After the incident with the demonic cultivator, Chen Jinshu and the others kept a much lower profile in Qingquan Village, especially Wen Yushu. He no longer obsessed over developing drought-resistant rice and instead chose to follow the natural flow of fate.
Chen Jinshu also eased back on her attention to Liu Huameng.
Though Liu Huameng's family hadn't been physically harmed during the attack, her parents had grown increasingly harsh toward her. Her father had even begun considering selling her to a tooth broker in town.
Without their quiet interventions, the villagers of Qingquan began to suffer more than ever. The aftermath of the demonic cultivator's rampage had left some families without any working adults. Their days were bleak.
More than one villager had already collapsed from hunger and been carried to Chen Jinshu's door for treatment. But what could she do?
To maintain the illusion of being a struggling village doctor, she consumed a pre-prepared disguise pill, altering her features to appear more gaunt and weary.
She had no ability to work the fields anyway, and the villagers saw that. So, when they came for medical treatment, they would often bring grain instead of coin.
She'd gathered quite a bit of food this way, though she dared not distribute it freely, lest it bring about further complications.
Another three years passed.
Qingquan Village had managed to survive. The famine and drought began to ease during the second year after the demonic cultivator's appearance. Perhaps even the heavens had finally grown weary of the mounting death toll, as several days of heavy rain fell in a row.
The parched paddies were finally soaked through, and the mountain streams once more trickled with clean water.
That day, as Chen Jinshu worked in the courtyard sorting herbs, she heard Fourth Senior Brother's panicked voice call out from outside.
"Junior Sister! It's bad!"
"Master is about to be sold!"
Chen Jinshu paused, stunned. Had the turning point of their master's tribulation finally arrived?
This should be the phase where their master hit her lowest point in life. If she could see through worldly attachments or begin to shift her thinking during this time, there was a good chance she could overcome this karmic trial.
But as with every stage so far, this one would not be easy.
Born to a drunken, patriarchal father in a poor household, her mother blamed her for not bearing a son. She worked herself to exhaustion every day, hungry and cold, often surviving by foraging for wild greens in the woods.
And now, she was about to be sold by her own parents to a tooth broker in town.
They had investigated these events thoroughly. If nothing changed, Liu Huameng would likely be sent to a restaurant or brothel. At eleven or twelve, she wouldn't be entertaining clients yet, but it would be the perfect time to start learning music and instruments.
Their master had first shown her breathtaking talent on the pipa during this very period. But even so, remembering what she endured in her childhood never failed to wrench at Chen Jinshu's heart.
"We haven't had much contact with Old Liu's family," Hua Jingyi said grimly. "There's little chance they'll listen to us."
By now, a large group of villagers had gathered at the village entrance. When some nearby aunties learned that Liu Huameng's father intended to sell her, they rushed to tell the village head, who quickly rallied others to stop him.
But stopping him was easier said than done. Her drunken father and weak-willed mother were not the type to listen to reason.
Their home had long since run out of food, and Old Liu himself couldn't even till the land anymore. Desperation had pushed him to another cruel decision.
"You're lucky I even respect you as village head. Why are you blocking my way?" Old Liu barked when he saw the crowd.
The village chief tried reasoning with him, but it was no use. No one could stop what was about to happen.
"Village Chief Grandpa, my father's going to sell me. My mother doesn't want me either. What should I do?" Liu Huameng sobbed, tears and mucus running down her small face.
Due to long-term malnutrition, she looked more like an eight- or nine-year-old than a girl of eleven. Her frame was tiny, frail.
Everyone felt a stab of pity at her tearful cries, but none of them could help. Powerless, they turned away. There is no cruelty in this world more bitter than being abandoned by one's own parents. Even the uncles and aunties who used to look out for her could no longer offer support.
"How could you? She's just a child!" the village chief shouted, heart aching as he scolded Old Liu.
"This is my family's business," Old Liu replied coldly. "If any of you are willing to give us some grain, I could hold off. But the house is empty. No food. If I don't sell her, where am I supposed to get silver?"
He gave a bitter laugh. These villagers liked to act righteous, but none were willing to offer anything real.
"This wouldn't be happening if you hadn't wasted your days lazing about!" the village head snapped. "You never worked the fields or sought other jobs. The drought just ended. Things are barely starting to recover. How can people help you if you won't help yourself?"
The villagers fell silent.
Old Liu grunted and pulled Liu Huameng along the path to town.
He had taken that road many times before—usually returning only after drinking himself into a stupor.
By the time Chen Jinshu and the others arrived, Liu Huameng was already gone. Drag marks were still faintly visible in the dirt.
"Village Chief! Where's Menghua? Did her father really take her to town to sell her?"
"We couldn't stop it," the chief replied. "There's just no food left to spare. Liu's family is a bottomless pit. No one can afford to help anymore."
The group fell silent.
But this was it—the most painful point of their master's karmic trial. The seeds they'd planted over the years had taken root. The changes to her worldview were already half complete.
They had discussed the next steps on the way.
Their time in Qingquan Village was nearly up.
Next, they would need to erase all traces of their presence—and remove themselves from the villagers' memories.
That evening, Second Senior Brother arrived at Chen Jinshu's courtyard.
"I've already put the entire village to sleep. Gather your things. First Senior Brother is in town, watching over Master's movements."
"Understood."
Chen Jinshu had already packed. She had only been waiting for the seal on her cultivation to be lifted. Moments later, she retracted her bamboo hut, used a spell to cover the ground in thick weeds, and reshaped the area into a familiar-looking hillock.
Together, they worked to erase all memories of themselves from the villagers' minds.
As they left Qingquan Village, Chen Jinshu felt strangely hollow.
She had lived here for years, grown used to its pace, its people, its rhythm. To walk away so suddenly left her with an ache she hadn't expected.
But now their master had reached the most critical phase of her tribulation.
There could be no mistakes.