Return to Notting, Tang San's Doubts

"Hold out your left hand!"

The moment Yu Xiaogang spoke, no one in the Seventh Dormitory dared make another sound.

Tang San wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth and forced himself to extend his left hand, but the moment he raised his arm, his whole body pitched forward.

Xiao Wu caught him by the shoulder, her brows shooting up in alarm. "Didn't you say you were fine? You call this fine?"

Tang San gritted his teeth. "Stop talking. Let Teacher examine me first."

Yu Xiaogang gripped Tang San's wrist. The instant his fingertips settled on the pulse, his expression darkened.

The circulation of blood and qi in that arm was in utter chaos. Near the palm in particular, it felt as though something heavy was dragging it down, and remnants of Datura Snake venom still lingered within the meridians.

But he could not detect any foreign object.

Ji Yuan was hidden within the inner layer of Tang San's shoe sole. The newly sprouted demonic vine had shrunk into a dark wooden chip, its roots pressed against the inner walls of Tang San's meridians, so still that it gave off not the slightest excess fluctuation.

Just now, he had taken only a single mouthful of newly formed inner force.

And Tang San had vomited blood.

This blood bag's tolerance was even lower than he had estimated.

Still, that was fine.

Now he had tested it.

Ji Yuan now had a rough grasp of how much he could drain in the future, when to drain it, and how far he could go without killing him.

Yu Xiaogang asked grimly, "What were you doing before you vomited blood?"

Tang San said quietly, "I was circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, trying to stabilize my soul power."

"My left hand started feeling heavy first, then my chest felt blocked up, and then I vomited."

Yu Xiaogang asked again, "Did you try to summon your second martial soul?"

Tang San shook his head. "No."

Xiao Wu looked utterly confused. "What second martial soul? Tang San has another martial soul?"

The work-study students in the Seventh Dormitory had been gathered around them. At those words, every one of their eyes lit up.

Wang Sheng was just about to lean closer when Yu Xiaogang swept a cold look over them. "All of you, get out."

Wang Sheng shrank back. "Master, we're just worried about Boss."

"Out."

This time, no one dared linger.

Several work-study students tugged one another as they retreated outside, but Xiao Wu did not move.

Yu Xiaogang looked at her. "You too."

Xiao Wu immediately stepped in front of Tang San. "No. He vomited blood, and you still want to drive me out?"

Tang San's voice was hoarse. "Xiao Wu, listen to Teacher."

Xiao Wu stared at him for a while before finally huffing. "Fine. I'll be right outside. If you vomit blood again, I'm coming straight in."

The door closed, leaving only Tang San and Yu Xiaogang in the room.

Ji Yuan slowly contracted along the spores within Tang San's heart meridian, pressing every trace that might be discovered deeper inside.

Yu Xiaogang took out a small knife, cut open the tip of Tang San's left finger, squeezed out a drop of black blood, and held it beneath his nose to smell.

Tang San could not help asking, "Teacher, was the Datura Snake's poison not fully purged?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer immediately.

He walked to the table and opened his notes. His fingers searched back and forth across several pages, and the more he looked, the tighter his brow furrowed.

Tang San watched his back, and that sense of unease rose within him again.

Ever since the Soul Hunting Forest, he had lost control more than once.

The wolf king's strange pause when it pounced, the blank stretch before the Datura Snake died, and now this inexplicable feeling of blockage in his body.

Every single one could be explained.

But put together, they did not feel right.

"Teacher."

Tang San raised his head. "Could there be something else hidden inside my body?"

Within the inner layer of his shoe sole, the tip of Ji Yuan's demonic vine silently lifted.

The kid was fairly alert.

Unfortunately, he had asked the wrong person.

Yu Xiaogang's hand stopped on the page.

He turned to look at Tang San, his gaze even sterner than before. "Why would you think that?"

Tang San said, "I always feel like someone is stealing my strength."

"While cultivating, a portion of my inner power would mysteriously vanish."

"During battle, it would suddenly go out of control as well."

"And the blood I spat out today didn't look like ordinary poisoned blood."

Yu Xiaogang did not scold him for overthinking.

This was precisely where his confidence lay.

The more inexplicable a phenomenon was to others, the more he wanted to suppress it with his own theories.

He closed his notebook and walked over to Tang San. "Remember this: you possess twin martial souls."

Tang San looked up.

Yu Xiaogang continued, "The greatest problem with twin martial souls is not that their talent is too strong, but that the origins of the two martial souls repel each other."

"Your Blue Silver Grass has just absorbed a poisonous spirit ring. The toxins stimulated your body, so the martial soul in your left hand naturally reacted to protect itself."

"You feel as though your strength is being stolen because the two martial souls are fighting over spirit power inside your body."

Tang San frowned. "But I didn't actively use it."

Yu Xiaogang raised a hand and pressed it against Tang San's left palm. "That is exactly why it is even more dangerous—you cannot control it."

"What you need to do now is stabilize your Blue Silver Grass."

"Do not use excessive inner power to force your meridians open again, and do not attempt to probe deep into your left hand."

Hearing this, Ji Yuan nearly unfurled his barbs.

Yu Xiaogang really was becoming more useful the more he was used.

Ji Yuan did not even need to make up excuses. The other man could cover up every anomaly himself.

Tang San fell silent.

He trusted Yu Xiaogang.

But the sensation of being drained dry had felt far too real.

He asked quietly, "Teacher, can twin martial souls rejecting each other cause someone to spit out this kind of black blood?"

Yu Xiaogang picked up the trace of blood and examined its color again. "It can."

"The Datura Snake's venom is extremely potent. In order to protect your second martial soul, your body forced out the mixed toxins. This is a good thing."

The doubt in Tang San's eyes eased slightly.

"Then what should I do now?"

Yu Xiaogang said, "Do not cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill again tonight."

Tang San immediately looked up. "Not cultivate?"

Yu Xiaogang's tone grew firmer. "If you want the martial soul in your left hand to lose control ahead of time, then keep going."

With that said, Tang San could only nod.

Ji Yuan sneered in the shadows.

Not cultivate?

That would not do.

If Tang San did not cultivate, what would Ji Yuan absorb?

Ji Yuan was in no hurry.

He pressed some of the toxins back to the edges of Tang San's meridians, then gradually eased the lingering weakness left behind after draining him.

Sure enough, the congested feeling in Tang San's chest subsided considerably.

He flexed his fingers and said in surprise, "Teacher, it feels lighter."

Satisfaction flashed through Yu Xiaogang's eyes. "Do you see? As long as you do not stimulate it, the rejection will naturally ease."

Tang San finally relaxed. "Teacher, you really saw through it."

Weariness surfaced on Yu Xiaogang's face, though he could not conceal his pride. "Your condition is unusual. Ordinary spirit masters would not understand it. I will organize a specialized cultivation method for you."

"Before then, tell me about every abnormality."

Tang San nodded solemnly. "I understand."

Outside the door, Xiao Wu could no longer hold herself back. She pushed the door open and poked her head in. "Can I come in now?"

Yu Xiaogang put away his notebook. "Come in."

Xiao Wu hurried to Tang San's bedside. Only when she saw that his complexion had improved did she breathe a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death. I thought you were going to die."

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "It was only poisoned blood."

Xiao Wu glared at him. "Poisoned blood can kill people too!"

Yu Xiaogang looked at Xiao Wu. "Do not let him cultivate recklessly tonight."

Xiao Wu immediately patted her chest. "Leave it to me. If he dares to practice in secret, I'll pin him down."

Tang San said helplessly, "Think you can hold me down?"

Xiao Wu narrowed her eyes. "Want to try?"

Tang San said nothing more.

Seventh Dormitory grew lively again, and Wang Sheng and the others crowded in, asking question after question.

Tang San only said it was lingering toxin from the spirit ring, and everyone quickly believed him.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Ji Yuan withdrew his roots from Tang San's meridians to the area near his heart meridian.

He could not drain any more.

If he did, Yu Xiaogang might really take Tang San for a more thorough examination tomorrow.

But the probing had already been enough.

Ji Yuan had recorded Tang San's physical limit, the Clear Sky Hammer's reaction at its source, and the recovery speed of the Mysterious Heaven Skill after being drained.

From now on, blood bag number one was no longer a wild fruit to take a casual bite from, but fertile land that needed long-term cultivation.

Late at night, Seventh Dormitory quieted down.

Lying on his bed, Tang San heeded Yu Xiaogang's advice and did not circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Xiao Wu, however, hugged her blanket and squeezed in beside him, saying with complete confidence, "I'm supervising you."

Tang San shifted aside. "The bed's only this big."

Xiao Wu tossed her pillow over. "Cut the nonsense. I don't take up much space when I sleep."

Ji Yuan's attention finally shifted away from Tang San.

Xiao Wu's scorpion braid hung over the edge of the bed, its tip swaying lightly. The spore he had lodged at the base of the wooden comb's teeth was clinging to her hair as it crawled downward.

The aura of a hundred-thousand-year origin was tempting even through flesh and skin.

Ji Yuan withdrew his roots from Tang San and focused all his senses on that scorpion braid.

Tonight, blood bag number two should finally open her mouth.