Chapter 135: Had I Known You Were Coming

By the time the two finished drinking, it was already evening. Old Wu’s truck had been delivered to the repair shop much earlier, and fortunately, there was an acquaintance of Old Wu among the veteran drivers, so their return to Houchuan Town was not delayed.

The journey back was relatively smooth and fast. An hour later, the two arrived at the main street of Houchuan Town.

"Little brother, why don't you come to my place for a quick drink?" Old Wu invited hospitably.

"No, no, I need to go find Master Huo. I'm already several days late," Cui Yue replied, hurriedly waving his hands.

Seeing that Cui Yue seemed to be in a rush as well, Old Wu dropped the matter and pointed to an alley next to them.

"Walk straight in, and it's the third house from the end."

"Got it, Brother Wu. I'll remember."

The two parted ways there, promising to visit each other's homes when they had free time.

With some difficulty, Cui Yue groped his way into the pitch-black alley and found the third house from the end. Just as he was about to knock, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. With a gentle push, the door creaked open.

Old Freak Huo was slumped over the table, snoring thunderously!

The small room was in utter disarray, cluttered with wine bottles and miscellaneous items, immediately revealing the habitation of a long-time bachelor.

Cui Yue finally understood why Old Freak Huo didn't bother locking his door. With possessions this sparse, even a thief would refuse to visit; the idiom "four bare walls" was never more fitting than it was here.

"Hey! Old Freak Huo, wake up!"

"Mhm?"

Old Freak Huo rolled over, burped the smell of alcohol, and fell soundly back asleep.

Try as he might, using every trick in the book, Cui Yue could not wake the man before him.

Cui Yue never expected that after going through countless hardships to find Old Freak Huo—nearly losing his life in the process—this fellow would be fast asleep here. A stomach full of frustration had nowhere to vent.

With no other choice, Cui Yue gave up. Finding a relatively clean patch of ground, he decided to just lie down and sleep, leaving everything for tomorrow morning.

The next day, sunlight streamed in. Old Freak Huo was yawning and stretching as he slumped over the table, when he suddenly noticed someone sleeping in the corner.

"Hey, I'm not taking any jobs these days! Whatever you're here for, beat it!"

With that, just as he was about to get up, he noticed the figure in the corner looked remarkably familiar. Looking closer, he realized it was Cui Yue!

Old Freak Huo let out a dry chuckle, walked over, and gave Cui Yue a playful kick.

"Brat, time to wake up!"

Cui Yue rolled over, caught sight of Old Freak Huo’s unkempt, stubbly face, and hastily rubbed his eyes.

"Old Freak Huo, you're finally awake!"

"Oh! You brat, talking nonsense the moment you open your eyes. I'm the one who just woke you up."

"I mean last night! I called out to you for so long, but you were dead to the world and didn't react at all."

"Kid, bragging again. I can hear a pin drop from three miles away."

Cui Yue muttered under his breath, thinking the old man didn't even blush when bragging, practically acting as if he possessed clairvoyance and clairaudience.

"What's the matter? Did you come to your senses, crying and begging all the way here to become my apprentice?"

Old Freak Huo wore a smug expression, his demeanor quite proud.

"Let me tell you, it's not that easy to become old Huo's disciple. Judging by your performance, you barely pass—you're a bit lacking, but since we're acquaintances..."

Cui Yue felt his head spinning and hurriedly tried to clear his thoughts, almost being led completely off track by Old Freak Huo. Having not seen him for a few days, this old fellow had certainly grown a lot more narcissistic.

When did I ever say I wanted to become your apprentice? The man started dreaming in broad daylight.

"No, Master Huo, the reason I came this time..." Cui Yue said tactfully.

Before he could finish, Old Freak Huo waved a large hand, slapped his chest, and interrupted him.

"Alright, don't worry! Since we're acquaintances, how could I cheat you? Let's do this: the tuition for a year will be just one thousand yuan. Just take care of the cooking and dishwashing chores along the way, and as for the rest..."

Cui Yue quickly interrupted, "What on earth are you thinking? A thousand yuan! Are you robbing a bank? How much do I even make a month! Besides, which of your ears heard me say I wanted to be your apprentice?"

In broad daylight, what kind of daydream was this man having?

"Master Huo, I came to find you, and it's not to become your apprentice!"

"What?"

Old Freak Huo’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.

Wasn't this kid infected by my virtue and art, traveling all this way, just to become my disciple?

"Young man, you're hurting my feelings a bit here..."

"Old Master, blame yourself for overthinking."

Old Freak Huo's old face flushed red. After indulging in wishful thinking for so long, he found it difficult to maintain his composure.

"Ahem, ahem... Well, well... you traveled all the way from the county town. The trip went smoothly, I hope?"

"We can talk about the journey later. I have an urgent matter this time!"

Cui Yue took off his shirt, revealing rows of livid corpse spots across his chest and back.

The mouthful of overnight tea Old Freak Huo had just swallowed instantly sprayed outward.

"What are you doing first thing in the morning?!"

Before he could finish speaking, his eyes were drawn to the rows of corpse spots on Cui Yue's torso, and his expression changed instantly.

"Master Huo, look at what's going on. As soon as I got back, my body..."

Old Freak Huo practically leaped to his feet, rushing over to Cui Yue's side to inspect the corpse spots closely. The longer he looked, the more alarmed he became, and his complexion turned exceptionally complex.

"This shouldn't be... I didn't expect it to happen so fast..."

"What did you say?" Cui Yue asked in confusion. Why was Old Freak Huo acting so cryptic?

"Extend your hand!"

Without waiting for an explanation, Old Freak Huo grabbed Cui Yue's right hand, placing three fingers on his pulse to check his internal condition.

"Not good. The situation is much worse than I imagined."

Hearing this, Cui Yue's heart skipped a beat, and his mood instantly plummeted to the bottom. Sure enough, it was ominous!

Old Freak Huo switched to checking Cui Yue's left hand, shook his head darkly, and his face grew grim.

Looking at Old Freak Huo's expression, Cui Yue felt as though his heart had died. Even in cases of the Eight Inauspicious Death Meridians, he had never seen such a bitter expression; this illness struck like a fierce tiger, lacking only a miraculous physician to save him.

With a dark face, Old Freak Huo turned around, pulled a wine bottle from the corner, poured a small cup of liquor, and pushed it in front of Cui Yue.

"Master Huo, it's fine. Just tell me, what's the situation? I'm mentally prepared."

Old Freak Huo took a fierce gulp of the liquor and paused.

"Do you know what's on your body?"

Cui Yue nodded, calm as still water, and said flatly, "I know. They are corpse spots. And I know I've been infected with corpse poison!"

Old Freak Huo was quite surprised that Cui Yue knew the situation so clearly. He furrowed his brow. "That's right, those are corpse spots! And the poison you contracted is no ordinary corpse poison."

"What do you mean?"

Old Freak Huo sighed and tapped his fingers on the table a few times.

"If it were just ordinary corpse poison, did you really think my abilities couldn't cure you?" He continued, "This poison has already dissolved into your blood vessels, penetrated your internal organs and viscera, sunk deep into your bone marrow, and fused completely with your body."

Cui Yue suddenly recalled the scene when he first met Old Freak Huo, and even the stuttering, half-spoken words of the bespectacled guy. Could it be...

"Did you know about this illness of mine from the very beginning?!" Cui Yue asked in a cold voice.

"That's right. The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you had contracted this poison. But I never expected it to progress so rapidly, transforming into this state in a mere dozens of days."