No one knew what the little yaksha experienced that night.
But everyone knew this:
By morning, Shichen's bone—originally expected to take a full month to heal—was mysteriously fully healed.
Before Xue Kui could even brag to his "big brother," Guizhong seized him by the back of his collar and hauled him up the hillside outside the settlement.
Guizhong examined him from head to toe, disbelief written clearly across her face.
She'd rushed over only because she heard Xue Kui intended to "treat" Shichen.
She was terrified that the boy, who solved problems by stabbing first and thinking later, would accidentally kill the brightest young leader of her people.
A yaksha healing a person… Who makes jokes like this?
But when she saw Shichen waving his once-broken arm around like nothing had ever happened—
That shock far exceeded the fear of finding him dead.
"How did you do it?"
"?"
Faced with Guizhong's rare loss of composure, Xue Kui simply blinked.
"How did you heal Shichen?"
Xue Kui suddenly understood.
Shichen hadn't asked Guizhong to heal him.
Meaning—
Even Guizhong couldn't heal human wounds?
If he had accomplished what even a god couldn't…
Did that mean he was amazing?
A slow, infuriating smirk spread across his face.
"You… can't?"
Guizhong's emotions have been unusually active lately.
A fleeting thought crossed her mind—
the way mortal mothers disciplined disobedient children.
She really wanted to spank this brat.
Forcing her expression into a calm smile, she asked again.
"Yes. How did you do it?"
Xue Kui threw his head back and laughed.
"Seriously? A dignified god can't do something this simple?"
Her fingers curled into a fist.
Archons may be powerful, but they weren't omnipotent.
Each god was born from a concept.
Their talents were shaped by that concept.
Guizhong—born from Dust and Principle—was already exceptional because she could mold form and matter with reasoning and logic.
Healing was usually the domain of gods whose natures aligned with gentleness—
water, wind, restoration.
But a yaksha—creatures of slaughter and purification—being able to heal?
That was absurd.
Xue Kui summoned Cryo, then shifted it—
And Guizhong felt it.
From his palm flowed not elemental cold, but life force.
She stared, speechless.
Reality-breaking.
"This simple? A god can't do this? Gods… are nothing special."
—Nothing special.
Before Xue Kui could enjoy the feeling of superiority, several strands of sand silently wove into chains behind him.
He sensed danger too late.
The chains lashed out, binding him like a trussed boar.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
He struggled helplessly as Guizhong drifted closer.
Sand lifted him and—
Plop.
Placed him across her lap.
Guizhong patted his head with a kind smile that absolutely did not match the situation.
"You learned a new skill. Which means now you must practice it thoroughly. I trust someone so clever won't mind using it on himself, hm?"
Xue Kui's face went pale.
He gathered Cryo to escape—
But Guizhong's fingers gently pinched together.
"Seal."
His elemental flow froze instantly.
He turned his head toward her raised hand in despair.
I am dead.
"~Haaah~"
Humming a cheerful melody of her own invention, the Archon of Dust bounced along the path, feet actually touching the ground—an extremely rare sight.
She radiated joy from every inch of her being.
Behind her, Xue Kui crept forward at the pace of a 200-year-old tortoise.
Hands clutching his backside.
Eyes glassy with trauma.
Humiliation.
Utter humiliation.
One day—
when he was strong enough—
he would beat her.
Beat Morax.
Beat the stone giant.
Beat them all.
By the time they reached Shichen's home, Xue Kui had recovered enough ego to lift his head proudly.
"Little Xue Kui, that was incredible! Even Lady Guizhong can't do what you did!"
Xue Kui's white hair tufted upward smugly, arms crossed.
"Hum↗ hum↘ hum↘. Naturally!"
He sensed carefully—
Guizhong wasn't near.
His head lifted higher.
"With that kind of skill, how about becoming our physician?"
"Physician?"
"The one who heals wounds and treats illness."
Shichen scratched his chin, then nodded seriously.
"But for someone like you… we should call you an Immortal Healer."
"Immortal Healer… that sounds nice."
He had seen with his own eyes how happy Shichen was after recovering.
Healing others was… strangely fun.
And now that monster attacks on the settlement were rare—thanks to him—
he was getting bored.
If healing could pass the time and help him master his new power—
Why not?
At least healing others was better than healing his own…
sore backside.
And most importantly—
He liked the title.
Immortal Healer.
If healing counted as another kind of battle—
then in his short career, Xue Kui's victories were countless.
Small cuts and bruises?
Easy.
A hunter torn open by a monster's claws, entrails nearly spilling?
Xue Kui steadied the fading life, fed gentle streams of vitality into the wound—
and saved him from death.
But there were two "enemies" he could not defeat.
The first—
illness.
Against sickness, his power could only bolster the strength of the patient.
The final cure came from the village's elder physician.
The second—
lifespan.
No matter how strong his healing…
he could not touch the flow of years.
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