A cat's meow?
Chen Ji fell into deep thought.
It turned out that others couldn't hear Wu Yun's voice.
It wasn't that Wu Yun had learned human language, but rather that Chen Ji could now understand cat language!
He changed the subject, "Senior Brother Liu, why are you still up so late at night?"
Liu Quxing glanced at the open book "Medical Compendium" on the counter and sighed weakly, "With you studying so diligently, it's hard for me to sleep..."
Chen Ji silently closed the Medical Compendium: "..."
He wasn't studying to become a royal physician but to hide his true identity, though Liu Quxing wouldn't think that way.
At this moment, Liu Quxing leaned in and whispered, "Today, someone from my family came to ask Master to diagnose an illness and casually inquired if Master had any direct disciples now."
"What did Master say?"
"Master said he would decide who the direct disciple would be soon," Liu Quxing said.
Chen Ji used a bamboo stick to adjust the wick of the lamp, making the light brighter, "Senior Brother, what do you mean by that?"
Liu Quxing adjusted the coat draped over his shoulders and carefully chose his words, "Chen Ji, although being a royal physician seems leisurely, it's still part of the officialdom. Surviving in the officialdom isn't easy; one wrong move could lead to the execution of your entire family."
Chen Ji was puzzled, "Senior Brother Liu, what exactly are you trying to say?"
Liu Quxing, unusually sincere, said, "Neither you nor She Dengke are suited for the officialdom. Your knowledge, your social skills, and your connections all mean that even if you enter the officialdom, you won't have a future. Since your family is no longer willing to pay for your studies, I can give you some money. Leave the medical hall and start a small business. You won't need to rely on your family anymore. How about it?"
Chen Ji didn't respond immediately.
Liu Quxing finally said, "Chen Ji, since you came to the medical hall, you've been slower than She Dengke in learning characters and inaccurate in pulse diagnosis. You don't have the talent to inherit Master's legacy. Give up."
Chen Ji smiled and replied, "Senior Brother, you've thought it through very well for me, but can I have some time to consider it?"
"Alright," Liu Quxing nodded, "Think it over carefully."
With that, he turned and went back to the rear courtyard.
Chen Ji, however, saw a shadow under the counter chasing after Liu Quxing, darting out swiftly.
Luckily, he was quick and grabbed Wu Yun by the neck, pulling it back, "What are you doing?"
Wu Yun angrily flailed in mid-air, "He looks down on you!"
Chen Ji was both amused and exasperated, "You're not exactly polite to me either."
Wu Yun, "That's different!"
"Alright, alright, I can understand him," Chen Ji sighed, "In this era, everyone is struggling to find a way out. When an opportunity arises, you have to seize it..."
Before he could finish, Chen Ji's expression suddenly changed.
At the first hour of the night, the icy flow arrived as usual, like ice shards flowing through his blood.
This time, the icy flow was more violent than before, as if it had a millennia-old feud with the molten flow, inherently incompatible.
The icy flow slowly seeped into his body, like an ice tree growing within him, endlessly branching out.
Even the breath Chen Ji exhaled turned into white frost.
In just a short breath, the icy flow didn't even give him a chance to stand and perform the Stone-Bearing Stance before he gradually turned into an ice sculpture.
What to do?
Chen Ji stiffly turned his head towards the medicine cabinet.
He wanted to struggle and grab some ginseng, but he found that his legs had lost all sensation, frozen in place!
Wu Yun, seeing the frosty breath Chen Ji exhaled, stood frozen, "You... what's wrong?"
Chen Ji wanted to ask Wu Yun to help him find the ginseng, but he found his lips stuck together.
He could only watch as he slowly lost his vitality...
Wait, there's still a chance!
At this moment, Wu Yun, seeing Chen Ji's dire state, was so anxious that it lost its composure, circling around him.
It wanted to save Chen Ji but had no idea how, "Say something! What should I do?"
The next moment, Wu Yun noticed Chen Ji was staring intently in one direction...
Following his gaze, it found the medical hall's medicine cabinet.
Wu Yun leaped to the cabinet, using its claws to pull open each drawer.
It didn't know what was inside, but since Chen Ji was staring so intently, there must be a reason!
The cabinet was densely packed, and it didn't know which one to pick, so it quickly opened all the drawers, grabbing the herbs inside one by one to test!
Angelica, no.
Tangerine peel, no.
Cistanche, still no.
Wu Yun failed repeatedly, almost going mad with desperation.
When it turned back, it saw that the light in Chen Ji's eyes had faded.
......
Chen Ji seemed to return to that long, dark night.
The sound of wind, rain, and oars cutting through the water.
Someone was rowing a small boat, carrying him through a sea of black clouds.
In this darkness, he heard a sound, the sound of battle cries he often heard in his childhood dreams!
The sound was like a thunderous roar from an ancient battlefield, with the sea inverted, mountains collapsing, and the sky torn open with dozens of cracks.
In the boundless void, a grand voice boomed like a bell, questioning:
"Who stole my divine path?"
"Who stole my sword seed?"
"Who stole my green mountain!"
Chen Ji didn't answer, nor did he know how to.
Who was this person? What did divine path, sword seed, and green mountain refer to? He had no idea.
After a long silence, the grand voice finally spoke again, "Forget it, I can use your body to return to the world!"
Chen Ji had a premonition that when he was completely frozen, this unknown being would use his body to resurrect!
Was Li Qingniao's purpose in sending him to this world to help this unknown being awaken?
Was he going to die? But he had just gotten a cat.
Chen Ji's thoughts were chaotic, on the verge of death.
But at this moment, Wu Yun came running back with a ginseng root missing some tendrils, placing it at Chen Ji's lips!
As the old ginseng touched Chen Ji, it instantly absorbed most of the icy flow, turning into six crystal-clear beads that fell onto the counter and rolled towards the edge.
There was hope!
Before he was completely frozen, Chen Ji used his last bit of strength to shift his gaze, hoping Wu Yun would understand.
And Wu Yun, in its desperation, truly grasped this slim chance of survival.
The next moment, Wu Yun chased after the rolling beads on the counter, swallowing them one by one.
A massive molten flow surged from Wu Yun, entering Chen Ji's brow, forcing the remaining icy flow back into his dantian, washing over his body, and pulling him out of the darkness!
Once he regained consciousness and movement, Chen Ji immediately closed his eyes, bent his knees, and performed the Stone-Bearing Stance to resist the icy flow.
As he assumed the stance, the molten flow suddenly surged with vigor!
It was like an army that once had no leader, now with a general.
The general rode an armored warhorse, holding a royal banner!
Chen Ji was puzzled.
Why was the Stone-Bearing Stance, casually taught by Old Man Yao, so perfectly suited to him?
Wait!
After the molten flow suppressed the icy flow back into the dantian, it was drawn to the left Tian Shu acupoint, swirling and absorbing almost all of the molten flow!
In an instant, a blazing furnace ignited within the Tian Shu acupoint, and the icy flow in the dantian shrank deeper, as if afraid of this furnace.
"With the furnace in the Tian Shu acupoint, can I completely suppress the icy flow? No, one acupoint isn't enough."
In the twelve main meridians, there are four 'dantian gates': the left and right Tian Shu acupoints, and the left and right Da Ju acupoints.
Just igniting one Tian Shu acupoint isn't enough to seal the icy flow.
Unfortunately, after igniting the left Tian Shu acupoint, the molten flow was almost depleted...
As he pondered, Wu Yun gently lifted its paw, touching Chen Ji's fingertip with its furry pad.
Boom!
The molten flow within Wu Yun also surged into Chen Ji's body, rushing straight to the right Tian Shu acupoint, igniting a second furnace!
The two furnaces continuously nourished Chen Ji's body.
He felt a surge of power coursing through him, his fatigue vanished, and his strength increased!
He suddenly remembered Old Man Yao's words: Heaven has three treasures—sun, moon, and stars; humans have three treasures—essence, qi, and spirit!
With sufficient essence, one doesn't crave lust; with sufficient qi, one doesn't crave food; with sufficient spirit, one doesn't crave sleep.
So this is the feeling of having abundant qi and spirit!
Chen Ji opened his eyes, his gaze sharp, with a fire burning in his pupils.
So this is cultivation!
He smiled at Wu Yun, gently patting its head, "Thank you."
"It wasn't that much effort," Wu Yun said, holding its head high as if it had done a trivial thing.
"Still, thank you. Without you, I would have died... Wu Yun, you're the most amazing cat in the world!"
"Not bad, but this is just the beginning!" Wu Yun held 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 fiery as he surveyed the new world before him.
But this fire was quickly extinguished by a bucket of cold water: the ginseng was gone!
Chen Ji, "I'm doomed!"
Wu Yun, puzzled, "What's doomed?"
"I'm doomed."
Chen Ji jumped up, pulling out the medical hall's ledger to check, "Let me see how much that ginseng was worth... What?! Thirty taels of silver?!"
"A bun costs two coins, carrying a vat of water is two coins. Nowadays, about nine hundred coins make one tael of silver. And this fifty-year-old ginseng costs thirty taels? Is this ginseng made of gold?!"
Even selling Chen Ji wouldn't cover it!
He was already burdened with a debt of two hundred and forty coins for his studies and three hundred and twenty coins for the Zhou family's medicine.
Now, adding thirty taels of silver, his already struggling family was in even deeper trouble!
"So poor, why am I so poor? If I can't make up for this ginseng, will Old Man Yao kill me?"
Wu Yun listened to Chen Ji's muttering, remaining silent for a while.
Finally, after a long struggle, it seemed to make a sorrowful decision, "How about you take me to the streets to perform? I can do backflips!"
Chen Ji was deeply moved, "... That's a huge sacrifice."
As they spoke, there was a knock at the medical hall's door.
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
The visitor knocked twice in a leisurely manner, the dull sound particularly striking in the midnight silence, as if directly hitting the heart.
Chen Ji signaled Wu Yun to slip back to the Jing Prince's residence through the rear courtyard, while he slowly approached the door, cautiously asking, "Who is it?"
The visitor chuckled softly, "Yun Yang."
This time, Chen Ji was alone, without his master.
(End of Chapter)