Two days ago, after completely eradicating the Wu Clan, Zhong left Ming behind to retrieve Haoyu and bring her to Hui Lian under the pretense of her working for him.
As trusting as Hui Lian was, she accepted the arrangement hastily and without much question, tending to both of them while Zhong moved about elsewhere.
"Such sadness, isn't it? A mind-eating virus turning a full-grown woman into nothing more than an animal," Zhong said as he knelt and lifted Haoyu.
Deep in her broken mind, a faint imprint still lingered, and she clung to him, seeking something more than just a gentle touch on the head.
"Is this the work of the poison master?" Hui Lian asked.
Her heart sank at the sight of Haoyu's condition.
She had seen old people regress into childlike states before, but never to this extreme—almost no shred of humanity left, only a creature acting on pure instinct.
"Yes…" Zhong lied calmly. He placed Haoyu onto one of Hui Lian's patient beds and released a healing spell from his hand.
A magic circle appeared beneath her, its light flowing slowly into her forehead before seeping into her mind. Haoyu's eyes widened as shock rippled through her body, then slowly closed as she drifted into unconsciousness.
It would take about a week at most for a mortal's mind to recover from such damage.
Healing memories was far more complex than ordinary treatment.
Even if he reversed all the neural damage within her brain, her soul would still need time to reconnect the missing links.
Such was the fragility of mortal bodies. If only she were a cultivator, the process would have finished in an instant, for cultivators could guide their qi to quickly reform thought and spirit.
"Did you heal her?" Hui Lian asked, intrigued. Healing the mind was an art beyond her understanding—something mythical.
Her medical knowledge could only slow the deterioration, not restore a mind that had already collapsed.
"Not yet," Zhong replied. "I need you to care for her until she fully recovers. In the meantime, her mind will slowly rebuild itself. Try starting by letting her help with simple tasks, like cleaning the floor. It will help her recover faster."
He instructed her carefully, though this was also part of the greater plan he had in store—not just for the Luo Clan or the Han Clan, but for the entire Azure Peak Town.
This humble herb shop would become the cornerstone of his work.
"Seeing you do everything so easily makes me feel a little useless," Hui Lian admitted, her chest rising and falling heavily. Her wrinkled yet kind face twisted with self-doubt.
"If only I had tried harder in life, maybe I could have achieved even a fraction of what you can do…"
"The ease you see now came from harsh experience in the past. It's not something I wish upon anyone," Zhong said quietly. His words cut through her regret, and for once, perhaps since his descent began, he spoke the truth.
The path to godhood is never paved with gold.
"You've done well with your life. Maybe you could have done more, or better, but you've still done well. Don't be too hard on yourself," Zhong said. His kind words fell like dew upon the desert of her loneliness.
Hui Lian was nothing more than a humble scholar of medicine. Born and raised in this town, her reclusive and plump nature made her hide away with her books and herbs.
Whenever she looked out the window and saw young cultivators walking hand in hand, she sometimes questioned her choices.
Whenever she had tried to step beyond her comfort zone, the world had mocked her—calling her dull, dismissing her efforts to become a pill master, and using her failures as a source of amusement.
Lacking the talent or intellect for alchemy, she resigned herself to a humbler path.
She buried her loneliness in herbs and mortar, convincing herself that even a lowly craft had its place—because it was all she had left to feel important.
Perhaps it was a way to escape how lowly her place in the world truly was.
"What's the matter?" Zhong asked as he noticed her frown deepen, her brows furrowing in frustration.
If there was one thing Zhong could still recognize in this world, it was a good person.
Because he himself had become the worst possible result of a sane man choosing the path of evil. Anything darker than him could only come from madness—a mind without reason.
It was a skill he had honed, to see clearly which people could be used and which should be discarded.
And as a side benefit, he could recognize who was not evil.
Hui Lian was one of two. The other was Luo Lan.
Most people he met were driven by self-interest, but not these two women.
Hui Lian had no schemes or ill intent; all she desired was a quiet life as an herbalist.
The other acted purely out of the need to survive.
"Oh, doctor..."
It had been so long since she felt this kind of warmth.
After inheriting the house from her late father and turning it into an herb shop, she had only customers, never friends.
Some men had tried to court her, but only for her body. Those advances eventually faded as her youth and beauty slipped away, leaving her with nothing but her work.
"Sorry. I… I just…" she murmured.
There was no feeling more crushing than realizing someone else could do with ease what you had struggled to achieve your entire life.
"If you truly feel disheartened by our difference in skill, perhaps I can teach you some of my art," Zhong said, using the opportunity to introduce the topic he had in mind. His words immediately caught her attention.
Seeing her interest spark, Zhong produced a single spirit stone.
The sight of it nearly made Hui Lian faint. The value of such a gem far exceeded the fortune she had accumulated throughout her entire life.
Mortals were never meant to possess something of this level; even seeing it up close made her heart race uncontrollably.
"I will teach you the art of enhanced alchemy." Zhong traced his hand through the air, and from the spirit stone, a glowing magic circle began to form.
Threads of light extended from the crystal, etching intricate symbols across the wooden floor. Strange characters and winding circuits appeared, brimming with arcane knowledge, until the floor resembled a ritual altar.
It was the same one he had once used for the body-refining pill taken from Haoyu—now modified with new features that would serve him later.
"What is this?" Hui Lian asked, her heart pounding wildly as she stepped closer to the glowing circle, eyes wide with wonder.
"This is the altar of basic alchemy," Zhong explained. "With it, you can combine, sacrifice, and enhance your herbs. Let me show you."
He directed his qi and pulled five grams of her special fire tea, placing them at the center of the circle.
With a single tap on the activation seal, the altar came alive.
Four of the herbs instantly withered to dust, leaving one that pulsed with a brilliant red glow, its faint ember transformed into the radiance of a full flame.
"This…!" Just standing near it, Hui Lian could feel spiritual energy emanating from the tea leaf. Not only had its potential been enhanced, but its value had increased exponentially.
"What I need you to do now," Zhong said, exhaling softly, "is experiment with every combination you can afford using this altar. Record each result in detail, and then sell your creations to others."
The process had taken considerable effort; the mental strain alone was almost shattered Wu Han's mind to pieces.
Zhong's reason for investing so much in Hui Lian was simple—by making her more renowned, she could attract more customers.
The more people came to her shop, the easier his plans for Azure Peak Town would progress.
"I… I don't know what to say," Hui Lian murmured, smiling with a mixture of joy and wistfulness.
"Oh, how I wish I could learn to create such arts myself." Her expression showed both regret for her age and lack of talent, and newfound purpose at the thought that she could still do something meaningful in her later years.
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Zhong said gently.
"It's like a chef wanting to learn how to build the restaurant. Some work belongs to others. For instance, I'm far less skilled at using herbs than you are, but I understand the mystical arts." He patted her shoulder, offering the reassurance she needed.
"Ming will stay here as your guardian, in case someone decides to cause trouble for the Miracle Doctor's assistant," Zhong added with a small smile.
"Assistant?!" Hui Lian gasped, her heart leaping.
"My, my… I don't know what to say. Thank you so much for trusting an old lady like me." She tried to hide her blushing face with her hand.
Not only had he entrusted her with his work, but he had also given her a treasure craved by a spirit stone.
"Don't belittle yourself," Zhong said with a quiet chuckle, brushing her cheek with his fingers. "In my eyes, you're not as old as you think."
Hui Lian's green eyes widened as her heart raced with embarrassment and emotions she didn't fully understand. "Y-You don't need to flatter me, Doctor!"
"If you still doubt yourself," Zhong said, stepping closer. Hui Lian instinctively leaned toward him, offering no resistance.
Her eyes met his, her chest pressed softly against him, her breath catching in her throat as her face turned crimson and her legs trembled.
"Then perhaps," he murmured, "I'll have to give you a bit of courage myself."