Chapter 830: Cui Puyu

Chapter 830: Chapter 830: Cui Puyu

Cui Hao swept his gaze over the two wary sisters before him, a hint of helplessness flickering in his eyes.

The Evil Spirit Sect’s methods were nothing if not formulaic — they’d captured some rat demon from who-knows-where and immediately started setting up a god shrine.

This so-called talisman water that supposedly cured all ailments and relieved all pain — whatever shady tactics they’d used to build its reputation in the first place was one thing, but all the water really did was the crudest trick in the Evil Spirit Sect’s repertoire: forcibly igniting the drinker’s blood-qi and burning away their vitality.

For minor illnesses, drinking it might seem to help, but the patient would’ve recovered anyway. Drinking it now would guarantee future complications.

For serious illnesses, it might grant a few lively days, but the patient was doomed all the same. Death would come regardless.

It was something purely destructive — harming others without benefiting oneself.

But the momentum was enormous, the devotees plentiful, and with a thousand years of shrine culture behind it, everything felt natural and inevitable.

Cui Hao stood at the doorway and pointed at the younger sister’s pallid complexion:

"This bowl of water has been tampered with by a cultivator. Drinking it will forcibly ignite your blood-qi and burn away your life essence. Look at your sister — she barely has any life essence left to burn. Drinking this would make even the gods unable to save her."

The older sister raised her gaze. She was the type who normally wouldn’t dare look up at well-dressed cultivators, but with her little sister behind her, a person eventually reaches a point where there is no retreat.

"Who are you?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Cui Hao considered for a moment, then answered truthfully: "Cui Puyu."

Puyu was a courtesy name given by an elder in the family — a real name, so it wasn’t quite a lie to the young woman before him.

"I’ve never heard of any important figure like you around here."

The older sister clutched the bowl, not daring to feed her sister any more of the talisman water she’d worked so hard to obtain. Her voice carried a note of despair:

"My sister is all I have left in this world. I begged for this water from the shrine. So many people have been saved by drinking it."

"The shrine keeper gave it to me without asking for a single incense coin — just handed it to me in secret."

"Why would it kill me if I drink it? If you want the talisman water, I’ll stake my life to get more for you later."

"But right now, can you just not lie to me — can this talisman water actually save my sister’s life?"

Cui Hao raised his hand, and a pill that faintly radiated spiritual energy appeared in his palm:

"What kind of miracle could water you can get with a single incense stick offer? Since I’m here, I naturally won’t stand by and watch someone die. This pill is her lifeline."

"Though the world’s suffering is endless and impossible to cure in full, it doesn’t hurt to pick up the trouble right in front of you and do what you can."

Cui Hao’s gaze was earnest.

He’d agreed with Zheng Zhaoling before — if this operation was going to involve any real action, he would brief her first. This trip was just reconnaissance: to see what exactly the Evil Spirit Sect was doing here, how far they’d gotten, and what kind of people they’d roped in.

After all, intelligence was intelligence, but some things you had to see with your own eyes to be sure.

Cui Hao had already been observing inside the shrine for a while. First, he figured out what was in that water jar. Then he wanted a closer look to see if there was anything else useful to find.

And then this older sister had walked right into his line of sight.

Skinny and gaunt, deliberately putting on a bold voice, reeking of a particular stench, shouldering her way to the water jar without even having an incense coin to offer.

In Cui Hao’s eyes, though she was thin, she showed no signs of illness. The only explanation was that someone close to her was gravely ill.

Regardless, her devotion was real.

The people of Northern Julu Continent genuinely believed in these shrines. To do something like this under a god’s statue, inside a shrine — besides absolute desperation, there was no other explanation.

If the older sister hadn’t gotten that bowl of water, Cui Hao would have waited until he finished his observation before checking on her.

But she had gotten the talisman water.

For a gravely ill person, one bowl of that water would make even the gods powerless.

Cui Hao didn’t agonize over the decision. When someone loyal and devoted appeared right before your eyes, you couldn’t just turn away.

The unfortunate all shared one thing in common — they had zero margin for error.

Maybe it was just a winter where they couldn’t find firewood, and they froze to death by nightfall.

A small mishap was enough to send an already fragile life spiraling into collapse.

Whenever it was within his power to show kindness, Cui Hao was always willing to reach out.

The pill in his hand emitted a faint spiritual glow — just a sliver of light in the pitch-black little room.

The older sister stared intently at the pill, her throat bobbing, thoughts churning.

Her sister’s life had become a choice: one path led to death, the other to life.

This wasn’t a simple multiple-choice question. This was a memory she would carry to her dying day.

The weight of it stole even her courage to speak.

The talisman water had been given in kindness by the shrine keeper.

But the pill held by this richly dressed man before her looked just as impossibly valuable.

To people like them — lives others considered cheap — poisoning them would feel like a waste.

When the older sister spoke again, her voice was hoarse:

"My sister and I have nothing to repay you with..."

Cui Hao raised his hand and used spiritual energy to float the pill toward the older sister, smiling carelessly:

"If doing good comes with a reward, I’ll take it. If there’s no reward, I’ll count it as soothing my own conscience."

"To put it bluntly: I want to, I’m happy to, and that’s enough."

The older sister reached out and took the pill, clutching it tight in her fist. Then she looked down at the foul-smelling talisman water in the bowl.

This time, her movements were decisive. She raised the bowl and drained the talisman water in one gulp.

A searing heat surged down her throat like a blade, then a scorching current of warmth erupted from her abdomen and radiated outward.

The sensation was far from pleasant, but she suddenly felt extraordinarily energized, as though she had strength to spare.

The older sister felt every change happening in her body, and it all confirmed that Cui Hao hadn’t been lying.

The warm current surging through her was her own blood-qi being burned — because although she felt more alert, a bone-deep exhaustion was already creeping in.

Without hesitation, the older sister placed the pill into her little sister’s mouth.

The pill dissolved the instant it touched her tongue, turning into a stream of medicinal power that slid down her throat without needing to be chewed.

The older sister watched her sister’s breathing gradually steady. Her own unfocused eyes began to sharpen. She carefully laid her sister back on the bed, then immediately turned and dropped to her knees before Cui Hao:

"I don’t doubt your goodwill, Immortal... It’s just... I just had no choice..."

Her voice cracked.

"Whatever punishment the Immortal sees fit, this humble believer will accept it all."

The older sister had no choice — and this was her only choice.

Her life had been squeezed so tight there wasn’t a single gap left for mistakes.

Cui Hao stood at the doorway, thought for a moment, and said:

"My punishment is that you two must live well this lifetime. Do your best to live as good a life as you can."

"Do whatever good deeds are within your reach, but never overextend yourself, never force it. Only do what comes easily and naturally."

"Also, that shrine is no good thing. Don’t go back there."

With that, Cui Hao chuckled softly, extended a finger, and dispelled all the medicinal energy from the older sister’s body.

When the older sister looked up again, startled by the sudden change, Cui Hao was already gone from the doorway. She gazed at the sunlit entrance and whispered softly:

"Cui Puyu..."