Yama Reborn-Chapter 406 - 403: The Fundamental Cure (No more leaves, update! 1W3!)
"Surprised or not, excited or not?"
Last night, after updating and sending a leave notice, I went to bed.
But the more I thought about it, the more discontent I became!!
I remember when I started this book, I told you that I would show you my attitude towards writing.
I told you one thing: I’ll go all out for you to see!
I hate it even more when some people just say, "Dancing is up to his old tricks again, being irresponsible..." even though I really couldn’t update recently because of work.
Those words make me even less willing to accept it!
So I got up, no more sleep!
Typing!
Updating!
This Chapter is for this Thursday, thirteen thousand words!
I don’t want to update half and keep the other half as a draft. I owe you too much this month. After writing all night, since I’ve written so much, I’ll just publish it all!!
Thank you for still believing in me.
And to those friends who cursed me for the few updates these past few days, please believe that I wasn’t being irresponsible on purpose; it really was out of necessity, and I really want to work hard and finish this book!
This is my attitude, I’m showing it to you!
Thursday’s update is here!
Next time, you’ll really have to wait for me to come back on Friday to update!
— Dancing, Thursday, 4:10 AM.
PS: I’ll eat something, and then I need to prepare to head out for a meeting.
·
·
Chapter 403: The Fundamental Solution
Dawn was breaking. It was actually just a sliver of morning light in the east; most of the sky was still dark.
Old Jiang stood at the entrance of the mountain gate like a statue, his hair tips already wet with dew.
In fact, there wasn’t any noise to hear. The direction of the back mountain had been covered with dozens of "Silencing Symbols" by Wu Daodao and his disciples—or so Wu Daodao claimed.
In fact, Old Jiang didn’t even know what it was.
His mind was also filled with complexities.
For example, his disciple Wu Daodao, whom he had thought was just a blabbering guy, hiding out in the countryside and making a living as a charlatan for the neighboring villages.
But unexpectedly, this time he discovered that Wu Daodao actually had real skills?
Not to mention other things, just the six members of the Qingyun Sect.
Wu Daodao’s wife, that middle-aged woman, showed a few moves today that made Old Jiang’s heart skip a beat!
And then there were Wu Daodao’s four disciples he observed in the evening.
He couldn’t make much out of the three younger ones.
But the eldest disciple, the young man Nangong Yin, displayed a wood-chopping skill with simple cuts. To outsiders, there was nothing special, but Old Jiang’s eyes almost popped out after one glance.
Such simple movements were clearly the most orthodox approach of cultivating martial arts to comprehend the Tao!
That was "cultivating martial arts to comprehend the Tao"!
In his youth, Old Jiang didn’t even know where he’d read several old-fashioned novels—something about the Lord of the Returning Pearl of Shu Mountain, Sword Immortals, and the like—and he foolishly went to ask Song Qiaoyun’s dad.
Old Song just chuckled reassuringly at Old Jiang back then.
"Bull—"
"Bullshit! Sword Immortal? My foot, a Sword Immortal!"
"The people who write these crappy books probably can’t even hold a kitchen knife properly, let alone know anything about the Sword Immortal’s way of the sword!"
"Get your ass back to practicing horse stance!"
Young Jiang was quite disappointed at the time.
He had already learned martial arts, but...
After reading about immortals, martial arts stories just weren’t appealing enough!
Sure, the rigor and might of basic punches and kicks were powerful.
But how was that as dashing as a Sword Immortal floating in and out, or as fitting to a young boy’s fantasy as throwing a flying sword to sever an enemy’s head from miles away?
Young Jiang was deeply affected back then.
Young people, always daydreaming nonsense.
However, Old Song couldn’t stand it anymore and gave young Jiang a beating with his stick to steady his heart.
After beating and whipping him, Old Song was still reasonable and shared some words to fulfill the young one’s fantasies.
"All that stuff in books is deceptive, but... those lofty immortal tricks aren’t completely nonexistent."
"When you cultivate martial arts to the innate realm, achieving a flawless mind and returning your Inner Breath to its origin to refine your Dantian..."
"Actually, there’s something to cultivating martial arts to comprehend the Tao, or, well, entering the Tao through martial arts."
At that time, young Jiang had already been beaten black and blue and was lying on the bamboo bed whimpering. When he heard this, he immediately became spirited, rolled up, and stared wide-eyed at his master.
"Entering the Tao through martial arts? Can it make you fly?"
"...Yes. When Inner Breath returns to its origin, it’s no longer just Inner Breath; you can control your body and the surrounding airflow. It’s said... that you can fly."
"Then, can you release a palm strike that splits mountains?"
"...That depends on how big the mountain is."
"Mount Everest... Stop, Master! Put down the stick!" Young Jiang immediately backed down. "How about Zijin Mountain then?"
"Uh, too big."
"Lion Mountain? Taiping Mountain? Fugui Mountain?"
Young Jiang listed several mountains around Jinling City from largest to smallest in one breath, but seeing his master’s face grow uglier, he knew trouble was coming and quickly turned over to cover his head with a blanket.
Old Song swung his stick and beat him through the blanket seven or eight times, then angrily said, "Asking so many questions! You want to split mountains with a single palm?"
"I’ll give you Zijin Mountain! I’ll give you Lion Mountain! I’ll give you Fugui!"
"Aha! And Taiping Mountain too!"
"You must be insane to even think about it!"
"The military base is right next to Taiping Mountain! If you’re not afraid of dying, go ahead and show me!!"
Poor young Jiang, before the bruises from his first beating that night had even started to fade, he immediately suffered a second one.
Days later, on a day when young Jiang saw that his master was in a good mood after having a few drinks, he still couldn’t help but ask a few questions.
"Master, about what you said the other day, about understanding the Tao through martial arts, and entering the Tao with martial arts, how can one achieve that?"
"...Difficult, extremely difficult, as hard as ascending to heaven."
"So... have you achieved it, Master?"
"..."
And so... the third beating.
·
As young Jiang slowly grew up, he came to realize that his master, Old Song, of course, had not reached the state of entering the Tao through martial arts.
Not by a long shot, not even close to seeing the doorway.
Not just the master, but all the martial artists in the world who trained all their lives—let alone see the doorway, they couldn’t even see the shadow.
But there was a certainty in how Master spoke that night.
It made young Jiang believe that this matter, well, it definitely existed.
During the years young Jiang was growing up and practicing martial arts, he often asked his master about it, and eventually, his master laid it all out for him.
Among those who practice profound Ancient Martial Arts, somewhat similar tales had been passed around.
But after all, it was only a legend; an actual instance of someone entering the Tao through martial arts had not been heard of in the world for hundreds of years.
Perhaps it existed, but no one knew.
Old Song hadn’t achieved it. Neither had Old Song’s father, nor Old Song’s grandfather; go back a few generations—flip through the family tree to the end, and there wasn’t a single one.
Yet Old Song told young Jiang specifically that this "entering the Tao through martial arts" did exist.
But as to what it exactly was, Old Song couldn’t make it clear.
He also said, "When one day you truly see it for what it is, you’ll naturally understand: Oh, this is it!"
"Why? You’ve never seen it before, but you’re sure as soon as you see it?"
"Because people who cultivate the way of martial arts might look like us, but as soon as they make a move, the feeling, the ’flavor,’ is just different."
Tonight, Old Jiang saw Nangong Yin chopping wood and was shocked at first glance.
Because... it was different!
Nangong Yin was clearly a practitioner of martial arts, which Old Jiang had casually heard Wu Daodao mention before.
He hadn’t thought much of it, just felt it normal for a country boy to know a few moves and techniques.
When chopping wood, one could tell from the way he held the axe and the technique with which he exerted his strength that he was a martial artist.
But as the axe came down...
It was still those words: a different flavor.
Old Jiang couldn’t exactly express, couldn’t quite articulate, what made it different.
All he had was a vague, indistinct feeling that...
It was as if every tiny motion of this child—the way the axe fell, the arc it traced, the angle at which the blade cut in... 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
In fact, by the standard movements of a martial artist, Nangong Yin’s movements weren’t perfect and flawless; they had imperfections, such as the techniques for exerting force, body control, and so on...
In terms of martial arts, they were still rough.
But...
The movements were inexplicably "right"!
Even in places where the technique of exerting force seemed wrong.
Yet Old Jiang just had this magical feeling: Why did it look so "right"?
Wu Daodao told Old Jiang, "This disciple learned from his wife."
All his skills were learned from his master’s wife.
At that time, Old Jiang was speechless.
Under the moonlight, Wu Daodao and Old Jiang stood silently facing each other.
After a while, Wu Daodao suddenly said in a low voice, "Master, looks like we’re in the same boat."
"Eh?"
"Neither of us can beat our own wives."
Old Jiang: "..."
With a sigh, Wu Daodao’s eyes suddenly lit up. "But maybe not necessarily. I think Little Junior Brother Chen Nuo is quite capable; he surely won’t meet someone stronger than him in the future..."
Old Jiang took a drag on his cigarette and then suddenly spoke, "Maybe not."
"What do you mean?" Wu Daodao perked up. "I’ve actually met his wife. She’s quite formidable, and I’ve heard she’s well-known. But... Little Junior Brother should be at least as strong as her, right?"
Old Jiang silently extinguished his cigarette and spoke in a deep voice.
"I’ve sparred with his wife."
"Oh?" Wu Daodao’s eyes brightened. "How did it go?"
Old Jiang fell silent, turning to look in the direction of the back mountain.
·
She returned at dawn, when the sky began to blush with the morning glow.
The middle-aged woman, whose eyes had more white than black, stretched out her hands. She carried Chen Nuo in her left and Song Qiaoyun in her right, one in each hand. She herself staggered a bit with uneven steps as she walked back from the back mountain.
Old Jiang and Wu Daodao hurriedly threw away their cigarette butts and went to greet her. They quickly took Song Qiaoyun, who had fainted. Old Jiang carefully inspected her for a few moments. Confirming that Song Qiaoyun seemed to have no serious external injuries and feeling her pulse—though her Inner Breath was weak, the pulse itself was forceful and steady—Old Jiang was relieved.
Then he turned to look at Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo also had his eyes closed, but his hair and body were soaking wet.
"Ah! Because of my wife’s condition, this disciple is exhausted. His sweat has soaked through his clothes and hair," Old Jiang sighed with emotion.
The middle-aged woman abruptly corrected him, "It’s not sweat."
"Huh?"
"He fell into the river from exhaustion at the end of the fight, and I fished him out."
·
Chen Nuo woke up around noon.
He opened his eyes on the bed and took a look around, making sure he was in the Qingyun Sect.
The wooden bed beneath him was somewhat hard, making his waist stiff.
He sat up, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he heard footsteps outside. Situ Erya pushed the door open and poked her head in, her round eyes darting about as she shouted, "Scumbag’s awake, huh!"
Chen Nuo sighed and gestured to Situ Erya, "Come here."
"What is it?"
Situ Erya took a couple of steps into the room.
"Although you are still very young, I figure you’re only ten years old, right?" Chen Nuo sighed and asked.
"Huh? What are you trying to say?"
Chen Nuo nodded. "Next time you call me a scumbag, I will definitely beat you up."
Situ Erya turned pale and took a few steps back. "You?"
"Really." Chen Nuo nodded. "The kind where I hang you up and smack you."
The young girl retreated several steps and ran away like a puff of smoke.
Chen Nuo stood up and moved his limbs a bit, feeling pain all over his body.
The battle from the day before had been incredibly draining.
It was like fighting a boss battle, where the boss couldn’t lose health, was in an Invincible state, and you could only wear it down by depleting your mana.
Even in his previous life, Chen Nuo had never fought like this, battling an opponent on the same level as him for nearly twenty hours straight.
Not to mention the small tricks, but just the full-power Inner Breath bombardments—Mistress Song must have used those on him at least twenty times, right?
The mountain behind the Qingyun Sect was now probably beyond recognition, like a landslide had just occurred after an earthquake.
The original stream in the mountain ravine had both of its banks sheared off by the force of Song Qiaoyun’s Inner Breath.
At this time, Old Jiang and Wu Daodao entered the room. Upon seeing Chen Nuo, Wu Daodao came forward for a closer look, then squeezed Chen Nuo’s wrist and nodded. "Hmm, seems like there’s no major issue."
Old Jiang came forward, his gaze on Chen Nuo somewhat complex and slightly evasive.
Chen Nuo gave a wry smile. "Master, if you’re feeling embarrassed, there’s really no need. I heard you say before I came here that Mistress is more formidable than you."
After a pause, he asked, "How is Mistress doing?"
Old Jiang exhaled in relief. "She’s fine, she’s fine." He looked at Chen Nuo. "You... are you really fine?"
"I’m also fine, just utterly exhausted." Chen Nuo laughed. "After a sleep, I’ve already recovered more than half."
Actually, his muscles were still aching in various ways, but for Chen Nuo, such a level of damage was still bearable.
The Controller’s power was strong indeed, allowing one to manipulate the powerful forces of this world.
But... the human body is ultimately fragile.
Even for Ability Users specializing in Body Techniques, transformation, or awakening, it was the same.
No matter how strong the flesh is, it has its limit, regardless of the height of one’s abilities.
Even if one transformed into a steel man, what then?
A Controller could break steel with a single slap without straining.
From this perspective, an idea suddenly struck Chen Nuo.
So it seems, no matter how powerful human Ability Users are, they are actually quite fragile—potent in offense, but delicate.
Suddenly, he recalled the words he obtained from that old dog Corot in the Seed and Antarctica bases.
When human powerhouses reach a certain realm, the body can no longer bear stronger powers.
Mysterious problems would inexplicably arise.
Wasn’t my previous life ended in this way?
So...
Perhaps, as Seed said...
Abandoning the physical body and existing solely as a Pure spiritual being is the path of advanced life forms?
Undying, immortal...
Is the flesh just a burden?
·
In truth, Song Qiaoyun’s condition was not "okay."
But rather, it was quite bad.
When they saw the Mistress, she was still lying in bed.
There was a heavy scent of medicine in the room.
On Song Qiaoyun’s neck, arms, and legs, there were various pastes and plasters.
When the three entered the room, Song Qiaoyun was lying there with one pant leg rolled up to her knee.
A middle-aged woman sat by the bed with a box of needles as fine as cow’s hair, inserting them one by one into Song Qiaoyun’s legs.
"Sister-in-law, you’re skilled in acupuncture too?" Chen Nuo glanced and furrowed his brows. "What’s happening with my Mistress?"
"She’s also exhausted," said the middle-aged woman in a very stiff voice and tone, shaking her head. "You’re a young man, and your physical constitution is quite exceptional; it’s apparent you’ve regularly strengthened your body."
"You could hardly withstand that fierce battle."
"What about your Mistress, at her age? At this age, strength no longer comes from just sinews and bones."
"Although her Inner Breath is abundant and can clear the meridians for smooth circulation,"
"muscles and bones can’t become strong instantly. After such a big fight, she now has no internal injuries, but her external wounds will take days to endure."
The middle-aged woman explained that Song Qiaoyun had sixteen muscle strains, seven or eight muscle tears, and several torn tendons.
The back, legs, arms, neck, and torso.
Any muscle group used during the fight was far from intact.
Chen Nuo frowned and glanced at Song Qiaoyun, who still had her eyes closed, and shook his head. "Is she still unconscious and not awake?"
"She’s awake, woke up earlier than you," the middle-aged woman shook her head. "But with so many wounds and such agony, while I still need to administer medicine and do the acupuncture, why suffer so much?"
"So I knocked her out again."
"It’s better when she’s unconscious, to avoid some of the pain."
After a pause, she added, "Her frenzy lasted so long, and the intense emotion also harmed her spirit. Sleeping more is good; sleep nurtures the spirit."
Chen Nuo remained silent.
Old Jiang quietly said, "Your Mistress regained consciousness when she woke up, but she remembers little of yesterday’s events, only bits and pieces."
Alright, whether she remembers or not isn’t important. What matters is that she’s lucid.
"Then what about my Mistress’s condition?" Chen Nuo looked at the middle-aged woman again.
The middle-aged woman was impatient. "Do you really need to ask this now? I am giving her acupuncture! Everybody out, don’t disturb my focus here!"
"My school’s Divine Acupuncture Technique is all about precision and force. With you all chattering here, what if my hand trembles and I exert a little too much or too little force, causing someone to develop muscle atrophy? Whose fault would that be?"
As she said this, she shooed Chen Nuo and the others out with just a few sharp words.
The three men walked outside and stood in the courtyard.
Looking around the Qingyun Sect courtyard, at the places that got wrecked yesterday...
The kitchen had mostly collapsed, and from the courtyard, you could see the kitchen stove—still more than half intact.
The wall of a room in the wing next door had a big hole in it.
The area around the main gate... that was even less presentable.
After sweeping his gaze around, Chen Nuo turned back to look at Old Jiang, who looked somewhat ashamed and said quietly, "I will definitely compensate for the damage to the buildings here."
No shit. If you don’t pay, am I supposed to? Chen Nuo didn’t say anything.
"However... you know, I’ve been quite short on cash lately, and my trip to Europe was also a perilous attempt to make some money. I also got scammed when buying the Self-Healing Serum, and now I can’t even get my money back..."
"And for that job in Europe, to protect those three in your family, I couldn’t get paid either..."
Chen Nuo sighed and turned to Wu Daodao. "I’ll do it. I’ll compensate for the damages at the Qingyun Sect, whether it’s for rebuilding the buildings, constructing the main gate, making the courtyard, or for those peach tree forests on the hillside that got destroyed."
Wu Daodao smiled slyly and glanced at his junior brother. "But... what about the back mountain then?"
Chen Nuo glared. "The back mountain? That’s not yours, is it?"
Wu Daodao wasn’t in a hurry at all, leisurely pulling a stack of papers from his chest. "Here, have a look for yourself."
"What is this?"
"A land lease contract. I’ve leased this mountain behind us for twenty years; it’s a contract signed with the village. Have a look for yourself."
Chen Nuo glared, took a glance at it, and then fell silent.
After a while, Chen Nuo said quietly, "Just broke a few parts of the hillside..."
Wu Daodao maintained his smirking smile.
Chen Nuo said helplessly, "Just knocked over a couple of unclaimed, uninhabited slopes, and didn’t actually hurt anyone."
"Preventing soil erosion is everyone’s responsibility."
"Just destroyed some wild trees in the mountains..."
"Forest and mountain conservation, ensuring everyone takes responsibility."
Chen Nuo resignedly stuffed the contract back into Wu Daodao’s hands. "Alright, you calculate a figure and tell me later. I’ll pay for it."
"No need to calculate later." Wu Daodao pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket, which had several lines of different numbers scribbled on it, and handed it to Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo asked, "Were you figuring this out while I was unconscious?"
"Can’t afford to fail the family business, can’t afford to fail..." Wu Daodao smiled amiably.
Chen Nuo looked at the numbers on the paper and his eyes widened immediately.
"Are these numbers accurate?!"
"What are you saying! Family doesn’t cheat family!" Wu Daodao insisted with righteousness.
"You’re charging me eighty-eight thousand for a single main gate! Last time I remember donating money, making the main gate and casting a golden statue only cost a hundred thousand."
"And now, just for a single main gate, it’s eighty-eight thousand?"
Wu Daodao sighed deeply. "No helping it, Junior Brother. Last time was last time."
"Lately, you know, timber prices have gone up."
"So..."
"So you’re saying a new main gate now, the wood is more expensive than before?"
"No, no, no... because timber prices have gone up."
"So... for the new main gate, I’m thinking of making it out of marble."
·
The money naturally still had to be paid.
Chen Nuo wasn’t lacking in cash, and to make matters worse, Wu Daodao just knew that Chen Nuo was very, very wealthy.
After all, Wu Daodao had spent quite a few days with the Empress when he went to Jinling City to save Chen Nuo.
This couple was the fattest sheep Wu Daodao had ever seen in his life; how could he not take advantage of that?
Actually, the price wasn’t non-negotiable.
The Eldest Senior Brother had said, "Actually, for family, it’s not impossible to give a discount. But I’ve got a personal question I’m very curious about, and I’d like to ask you... it’s a conclusion we were all very curious about last night, and I chatted about it with our master for half the night. You give me an answer, and I’ll give you a twelve percent discount, how about that?"
"What?"
"Junior Brother... can you beat your wife?"
"..."
·
Chen Nuo readily wrote an IOU.
Full price, no discount.
What’s the need for a discount? After all, we’re brothers in the same school!
A discount? That would be like slapping my own face!
Old Jiang, after all, was quite decent. He was visibly embarrassed and hesitated for a while before he finally said quietly, "I’ll pay you back this money in a few days."
"Don’t even think about it." Chen Nuo shook his head and blurted out, "You haven’t had an easy time making money over the years, protecting people as a bodyguard and dealing with bodies as a Cleaner; that hard-earned money was all spent on treating my Mistress’s illness."
"In the future, if you want to earn money, could I actually force you to take up jobs on the Octopus Monster’s website again?"
"Look, Old Jiang, I’m going to speak my mind, and don’t take it the wrong way."
"You, at your age, may have decent martial arts skills, but... that’s pretty much it. For small jobs, your skills are enough, but you can’t make much money."
"For big jobs, there’s more money. But your level of martial arts isn’t enough to protect yourself against real masters."
"You’ve made some money; just save it for your and my Mistress’s retirement."
He spoke in his usual devil-may-care tone, not bothering with excessive politeness.
But Old Jiang actually felt a warmth in his heart from those words.
Old Jiang was somewhat moved but shook his head. "No, that’s not possible... You may call me your master, but in reality, you are far stronger than I am. After calling me master for so long, I’ve actually never really taught you anything and owe you no favors..."
Chen Nuo frowned. "Don’t be like that, Old Jiang. You and my Mistress are godparents to my sister. Isn’t that reason enough?"
"...Not enough."
"You also saved my wife and child in Europe."
"...You helped me settle the grudge with the Song Family in Hong Kong too."
"Then..." Chen Nuo’s eyes rolled, and he suddenly smiled.
"Then, consider it my respect for my Chinese language teacher."
"Old Jiang, you’ve forgotten, you’re still my Chinese language teacher."
·
That remark seemed even warmer.
After making a joke, Chen Nuo walked away, heading towards the kitchen to get a drink of water.
Old Jiang stood still, thinking back on what Chen Nuo had just said to him. Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed! He sensed a different implication.
What did this kid just say?
Being a bodyguard???
Burying bodies!!!
Old Jiang kept his face unchanged but pretended to slowly follow, speaking casually as if it were nothing. "What you just said is indeed true; I’m not suited for making that dangerous money anymore."
"By the way, I’ve offended my client with this European affair, so I probably shouldn’t use that Octopus Monster account anymore..."
"It’s better not to use it."
"I was thinking, maybe it’s okay for me to switch accounts."
"You still want to take on jobs, Old Jiang?"
"No, I’ll just log on occasionally for fun."
"Mm, go ahead and make the switch."
"Then I’ll need to change the name of my account... Hey, by the way, Chen Nuo, what do you think my previous name was?"
"Is it ’Fu Sheng Hebi Yan’? Too old-fashioned, has that last-generation vibe to it, and in my opinion, it lacks dominance, lacks..."
"FUCK!! Old Jiang, you’re tricking me into talking!"
Caught off guard, Chen Nuo blurted it out and immediately jolted.
He quickly turned around to look at Old Jiang.
Old Jiang snorted coldly, his hand reaching for a stick leaning against the wall.
Between clenched teeth, Old Jiang said sternly, "I remember when we ran into each other in Europe, I never told you my codename on Octopus Monster!"
Chen Nuo: "FUCK!"
Damn it, I’ve been careless!
"So, how did you know my ID?" Old Jiang took a deep breath. "Let me think... Over these past two years, the jobs I’ve taken on... in Jinling, there were only those two times!"
"Protecting a Korean woman!"
"And... the incident of one hundred thousand USD being turned into Vietnamese Dong!"
"Let me think, what else..."
"Oh, killing someone and having me help bury the body."
"Also... saying I did good work?"
"Chen Nuo, it was you!!"
That afternoon, old comrade Fu Sheng Hebi Yan chased Chen Xiaoguo across two mountains.
Actually, it was only supposed to be one mountain.
Old Jiang, panting as he chased, sat down on a rock to catch his breath.
Chen Nuo, feeling somewhat guilty, came over and said some nice things.
Only after his master’s anger had somewhat subsided did Chen Nuo think it over and decide he might as well resolve all future troubles at once.
So he added a few more words.
"Old Jiang, I think that since we will often interact with each other after we return to Jinling, it’s better to clear some things up now than to make you angry all over again later. Now, I just..."
"What else is there?"
"Uh... previously on Octopus Monster, I had an ID called... Arsonist of Fragrant Hearts."
"Does that sound familiar?"
Old Jiang’s expression stiffened. "...Familiar!"
Chen Nuo sighed. "...My wife beat you up that time because I offended her on the website."
"My wife set a trap to lure out my main account, and then followed the clues to find me and try to kill me."
"As a result, you took that beating for me..."
Old Jiang gasped for air. "......"
Okay, so that led to him chasing a second mountain.
—It was wise of Chen Nuo not to mention the part about "our father lying in bed after a stroke."
Otherwise, the elder and the youth might have chased each other even farther, nearly running to the outskirts of Jinling City.
·
「That night.」
"You’re saying that the ’washing the marrow and cleansing the tendons’ method won’t work?"
In the dim yellow light of the room, Chen Nuo frowned at the middle-aged woman.
Old Jiang also looked serious by his side.
"Why?" both master and disciple asked simultaneously.
The middle-aged woman sat down silently, thought for a while as she rolled her eyes—Chen Nuo now understood that his sister-in-law had been wronged because of her looks.
Seeing her roll her eyes often, one might think she’s impolite, but it’s actually because she was born with more white in her eyes than black.
"Actually, I roughly understand your ideas."
"She was injured in her early years, damaging her heart meridian, causing Inner Breath to rush to her brain, which is why she has this madness."
Chen Nuo’s eyes widened, and he raised his hand to ask, "Actually, I... I’m not trained in Ancient Martial Arts; I’ve always been a bit confused. If the heart meridian is damaged, then the Inner Breath shouldn’t be able to reach the brain, right? How could it accumulate in the brain?"
The middle-aged woman frowned and glanced at Old Jiang. "You’re from a lineage of Ancient Martial artists; how come your disciple doesn’t understand such basic principles?"
Old Jiang answered in a low voice, "Don’t ask me; I can’t teach him with my limited skills. My disciple is far more skilled than I am; his wife can knock me down in a single encounter."
The middle-aged woman remained impassive, her tone very stiff. "Knocking you down in one encounter is not difficult. For someone like you, I could fight eight with one hand. His wife seems to have impressive strength."
Speaking of which, she turned her head to Chen Nuo. "Your wife is quite capable; introduce me to her sometime."
Old Jiang: "..."
Can’t you speak properly?!
So, in this room, I’m the weakest?
Old Jiang took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Chen Nuo hurried over to placate Old Jiang. "Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. After all, we’re family here."
This middle-aged woman really is impolite...
"Actually, according to our Ancient Martial Arts theory, meridians have Yin-Yang..." Old Jiang changed the topic helplessly, explaining to Chen Nuo.
After saying half a sentence, looking at Chen Nuo’s confused expression, something clicked in his mind.
"If I put it this way, you’ll understand. Imagine this person’s brain as a swimming pool."
"The heart meridian is like a cycle, with two pipes."
"One for incoming water, one for outgoing water..."
Uh-huh!
I’m familiar with this topic! Chen Nuo thought.
Swimming pool, two pipes, one for incoming water and one for outgoing.
So, Old Jiang, are we also going to have chicken and rabbit cage problems?
"We martial artists, when we perform our major circulatory meditation, our Inner Breath moves throughout our body in one complete cycle."
"It has to go out, and it has to come back. Through the heart meridian, Inner Breath enters the brain, then circulates once, before leaving. That completes the process of using Inner Breath to refine the self—muscles, bones, internal organs, and even the brain....."
"It’s roughly like that, I guess."
"But Qiao Yun’s heart meridian is damaged. What was originally a two-way channel has become one-way traffic."
"Every time Inner Breath circulates, on this heart meridian path, the Inner Breath enters, but the exit is broken, blocked."
"So it accumulates in the brain, and then, every day as Inner Breath naturally moves, each circulation triggers an attack."
Chen Nuo swallowed and said cautiously, "Actually, Old Jiang, you didn’t have to say so much. When you mentioned the swimming pool, one pipe in, one pipe out, I got it."
"..."
Chen Nuo quickly asked the middle-aged woman, "Just tell us why cleansing the meridians and cutting the marrow won’t work."
The middle-aged sister-in-law rolled her eyes again. "Because cleansing the meridians and cutting the marrow can be affected by both internal causes and external forces."
"If it’s your own Inner Breath building up, making meridians fragile, breaking through the Mysterious Gate with your own strength, Inner Breath cleansing the meridians—that’s the proper way to cleanse them and cut the marrow."
"But relying on external forces, having another expert forcefully intervene with their Inner Breath to break through your meridians... that’s all heretical paths!"
"Although you might look stronger, someone else’s Inner Breath is not your own. When it surges through the critical points, you won’t be able to handle the intensity as finely and delicately as if you were in control of your own Inner Breath."
"No matter how careful, it’s still not you doing it yourself; there will always be slight discrepancies."
"This is the heart meridian, not an external road. If you’re driving and accidentally run into a tree on the road, scratching a lamppost, you just accept the penalty and fix it."
"But within the heart meridian, if Inner Breath is the slightest bit careless when surging through, it will damage the heart meridian, making the injury worse!"
"External forces can repair inherently weak or injured meridians and roots — but not the heart meridian! Other meridians, maybe, but not the heart meridian!"
"Outsiders are outsiders; they don’t know the intricacies of your own heart meridian, so surging through will cause damage."
"Don’t tell me you’re proficient in meridians; it’s useless!"
"There are no two identical leaves in this world, and no two people’s meridians are exactly the same."
"They are generally the same, but there are differences in the details."
"Yet the heart meridian is such a fragile place; any slight damage can lead to unpredictable consequences."
"Who told you this method was viable?"
"An Ancient Martial Arts expert..." Old Jiang answered weakly.
"Pah! What a quack!" the middle-aged woman scorned.
"Then, since my Mistress’s Inner Breath is so strong, and it’s just the outlet of her heart meridian that’s blocked, can’t she cleanse her own meridians and cut the marrow with her Inner Breath? She’s been practicing Inner Breath circulation since she was young; she knows best how her own heart meridian circulates, so she won’t hurt herself."
"No," the middle-aged woman still shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Like your master said, there’s an incoming water pipe and an outgoing water pipe. Which end is blocked for her?"
"The outgoing water pipe," Chen Nuo replied.
"That’s why it won’t work."
"..."
"If the blocked one was the incoming pipe, then it would be simple. With her strong Inner Breath, she could just break through forcefully; even if forcibly surging caused shocks to the meridians, it wouldn’t matter."
"But while the incoming pipe might work, the outgoing pipe won’t."
"??"
"The order is that Inner Breath first needs to follow the incoming pipe into the brain, then it can reach the outgoing pipe to start breaking through."
"At that point, where is the Inner Breath located?"
"In the swimming pool... no, in the brain," Chen Nuo corrected.
"Right. The human brain is extremely fragile, and Inner Breath needs to surge to break through; it must build up! With that buildup, the brain gets damaged directly."
"If you thought about doing that, you might as well prepare a coffin first."
Chen Nuo fell silent, and Old Jiang was also dumbfounded.
"This..."
The middle-aged woman glared at Old Jiang. "Your wife’s problem wasn’t that serious at first; you just made it worse with the treatment!"
"What do you mean?" Old Jiang’s face changed.
"I’m asking you, when she was initially injured and her heart meridian was damaged, did you have her rest in bed to recover?"
"Um..."
"Did you think, having suffered internal injury, she should not mobilize Inner Breath and had her force it back to her Dantian and Qi Sea, suppressing the Inner Breath?"
"Right, the meridians were damaged and already fragile; letting Inner Breath disperse would cause even greater damage, wouldn’t it?"
"That’s why you’re a blockhead," the middle-aged woman said coldly. "I’ll ask you again, later when she couldn’t suppress her Inner Breath, and it went to her brain, causing attacks, have you been using various ways to suppress it?"
"Yes."
"Using medication to weaken her meridians throughout her body, then each time she had an attack, you used your Inner Breath to suppress her dispersal of energy?"
"I see you’re not young anymore. When I fought your wife, I discovered that your lineage’s Inner Breath Cultivation Technique is actually quite impressive."
"But at your age, you’ve only reached this level of skill."
"I think, over these years, your martial arts progress hasn’t been significant because you frequently exhaust your Inner Breath to heal your wife’s injuries, right?"
"Every time you deplete your Inner Breath to suppress hers and help her disperse her Inner Breath, day by day, the Inner Breath you’ve cultivated is so frequently wasted, injuring your foundation, repeatedly overdrawn. As a result, your martial arts skills have stagnated!"
As she spoke, the woman pointed to Song Qiaoyun, who was asleep on the bed, "She has more talent than you, and the realm of her Inner Breath cultivation is also higher than yours. She has long since achieved a breakthrough with her Dantian. The more external forces suppress it, the more her Inner Breath automatically generates to resist."
"As a result, every time you suppress and disperse her energy, it’s only stable for a moment, but she becomes stronger and her Inner Breath becomes purer and more vigorous."
"You gradually find yourself outmatched, and then you rely on the power of medicine to weaken her meridians, reducing the intensity of her Inner Breath’s pulsation, so you can continue to suppress the attacks, is that it?"
"...Yes."
The woman sighed. "That was unwise. If, when she was first injured, you hadn’t forced her to seal her Dantian and restrain her Inner Breath, preventing her from circulating it..."
"With the purity and realm of her Inner Breath, she might have succeeded in breaking through with her own Inner Breath. Even though it might have been painful and possibly led to a serious illness, after enduring it for a while, she could have fully recovered."
"Now... it’s difficult!"
"These years you chose a temporary solution that worsened the problem, causing more and more accumulated Inner Breath to build up within her heart meridian, causing more to rush to her brain and making her insanity grow worse."
"It was only a new injury to the heart meridian at the beginning."
"Now that many years have passed, a small injury has become an old wound. Suppressed all these years, the accumulated Inner Breath has grown; it can’t get out, making the damaged ’water pipe’ even more of a mess."
Chen Nuo saw Old Jiang was so shaken that he was on the verge of collapse, his face a mixture of shock, regret, anger, and guilt.
He feared if the middle-aged woman said a few more words, Old Jiang might not be able to restrain himself and would start banging his head against the wall.
He hurriedly asked, "What can we do then? Do you have a solution?"
"There’s a simplest and easiest solution, one that won’t harm the heart meridian and won’t damage the brain, which is... a bit troublesome."
"I’m not afraid of trouble!!" Old Jiang’s eyes suddenly lit up. "As long as she can be healed, no matter how troublesome it is, I’m not afraid!"
"Tell me, how can she be cured??"
The middle-aged woman looked at Old Jiang and slowly spoke two words:
"No treatment."
"...What?" Both Chen Nuo and Old Jiang were stunned.
"It means not treating anything."
"She’s had an outburst this time and all the Inner Breath accumulated over the years has been exhausted. And now she will be weakened for a while."
"Let me ask you, didn’t her outbreaks used to be spaced out over many days, but now they’ve become more frequent?"
"Yes, yes, yes! In the beginning, it happened once every two or three months, but in recent years, it has worsened to occurring once a day."
"That’s because under repression, her Inner Breath accumulated more and more! Now after this battle, it’s all used up. It won’t happen as frequently anymore."
"I estimate, with her cultivation and realm... Now that her Dantian is exhausted, the next time it fills up, it’ll probably be in over ten days."
"You mean, after Mistress wakes up this time, it will be more than ten days before she has another episode?"
"Yes."
Old Jiang asked, "Then... what do we do the next time she has an episode?"
"Simple! Just like this time, find someone to fight with her!"
"Exhaust her Inner Breath, and she’ll be calm for another ten days or so."
"Hmm, however, if her realm improves further and she becomes stronger, it might shorten that time a little."
"Taking into account her age, and that her current level of cultivation is already excellent, the chances of her realm improving aren’t that high."
"This is probably as far as she’ll go in this lifetime."
As the woman said this, she added another line, "Have a fight, deplete her Inner Breath... Hmm, Master Jiang, you won’t be able to; your capabilities are not enough for her."
"Let your disciple do it. Remember, engage her in combat every ten days or so."
Fight my ass!! Chen Nuo almost cursed out loud.
So what, I’m supposed to be a target for my Mistress every ten days or so for the rest of my life, just to get beaten up?!
How could that be possible!!
"Exhausting Inner Breath doesn’t necessarily mean fighting someone, right? She can just find a secluded place every day, or just before an episode, and while she’s lucid, unleash a barrage of powerful moves on a wall or a tree or a rock." Chen Nuo couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman thought about it and actually...
Dammit, she nodded in agreement!
"Yeah, that would be easier."
You dare to say that’s alright?! Chen Nuo continued to roll his eyes.
What kind of crappy idea is this!
Every ten days or so...
Alright, to be safe, let’s say once a week.
Every week, find a place with no people, and wildly unleash a barrage of powerful moves against a mountain, a wall, or the air.
After exhausting herself, does she then get carried back?
Is this how she’s going to live for the rest of her life, for decades to come?!
If it were you, would you be willing?
"Is there no other way?" Old Jiang’s face was filled with distress.
The middle-aged woman didn’t answer, but just quietly looked at Chen Nuo.
Old Jiang fell silent for a while, then suddenly stood up. "I... I’m going to get some air outside in the courtyard."
Old Jiang was clearly on the verge of breaking down.
He had been hoping that Chen Nuo’s ability to cleanse the marrow would save his wife.
Now...
Seeing Old Jiang step outside, Chen Nuo’s expression remained unchanged.
After waiting for a while, he got up to close the room door, then turned back to face the middle-aged woman.
"The solution you mentioned, it’s symptomatic, not a cure," Chen Nuo said coldly. "I actually think this idea is even more absurd."
The middle-aged woman suddenly smiled.
"A way to cure the root cause? Actually, there is one."
Chen Nuo was not surprised at all. This woman was never as simple as she seemed.
But... why do I suddenly feel that the smile on this woman’s face is eerily similar to her husband Wu Daodao’s?!
"The method to cure the root cause... Speak!"
"This method, in fact, is the most appropriate, safest, and likely to be successful!"
"The most important thing is, it won’t hurt her cultivation level. Once cured, her Inner Breath still remains; a sick person, once recovered, becomes a top-tier master with formidable skills."
"What do you think?"
In the eyes of the middle-aged woman, Chen Nuo suddenly saw a look that he was all too familiar with, that same expression belonging to Wu Daodao...
Chen Xiaoguo sighed and patted his pocket.
"How much?" Chen Nuo asked bluntly!
"One million!" the sister-in-law replied promptly.
Chen Nuo sighed. "I can afford the money, but Sister-in-law, doing this... seems a bit heartless."
"Firstly, Wu Daodao only followed Master Jiang for a few years practicing body-strengthening techniques, so as far as kindness is concerned, our Qingyun Sect doesn’t owe your master anything."
"Secondly, your visit this time has caused quite the commotion in our sect. Although you are willing to compensate, whether it’s for repairs or restoring the ecology and vegetation in the mountains, it’s all quite troublesome."
"Thirdly, this technique is a unique heart method passed down within our Qingyun Sect!"
"It’s our sect’s defining Cultivation Technique! There’s no reason to just hand it over to an outsider for nothing, right?"
"Even if Wu Daodao is the Sect Leader, even if he once had sentimental ties with Old Jiang."
"But sentiment is personal."
"Even Wu Daodao has no right, as the Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect, to give away our sect-defining Cultivation Technique to an outsider."
"Little Chen Nuo, you owe your master a debt of gratitude. Even Wu Daodao has ties of friendship with him."
"However, I have not a single bit of relationship with your master and his wife. I haven’t eaten a grain of their rice, nor do I owe them any favor."
"Moreover, his wife fell ill here, and I took action to help save her, and helped you deplete her Inner Breath."
"No matter how you calculate it, it’s him who should be thankful to me, right?"
These words were cold, but they couldn’t be faulted.
Chen Nuo sighed.
Their sect’s defining Cultivation Technique is one thing, but Old Jiang is Wu Daodao’s teacher, not someone from Qingyun Sect. There really is no reason to take another sect’s Cultivation Technique for granted.
Alright, a million it is. It doesn’t really matter to me.
"How does this sect-defining Cultivation Technique heal my Mistress?"
"Actually, the principle is quite simple."
"I ask you, which of your Mistress’s heart channels is injured?"
"The inlet pipe is fine, but the outlet pipe is blocked."
The middle-aged woman smiled. "So, you see, my method is very simple... Turn the inlet pipe into an outlet pipe, turn the outlet pipe into an inlet pipe! Just swap them around, won’t that do?"
"What?" Chen Nuo was stunned. "Sister-in-law, I didn’t even finish high school and was unconscious outside for a year, never went to college; can you explain in a way that I can understand?"
"Reversing the qi flow, understand?"
"...I don’t understand."
"You’ve seen The Return of the Condor Heroes, right?"
Yeah, that I know! The kid at home who’s addicted to cats all day—her mother is familiar with it!
She’s the Little Deer Girl from the Ancient Wood Sect!
"The Western Poison Ouyang Feng reverses his practice of the Nine Yin Manual, causing all his qi to flow in reverse; you’ve seen this before, right?"
Okay, Chen Nuo roughly understood.
But...
Isn’t this all a bit too absurd?
"Don’t feel like you’re at a loss spending that one million."
"This Cultivation Technique is unique to our Qingyun Sect, and you couldn’t find anyone outside willing to teach it."
"Furthermore, to practice this Cultivation Technique, one needs a protector by their side, ready at any moment to help her resolve any accidents that occur during the qi reversal process, like leaking Inner Breath, or taking the wrong path... I’m taking your million, and I’ll still have to spend a lot of effort accompanying her in her practice."
"I’ll likely have to use a lot of my vital energy too!"
Chen Nuo nodded.
Looking at the middle-aged woman, he suddenly smiled. "Sister-in-law, you deliberately waited for Old Jiang to leave and told me about this alone because..."
"Actually, you just wanted to fleece me, right?"
"If it had been just Old Jiang who came this time, you probably would have given this method to him for free."
"But since I, the fat sheep, am here, the Qingyun Sect’s entire family gets to feed on me... that’s right, isn’t it?"
The middle-aged woman was taken aback... Her face tensed for a moment before she slowly nodded. "Your Senior Brother Wu Daodao is sentimental. Even if Old Jiang had money, he wouldn’t take a single penny from him. Knowing the situation, he would definitely have given away the Cultivation Technique."
Chen Nuo smiled. "My Senior Brother is a lazy person, careless and extravagant in his cultivation."
"Sister-in-law, you manage the daily necessities for everyone in the sect; it must not be easy."
"Making a living by fortune-telling and geomancy in the countryside doesn’t earn much money."
"Actually, Sister-in-law, I know you’re not a cold-hearted person; there’s no need to deliberately act so cold to fleece me, the fat sheep."
"You don’t want to appear benevolent and good, and prefer to speak harshly to people... I understand that."
"You used to harbor too much killing intent, afraid of harming others, not daring to get close, only able to drive people away with cold stares and harsh words."
"Years and years of this have turned into this face you show to others."
"In psychology, this is called a self-protective personality type."
"But actually, you no longer have the root of killing intent, and there’s no need for this anymore."
"Sometimes, letting go of a little goodwill is quite nice too; there’s no need to act the villain unnecessarily."
"Later... Sister-in-law, if the sect is short on daily necessities and money for the children’s food and clothes, just give me a call in Jinling."
The middle-aged woman’s face stiffened, then slowly, a slight and somewhat forced smile appeared on her lips.
Chen Nuo stretched and said, "Let’s just handle it like this. I won’t mention it to Old Jiang or Wu Daodao."
"Make sure you keep this money safe and away from Wu Daodao’s mischief."
Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then suddenly felt a little worried. "By the way, in The Return of the Condor Heroes, that Western Poison Ouyang Feng reversed his qi flow and ended up walking on his hands with his feet in the air, moving hands-first on the ground!"
"My Mistress won’t end up like this practicing your qi-reversing technique, will she?"
The middle-aged woman shook her head slowly. "No... I suppose not?"
Only then did Chen Nuo feel relieved, waved his hand with a smile. "Alright, then I’m heading out. Old Jiang is still fretting out there; I’ll go and console him."
As Chen Nuo left the room...
The middle-aged woman slowly exhaled.
