"Children, time to eat."
Dinner time had arrived.
Several elderly women carried large pots of cooked congee and came over to distribute it to the children.
The pots were filled with barley grains and wild vegetables, with occasional bits of minced meat visible.
For children from ordinary families, this would have been a decent dinner.
However, the children of Ning Village were cultivators, and this thin congee was far from sufficient to meet their nutritional needs in all aspects.
The children ate heartily, licking their bowls clean, but they were clearly still not full. Drool lingered at the corners of their mouths, yet they were sensible enough not to cry out.
"Children, I hunted several demonic beasts today. Once I sell the money, I'll buy you delicious food."
Ning Wenjing said to the children with a smile; her harvest today was quite good.
This immediately drew a burst of cheers.
As the Western Regions were the territory of the demon race, humans were generally not allowed to hunt demonic beasts.
However, the demonic beasts living within the ancient battlefield of humans and demons were all tainted with a wisp of demonic energy, thus they were not protected and could be hunted.
But because these demonic beasts were polluted by demonic energy, their meat was inedible, and the value of other parts was not high. Therefore, even killing several demonic beasts yielded little profit.
"Jingjing, don't waste money. Save it to buy some good elixirs. Your aunts' conditions have worsened."
Several elderly women sighed, their faces filled with fatigue and anxiety.
The strange illness had left Ning Village helpless, unable to cure it completely, and could only use elixirs to prolong life.
But given Ning Village's current situation, they truly could not afford enough elixirs.
"May I ask what illness they have? I can cure it."
Ji Mo spoke, wanting to contribute his humble effort to Ning Village.
As soon as he said this, instead of gaining favor, he provoked general anger.
Even Ning Wenjing stared at Ji Mo with an unfriendly expression, as if she might draw her four-meter broadsword at any moment.
The village had just broken out with a strange illness, and suddenly a person appeared claiming to be able to cure it, and this person hadn't even seen the patients. Did that seem normal?
Furthermore, Ning Village had experienced too many similar incidents.
Many people harbored malicious intentions and tried by all means to scheme against the Ning clan, for which they had committed many underhanded deeds, making it necessary to guard against them.
"Jingjing, where did this young man come from?"
One elderly woman raised her cane, her eyes bursting with sharp light. She possessed the cultivation of a Spirit Saint.
She seemed ready to beat Ji Mo to death with a single word if they disagreed.
"Granny, I am a good person."
Ji Mo quickly explained, unable to understand why these elders looked as if they wanted to beat him.
You are all old and frail, staggering when you walk. Can you not have such heavy malevolence?
"You haven't even seen the illness, yet you claim you can cure it. Could it be that you are the one who caused this strange illness?"
Ning Wenjing questioned, increasingly suspecting Ji Mo of ulterior motives.
Ji Mo scratched his head and said innocently, "As long as the person isn't dead, I can cure them. I'm a renowned little miracle doctor in our town."
"Your town?"
Everyone's mouths twitched. So he was just a quack doctor, and yet he spoke so boastfully, truly unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth.
Miracle doctor?
Could one casually call themselves a miracle doctor? Even the best physicians in the Xuanling Realm only dared to call themselves Medical Saints.
"Alright, can you stop bragging? You can't cure that illness."
Ning Wenjing said irritably.
Ji Mo offered to try and treat it, but was refused.
That strange illness could not be resisted even by powerful cultivators. Ji Mo, currently without any cultivation, would surely die if infected.
Ning Wenjing was also considering Ji Mo's well-being, not wanting to harm him for no reason.
Moreover, they clearly did not trust an outsider whose origins were unknown, and their faces were filled with deep suspicion.
"What's with the attitude? Are you guarding me like I'm a thief?"
Ji Mo was full of confusion.
"Demons are terrifying, but as long as you have a knife, you can slay them. However, the most terrifying thing in the world is the human heart. Most of the people of my Ning clan have died at the hands of humans."
Ning Wenjing said coldly, her face filled with sorrow.
It was not that they were overly suspicious, but they had experienced many bloody lessons, which made them no longer easily trust outsiders.
Ji Mo said, "Those people must have been lackeys bewitched by the demon race."
"You are still too young and do not know the darkness of the world,"
An elderly woman with white hair lectured, "The greed and desires of the human heart are even more terrifying than the demon race!"
Ji Mo fell silent. Without personal experience, one would never say such words.
It was likely that Ning Village had experienced unforgettable tragedies, and the perpetrators must have been human cultivators.
The Ning clan were descendants of meritorious officials and had made indelible contributions to humanity. Why would someone still harm them?
Ji Mo could not understand it at all.
"I will only let you stay for one night. You must leave tomorrow morning."
Ning Wenjing reminded him.
Doing so was already doing him a great favor. She could not let a stranger stay in the village indefinitely.
Ji Mo sighed and nodded, not saying much more.
He went to the well and washed himself thoroughly, cleaning off the traces of the Nine Heavens Thunder that had struck him.
Seeing Ji Mo looking refreshed, Ning Wenjing's eyes suddenly lit up.
She had never seen such a refined young man. His eyes were like stars in the sky, clear and transparent, incredibly captivating.
"Miss Ning, what's wrong? Is there still dirt on my face?"
Ji Mo felt a little embarrassed being stared at, thinking he hadn't cleaned himself properly somewhere.
"It's best to make your face look uglier. Great demons like delicate, tender-skinned pretty boys like you. Be careful not to be captured by monsters and have your essence drained."
Ning Wenjing warned him kindly.
It was not uncommon for handsome men and beautiful women to be forcibly abducted in the Western Regions. If humans lacked strength, they truly couldn't move freely in the Western Regions.
"Ah, is there no law?"
Ji Mo gulped, regretting washing his face. Being dirty and smelly was being a true man.
Indeed, when traveling, boys must protect themselves.
Deep in the night.
A shadowy figure crept towards the village well.
He selected over a dozen herbs from the nearby drying racks, rubbed them, and then threw them into the well water.
From Ning Wenjing's description, Ji Mo deduced that the so-called strange illness in the village was caused by some potent poison. He had prepared an antidote accordingly, which he believed would be effective.
"What are you doing sneakily? Are you trying to poison us?"
A voice rang out, and Ning Wenjing appeared.
She had been uneasy about Ji Mo and had been keeping an eye on him, not expecting him to slip out of her sight.
Ji Mo was also quick-witted. He picked up a stone from the ground: "I'm leaving tomorrow, and I have nothing much to repay you with, so I thought I'd carve a stone statue for you."
This explanation dispelled Ning Wenjing's suspicion. She huffed, "No good deed goes unpunished. Go back to sleep obediently. Don't run around, or those old women might catch you and break your dog legs with their canes."
The next morning.
Early in the morning, Ning Wenjing pulled the sleepy Ji Mo out of Ning Village.
"Miss Ning, I'll go make a fortune and come back to support you!"
Ji Mo shouted, waving goodbye to Ning Wenjing as he left gallantly.
The morning sun illuminated his figure, creating a hazy halo, making him appear exceptionally divine.
If not for his handsome face, which he had deliberately smeared with dirt to make it dark, he would truly have had the aura of a "peerless young master."
"Pfft, who wants you to support me."
Ning Wenjing spat, but for some reason, her crystal-clear ears turned bright red.
She returned to the village with light, brisk steps.
Not long after, excited shouts echoed throughout Ning Village.