“En, I know.” Qiu Yutong lightly rubbed Lu Xiao’s head, soft in the centre, yet having some inexplicable heaviness.
Lu Xiao silently pressed his forehead against his shoulder and didn’t say a word.
Xu Qiushi impatiently replied, “Since it has come to this, Emperor of the Chen Dynasty, please lower your hand for me. I will use your pulse to determine the state of your body. Do hurry as it has already been three months, and at the end of this, I shall be taking a wife, and will not have time to dawdle with you.”
Lu Xiao silently sat down, holding out his hand.
Xu Qiushi placed three fingers on Lu Xiao’s artery, silently muttering, “En, your pulse is strong. Young people’s bodies really aren’t bad at all.”
“Eh? This seems a little weird.” He continued feeling his artery, suddenly furrowing his brows, “You… Do you have a Heavenly Spirit Vein?”
Lu Xiao nodded sadly, “Indeed.”
“But, something seems amiss…” Xu Qiushi said quietly.
Lu Xiao replied, downcast, “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t interrupt me! If it’s wrong, it’s wrong! Extremely wrong!” Xu Qiushi suddenly flared. Feeling the pulse on Lu Xiao’s other hand, he tensed his face, as if bitterly pondering something.
After a moment, he reached out with both hands, and like playing an instrument, incessantly touched Lu Xiao’s wrist with all ten fingers.
Qiu Yutong fixed his gaze on Xu Qiushi’s expression before suddenly realising something. “Great master, could it be that… Lu Xiao does not possess a Heavenly Spirit Vein?”
His fingers as swift as the wind, Xu Qiushi further creased his brows, refusing to answer.
“Don’t worry, let the master check again.” Qiu Yutong reassured, nodding gently to Lu Xiao.
He knew how much his disciple wanted to cultivate. However, those with a Heavenly Spirit Vein have innately sealed Spiritual Points. Even if one were to forcefully pry open their Spiritual Points, their Spirit Veins, though unobstructed, would have no way to circulate Qi, let alone absorb it.
Moreover, unlike Qiu Yutong’s two hundred year old soul, Lu Xiao’s was much younger, not to mention that it was also an ordinary soul, unable to form a physical body. Both of these meant that he would never be able to cultivate in his lifetime.
All ten of Xu Qiushi’s fingers caressed Lu Xiao’s wrist; his skinny face was cold, to the point that cold sweat was beginning to form.
After a full incense stick of time, he slowly put down his hand and muttered, Unsuccessful, unsuccessful, I also… can’t figure it out.”
Qiu Yutong cautiously asked, “How is it?”
“Great master, Will I… Will I be able to cultivate? How exactly is my condition?” Li Xiao’s voice was husky, staring intently at Xu Qiushi with his pitch-black phoenix eyes, looking both extremely anxious and full of yearning.
“Don’t ask me, I don’t f****** know either!” Xu Qiushi stamped his feet, his expression greatly dismayed and annoyed.
Quieting himself for a moment, he seemed to realised he was being a little too overbearing, calming his tone. “Emperor of the Chen Dynasty, your condition is quite strange. Your meridians and spirit veins are completely blocked. Even if you did possess the Heavenly Spirit Vein, they would not be blocked up to this extent. That’s why I said I didn’t not. However, from what I can see, you will never be able to cultivate in this lifetime.”
Lu Xiao stared blanky at Xu Qiushi.
That expression was almost pitiable, like his last shred of hope was ruthlessly shattered.
Qiu Yutong couldn’t help but want to say something to comfort Lu Xiao, but Xu Qiushi despondently waved his hands. “Even though I can’t figure out what’s wrong with your Spiritual Veins, it must be said that they are extremely strong. There won’t be any problems fetching some Heart’s Blood. I’ll prepare some medicinal soup first, you two can drop by tomorrow morning.”
After that, both of them were unceremoniously chased out by Xu Qiushi.
Xu Dongqing once again prepared the guest rooms beside Xu Qiushi’s courtyard, one for Qiu Yutong, one for Lu Xiao. As expected, it was quite tranquil.
The following day, at the first signs of light, Qiu Yutong and Luxiao awoke and waited at Xu Qiushi’s courtyard.
The sky was the colour of early morning. The courtyard was quiet, with not a single soul around. Only the thick, bitter scent of medicine wafted through its premises, making anyone that caught a scent of it want to vomit.
Qiu Yutong couldn’t take the smell anymore and covered his nose. “This is too foul.”
Xu Qiushi marched out of his residence, scowling. “Foul? What do you know! My medicinal soup is comprises eighty nine rare and unparalleled herbs. I had to boil it all night to prepare, and you still call it foul?”
“I said it without much thought. It isn’t foul, it isn’t foul.”
He had to be humble when trapped in an inferior situation. Qiu Yutong gave Lu Xiao a sneaking glance while smiling apologetically.
According to his understanding of Lu Xiao, if it were in the past, this little apprentice would have slightly raised the corners of his mouth, but at this moment, Lu Xiao lowered his eyelashes and without any intentions of smiling.
Qiu Yutong suddenly understood, that when this kid came to it, he began to be afraid of his blood being taken again.
He thought for a while, and patted Lu Xiao’s shoulder lightly: “Xiao-er? If you’re afraid, forget it. The world is so big, there must be other ways.”
Lu Xiao was trembled slightly, and then he came back to his senses like waking up from a dream, and forced a smile, “I’m not afraid.”
Xu Qiushi was impatient, and dragged the both of them into the room. “Okay, stop dawdling, come in quickly, I’m already prepared!”
As soon as they entered the house, the smell of medicine was strong.
They saw a huge oak bath tub in the middle of the room, and inside it was a whole barrel of dark and thick medicinal soup, which was daunting.
Xu Qiushi stared at Qiu Yutong. “What are you still doing, take your clothes off!”
Qiu Yutong was stunned: “Eh, here?”
Naturally, one had to take off one’s clothes in the medicated bath, but in broad daylight, with his little apprentice and this great doctor, Qiu Yutong was really not used to undressing so directly.
”If you don’t take it off here, where should you take it off? You are not a girl, do you think I like to watch you? In my eyes, you patients are just a piece of meat!” Xu Qiushi urged impatiently.
Qiu Yutong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and there was no other way, so he had to shamelessly tear off his outer robe, take off his inner shirt again, and step into the bathtub.
Xu Qiushi looked at him up and down without hesitation, and kept mumbling: “This weak little body is still cultivating the sword, tsk tsk…”
Qiu Yutong was soaked in the dark medicinal soup, where only his shoulders were exposed, and did not reply.
Lu Xiao tilted his head stiffly and looked out the window; he did not look at Qiu Yutong.
Alas, the little apprentice was more considerate.
”When starting on the first day, it won’t hurt too much. However, it will become more and more painful after a while, and it will hurt day by day. You have to be prepared.”
Qiu Yutong nodded: “I understand.”
Xu Qiushi rushed to Lu Xiao again and said, “You, come with me.”
The two walked into the inner room next to them, Xu Qiushi asked Lu Xiao to sit on a chair, told him to take off his shirt to reveal his chest, and then the physician took out a roll of cowhide and spread it out on the table next to him.
Inside the cowhide was a row of large and small knives, scissors, and dozens of thin copper pipes.
“Young man, please endure.” Xu Qiushi picked up a small knife with a blood container at the end, and weighed it in his hand. The other hand carefully touched Lu Xiao’s ribs and counted the gap in between the fourth rib.
He took a deep breath and gently put the knife in.
The knife was sharp, and there was no sound at all.
Lu Xiao grunted in a low voice, and then immediately gritted his teeth. On his forehead, blue veins visibly throbbed, but he didn’t say a word.
”Good job.” Xu Qiushi praised.
After a while, he slowly pulled out the knife and put in a thin copper tube for blood collection.
The scorching hot blood dripped from the copper tube, drop by drop.
Xu Qiushi held a small snow-white porcelain cup, took half of the blood, and said to himself, “Today’s portion is enough.”
He put the porcelain cup aside, gently pulled out the copper pipe, and handed a piece of cotton wool to Lu Xiao: “Press it yourself.”
”Ok.” Lu Xiao responded in a low voice, his handsome face was pale, and he tightly pressed the wound on his chest.
Xu Qiushi held the small half cup of the blood and walked to the tub. “The blood is coming, it will be a little painful, please resist.”
Qiu Yutong was slightly nervous, but nodded: “I can resist.”
Half a cup of boiling blood from the head of the real Dragon Emperor was slowly poured into the tub, and the originally dark and bitter medicinal soup suddenly gave off an extremely strong bloody smell.
Qiu Yutong slowly closed his eyes and felt an extremely slight tingling sensation that gradually came out from his bone marrow.
The tingling sensation was getting worse and worse, and he couldn’t help pinching the barrel rim, groaning: “Eldest Master, it’s a little itchy.”
“Endure it, this is a normal reaction.”
Qiu Yutong nodded reluctantly.
After a while, that weird tingling sensation gradually turned into an unbearable pain, as if there were thousands of small bugs scurrying around in his marrow…
“Wu…” Qiu Yutong was in so much pain that his consciousness was blurred. He wanted to scream, but it was too embarrassing. He could only grit his teeth desperately. He didn’t know where he had bitten, but his mouth was full of a strong bloody smell.
”What’s wrong with him? How could this happen?!” It seemed to be Lu Xiao’s voice.
“Oh, you just extracted blood from your head, and you’re still alive and kicking. Don’t worry, he’s alright, he’s just driving out… ahem, driving out the illness from his body.”
”But, he vomited blood…” Lu Xiao’s voice trembled.
”Oh, it’s probably because it’s so painful that he bit his tongue. Oh… by the way, I have a piece of wood for the patient to bite, why don’t you give it to him?”
Lu Xiao didn’t answer, his footsteps stopped by the tub, and then his warm and slender fingers pried open Qiu Yutong’s lips abruptly: “Bite this.”
Qiu Yutong was so confused by the pain that he couldn’t tell the difference, so he bit the two fingers fiercely.
“Hiss…” Lu Xiao seemed to suck in a cold breath, but he didn’t move. Instead, he comforted Qiu Yutong softly, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
Qiu Yutong didn’t know how long it took before he gradually woke up.
He only felt that his whole body was limp and his limbs were heavy as if they were filled with mercury. He felt like a baby that had used up all his strength to breastfeed, before slowly opening his eyes.
He saw the snow-white bed curtains in the guest room. His body was fresh and cool, without the smell of medicine. It seemed that he had already been wiped off and changed into clean underwear.
Lu Xiao sat at the head of the bed, his dark eyelashes lowered, as if he was thinking about something.
Qiu Yutong opened his mouth and said hoarsely, “Xiao-er.”
“Shizun, are you awake?” Lu Xiao suddenly came to his senses, and quickly poured him a glass of water, “Drink some water.”
Qiu Yutong drank half a glass of water in one breath, then calmed down a little: “I fainted?”
“En.” Lu Xiao said in a low voice, “I didn’t even know that washing the bone marrow would be so uncomfortable.”
“Actually, it’s fine, but it’s only four hours a day, and it’s over after seven days.” Qiu Yutong waved nonchalantly, “By the way, how are you? Does it hurt to extract blood from your head?”
”The method that the Eldest Master used is very fast and doesn’t hurt much.” Lu Xiao hesitated for a while, and then said, “Shizun, after washing the bone marrow, will your pasth of cultivation go smoothly?”
“This body was born weak, and the acquired emotions were excessively gloomy, which resulted in a heavy illness on the body. After such a wash, I cannot guarantee that my future path of cultivation will be smooth sailing, but it will not be too difficult.”
Lu Xiao pursed his lips and said nothing.
Qiu Yutong naturally knew what he was worrying about, and comforted: “Xiao-er, after I wash the bone marrow, I will definitely return to the Daning Palace with you. After returning to Daning Palace, I will have to pray for rain and snow for the Great Chen Dynasty at the Qixue Platform. The shortest period would be 8 years and the longest period would be 10 years. This time, as your master, I will protect you all your life and never break my promise. “
“…And after that?” Lu Xiao’s voice was very soft.
Qiu Yutong didn’t hear clearly: “What?”
Lu Xiao shook his head gently: “Nothing.”
……
After six days and six nights, Xu Qiushi bled Lu Xiao and gave Qiu Yutong a medicinal bath every day. As the Bloodworm’s activity became more severe, the pain became more and more intense. On the sixth day, Qiu Yutong was in unbearable pain, and his whole body convulsed several times. Lu Xiao had to press his shoulders hard so that he didn’t overturn the tub.
Today was the last day, and Qiu Yutong had no strength anymore. After lying down in the tub, he closed his eyes, and prepared for the severe pain.
Lu Xiao followed Xu Qiushi and entered the inner room as usual.
As Xu Qiushi prepared a knife and a copper tube for blood collection, he sighed: “I didn’t expect his willpower to be so strong, actually being able to survive until now. He looked weak, and I thought he would give up halfway.”
“He has always been a very strong person,” Lu Xiao whispered.
“Well, I can see that he is not worse than his father, but his body is a little worse. After I have washed his bone marrow, I estimate that his practice will definitely improve at a tremendous pace, tsk tsk.”
“……En.”
“Sigh, heaven is really unfair. Qiu Yutong had grown up like that, and his talent was so great. He grew up like this, and his talent is not worse than his father’s. Although his current cultivation is still superficial, After decades or centuries years from now, I don’t know how many female of male cultivators will compete to be his companion.”
Lu Xiao’s thin lips trembled slightly: “Is that so?”
“The sword cultivation method in North Snow City is very popular in the cultivation world, not to mention his looks. I don’t know which mighty cultvatorwill become his companion in the future…” Xu Qiushi, while inserting the copper tube for blood collection, shook his head and gossiped, “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Does it hurt? The position of my copper tube is correct…”
Lu Xiao closed his eyes forcefully, and said reluctantly, “It’s nothing, please continue.”
Xu Qiushi drew half a cup of blood from his head, and carefully observed Lu Xiao’s face: “Your complexion is ugly, are you uncomfortable?”
Lu Xiao said hoarsely, “No.”
He looked down and was silent for a moment, then slowly looked up, stared at the small half cup of blood in Xu Qiushi’s hand, and suddenly said softly: “Give it to me, I’ll take care of him. He will be in pain later, I’m afraid he will suffer again.”
“Well, okay, I’ll clean up this side first.” Xu Qiushi nodded, and handed the small half cup of the blood to Lu Xiao, “Just pour it into the tub, be careful, don’t spill it.”
……
When Qiu Yutong woke up, the room was sunny.
The thick bamboo forest outside the window made a slight rustling sound in the morning wind, and a pair of yellow warblers that got up early were chirping softly on the branches.
Xu Qiushi stood by the window with his back to the bed, and held a slender silver needle several inches long with his slender fingers, and was carefully observing something in the morning sunlight.
”You’re awake?” Hearing the movement behind him, Xu Qiushi turned around and handed the silver needle to Qiu Yutong with a smile, “Look, guess what is this?”
Qiu Yutong took a closer look and saw that the tip of the slender silver needle was carrying a small worm the size of a rice worm, shaped like a silkworm, its body was translucent, and it was twisting desperately.
“This is… a Bloodworm?” Qiu Yutong asked uncertainly.
”That’s right, this is an Ice Jade Bloodworm.” Xu Qiushi said proudly, “The last medicated bath yesterday drove all the Bloodworms into your blood vessels, and then I spent an entire night, using silver needles to drain out 323 Bloodworms from your 108 acupoints. “
”323?” Qiu Yutong muttered.
There were too many Bloodworms, no wonder that when the attack occurred, it was extremely uncomfortable.
“Yeah, 323 in total. The Ice Jade Bloodworm in your body has now been extracted. For the next 3 days, you will use the Five Elements Washing Marrow Soup every day to thoroughly wash your bone marrow, to strengthen and cultivate your vitality. The Five Elements Washing Marrow Soup doesn’t hurt, it’s almost like taking a bath.”
Xu Qiushi’s expression relaxed a lot: “Hey, fortunately, it went well, and it won’t affect me going to Bifeng Cliff to welcome my relatives at the end of the month.”
Qiu Yutong heaved a sigh of relief: “Thank you so much Eldest Master, for helping me like this on such an auspicious day…”
”Healers have the heart of parents, you don’t have to thank me.” Xu Qiushi lifted him up and interrupted him, “If you want to thank someone, you should thank the Emperor of the Chen Dynasty. He took the last blood from his head yesterday, and he was very weak, and he had to press you hard to prevent you from knocking the medicine bucket over. You didn’t know, you were in severe pain, and you were strong, anyway, I definitely couldn’t hold you, and he won’t let the servants come in. By the way, he is still asleep inside.”
“I’ll go see him.” Qiu Yutong felt a slight pain in the middle, he reluctantly propped himself up, and walked inside.
