Misty Rain of the Old Times

Several kilometers inside the mushroom forest, a robust man dressed in black sat atop a giant mushroom shimmering with a hazy blue light.

He was definitely over 2.3 meters tall, with exaggerated muscles that seemed to be tearing his clothes apart. He had a thick beard and was quite intimidating, resembling a human monster.

Although his physique couldn't compare to the Jin brothers, who underwent body separation surgery, no one would argue that he was a giant.

Dozens of meters away from the giant mushroom he was sitting on, there was a pitch-black hammer on the ground. The handle, about a meter long, was as thick as an average person's arm. The hammer itself was the size of a millstone, covered with triangular spikes about an inch long.

The hammer was embedded in the ground, and it looked incredibly heavy. It could probably smash an ox into mincemeat with one blow. It must have been the bearded man's weapon, which he had somehow tossed aside.

It should be understood that weapons are like a second life for many martial arts practitioners, and they will not be without them unless absolutely necessary.

Those who could reach the depths of the Misty Swamp were naturally no ordinary people; that person was undoubtedly a master of innate cultivation, with a fierce aura and violent internal energy.

Logically speaking, someone at the Innate Realm should have keen senses, but the distance between them wasn't too far, and when Chen Xuan was observing him, he didn't notice Chen Xuan's arrival.

The person was unharmed, sitting atop the giant mushroom, seemingly lost in their own world; their behavior was quite abstract.

Chen Xuan could only describe his behavior at this moment with the word "abstract".

His eyes held a focused and earnest smile, and his large, fan-like hands moved gently, his fingers forming delicate patterns as if he were embroidering, yet his hands were empty.

'Could it be that every tough guy secretly harbors a girlish heart?' Chen Xuan felt strange upon seeing this; the scene was truly an eyesore.

He wouldn't mock other people's hobbies and interests, and would intend to leave after a glance, thinking it best not to disturb them. But he would soon realize that the person was acting strangely and was clearly hallucinating, which would reveal another side of his true self.

Was it due to miasma or eating poisonous mushrooms?

After thinking it over, Chen Xuan decided to help him out. It was just a small favor. But what if he saw the other man's little secret? Would he repay kindness with enmity and kill him to silence him?
There was no need to hesitate. Although the other party seemed intimidating, could he really cause trouble for Chen Xuan? To be honest, this person was quite interesting, with a huge contrast.

Reaching out from afar, a wisp of true essence transformed into an invisible hand, pulling him out of the mushroom forest. Chen Xuan also took his hammer with him.

The burly man remained lost in his own world, continuing to embroider in the air even after Chen Xuan threw him to the ground.

With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Chen Xuan ignored it for the time being and weighed the hammer in his hand. Good heavens, it was made of fine iron and weighed more than a ton. Only someone of his size would find it easy to use.

Holding the hammer, Chen Xuan considered stopping his cringeworthy behavior with a blow, but then thought better of it; one swing of the hammer would smash him into a pancake before he was even ready to fight.

With a bang, the heavy hammer was thrown aside and sank into the ground, but it didn't wake him up. It seems he was seriously poisoned. With his cultivation at the upper level of the Innate Realm, this guy's poison resistance is probably not very good.

You're still embroidering? If no one stops you, you'll probably keep embroidering until you die.

Chen Xuan tapped his shoulder with the stick he always carried and said with a smile, "Dude, wake up, your mom's calling you home for dinner."

There was no reaction at all. He shook his head, and Chen Xuan controlled his strength, slapping him on the back with a stick. Slapping him in the face was one thing, but that would be too much. He was also worried about the prickling effect of Chen Xuan's beard if he tried to hit him with his hand. Chen Xuan continued, "Wake up, your wife ran away with someone else."

As if disturbed while concentrating on his work, the other person turned around and looked at Chen Xuan with displeasure, saying, "Stop fooling around, can't you see I'm embroidering?" With that, he enthusiastically grabbed a non-existent round fan and handed it to Chen Xuan to look at, asking expectantly, "Little monkey, do you think my embroidered peony is pretty? Isn't it beautiful?"

Goodness, you've mistaken me for a monkey. Where's the little person?

"You with thick eyebrows and big eyes, does your friend know about this embroidery?" Chen Xuan said speechlessly.

The other person chuckled and said, "Nobody knows. It's my secret. I can't tell anyone, or I'd be too ashamed to face anyone. But it's okay for you; you're just a little monkey, you can't talk."

He glared at her and grinned, saying, "If you dare tell anyone, I'll crush your little monkey head and eat your brains, you understand?"

He was completely irrational due to the poisoning, and probably believed that the world he was in was the real world.

I know you're a fool. Chen Xuan really wanted to hit him with a hammer. This guy is hopeless, just waiting to die.

"It's a good thing you met me, otherwise you would still be embroidering even if you died in the mushroom forest." This was a man, so Chen Xuan didn't use his internal energy to remove the poison for him. That's how realistic he was. He had brought medicine with him before he came, even though he would hardly need it. Better safe than sorry.

Different situations require different medicines. This guy is clearly poisoned. We weighed the antidote and the miasma-avoiding pill, but fortunately, we decided to go all the way and give him one of each. We're on the edge of a mushroom forest, surrounded by miasma, and what if he inhales it again?

"My medicine is very expensive. You're not fully conscious right now, so I won't hold it against you. But if you're still like this after you regain consciousness, I'll beat the shit out of you. I hope you'll be sensible. I don't expect much in return. If you repay kindness with enmity, I'll take you back just because I saved you."

Antidote pills and miasma-avoiding pills on the market are really not cheap. After all, they are often equivalent to a life. Especially those produced by Chen Xuan, which can cure the poison of innate masters. Even if they are sold for ten thousand taels of silver, there are plenty of people who want to buy them.

I resisted the urge to add something extra to his food, and then secretly slipped it into his mouth when he wasn't looking.

"Little monkey, what did you feed me?" He turned around, puzzled, as he continued embroidering. Judging from his size and appearance, this guy was definitely hot-tempered, but after being poisoned, his girlish heart was overflowing and he actually became quite gentle. Ugh...

Chen Xuan walked aside and said irritably, "I gave you bird poop to eat."

“Little monkey, you’re really joking. You’re a monkey, how can you catch birds? I think it’s fruit. Monkeys all eat fruit. Shouldn’t you be climbing a tree and squatting down? Running around on rocks and sitting down doesn’t look like a good monkey,” he continued, making up stories out of thin air.

He clearly forgot he was a master in this state and was too lazy to pay attention to him. Chen Xuan waited for him to wake up. He was still confident in his pills. After all, it was a prescription given by Old Liu who was just a little short of the Human Immortal realm. He dared not say more, but it could solve 95% of common poisoning cases.

"This is really expensive! This isn't some kind of magic pill; the cost of just one pill is over a hundred taels of silver. All the dividends my girlfriend gave me in recent years have been spent on alchemy."

Even though they were not related, Chen Xuan would not stand by and watch him die. Besides, he also wanted to ask him if he had seen Bai Yunmu after he regained consciousness, just in case there was an unexpected surprise.

A medicine that can cure an illness instantly is a miracle cure, and Chen Xuan can't master that skill yet, but the pills he gave the other person were quite effective. A few minutes later, his embroidery movements became sluggish, and he gradually became somewhat dazed.

He shook his head vigorously, regaining his senses. His embroidery ceased, and he abruptly stood up, a violent aura rising within him. He cautiously and solemnly asked, "What's wrong with me...?"

This guy really has a great physique; it's a shame he's not in the army. He could scare people to death just by standing on the front lines. Chen Xuan said with a smile, "Brother, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Chen Xuan had intended to make a joke about him being a girl now, but considering his hidden girlish heart, she decided not to provoke him. In case he got angry and attacked her, she would have to beat him up.

"Who are you? What's wrong with me?" He asked in a deep voice after noticing Chen Xuan, taking a step forward and grabbing the hammer in his hand with a scrutinizing look in his eyes. He wasn't just tall and stupid; there were few fools among those who had cultivated to the Innate Realm. He knew that no one who could appear in the Misty Swamp was a simple character. Even though Chen Xuan seemed to pose no danger to him, the more that seemed so, the more vigilant he became. This person was definitely not simple.

Waving his hand, Chen Xuan said, "I saw you were poisoned and confused earlier, probably from inhaling miasma. Luckily, I had some antidote and miasma-avoiding pills on hand, so I gave you one of each. It seems to have worked well. This isn't how you treat your savior. Besides, if I wanted to harm you, you would have been dead long ago."

Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief, gave an awkward smile, cupped his hands, and said apologetically in a deep voice, "I remember now, my name is Xiang Qi. Thank you for saving me, my benefactor. May I ask your name? I owe you my life. From now on, if you ever need my help, I will go through fire and water for you."

That's right. People in the martial arts world are often very clear about their gratitude and resentment, and ungrateful people are ultimately a minority.

Not mentioning how his confused state while embroidering had upset him, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "I don't need your formal name Chen; my given name is simply Xuan. It was just a small favor, nothing to mention."

"So your benefactor's name is Chen Xuan. I'll remember that. I'll call you Young Master Chen. It was just a small favor for you, but it saved my life. I'll never forget it, or else may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death," Xiang Qi said, bowing deeply and speaking with conviction.

Putting those thoughts aside, Chen Xuan asked curiously, "Brother Xiang, why did you come here? That mushroom forest looks incredibly dangerous; how dare you wander in like that?"

"You flatter me, Young Master Chen, just call me by my name," Xiang Qi quickly replied, then, with an embarrassed yet angry expression, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Young Master Chen. Of course I knew it was dangerous there, so I took some miasma-avoiding pills beforehand. It seems they were counterfeit; I almost lost my life. I'll go smash up that pharmacy and beat that fake medicine seller to death when I have a spare moment."

That's quite a fiery temper, no wonder he has such a physique.

Chen Xuan chuckled and said, "Is it possible that their medicine is genuine, but it can only deal with ordinary miasma and can't handle the mixed poisonous gas in that mushroom forest?"

"Well... I was too naive. Everything was fine along the way. Thank you for reminding me, Young Master Chen. Otherwise, I might have ended up being the bad guy," Xiang Qi thought for a moment and realized it made sense, so he immediately changed his attitude.

With a girlish heart hidden deep inside, how bad could he possibly be?

Chen Xuan was speechless for a moment before saying, "So, Brother Xiang, what are you doing here if you have nothing to do? If it's inconvenient, just pretend I didn't ask."

...(End of chapter)