Chapter 21: The things used to kill people naturally won’t…
Chapter 21
If Lu Guiyan has any secrets, then he does have one.
At that time, she had already entered the Medicine King Valley, and she had explored almost every part of the valley.
All disciples of the medicine hall need to master medical skills in depth, and her master when she first entered the sect, Elder Chen, was even more proficient in medical knowledge.
"Three parts treating the disease, seven parts treating the mind." The master's voice echoed in the hall with a bit of majesty.
Ah Qing was drowsy, and in a state of half-awakeness he heard his master continue,
"…Those who suffer from emotional illness cannot be cured unless they are emotionally affected. Only when their wishes are fulfilled can they be cured."
"Ah Qing!" The master's voice suddenly rose, clearly angry. She suddenly woke up and hurriedly replied, "Yes!"
"What about the rest?" the master asked coldly.
She quickly replied, "Sadness can cure anger, anger can cure anxiety, joy can cure sadness, anxiety can cure fear—I've finished reciting it, Master."
Elder Chen nodded slightly, but didn't let her go. He turned and asked, "Last time, I asked you to choose some instruments and learn some music theory. It will be very beneficial to your mood and character. Have you chosen?"
Ah Qing's face flushed instantly. Most of the senior students in the pharmacy had learned music from a young age, but she had only just started, and hadn't even had time to check medical texts, so how could she have the energy to learn these things?
She has no talent for music and can't even recognize a single word in music score. If her master really wants to check her, how should she respond?
She had experienced life and death since childhood and had no interest in these elegant things.
Learning music theory? It can improve one’s heart, but can it save one’s life?
It would be better to learn some martial arts. If you meet those guys again in the future, you can pick up the sword and kill them. Wouldn’t that be satisfying?
The senior brothers and sisters in the pharmacy rarely practiced martial arts, so she had no choice but to give up.
It was early summer, with the temperature still uncertain, but that day a sudden sweltering heat rose. The cicadas' chirping was just beginning to thicken, while the sun bleached the stream stones. She felt she was wearing too much and was sweating, so she chose to walk only in cooler places on her way back to the medicine room.
Yaowang Valley was low-lying, with numerous streams, many of which flowed down into the valley. Ah Qing stepped at the water's edge, the rapids washing over the rocks, causing a thin mist to rise on both sides. This slight coolness brought her a refreshing feeling.
There are lush trees in front, with a few pomegranate trees among the branches and leaves. The pomegranate flowers are in full bloom, and the green shines brightly among the lush green.
Seeing the pomegranate flowers blooming so beautifully and lovely, she couldn't help but break off a branch and play with it gently in her hands.
In order to cool down, she dipped half of her skirt in the stream water. Suddenly, she saw a few small fish jumping out from the cracks in the rocks in the water. Just as she was about to bend over to take a closer look, she heard a rustling sound from the woods, which startled the fish and made them dive into the deep pool.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the young man in white practicing sword alone deep in the woods.
When the sword light rose, it swept over several broken leaves that had been sun-dried to a crisp, and they fluttered and hung around the young man, as if they were condensed in mid-air by the sword energy.
The young man's swordsmanship was graceful. When it rose, it was like the moon rising in a cold pond, and when it fell, it was like the sleeping stars in the cool night. Seeing it, Ah Qing felt a little more relaxed.
As the sword flashed, several pomegranate flowers were cut off by his sword energy, and the petals seeped into the white cloud-like clothes, staining them with spots of red.
The sunlight shone on the Wuwang sword, emitting a cold gleam like frost and snow, accentuating the youth's features as if immersed in a clear stream. He turned sideways, the silk binding his hair fluttering in the wind from his sword. His figure was strikingly cold, yet the corners of his eyes, naturally slightly drooped, defined his features, as if they had been painted with the finest brushstrokes of a skilled artist.
After completing this set of sword moves, he remained calm, not even showing any signs of sweat in this early summer. As he sheathed his sword, the jade ornaments on the sword brushed against the cloud pattern on the hilt, and the rings on his belt clashed, making a pleasant sound.
"Great swordsmanship!"
She sat on a large rock beneath a tree, watching him sheath his sword techniques. She immediately praised him and clapped her hands vigorously. She thought to herself that such exquisite and beautiful sword moves should not be seen in vain. It would be a pity if they were to bloom and fall alone like orchids in a deep valley, with no one to appreciate them.
Lu Guiyan put away his Wuwang Sword and glanced at her sideways, frowning slightly. "Ah Qing?" He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is that your real name?"
"It is now." She propped up her chin. "Everyone who knew me before is gone. What's the point of a name?"
She sometimes had strange thoughts and her words were also strange, but Lu Guiyan was not surprised and just nodded.
"You're absolutely right."
He then asked, "You've just entered the sect. Are you lost? Do you need me to take you back?"
Ah Qing was afraid to trouble him, so he quickly waved his hand and said, "No need. I know the way. It's just that I saw that Senior Brother's swordsmanship was so exquisite that I couldn't help but watch a few more times."
She sighed, her tone filled with regret, "I also want to learn swordsmanship, but unfortunately Master Chen from the Medicine Hall refuses to teach me."
Lu Guiyan smiled slightly, "I don't want to learn swordsmanship. Instead, I'm more interested in medical knowledge. I just want to learn swordsmanship, what's the difficulty?"
The young man in white took a few steps forward and drew out the Wuwang sword cleanly and neatly. The sword light swirled around him, and he grasped the hilt with his backhand and handed it to her.
This was a famous sword, capable of slicing through gold and jade, known to everyone in the valley. Ah Qing was somewhat surprised and flattered, taking the sword in both hands. The blade was heavy, and the white jade accessories jingled.
She had never used a sword before, and she felt that the sword was so heavy that she could hardly hold it.
Lu Guiyan gently held her sword-holding hand and smiled faintly, "Is it heavy?"
"Heavy," she answered truthfully. The weight of the sword and accessories made her hands feel heavy. "It's like both of my hands are useless."
"Things used to kill people are naturally not light." Lu Guiyan said calmly, took the sword from her hand, and put it back on his waist.
Ah Qing was silent for a moment, as if he didn't really want to kill anyone.
Lu Guiyan leaped lightly onto a towering boulder, and his clothes swept away a few withered pomegranate flowers.
"Is it hard to learn medical theory?" He sat on a rock, lowered his head and gently wiped the blade of his sword with his scarf. "It's a pity that I can only practice swordsmanship."
"Learning medical theory isn't hard," Ah Qing replied, "but Elder Chen wants to teach me music, that's really hard."
Lu Guiyan glanced at her and seemed to remember something. He took out an emerald green bamboo flute from behind him.
The flute sounded soft and melodious. He sat higher, his clothes fluttering in the wind, and the tone was intermittent in the wind, with a bit of coolness and melodiousness.
He played a few tunes, put down the bamboo flute, and asked, "Does it sound good? This is a northern tune, and people here are not used to it."
"It sounds nice." She nodded, "It's a pity I can't play it this well."
"If I had grown up in Medicine King Valley, I might have learned better."
Lu Guiyan didn't respond, but just looked at her quietly, then put the flute to his lips again. This time the sound was so clear that it startled a few birds from the blood-red pomegranate flowers.
After he finished playing the last part, he put away the flute, jumped down from the rock, walked to her side, and handed her the green bamboo flute.
"I won't play it anymore." He smiled slightly. "I'm giving you this flute. Is it light enough?"
Ah Qing took the bamboo flute, a little surprised. "You gave it to me?" She smiled. "Compared to a sword, it's indeed much lighter."
Lu Guiyan nodded, his tone calm, "If you don't want to kill people, but you still need to learn music, then try it."
Qing Guiyu never learned how to play the flute, but after that, he often watched Lu Guiyan practice swordsmanship, sometimes practicing bamboo martial arts with him. At the end of spring, he watched him weave sword flowers at Luolili. In midsummer, he watched him sever flowing clouds with his sword energy. In deep autumn, a frosty blade reflected in the rosy clouds of the sky, and at the beginning of winter, a cold light shattered the snow and moon in the stream.
After a while, they became familiar with each other and he actually taught her a lot, until later Lu Guiyan really became her senior brother.
*
Qing Guiyu was reminiscing about her days in the valley, feeling somewhat melancholy when she suddenly felt a chill on her wrist. She looked down and saw that Chen Juansheng had quietly grasped her wrist.
"Let go." She said coldly.
Shen Jiansheng paused slightly, a complex look flashed in his eyes, then he turned around, gently lifted the curtain on the boat, and looked outside the cabin.
The river breeze blew past, stirring up tiny waves. Qing Guiyu followed his gaze and saw two more Cao Gang ships appear on the river, even larger than the previous one.
He slowly released her hand, his tone calm and low, "I just want Miss Qing to see more clearly."
Qing Guiyu was a little angry, "Mr. Shen, if you have something to say, you can just say it directly. Why beat around the bush like this?"
Shen Juansheng sighed softly, "Miss Qing, are you willing to believe me?"
She was silent for a moment and said lightly, "That's right." In her mind, this man had no credibility, but she still looked at the canal boats carefully.
They sailed slowly across the river. Their hulls were massive and heavy, constructed from thick wooden planks and adorned with a swirling green dragon. Its eyes were inlaid with copper plating, reflecting a faint glint in the sunlight. At the stern hung a massive embroidered flag, embroidered with the Chinese character for "Cao."
She looked at it for a moment, and suddenly realized something was wrong. She couldn't help but hold on to the window sill.
These three ships are of different sizes and shapes, but their waterline positions are surprisingly consistent.
Rather than saying they are almost the same, it would be better to say that they are too consistent.
The cargo that the Cao Gang usually transported was nothing more than grain, salt, tea, etc. Each ship had a different structure, cargo, and carrying capacity, so how could the waterline positions be so synchronized?
Such a precise waterline is obviously the result of careful design. I'm afraid there is a hidden layer of counterweights at the bottom of the cabin.
"What on earth is being transported under this ship?" She turned her head suddenly and looked at Chen Juansheng with sharp eyes.
Young Master Jin Sheng was still holding the boat curtain, a shadow falling on his face. He spoke slowly, "When these ships were built, they were equipped with water tanks underneath. If they were underloaded, they would be filled with water ballast to keep the waterline stable."
"If we pass through a ferry or encounter an inspection, the water tanks will be emptied and the ship will float to cover the dark layer."
"Even if we're desperate," he turned and stared at her, "if we remove the compartments and flood them, anything hidden in the dark layers will be submerged and destroyed."
Qing Guiyu was filled with doubts. "What on earth are they hiding?" She stared at Chen Juansheng and asked, "How did you know?"
Shen Juansheng smiled slightly, stroking his lips with his fingertips, his tone almost showing some surprise.
"My plan," he said to her,
"How could I not know about the loopholes I left?"
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