I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 19 Fiery Palm

Although Qiu Lan spoke lightly, Chen Mo felt a chill run down his spine.

Those who can open a martial arts school in a county town are naturally skilled in martial arts and have considerable family wealth.

More than thirty people died in one go?
Are they even struggling to make ends meet?

This is truly astonishing.

As for the incident involving the eldest son of the Lei family, Chen Mo felt it was mostly related to being possessed by an evil spirit.

After passing Chang Le Fang, the carriage turned into Hua Liu Lane and soon arrived at the entrance of Lei's Martial Arts School.

The gates are high and the walls are strong, but they cannot hide the desolation and ruin.

The two tall stone lions that used to stand at the entrance were gone. Many merchants and brokers were lining up to carry furniture, porcelain vases, and other items out of the martial arts school.

Clearly, in order to make ends meet, Lei's Martial Arts School has been reduced to selling off its assets.

Chen got off the carriage with the letter of recommendation and led Qiulan into the martial arts school.

The situation inside was even worse than outside.

All the training equipment in the huge martial arts arena was removed. Even some of the potted plants in the courtyard were sold.

Many of the guys were sighing in amazement.

"A few months ago, the Lei family was a rising star in the county's martial arts scene. People said that in a few years, the Lei family would be able to compete with the county's three major martial arts schools. Who would have thought... that they would fall into such a state due to a single misstep."

"It is said that Lei Ming, the eldest son of the Lei family, has contracted a strange illness and needs a large sum of money to treat his injuries. That's why Master Lei Peng had no choice but to sell his property to pay for his son's treatment."

"Oh, what a pity. Most of the martial arts schools that outsiders open in the county fail in the initial stage. Lei Peng was able to gain a foothold in just over ten years and even threaten the three old-established martial arts schools in the county, which shows that he has real skills. How come his son got such a strange disease out of nowhere?"

"Once you fall from grace, it's hard to get back up."

"..."

Listening to everyone's discussion, Chen Mo quickly entered the courtyard and saw a white-haired man leaning against the door frame, looking listlessly at the workers moving furniture, his face showing a look of heartache and desolation.

A brokerage firm manager, holding an account book, was checking the items. Finally, he gave the white-haired man some silver notes and then took his leave.

Chen Mo could tell that the white-haired man was only in his forties, full of vigor and vitality, clearly a martial arts expert. At that age, a martial artist should be in their prime. Yet, his hair had turned white overnight.

"Is it Master Lei Peng?" Chen Mo approached the white-haired man and bowed respectfully.

The white-haired man glanced at Chen Mo and said listlessly, "Who do we have here? It's the second young master of the Chen family. What brings you here?"

Chen Mo didn't hesitate and handed over the letter of recommendation Zhou Liang had given him.

After reading the letter, Lei Peng, the white-haired man, softened his expression and glanced at Chen Mo again. "You want to learn the secret techniques of my Lei family?"

Chen Mo cupped his hands and said, "My elder brother passed away from madness a while ago, so I wanted to learn some methods to subdue ghosts and evil spirits. I heard from Uncle Zhou that Master Lei has a secret technique that can subdue ghosts."

The white-haired man, Lei Peng, put away the letter and gave a soft snort. "My Lei family does possess a martial art that can subdue ghosts and evil spirits, but why would I give it to you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Mo presented a stack of silver notes, saying, "Please grant my request, Master Lei."

Lei Peng's pupils contracted.

Based on his experience, he could tell at a glance that the silver note was probably worth as much as five hundred taels.

At the height of the Lei family's power, Lei Peng naturally wouldn't have cared about five hundred taels. But now that the Lei family has fallen on hard times and is struggling to survive, five hundred taels is a huge sum of money.

Chen Mo could tell that Lei Peng was interested, so he continued, "I only ask to see the secret technique. If Master Lei is still not at ease, I can look through it in front of you."

Lei Peng said, "Not enough."

Chen Mo added two more silver notes with a face value of one hundred taels each.

Lei Peng's heart skipped a beat.

Seven hundred taels!
That's really extravagant!

They gave way too much...

Lei Peng didn't agree immediately. "There are too many people here, come inside and talk to me."

Chen Mo followed Lei Peng into the living room in the central courtyard, where a woman in a simple long dress offered him tea. After a brief conversation, Chen Mo learned that this woman was Lei Peng's legal wife, and that she was actually not very old, probably in her thirties. Perhaps due to the misfortunes that had befallen her family, she appeared much older than her years.

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Mo subtly inquired, "Master Lei, you've been selling off your entire fortune, is it to pay for your son's medical treatment?"

Lei Peng didn't hide anything, "Yes. My son contracted a strange illness, which took a lot of energy. In addition, the martial arts school suffered a disaster recently, with more than thirty students dying, which ruined its reputation. No one came to the school to enroll anymore. So we ended up like this."

Chen Mo then asked, "What illness does your son suffer from?"

Lei Peng's expression was solemn. He and the woman exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking.

Chen Mo immediately had a guess in his mind.

I'm afraid Lei Ming has... what's causing his madness.

Nowadays, both the government and the public are wary of people with madness, but Lei Peng, out of love for his son, has kept the news from the outside world.

It is clear that the decline of the Lei family was due to a bout of madness.

It is embarrassing.

If it weren't for the Chen family's strong foundation, and Chen Mo's transmigration... they might have been dragged down and declined.

Pity the parents of the world.

Seeing that Lei Peng wouldn't budge, Chen Mo had no choice but to offer a more targeted approach, saying, "I do know some medicinal herbs that can help alleviate your son's symptoms."

"Really?" The woman, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up excitedly, her face full of eagerness and expectation.

Chen Mo took out a small Wei Qi Skin Ointment pill and handed it to Lei Peng, saying, "I bought this miraculous medicine from a Taoist priest. It can cure all diseases. If Master Lei trusts me, you may give it to your son."

This is the second batch of Wei Qi ointment made by Chen Mo. I took a small one with me today.

As Lei Ming is Lei Peng's son, he has naturally practiced martial arts since childhood, so he should be able to take it.

Lei Peng hesitated for a moment, but the woman couldn't help but take it, thanking him with tears in her eyes, "If it can really alleviate my son's illness, I would gladly give up my life, let alone the Lei family's secret technique."

After saying that, the woman repeatedly winked at Lei Peng, "Master, our Lei family has fallen to this state. It's rare that the second young master of the Chen family is so compassionate, giving us money and medicine. What are you still hesitating for? Can that lousy secret manual feed us or cure our son?"

Lei Peng finally gave in, and took out a booklet from his body, handing it to Chen Mo: "This is the secret manual passed down in my Lei family, the Fiery Palm. Only martial artists who have reached the second level of the Flesh Refining Realm can learn it."

Chen Mo happily handed over the silver notes, but instead of opening the booklet immediately, he inquired, "How does this Fiery Palm technique subdue ghosts and evil spirits?"

Lei Peng said, "Ghosts and evil spirits are mostly yin beings, and they are most afraid of the yang heat of the human body. When placed outside, they are afraid of fire. The Fiery Palm Sword takes an unorthodox approach, focusing on refining one's own hot blood into fire poison. After mastering it, one's blood and qi are as hot as fire, and they also carry fire poison, which can suppress ordinary ghosts and evil spirits."

After saying that, Lei Peng raised his hand and pressed it down on the table.

When he finished, he left a hot, black palm print on the table, which even emitted blue smoke and scorched part of the table.

Extremely mysterious.

Chen Mo was overjoyed, thinking to himself: Lei Peng's words didn't seem to be false; raging fire could indeed subdue ghosts and evil spirits. He hadn't come to the wrong place today.

Just then, Lei Peng said again, "However, this martial art is extremely difficult to master. It took me several years to even get the basics down. Moreover, it has severe side effects, easily burning through one's own bones and muscles. Without a teacher, it's highly likely that you won't be able to learn it. I'm thinking of my son and don't have time to teach you. If you ruin yourself by practicing it, don't blame me."

Chen Mo accepted the booklet. "Of course. If I make a mistake during practice, I will take responsibility myself. I will never blame Master Lei."

Lei Peng waved his hand, "That's good then. This booklet is just a copy, you can take it. Also, if you encounter powerful evil spirits or ghosts, the Fiery Palm will be useless."

"Thank you, Master Lei. If there's nothing else, I won't bother you any longer."

Chen Mo took the booklet and hurriedly left with Qiu Lan.

He has a cheat code, so he's not worried about not being able to master it.

After watching Chen Mo leave, Lei Peng shook his head repeatedly, "The Chen family really produced a martial arts fanatic. Does he really think that he can master it just by having a secret manual? He's too naive."

The woman said, "Master, why don't you tell him? The reason our Lei family has suffered is because of this secret technique?"

Lei Peng picked up the seven hundred taels of silver notes. "If I had told him, and he had gone back on his word, I wouldn't have had this many notes. You stay home and look after Xiao Ming. I'll take the money and go ask a Taoist priest to try."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I'm out of drafts, next chapter will be updated at noon.
(End of this chapter)