Afterwards, though Cheng Nuo felt refreshed, he also felt a little guilty. He lowered his eyes and let out a faint sound, “Mmm.”
Liu Guang, who was usually very clingy, smiled and blushed like a silly little schoolgirl. Liu Guang happily took Cheng Nuo in his arms, kissing his face a few more times before he fell asleep.
Cheng Nuo stayed awake for a little while, staring at Liu Guang’s sleeping face who was sleeping like a child with his mouth open, showing his white teeth. Cheng Nuo always thought that Liu Guang was the restless type of sleeper who often fell out of bed. When did he change into the type who hugged other people in his sleep? Cheng Nuo put his hand on Liu Guang’s chest then closed his eyes.
The next day was an official training day. Cheng Nuo woke up early in the morning pack the things that he would need then quickly rushed to the appointed place with his storage bag. The training this time was for thirty-six people from three sects; in addition to Qinghua Sect’s disciples, there were also disciples from Lingyun Pavilion and Zhu Yun Lou.
Their first few days were devoted to medical training, taught by a senior from Lingyun Pavilion named Zhong Linzi, who was quite experienced in the medical arts. Cheng Nuo listened attentively and took notes while secretly wondering about the practical applications of those medical theories.
All of the disciples here were the best of the best. Thus, simple healing techniques weren’t a problem for them and Zhong Linzi mostly focused on the practical application of their skills and how to treat some of the rarer injuries.
After the morning lecture was finished, the disciples had a practical test in the afternoon. Cheng Nuo was shocked when he saw the subjects because they were all real people!
They were elderly people and it could be deduced from their appearance and clothing that they were all slaves. Perhaps because their teachers were worried that the slaves would make too much noise, the subjects had all been drugged into unconsciousness. Older slaves didn’t have any value to the nobles so their owners considered that the best use for them was to be used as test subjects.
Cheng Nuo quickly calmed his mind. His task now was to heal the slave that had been assigned to him. This was the way of the world and all he could do was to protect the people he wanted to protect.
The slave had many gruesome whip, knife, and energy attacks wounds on him. Cheng Nuo fought down a feeling of nausea as he calmly analyzed the injuries and used the proper treatment for each of the wounds.
However, even after his wounds had stopped bleeding, the slave hadn’t regained consciousness and his body was still twitching. Cheng Nuo checked his pulse and realized that there were traces of living things inside his body.
Cheng Nuo took a deep breath, knowing that it was probably one of the poisonous insects that Linzi had talked about this morning. The most important thing right now was to figure out which type it was. It probably wasn’t a Gu poison because those were extremely expensive and rare. The medical team wouldn’t have spent that much just to train them.
(Note: Gu is a type of legendary poison or venomous creature.)
When he was a child, Bai Zhi had tried to give him a Gu. That kind of Gu was basically priceless and hard to find in any market since there are only a few famous Gu families in the whole world.
Cheng Nuo pinpointed the location of the venomous insect then, using his right hand, gently used a twisting motion to pierce it with a silver needle while holding the instrument supplied by the medical department in his left hand.
The insect immediately started moving and Cheng Nuo found out that it was a gold-energy insect. This type of venomous insect was difficult to remove because their bodies are so hard that they can even pierce through the intestines when it is alarmed.
Cheng Nuo quickly used a scalpel to cut the skin while using acupuncture to control the insect’s movement. Then he extracted the insect and put it on a plate to kill it.
Even though Cheng Nuo was already psychologically prepared for sight, he still felt disgusted by the insect’s long, wriggling, bloody body.
He quickly sewed the incision shut and used a healing technique to stop the bleeding. Finally, he raised his hand to signal that he was finished treating the slave.
Some other disciples, including Li Jiu, had also completed their treatment of their assigned test subjects. Zhong Linzi instructed them to examine each others’ work.
Cheng Nuo saw that the other disciples’ work each had their own merits although he noticed that two people had worked rather sloppily. He paid special attention to Li Jui’s work. Li Jui’s slave had a poisoned wound. Li Jui had cured the poison and he had obviously done a very good job of it.
Zhong Linzi then asked them to comment on each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Cheng Nuo carefully listened to the others’ feedback and voiced his insights when it was his turn to speak. Except for the gory parts, this practical test was just like a university class.
Zong Linzi personally examined everyone’s work and marked down their names.
********
Cheng Nuo was always busy and before he knew it, seven days had passed.
Liu Guang was going to leave on a mission again and he would be gone for a relatively long time. The two of them were afraid that they wouldn’t see each other for ten to fourteen days. When Cheng Nuo opened his eyes at dawn, he realized that Liu Guang was looking at him, and he didn’t know how long he had been looking at him.
(Note: The next part contains slight NSFW content. Just a little bit.)
