Li Mo asked, “Have you sometimes felt an unbearable itch on your chest over the years?”
Yang Honglei was startled.
“The itch must have come as fast as it went, barely lasting a minute.”
Yang Hongying shivered, “How did you know?”
“I dab in healing.”
Yang Hongying asked, “Then do you know the reason?”
“As your soul power grows, it will clog the meridians in time. It is still in its infancy, but left alone, the itch will not only appear more often but also expand.”
“What do you mean by expand?”
“One side large, the other small. Is that clear enough for you?”
Yang Hongying blushed and huffed.
“How do I cure it?”
“Massage the afflicted area three times a day. You’ll see effects in a month, improvement in a year, and cure in two. But you are not to use your soul power within this time or it will make the treatment pointless.”
“Not using soul power for two years? That’s impossible. Isn’t there another way?”
“Look for a proficient qi user to use his spiritual qi and clear the affected area. After ten to twelve times you’ll be cured, but you nonetheless can’t use soul power all the while.”
“And how is that done?”
“Simple really, massaging it.”
“And you’re a proficient qi user?”
“Somewhat.”
“Rotten bastard, I just knew you have a black heart.”
“I told you of the two ways, so choose whichever you like. But if you chose me to heal you, I am not obliged to help you for free.”
“What are you saying? You mean you want money on top?”
“Money is something I have in abundance. But it just so happens that I do seem to be strapped for alliance points.”
“Tch, you can’t fool me. Letting you rub your fill then give you points is a double loss I will never agree to.”
“Suit yourself. But do keep in mind, your situation is as serious as it gets. At least don’t use soul power or the hidden danger will backlash after the next twenty attempts.”
“You don’t scare me!”
Yang Hongying’s face flushed and turned her back to Li Mo, rubbing her chest on the sly. The itch was back.
Li Mo took a chair and rested.
Ages later, Yang Hongying’s itch up and vanished and she asked Li Mo, “You said you’re a qi user?”
“En.”
“Liar. I have seen how a qi user releases his qi. He needs to sit cross-legged and be engrossed in meditation. Your posture is anything but that.”
“The world is filled with millions of cultivation methods, with plenty of those than don’t require for someone to take such a stance. This only shows how ignorant you are.”
Yang Hongying gnashed her teeth.
“I still don’t believe it! You say the hidden danger will backlash after twenty uses of soul power? Who’d believe such lie?”
“Split!”
“Return!”
“Split!”
“Return!”
Li Mo provoked Yang Hongying through his words and in an hour, she left and returned her body for over twenty times.
“Ha-ha, did you see? I am healthy as a horse. What hidden danger? It’s clear that you want to take advantage of me. But not today!”
Li Mo closed his eyes and meditated.
Yang Hongying took out a string filled with bells and set it as a boundary.
Yang Hongying said, “I’m going to bed, but don’t get any ideas. If the bells ring, I’ll kill you!”
Li Mo said with closed eyes, “That’s my line.”
“Don’t you worry. I would rather go to Sun Wei than you.”
“Even better.”
In the dead of night, Yang Hongying was roused awake by an insufferable itch.
‘I can’t take it.’ She could handle it at first but it became unbearable soon after.
Twenty minutes passed as she sneaked a rub, but the itch was relentless.
“Hey, hurry up and help me. I can’t take it!”
Yang Hongying jumped out of bed making the bells ring quite nicely. She ran to Li Mo.
“Sun Wei is next door.”
“Y-you damn bastard! I would’ve never suffered so if it weren’t for you!”
“How is it my fault? It was you who were so set on proving me wrong. It’d be stranger if the itch wasn’t so strong after using your soul power twenty times in quick succession.
“There’s nothing to fear though. It will pass in half an hour, at most. “
“Half an hour? I won’t last a minute more. Hurry and… help me rub.”
Yang Hongying was close to tears. In her desperation, she even took Li Mo’s hand.
Then, her itch up and left.
As per Li Mo’s diagnosis, the itch didn’t even last half an hour.
“It’s better?” Yang Hongying let go of Li Mo’s hand and sported a queer face.
“Don’t use soul power again, and rub yourself three times a day for the next two years to cure it.”
Yang Hongying watched Li Mo silently. She was unable to accept it but Li Mo’s explanation matched her condition. It was hard not to believe him now.
“You’re really a qi user?”
Li Mo didn’t feel like repeating himself.
“How long will the itch last the next time I use my soul power?”
“Ten minutes at the least, with a chance of persisting for half an hour.”
Yang Hongying shuddered. Ten minutes had her within an inch of her life and could tell how torturous would thirty minutes be.
Yang Hongying sat back on the bed. Try as she might, sleep eluded her.
She didn’t risk using soul power either.
On the morrow, more experts checked in the hotel. Shenjing Province’s two leaders Auntie Lan and Zhang Jingshen were among them. Yang Hongying went to greet them while Li Mo rather stayed cooped up in the room, cultivating.
“This time it’s serious.”
At three in the afternoon, Yang Hongying burst into the room with a yell.
“A leader from Chuan Provinca and a leader from Hu Province came. Even the capital sent a third level elite and a fourth level official. My god, in all my stay in the alliance, this is my first time seeing a fourth level official.”
Yang Hongying was in high spirits.
“Hey, can’t you be a little excited?”
Li Mo opened his eyes.
“Fourth level official!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Damn it, your reaction is pissing me off.”
Li Mo nodded, “You’re not the first to tell me that.”
Yang Hongying was dumstruck.
“By the way, I received notice that our leaders are holding a feast tonight and attendance is mandatory for all experts of Shenjing Province.”
“Alright.”
