Chapter 126: At All Costs

“No need to thank me,” Mo Ruyan said.

Mu Yi thanked her but Mo Ruyan didn’t look happy. Mo Ruyan turned around and left with a spear in her hand. The armed escorts also dispersed.

Mu Yi didn’t mind. Even though he hadn’t spent a long time with Mo Ruyan, he understood her personality well enough. Therefore, he didn’t insist.

Mu Yi stayed where he was and continued practicing his punching technique. He practiced in a different way to try to understand it better.

He could sense his body warming up differently than before. He soon recovered one third of his mind strength. He didn’t continue punching the tree. He knew the results wouldn’t be as good what had already happened.

He went back to his room, had a quick shower and changed his clothes. Mo Ruyan didn’t say anything to him after that. Uncle Cai came to see Mu Yi though. He wanted some advice.

Initially, they were supposed to arrive in Luoyang that evening, but because they had lost time the day before, they wouldn’t be able to. So before arriving in Luoyang, they would have to stop somewhere else for the night.

Even if Mo Ruyan or Uncle Cai didn’t say it, everybody understood how important the night would be. There was a possibility they would run into trouble again.

They could all imagine, but what about Mu Yi. The reason why Uncle Cai had come to him was clear. Mu Yi wasn’t a diviner, but he was the one who had noticed the bandits the day before. If he hadn’t the situation would have been far more dangerous.

Maybe Big Slave wouldn’t have been able to do much if they had been attacked by surprise. Even though Mu Yi knew what was going on, he couldn’t say anything. If he did, they wouldn’t believe him. They might even think that he had ulterior motives.

“They were threatening but not dangerous,” said Mu Yi.

Uncle Cai wasn’t relieved but he wasn’t as worried after talking to him. Uncle Cai didn’t just want to be relieved though, he wanted to be sure. He believed what Mu Yi said. Plus, Mu Yi was strong.

After Uncle Cai left, Mu Yi shook his head and closed his eyes. He continued studying the changes in his body, focusing on the changes to his mind strength.

He didn’t move the whole day. He didn’t leave the carriage at all. Uncle Cai came to him during the lunch break but Big Slave prevented Uncle Cai from disturbing Mu Yi. Therefore, on that day, nobody saw Mu Yi. Mo Ruyan was curious too.

She was wondering what Mu Yi was doing. In the evening, Mu Yi finally came out of the carriage. Even though it was already dark, Mo Ruyan could see that Mu Yi’s face was devoid of color.

“Little Taoist priest, are you alright?” asked Mo Ruyan.

She couldn’t help calling him that. She wasn’t the only one who still called Mu Yi “Little Taoist priest” either.

“I’m alright,” said Mu Yi.

Even though he said he was alright, he felt dizzy. He didn’t look alright at all.

“It’s nighttime. You should take advantage of that and leave with Big Slave,” said Mo Ruyan.

It was the second time that Mo Ruyan had told Mu Yi to leave with Big Slave. She really meant it this time.

“Can I have some hot water?” said Mu Yi ignoring what she said.

Mo Ruyan looked at him and left without saying anything. After that, Uncle Cai came out and took Mu Yi to a room. There was hot water in a big wooden tub. After he left the room, Mu Yi took a sheet of paper out of his bag and put it in the water.

The water turned black. The smell of medicinal herbs filled the space. Bubbles appeared on the surface of the water. Mu Yi watched it.

I wouldn’t dare go in if I hadn’t prepared it myself.

He took off his Taoist robe and stepped into the tub. The water was scalding but Mu Yi grit his teeth against the sensation. After a short time, his skin, initially devoid of color, turned red.

He looked like a shrimp because his face was so red. Steam rose off the water. The reason why Mu Yi had turned red was because of the sacrificial ritual. He couldn’t stop the sacrificial ritual until forty-nine days had passed. He had to do it everyday.

He did it in the evening because he couldn’t do it during the day. He had to use water for his ingredients and religious tools because his cultivation level was still too low.

If Mu Yi had been strong enough, he would have been able to finish the sacrificial ritual in a few days. He wouldn’t have needed forty-nine days. Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough yet. He just had to do it step by step.

He chose the evening because he had more time to recover after. Each time he did the sacrificial ritual, he used lots of mind strength and blood strength. He was exhausted when he was done.

If Mu Yi tried to do it in a few days like the really strong experts, he would have died after four or five days. Therefore, he did it in the evening and allowed himself time to recover. He was never badly injured doing it that way.

However, today he decided to do it during the day even though he hadn’t completely healed. His equilibrium was broken and now he was injured. When Mu Yi came out of the carriage, he seemed to be in a really bad shape because of that. He needed to take a bath in medicinal herbs to recover.

Mu Yi understood this evening was extremely important. A great battle was going to happen. Big Slave wouldn’t be able to solve the issue alone.

Mu Yi could protect himself when doing the sacrificial ritual. It was still best to not be tied down. If the enemy was really strong, then he wouldn’t be able to do much. If he was interrupted at all during the sacrificial ritual, the consequences would be terrible for him and Nian Nuer.

Therefore, Mu Yi preferred doing it during the day today. Getting injured wasn’t a concern because he needed to be prepared for the evening.