Recalling Mu Bingling's words and considering her strength, he subconsciously felt that she wasn't bluffing. Perhaps she really did have the power to make him regret this.
Shaking his head, Mu Rongxuan sneered. 'What's wrong with me? I'm a Seventh-Ring Martial Disciple. Although she's only one ring below me, that's more than enough. My true strength isn't just the Seventh Ring—it's the Peak of Seven Rings!'
At this thought, Mu Rongxuan relaxed. Gazing at Mu Bingling's slender figure, he muttered under his breath, "Mu Bingling, you're mine. Only I am worthy of you." With a smirk, he led his group of lackeys toward the training grounds in the distance...
Mu Chen had already run to his favorite spot on the back mountain. His mind was blank. Mu Rongxuan's words had completely shattered the last shred of self-respect he had left.
"Mu Chen, if you're a man, don't spend your life hiding behind a woman."
"Well, if it isn't our crippled Fourth Young Master?"
"Look, everyone! The Mu Family's laughingstock decided to show his face. If I were him, I'd be too ashamed to ever come out."
"Trash."
"You're a cripple, nothing but trash."
One contemptuous face after another appeared in Mu Chen's mind. They jeered and taunted, using every vicious and scathing word possible to carve the word "trash" deep into his heart.
"AHH! I'm not trash! I'm not trash! Why? Why?! WHY!" A beastly roar erupted from Mu Chen. His youthful face twisted into a ferocious mask of pain as he repeatedly slammed his clenched left fist into the stone wall in front of him.
The cliff face was natural, not man-made. Its sharp edges mercilessly tore open Mu Chen's delicate flesh. Blood streamed from the back of his hand, splattering his snow-white robes and blooming like vivid flowers. A wave of searing pain shot through his brain, but it wasn't enough to bring him to his senses.
"Why is this happening! Oh, Heavens, if you were going to abandon me, why did you let me come into this world in the first place? Why! *Sob... sob...* Why..."
Punch after punch landed. His skin split, his flesh tore, and soon the stark white of his knuckles was visible. Blood gushed from his fist, making Mu Chen's already ashen face turn even paler. His frantic roars faded into soft whimpers.
Mu Chen slumped back against the stone wall and slowly slid to the ground. His left arm, now devoid of feeling, hung limply at his side, letting blood drip continuously from his hand into the dirt. He was tired, so very tired. But now that he had vented, he felt a strange sense of peace, a relaxation he had never known before. The surrounding flowers were so brilliant, the green leaves swayed in the breeze, and vibrant Spirit Butterflies danced and circled among the blossoms. 'They're so free,' he thought. 'So happy. I wish... I wish I could become a Spirit Butterfly. If I didn't have an arm, I could have wings instead. At least... no one would mock me... for being trash...'
As he was thinking this, a wave of dizziness washed over him—a classic sign of excessive blood loss. The next moment, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
Little did he know that after he passed out, the blood from his left hand slowly seeped into the soft earth. The seepage was slow, very slow, but Mu Chen had lost a lot of blood, a whole lot...
Three meters underground, directly beneath where Mu Chen sat, a dim, transparent bead lay dormant. No one knew when this bead had been buried here, who had buried it, or even why it was here at all. In short, it had been here since before humans ever walked this land.
Mu Chen's blood continued to permeate the soil. At last, a single drop landed softly upon the bead. Strangely, it didn't roll off the surface but seeped right inside. The once-dim bead suddenly emitted a faint light. Then, an extraordinary scene unfolded: the blood that had been soaking into the surrounding earth suddenly surged toward the bead, all of it absorbed by the transparent orb.
As it absorbed more and more blood, the light from the bead grew increasingly brilliant. After a moment, it seemed to have had its fill. The rest of the blood simply slid off its surface, no longer being absorbed.
BZZZZZ!
The once-still bead suddenly trembled, letting out a low hum. In an instant, it shot upward through the soil at lightning speed. The earth parted to form a clear path for it to the surface. The moment it emerged, the bead followed the path of Mu Chen's hand and entered his mind, where it slowly fell silent once more.
"Haha, I see the light of day again at last! Let's see which lucky little brat has bonded with me." A deep voice carrying a Barbaric Aura rang out, each word like a Brahma Sound that shook the soul to its core.
"Tsk, tsk. Why is he so weak? He's basically trash, and a cripple to boot. Oh, well. A cripple will have to do." The voice sighed in resignation, then added, "Hmm? Why is the boy still bleeding? If this continues, not even an Immortal will be able to save him."
The moment the voice fell silent, the bead in Mu Chen's mind spun once. A delicate wisp of white gas seeped from it, entered Mu Chen's meridians, and shot toward his left arm. After the white gas circulated over the back of his hand a few times, the wound began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"His meridians are quite broad... Hmm? Someone's coming. Looks like I can't heal the wound completely. Fine. This will prevent arousing suspicion, anyway." After that, the deep voice said no more. The bead in Mu Chen's mind quickly dimmed, becoming as dull as it was in the earth...
"Mu Chen! Mu Chen!" a clear voice cried out, laced with frantic worry. The person who had arrived was none other than Mu Bingling, who had followed after him. Her liquid blue eyes darted about frantically until they finally landed on the unconscious Mu Chen in front of a stone cliff on the back mountain. Although the wound on his hand was mostly healed, the blood that had gushed out earlier had stained his snow-white clothes red.
When Mu Bingling saw Mu Chen covered in blood, her face turned deathly pale. Her worst fears had come true...
"Mu Chen! Mu Chen, don't scare me! Mu Chen!" Mu Bingling shook his body frantically. She was in such a panic, and still so young; even for a disciple of a Noble Family, she had never witnessed such a scene. She completely lost her head, momentarily forgetting to even check if he was breathing. Her beautiful eyes turned red as teardrops streamed down, splashing softly onto Mu Chen's face.
PLIP.
A soft sound. Mu Chen felt a cool drop on his cheek, but it was just a passing sensation, and he didn't stir. Unconscious as he was, he certainly couldn't hear anyone calling his name. But as Mu Bingling shook him, his already pained body protested, and he let out an involuntary groan.
When Mu Bingling saw Mu Chen's mouth open and a groan escape, she froze. Then, her tear-streaked face lit up with overwhelming joy. She quickly scooped Mu Chen up into her arms. He had always been thin and frail, so he wasn't heavy at all. For a Sixth-Ring Martial Disciple like Mu Bingling, carrying him was not difficult.
Knowing that Mu Chen was still alive, Mu Bingling immediately leaped down the mountain...
"Mother! Mother, come quick! Something's happened to Mu Chen!" Mu Bingling cried out the moment she burst through the door.
Hearing this, Mufeng and Bi Wan rushed out of the house. They immediately saw Mu Chen lying in Mu Bingling's arms. The blood on his clothes had already dried to a dark, blackish color. Mufeng's expression fell as he hurried forward. After checking Mu Chen's breath and finding he was still alive, he quickly held out his right hand. A ball of white light enveloped his palm—solidified Primordial Qi. The Grand Martial Master Realm!
Mufeng calmly placed his right hand on Mu Chen's chest, right over his heart.
"Thank goodness. It's just blood loss, but he's lost far too much. It's a good thing Bing'Er brought him back when she did. If she'd been a moment later, Chen'Er would have really..."
Mufeng didn't say the rest. Standing beside him, Bi Wan was already overcome with tears. She took her son, Mu Chen, into her embrace and pressed her right hand against his arm. An aqua-blue light enveloped it completely—more solidified Primordial Qi. As it turned out, the couple, Mufeng and Bi Wan, were both Martial Artists at the Grand Martial Master Realm. Yet, because of a past disaster, their young son, Mu Chen, had been rendered a cripple.
Seeing that Bi Wan's healing would take a moment, Mufeng turned to the worried Mu Bingling and said in a low voice, "Bing'Er, this is an emergency. Go to the Medicine Pavilion and bring back a ten-year-old Blood Ginseng. You can tell me what happened when you return. Take my Jade Pendant."
Mu Bingling took the Jade Pendant and, without a moment's delay, gave a nod and dashed away. Her movements were swift and silent. Mufeng watched her go, a look of surprise crossing his face before he nodded in approval. 'Bing'Er's strength has improved again,' he thought. 'She reached Sixth-Ring Martial Disciple without anyone even noticing.'
Meanwhile, Bi Wan was no longer overcome by grief. The aqua-blue light gradually receded. The back of Mu Chen's hand, which had been partially healed by the mysterious bead, was now completely restored, good as new.
Mufeng asked anxiously, "Wan'Er, how is Chen'Er?"
Bi Wan sighed, her eyes still red. "He's stable for now, but my Water Elemental Power can only treat external wounds. Chen'Er lost too much blood; he'll need time to recuperate. What terrible karma did we accumulate in a past life for our Chen'Er to have to suffer so much?"
At this, Bi Wan began to sob again, and Mufeng quickly moved to comfort her.