Ten days of grueling practice without a break, and my Tiger-Subduing Fist has only gained two points, Deng Qing thought.
The Violet Palace Method had improved more.
At the same time, Deng Qing could feel the heat in his Skin Membrane nearing a critical point. All he needed was one strong dose of medicine to break through.
Deng Qing got up, went out, and headed straight for the Medicine Hall at the Celebration Hall.
Before he reached it, he saw white steam rising from beneath the ground near the Medicine Hall.
A cold wind blew the steam across the ground, then the heat slowly lifted it again.
The Earthfire was running after all.
Relief loosened Deng Qing's chest, and he quickened his pace.
Inside the Medicine Hall, a laborer was carrying firewood and adding water. When Deng Qing asked about the Medicinal Bath, he looked up. "The Earthfire's on, but Elder Wu hasn't returned."
Deng Qing frowned. "That can't be right. I asked around. In previous years, Elder Wu was back by the seventh."
With the Medicinal Bath at stake, Deng Qing had made sure to ask about the procedure. He knew it clearly.
"This year's different," the laborer said. "Elder Wu's son is getting married. He won't be back until the fifteenth, just in time to start work on the sixteenth."
Deng Qing stood there like a wooden chicken. Wasn't this the death of him?
Seeing his expression, the laborer tried to reassure him. "There's nothing we can do. A Medicinal Bath isn't just a pool of hot water you can climb into. Mixing the herbs, watching the fire, adjusting the medicine's properties—that all takes Elder Wu. The rest of us can only help."
"Where does Elder Wu live?"
The laborer froze. "Why do you ask? You're not thinking of going to his house to fetch him, are you?"
How could you? His family's celebrating a wedding!
Don't worry. Elder Wu will definitely make it back on the fifteenth. Work starts officially on the sixteenth. Besides, urgent as your Medicinal Bath is, can't you bear a few more days?"
Deng Qing could not explain it to the laborer. He got Elder Wu's address, thanked him, and left.
There was nothing Deng Qing could do. With Elder Wu's son getting married, going there now would be like dragging the man out of the wedding hall.
It would only anger Elder Wu and do no good at all.
With no other choice, he suffered through several days at home. At dawn on the fifteenth, before the sky had lightened, he left the city.
Outside the city, the wind was fierce and the snow heavier.
Half a foot of snow covered the official road. Each step sank to his ankles.
The sky was a murky gray, and the road ahead seemed swallowed by the wind and snow.
Deng Qing pulled his clothes tight and hurried along the official road toward Dongting County.
He saw almost no one on the way. Wind and snow struck him full in the face, leaving his eyes sore and dry.
Head lowered, Deng Qing pressed on step by step. At last the sky brightened, the storm eased, and the outline of Dongting County emerged faintly in the distance.
After walking a while longer, Deng Qing spotted an old man and a young servant coming toward him with luggage.
He strode up to meet them. Once he saw the old man's face, joy rose in his chest. He cupped his hands in greeting from afar and wished him a happy new year.
It was Elder Wu.
Only when Deng Qing identified himself did Elder Wu remember who he was.
Elder Wu studied Deng Qing. Snow covered him from head to toe, white frost coated his hair and brows, and tiny icicles clung to the corners of his mouth. "Young man, why walk more than thirty li at dawn to find me?"
Deng Qing cupped his hands. "I came to escort you back, Elder Wu, and ask you to return to the hall to prepare the medicine and oversee my Medicinal Bath."
Elder Wu frowned. "I don't officially start work until tomorrow. One day won't make a difference to your Medicinal Bath. Why the rush?"
Deng Qing explained his predicament and the harsh fact that the list would be announced tomorrow.
Then he bowed to Elder Wu and begged him to help.
The crease between Elder Wu's brows eased. "So that's it. This Medicinal Bath concerns your future. No wonder you're anxious.
"All right, let's go. However tired this old man is, I can't be the one to ruin someone's future."
Deng Qing took the bundle from Elder Wu, then the young servant's luggage too. Slinging it all over his shoulder, he had the servant support Elder Wu and follow behind him.
All the way back, Deng Qing was like a wall against the wind, shielding Elder Wu and the servant from the storm.
The three trudged toward Everjoy County Seat, their feet sinking unevenly into the snow.
At last, they reached the Celebration Hall before mid-afternoon.
Deng Qing urged Elder Wu to rest a moment, but Elder Wu waved him off. "Let's get on with it. Once you're soaking, I'll have plenty of time to rest."
With that, Elder Wu took Deng Qing's redemption voucher and entered the Medicine Hall.
The laborers inside the Medicine Hall hurried over when they saw him return.
Elder Wu set his luggage aside and immediately ordered them to open the pool and prepare the herbs.
The Medicine Hall sprang into motion.
The Earthfire was already running and the Medicinal Pool had been cleaned. All that remained was to mix the medicine and add it to the water.
As Elder Wu inspected the herbs, he glanced back at Deng Qing. "You've replenished your Qi-Blood well, but I'm afraid you've done it too quickly."
Deng Qing cupped his hands. "Please advise me, Elder Wu."
"This Medicinal Bath isn't meant to nourish you gradually," Elder Wu said. "It's meant to use the medicine's power to push you through the barrier.
"I can see you've built up a great deal of Qi-Blood. When the Medicinal Bath hits, if you can keep it under control, you'll break through;
"if you can't, your Qi-Blood will run wild. At best, you'll injure yourself. At worst, you'll damage the foundation of your Skin Membrane."
Deng Qing nodded. "I understand."
Elder Wu looked at him. "Understanding is one thing. Enduring it is another."
Deng Qing did not argue. He cupped his hands. "Please open the pool, Elder Wu."
"Prepare the herbs."
The herbs went into the pot, and their scent began to rise.
Before long, hot mist and the smell of medicine filled the Medicine Hall.
The Earthfire burned beneath the pool. Bubbles churned through the water as its color rapidly deepened.
A quarter into the evening watch, medicinal steam billowed upward.
Deng Qing removed his outer robe and stepped into the Medicinal Pool. The water rose past his waist and belly, all the way to his chest.
He closed his eyes and slowly steadied his breathing.
No sooner had the water covered his chest than heat burrowed inward through his pores.
The medicine's power struck like sparks falling into a pan of oil, and his chest and belly immediately began to roil.
Elder Wu watched the heat beside the pool. "Circulate your method. Don't just grit your teeth and take it."
Eyes closed, Deng Qing gave no reply. He slowly set the Violet Palace Method in motion.
As the invisible millstone between his chest and belly turned, it caught the medicine's power bit by bit and refined it into his body.
The Qi-Blood he had drawn from all the pig intestines and lungs he had eaten over the past days was still somewhat coarse and heavy. Struck by the medicine's power, it surged without pause.
Soon, the heat beneath Deng Qing's Skin Membrane grew stronger and stronger.
When he had first reached the Skin Tempering First Layer, Deng Qing could clearly feel his Qi-Blood stirring in only a few parts of his Skin Membrane. Each area remained separate. They could generate force, but they were distinct from one another.
Now it was different.
As the medicine's power pressed down layer after layer, an invisible thread seemed to catch those pockets of heat and slowly draw them together.
Heat flared in his arm, and his shoulder and back tightened with it. His waist and hips sank, and his chest and belly stirred in turn.
Deng Qing clenched his teeth and slowly assumed a Tiger-Subduing Fist stance.
In the Medicinal Pool, he could not make broad movements. He could only use his breathing to move his shoulders, back, waist, hips, and arms, guiding the heat along.
Another half a cup of tea passed. Deng Qing's skin darkened from red, and the veins in his forehead bulged little by little.
Suddenly, he felt as though a severed layer of Skin Membrane inside him had been forcibly joined by the medicine's power and his Qi-Blood.
The pockets of force that had once stood apart like separate armies joined into one.
Deng Qing suppressed his joy and continued circulating his method.
Elder Wu watched from beside the pool and nodded slightly.
A little more than half an hour later, Deng Qing suddenly felt a hollow sensation in his chest, as though a membrane had been pierced.
He slowly opened his eyes. At a thought, Clear Radiance appeared.