After a moment of distraction, Meng Yaoyin recovered, only to find herself no longer in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, but within Fire Persimmon Mountain.

She looked inward and saw, deep within her spirit, a vibrant purple hue that had already solidified into a block.

“The spiritual injury has deepened again…”

She sighed softly, but did not rush back to the immortal city. Instead, she continued to delve deeper into the mountain, entering the Lava Immortal Palace.

“The Dao injury erodes memories. With time, spirituality will also dissipate.”

“Ultimately, I will revert to the Buddha Physician and voluntarily return to the Lava Immortal Palace.”

From then on, Meng Yaoyin intentionally reduced the time she spent with Ning Zhuo and, in a veiled manner, repeatedly hinted at their future separation.

Ning Zhuo huddled under the covers, crying softly.

Sun Lingtong came to the bedside, asking curiously why he was crying and why he wasn’t asleep yet.

Little Ning Zhuo poked his big head out from under the covers: “I… I miss my mother.”

“I… I can’t sleep. Whenever I can’t sleep, my mother sings to me. Can you sing for me?”

Sun Lingtong was helpless and sang falteringly.

The Buddha Physician, Meng Yaoyin, hidden from view, watched this scene from behind, filled with immense relief and satisfaction.

She hadn’t expected that the person she had casually allowed Ning Zhuo to save, though from a wicked sect, possessed a kind heart.

Sun Lingtong’s clandestine probing of the Ning family’s territory and her assistance to Ning Zhuo in resisting his clan’s encroachment on his family property were all witnessed by Meng Yaoyin.

Time passed swiftly.

“It’s late. You should go to bed properly, otherwise you won’t grow tall, and your little head will become foolish, little Zhuo.” Meng Yaoyin materialized, gently reminding Ning Zhuo, who was reading by lamplight.

Ning Zhuo looked up in surprise: “Mother, you’re back!”

He held up the ancient book in his hand: “Mother, I will wholeheartedly cultivate the art of mechanisms to help you heal. Last time, when you came back, your arm was injured.”

Meng Yaoyin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she subconsciously moved her arm back.

Her child had grown up and was more attentive than before.

The injury to her arm was sustained in Fire Persimmon Mountain while slaying a Red Flame Demonic Beast. At that time, she had lost her consciousness and all memory, relying on the predetermined actions of the Buddha Physician to protect the Lava Immortal Palace, and slaying demonic beasts was one such task.

“Good child.” Meng Yaoyin was deeply moved and couldn’t help but embrace Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo held his mother tightly. Though her body was that of a hard automaton, he felt infinite tenderness.

He looked at the lamplight on the table, his eyes sparkling with hope, and murmured: “Mother, I will definitely become the most formidable mechanism cultivator in the world.”

“I will cure your dazed illness, and we will be together forever!”

Meng Yaoyin’s body trembled slightly.

For a moment, overwhelming sorrow made it difficult for her to control herself.

She tightly closed her eyes, but no tears fell.

“Is this the orphanage?” Little Ning Zhuo gazed up at the tall building, his heart filled with timidity.

But thinking of his mother, he gritted his teeth and blended into the crowd.

Hiding in a corner, he stared at the mechanism cultivators on the stage, trying his best to learn the techniques of manipulating puppets.

He had learned many theories of mechanisms, but manipulation truly required guidance from teachers.

Meng Yaoyin’s condition worsened, and she cherished her moments of lucidity, unwilling to spend precious time teaching Ning Zhuo these minor details.

Ning Zhuo desperately studied Li Leifeng’s manipulation techniques. His small fingers, tucked inside his sleeves, constantly moved, and his large eyes stared intently.

His mind had been active for too long, so much so that after a puppet show, he was famished, even to the point of seeing stars and hearing buzzing in his ears from hunger.

He then picked up pastries left by the guests.

“So… so delicious!”

Finally, Ning Zhuo was adopted by his biological uncle, Ning Ze.

He entered the school.

Classmates who knew his situation bullied him.

“Wild child, wild child!”

“Big head monster, big head monster!”

“An orphan with a mother but no one to raise him, nyah nyah nyah…”

Ning Zhuo suddenly turned around, his eyes already red, his fists clenched, and he growled: “I have a mother!”

His classmates were startled, then immediately mocked him with even more intensity.

Ning Zhuo yelled out and rushed to fight with his classmates.

He returned home with a bruised and swollen face.

The parents of the classmates he fought with came to demand an explanation, and his uncle Ning Ze was submissive.

Ning Ze turned around and severely punished Ning Zhuo, making him kneel.

“You have some nerve, actually beating the grandson of a family elder!”

Ning Zhuo knelt until evening, with no dinner, so hungry that his eyes were blurred.

Ning Ji, who had eaten his fill, walked over to him with a smile, carrying the lingering aroma of food, and circled him several times with smugness.

“Mother, where are you? Woo woo woo…” Ning Zhuo could only cry in his heart.

The Buddha Physician, Meng Yaoyin, walked through the tunnels of Fire Persimmon Mountain. Each step was of equal distance, her posture remained consistent, and there was no trace of emotion in her eyes.

In the evening, after school.

Ning Zhuo mixed with the crowd and walked out of the school.

He turned a street corner, and his steps paused slightly. He saw a classmate holding his parents’ hands, laughing joyfully.

“Big head monster!” Suddenly, there was a loud shout from behind.

The next moment, Ning Zhuo was pushed hard from behind and fell.

He got up angrily, wanting revenge, and saw several classmates running away with unrestrained mockery, scattering in different directions.

For a moment, he didn’t know which one to chase.

When they were far away, those classmates stood still again and mocked: “Wild child without a mother, big head monster without a mother!”

Ning Zhuo roared and angrily chased after them.

Ultimately, because he returned home too late, he was locked out by Wang Lan.

He hardened his heart, suppressed his anger, turned around and left.

He left Ning Ze’s residence and hurried towards his own small courtyard.

On the dimly lit, deserted path, a familiar figure suddenly appeared.

“Mother!” Ning Zhuo lowered his voice and ran forward happily.

The Buddha Physician, Meng Yaoyin, looked at him gently. She wore a thick, loose robe, as dark as ink, so that she could walk conveniently in the deep night and also conceal the injuries all over her body.

Meng Yaoyin took Ning Zhuo’s hand proactively, and they chatted as they walked.

“How is school life?”

“It’s all very good. The teachers are kind, and the classmates all like to play with me.”

“Why didn’t you stay at Uncle’s house overnight?”

“I just suddenly missed home…”

Meng Yaoyin’s heart was filled with sorrow. She was not unaware of Ning Zhuo’s situation, but after careful consideration, she chose to observe from the sidelines.

Only when Ning Zhuo faced a major crisis would she intervene.

It was clearly darkness, clearly just a wooden hand, but Ning Zhuo felt as if he held the whole world.

However, Meng Yaoyin’s voice gradually faded. Her footsteps became clear and extremely regular, her gaze became blank, her form like a zombie.

The gentle maternal warmth seemed to be completely swallowed by the surrounding darkness.

Ning Zhuo lowered his head, keenly sensing the change in the automaton.

He squeezed his mother’s hand, tears glistening in his eyes, and choked out: “Mother, don’t worry.”

“I know.”

“I am not a child who is not loved by his mother!”