The tea house was still bustling early in the morning, with many townsfolk inside sipping tea and watching performers from the market displaying their skills.
"Azure clouds above, golden flowers below, the western wind blows swift, and northern geese soar south."
"At dawn, who dyes the frosted woods drunk? It's always the tears of the parted."
Li Mo walked into the tea house only after hearing the melancholic tune draw to a close.
As he thought carefully, he realized he'd already been in Rong Town for four years, yet had never truly seen the lively corners of the streets.
Now, hearing this half-song of parting sorrows, the impatience within him unknowingly faded by more than half, and he couldn't help but hum a few lines along with the melody.
As Li Mo arrived at the tea house, the rich aroma of tea wafted toward him.
The waiter bent low, and after noticing Li Mo's attire, he eagerly spoke, "Welcome, sir! Tea here is two silver coins. Please, right this way!"
"Sir, recently we've received some Bishuitian tea from Three Rivers Town, would you like to try it?"
"Arrange it as you see fit."
Li Mo's interest piqued as he followed the waiter to a private room within the tea house.
He noticed the plump shopkeeper at the counter busily managing the accounts, and discerned that the man carried only a minor cultivation, barely reaching the childhood stage.
As soon as Li Mo took his seat, the waiter brought a teapot into the private room.
Li Mo casually rewarded him with some silver coins and picked up the tea cup for a sip. He had initially thought it would taste fresh and sweet, but what greeted him was completely unexpected.
Li Mo's brow immediately furrowed as the black-brown tea seemed laced with spicy herbs, utterly assaulting his palate.
He instantly realized the effects of the death disease—how adults' declining taste buds severely altered their tea-drinking habits.
Li Mo's right hand trembled slightly as he set the tea cup back down on the table.
The waiter must have adjusted the tea according to the customer's age, varying its strength accordingly.
Due to Li Mo's leakless body being constantly nourished, combined with the effects of the Green Blood and Red Heart, his seemingly youthful appearance of twenty-odd years still retained a childlike taste sensitivity, untouched by degradation.
A moment later, Jin Li hurriedly strode into the private room, brimming with energy.
As soon as he sat down, he grabbed the tea cup and chugged it down, oblivious to the bitterness and spice within, instead relishing it like spring water.
Li Mo couldn't help but size up Jin Li and immediately noticed something unusual. Jin Li's skin bore an abnormal dark reddish hue, and his cultivation had clearly advanced significantly compared to before.
Li Mo was just about to speak when Jin Li set down the teapot and embarrassedly said, "Brother Li Mo, you've just come out of seclusion, so naturally I should treat you. Here's my suggestion..."
"How about we head to the restaurant on Beitiao Street? Their Earthly Delights are truly excellent."
Li Mo quickly declined, "No need for that, Brother Jin. I recently ate some dry rations."
Jin Li didn't press further as he surmised Li Mo might inherently possess a temperament inclined toward simplicity and restraint. Instead, he ordered some tea and snacks under the guise of hospitality.
Li Mo sampled sparingly, and after some idle chat, he inquired about the origins of the multiple limb syndrome outbreak.
"What's going on with this multiple limb syndrome? It seems like it hasn't subsided these past few months."
"Mm, it's been persisting for over three months."
Jin Li squinted slightly, the reactive muscles on his back writhing, and helplessly explained, "Perhaps a high-level practitioner intervened, and then, somehow, the syndrome mysteriously vanished."
Li Mo didn't speak, while Jin Li continued with a faint, bitter smile, "The outbreak caused such chaos, even though it afflicted mortals, its impact continued to spread far and wide."
As he spoke, his body instinctively leaned forward.
From Jin Li's breath, Li Mo caught a pungent metallic scent, sharp enough that even the spiced tea couldn't mask it.
Li Mo studied Jin Li attentively and discovered signs of swelling around his eyes and blackened gums—clear symptoms of metal poisoning.
Li Mo couldn't help but recall his time in the medical hall, where he had seen numerous multiple limb syndrome patients.
"The syndrome disappeared ten days ago. Although the death toll wasn't as severe as with the deceit beasts, when I investigated the source in West City..."
"I truly felt a fear akin to facing childhood death disease."
Jin Li's expression conveyed relief, though why he had been so terrified at the time remained unclear. Upon reflection, it seemed more like stress-induced anxiety.
Listening to Jin Li recount the ordeal with the syndrome, Li Mo couldn't help but ask, "Brother Jin, have you noticed any discomfort?"
"Discomfort?"
"How could there be? If anything, I've benefited from the calamity, with my cultivation advancing to the fourth layer of the childhood stage."
"If I can reach the Weak Crown stage by forty-five, then perhaps I might stand a chance against the Weak Crown Death Disease that strikes at fifty."
Jin Li exhibited overlaps with typical metal poisoning symptoms—its effects coursing through the veins and disrupting the nervous system, leading to emotional instability.
Li Mo remained noncommittal. Jin Li's facial changes were not overly pronounced compared to those suffering from corpse-like transformations, yet Li Mo's impression of the multiple limb syndrome was too deeply etched.
He smoothly shifted the subject, "Brother Jin, does Rong Town have a market for cultivator trades?"
"Indeed it does..."
Jin Li lowered his voice, pulling out an aged beast-skin map from his storage bag.
"This map was gifted to me by a friend over ten years ago. Although much time has passed, the locations marked within should still be fairly accurate."
The map detailed the locations of medium to large towns.
The black market was roughly dozens of miles from Rong Town. If Li Mo had a sky-controlling flight magic artifact, he could likely make the round trip in a single day.
Rong Town likely tacitly permitted the black market's existence—after all, being confined to one area meant their resource replenishment was particularly challenging.
"Thank you, Brother Jin."
Li Mo accepted the map without reservation.
Jin Li had known Li Mo for several years and regarded him as someone impervious to bribes or flattery. Since Li Mo was willing to accept the favor, it meant a working relationship was possible.
"In a few months, I plan to leave this town. If you don't mind, we could travel together."
"No need. I'll be leaving Rong Town in a few days. It's about time I returned home for a visit."
Li Mo politely declined, not out of mistrust of Jin Li, but because he intended to use his second human skin to present himself to the outside world, fabricating a new identity as a loose cultivator.
"Take proper precautions—human greed is more vicious than deceit beasts."
Having lived two lifetimes, Li Mo was naturally well-versed and experienced in these matters.
He asked Jin Li about unusual phenomena surrounding wild beasts outside the city, but Jin Li didn't know much. During his several ventures out of town, he had encountered no wild beasts, as if they possessed spiritual wisdom and deliberately avoided danger.
Li Mo recalled how, in Niu Village, when hunting beasts, all able-bodied men would mobilize and camp in the desolate wilderness for months at a time.
After finishing his tea, Jin Li excused himself due to urgent matters, saying, "The multiple limb syndrome isn't a concern anymore, but the cordoned-off area in West City reportedly requires spiritual energy for cleansing."
Cleansing referred to pouring concentrated spiritual energy over a set range to disperse alien spirit energy lingering within.
Jin Li mockingly remarked, "The government office urgently summoned me—it seems West City truly harbors something peculiar."
"Back then, when I was in West City, I felt as though I could hear whispers around me."
His expression turned hazy, and as he exited the private room, he murmured under his breath, "Wisdom unfolds, Five Qi surge forth, golden light swiftly appears..."
Li Mo's pupils dilated as he watched Jin Li gradually walk away.
A sudden memory from the Creation Book surged forward—the words Jin Li had carelessly uttered were from a spell seven thousand years ago.
"Armament Covering Spell."
Ancient techniques had little relevance in the present era.
But what shocked Li Mo was that the Armament Covering Spell was not a Heart Beast Sect technique but originated from an Immortal Sect known as [Zi Qi].
The Creation Book offered limited information, only revealing that the Sub-Device Sect excelled in artifact refining, their scale seven thousand years ago far surpassing that of the Heart Beast Sect.