Inquiry

"I... I lost." Jing Yan looked at her fallen sword in disbelief.

"Wow! Look! That Tiger Woman lost!" someone gloated.

"What? The Hall Master clearly said that within the ninth rank, Jing Yan should be hard to beat!" Jing Yan's subordinates seemed to find it hard to believe, and were all dumbfounded.

"It's not that we're without rivals, but we're not without them either. I think Young Master Li is a great expert. This journey is in the bag!" Some people had already sided with Li Qi and were clapping and cheering.

I guess he's been disciplined by Jing Yan quite a bit.

As for Shen Shuibi, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, although Li Qi is a big idiot, he is still very capable. As long as he does what he says, even a pig can beat that arrogant woman to a pulp.

Hmph!

Shen Shuibi put her hands on her hips with a happy and smug look on her face, as if to say, "Come and praise me!"

Unfortunately, Li Qi didn't even look at her, leaving her proudly puffed-out chest feeling utterly empty.

Inside the venue.

"You flatter me." Li Qi sheathed his longsword and took out a roll of cloth, which contained the weakness diagram that Shen Shuibi had drawn last night. "Then, according to the bet, I will offer up the weakness that my little sister discovered, to help my elder sister's martial arts reach a higher level..."

"Wait, Li Qi, you said before... your little sister actually has cultivation, but she's not good at fighting on her Dao Path, so she just looks weak, but in reality she can see through my weaknesses." Jing Yan stopped Li Qi, but didn't rush to take the roll of cloth.

"That's exactly right," Li Qi replied.

Jing Yan nodded, picked up her sword, and sighed, "I didn't lose to you... I lost to your little sister, and to my arrogance."

Then, Li Qi saw her sheathe her sword, walk to Shen Shuibi's side, and actually kneel down on one knee, bowing to her in apology.

Shen Shuibi was at a loss, and Li Qi had to step forward and help her up.

"Sister Jing, why go to such lengths? No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. There's no need for this," Li Qi said, helping Jing Yan up.

Jing Yan shook her head. "It is precisely because I made mistakes that I must correct them. I was arrogant and complacent, and almost made a grave error, nearly ruining my Dao Path. It was your little sister who enlightened me; she is my benefactor."

"Now that you have pointed out my weaknesses, I know better how to improve. I can hardly repay such a great kindness. Gratitude alone is not enough. I hope you two siblings can accept this as compensation." Jing Yan said, taking out a red stone.

Then, she said to Li Qi, "I don't know what your little sister needs, but I see Li Qi your five internal organs have not been tempered yet. Your heart is weak and cannot bear your Qi and Blood. It is extremely difficult to move your qi and Qi and Blood. The heart belongs to fire. This stone is something I obtained by chance. Although I don't know what it is, I asked a master and he said that it contains a trace of pure Fire Qi. If you find a Daoist master to extract it and temper your heart, it may help you make up for this deficiency."

"Just as you have made up for my shortcomings," Jing Yan said.

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi looked at each other in bewilderment.

Jing Yan is... perhaps a little too upright.

What happened next was perfectly logical.

Jing Yan accepted the weakness marking chart, but did not practice it because she still had a mission to complete: to protect the caravan.

Li Qi, of course, also had to do his work. After all, one gold coin a day was equivalent to ten thousand coins a day. This salary wasn't just for him to eat for free. He naturally needed to protect the caravan with Jing Yan.

As for the rest of the caravan, after watching the spectacle, they all went about their own business.

Everything returned to normal, and peace was restored.

There were some wild animal attacks along the way, but with Li Qi and Jing Yan guarding them, the few wild animals were easily dealt with, and they were even given extra food. The fur and bones were collected by the caravan and treated as cargo.

After the day ended, during the evening rest period, Li Qi returned to the oxcart he shared with Shen Shuibi.

"Li Qi, Li Qi! This is a piece of the Essence of Fired Stone!" Shen Shuibi pulled Li Qi, looking very happy.

"What is that?" Li Qi looked at the red stone, unable to understand.

"The so-called function is unparalleled. The stone becomes useful after being burned, which means that the stone will have a wonderful use after being burned," Shen Shuibi immediately began to explain.

"Alum appears in the form of five golds, and sulfur is the general of all stones. Both are transformed by intense fire. Some alchemists know the method of burning stones. Using the technique of 'burning', they refine the stones. After they are made, ancient books record that 'after being refined by fire, they can be used. After they are made, they will never be destroyed in water.' Because of these properties, burning stones can have many uses."

"This stone, although not the original burning stone, is a mass of remnants left over from the burning process. It is formed from the residual Fire Qi left over from the alchemist's refining of countless stones. With this, I can help you temper your heart, and then you will only have your spleen left to temper." Shen Shuibi said, holding the red stone.

"Is it really useful?" Li Qi picked up the stone, which was cold to the touch and felt like just a red stone.

"Alright! I'll help you temper your heart right now!" Shen Shuibi started pulling up her sleeves.

"Wait! Don't take my clothes off!" Li Qi exclaimed in a panic.

"How can you use it without taking off your clothes!"

"I'll do it myself!"

One night passed.

Li Qi felt his heart pounding powerfully.

Now, only the spleen is missing, but Shen Shuibi said that it can be tempered naturally after a period of time.

Because the spleen belongs to the earth element, it may seem useless among the five internal organs, but it can assist the other Four Viscera in their function.

As an element of Earth, it is something that can participate in the activities of the other Four Viscera, just as the Earth itself contains all things.

Gold can be found underground, water flows on the surface, wood can grow on the ground, and fire can erupt underground.

Correspondingly, the liver produces blood while the spleen stores blood; the heart's Yang Energy can be inquired of the spleen; the spleen's transformation and transportation of the essence of water and grain can benefit the lungs; and the spleen and kidneys work together to transform and transport water and dampness.

If the other Four Viscera are functioning properly, the spleen will naturally become stronger over time.

Therefore, as long as we wait, Li Qi's ninth rank will reach the true ninth rank of martial arts in at most six months.

Feeling all of this, Li Qi continued with his work for the second day.

He Jing Yan patrolled near the caravan, looking around as she went.

During a patrol, as they passed each other, Li Qi suddenly remembered something and called Jing Yan down.

"Respect, Sister Jing," Li Qi called out.

"What is it?" Jing Yan turned her head, wondering what Li Qi wanted to do.

However, she was still very kind. She always remembered the kindness that Li Qi and his sister had shown her.

"The Jing family is Lineage from the Song Kingdom, right?" Li Qi asked.

"That's right, what's wrong?" Jing Yan asked, puzzled.

"What's the situation in the Song Kingdom now?" Li Qi asked again.

He wanted to learn about the Song Kingdom's situation from the Jing family.

Song Kingdom was a country that fought against the Tang Kingdom, became Tang Kingdom's bridgehead, and confronted Wushen Mountain.