Chaos Spirit Field

Luocheng wasn't far from Zhaojia Village, only a few dozen miles away. Zhao Dabao usually walked back in less than half an hour, but now, severely injured, the familiar mountain path seemed long and winding. He knew his escape was pure luck, perhaps because Li Jianren, assuming his status as a congenital master, disdained to pursue him.

Zhao Shanhe felt his eyelids twitching and he felt uneasy. It was already dark, and his father still hadn't returned. He wondered if something had happened. He should have stopped talking so much.

"Brother, father hasn't come back yet so late, let's go look for him."

"Second brother, Dad probably drank too much at Uncle Xiaozhu's place and may not come back tonight."

"Brother, I feel like something's happened to my father. Let's go look for him."

Zhao Shanhe knew what his father was doing and felt really worried.

"You idiot! Your father loves you so much, and you curse him! You have no conscience! Where are you going so late at night? When you were stupid, you were a burden to your family. Now that you are not stupid anymore, you are still a worry. Come back with me."

"Brother, if you don't want to go, forget it. I'll go by myself."

"You idiot, I've been collecting herbs all day and I'm exhausted. Please don't look for trouble. Let's find the village entrance. If you don't see father, come back with me."

Zhao Shanjiang was very reluctant, but he had no choice but to agree to his brother's insistence. They arrived at the entrance of the village.

Just then, Zhao Shanhe, under the bright moonlight, caught a glimpse of a figure lying on the ground ahead. His heart tightened, and he hurried over. When he got closer, he was shocked—it turned out to be his father, Zhao Dabao, lying on the ground! His premonition had come true; something had really happened.

"Brother, come quickly! Father is here!" Zhao Shanhe's voice was trembling. While calling his brother, he stretched out his hand to try to help his father up from the cold ground. He felt very guilty that he shouldn't have said that.

Zhao Shanjiang heard his brother's cries and rushed over without delay. He saw his father lying there quietly, eyes closed, lifeless. Looking closer, he could sense his father's breathing was extremely weak, as if he would stop at any moment. It was obvious that he had suffered extremely severe internal injuries and was in a critical condition.

Zhao Shanhe asked anxiously: "Brother, how is father?"

"Father has suffered serious internal injuries, but his life is not in danger for now. Let's get him home first."

Zhao Shanjiang picked up his father and rushed home, while Zhao Shanhe followed behind, feeling full of self-blame.

When Yang Xiao'e saw her eldest son coming back with Zhao Dabao in his arms, she asked, "Shanjiang, what happened to your father?"

"Mom, my dad has internal injuries, and they're quite serious. Please take care of him while I go boil some medicine."

"Didn't he go to look for your uncle Xiaozhu? How did he get injured? Where did you find him?"

"Mom, I found my father at the entrance of the village. The idiot said at home that something happened to my father. He probably knows what happened. I'm going to boil some medicine."

"Shanjiang, that's your second brother. What do you mean by second fool? Where is he?"

"He's following behind, and he's taking his time even when walking."

"You knew he wasn't smart, yet you left him out there."

"I'm not in a hurry to save my father. He's already well and can't be lost."

Zhao Shanjiang felt full of grievances. He didn't understand why everyone was so nice to his second brother. If it weren't for this fool, the family would have moved to the city to live. He could have become a disciple in the Luo Mansion and might have made a name for himself.

Yang Xiao'e was worried about Zhao Shanhe and afraid that he would get lost, so she left her husband and went out to look for him.

"Mom, why are you here? How is Dad?"

"Your father hasn't woken up yet. Your eldest brother went to make medicine, so nothing will happen. Shanhe, where did your father go?"

"Mom, I don't know either."

"You know what Shanjiang said."

Zhao Shanhe stammered and expressed his guess.

"My dad might be following Zhao Dagou."

"Okay, stop blaming yourself. It seems you were right. That Zhao Dagou is really not a good person. Your father was careless. It's not your fault. Come with me into the house."

Zhao Shanhe and his mother went into the house. After his father drank the medicine Zhao Shanjiang had prepared, he woke up from his coma. Seeing the familiar faces, he felt relieved.

Yang Xiao'e said: "Dabao, where have you been? How did it get like this? If something really happens, how will the whole family survive?"

"Wife, I was indeed reckless this time."

"Who hurt you? That Zhao Dagou? I'll skin him alive."

"Wife, it's not Zhao Dagou. I followed him to the Li Mansion in Luocheng. That man seemed to be competing with Xiaozhu for the position of manager. I didn't expect him to be an innate master."

"You're going to run to the home of a Xiantian master, you're going to kill yourself."

"If I had known there were innate masters, I wouldn't have gone."

"Did you find anything?"

"Zhao Dagou is indeed not a good person. He has a 110-year-old mountain ginseng in his hand."

"Dabao, Xiaozhu is doomed to lose. What should we do?"

"Wife, we should definitely win. Last time we picked a 150-year-old one."

"Zhao Dabao, you even lied to me, what else are you hiding from me? You went to the old forest, right? Are you really going to use Shanhe to test that?"

"Wife, that legend is false. Mountains and rivers cannot communicate with mountain kings."

"You guys even encountered a tiger, but why didn't you get eaten by it? You and Xiao Zhu are both out of sync. Why was I so blind to marry you? You love taking risks every day, and you don't learn your lesson even after breaking your leg."

Zhao Shanhe, having witnessed his mother's fierce temper, scolded his father for half an hour. His father, Zhao Dabao, was also very good-tempered, like a quail, and didn't say a word in return.

Zhao Dabao waited until his wife was tired of scolding him before he dared to speak: "Wife, you don't know how despicable that Zhao Dagou is. He actually coveted your beauty. He really only knows a person's appearance but not his heart."

Zhao Shanhe asked in confusion: "Dad, is my mother very beautiful?"

"Your mother was very pretty before, and she is even prettier now." Zhao Dabao changed his words under Yang Xiaoe's unfriendly gaze. This tigress is really not to be messed with.

"Dad, Mom is definitely the prettiest. Zhao Dagou has good taste."

"Alright, you two, stop complimenting me. That Zhao Dagou probably has ulterior motives. We should now consider how to deal with the revenge of the innate master."

"Wife, you said that the innate master will take revenge on us."

"You ruined his good deeds, he can forgive you."

"Wife, we can hide in the old forest. The tiger's feces can keep the tiger away."

"Dad, we were lucky last time. We're not always that lucky. Not to mention whether we can find tiger poop. Even if we do, it stinks so badly that it'll be hard to even eat."

"Shanhe, where do you think we should go?"

"Dad, can you contact Uncle Xiaozhu and ask him about his arrangements?"

"You're right, why didn't I think of that?"

"Zhao Dabao, you are so stupid, what can you think of?"

"Wife, you didn't expect it either."

"How dare you talk back."

"Wife, I was wrong..."