Aside from those who favored shortcuts, righteous cultivators would not use furnaces or cauldrons for cultivation. The spiritual energy gained through plundering was not only tyrannical but could also lead to the cultivator becoming possessed, hindering their future advancement.
In Zhou Yuanyuan's opinion, Wang Xiaona's situation was that of being treated like a cauldron and reaching the point of exhaustion.
However, Wang Xiaona's situation was significantly different from Zhou Yuanyuan's understanding. Normally, if an evil cultivator obtained a cauldron like Wang Xiaona's, they would definitely imprison her in one place, constantly absorbing her vital energy until she died. In Zhou Yuanyuan's opinion, for someone with Wang Xiaona's small body, surviving seven days was already a remarkable feat.
Wang Xiaona had been seeking medical help everywhere for the past few months, but that didn't seem like the behavior of a furnace cauldron. Zhou Yuanyuan began to doubt her judgment.
Forget it, forget it. If you have any questions, just ask Xiaoyu! It’s better to have the answer from Xiaoyu, the “encyclopedia” than to have random thoughts here. Zhou Yuanyuan made up her mind and called out in her sea of consciousness: “Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu.”
"Master, what's up?" Hardworking Xiaoyu, busy in Zhou Yuanyuan's sea of consciousness, quickly responded when she heard her call. Xiaoyu was in a good mood today, having just received a large amount of merit! The benefits of refining it were immense.
"Help me take a look at this woman." Zhou Yuanyuan said, "I think she's a little weird."
"Huh? There's a bad smell." Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise. This was the second time Xiaoyu had smelled such a smell recently. Based on this smell, Xiaoyu was sure of Wang Xiaona's identity.
"Master, have you forgotten? The evil cultivator at the hospital gate a month ago." Xiaoyu reminded Zhou Yuanyuan.
Zhou Yuanyuan then remembered that this wasn't the first time she'd met Wang Xiaona. Over a month ago, on Zhou Jiasheng's first day of school, Wen Ziqing had taken Zhou Yuanyuan to Renhe Hospital to see Zhao Qingshan.
At the hospital entrance, Zhou Yuanyuan encountered a man rushing in. He looked very anxious, holding a hunched woman in his arms as he hurried into Renhe Hospital. As he passed by Zhou Yuanyuan, a faint foul odor wafted into the air.
Zhou Yuanyuan smelled that stench for the first time and felt very uncomfortable. After Xiaoyu explained it to her, Zhou Yuanyuan realized that the stench was unique to evil cultivators. At the time, Xiaoyu even threatened Zhou Yuanyuan, telling her to stay as far away from evil cultivators as possible. Because evil cultivators' cultivation methods were very different from those of ordinary people, many of them relied on consuming the spiritual energy of other cultivators, including those nourishing their furnaces and cauldrons.
To be honest, the smell on Wang Xiaona was very faint, dozens of times fainter than the smell on her body at the hospital gate that day. If Xiaoyu hadn't reminded her, Zhou Yuanyuan would not have noticed it.
Could it be that... Wang Xiaona's husband is an evil cultivator? Zhou Yuanyuan shook her head, finding it somewhat impossible. An evil cultivator who has cultivated to the point of devouring the essence of others must possess considerable power.
That day at the hospital entrance, Zhou Yuanyuan didn't sense the slightest hint of the pressure from the man, the kind expected of an evil cultivator. Or perhaps Wang Xiaona's husband was just a go-between? Zhou Yuanyuan speculated.
As far as Zhou Yuanyuan knew, evil cultivators had a wide variety of cultivation methods. Not only could they devour the spiritual energy or essence of others, they could also control puppets to absorb essence from others and feed it back to themselves. However, most evil cultivators wouldn't employ such methods. Controlling puppets was more troublesome than absorbing essence themselves, and the results were far less effective. Furnaces were rare, and women with Yin attributes like Wang Xiaona were rare.
"How many years have you been married?" Zhao Qingshan asked Wang Xiaona following Zhou Yuanyuan's suggestion.
"Three years. Doctor Zhao, does my illness have anything to do with this?" Wang Xiaona's face was full of confusion. She didn't know what Zhao Qingshan meant. After looking at the films she brought, he didn't ask anything related to her illness. He first asked about her birthday, and then asked how many years she had been married. Why did he act like a fortune teller? Shouldn't the doctor ask her where she felt uncomfortable?
"Well, there should be some connection." Zhao Qingshan nodded. Zhou Yuanyuan had already transmitted to him through her telepathic consciousness that Wang Xiaona was not ill, but had her vital energy sucked away by an evil cultivator, causing her to age so rapidly. And the person who had sucked away Wang Xiaona's vital energy was most likely her husband.
Zhao Qingshan was stunned by what Zhou Yuanyuan said. If he hadn't just witnessed Zhou Yuanyuan's magical powers at General Zhou's house, Zhao Qingshan almost thought that Zhou Yuanyuan was talking nonsense. However, Zhao Qingshan still had self-knowledge and didn't understand the world of cultivators. However, these days, Zhou Yuanyuan was by Zhao Qingshan's side and had saved those patients who were originally unable to be saved. It was no lie. In Zhao Qingshan's heart, Zhou Yuanyuan, who had inherited the Zhao family's legacy, was already somewhat unfathomable. Even if Zhou Yuanyuan said that Wang Xiaona was not a human but a pig, Zhao Qingshan would probably choose to believe Zhou Yuanyuan without hesitation.
Three years? Zhou Yuanyuan calculated the time, but it wasn't right! If Wang Xiaona's husband Zeng Mingliang was an evil cultivator, Wang Xiaona wouldn't have survived more than seven days. Judging from the time, it was unlikely that Zeng Mingliang himself was an evil cultivator. So... was he really a medium or puppet for the evil cultivator?
Zhou Yuanyuan felt a headache. She was just a newbie in cultivation. If she meddled in other people's affairs like this, would she be destroyed by the powerful evil cultivator beside Wang Xiaona?
However, since Wang Xiaona had already entered the house and asked so many questions, Wang Xiaona's affairs were somewhat connected to Zhou Yuanyuan. Now, even if Zhou Yuanyuan wanted to give up, it was too late.
A monk's greatest fear is being contaminated by karma. Although Zhou Yuanyuan didn't consider herself a particularly good person, she couldn't bear to watch Wang Xiaona die. Heaven had granted her a new lease of life, and Zhou Yuanyuan felt she needed to do more good deeds in her life to live up to Heaven's kindness.
Under Zhou Yuanyuan's guidance, Zhao Qingshan bravely asked Wang Xiaona a bunch of random questions, even asking whether Wang Xiaona had recently had sex with her husband. If Zhao Qingshan wasn't a doctor by profession and hadn't been thick-skinned due to his age, he really wouldn't have been able to ask such questions.
Wang Xiaona blushed when Zhao Qingshan asked her this question. If she hadn't looked so ugly, Wang Xiaona would have thought that Zhao Qingshan was an old hooligan.
Seeing Zhao Qingshan's calm and serious expression, Wang Xiaona also calmed down and told him everything about herself and her husband Zeng Mingliang.
Zeng Mingliang is an only child whose ancestral home is in Kyoto. He served in the army for several years before becoming a driver in the Kyoto City Logistics Department. Wang Xiaona and Zeng Mingliang met and fell in love four years ago, and they married three years ago.
Wang Xiaona and Zeng Mingliang have always had a good relationship. Unfortunately, they have not had children in all these years. Zeng Mingliang often comforts Wang Xiaona, saying that children are fate and cannot be forced. When fate is right, children will come naturally.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
