Chapter 25: Expressing Gratitude

When Chu Feng awoke once more, he found himself lying on a clean and comfortable bed.

Opening his eyes, he saw many people standing before him—men and women, old and young—all gathered around the bed, their eyes fixed eagerly upon him.

“Where am I…” he murmured.

“Master Lin Shan, you’re awake?” As soon as Chu Feng spoke, a dignified man in his fifties, whose bearing radiated authority, broke into a smile and said, “It is good that you are awake, Master Lin. I am Mu Zhentong, the head of the Tianji Mu family, and I offer you my heartfelt thanks!”

“So it’s Uncle Mu…” Chu Feng smiled faintly, sensing the deep gratitude from the family patriarch.

“Master Lin Shan, how are you feeling now? Are you better?” This time it was the family matriarch and wife of Mu Zhentong who spoke.

Chu Feng drew a deep breath, tested his strength, and nodded, “Yes, I feel much better! How long have I been asleep?”

After fainting in the Green Bamboo Pavilion, Chu Feng had lost all awareness. He had no idea how he came to be lying on this bed, nor how much time had passed.

“Nearly a day and a night—about twelve hours,” Mu Kaishan, the young master of the Mu family, said from the side.

“A day and a night? That long?” Chu Feng was surprised, a sudden worry stirring within him. “Everyone, I remember coughing up blood. Was I seriously injured?”

Chu Feng knew that much rested on his shoulders—he could not afford to be wounded, especially not with an internal injury that might take years to heal. Otherwise, he, his sister Xin Lian, and his brother Xiao Dao would remain prey before the fangs of the Terror Sect, their lives hanging by a thread.

“Master Lin Shan, rest assured! Yesterday afternoon and this morning, Miss Mu personally came to check on you. She said you were not in serious trouble and predicted you would awaken at this hour. It seems she was absolutely right!” Lady Mu nodded reassuringly.

Hearing these words, Chu Feng was immediately at ease. Not only did he believe he was unharmed, but he also trusted that the two pulse needles he had crafted had taken effect, and that Mu Qiaoxue’s crisis of pulse pain had been resolved.

“Master Lin Shan, yesterday at noon, following Miss Mu’s instructions, we gave you a bowl of Qi-calming medicinal soup. You look well now!” Mu Zhentong smiled, “At this moment, our family’s Zhiwei Pavilion has prepared a sumptuous feast. The Tianji Mu family wishes to host a grand banquet: first, to properly thank you for your timely help; second, to celebrate Miss Mu overcoming her pulse pain. Master Lin Shan, please join us!”

Seeing the patriarch’s sincere invitation, and feeling a bit hungry himself, Chu Feng nodded, “Thank you!”

…

The Tianji Mu family was vast and prosperous. Whenever they entertained guests or held festive banquets, they gathered in an elegant, ancient-style building called the Zhiwei Pavilion.

Directly in front of the Pavilion was a square plaza, used by the Mu clan for rituals—worshiping heaven and earth, praying for blessings and offspring, or holding ceremonies when a martial arts master arose within the family.

At this moment, Mu Zhentong, Lady Mu, and several elders stood solemnly atop the high platform. Below, the elite disciples of the fiftieth and fifty-first generations—men and women alike—stood in rows, about two thousand in number, all upright and gazing forward. Chu Feng stood among them, right next to Mu Zhentong.

“Fellow members of the Tianji Mu clan, these past days, due to Miss Mu’s pulse pain, our family has been thrown into chaos, and I myself became gravely ill. But heaven has favored the Mu family: Master Lin Shan arrived at a critical moment, relieved Miss Mu’s suffering, and rescued us from disaster. The Tianji Mu clan must forever honor the great virtue of Master Lin Shan!”

With these words, Mu Zhentong clasped his hands in a deep salute to Chu Feng, his gratitude unmistakable.

Below the platform, the two thousand elite disciples echoed in unison—“We shall forever honor Master Lin Shan’s great virtue!”

Their voices rang in perfect harmony, echoing far and wide; even in the distant valleys, the cry of “forever honor Master Lin Shan’s great virtue” resounded.

Meanwhile, an elder tasked with recording the Mu family’s debts and gratitude toward outsiders entered the name “Lin Shan” into the Book of Benefactors.

Those whose names appeared in the Book of Benefactors would be remembered and honored by the Mu clan for generations. Every clan member and disciple was required to learn the names by heart. Only those of true virtue, who rescued the Mu family from dire straits, qualified to be recorded within its pages.

“Patriarch Mu, it was nothing more than a small effort. I dare not accept so much gratitude!” Chu Feng quickly clasped his hands in return to Mu Zhentong and the elders.

The scale of their thanks startled Chu Feng. His plan had been simple: after accomplishing his task, he hoped the Mu family would fulfill his two requests and perhaps forge a friendly bond. He had never expected that the high elders, led by Mu Zhentong, would bring him to this solemn plaza and publicly express their gratitude before two thousand elite disciples.

This made it clear to Chu Feng that though the name “Chu Feng” might remain obscure, “Lin Shan” would soon become renowned across the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins.

“Master Lin Shan, your skill in crafting the pulse needles not only relieved Miss Mu’s pain and saved the family from disaster, but also saved my own life. Had you not risked injury and blood loss to forge those two needles, I would still be bedridden, unable to smile as I do now!”

As he spoke, Mu Zhentong clapped Chu Feng’s shoulder, his demeanor one of great favor for this young man.

“Brother Lin Shan, regarding the small reward you mentioned earlier, I’ve already prepared it. After lunch, please come and collect it!” Mu Kaishan, who had spent the previous days with furrowed brows, now smiled warmly. “Brother Lin Shan, you have done the Mu family a great favor. If ever you need anything—and if it lies within our power—be it manpower or resources, we will surely assist you with all our strength!”

“Thank you very much!” Chu Feng nodded to Mu Kaishan, “Brother Mu is a few years my senior. If you don’t mind, just call me Lin Shan.”

“Haha, very well!” Mu Kaishan nodded with a smile.

In truth, Mu Kaishan had long known that Chu Feng’s current appearance was not his true face, and “Lin Shan” was certainly not his real name. But since Chu Feng had not revealed himself, the Mu family would not press further.

On the platform, Chu Feng conversed amiably with the patriarch and elders of the Tianji Mu family.

Below, the disciples of the fiftieth and fifty-first generations began to whisper among themselves.

“How unexpected! I thought anyone capable of crafting pulse needles by magic would be much older. Yet Master Lin Shan is so young—less than twenty, perhaps?”

“Indeed! He may not be a handsome man, but with his resolute features and secret arts, he certainly deserves the title of a young hero. I wonder what his background is?”

“No matter his origins, his name now appears in our Book of Benefactors. At least in the Nine Mountains and Eighteen Veins, he’s no longer an unknown. And judging by the patriarch’s demeanor, he seems not just grateful, but deeply appreciative of Master Lin Shan.”

“Yes, I noticed too! To be admired by the patriarch—what good fortune! If Master Lin Shan were appreciated by Miss Mu as well… that would truly be a life-changing opportunity!”

“How amusing that Senior Brother Ding, the chief disciple of the fiftieth generation, so firmly insisted earlier that Master Lin Shan would fail. Facing him now, I bet his expression is quite awkward. Wait, why isn’t Senior Brother Ding here? Has he suddenly taken ill?”

“Look, Senior Brother Ding is arriving, and so is Mi Xinjian! Ah, look—what are they carrying on their backs?”

Several disciples were discussing below when one sharp-eyed member noticed Ding Wanchong and Mi Xinjian, master and apprentice, approaching from the far end of the plaza, bent at the waist and moving with great effort.

On the platform, as Chu Feng was laughing and chatting with Mu Kaishan, his gaze shifted and caught sight of Ding Wanchong and Mi Xinjian in the distance.

He had just been wondering where Ding Wanchong, who had previously pressed him so hard, had gone—was he hiding somewhere? He had meant to ask Mu Kaishan, but now Ding Wanchong appeared.

“Father, look—it’s Senior Brother Ding! What they’re carrying seems to be tiger-thorn and snake-briar,” Mu Kaishan said to Mu Zhentong.

“Yes, I see it!” Mu Zhentong nodded. “I told him to come up with his own way to apologize to Master Lin Shan. He’s chosen to bear thorns and briars and beg forgiveness—it’s just the right moment!”

As Ding Wanchong and Mi Xinjian, master and apprentice, approached, their bodies laden with layers of tiger-thorn and snake-briar, the disciples parted to clear a path for them.