Opening a Meridian

Outside Yuzhou, the morning sun rose as Li Ziye came walking back, drenched in dew and looking utterly bedraggled.

It had taken Li Ziye an entire night to walk back.

The consequences of offending a woman, especially one as formidable as Qin Enuo, were truly miserable.

At the Li residence, Li Baiwan had been pacing in anxious circles over Li Ziye's failure to return all night. But with that terrifying woman beside the lake in the back courtyard, he dared do nothing.

"Don't ask, and don't look for him. He won't die!" When Qin Enuo returned last night, she had said only that before going to her room to rest.

Li Baiwan was worried sick, but worrying was all he could do. He dared neither speak nor ask.

"Master, the young master is back."

In the front courtyard, a servant hurried over to report.

Hearing this, Li Baiwan hastened out to greet him.

In front of the residence, Li Ziye returned with his clothes in tatters and his hair in disarray, looking like a beggar. Everyone in the household was shocked.

What had happened to the young master?

Why did he look as though someone had ravaged him?

"Son, son, are you all right?"

Seeing his precious son return, Li Baiwan hurried forward and asked.

"Do I look all right?"

Li Ziye spread his arms and gestured at himself, snapping, "I'm just not dead yet."

Then Li Ziye looked around and demanded angrily, "Where's Old Qin? Is she back?"

"In the back courtyard."

Li Baiwan answered.

"I'm going to find her!"

Li Ziye spoke furiously, then strode toward the back courtyard.

"Son, don't be rash! You can't beat her!"

Behind him, Li Baiwan started in alarm, hurriedly grabbed him, and warned him.

At those words, Li Ziye stiffened, grief and indignation crossing his face.

He was the dignified third young master of the Li residence, the richest wastrel in the world, a transmigrator with cheats, the Heavenly Dao's own son-and he was actually afraid of a woman!

Wasn't transmigration supposed to mean invincibility?

He had invented soap and produced glass. Everything had clearly been following the script, so why, why had all eight of his meridians been blocked, leaving him unable to practice martial arts?

Wasn't this just toying with him!

"Son, whatever you have to say, say it calmly. That woman really is too formidable," Li Baiwan consoled him, deeply wary.

"Old Li, you're hopeless, letting a woman scare you this badly!"

Li Ziye collected himself, shot Fatty Li behind him a contemptuous look, then headed toward the back courtyard with his head high and chest out.

Li Baiwan froze, then came to his senses and hurried after him.

His son was being so tough today. Was he going to confront Fairy Qin head-on?

Beside the lake in the back courtyard, Qin Enuo stood quietly, gazing at the water, her expression as still and unruffled as the lake itself.

Nearby, Zhang Lata still lay lazily drinking, perfectly at ease.

Just then, Li Ziye strode in from outside the back courtyard, head high and chest out, his momentum soaring like a rainbow. Even his bedraggled state could not conceal his fearless bearing.

"Oh? This boy does have a little backbone!"

Zhang Lata opened his eyes, looked at the aggressively approaching Li Ziye, and praised him.

Fight! Start fighting!

This old man loved watching a good show more than anything.

Closer!

Seeing Li Ziye about to reach them, Zhang Lata could barely contain his excitement.

At the lakeshore, Li Ziye marched forward with his head held high, the momentum he had built up utterly imposing.

How could he fear a woman!

A true man's mettle-neither servile nor overbearing!

Beside the lake, just as Li Ziye approached, Qin Enuo turned. Her gaze was so calm, so indifferent, without the slightest emotion.

Yet at that moment, that single indifferent glance seemed more terrifying than any threat.

Li Ziye shuddered as though struck by lightning, his fierce expression vanishing at once.

"Fairy Master, I'm back. Did you sleep well last night?" Li Ziye approached with a fawning smile and offered his greeting.

"..."

Zhang Lata turned his face away, speechless. Disgraceful!

He had actually expected this boy to have some backbone? He really had drunk too much and gotten water in his brain.

"Go practice your sword."

Qin Enuo spoke flatly.

"Right away!"

Li Ziye obediently nodded, then scampered off to one side to begin practicing.

"Did you really let him kill all those dozen or so bandits himself? Are you sure you didn't help?" Zhang Lata asked dubiously.

"I didn't."

Qin Enuo said calmly, "He's an exceptional talent."

"An exceptional talent? Him?"

Zhang Lata scoffed. "A good-for-nothing who can't even open his meridians."

"I mean he's an exceptional talent at killing."

Qin Enuo said evenly, "How long did it take you to adjust after your first kill?"

Zhang Lata frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "A day."

Killing was hardly a pleasant feeling. Even now, he disliked it.

"Last night, he killed more than a dozen people. When I saw him, he could still joke around. Could you have done that back then?" Qin Enuo asked calmly.

"No."

Zhang Lata's expression grew slightly grave. He understood what Qin Enuo meant.

This boy was either cold and ruthless by nature or possessed an extraordinarily steadfast disposition and an exceptional ability to adapt.

"The Li Family really does produce no ordinary people."

Zhang Lata sighed softly. "The one I originally thought was a good-for-nothing turned out to be the most terrifying of all."

"A steadfast disposition is the rarest and most valuable strength in martial practice. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what he achieves once all eight of his meridians are open."

Qin Enuo watched the youth nearby as she spoke softly.

"That'll be difficult."

Zhang Lata sighed. "Even with all those great medicinal herbs and a herb king, you can only help him open one meridian at most. A person has eight meridians. Where will you find that many herb kings? Without herb kings, relying on those great medicinal herbs alone, judging by the current pace, opening all eight of his meridians would be impossible without three to five years."

Herb kings were not something one could simply obtain on demand. Such things could only be encountered, not sought. Even with the Li Family's astonishing wealth, finding so many herb kings all at once would be difficult.

Both he and Qin Enuo had underestimated the difficulty of reconstructing the eight extraordinary meridians. After all, no one had ever done such a thing before.

"There's no rush about the herb kings."

Qin Enuo said calmly, "I heard the Imperial Academy in the capital has a thousand-year-old fleeceflower root. If there's no other way, I'll make a trip to the capital."

"The Imperial Academy?"

Hearing this, Zhang Lata's expression grew slightly grave. "Are you sure you want to go there? That old fellow in the Imperial Academy is no simple figure. Even you might not get away unscathed if you tried to seize it by force."

There were countless powerful people in the world, and ranking them was difficult. But that old fellow in the Imperial Academy was universally acknowledged as one of the world's top three, perhaps even the strongest.

The Confucian Head of the Imperial Academy, Kong Qiu!

"Unless I have absolutely no other choice, I won't take it by force," Qin Enuo said softly.

While the two conversed, Li Ziye was still practicing his sword intently beside the lake, sweat pouring like rain. After last night's slaughter, his sword now carried a greater air of deadly severity.

"Fairy, everything is ready."

Just then, a servant of the Li residence hurried over and spoke respectfully.

"Mm."

Qin Enuo nodded, looked toward the youth ahead, and said, "Li Ziye, practice later. Come with me first."

With that, Qin Enuo headed toward the medicine room.

Puzzled, Li Ziye put away his sword and hurried after her.

In the medicine room, hot steam rose from the enormous medicinal tub. Today, the water seemed much hotter again.

"Get in," Qin Enuo said.

At her words, Li Ziye promptly stripped off his outer clothes and climbed into the medicinal tub with practiced ease.

At once, unbearable heat mixed with medicinal potency surged toward him from every direction.

Qin Enuo stepped up to the medicinal tub and, without any unnecessary words, slammed a palm into his chest.

"Aah!"

Instantly, a squeal like a pig being slaughtered rang out again. Inside the tub, Li Ziye curled up in pain, his body trembling incessantly as cold sweat streamed down.

Outside, the servants heard the agonized screams from the medicine room. Every one of them trembled with fear, not daring to approach.

Inside the medicine room, Qin Enuo opened the wooden box holding the blood ginseng herb king and took out the blood ginseng.

At that moment, even Qin Enuo, whose heart was always as still as water, grew solemn.

Whether her conjecture was correct would be determined today.

No one had ever attempted to reconstruct meridians. Only the Li Family possessed such immense financial resources, gathering countless great medicinal herbs. With those herbs as a foundation and this herb king added to them, perhaps a miracle really could occur in this boy.

"Whatever pain comes next, you must endure it!"

Qin Enuo gave this solemn warning. Then True Qi surged around her, and with a jolt of her slender hand, she shattered the blood ginseng.

Enveloped in True Qi, the crimson essence of the herb king became a blood mist that streamed continuously into Li Ziye's chest, repairing his shattered meridian. Within mere breaths, a sheen of sweat appeared on Qin Enuo's forehead. Clearly, this was far from easy.

Inside the medicinal tub, Li Ziye clenched his teeth, his body shaking violently. How could an ordinary person endure the pain of severed meridians and crushed bones?

Outside the medicine room, beside the lake, Zhang Lata drank mouthful after mouthful from his wine jar. Soon, he had emptied it.

Zhang Lata immediately opened another jar. At that moment, perhaps even the Sword Maniac himself failed to notice that the hand holding his wine jar had begun trembling slightly with tension.

Time stretched so long at that moment.

After an unknown length of time, a sudden, piercing scream came from the medicine room, chilling the soul.

Then, with a thunderous crash, an immense force erupted inside the medicine room. The entire medicinal tub burst apart, water spraying through the air and splashing everywhere.

On the floor, Li Ziye sat slumped in utter weakness, gasping for breath, his face covered in sweat.

Before him, Qin Enuo was hardly any better off. The flying water had soaked her long hair and dress, blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, and she looked more bedraggled than ever before.

After a long while, Qin Enuo suppressed the chaotic True Qi inside her and said wearily, "Rest for half a day, then go practice your sword."

With that, Qin Enuo said nothing more and hurried out of the medicine room toward her own room.

Inside the medicine room, Li Ziye staggered to his feet, walked to the lakeside, and collapsed limply onto the ground.

"Old Zhang, it worked."

Li Ziye spoke weakly, his feelings somewhat complicated. He could not say he felt particularly happy.

The price of opening his meridian had been too great.

This was the first time he had seen Qin Enuo in such a sorry state. This debt of gratitude was rather heavy.

"Qin Enuo is a good person."

Zhang Lata took a drink and said earnestly, "Especially to you."