A Little Traditional Chinese Medicine Shock

Xue Ye had lived far too long!

Ever since they had replaced the real Xue Qinghe, they had assumed that the ailing Xue Ye would soon pass away and hand the throne to Qian Renxue, who was disguised as Xue Qinghe.

Yet to everyone's surprise, this sickly Xue Ye had somehow survived until now!

By this point, they had already grown impatient!

They had not come to Heaven Dou City to waste time, but to steal the entire Heaven Dou Empire!

Because of this, the young mistress's cultivation had been delayed considerably!

They could not wait any longer!

They had settled on a plan to slowly poison Xue Ye and send him to an early grave.

If it went smoothly, they would soon bring one of the Two Great Empires under their control, accelerating their grand cause of unifying Douluo Continent.

However, just at this critical moment, Ye Renxin, the man capable of dragging people back from death's door, had arrived!

With him around, Xue Ye would have a hard time dying even if he wanted to!

Ye Renxin's existence was enough to ruin all their plans and might even expose them!

Thus, Stingray Douluo proposed killing Ye Renxin directly!

However, Snake Lance Douluo opposed the suggestion. "This is Heaven Dou City. If we make a move, people with ulterior motives will surely notice. If they trace it back to the young mistress, all our efforts will have been for nothing!"

Stingray Douluo's voice was deep and tinged with displeasure. "Then what do you suggest?"

Snake Lance Douluo pondered for a moment before looking at Qian Renxue. "Why not postpone the plan for now? We can act after Ye Renxin leaves Heaven Dou City."

"What if he never leaves? Are we supposed to wait forever?" Stingray Douluo rolled his eyes.

Qian Renxue's slender, jade-white fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest. After pondering for a long while, she slowly said, "Set the plan aside for now. We have hidden for so long and made so many preparations. We cannot fail at the final step."

"Yes." Though both were Titled Douluo, they treated Qian Renxue with utmost respect and placed a hand over their chests in salute.

Qian Renxue lowered her eyes slightly, considering Ye Renxin's purpose in coming to Heaven Dou City. They would investigate first. If they truly could not wait for Ye Renxin to leave Heaven Dou... then she could not be blamed for being ruthless.

After their second meal, Cheng Xiao and the other two strolled through the streets to walk off the food.

Along the way, Cheng Xiao teased the introverted Ye Lingling until her face turned red. She hid behind Ye Renxin and did not dare show herself. Then he chatted with Ye Renxin about everything under the sun. His remarkably mature insights did not feel out of place to Ye Renxin in the slightest.

If not for the fact that this boy occasionally teased his granddaughter until she ran off in embarrassment, revealing his youthful nature, Ye Renxin might have thought he was conversing with an adult who had spent many years out in the world.

"Come to think of it, my family's inherited art can also cure all manner of illnesses. If it were not so difficult to demonstrate, I would definitely show off before you, sir." Seeing that the time was ripe and that it was time to cast the hook, Cheng Xiao began boasting with the smugness of a youth.

"Oh? Cure all illnesses? Is your family's inherited martial soul also of the healing type?" Ye Renxin stroked his beard without taking offense.

"Of course not." Cheng Xiao shook his head. "Anyone can learn it. It does not require a healing-type martial soul!"

"You mean using herbs to treat illnesses? Hahaha, that is but a minor path. How could it be called curing all illnesses?"

Ye Renxin shook his head. Not everyone on the continent could afford a Healing Soul Master, which was why medicinal herbs had a place at all, though they could not be considered respectable.

"Of course not. Do you know what the most profound thing in this world is, sir?" Cheng Xiao deliberately kept them in suspense. Once Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling had both turned their attention to him, Cheng Xiao began speaking at length. "It is the human body!"

Over the years, Cheng Xiao had developed a deep understanding of medicine on this continent. Minor illnesses were left to fate, while major ones depended entirely on martial souls.

Medical research across the continent was underdeveloped, limited to basic herbal formulas that could only treat ordinary aches and minor ailments.

Because martial souls were so absurdly powerful, everyone focused solely on them, leaving medicine stagnant for thousands of years.

If poor people fell ill, they could only endure it with their bodies. If they pulled through, they recovered.

The wealthy, meanwhile, mostly trusted soul masters rather than so-called medicinal herbs. Whether the illness was serious or minor, they paid Healing Soul Masters to treat it.

Only those with a little savings, yet not enough to hire soul masters, would seek out people who knew a bit about herbs. They would directly chew medicinal herbs at random in hopes of curing themselves.

Likewise, people knew very little about the body's Acupoints. Though some had noticed that certain places within the body were different, they had never investigated deeply.

Even when cultivating, they relied on Meditation Techniques to drive Soul Power wildly through their bodies. Yet they could not explain why Soul Power needed to circulate that way. They simply followed the experience accumulated by their predecessors generation after generation, while later generations used it in complete confusion.

No one had ever thought to study the human body. Their minds were filled with martial souls, martial souls, martial souls! They were one step away from shouting, "Long live martial souls!"

Especially after reading Yu Xiaogang's bizarrely written notes, Cheng Xiao's frustration had hit its limit. Could you at least give those special points where Soul Power circulates a name already?!

Now, in order to latch onto the great tree that was Ye Renxin, Cheng Xiao decided to give him a little "traditional Chinese medicine" shock.

"Everyone only knows how to use Meditation Techniques to circulate Soul Power, yet they do not know that the places Soul Power passes through are called Acupoints. The human body contains three hundred and sixty-two Acupoints, forming the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Meridians. Among them, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are..."

Cheng Xiao spoke eloquently, explaining Acupoints and acupuncture in considerable detail while avoiding other fields. It could not be helped. In his previous life, he had been severely lopsided in his studies. Subjects such as herbal formulas had been a complete disaster, but his acupuncture scores had exceeded ninety.

Though his level was still far below those masters of traditional Chinese medicine, to the people of Douluo Continent, it was equivalent to opening up an entirely new world.

As Cheng Xiao spoke, Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling gradually became engrossed. Yet their expressions were entirely different.

Ye Renxin looked thoughtful. He had seen much and experienced much, so he could verify whether Cheng Xiao's words were correct through his own knowledge and experience. Still, Cheng Xiao's explanation was too superficial, leaving him doubtful.

Ye Lingling, meanwhile, was both envious and admiring. Her quiet, orchid-like eyes stared blankly at Cheng Xiao.

"He's the same age as me. How does he know so much..." At that moment, Ye Lingling felt that the boy, who was slightly shorter than her, had suddenly become tall and mysterious.

Only when Cheng Xiao's throat had gone hoarse did he finally pause, pulling Ye Renxin's thoughts back to reality.

Ye Renxin shook his head. "Your theory is rather interesting, but it is too mysterious and cannot be verified. According to what you say, does that mean you can tell my physical condition just by feeling this thing called a 'pulse'? And that merely pricking these so-called Acupoints can make someone vigorous and full of life?"

He had taken the bait!

With a smile at the corner of his lips, Cheng Xiao raised an eyebrow. "If you do not believe me, sir, you will know once you try it. Would you dare let me feel your pulse?"

Thanks to Ordinary Office Worker Kira Yoshikage for the tip.

This chapter was supposed to be yesterday's.

I really could not hold on yesterday, so I went to sleep first. I only finished writing it today. There are still two chapters today. (I'll try for three, but if I can't, so be it.)