Chapter 6: Pathology

After Liu Ba fled in panic, Ye Xue, her face filled with astonishment, hurried to Ye Chen’s side.
“Brother, you’ve become so amazing! Quick, tell me—how did this happen?”
Ye Chen’s eyes froze for a moment. The hardships he had endured over the past five years—if he told her, Ye Xue might never believe him.
He smiled at Ye Xue and said, “The night everything happened five years ago, I met a mysterious person who taught me many skills.”
Ye Xue’s gaze flickered with confusion. “So you disappeared these five years to learn from a master?”
Ye Chen’s expression darkened. Learning those skills was truly no easy feat; every time, he barely escaped death.
He had no intention of telling Ye Xue about the supernatural old man and those fantastical experiences.
He simply nodded at Ye Xue. “Something like that. My master wouldn’t let me leave until I mastered the skills, which is why I was gone for five years.”
“I’m sorry, Xue, for letting you and Mother suffer.”
Hearing that Ye Chen had gone to learn a craft, Ye Xue felt her resentment toward him lessen.
Ye Chen’s thoughts turned to his mother.
He asked Ye Xue, “Xue, is Mother at home?”
Ye Xue furrowed her brow and sighed. “She is, but Brother, I need to warn you: when you see Mother, you must stay calm. She’s changed quite a lot.”
At this, Ye Xue’s eyes reddened again.
Ye Chen was overcome with guilt; he patted Ye Xue’s shoulder.
“Xue, it’s all my fault for letting you and Mother suffer. Let’s go in and see Mother together.”
“Mm!” Ye Xue led Ye Chen to the battered wooden door.
“Brother, you must stay calm!” Ye Xue reminded him once more.
“All right.” Ye Chen steadied his emotions, readying himself.
The wooden door creaked sharply as it opened.
Inside the dilapidated living room stood an old red-lacquered wooden bed, its mosquito net yellowed with age.
Because of the net, Ye Chen couldn’t immediately see his mother.
Apart from a wooden table, there was nothing else in the room.
On the table were jars and bottles of medicine.
Ye Chen’s brows knitted tightly; his heart felt as if plunged into an icy pit.
He instantly understood why Xue had been so furious after five years apart.
This environment was hardly fit for human habitation.
Ye Xue spoke in a mournful voice, “The Wang family comes demanding payment every few days. The money I earn from part-time jobs, they take it all.”
“Every time, I secretly save a few hundred yuan for you, just so Mother and I can eat.”

“Xue…” Ye Chen was so choked with emotion he could not speak.
He stepped into the living room, the stench of decay and mold overwhelming his senses.
Through the mosquito net, he glimpsed a shadow lying on the bed—his mother, whom he had longed for day and night.
Ye Chen quietly approached the bed, raised his hand, and trembling, lifted a corner of the net.
When he saw the emaciated, bone-thin woman, her hair fully white, her face sallow and gaunt,
He could no longer hold back his tears.
“Mother…” Ye Chen cried out in anguish.
Zhou Xiufang’s eyes were tightly shut; it was unclear whether she was asleep or unconscious.
Upon hearing Ye Chen’s voice, Zhou Xiufang slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing Ye Chen standing before her in tears, Zhou Xiufang was utterly stunned.
“Xue, come here quickly. I dreamed about your brother again…”
Zhou Xiufang never imagined Ye Chen would appear before her; she thought it was just a fleeting dream.
She said to Ye Xue, “Xue, I dreamed your brother hadn’t grown taller, but he’s thinner, looks so haggard, and was crying as he looked at me…”
Ye Xue moved to the bedside, softly saying, “Mother… this isn’t a dream. Brother has really come back! The brother you’ve longed for day and night—he has returned!”
“He’s right here in front of you; this is no dream!”
At these words, Zhou Xiufang’s expression changed dramatically.
“Chen’er, is it really my Chen’er…” Zhou Xiufang tried to prop herself up, but her frail body wouldn’t allow it.
“Mother, it’s me! It’s really me!” Ye Chen knelt by the bed, fell forward, and clasped Zhou Xiufang’s hand.
“Mother, I have failed you, letting you and my sister suffer. I truly deserve punishment!”
With those words, Ye Chen struck himself hard across the face, consumed by guilt.
He even regretted meddling years ago, which had led his family to ruin.
He hated the Wang family’s monstrous cruelty all the more.
“Silly child, how could your mother and sister ever blame you?”
Zhou Xiufang reached out her callused hand and gently caressed Ye Chen’s cheek.
“Chen’er, you’ve come back. That’s all your mother could wish for.” Zhou Xiufang’s tear-stained face broke into a smile.
She admonished Ye Chen, “Chen’er, you’ve grown up. From now on, take good care of your sister. Go to a city where no one knows you, and live well.”
“I’m so tired, so very tired…”
As soon as she finished speaking, the hand that caressed Ye Chen’s face fell limply.
Her eyes slowly closed.
“Mother, Mother, how are you?” Ye Chen called softly, but there was no response.
“Mother, Mother, please wake up…” Ye Xue called out as well, but still received no answer.

Ye Chen immediately sensed something was wrong and hurried to pry open Zhou Xiufang’s eyelid.
Her eyes had rolled back, showing only the whites.
“This is bad, Mother’s in danger!”
Ye Chen quickly checked Zhou Xiufang’s pulse, then urgently turned to Ye Xue.
“Xue, hurry and bring a basin of hot water!”
Ye Xue understood Ye Chen’s intent and grew even more frantic.
“Brother, Brother, will Mother be all right? Maybe we should hurry her to the hospital!”
Ye Chen snapped, “Go get hot water! I’ve learned medical skills—I can perform emergency rescue on Mother!”
Ye Xue was jolted awake by his words and rushed outside to prepare hot water.
Ye Chen took out a pouch of silver needles and spread them on the bed.
His hand emitted a dark glow as he swiftly inserted needles into eighteen major acupuncture points, including Baihui and Jianzhou.
From each needle’s insertion site, wisps of black vapor emerged.
This technique was called “Eighteen Needles of Returning the Soul.”
Once all eighteen needles were in place, accompanied by specific manipulations, it could forcibly snatch a life from the grasp of the Lord of the Underworld.
“Mother, I will definitely save you!”
Ye Chen rotated each silver needle in turn; from the tail of each needle, he drew out black vapor from Zhou Xiufang’s body.
The dark vapor coalesced, forming a thick cloud.
Ye Chen reached his hand into the miasma and absorbed it entirely through his palm.
For ordinary people, this foul energy was extremely harmful.
But for Ye Chen, it was precious.
The old ghost had used potent toxins to corrode Ye Chen’s body for years.
Moreover, he had taught Ye Chen a mysterious cultivation method.
The technique was obscure and difficult, and Ye Chen had only mastered the first level after five years.
It allowed him to absorb poisons or harmful gases to strengthen himself.
Though his mastery was still rudimentary, his strength, speed, and all abilities far surpassed ordinary people.
This was why he could single-handedly defeat Liu Ba and his men.
At that moment, Ye Xue entered with a basin of hot water, tears streaming down her face.
“Brother, how is Mother? Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?”