The Greenwater Beggar was right before him, and He Jiaqing was in a brief state of panic before quickly calming down.
The button on his chest was still trembling. The contact had not been interrupted.
He Jiaqing was confident he could escape, but the condition was that he had to do so before being hit by the Greenwater Beggar’s Technique.
"Elder, do we have any grievances between us?"
"Nothing of the sort," the Greenwater Beggar said with a smile, "I have a friend who would like to ask you a few questions. He wants to know which Taoist sect you hail from, what your cultivation level is, and why you went to his house to cause trouble for no apparent reason."
He Jiaqing was taken aback and replied deferentially, "Elder, I can tell you my Taoist Sect and cultivation level. But when you say I’ve caused trouble at your friend’s house, I must say I’m a bit perplexed."
The Greenwater Beggar shrugged, "If you say you’re confused, then you’re lacking sincerity."
Just below the corner of his eye, a pustule burst open, and green pus slowly trickled down his cheek.
He Jiaqing’s eyes twitched. "Elder, I am aware of the rules of Greenwater Bay. In principle, you can only show yourself once a year, so it’s not worth wasting such a precious opportunity on someone like me, right? There’s clearly a misunderstanding between us. Before the matter is clarified, let’s pretend you haven’t seen me, and I haven’t encountered you, as if you’ve never shown up. Does this arrangement sound suitable to you?"
The Greenwater Beggar frowned slightly, then his expression relaxed. "You’re quite eloquent, young man, and you even know my weak spot. Unfortunately, you miscalculated. Let me tell you the truth: I haven’t shown myself because I haven’t left my house. This is my home!"
He Jiaqing exclaimed, "Elder, you’re not suggesting that the entire Greenwater Bay is your home, are you? Such a claim might deceive me, but it won’t fool the rules."
The Greenwater Beggar maintained his smile. "I’ll say it one more time: this is my home."
Upon hearing this, He Jiaqing glanced at the passersby with the corner of his eye.
He Jiaqing was currently a civilized gentleman in respectable attire, his path blocked by a beggar covered in pustules.
The beggar’s face was full of brazenness, while the gentleman was extremely humble. Yet, this abnormal spectacle drew not even a single onlooker from the passing crowd.
All the passersby treated them as if they were invisible, continuing on their way or engaging in small talk, as though these two men didn’t exist on the street at all.
Immediately, He Jiaqing understood the situation: Green Flower had indeed not left his home; it was He Jiaqing himself who had entered Green Flower’s home.
The home of the Greenwater Beggar was a hidden space imperceptible to ordinary people. He had not violated the rules of Greenwater Bay. It was just that He Jiaqing couldn’t comprehend why he had entered the Greenwater Beggar’s home.
The real reason was that the Greenwater Beggar had used some means to lure He Jiaqing into his home. This indicated that the Greenwater Beggar had been lying in wait for He Jiaqing and was thoroughly prepared.
Amidst a whirl of thoughts, the first person He Jiaqing thought of was Lu Maoxian; he had seen him at the cinema.
"Elder, it was my fault for unintentionally intruding into your residence. I apologize," He Jiaqing said, bowing deeply.
As he bowed, He Jiaqing’s right hand shot forward suddenly, intending to touch the Greenwater Beggar.
His movements were extremely fast, so much so that even the Greenwater Beggar couldn’t clearly discern their trajectory.
But the Greenwater Beggar was too experienced. He was prepared and swiftly sidestepped, dodging to one side.
"Thousand Mile In A Step! At your age, you’ve actually managed to reach the Ninth Layer of Traveling Cultivator."
Green Flower chuckled. His judgment was correct: He Jiaqing indeed intended to use the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique.
With just a push on the Greenwater Beggar, He Jiaqing could free himself.
His initial move having failed, He Jiaqing swung his arm horizontally, attempting to touch the Greenwater Beggar again.
Pustules on the Greenwater Beggar’s body burst, their contents exploding into a pus-filled fog that began to spread.
"You dare to touch me? Not afraid of getting sick, huh? You’ve got quite the nerve!" the Greenwater Beggar laughed.
The spread of the pus fog wasn’t quick, and avoiding it wouldn’t be difficult for He Jiaqing.
But he had no escape.
Because he couldn’t flee the Greenwater Beggar’s home, and the pus fog would surely cover every corner. If He Jiaqing were to be touched by even a single drop of pus, he might lose his life.
The battle seemed to have already ended. The Greenwater Beggar was contemplating what to do with He Jiaqing—whether to kill him outright or to keep him a while longer to ask some questions.
Suddenly, He Jiaqing shouted sternly, "Life and Death Separated!"
As his voice fell, an invisible barrier sprang up between the Greenwater Beggar and He Jiaqing, blocking the dense fog.
The Greenwater Beggar stopped smiling.
"Uniform Rule?" The Greenwater Beggar looked at He Jiaqing incredulously. "What level of Literature Cultivator are you?"
He Jiaqing had used the Literature Cultivation Technique, Uniform Rule. The Greenwater Beggar was a Lost Soul, and He Jiaqing was a living person. Between life and death, he used the Technique to create a barrier.
Literature Cultivation Techniques were demanding on cultivation, and a lower-level Cultivator’s Techniques had limited effect against a higher-level Cultivator.
But He Jiaqing’s Technique was very effective. The pus fog was completely halted, proving that his Literature Cultivation level was no lower than his Traveling Cultivator level.
Seizing the opportunity, He Jiaqing bowed again. "Elder, I greatly admire you. I’ve long wanted to visit. Can we speak calmly and peacefully?"
"Alright, let’s put our cards on the table!" the Greenwater Beggar coughed, expelling a glob of thick phlegm.
The phlegm stuck to the barrier. Green smoke rose from the barrier as it corroded, forming a hole.
As the pus fog spread over, He Jiaqing wanted to use the Uniform Rule Technique again but didn’t dare to speak rashly.
There was a strange smell in the air. Beyond the pus, the Greenwater Beggar had spread other pathogens as well.
The situation was critical, allowing no delay. He Jiaqing proactively dissolved the barrier and pulled a Pocket Watch from his chest.
Upon opening the watch case, the three hands spun wildly, stirring up a vortex on the watch face that sucked in all the surrounding pus fog and pathogens.
Green Flower said with a smile, "Nice Magical Treasure! Let’s see how much it can absorb!"
The pus from his body kept gushing endlessly, and the Pocket Watch quickly reached its limit.
Seizing the moment, He Jiaqing stepped forward, reaching out toward the Greenwater Beggar once again.
The Greenwater Beggar frowned. "You still dare to touch me?"
Pus rapidly spread over the Greenwater Beggar’s body, but He Jiaqing actually found an untouched spot on his clothing.
It was a spot no larger than a sesame seed and devoid of pus.
Seeing He Jiaqing close in, pus erupted from the Greenwater Beggar’s body, spraying out like rain.
He Jiaqing’s fingers deftly dodged all the pus, touching the empty spot with his fingernail.
In that instant of contact, He Jiaqing’s body swiftly retreated, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared without a trace.
He had succeeded with Thousand Mile In A Step.
The Greenwater Beggar’s body staggered backward, but he only took two steps.
He had resisted the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique, preventing himself from being thrown away.
However, He Jiaqing had already flown away; the Thousand Mile In A Step Technique disregarded any obstacles.
The Greenwater Beggar stood silently on the spot for a long time, muttering to himself, "In my own home, to let him escape like that... such a formidable young man. A Traveling Cultivator at the Ninth Layer, and Literature Cultivation of at least the Ninth Layer too. How could someone of his age possess such a cultivation level? Is this the wonder of the Mysterious Red Life Lotus? Does he truly have dual Ninth Layer cultivation? Why did he dare to touch me?"
He stared at his ragged clothes. After a moment, as if he had found the answer, he continued muttering, "Could it be Clever Hand Emptiness? If it really is Clever Hand Emptiness, that would explain it. Should I tell that old codger about this? We’ll see. First, I’ll mention the dual Ninth Layer cultivation to scare him a bit."
The Greenwater Beggar sat in his home, watching the passersby in the street.
He was eager to go out and beg. He wanted to find a place as simple as Blue Poplar Village to beg in. As long as he didn’t receive alms three times, he could go out and do whatever he wanted—anything at all.
He could find a place to eat, drink, and be merry.
He could also pick a Local Deity nearby and give it a good thrashing, seizing some territory.
He could spread a small epidemic in a certain place, weeding out the old and weak.
He could also spread a major epidemic in a certain area, disrupting the entire territory.
He could even make Greenwater Bay completely peaceful. Once there were no people left in this area, it would be perfectly tranquil.
"Will that young man come looking for me again?" Green Flower chuckled. "Waiting a bit longer is fine. Let’s see if he can survive first."
「...」
Using the hook for positioning, He Jiaqing flew all the way into the deep mountains and old forests, landing next to Wan Jinxian.
Seeing He Jiaqing, Wan Jinxian hurried over. "Jia Qing, what happened? I just heard you exchanging blows with someone. Who was that person?"
He Jiaqing sighed. "I’m afraid it might scare you if I told you. That person was... HIC!"
Mid-sentence, He Jiaqing let out a hiccup.
It wasn’t a hiccup from being full, but the kind that wouldn’t stop once it started—medically known as a diaphragmatic spasm.
He Jiaqing couldn’t stop hiccupping. HIC! HIC! Wan Jinxian watched for a moment and realized something was wrong.
Without saying much more, he prepared to use Disease Cultivation Techniques to extract the pathogen.
He Jiaqing waved his hand. "You... can’t! Absolutely... don’t!"
He knew how severe his condition was. With each hiccup, his Internal Organs were shifting. It wouldn’t take a hundred hiccups for his Internal Organs to be torn to shreds.
He Jiaqing looked at his left hand, then at his right hand. After pondering for a moment, he chose the left.
He rolled up his sleeve and yelled at his left hand, "Transfer Flower, Connect Wood!"
This wasn’t Uniform Rule; this was A Single Word Becomes Reality.
After a moment, He Jiaqing stopped hiccupping. His left hand began to tremble violently.
He had transferred the disease from his diaphragm to his left hand.
Wan Jinxian said, "I see the root of the disease. Leave it to me."
He Jiaqing stopped him. "I told you, you can’t handle it. This is a disease planted by your Ancestral Master. If you were to absorb it, you would lose your life."
"Ancestral Master... you mean..." Wan Jinxian’s cheeks twitched; he didn’t dare mention that person’s name. "Jia Qing, we need to get rid of this root of disease quickly, otherwise, your hand will be ruined..."
Before he could finish speaking, He Jiaqing drew a knife and chopped off his left hand.
Wan Jinxian’s eyes bulged as he stared at the profusely bleeding stump of He Jiaqing’s arm.
He Jiaqing frowned. "Stop staring! Hurry up and stop the bleeding!"
Wan Jinxian immediately bandaged He Jiaqing. "Jia Qing, why put yourself through this? Let’s think of another way!"
"Another way?" He Jiaqing forced a wry smile but said no more.
He had Elixirs on him, possessed Magical Treasures, and he knew some Techniques that could slowly neutralize the disease’s root.
But all that required time.
Green Flower never gave anyone time.
First the hand would shake, then the arm, then the whole body at once. After a few minutes of this, the entire person would fall to pieces.
He Jiaqing set a fire and burned his left hand to ashes.
Old Wan kept smacking his lips. "What are you doing now? Keep the hand first; we might find a chance to reattach it later."
He Jiaqing shook his head. "It can’t be reattached. This hand is already ruined. I need to hurry back to the Outside Provinces; Zhou Changhong’s situation has been exposed."
Old Wan said, "Then what should we do about your hand?"
He Jiaqing sighed. "I’ll try my luck at Three-Head Fork and see if I can grow a new one. There’s no other good solution with time being so pressing."
Wan Jinxian looked distressed. "Jia Qing, don’t rush back to the Outside Provinces just yet. Get your injury treated first. Those Bird People from there won’t dare do anything to you."
He Jiaqing shook his head. "I’m not worried about the people from the Outside Provinces. I’m worried about people from my own family. I’m afraid someone might leak the news."
「...」
Inside the He Family Mansion, He Haiqin sat in his room, not uttering a word.
Hearing that He Haiqin had not eaten for nearly a day, He Yuxiu was terrified. For a Food Cultivator to go a day without food meant serious trouble was brewing.
"Brother, what’s wrong with you? If there’s something bothering you, tell your sister."
He Haiqin looked blankly at He Yuxiu and said weakly, "Sister, someone said... Jia Qing has returned to Puluo State."
He Yuxiu was startled. "Brother, what nonsense are you talking? Isn’t Jia Qing lying in a hospital in the Outside Provinces?"
"Yes, they all say he’s lying in the hospital. But my own son... he’s now back in Puluo State, and I don’t even know about it. Can you believe that?"
PS: Can a hand really grow back at Three-Head Fork? I always thought that only heads could grow back there.