Chapter 204: Soul Departure

Chapter 204: Soul Departure

Someone had set up a gambling ring for the Tianqu Sword Debate.

Su Mo wasn't surprised.

The uncertainty of who would win or lose, with an outcome hanging in the balance, always draws a crowd.

Whenever something grabs attention, it often leads to unexpected developments.

Setting up a gambling ring is a common occurrence.

However, this incident divided the onlookers into three factions.

One group wagered on Liu Suifeng's victory, while another backed Wan Zangxin.

This affected their personal stakes, so they were naturally highly concerned.

The last faction didn't participate; they were simply watching the spectacle.

If they had bet on Liu Suifeng, they'd pray for Wan Zangxin to meet his end sooner rather than later—today if possible, not tomorrow.

Vice versa.

Therefore, the closer Liu Suifeng got to Tianqu City, the more treacherous his path became.

The closer he came, the more people were eager to see him dead.

Su Mo wasn't particularly worried about this, but he was somewhat surprised:

"The person behind this gambling ring certainly has courage. Do you know who it is?"

"The identity of this mastermind is naturally not something ordinary people could know."

Wei Ziyi grinned: "However, few have both the capability and the courage to pull off such a scheme."

"The seven sects of East City, or perhaps the three factions of the cult?"

Su Mo lightly shook his head: "This is an attempt to profit greatly from this situation."

"Just common sense."

Wei Ziyi nodded: "However, something unexpected did happen in between."

"You've teased enough, get to the point."

Su Mo gave Wei Ziyi a sideways glance.

Wei Ziyi grinned: "Suddenly, Wan Zangxin appeared."

"Hmm?"

Su Mo raised his eyebrows: "When?"

"It was said to be a chance encounter with Liu Suifeng on the road."

Wei Ziyi said: "At that time, Liu Suifeng was being ambushed. According to the gossipers, a sword flashed out from the side, its energy sweeping across the landscape like a storm, causing those conspirators to cry out in fear. Then Wan Zangxin leaped forward, and with a swing of his sword, sliced off an entire mountain peak.

"Seeing this, how could those people dare to stay any longer?"

"He immediately fled, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Afterward, Liu Suifeng and Wan Zangxin introduced themselves to each other, only then discovering the other's identity.

As the saying goes, heroes respect heroes, and from that point on, they traveled together, heading to Tianqu City."

"……"

Su Mo was left stunned by what he heard. Sword energy spanning 80,000 miles? Seriously?

Was he planning to slash his way from East City to who knows where?

And with one casual swing, he could level a mountain?

Is this guy another secret disciple or what?

Su Mo sighed. "In the jianghu, if you believe one or two out of ten rumors, you're doing pretty well. Let's not get too caught up in these wild tales. But if that's the case, these two have joined forces?"

"That's right."

Wei Ziyi nodded. "But how long this partnership will last is anyone's guess.

Liu Suifeng wants to test his sword against the Seven Great Sects, but Wan Zangxin has no such intention. After traveling together for a while, Wan Zangxin will likely head to Tianqu City and wait."

Su Mo pondered thoughtfully but couldn't help asking, "When did these two meet?"

"Supposedly… about half a month ago?"

"Hmm."

Su Mo nodded. "Thanks. You've been helpful. Go grab some food."

"Pfft!"

Wei Ziyi rolled her eyes at Su Mo and stormed off.

Su Mo stroked his chin, contemplating the information he had just received.

There were some parts that matched up, but others that didn't.

Just as he was thinking, he saw four girls carrying a soft sedan chair enter.

In the chair was Little Situ Taoist, holding a basin filled with freshly steamed meat buns.

He was chowing down with both hands, one bun after another, clearly enjoying every bite.

It seemed like this guy wouldn't need anything else in life as long as he had these meat buns.

"How about one, Chief Escort Su?"

Although Little Situ used a question, the meat bun had already been tossed over.

Su Mo casually caught it and was about to say that when you're outside, you should be cautious with what you eat.

But given who he was dealing with, Su Mo couldn't quite bring himself to say it.

Little Situ was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person about poisons Su Mo had ever met since entering the jianghu.

Shaking his head, he took a bite of the bun, "He should be waking up soon, right?"

"Should be any minute now."

Little Situ was also somewhat puzzled, "Logically speaking, he should have woken up three days ago, but he's still asleep until now.

"I think this has something to do with the unique martial arts he’s practicing.

"His injuries have healed, but his inner energy is still circulating through the meridians, moving in a pattern I’ve never seen before.

"The way his energy moves is completely different from anything I’ve ever seen, which is pretty unusual."

"Forget it."

Su Mo shook his head, "Since he won’t wake up for now, let’s just…"

Before he could finish, a powerful aura erupted.

Su Mo and Little Situ exchanged a glance, then sprang to their feet and rushed toward the room.

A deafening crash echoed as the windows and doors burst open, torn apart by a fierce gust of wind.

The bandaged figure shot out, standing face-to-face with Su Mo and Little Situ.

He launched a punch, its force so intense it seemed to carry the power of wind and thunder.

Without hesitation, the four attendants grabbed Little Situ’s sedan chair and flung it aside.

Little Situ Taoist seemed to have grown accustomed to this kind of situation.

While still airborne, she saw the buns flying out of the bowl. She quickly grabbed it with one hand and snatched the buns out of the air with lightning-fast reflexes, gently patting the bowl before relaxing.

Following that was a loud bang as the palanquin hit the ground, landing with a wince.

But when she looked up, Su Mo was already holding the man by the neck, inspecting him closely.

"Huh?"

Little Situ Taoist was momentarily stunned. Earlier, seeing the man's powerful aura and fierce momentum, with his fists carrying the force of wind and thunder, she had expected a fierce battle.

How was it that the moment she landed after being thrown into the air, the man had already been subdued by Chief Escort Su?

While still in shock, she heard Su Mo say, "Little Situ, come take a look. He doesn’t seem to be conscious."

"Unconscious, and yet so aggressive?"

Little Situ Taoist was somewhat angered. "He nearly ruined my whole batch of buns."

The four girls had thrown the palanquin away both to prepare for battle and to keep Little Situ Taoist safe.

In the brief moment it took to throw the palanquin, before their swords could even be drawn, Chief Escort Su had casually deflected the attack from the bandaged man. The powerful punch, which had carried the force of wind and thunder, was effortlessly deflected, and with a swift grab, Su Mo had the man by the throat.

As the man struggled, Su Mo merely twitched his hand, and the man instantly went limp.

The girls exchanged uneasy glances, their previously calm eyes now betraying a flicker of fear.

Although this wasn't the first time they had seen Su Mo in action, they had also witnessed the confrontation on the river.

However, that time Su Mo had deliberately held back, intending to capture the opponent alive.

And the opponent had been full of tricks.

The result was an interminable entanglement, rather than the swift and decisive manner we're seeing now.

Judging by the powerful aura, this bandaged stranger was no weaker than Qi Shaoming, who had leaped onto the river that day.

As she was thinking this, Su Mo had already brought the man to Little Situ's side.

At the same time, he waved for the escorts who had moved at the first sign of trouble to go back to what they were doing. This small disturbance wasn't worth such alarm.

Little Situ didn't hesitate. After examining the man and taking his wrist to feel the pulse, she spoke to Su Mo:

"Chief Escort Su, you can release his pressure points."

"Very well."

Su Mo nodded.

With a firm grip on the man's neck, Su Mo could easily transmit his energy. With a simple shift of his internal energy, the man was freed from his bindings, but he didn't move.

Little Situ checked his pulse again and, after a moment, nodded. "Chief Escort Su, turn his back to me."

"Alright."

Su Mo immediately moved the man to the other side.

Little Situ casually took out a few silver needles from her bosom and inserted them into the man's back.

She flicked her fingers, dividing her internal energy into several streams that struck the tips of the needles.

In an instant, there was a buzzing sound.

As the internal energy flowed in, the man's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Isn't it enough? Why aren't you waking up?"

Little Situ shouted, her five fingers shooting out, pulling the silver needles into her palm.

She reversed her hand, holding the silver needles, and was about to strike with her palm, but paused to steady the basin in her arms before delivering the blow.

The strike caused the man to shudder as the internal energy found its way in, forcing a mouthful of black blood from him.

He then took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

With his breath returning to calm, he stood still, showing no movement. Only a confused expression as he looked around.

Su Mo raised an eyebrow and coughed to get the man's attention.

Hearing the sound, the man immediately turned his head. However, his gaze was vacant as he stared at Su Mo, attempting to cough in response.

"..."

Su Mo paused, glancing at Little Situ.

Little Situ also found it strange; this didn’t match the behavior of a normal person waking up.

Immediately, she reached out and took the man's wrist.

The man didn’t resist at all, allowing Little Situ to take his pulse. Meanwhile, his other hand casually took Little Situ’s wrist and mimicked her action, trying to take her pulse as well.

"This..."

Little Situ was momentarily speechless, a bit of confusion rising in her eyes.

Across from her, the man’s pupils also showed confusion, as if mirroring Little Situ’s bewilderment.

"Is he dazed?" Su Mo asked Little Situ.

"This looks like a case of soul separation, but it's not quite that," Little Situ murmured, then said, "This situation is unheard of and unseen."

Su Mo was familiar with the concept of soul separation.

However, there were various interpretations of this condition.

Some believed it was possession by a foreign spirit, where an entirely different person suddenly took over someone else’s body.

Honestly, Su Mo didn’t believe that was the case; if it were, he’d have plenty to say about it.

Another theory suggested that soul separation was essentially sleepwalking.

Beyond that, there was also amnesia.

Simply put, it’s as if the soul had left, erasing all memories and leaving the mind empty.

Su Mo asked for clarification, and Little Situ confirmed it was the amnesia type.

However, after saying that, Little Situ shook her head:

"Soul separation occasionally occurs, and I’ve read about similar cases in the medical records at the Suspension Pot Pavilion. But this man’s condition is different.

"In the past, everything would disappear, and the person should be in a state of confusion, not like him, mimicking everything he sees."

As she said this, the man also shook his head, his mouth moving slightly, as if he was struggling to speak but was trying hard to learn.

So, Little Situ pondered for a moment: "He’s acting like a newborn, learning everything from scratch."

"Newborn..."

Su Mo gently shook his head. "With your medical expertise, is there a way?"

"I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything, Chief Escort Su," Little Situ said, showing some interest in this rare case. "A situation like this is hard to come by, and if we dig deeper, we might learn something."

The commotion here also caught the attention of the escorts.

Hu Sandao, who had been squatting on the side wolfing down his meal, also came over and gave the person a once-over.

The person also gave Hu Sandao a once-over.

Hu Sandao immediately bared his teeth, and the person followed suit.

"What... is he really mimicking everything?"

Su Mo found it to be the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. "I finally had a moment of kindness, and did I just save an idiot?"

"He might not have been an idiot before, but who knows what the future holds," Su Mo glanced at Little Situ.

Little Situ nodded. "For now, let's proceed with this. Later, I'll prescribe something to boost his energy and calm his mind. Please, Chief Escort Su, find someone to go fetch the medicine."

"Alright."

Su Mo nodded. For now, this was the best they could do.

They circled him a few more times and figured out his mimicry pattern.

He was copying whoever he could see.

When he stared at someone, he would imitate them.

If the person spoke, he would open his mouth. If the person made a gesture, he would follow suit.

Su Mo had him look at himself and led him to the bedside, where he flipped over and lay down.

The person did the same and lay on the bed.

He tilted his head to keep watching Su Mo, so Su Mo closed his eyes.

The person also closed his eyes.

Su Mo secretly opened his eyes and tiptoed out of the room, leaving the person to fall asleep shortly after.

Of course, the news spread like wildfire through the group.

Even Wei Ziyi, after hearing about it, couldn't help but come over and look at the person. Then, she asked Su Mo out of curiosity, "What if he needs to take a leak? What do we do then?"

"..."

Su Mo found the question to be rather tricky.

But it didn't stump him. "Just get someone to show him how it's done, and he'll copy it. Problem solved."

Wei Ziyi glanced at Su Mo and nodded vigorously. "That makes sense."

...

...

With a plan in place, they didn't waste any time on the road, and everything else was handled smoothly.

From that day onward, the man, whose injuries were unknown, was finally awake.

From that point on, he remained with the escort convoy.

Since his injuries weren’t fully healed, they let him ride in the back of the wagon.

When he saw someone riding a horse, he’d sit in the wagon and copy their posture.

When he saw the escorts setting up a fire to cook, he’d grab a ladle and try to stir-fry like them.

Every now and then, they’d run into bandits who looked mean as hell, and he looked even scarier than the bandits.

And once his wounds had healed over, his body and face were covered in gnarly scars. When he got mad, he made the bandits look tame.

This turned the group into a pair of clowns.

One guy shouted louder than the bandits, and the other looked scarier.

Anyone who knew better would recognize them as an escort team, but to outsiders, they looked like a bunch of bandits selling loot.

Over time, the man picked things up fast.

He started talking, but sometimes his words didn’t make sense, and he didn’t always know what he was saying.

Then… the person shouting bandit slogans increased from one to two.

Hu Sandao was greatly pleased with this, feeling that his luck as a bandit, which had carried over into his time as an escort, had improved significantly.

It’s just a pity that the wanderer has returned, as there’s no opportunity to make a name in this path anymore.

Let’s cut to the chase.

It had been over ten days since the patient with dissociative disorder woke up, and the group had finally set foot on the territory of Cold Moon Palace.

Upon arriving, one could sense that the people’s spirit and demeanor were different once again.

In the region of East City, factions were widespread, and each group’s influence shaped the lives of the people in their territories.

Su Mo had traversed countless miles and numerous sects on this journey.

You could get a good sense of each sect’s situation just by looking at the people.

In some areas, life was tough. The people weren’t starving, but they were barely making ends meet.

In other areas, life was thriving, and the locals took great pride in their sects.

The same was true here, and within the territory of Cold Moon Palace, women held a higher status.

Groups of women could often be seen gathering, drinking, and laughing together.

Of course, men weren’t sitting at home moping and sewing either.

Both genders seemed to share the responsibilities equally.

This felt strangely familiar to Su Mo, though it wasn’t exactly the same.

The following days were much the same.

And so, on this day, the group finally arrived at Wuting Mountain.

Inside Wuting Mountain lies Guanxing Peak.

Atop Guanxing Peak stands the Cold Moon Palace.

But before they could take more than a few steps from the base of the mountain, someone appeared before them.

Four Cold Moon disciples swooped down, blocking their path.

The lead disciple was about to speak, but upon seeing Wei Ziyi, she froze in surprise: "Senior Sister Wei?"

Wei Ziyi nodded calmly. "Greetings, little sisters."

This was one of the few times she had been serious during the journey, but every now and then, she would glance back and stick out her tongue at Su Mo, revealing her playful side.

Su Mo was left speechless as Wei Ziyi continued:

"I heard that Yuliu Jianxin entered East City with his sword drawn. The heroes following me are from the Ziyang Escort Agency. We've had a long and arduous journey, escorting a gift from my family to the palace."

"Ziyang Escort Agency!?"

The Cold Moon disciples exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions shifting.

Su Mo sighed inwardly. The entangled history between the Purple Sun Sect and the Cold Moon Palace meant that his identity as a Purple Sun Sect member would likely cause some trouble for him to ascend the mountain.