Village

Two days had passed since they took in Old Ma.

After Li Qi gifted him a strand of Azure Dragon Spirit Qi, Old Ma became exceedingly exhausted. For the past two days, he had basically been trudging slowly alongside Li Qi and the others, looking perpetually on the verge of falling asleep.

Li Qi worried that perhaps Old Ma could not bear the Azure Dragon Spirit Qi, and that his body simply could not keep up because he was too old.

He wasn't going to die just like that, was he?

Shen Shuibi examined him, then told Li Qi, "Don't worry. He's only wearing away his Killing Intent."

Then she began reciting from a book.

Something like, "Qi emerges from the upper burner, warming the flesh and nourishing the bones and joints, opening the spaces between skin and muscle."

And, "Yin and yang have already spread forth; with breath, they move and cry out. Their movement has its order, their circulation has its paths. They accord with Heaven and must never cease."

Then came a few more lines: "Qi emerges from the middle burner like dew, pouring upward into the hollow valleys and seeping into the minute vessels. When fluids are harmonized and regulated, they transform through qi into red blood. When the blood is harmonious, the minute vessels are first filled to overflowing, then it flows into the collateral vessels. Once all are full, it flows into the meridians."

Li Qi did not understand a single half-sentence of it. Still, he forced himself to remember it, intending to ponder it word by word later and ask Shen Shuibi what it meant. In the end, he finally understood.

Within the human body, all kinds of generated qi traveled throughout the body along different channels.

The qi that emerged from the upper burner could warm the muscles and skin throughout the body, moisten the sinews, bones, and joints, and reach the spaces between skin and muscle.

The qi that emerged from the middle burner was like rain and dew scattered across the earth, flowing into the large and small gaps between the body's muscles while also seeping into the vessels. Combined with harmonized bodily fluids, it transformed into blood through the qi transformation of the heart and lungs, then traveled through the body's vascular channels.

When blood flowed smoothly and in perfect order, it first filled the minute vessels, then entered the collateral vessels. Once the collateral vessels were full, it entered the meridians. Thus, when the blood and qi of the yin and yang meridians were abundant, they traveled throughout the body with each breath.

Within the body, qi followed such laws and cycles, just like the movement of celestial bodies and stars—circling again and again, without rest or end.

Thus, the little world of the human body and the great world beyond had the same wondrous effect by different tunes.

Right now, Old Ma was using his own strength to control the Azure Dragon Spirit Qi, gradually making it circulate according to those laws and wear away the Killing Intent within his body.

For when Killing Intent invaded the blood vessels, it made the blood sluggish and blocked. When blood could not flow freely, the defensive qi in that part of the body would also become congested and fail to disperse.

When qi and blood could no longer circulate back and forth, but were forced to gather in one area, abscesses formed. These swellings and pains, stagnating for too long, transformed into heat. As poisonous heat accumulated and steamed within, the flesh rotted. Once the flesh rotted, it turned into pus. If the pus could not be discharged, it would rot the fascia as well, then spread deeper into the vital recesses.

Once it reached the vital recesses, it would damage the bones. The Killing Intent could no longer be expelled outward, instead tormenting the bones and causing the marrow to stagnate, until the blood was exhausted.

When the blood stagnated, the sinews, bones, muscles, and internal organs would all be deprived of nutritive qi and defensive qi. In the end, the fleshly body would collapse and rot, resulting in death.

Though they had cleaned his wounds before, Old Ma's body was still filled with Killing Intent. That was why he had asked Li Qi for a strand of Great Forest Wood Qi from within the Azure Dragon Spirit Qi.

At the time, Shen Shuibi had also said, "The book says that when this condition appears in the thigh and shin, it is called a thigh-shin ulcer. Its outward appearance does not change much, but the pus from the abscess clings to the bone. If it is not treated urgently, death comes within thirty days. That's why Old Ma was in such a hurry."

Only after hearing her explanation did Li Qi understand. She was talking about a thigh-shin ulcer occurring in the thighs and lower legs. Though there might be no obvious external changes, the pus produced by the abscess clung tightly to the bone. If it was not treated quickly, death was very likely within thirty days.

That was why Old Ma had been so anxious.

"Great Forest Wood Qi is formed in spring, when wood qi rises upward, drawing upon the Eastern Wood constellations and the spirit qi of the Azure Dragon among the Four Symbols. At that time, all things arrive in season, branches and leaves flourish, and thickly gather into forests. It takes the abundance of wood, using wood's vitality to promote one's own vitality. Wood is born at the hour of Hai; branches shake the wind, boughs prop up the moon. Thus can Killing Intent be expelled."

Shen Shuibi spoke in one elaborate set after another, leaving Li Qi utterly bewildered.

As expected of such a cultured rabbit.

Then Li Qi went back and pondered it for half the day.

Fuck, translated into plain words, wasn't this just stimulating his immune system so the abscess could subside on its own? Using the body's immune system to tough out the infection!

Once he understood that, Li Qi stopped worrying.

Fighting an infection with sheer immunity would definitely cause fever, weakness, dizziness, and such. He should be fine in a couple of days.

So Li Qi simply climbed a mountain to look into the distance, painstakingly found traces of a village, then spent half a day heading toward it.

They would go to the village first, trade his wok spatula, farming tools, and such for supplies, then properly tend to Old Ma's injuries.

After all, Old Ma could barely walk now, much less carry someone. He himself was nearly unable to walk.

Besides, Li Qi had nothing good to feed him. Li Qi himself could only pick wild fruit, drink spring water, and eat rice cakes, so Old Ma could only gnaw grass and eat a few green leaves.

Shen Shuibi said that would not do. At this rate, his recovery would be too slow.

Li Qi thought so too. If things continued like this, Old Ma might die before he could withstand the infection. They still needed to get him some bird eggs, soybeans, and the like to replenish his nutrition.

There were not many chicken eggs in this world, because the chickens here could fly... and they were ferocious besides.

Could those even be called chickens?

Never mind. He would not think about that.

Old Ma seemed to understand his own condition as well. Along the way, Shen Shuibi translated for him many times; he kept thanking the two of them.

Li Qi did not know what to say. After all, Old Ma was an eight-foot Dragon Steed. If he had not grown old and fallen into hardship, then with Li Qi's status as a mere tracker, he likely would not have been qualified to ride him in this lifetime without some great stroke of fortune.

So Li Qi merely told him that they were helping each other, then passed over another strand of Great Forest Wood Qi that he had cultivated the next day.

With that, by the following day, they finally reached the village.

The village was very conservative. It even had crude wooden walls, a palisade made by driving thick logs into the ground.

Anyone who could establish a village in the wilderness was obviously not someone to provoke, even without Li Qi needing to think beyond his toes. Ordinary bandits probably would not dare trouble them.

A world with cultivation techniques was fucking awful.

"Fellow villagers!" Li Qi stood outside the village, leading Old Ma by the reins. "We're passing merchants! Want to take a look at some goods!?"

"Salt, hoes, rake heads! And cloth too!" Li Qi set down his basket and displayed the farming tools and cloth inside.

A middle-aged farmer holding a dung fork asked in a booming voice, "Other merchants travel in groups. How do you dare travel alone?!"

"They don't have horses! I do! They travel four days, I travel one! Nothing to fear on the road!" Li Qi called again, "My horse got hurt! I want to rest here for a day and buy some food!"

His reasoning was sound, and his basket did indeed contain salt and iron farming tools that villagers needed.

Besides, he had brought a woman with him.

A man traveling with a woman could not be much of a threat, and he even had a horse.

That was a horse. A merchant with a horse probably would not be interested in anything from a village like theirs.

The simple wisdom of the villagers led them to their judgment, and they opened the stockade gate. "Then come in!"