Chapter 10 - Reducing the Fever

An unconscious Nie Tian lay soaking in the bathtub. His exposed skin had long since turned red and was now turning purple. 

"Glub! Glub!" 

Bubbles floated up to the surface and quickly popped, releasing a light green steam. The whole room exuded the heavy fragrance of medicinal herbs, as the mixture boiled inside the bathtub. In the flickering candlelight, a bizarre, green light was visible.

"Uh..."

Nie Tian subconsciously groaned in the boiling water. The pores on his body seemed to have been forcefully opened and were now greedily sucking in the medicinal water.

His body, originally stronger and stouter than that of a normal child’s, was slowly expanding, as if it was being filled up with air.

"Pick! Pak!"

Loud noises could be heard coming from his bones and innards. His whole body sounded like it was in joy and excitement.

A light barrier with Mr. Hua Mu at its center, which was barely visible at first, flooded over Nie Tian and the tub he was in.

"Ow!"

Nie Tian couldn’t help but cry out. However, his shrill scream could not be heard outside the barrier of light.

Some ripples could be seen on the barrier, as if it was water. This barrier blocked all forms of sounds, which meant that Nie Donghai and Nie Qian, who were just outside of the house, didn’t notice a thing. 

Hua Mu"s pupils looked as if there was a green fire being lit within them. He focused his eyes on Nie Tian, as his excited expression had bits of awe and veneration.

"Pu-a!"

Traces of five colored light could be seen entering and leaving Nie Tian"s pores. While Nie Tian continued to groan, the murky water slowly turned clear.

It was as if the precious medicine, that was added in by Hua Mu, had slowly seeped into his body.

Nie Tian"s fever also cleared away along with the murkiness of the water.

After some time, Nie Tian"s extreme pain had faded, bit by bit. Meanwhile, the groans of pain and joy also slowly subsided. The light barrier from Hua Mu turned into a small streak of light and disappeared back into his body.

The boiling water had long since cooled down. Nie Tian, who had been unconscious for three whole days, finally opened his eyes for the first time since his fever had subsided.

It was at this moment, that the light in Hua Mu"s eyes, in the blink of an eye, disappeared.

He bowed down and calmly said, "I am old man Hua Mu. At the behest of your grandfather, I’ve specially come to cure you of your fever."

Nie Tian’s mind was still blurry and he hadn’t yet fully recovered. He only blankly asked, "How long was I unconscious for?"

"Three days," Hua Mu calmly answered.

"It"s been three days already?!" Nie Tian was immediately shocked. His two hands pressed on the sides of the tub he was in, while he tried to jump out.

"Ka-chak!"

The big bathtub, which was made of strong wood, couldn’t withstand his weight and broke, just like that.

"Whoosh Whoosh"

Water gushed out of the tub, while Nie Tian stood there with a complicated expression, staring blankly at the broken planks.

Hua Mu didn’t flinch, as if he knew that this was going to happen. He mildly said, "Your odd illness hasn’t been completely cured quite yet. I still need to care for you and you need to continue to bathe in my medicine concoction for another six days.

Nie Tian raised his arms and did some arm exercises. He instantly felt, that the amount of energy in his body had been greatly increased.

"I feel great. There should be no danger of me having a fever again," Nie Tian absentmindedly said.

"I’m the doctor. n.o.body could do anything about your odd illness until I came along. Therefore you need to believe me and do as I say!" Hua Mu announced with an indisputable tone.

"Oh, okay then." Nie Tian scratched his head.

"Mr. Hua, can... can I come in now?" Outside, the desperately worrying Nie Donghai could no longer bear it after hearing the breaking of the wooden tub and the sounds of their conversation.

"Come in then," Hua Mu mildly said.

Nie Donghai threw the door open and rushed in, along with an equally anxious Nie Qian. 

Once inside, he immediately arrived beside Nie Tian"s body

“Pong!"

The first thing he did after rushing to Nie Tian"s side, was to press his hand on Nie Tian"s wrist. When he sensed that Nie Tian was relieved of his fever and that his body temperature was back to normal, his face immediately showed signs of great joy.

Not waiting for Hua Mu to speak, he shouted, "Han Yue, give Mr. Hua his payment!"

Han Yue grabbed a bag filled with gold, silver, and jewellery, together with some magic stones and herbs, and graciously handed it over to Hua Mu.

Hua Mu accepted the gift arrogantly without looking at it and chucked the bag into his medicine box, acting like he didn"t care about the reward.

"Great kindness should not only be repaid by thanks. I hope that Mr. Hua will continue to stay at my house for the next few days, as it will be my pleasure to be your host." Nie Donghai was being as sincere as he could be.

"He is not fully cured quite yet." Hua Mu shook his hand, rejecting Nie Donghai"s good will. He continued, "For the next six days, I’ll come each day at this time. You just need to prepare a tub filled with hot water, and I’ll use the same treatment to fully cure your grandson of this odd disease."

"He isn’t fully cured?" Nie Donghai"s expression became stiff.

"No need to be too worried, he’s alright." Hua Mu tilted his head slightly up and said with confidence, "I said before that I can cure him, and I will cure him. Today I have proved myself to you, and you should trust me.

"Of course! Of course!" Nie Donghai hurriedly said and bowed again. "He’ll be under your care for the next few days. Mr. Hua, since it is your first time in Dark Cloud City you haven’t found a place to stay, right? Why don"t you stay at my house? Put all your worries aside, as I’ll give you the most comfortable guest room we have. I’ll make sure, that you aren’t neglected."

"No need for that. I like peace and quiet. I just want to stroll around the city." Hua Mu seemed uninterested in talking with Nie Donghai, and thus, after leaving those words, he strode out the door.

"Grandfather, who is that man? Also, how did I end up with a fever for three days?" After Hua Mu had left, Nie Tian was still left perplexed.

"You foolish child!" Nie Qian was still teary-eyed. She heart-achingly continued, "After that battle with Nie Hong, you contracted a fever that very night. By the time I found out, you were already unconscious from the fever. We searched for renowned doctors in and around Dark Cloud City, but none of them knew what to do with you. We were getting ready to send you to the Lingyun Sect, when Mr. Hua suddenly arrived...

After explaining what happened in detail, she asked, "How do you feel? Do you feel alright? Are you feeling very weak?"

"Nope, not at all," Nie Tian shook his head. He had an odd expression. "Instead I feel... good. No, very good!"

"What do you mean?" Nie Donghai was astonished.

"After the fever subsided, I felt like I had unlimited amounts of energy, like I was more powerful than before." Nie Tian pondered a bit on what to say. "The spiritual power in my Dantian hasn’t changed much. However, I feel that the power in my body as a whole, must’ve had a big upgrade."

"This is indeed odd." Nie Donghai looked at him deeply, with a questioning expression.

"It’s fine. Nothing happened." Nie Qian didn’t worry too much about it. "Don"t ever fight with Nie Hong again. He is at least three levels above you and his spiritual power is overflowing. Don’t try to be so tough. I guess that your fever was caused by the battle you had with him. If you can"t fight him, just don"t fight. You’re of a lower level, and a loss is a loss. Don"t be so hard-headed.

"I feel that if I had another battle with Nie Hong right now, that I could easily defeat him!" Nie Tian opened his mouth and said with a bright and confident smile.

"Still talking tough?! I don"t want to see you collapse with a fever ever again! Luckily Mr. Hua was in town, or else..." Saying this, Nie Qian began to cry. "If anything bad really happened to you, your Big Aunt wouldn’t have the gall to live anymore. If something happened to you... how would I be able to face your mother in the afterlife?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. I won"t be reckless again." Nie Tian said, with a slight headache. 

"You are to stay at home for these next few days. You are not allowed to go anywhere!" Nie Donghai sternly lectured.

"Yes Grandfather." Nie Tian helplessly replied.

…...

At Nie Beichuan"s secret training room.

"Father, that doctor managed to bring down Nie Tian"s fever," a melancholic Nie Kan said in a regretful tone, as he walked in.

Transferring streaks of cold Qi from the black pillar behind his back into his Dantian, Nie Beichuan opened his eyes and coldly said, "Since Nie Tian is alright, I should have a talk with Big Brother. According to him, he should’ve explained things clearly to the elders yesterday and voluntarily stepped down as patriarch.

"It should have been like that. His status as patriarch has made it inconvenient for us to do many things. Now things will be better." Nie Kan excitedly said.

“Although it is late, I don’t think that he has gone to sleep quite yet." Nie Beichuan got up, exited the room and went to look for Nie Donghai.