A moment later, the youth exhaled, feeling the tumultuous blood and qi within his body calm, and planned to get up and continue practicing his swordsmanship in Copper Man Lane, but as he moved, the elder pressed him back down into the medicinal liquid with a palm, causing a splash of water.
Before him, Wu Changqing chuckled as he stroked his beard and gestured with his hand:
"Stay put for a while..."
"Let's not be in a hurry to go fight, today, it's also time for your Second Master to teach you some life-sustaining Dharma..."
The youth scratched his head and said:
"Second Master... I, I still haven't even mastered the basics of that sword style..."
The elder raised his hand and tapped lightly on Wang Anfeng's forehead, saying with a smile:
"Look at you, who said anything about martial arts?
"Our Medicine King Valley is known in Jianghu for our medical and poison techniques, not for fighting and killing with martial arts. Anfeng, you've suffered from being poisoned before, dare you underestimate this poison technique?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Anfeng recalled the incident outside of Guangwu City a few months back.
He was no match for that bandit, yet he managed to subdue him with just a jug of sleeping drug, had it not been for his minor achievements in cultivation, the protection of Buddhism's Golden Bell Shield, he would have truly passed out, at the mercy of others, his expression involuntarily becoming stern.
The elder took advantage of this moment to take out many porcelain bottles from the medicine bag, pouring them all into the wooden tub, as the fragrance of the medicine filled the air again. With a wave of his robe, his rich inner strength rose like steaming clouds. The temperature of the medicinal liquid, which had already cooled, rose again.
True Qi surged, turning into substantial fine threads that pulled on the silver needles and placed them onto several major acupoints on the youth's body, alternating between tonifying and sedating methods, expelling any ineffectual medicinal power to prevent the accumulation of medicinal toxins.
Developing such a poison-immune body was not achieved in a single day. For Wu Changqing, there was not the slightest pressure, thus while he was administering the needles, he still had the energy to talk and laugh with the youth, saying:
"This is one of the true secret teachings of Medicine King Valley. Once fully mastered, not only will your body be immune to all poisons, but your inner strength as well will naturally have the miraculous effect of detoxifying and healing wounds."
"By that time, most of the poisons in the world will no longer be a concern for you. Let alone some sleeping drug, even the peculiar poisons of Jianghu will do you no harm, and may even serve to benefit you."
Wang Anfeng, shaken by this, blurted out:
"Doesn't that mean it would severely restrict those Jianghu experts who use poison?"
Wu Changqing replied with a smile:
"Not necessarily, in the Martial Arts World, outstanding figures emerge in every generation. Since the ancestors of Medicine King Valley were able to create such divine skills, it's only natural for later generations to find ways to counteract them, right?"
"If the ancestors knew that hundreds of years later, someone could break through their proud creation, they would probably be overjoyed and celebrate with a great drinking spree."
As the power of the medicine gradually entered his body, the youth felt a sensation of prickling and itching growing stronger, and beads of sweat began to seep out from his forehead. Wu Changqing knew how unpleasant the first medicinal bath for body tempering could be, so he steered the conversation to entertaining anecdotes from the past in order to distract Wang Anfeng.
After a long talk, the most difficult moment finally passed, and the youth did not show any signs of intolerable suffering or the worst kind of adverse reactions to the medicinal power.
Although it had been confirmed earlier that Wang Anfeng's constitution was not the type to be naturally intolerant to medicinal power, Wu Changqing quietly breathed a sigh of relief. His forehead was sweaty, and he felt more fatigued than when he had undergone body tempering himself. Despite his profound inner strength, he seemed no different from an ordinary old man at that moment.
After a few breaths and regulating his inner strength, he managed to suppress his weariness and said to Wang Anfeng with a smile:
"With the medicinal bath successful, although you haven't quite got the hang of it yet, drugs like the sleeping drug you encountered last time will no longer confuse you.
"With this achievement, we can be more at ease when you venture into Jianghu."
Wang Anfeng nodded. At that moment his body still felt extremely uncomfortable, as if countless fine needles were stirring inside him, a prolonged pain coursing through him, but not wanting to worry the elder, he maintained a calm demeanor as usual, got up, and circulated his inner strength to evaporate the remaining medicinal liquid before changing his clothes.
Every movement felt as if countless fine needles, as dense as hair, were pricking him in the areas of contact with other objects. Sweat beaded on the youth's forehead, but because of the steam produced, it went unnoticed at first. To divert Wu Changqing's attention, he said with a laugh:
"Now that I can ignore sleeping drugs, Second Master's martial power must be so profound that probably no poison could reach you..."
The elder heard this, stroked his beard with a smile, and responded, "Naturally... Even for those so-called virulent poisons, to me, they are nothing but nourishment.
Our Medicine King Valley has mastered a skill that can encompass the basic principles of medicine, assimilating all the poisons in the world into it, eventually using medicinal theory to neutralize their toxicity, turning it into a Mixed Yuan Body of pure Vital Energy, nourishing oneself."
"It is called the Mixed Yuan Body."
At this moment, the searing pain coursing through Wang Anfeng's body gradually subsided, and he felt a sigh of relief in his heart, then chuckled and said,
"Isn't the second master left with regrets?"
The old man was puzzled and replied, "I've lived a life of satisfaction, what is there to regret?"
"But will you never know what it feels like to be poisoned?"
The old man paused for a moment, then pointed at Wang Anfeng, who seemed slightly more youthful now, and said with a mix of laughter and tears,
"You, you... You're actually making jokes about your master. Are you not asking to be beaten?"
As he spoke, he picked up the wooden staff in his hand, pretending to strike, and the young man rushed to clasp his fists and beg for mercy. The old man shook his head helplessly, and as if something came to his mind, his expression turned contemplative and he sighed,
"If you're speaking of being poisoned... indeed I have been truly poisoned."
The young man was momentarily taken aback, then heard Wu Changqing speak in a complex tone, "When one is beset by this poison, the spirit becomes oppressed, the soul dispirited, the heart beats erratically, thoughts stiffen like Mo Family's mechanisms, the body feels paralyzed, time passes day by day without one's noticing."
The old man listed many severe symptoms in a row, startling the young man, who said,
"What... What incredible poison..."
Upon hearing this, Wu Changqing couldn't help but chuckle, tapped the young man on the forehead and said,
"It's the poison of love... At first sight, your heart is captivated, and upon the second, you're already sunk deep in it."
"All the women in the world are like poison; while not fatal, they can make living feel worse than death. Although one feels living is worse than death, one cannot help but enjoy it, like a sweet indulgence."
"Anfeng, you have not yet mastered your martial arts, do not attempt it..."
The young man nodded his head in confusion, giving off the impression he only half-understood. The old man chuckled, yet he remembered that the boy was not even fourteen years old.
How could he understand love.
Moments later, Wang Anfeng returned to his cultivation in Copper Man Lane, while the conversation a moment ago stirred up memories long pressed in Wu Changqing's heart, his thoughts tumbling. The elderly man's gaze grew distant, as if he once more saw that girl who appeared gentle but was actually mischievous.
"Little disciple, remember not to trust anyone in this world..."
"What? They say you lack loyalty? Here's what you say, you are a girl."
"It's normal for a girl to be a bit suspicious, a little petty sometimes."
"Often a little suspicious, it's quite normal, isn't it?"
"You stinking Taoist, what are you laughing at!" The young girl, who was scolding her disciple, raised her head and glared fiercely at the warm-looking young man leaning against the wooden pillar.
Ultimately, the young physician couldn't hold back his laughter, which became louder and unchecked, but eventually it faded into the somewhat murky recesses of memory, and Wu Changqing's eyes softened. He lay back in the bamboo chair, carefree and murmured softly,
Entering the gate of my yearning, one knows the bitterness of my longing.
Long is the yearning, forever the memories; short is the yearning, yet endless.
Had I known it would ensnare the heart so, why did I even start...
PS: A long chapter for you all, thanks, any additional releases will be made up for after the launch.