Chapter 110: Misplaced Gold But You Always Don’t Want Me
The boat sails in the middle of the river, and the sound of water is disturbing.
Qing Guiyu placed the copied Ice Wall technique on the table alongside the warm jade. Under the candlelight, the two extremely cold and gloomy martial arts secrets shone like two dormant ice dragons, swaying and confronting each other.
She verified the two with each other word by word, and gradually filled in the missing 20% or 30% of the key points.
The Ice Creek Meridian Cleansing Technique, which clears and disperses the flow, is like a mountain stream, cleansing the meridians and making them clear and ethereal. However, it also consumes vitality, making it quickly exhausted and fleeting, and its splendor is short-lived.
The Cold Marrow Technique is overbearing and vicious, like the Nine Nether Mysterious Ice, which condenses the bone marrow and creates cold with cold, but it ultimately traps the master, accumulating inside and counteracting its master.
Born from the same origin, they have gone to two completely different extremes.
The technique on the jade slip used the power of ascending and descending a divine dragon to forcibly twist the two together, concluding them at one point. The perilous nature of the key points and the subtlety of the transformations involved were simply unimaginable.
Qing Guiyu took a deep breath and forced down his tangled thoughts.
Now that things have come to this, there's no point complaining or regretting. A doctor's job is to find a way out of a dead end. Since the path to survival is right before our eyes, there's no reason not to take it.
Two completely different energies intertwined and entangled on the paper. She used the Huangdi Juezhen to forcefully suppress the three gates of the heart, and with the help of the entanglement, she actually vaguely revealed a passage that no one had ever walked through before.
This passage is dangerous and strange, but it also reveals a glimmer of hope that can help one escape death.
She put down her pen, rubbed her swollen forehead, and turned her gaze to the young man who was still sleeping on the couch.
The fever had subsided a little, but he still slept uneasily, with his brows furrowed, as if even in his dreams he could not escape the excruciating pain that was gnawing at his bones.
This disease must be cured. This needle must be removed.
The needles kept him alive, but they also made him confused. Now that he had lost his mind, it was the perfect time to remove the needles. He wouldn't remember, and he wouldn't use the pain that seemed real and fake to plot against her again.
He still needs to be cured and turned back into the boy who was silent but not so crazy.
Qing Guiyu made up his mind and stood up.
I have to go find Chen Yan.
Go and negotiate a condition that allows everyone to survive.
The cabins on the top floor of the ship were far more luxurious than the guest rooms below. The tables were made of rosewood, the window screens were made of shark silk, and even the incense burners were filled with priceless ambergris.
Shen Yan was sitting by the window, holding a black piece in his hand, concentrating on a chess endgame.
Qing Guiyu pushed the door open and walked in. Chen Yan didn't even look up, but just said lightly, "Have you figured it out?"
"Yes." Qing Guiyu walked to the opposite side of him and placed the copied skills in his hand next to the chessboard.
"I want to save them." She said straight to the point, "You release Lu Guiyan, and then let me cure Chen Juansheng first. I want to remove the needles from his body."
Chen Yan finally raised his head and looked at her with interest. "Pull out the needle? You know that the Yellow Emperor Needle is the only thing that can control the cold poison. If you pull out the needle, his emotions will return, but he will be dead soon. Are you really trying to save him?"
"I have my own way." Qing Guiyu said coldly, "I will use him to verify whether this unified technique is feasible. If it works, I will use this method to save your wife."
Chen Yan's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and he suddenly laughed.
"Girl, do you think you can hide your thoughts from me?" He picked up a chess piece and dropped it onto the board with a snap. "You just feel that he's emotionally disturbed because of you and feels guilty about it, so you want to change him back to his original state so you can get away with it."
Qing Guiyu's face turned pale, but he did not refute, but just said to him,
"Your Excellency, Madam, was a man of great talent. She independently deduced the essence of the Ice Creek Meridian Cleansing Technique, but ultimately missed a few points, leading to the cold poison's backlash and her death. You have been searching for this skill for over twenty years, hoping to complete the method on the ice wall and bring the dead back to life."
Chen Yan finally turned around slowly, a sinister look in his eyes. "You...know everything."
"Not only do I know, I can do it." Qing Guiyu didn't flinch. "I have the complete Bingxi Qi-washing Technique, and I also have the Huangdi Absolute Needle to protect the heart. If there is anyone in this world who can help you realize your dream of returning to life, that person can only be me."
"Go on." Shen Yan said sternly.
"I have to save people first." Qing Guiyu nodded, "Save my senior brother and your...good son."
Chen Yan sneered, "Little girl, are you taking me for a fool? If you saved him and the two of you join forces, wouldn't I be nurturing a tiger to harm myself?"
"But he's your only hope."
Qing Guiyu met his gaze and walked step by step to the old man, facing him. "The technique on that jade slip was engraved by you. Your Excellency is a genius. Using the Cold Marrow Technique as a foundation, you were able to deduce 70% of the essence of the Ice Stream Washing Meridians Technique, and even glimpsed the supreme method of combining the two techniques into one. Your talent is truly admirable."
She sighed, "But she died in the end. Died in the subtle joints of this method. And you," she looked at Chen Yan,
"You've guarded this ice wall for twenty years, yet you still haven't been able to repair it. This is because you don't have the Ice Creek Meridian Cleansing Technique, nor do you have... a body that can withstand two extremely cold internal forces at the same time and still survive."
There was still that gentle smile on Chen Yan's face, but the light in his eyes gradually turned gloomy.
"Now, you have one." Qing Guiyu's voice was clear and bright. "He is the key you have been polishing for twenty years. He has the Cold Marrow Technique, and I used the Yellow Emperor's Absolute Needle to forcibly keep him alive. He is the only person in the world who can verify the Ice Wall Technique."
"Don't you want to resurrect your wife?" Qing Guiyu put his hands on the table, leaned forward, and looked straight at him, "Then let me try it on him first. If it works, I will help you with your wife's matter. If it doesn't work..."
She smiled. "He's dead, and all your twenty years of hard work has gone with him, sinking into the cold pond to feed the fish. Even if you wait another twenty years, you might not be able to find another 'Chen Juansheng'."
Chen Yan looked at her for a long time before slowly shaking his head.
"You've guessed what I was thinking," the old man said, shaking his head.
"Good boy, you're really smart." He paused and nodded again, "I promise you. I accept your conditions. But..."
He changed the subject, his eyes sharpening. "To remove the Kanluan Needle, I must sacrifice my life in exchange. You should know this. This needle has long been connected to his mind and life. To forcibly remove it is tantamount to ripping out his soul. Do you intend to exchange your own life for it?"
"No." Qing Guiyu shook her head and met his gaze. "I have the Warming Jade Needle. I need your help."
In fact, I was extremely panicked. I thought I must have gone crazy in this life. I was actually discussing how to give myself a grand funeral with an old madman who had killed countless people.
But she also pretended to be calm. As a doctor, she couldn't panic before her patients did. She was careful to show a little arrogance on her face.
"I want you to help me create a situation where I can exchange my life for yours."
"His madness is caused by me. I messed up his emotions with the needles, and I should be able to cure him completely." Qing Guiyu was a little embarrassed, and his voice became serious. "I want him to think that I died in exchange for my own life to save him."
Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he fell backwards.
"Interesting, really interesting." He stopped laughing and looked at her with a glint in his eyes. "You want me to help you deceive him?"
"It's not a lie," Qing Guiyu corrected, "it's a cure. Heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine. His obsession is because of me, so it must be broken because of me. If I 'die', his emotional illness may be resolved and he can regain clarity."
"And I," she raised her eyes, meeting his, a desperate glint in them, "if I die, the Northern Dynasty Queen Mother's clues will be gone. You won't have to worry about anyone competing with you for the secret method, nor will you have to distract yourself with dealing with those troubles in the palace. It's a win-win situation."
She knew she was taking a gamble, a gamble on Chen Yan's arrogance, a gamble on his indifference to the lives of everyone except his deceased wife.
My heart was pounding like a rabbit in my chest. How could a girl like me be reduced to discussing how to die more gracefully with an old lunatic?
Chen Yan stood up, walked up to her, and looked down at her with what could be described as contempt.
"Your little cleverness is nothing but a clown's trick in my eyes. The reason I agreed to your request is not because of how clever your idea is, but because..."
He pondered for a moment, a hint of violence appearing on his face.
"I don't care."
"Whether those two boys are dead or alive is none of my business. Even if you saved them, with their limited skills, they can't escape my control."
A dead doctor is more useful than a living one. A "dead person" who can be completely controlled by him is much more reliable than a living person who is running around and may escape his control at any time.
He slowly stood up, walked in front of her, stretched out his hand, and gently lifted a strand of her drooping hair with his skinny fingertips.
"Can."
He finally spoke, his voice filled with pleasant coldness, "Little girl, since my good son is determined to marry you,
"As your father, I will give you a ride."
*
Feeding the tiger with one's own body is like inviting a wolf into the house. But right now, this tiger is her only way out, and she has to lure this wolf in.
Qing Guiyu folded his arms, leaning against the side of the boat, watching the dark river water being broken by the bow, surging into white waves. The remaining heroic spirit in his heart had long been worn away by the series of devastating events, leaving only a trace of dregs.
What a good doctor, Qing Guiyu. She thought to herself with self-mockery, the best doctor in the world, whose only way to cure diseases and save lives is to pack himself up and send himself to others as a token of his loyalty.
She sighed, turned and walked towards the cabin where Shen Juansheng was.
When I opened the door, the smell of medicine and blood still lingered inside.
The young man on the couch seemed to be awake, but not fully awake. He leaned back, half of his body sunk into the soft quilt and pillow.
He was covered by a clean robe, which loosely gathered around him, making his figure appear even thinner and his collarbone more pronounced. His long hair, without the golden thread that held it in place, lay scattered across the couch like splashed ink. His face, which had only moments before been distorted by intense pain, was now completely pale, revealing only a delicate, sickly expression.
Those clear eyes were half-open and half-closed, looking vaguely at a certain point in the sky, as if they had just struggled out of a bottomless nightmare, and their soul had not yet returned.
Hearing her come in, his eyes moved and slowly, extremely slowly, turned in her direction.
"...Miss Qing." He called out in a hoarse voice.
He seemed to be more lucid. Qing Guiyu felt relieved and walked over to feel his forehead. The fever had subsided a little, but he was still very weak.
"Awake?" She tried to make her voice sound calm. "Thirsty?"
He didn't answer, but just looked at her confusedly. In those beautiful peach blossom eyes, chaotic mist and clear rationality were alternating.
"I..." He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but a sharp pain pulled him to frown.
"Where have you been?" he asked softly.
"I went to see my senior brother," Qing Guiyu replied vaguely, walking to the table, sitting down, and pouring herself a cup of cold tea. She didn't dare look at him, thinking that her lies weren't as pure as his, and she was a little afraid that her lies would be pierced to pieces by his eyes, which could see through people's hearts.
"Yeah." He responded and stopped talking.
For a moment, the only sound in the cabin was the monotonous sound of the river water hitting the side of the boat.
"You smell..." He seemed to sniff, frowning slightly, "You smell like my father."
Qing Guiyu's hand holding the teacup shook violently, almost spilling the tea.
Is this guy a dog?
She had only stayed in Shen Yan's room for half an hour, but he could still smell the scent of ambergris on her.
"I went to see him and talked about some things." Now that things had come to this, she was too lazy to hide it anymore.
Shen Juansheng's face turned even paler. He looked at her, his clear eyes slowly filled with a thick, inextricable sadness.
"Really?" He said calmly and softly, as if asking her, or perhaps asking himself, "You finally went to find him."
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
The question was asked abruptly, yet lightly, as if he had already expected it.
Qing Guiyu was shocked.
Don't panic, don't panic. She, Qing Guiyu, has seen a lot of things before, and she can't let him trick her out with just one sentence.
She cleared her throat and was about to say something polite to prevaricate, but Shen Juansheng suddenly spoke first.
"Miss Qing..." he said hesitantly, "I'm sorry, I just..."
He seemed to remember his absurd delirium, and his pale face quickly turned red.
Qing Guiyu felt relieved, thinking that he was finally awake.
"You had a fever and were talking nonsense." She tried to sound calm and collected. "It's nothing serious."
"I..." Shen Juansheng seemed to want to say something else, but the clarity in his eyes was disturbed by the new surge of pain. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes began to blur again, as if his mind had once again fallen into chaos.
Suddenly, he struggled to support his body and sat up from the couch.
"Flute..." He stared at her, as if looking for something, his eyes were blurred and his movements were very slow. Every time he moved, a layer of fine cold sweat seeped out of his forehead, which obviously triggered the severe pain that gnawed at his bones.
He stared at her blankly, his eyes suddenly filled with anxious paranoia, "My flute..."
Qing Guiyu was stunned. What flute?
"I cut it," he struggled, trying to find something from under his clothes, but he couldn't move because of the pain all over his body. He could only look at her pleadingly with his flowing eyes, "It's from Zizhu... It's for you..."
Qing Guiyu thought that he was so drunk that he only remembered the bamboo flute.
No, it should be said that she never took it at Tangquan Villa, but he actually kept it with him all the time.
She was speechless for a moment. Her mind was now full of how to study the exercises, how to remove the needles, how to deal with Shen Yan, how to deceive everyone, so how could she care about the bamboo flute?
"Lie down first," she held him down, "Flute can't run away."
"No!" Shen Juansheng suddenly became excited and tightened his grip on her hand. In his chaotic eyes, that familiar, desperate violence ignited again, "You...you take it."
With his other hand, he fumbled around at his side and finally pulled out a purple bamboo flute that was shiny and lustrous.
It was the same flute he had carved for her that day at Tangquan Villa, and the tail was still tied with the intricate and exquisite cord he had made with gold thread.
He gripped the flute tightly in his hand and tried to stuff it into her arms desperately.
"Take it!" he repeated stubbornly, his voice tinged with tears. "This... is better than that."
He was referring to the old flute she had used for many years, which was given to her by her junior brother.
Qing Guiyu was upset by his behavior, but also felt a little sorry for him, and was immediately in a state of confusion. This guy was out of his mind, why was he still thinking about such a trivial matter of jealousy?
"Sigh," she sighed, trying to pull her hand back, "I don't want it."
"You take it!" He seemed to be stung by these words, and tears suddenly welled up in his eyes and rolled down his rosy sick face. "The old one, he gave it to me, I don't like it. If you don't want it... Miss Qing, Miss Qing, you, you... don't want me again?"
He repeated these words several times, his tone mournful and his expression became that of the "favored concubine" who had been trying to compromise in every way, fearing that she would abandon him.
"This one is mine." He seemed to have a high fever again. He pushed the flute into her palm again. His face was red and full of tears, but there was a light in his eyes. "It's mine. But you always don't want me."
Qing Guiyu only felt that the bamboo flute in his hand seemed to be burning.
Even when he was confused, he did not forget to implement his strategy of "nibbling away at others' territory and occupying their nest".
But it is certainly not calculation, not planning, nor lies and disguises used to win people's hearts.
He was just a young man secretly weaving gold threads in a medicine house, and a man concentrating on carving a bamboo flute for a girl under the warm sunshine on the snowy mountains.
Qing Guiyu felt a little sad and didn't dare to struggle anymore, for fear of hurting him more and causing his brain to burn even more.
Her green bamboo flute was indeed cracked a lot after it got stuck on the bone spur of the assassin who had used the bone-shrinking technique yesterday. It was probably unusable.
After that, I still have to deal with Shen Yan.
"Okay, okay," she could only perfunctorily accept the purple bamboo flute. "It's yours, yours, all yours."
Finally, Shen Juansheng was satisfied, a pleased smile on his face, and he finally loosened his grip on her hand. However, he refused to lie down, but leaned on the couch, his eyes fixed on her and the bamboo flute in her hand.
"Do you like it?" he asked, a little aggrieved.
Qing Guiyu almost bit his tongue.
Qing Guiyu. She repeated her name silently in her mind, reminding herself to stay calm. It was impossible to reason with a patient with dementia.
I opened my mouth and wanted to say it was okay, but then I looked down at the bamboo flute, which was round, smooth, exquisite and beautiful.
"I like it, I like it." She could only deal with it casually.
"You are injured and cannot be exposed to the wind." He thought quickly and repeated to him all the nonsense he had just said.
These words, salvaged from Master Jinsheng's delirium, seemed extremely convincing.
Shen Juansheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded as if he suddenly understood, with a look of slight annoyance on his face.
"Yes," he whispered, "I forgot. I can't get sick. I still have to take care of you."
He finally lay back down obediently, but his eyes were still fixed on her, as if she was the target of some robber, who would be stolen in the blink of an eye.
Qing Guiyu was helpless and had to sit beside the couch and cover his eyes with his hands, just like he did when he took care of the young man in the medicine house.
As soon as she touched him, Shen Juansheng sighed softly, his furrowed brow finally relaxing a little. Like a cat having its fur stroked, he closed his eyes under her palm, a look of peace on his face.
She waited like this until the second half of the night when he fell into a deep sleep.
Qing Guiyu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that this day and night was even more tiring than her previous ten years of practicing medicine. She sat on the edge of the couch, looking out the window at the waning moon and the shattered moonlight on the river.
His fingertips brushed over the bright needle marks, and he wondered how he could drain the blood from here this time.
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