Zhang Xiaohua's emotions surged, his thoughts racing in a thousand directions. The true qi within him slipped beyond his control, rushing through his meridians as though trying to catch up to the state of mind that had long outpaced it.
Yet gathering and tempering true qi was hardly so easy. That threadlike true qi twisted through his empty meridians and soon became a wild rampage. By the time Zhang Xiaohua realized what was happening, it had spread through every meridian in his body, darting toward his limbs and bones. He was horrified. His limbs would not move; he could not even twitch an eyelid. He was always telling his second brother about qi deviation, qi deviation—yet this time, it seemed he had truly suffered qi deviation!
Zhang Xiaohua wanted to open his mouth and call for his second brother, but how could he make a sound?
Besides, Zhang Xiaohua was light, and his horse bore little burden. It had long since run more than two horse-lengths ahead of Zhang Xiaohu. How could Zhang Xiaohu see what Zhang Xiaohua looked like from behind?
Moreover, Zhang Xiaohu's feelings were no less turbulent than Zhang Xiaohua's. He stared only at the end of the road, at the hometown that was already close at hand, with no distractions in his heart. He wanted only to return to Guo Village sooner. How could he have expected Zhang Xiaohua to suffer qi deviation at such a moment?
There was only one road from Lu Town to Guo Village. Though it was not straight, it had no forks. Thus, although Zhang Xiaohua did not deliberately guide his horse, it continued galloping forward as usual, revealing nothing amiss. Zhang Xiaohua did not know what consequences qi deviation would ultimately bring. He only felt scorching heat throughout his body,