Struck by a Yin Arrow

That evening, the first prescription given by Su Ziyang was discontinued.

Then they started taking the second prescription, which was more suitable for Xuyang's current condition.

After taking their medicine, the three of them sat on the sofa watching TV. Half an hour later, Xuyang's brows furrowed more and more, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Uncle Yang? What's wrong?"

The observant Su Ziyang was the first to notice that something was off with Xuyang.

My legs hurt terribly. It's excruciatingly painful.

Xuyang, this tough and strong man, seemed to be unable to hold on any longer and said through gritted teeth.

Su Ziyang had never seen anything like this before. Seeing Xuyang unable to hold on any longer and lying back on the sofa, Su Ziyang was at a loss for what to do.

Xuhui watched his younger brother wince in pain, but he wasn't too alarmed. Instead, he looked at Xuyang thoughtfully.

"Uncle-Master, what should we do?" Su Ziyang was at a loss, looking anxiously at Xuhui. "How about giving Uncle Yang some painkillers first?"

Xuhui shook his head directly. "It's nothing, painkillers won't help anyway, I'll just tough it out for a while and the pain will go away."

Sure enough, after gritting his teeth and enduring the pain for about ten minutes, Xuyang's pain gradually subsided, and his expression slowly returned to normal.

"Eryang, let me ask you. When you were working in Yunnan, where did you go?"

This time, it was Xuhui's turn to be serious.

"Huh?" Xuyang was a little unsure how to answer when his brother asked that. After thinking for a moment, he said with some confusion, "Where could I go? I'll stay at the factory."

"No," Xuhui shook his head. "Think again carefully. Have you been to any strange places, like temples—especially small temples?"

Upon hearing Xuhui's question, Xuyang's eyes widened in surprise, and then a hint of fear flashed in them, clearly indicating that he had remembered something.

"Brother, I need to tell you something. Don't be angry!"

"Speak!" Xuhui, sitting next to Xuyang, uttered only one word.

"When I was working in Yunnan, there was a period when our factory was busy with deliveries, but the new timber hadn't arrived yet, so things were relatively quiet. I often went running on a small hill next to the factory. If I remember correctly, there's a grave on that hill, I don't know whose it is..."

Upon hearing Xuyang's words, Xuhui's expression immediately changed. "Are you stupid? You've been running around this tomb?"

"It's not like I'm encircling the area; I just pass by it going up and down the mountain. I didn't pay much attention to it; lots of people exercise there. But one cloudy day, after my run, I suddenly felt leg pain, and I haven't been there since!"

Xuyang explained again, and then Xuhui's expression turned even uglier. Xuhui clearly suppressed his anger and nodded. "You're really something! If it doesn't hurt anymore, hurry up and rest!"

Xuyang then realized he had broken a taboo. Xuhui told him to go back to his room and rest, but Xuyang didn't say anything and went straight back to his room.

"Uncle-Master, what are you doing? Why is Uncle Yang getting so angry? He's sick, and your anxiety is making him uncomfortable and delaying his treatment!"

Su Ziyang's tone wasn't one of complaint against Xuhui, but rather an attempt to persuade Xuhui not to be angry.

Xuhui completely ignored Su Ziyang's comment and instead said with a blank stare, "I roughly know why he's sick, at least I know why his leg hurts!!!"

"Why?" Upon hearing Xuhui's words, Su Ziyang instantly perked up and pricked up his ears to hear what Xuhui had to say.

"Based on my current assessment, he has likely been struck by Yin Arrow." Xuhui said this in a very low voice, as if afraid someone might overhear.

"The Yin Arrow?" Su Ziyang repeated the term, which he had never heard before, with some surprise.

Xuhui nodded and explained, "There are two versions of the Yin Arrow here. One version says that the Yin Arrow is the weapon of the Earth God and Earth Goddess, used to protect the area. Since it's equipment, it inevitably needs to be used and practiced, so the Earth God and Earth Goddess sometimes take it out and shoot it. If someone happens to run into the arrow and get hit, that person is said to be 'struck by the Yin Arrow.' They will suddenly experience unbearable pain in a certain part of their body, and in severe cases, they may even lose their normal mobility."

"This..." Su Ziyang listened to Xuhui's extremely serious explanation and was at a loss for words for a moment, after all, it was beyond his understanding.

Ignoring Su Ziyang's surprise, Xuhui continued, "Another theory is that the Yin Arrow are the work of evil sorcerers, used to harm people. Although the explanations differ, the result is the same: those struck by the Yin Arrow will experience a condition called 'Eryang '."

Su Ziyang narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "According to your logic, Uncle Yang was hit by Yin Arrow, but that doesn't make sense. Even if Xue Zhen didn't see it, the Third Granny we found that day should have seen it. But neither of them said anything!"

"I find it strange too..." Xuhui muttered to himself. "Sigh~ Never mind, I'm just grasping at straws. Tomorrow I'll find someone to remove the Yin Arrow' from him, whether it works or not, I'll give it a try!"

Who are you looking for?

Although Su Ziyang found Xuhui's words to be far-fetched, he was also curious about how to undo the Yin Arrow. After all, who wouldn't be curious about such a thing? Who wouldn't want to see it for themselves!

"He's not an outsider, he's my father-in-law. I'll pick him up tomorrow." Xuhui made the decision immediately.

"Wow! Your family is truly full of outstanding people." Su Ziyang was a little surprised when he heard Xuhui say that the person he had found was his father-in-law.

"Sigh, my father-in-law is a family-trained Daoist priest, you could actually call him a Daoist master. My father-in-law's father was very prestigious and powerful in our area. If he were still alive, we wouldn't have needed to go so far to find that Third Granny. It's a pity he's no longer here."

Xuhui's tone was filled with regret, and from Xuhui words, one could tell that his father-in- Xuhui's father must have been quite formidable.

"Then you can just go directly to your father-in-law!" Su Ziyang's mind worked incredibly fast. Since he was a family-trained mage, he must be quite powerful!

"Don't even mention it. My father-in-law isn't even a tenth as capable as his father. Besides, he's too old now and doesn't handle things anymore. He wanted to pass this business on to me back then, but I refused."

Xuhui said to Su Ziyang.

"Uh... why is that? Why are there fewer and fewer things being passed around...? Doesn't your father-in-law like to study?"

Su Ziyang was quite puzzled by what Xuhui had said.

"This is a common problem in the transmission of knowledge. That's why good masters are always looking for talented people, just like Mengfei is looking for you. There are some things that even if the master teaches you without reservation, you may not be able to learn them completely, especially things like magic, which are more mysterious than traditional Chinese medicine. Something that works for the master might not work for you after you use it."

Xuhui is a very insightful person; he always gets straight to the point.

"Just like when you went to learn bone setting from Lao Pang, Ziyang, I don't mean anything by this, but do you think you have even seven-tenths of Lao Pang's skill in bone setting?"

Su Ziyang didn't think much of Xuhui's words and nodded generously, "Not to mention seven-tenths, I haven't even mastered half of Master Pang's skills. I agree with what you said. It depends on whether you have the talent in this area. I really am not very skilled in bone setting. Even though Master Pang has taught me so tirelessly, I haven't fully grasped some of the essentials of bone setting."

"Hmm, you have a good eye, Mengfei. That's why some family secrets are lost. If you stick to outdated and rigid rules, it's only a matter of time before good things are lost. It's impossible for every family to have such high comprehension in every generation, so being flexible is definitely the right thing to do!"

After finishing their business, Su Ziyang suddenly stared at Xuhui and said casually, "Uncle-Master, why have I never met Auntie before..."

Your aunt went to my daughter's house to see the children.

Su Ziyang had always been curious why Xuhui could cook so skillfully all by himself. During his time there, Su Ziyang had assumed Xuhui, like his mentor Mr. Mengfei, was an old bachelor...

"I always thought you and my master were both old bachelors!" Su Ziyang chuckled, easing the tense atmosphere.

"Forget it, your master's level is higher, I can't compare." Xuhui waved his hand, got up and went back to his room to sleep.

After chatting with Xuhui, Su Ziyang felt much clearer about his mind. When he meditated that night, he entered a deeper state of tranquility.

The next morning, Xuhui picked up his father-in-law, Taishan.

Xuhui's father-in-law is younger than Xuhui's father, Old Master Xu, at least in Su Ziyang's opinion.

After Xuhui's father-in-law entered the house, he went straight into Xuyang's bedroom.

Xuyang had just woken up and was lying in bed in a daze. When he saw Xuhui's father-in-law come in, he quickly got up to greet him.

"Let me check where it hurts first?" Xuhui's father-in-law sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Xuyang's leg.

Xuyang pointed to the location of his Bones: "I had two severe bouts of pain yesterday, and it's been hurting all morning, but it's not as bad anymore. I can bear with it."

Xuhui's father-in-law touched the spot where Xuyang was pointing, then pressed it firmly before removing his hand.

"Okay, lie down, I'll draw you a picture in a bit."

As he spoke, Xuhui's father-in-law got up and went into the living room. "Xuhui, where are the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones I left here with you last time?"

"Please sit down, I'll go get it."

Xuhui went into the bedroom, and after a while, he came out carrying a bag.

Inside were the Four Treasures of the Study: brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Xuhui took them out and placed them on the table.

Xuhui's father-in-law watched Xuhui set things out, then got up and went to the kitchen. He washed his hands with the purified water used for cooking before sitting back down at the table.

Xuhui's father-in-law sat extremely upright, then picked up the ink stick on the table and began grinding ink in the inkstone, muttering incantations as he did so. Su Ziyang couldn't hear what he was saying, so he could only watch every movement of Xuhui's father-in-law carefully.

After grinding the ink, Xuhui's father-in-law picked up the brush again, holding it in one hand and making a hand gesture that Su Ziyang didn't recognize with the other, while continuing to mutter incantations.

After chanting for about five or six minutes, Xuhui's father-in-law picked up the inkstone, took the brush, and went into Xuyang's bedroom.

"Xuyang, show your legs."

Xuhui's father-in-law asked Xuyang to expose the part of his leg that hurt, and then directly drew on Xuyang painful area with the tip of a pen.

Without pausing, Xuhui's father-in-law drew three talismans in one go.

After finishing drawing the talisman, Xuhui's father-in-law handed Xuhui the brush and inkstone, then quickly drew in the air with his right hand in a sword-finger gesture towards the area where Xuyang was in pain.

After repeating this action seven times, Xuhui's father-in-law whispered, "All done!"

As if he had made an agreement with Xuhui's father-in-law, Xuyang, who was lying down, also said softly, "All done!"

After watching his father-in-law Xuhui, busy himself for a while, Xuyang got up again, saying, "Take a rest! I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir."

"You lie down, I'm fine."

Xuhui's father-in-law pressed Xuyang back onto the bed and then turned and went back to the living room.

"Xuhui, I'm getting old. While I can still move around, I think I should pass these things on to you. Will you accept them?" Xuhui's father-in-law sat for a while, took a breath, and said to Xuhui.

When this was brought up, Xuhui hesitated again, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Could I try it first? I'm afraid I won't be able to learn it well."

"I know what you're worried about. Here's what we'll do. Once you've learned it, you don't need to use it. I don't need you to continue performing rituals for me. Just pass this down to me once you find a suitable successor! It's not like I'm making things difficult for you!"

For some reason, Su Ziyang felt a strange, indescribable feeling when he heard Xuhui's father-in-law say that.

Is it disappointment or heartbreak?

It's hard to say for sure.

However, Su Ziyang saw a shadow in this old man in his twilight years: the Lao Pang had a brief master-disciple relationship with Su Ziyang.

"Okay. I'll learn."

Hearing his father-in-law say that, Xuhui gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and agreed immediately.

Upon hearing Xuhui's agreement, the wrinkles on the old man's forehead seemed to smooth out. "Alright, alright, then do this. You take me back later, and I'll give you those books. You can look at them first. If you don't understand something, just ask me. Once you have a basic understanding, I'll teach you how to operate them step by step!"

Xuhui nodded and said yes.

As soon as Xuhui finished speaking, the old man sat up from the sofa. "Let's go, let's go home and get our books!"

"Huh?!" Xuhui was bewildered by his father-in-law's explanation. "Dad, let's get the book after lunch."

"What's the rush for food? Go get your books first! Hurry, hurry!" Xuhui's father-in-law pulled Xuhui towards the door, as if he couldn't wait a moment longer.

"Hey, Dad, don't pull me, I'm getting the car keys." Xuhui stumbled as his father-in-law pulled him.

"Hurry up and take it, let's go!"

Seeing the old man's impatient demeanor, Su Ziyang smiled.

When Xuhui returned, he was alone with a large bag of books in his arms.

"Where's your father- Taishan?" Su Ziyang closed the door after making sure no one was behind Xuhui.

"I'm not coming anymore, give me the book!"

Xuhui slammed a large bundle of books onto the table, making a loud bang.

After unpacking the bundle, it was full of ancient books bound in the traditional style. Su Ziyang glanced at it and realized the oldest book was from the Yuan Dynasty...

"Uncle-Master, even if you don't read this book, it's still an antique..." Su Ziyang couldn't help but remark.

"Hmm..." Xuhui looked at the large stack of books and seemed a little sullen.