Fang Yuan approached the house under the cover of One With Scenery Gu, in case the others were tailing him.
Now, it wasn't like he was doing anything shady at the moment- quite the contrary, but the more that people observed him, the greater would be the risk that the system would be discovered. And as it was, there were several methods that he had that he would prefer remain undiscovered.
He knocked on the wooden frame of the house after dispelling the effect of his gu, but no one answered until he knocked again.
"Come in..." a voice answered.
Fang Yuan took a step in. It was a small hut, much like all mortal houses, and very simple on the inside.
"Oh did you finally-" the woman who said this stopped mid-sentence as she saw Fang Yuan. He was no longer wearing his school uniform but that of an adult Gu Master, which was a uniform that every mortal on the mountain would recognize. It signified his entrance into adult life, and that all mortals were to give him deference when they saw him. She had clearly not been expecting a Gu Master to wander into their shack. "Ah... Lord- you..."
Fang Yuan waved his hand and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "No matter for formalities, I had heard that there was a young lady by the name of Teng Ru in this village who was sick. I came to check up on her. Is there someone like that here?"
"Why- yes, there is someone like that here... I didn't know that news had become so widespread though... but, Lord, I do not have the treasure to pay you back for such a service..." she said. She reached into a secluded enclave in the house and took out one-eighth of a primeval stone, likely her entire savings.
"It is no matter," Fang Yuan said. "Perhaps you have heard my name before- my name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan. I can't bear to see anyone suffering, and whenever I hear of people in need of help, I feel compelled to lend my aide to them."
The woman frowned. She had heard of a Gu Master who wandered around the villages performing miracles, though she had dismissed this as a fanciful rumor. "Then... this one would be eternally grateful for your help."
"I take it that you are not Teng Ru then?" Fang Yuan asked. This woman didn't look injured, but he couldn't be sure. Perhaps she had some kind of incurable disease?"
"No, no, my name is Teng Mai," she said. She then led Fang Yuan to the only other room in the house, where there was a sickly-looking woman on a makeshift mat, likely one of the only pieces of furniture in the house.
Fang Yuan looked at the sick woman, and at Teng Mai. Their faces were close... no, not just close, identical. Though the sickness had marred the other one's features somewhat, they looked like carbon copies of each other.
"The two of you are twins?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Indeed, Lord," Teng Mai answered.
Fang Yuan had a good idea as to why that was. There were often hidden meanings behind various things in life even if one didn't see them- he hadn't been able to during his previous life, but with his 500 years of experience it was like he was wearing X-ray goggles and could see things for how they really were.
Qing Shu did not really want to help him- he had 'helped' him but only after amplifying the difficulty of the mission first. And there was also the fact that he wanted to train Fang Yuan for the future. These all were not necessarily malicious hidden intentions, but he hadn't exactly been open with them either. Someone like Fang Zheng might've been blind to such things, but not Fang Yuan.
The same thing for the system- Fang Yuan was sure that it had several deeper ulterior motives. Among them was trying to get him to feel for the villagers and to gain a reputation of being a good person. It likely hoped that if people saw him that way, or that if Fang Yuan continued to act in that way, he would unconsciously become that way. It was ultimately futile, which is why it had given him this kind of mission.
Twin sisters- who were caring and supporting each other. The one who was healthy had not abandoned the other, even living in what was squalor even by mortal standards just to take care of her sick sister. One could assume that the Teng twins had no other family, but they still supported each other as much as they could.
More likely than not it expected him to have empathy for them given how close their situation was with the Fang twins. Or, it could possibly be trying to get him to also care for Fang Zheng in the way that Teng Mai cared for Teng Ru.
"I think that I can help her," Fang Yuan said. "But... I would ask you to leave the house."
Teng Mei was a bit alarmed. "leave...?"
"This healing technique I know is a secret, and I've sworn to not reveal it to strangers," Fang Yuan said. "Don't worry, it will only take a few moments."
Teng Mei wasn't fully sure about leaving her sister with this strange man- but then again, he was a Gu Master. What could she do against him if he turned angry? And maybe he could help her?
She left but resolved to keep herself just outside the door, in order to listen in case Fang Yuan tried something untoward.
Fang Yuan had asked her to leave because he didn't want to reveal the secret of Doctor Gu- it was not an issue to use a strange gu worm before a mortal who would likely not recognize it, but its ability to turn into a human was not something usual and would stand out even to a mortal.
"Alright, I need you to heal her," Fang Yuan instructed. Could Doctor Gu really heal her? He didn't know- but the system hadn't given him a task which was impossible as of yet, so he assumed that he was supposed to use it hear.
"Very well, Young Master," Doctor Gu said, bowed, and examined Teng Ru for an instant. The girl looked sickly with a green tinge to her skin as her eyes were tightly shut- it looked like she was having a fever as well. "Ah... I think I have diagnosed the problem."
"Oh? What is it?"
"It appears that this young miss has an extreme Yin Physique and has gone into a coma because of excess Yin energy. Ah, Young Master, the only way to cure her is for you to use your Yang rod to extract the excess Yin from her body," Doctor Gu said.
Doctor Gu: ...
Fang Yuan: ...
Doctor Gu wiped off some sweat from his forehead. "That was a joke, Young Master, but don't worry, I can patch up this girl as good as new."
Fang Yuan sighed. Perhaps it was a blessing that most gu worms couldn't talk...
Doctor Gu waved his hand, and Teng Rei suddenly looked livelier as the color returned to her cheeks given them a rose-tinted hue.
"That was quick..." Fang Yuan said, transforming Doctor Gu back into a gu worm and placing it in his aperture.
The Human Path is extremely good at healing, host!
It was like the system was trying to push the Human Path on him as much as possible. He still hadn't used any of his Human Path dao marks simply because it would be very hard to get rid of them once he agreed to it, and so, they were all still in his inventory. He also didn't want to commit to an entire path simply because of this system. Though, he had to admit that the effect was quite remarkable, the girl opening her eyes, saw Fang Yuan.
"Are you... an angel...?"
"Yes," Fang Yuan said. "I am an angel- one who wishes to bring peace and happiness to all the members of this world. No need to thank me- I'll get your sister from outside."
Before Teng Ru could thank him, Fang Yuan had already stepped out and let Teng Mei know that his work here was done, ignoring all insistences that she do at least something to pay him back.
"Helping others is the greatest reward in and of itself," Fang Yuan said, trotting off as his aptitude increased to 63%.