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By the time he entered the main hall of the medicine shop, his wife had already pressed her fingers to the wounded man's pulse. She let out a breath and said:
"The wound was brutal, but it wasn't immediately fatal. Instead, it left enough time for treatment. As long as we can find someone capable of using Internal force to administer the needles, it won't be difficult to cure him. Unfortunately, people with Internal force are uncommon here. Perhaps whoever did this wanted you to slowly die in remorse and terror. I wonder who could be so vicious."
The Captain's expression shifted slightly, but he did not answer her. He merely said:
"He's only a petty thief. Please administer the needles, Madam Feng."
The woman gave a slight nod, then turned and called to Wang Anfeng:
"Feng'er, come here."
The youth walked over to her. The elegant Aunt who had always left such a refined impression on him continued beckoning him closer until he bent down to listen. She whispered a few things into his ear. Wang Anfeng's face first showed faint astonishment, then he nodded slightly and listened carefully. After only a few minutes, she raised her head and said:
"Feng'er has cultivated enough Internal force, but he has never studied medicine, much less acupuncture. I can guide him in administering the needles, but there are many risks."
"...May I ask how certain you are?"
"His chances of living or dying instantly are five to five."
"Dying instantly?!"
The Captain's face turned pale, and a trace of struggle appeared in his eyes. After remaining silent for a long while, he beckoned Zhao Daniu over and whispered a few words to him. Grief and horror alternated across the latter's face. In the end, he silently withdrew, while the Captain turned toward Li Kangsheng's wife and clasped his hands heavily.
"May I ask Madam Feng's honored name?"
"Please, don't call me that. My surname is Feng, and my given name is Lan."
The Captain murmured it twice under his breath, then turned and shouted harshly, "Zhao Daniu, if Heaven takes me, Zhang Zhengyang, it means the old man has remembered me. Remember to burn paper offerings and pour wine every month. But if he takes out his anger on Madam Feng, Mister Li, and this little brother, I won't spare you! No matter how much wine you burn for me, I won't touch a single drop!"
Zhao Daniu forced a smile. "What are you saying, Brother? Do I look like the kind of person who doesn't know right from wrong? Military discipline is strict, and you still haven't given me my military-staff punishment. How could I leave?"
Hearing this, Zhang Zhengyang laughed loudly. Though weak, there was still a touch of boldness in his laughter. He then bent forward and gritted his teeth.
"Then please, Madam Feng and little brother, administer the needles!"
Feng Lan nodded slightly, gathered up the silver needles, and rose.
"Then please move to the inner room, Captain Zhang. Lord Zhao was making such a commotion here just now that many people came to see what was happening. It is no longer suitable for me to guide Feng'er here."
Zhang Zhengyang naturally had no objection. Supported by Zhao Daniu and the others, he followed Feng Lan and Li Kangsheng into the inner room where the needles would be administered. It was only about ten square meters, with a single bed. Feng Lan climbed onto it and untied the thin cords from two of the bedposts. Heavy black curtains immediately dropped from both sides, separating the inside from the outside. She said:
"Captain Zhang, men and women must keep their distance. My husband will locate the acupoints from outside, while Feng'er administers the needles. Change your clothes and extend your right arm. I need to keep checking your pulse to prevent anything from going wrong. The procedure requires silence, so please, Lord Zhao, have the others guard the outside and don't let anyone disturb us."
Now that Feng Lan held the silver needles, not a trace of her usual gentleness remained in her voice. Instead, it carried a heroic edge. Zhao Daniu nodded frantically and hurriedly called out:
"Rest assured, Madam Feng! The several of us are here. We won't let a single person in!" Zhang Zhengyang laughed when he heard this. "Then you'll have to find half a person to let in."
Zhao Daniu froze for a moment. Seeing that Zhang Zhengyang could still joke, he felt somewhat relieved and was about to respond. But fearing that he would delay things, he swallowed the words. With a thump, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed heavily several times to Li Kangsheng and Wang Anfeng. When he rose, he managed to say, "Brother..." Before he could finish, his eyes reddened and he could not continue. He turned and strode outside, standing guard at the doorway like a door god.
At the same time Zhao Daniu and the others went out, the muscles on Zhang Zhengyang's face convulsed violently, and his complexion immediately grew even paler. Wang Anfeng stared blankly, then heard his uncle sigh beside him.
"To endure such agony and still joke around... the Captain's willpower is truly admirable. Please hurry and remove your clothes."
Zhang Zhengyang raised his hand through the pain and undid his iron armor. As he lifted his inner garment, he gave a bitter smile.
"I had no choice... These brothers of mine are all stubborn fools. If I showed pain on my face, they would probably be even more frightened than I am. It would be enough for me to suffer alone. Why drag them into worrying with me? If I die, then I die. But making my brothers share my fear and anxiety—that would be truly pathetic."
As his voice fell, he had already lifted his inner garment, revealing a strong, solid body. His front was covered in all sorts of knife and sword scars, but his back was completely smooth. Li Kangsheng supported Zhang Zhengyang as he moved over and extended his hand through the curtain. The latter felt two cold fingers settle against his pulse, then heard a voice from inside.
"The needles will be taking a dangerous route. We must first activate the body's vital energy. Husband, locate the Qi Sea and Guanyuan acupoints. Feng'er, use the third needling method Aunt just taught you and pierce these two points."
Hearing this, Wang Anfeng's heart immediately began pounding faster. He had volunteered earlier only because he had wanted to see whether he could save a life. Now that the moment had arrived, a great deal of tension surged through him.
The life of this towering man before him, along with the reputation his uncle and Aunt had built through years of hard work, was now pressing down on his shoulders!
He had never experienced anything like this before. For a moment, his arms felt stiff, and he did not move for several breaths. Only when Li Kangsheng tightened the skin above Zhang Zhengyang's Qi Sea acupoint between two fingers did he suddenly come to his senses.
He hurriedly reached for the needle on the white cloth, but he used too much force and stabbed his own fingertip instead. A bright red bead of blood welled up and dripped onto the white cloth, spreading into a faint stain.
Li Kangsheng's heart gave a lurch. Zhang Zhengyang, however, watched Wang Anfeng's stiff movements as he took up the needle and smiled.
"Little brother, why are you so nervous? Just pretend I'm a great big slab of fatty pork."
Wang Anfeng drew a deep breath and forcibly steadied himself. He turned to the acupoint, the silver needle pinched between his fingers, but he did not know how to insert it. Though mature for his age, he had only just turned thirteen. He was no born prodigy who could remain calm in the face of a human life, much less a veteran soldier who had rolled through seas of blood and treated life and death with indifference.
The more he told himself that he could not make a mistake, the harder it became to act. Beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead. The three-inch silver needle felt as heavy as a thousand jun.
The room was utterly silent. Everyone could hear their own heartbeat, while each person's breathing sounded terrifyingly loud, as though ghosts from the underworld were breathing into their ears from behind. The heavy curtains loomed like a dark cloud covering the earth. The veins bulging from the thick wrist twisted like broken snakes crying out in agony. Zhang Zhengyang's pale face smiled weakly, then suddenly transformed into a ghastly visage with blood streaming from its seven orifices, staring at him with eyes that would not close in death. Not a sound could be heard outside. Only footsteps continued to ring out, seemingly faster and faster, faster and faster.
Tap,
Tap,
Tap-tap-tap-tap...
"Administer the needle!"
His mind was in turmoil when a sudden shout exploded beside Wang Anfeng's ear. His wrist trembled, and before he knew it, he had driven a needle into the Qi Sea. His Internal force actually traveled through the silver needle and entered Zhang Zhengyang's body. This acupoint lay along the Conception Vessel and was the sea of all qi, with the effect of greatly replenishing vital energy. Zhang Zhengyang's expression suddenly relaxed, and Feng Lan shouted again beside his ear:
"Feng'er, calm your mind and settle your will. Have no desires and seek nothing. The arrow is already nocked. Your internal qi is limited, and he has little time left. The second needle, Guanyuan—use the reinforcing method!"
With a human life at stake, Wang Anfeng had no path of retreat left. He gritted his teeth, moved his wrist, and sent the silver needle into the place Li Kangsheng indicated. He flicked it lightly with a bent finger, producing a faint hum. Before he had time to look at Zhang Zhengyang's face, another voice reached his ears.
"His vital essence has been activated. If you cannot disperse the stagnant internal qi and blood before it is completely drained, he will surely die on the spot. Feng'er, the acupoints of the Spleen Meridian—use the draining method!"
Wang Anfeng gritted his teeth and struck. Cold light flashed, and a five-inch needle pierced into the acupoint. An expression of pain appeared on Zhang Zhengyang's face. Before Wang Anfeng could worry, Feng Lan spoke again, her voice like pearls falling onto a jade plate, growing increasingly urgent.
"Blood Sea!"
"Kongzui! Qiemen!"
"Diji! Zhongdu! Liangqiu! Waiqiu!"
Her crisp shouts came almost without pause. Wang Anfeng's eyes widened. There was no room left in his mind for fear or worry. His ears seemed to have gone deaf, and everything he heard was hazy and indistinct. Only Aunt's voice grew increasingly urgent and bright.
His forehead was drenched in cold sweat, but his hands remained perfectly steady. One silver needle after another fell like stars to earth, sinking into Zhang Zhengyang's body. Until the final shout, when the needle entered flesh, all the silver needles throughout his body began to hum in unison. Zhang Zhengyang suddenly rolled over and coughed up a great mouthful of black blood, his face turning deathly pale.
The men guarding outside rushed in all at once with a clatter, as if a restraint had been thrown open. Wind, water, commotion, and every other sound surged into their ears together. Only then did Wang Anfeng feel the weakness flooding his entire body. Without realizing it, he was already drenched in cold sweat.
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