Chapter 15: Who Stole My Sword Seed

A cat's cry?

Chen Ji fell into contemplation. Originally, Wu Yun spoke in a way that others could not hear. It wasn't that Wu Yun could speak human language, but rather that *he* could understand cat language!

Changing the subject, he asked, "Brother Liu, why are you still awake at midnight?"

Liu Qu Xing glanced at the opened copy of "A General Outline of Medical Arts" on the counter and said helplessly, "You're studying so diligently, it's hard for me to get any sleep..."

Chen Ji silently closed the "General Outline of Medical Arts," a silent acknowledgement. He was studying not to become an imperial physician, but to conceal his true identity. Yet, Liu Qu Xing would never think so.

At this moment, Liu Qu Xing leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Today, someone from the Liu family came to ask the Master to diagnose an illness and casually inquired if the Master had any direct disciples now."

"What did the Master say?"

"The Master said he would decide on a direct disciple soon," Liu Qu Xing replied.

Chen Ji used a bamboo stick to adjust the lampwick, making the light a little brighter. "Brother, what do you mean by that?"

Liu Qu Xing adjusted the clothes draped over his shoulder, carefully choosing his words. "Chen Ji, although being an imperial physician is a leisurely position, it is still within the official ranks. It's not easy to navigate the official world. One careless mistake could lead to the execution of an entire family."

Chen Ji was puzzled. "Brother Liu, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Liu Qu Xing was uncharacteristically sincere. "You and She Deng Ke are actually both unsuitable for the official world. Your knowledge, your social skills, your connections – they're all predetermined. Even if you enter the official world, you won't have a future. And conveniently, your family is no longer willing to pay for your tuition. I'll provide a sum of money; you can leave the medical hall and start a small business. From now on, you won't need to rely on your family's support. How about that?"

Chen Ji didn't comment.

Liu Qu Xing finally stated, "Chen Ji, after you came to the medical hall, you learned to recognize characters slower than She Deng Ke, and your pulse-taking is also inaccurate. You don't have the talent for the Master's inheritance. Give up."

Chen Ji smiled in response. "Brother has considered this very thoughtfully for me, but may I have some time to consider?"

"Alright," Liu Qu Xing nodded. "Then, you should consider it carefully."

Having said that, he turned and walked back towards the backyard.

Chen Ji, however, saw a streak of black shadow beneath the counter chase after Liu Qu Xing, whooshing out. Fortunately, he was quick-eyed and swift-handed, lifting Wu Yun by the scruff of the neck and pulling him back. "What are you doing?"

Wu Yun, suspended in mid-air, bared his teeth and claws in anger. "He looked down on you!"

Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You're not very polite to me either."

Wu Yun retorted, "That's different!"

"Alright, alright, I can understand him," Chen Ji sighed. "In this era, it's not easy for anyone who wants to make a name for themselves. When an opportunity arises, they must seize it..."

His words trailed off as Chen Ji's face suddenly changed, becoming horribly pale. A quarter of an hour later, the ice flow arrived as promised, like blood flowing within icy sand. This time, the ice flow was even more fierce than before. It seemed to have a ten-thousand-year grudge with the melt flow; they were naturally incompatible.

The ice flow penetrated his body bit by bit, as if an ice tree was growing within him, constantly branching and leafing. Chen Ji even exhaled white frost gas. In just a short breath, the ice flow didn't even give him the opportunity to stand in the Bearing Stone Stance. He was gradually frozen like a sculpture.

What to do?

Chen Ji stiffly turned his head towards the medicine cabinet. He wanted to struggle and reach for the ginseng, but he discovered that his legs had lost all feeling at some point, frozen in place!

Wu Yun watched Chen Ji exhaling frost gas, frozen in a daze. "You... what's wrong?"

Chen Ji wanted to open his mouth to ask Wu Yun to help him find the ginseng, but he found that his lips were already stuck together. He could only watch himself gradually lose vitality...

No, there was still a chance!

At this time, Wu Yun saw Chen Ji's miserable state and was already anxious, circling around him. It wanted to save Chen Ji, but it had no idea how to do so. "Why don't you say something? What should I do?"

The next moment, Wu Yun noticed Chen Ji was staring intently in one direction... It followed Chen Ji's gaze and found the medical hall's medicine cabinet.

Wu Yun leaped onto the medicine cabinet and used its claws to pull open the drawers one by one. It didn't know what was inside the drawers, but since Chen Ji was staring intently here, there must be a reason! The medicine cabinet was full of drawers. It didn't know which one to bite, so it simply pulled open all the drawers quickly and bit on the medicinal materials inside one by one to try!

Angelica, not right.

Dried orange peel, not right.

Cistanche, also not right.

Wu Yun failed repeatedly, growing frantic. Turning back to look, it saw that the spirit had already faded from Chen Ji's eyes.

...

...

Chen Ji seemed to have returned to that long, dark night.

The sound of wind, the sound of rain, and the sound of oars on the water's surface. Someone was carrying him through the sea of black clouds in a leaf boat. Just in this black night, he heard a sound, the sound of shouts and killings that he often heard in his dreams when he was young!

The sound seemed to rumble on an ancient battlefield. The sea water was overturned, mountains collapsed, and even the sky cracked open in several places.

In the boundless void, a majestic voice, like a great bell, rang out, questioning:

"Who has stolen my divine path?"

"Who has stolen my sword seed?"

"Who has stolen my green mountain!"

Chen Ji did not answer, nor did he know how to answer. Who was on the other side? What did the divine path, sword seed, and green mountain refer to? He knew nothing.

After a long silence, that majestic voice finally spoke again. "Forget it, I can just use your body to return to the world!"

Chen Ji had a premonition. When he was completely frozen, that was when the other side would borrow his body to revive! Could it be that Li Qing Niao sent him to this world just to help this unknown existence awaken? To die? But he had just gotten a cat.

Chen Ji's thoughts wandered; he was already at the brink of death.

However, just at this moment, Wu Yun bit a broken root of ginseng and ran back, placing the ginseng at the edge of Chen Ji's mouth! The moment the old ginseng touched Chen Ji, it suddenly absorbed a large part of the ice flow like a whale drinking water, turning into six crystal clear beads that fell onto the counter and rolled towards the edge.

He was saved!

Before being completely frozen, Chen Ji used his last bit of strength to turn his eyes, hoping Wu Yun could understand his meaning. And Wu Yun, in despair, truly grasped this one chance at life for him.

The next moment, Wu Yun chased the beads rolling on the counter one by one and swallowed them. A vast melt flow fed back from Wu Yun's body, drilling into Chen Ji's brow. It pushed the remaining ice flow back into his dantian, surging through his body, and also pulled Chen Ji out of the darkness!

After he regained consciousness and movement, he immediately closed his eyes tightly, his legs sinking into a horse stance. He used the Bearing Stone Stance to resist the ice flow. When he assumed the Bearing Stone Stance, the melt flow suddenly surged up, full of spirit! It was like an army that had been without a commander, and now had a general. The general rode an armored warhorse, holding a king's banner!

Chen Ji wondered in his heart why the Bearing Stone Stance, which Old Man Yao had casually taught him, was actually so suitable for him.

Wait!

After the melt flow suppressed the ice flow back into his dantian, it was attracted by the Tiānshū acupoint on the left side of his dantian, like a vortex, swallowing almost all the melt flow! Instantly, a roaring furnace fire ignited within the Tiānshū acupoint. The ice flow in his dantian shrank a little deeper, seemingly fearful of this furnace fire.

"With this furnace fire in the Tiānshū acupoint guarding, can I completely suppress this ice flow? No, one acupoint is still not enough."

Within the twelve meridians, there are four 'Dantian gates': the left and right Tiānshū acupoints, and the left and right Dà Jù acupoints. Igniting merely one Tiānshū acupoint was not enough to seal the ice flow.

Pity was, after the melt flow ignited the left Tiānshū acupoint, there was very little left...

Just as he was thinking, Wu Yun gently lifted a claw and used its furry paw to touch the tip of Chen Ji's index finger.

Boom!

Along with the melt flow inside Wu Yun's body, it also surged into Chen Ji's body, and went straight to the right Tiānshū acupoint, igniting the second furnace fire! Two furnace fires continuously nourished Chen Ji's body. His body was filled with surging power. The feeling of fatigue swept away, and his strength also increased!

He suddenly remembered what Old Man Yao had said: Heaven has three treasures: sun, moon, and stars; People have three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit! Essence sufficient, no thoughts of lust; qi sufficient, no thoughts of food; spirit sufficient, no thoughts of sleep. So, this was the feeling of complete qi and sufficient spirit!

Chen Ji opened his eyes. His pupils were bright with spirit, and there was a burning fire in his eyes.

So this was cultivation!

He smiled, looking at Wu Yun, and reached out to gently stroke its head. "Thank you."

"It wasn't much effort," Wu Yun said, raising its head, as if it had just done a small thing.

"Mm, thank you anyway. Without you, I would have died... Wu Yun, you are the most powerful cat in this world!"

"It's alright, this is just the beginning!" Wu Yun raised its head even higher.

The oil lamp on the counter had been burning for a long time, its light gradually dimming. Chen Ji stood in the main hall, his gaze like fire, surveying the new world before him.

But this fire was quickly extinguished by a basin of cold water: the ginseng was gone!

Chen Ji exclaimed, "It's over!"

Wu Yun was confused. "What's over?"

"I'm over."

Chen Ji flipped through the medical hall's accounts. "Let me see how much that stock of ginseng is worth... What?! Thirty taels of silver?!"

"A bun costs two coins, carrying a vat of water is two coins. Roughly nine hundred coins can be exchanged for one tael of silver now, and this fifty-year-old ginseng costs thirty taels of silver? Is this ginseng made of gold?"

Selling Chen Ji wouldn't even be enough! He originally carried two hundred forty coins for tuition and three hundred twenty coins for the medicine debt at the Zhou manor. Now, he had to add thirty taels of snow silver, adding insult to injury for his already not wealthy family!

"So poor, why am I so poor? If I can't replace this ginseng root, won't Old Man Yao kill me?"

Wu Yun listened to Chen Ji muttering for a long time, silent for a long time. Finally, it struggled for a long time, then seemed to make a sad decision. "Or, you can take me to Tian Street to perform. I can do backflips!"

Chen Ji responded with solemn respect. "...That's a really big sacrifice."

Just as he said that, there was a knocking sound from outside the medical hall.

Thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump.

The comer knocked twice, not in a hurry, not slowly. The muffled sound seemed especially abrupt in the midnight, as if directly knocking on his heart. Chen Ji signaled Wu Yun with his eyes to flip back to the Jing Wang Manor from the backyard. He then slowly approached, vigilantly saying, "Who is it?"

The comer responded with a light laugh. "Cloud Sheep."

This time, Chen Ji had no master by his side.