked the little ghost on his shoulder a few questions. The little ghost didn't even lift its eyelids and muttered a few words. After listening, Xiao Yue nodded and said, "OX says it's caused by a physical constitution issue, not a disease or a curse."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt even more troubled. After some discussion, they decided to first apply various buffs to Li Tonghan and see what happened.
The two of them used the highest-level buffs they could currently cast. The priest's "Toughness" buff increased endurance, while the druid's "Mark of the Wild" raised all attributes. As soon as these spells took effect, Li Tonghan's face miraculously regained some fullness. Although he was still extremely emaciated, he no longer looked like a skeleton; one could now see the refined and handsome features he once had.
Li Er and his wife were overjoyed at this sight. They immediately knelt to the ground, calling out that the immortals had worked miracles, repeatedly bowing to the five of them in gratitude. Li Tonghan seemed to sense the changes in his body as well. His eyes brightened with the spark of hope.
However, Canghai waved his hand, signaling for them to stop. "This is only a temporary solution. It can't last long, and we'll have to keep applying the spells every day. That could be quite troublesome."
In this other world, buffs lasted much longer than in the game, where they typically lasted half an hour. Here, they could last a whole day. But for Li Tonghan's condition, the buffs would wear off, and they'd have to be reapplied immediately. Could they really have the priest and druid constantly stay by his side? Moreover, if the root cause of his illness wasn't dealt with, his health bar would continue to drop, and eventually, he would still die. This solution was a temporary fix, at best, extending his life for only a short time.
Du Chen sighed, "So what should we do? Are we supposed to just take him with us?"
Canghai shook his head. "As long as his physical condition remains unresolved, there's nothing we can do."
Li Er and his wife were struck by a thunderbolt at this news. Even though their son had just shown signs of improvement, the immortals' faces were still filled with difficulty. Did that mean their son truly had no hope?
"But we can't just let him die like this… He's only fourteen… And his parents…" Sang Tian spoke, her voice tinged with sorrow.
"What else can we do?" Canghai sighed.
Everyone exchanged glances. Sang Tian bit her lip and softly suggested, "How about we take him with us for now? Even if it's just for a day longer, that would be better than nothing. If we come across any real immortals in the future, they might be able to help. And if it doesn't work out, at least we can say we tried our best."
The others found some sense in her words, but hesitation still lingered in their hearts.
In just a few days, they had experienced the bewildering journey of being transported to this world. They were still trying to figure things out, and they were far from familiar with their surroundings. Now, they were being asked to take responsibility for a stranger's life, adding yet another burden. It was undoubtedly difficult. But as young people with good hearts, they couldn't just stand by and let someone die, and their conscience wouldn't allow it.
"Well… why don't we stay here for a while? After all, we have no other place to go. It's not too bad here—there's food, lodging, and everything," Xiao Yue suddenly suggested.
At that moment, the little ghost suddenly opened its eyes wide, glanced around at everyone, and then looked at the sick boy on the bed with a face full of impatience. It mumbled something to Xiao Yue.
"Oh, I see now," Xiao Yue smiled after listening to the ghost, then turned to the others and said, "OX says Li Tonghan has a pure yin constitution, but his fire attribute is too dominant, which causes a conflict that drains his vitality. If he could join a real cultivation sect and receive proper techniques, he would immediately recover."
Hearing that there was a solution, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling much more hopeful.
Du Chen couldn't help but complain, "Hey, little ghost, what's the deal? If you knew about this earlier, why didn't you say anything sooner? We've been agonizing over this for so long! I feel like I should smack you!"
He was babbling away without realizing that the rest of the group had grown eerily silent. The little ghost remained seated, one hand resting on the hilt of its sword, its expression dark and cold, with a chilling light in its eyes. It swept its gaze over Du Chen as if it were a tangible force.
Even Du Chen, with his thick skin, finally felt something was off. He crossed his arms and, in confusion, muttered, "Huh, did the temperature drop all of a sudden?"
Xiao Yue, who felt his shoulder was almost frozen stiff, quickly intervened to ease the tension. "Haha, it's getting late. Since we have a solution, how about we tell Li Er and his wife, and then get some rest, alright?"
The atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed, but Du Chen, still oblivious, continued talking to himself. "Eh, it doesn't feel cold anymore. Weird weather, huh?"
Canghai sighed in relief for Du Chen, but didn't bother replying. He turned to Li Er and his wife and explained the situation. Not only could they cure their son, but there was also the possibility of him having a cultivation destiny. With such good news, Li Er and his wife couldn't hold back their joy, crying tears of happiness and repeatedly bowing. After much effort, the group managed to help them up.
By now, the sky had completely darkened. Li Er's family didn't have any servants, so his wife, Sun Shi, personally carried an oil lamp and led the group to their respective rooms. Although Li Er had spent most of his wealth on treating his son, his family was still fairly well-off. The house was spacious with many rooms, so each of them had their own. The rooms weren't particularly large, and the furniture was a bit old, but the bedding was brand new—likely provided by Li Chengfeng just recently.
The rooms weren't lavish, but after the previous days of sleeping on the ground, Du Chen was relieved to have a bed. He took off his shoes and lay down, staring at the ceiling in a daze. In the dim light of the oil lamp, the bed curtains, which were faintly embroidered, looked blurry.
Du Chen wasn't interested in these things. He didn't feel sleepy yet, so he decided to chat with the others in the team channel.
"Sigh, we really did get transported to another world, huh? Looks like it's a world of cultivation too. You know, when I used to read novels, I always imagined being able to cultivate and become an immortal... but my parents…"
He paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you guys think we can ever go back?"
This was a topic with no answer, and one that would only bring sadness. At first, everyone tried to indulge him with a few remarks, but gradually, Canghai and Sang Tian's voices faded away. After a while, Tongxinfen also stopped responding. Only Xiao Yue, struggling to stay awake, was still listening to Du Chen's endless rambling.
Xiao Yue wanted to ignore Du Chen and sleep like the others, but the team channel's sound was too clear, almost like someone was speaking right in his ear. He glanced at OX, who was meditating on the chair nearby, and didn't dare say anything. Instead, he tossed and turned in bed. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and whispered to Tongxinfen, "Boss won't stop talking, it's driving me crazy. I really want to sleep, what should I do?"
Tongxinfen seemed to still be awake. She kindly replied, "Didn't you forget? There's a mute function in the friend interface."
Xiao Yue suddenly realized what was happening and quickly muted Du Chen. The quiet returned to his ears, and he happily wrapped himself in his blanket and went to sleep.
Du Chen, however, continued speaking for a long time but didn't receive any responses. He shouted a few times in the team channel, but there was still no reply. Puzzled, he whispered to the others, only to receive a red system message: (You have been muted by XXX). Furious, Du Chen jumped out of bed, ready to storm over to the others' rooms and scold them. But when he turned to check the system time, he deflated. It was almost 11 PM. After a long day, he was exhausted—it was time to sleep.
Muttering to himself, "Is it true that a homebody's routine is now going to become normal?" he stripped off his clothes, crawled into bed, and soon fell asleep.
Du Chen had a dream.
It seemed as if some light and shadow were constantly flickering before him.
Still in a daze, he gradually returned to his senses, rubbing his eyes. The scene before him slowly became clearer, as if the mist had been cleared away. Where was this? He thought, glancing around.
It felt like night, and the surroundings were eerily silent, everything engulfed in darkness. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized he was in the middle of a bamboo forest. The bamboo stalks were sparse, and a mountain breeze stirred the branches, causing them to sway and rustle softly.
He was utterly confused. How had he ended up here? He began walking slowly through the forest, but couldn't find anything of note.
A round moon, glowing with a cool light, emerged from behind thick clouds, casting a silvery sheen across a small clearing in the forest.
In the center of the clearing sat a figure. From Du Chen's position, he could only see their back. The person wore a wide-sleeved robe, and their long, black hair cascaded down their back like a waterfall, flowing smoothly to the ground. The silhouette was elegant, with a grace that seemed to match the bamboo swaying in the wind.
Du Chen suddenly felt curious. He circled around the figure, taking a few steps until he saw a perfect profile.
In the age of the internet, there was nothing Du Chen hadn't seen. He'd come across countless handsome men and beautiful women, from the plump to the slim, the pure to the alluring, and even the photoshopped ones. What hadn't he seen?
But the person before him—whether male or female was hard to tell—had an ethereal presence that seemed to linger around them like a fragrant orchid or jade tree. Just seeing half of their graceful and radiant profile left Du Chen completely breathless. He stood still, mouth agape, completely captivated by the exquisite features. He felt that even the moon above couldn't compare to the beauty in front of him.
The person seemed to notice Du Chen's presence. They slightly turned their head and looked at him from beneath long lashes. There seemed to be light shifting in their gaze. The moment their eyes met, Du Chen felt a deep, irresistible allure, and he nearly collapsed to the ground, almost on the verge of kneeling.
The person's lips curled into a faint smile, and they parted their lips to speak, mouthing a few words. After waiting for a moment, when Du Chen still looked confused, they spoke again.
Du Chen, finally realizing what was happening, asked, "Are you speaking to me?"
The person nodded, half-smiling.
Du Chen scratched his head, trying to smile awkwardly, "Uh, could you say that again? The wind's too loud, I didn't quite catch that. Hehe…"
The person seemed to become slightly irritated, their brows furrowing. Suddenly, they flicked their long sleeve, and Du Chen felt an overwhelming force hit him. He was thrown backward and lost consciousness in an instant.