Cleansing the Poison

Lin Qing sat on a rock beside the spring, and Dugu Bo sat down in front of him.

Without a word, he held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve.

When the arm was exposed, Lin Qing froze. Dark bluish-green patterns ran from wrist to shoulder, like snakescales embedded in his flesh.

The patterns were still pulsing faintly, as if alive. With every pulse, the poison sank a little deeper.

"Seen enough?" Dugu Bo's voice was cold.

Lin Qing wasted no words and reached out to place his hand on Dugu Bo's wrist.

Bamboo Breath surged in through his fingertips. The moment it entered his body, Dugu Bo's shoulders visibly tensed. He hadn't allowed anyone's Soul Power into his body for many years.

But he endured it and didn't pull his hand away. Lin Qing closed his eyes and sent Bamboo Breath probing inward, inch by inch, deeper and deeper, until it touched the poison entrenched deep within Dugu Bo's meridians.

Dark bluish-green and viscous, it clung to his bones like a nest of entwined snakes. Decades of accumulation had fused the poison with his flesh and blood.

"Your poison runs deeper than I imagined," Lin Qing said.

"Obviously." Dugu Bo's voice was flat, but there was no impatience in it. He sounded instead as though he were speaking of something he had accepted long ago.

"Relax," Lin Qing said. "I'm going to start clearing it out. It'll hurt a little."

Cold Qi surged in from his left palm, and icy blue light followed the meridians, freezing the poison.

Hot Qi surged in from his right palm, and crimson-gold light burned the frozen layers of poison.

Ice and fire took turns surging through Dugu Bo's meridians. He gritted his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Decades of poison wouldn't be easy to clear; it was like pulling out thorns that had grown into his flesh, one by one.

He didn't make a sound throughout the process. His fists only clenched tighter and tighter, his knuckles turning white.

An incense stick's time later, Lin Qing withdrew his hands. A layer of dark poison residue coated his palm.

He crushed the residue, and it turned into specks of bluish-green light that dispersed into the air.

Dugu Bo looked down at his arm. The dark bluish-green patterns had faded somewhat. They weren't completely gone, but they had indeed grown lighter.

He was silent for a long time, as though he were looking at his own hand closely for the first time, or as though he had finally confirmed something.

"Once isn't enough," Lin Qing said. "It'll take at least three sessions. Your poison has been accumulating for too long. I can't clear it all out in one go."

"Mm." Dugu Bo lowered his sleeve and said nothing more, but when he stood up, his movements were a little lighter than before, as though a little of the burden on him had been lifted.

"What about Yanyan's poison?" he asked.

"Hers isn't as deep, but it'll still take two or three sessions." Lin Qing stood up. "Lead the way."

Dugu Yan lived in another stone house, in a secluded mountain hollow deep in Sunset Forest.

Lin Qing followed Dugu Bo through dense woods and around several thorny bushes before the stone house came into view.

The door stood slightly ajar, and a light shone inside. Dugu Bo pushed the door open and went in. Dugu Yan was leaning against the wall, reading, and looked up when she heard footsteps.

When she saw Lin Qing behind her grandfather, her expression changed at once, and she frowned.

"What's he doing here?" Dugu Yan's gaze swept back and forth between Lin Qing and Dugu Bo, her tone distinctly guarded.

"He's here to cleanse your poison." Dugu Bo stood in the doorway, his tone matter-of-fact. He offered no further explanation.

Dugu Yan didn't move. She looked at Lin Qing with a complicated expression.

She could tell her grandfather's attitude was different from usual, and that made the resistance in her heart all the more distinct.

"You'd be kind enough to cleanse my poison? What are you plotting?"

Lin Qing didn't let her sidetrack him. He simply said, "Your grandfather agreed to pay me in herbs."

Dugu Yan's gaze shifted to her grandfather. She saw him looking down in silence, then noticed the dark bluish-green patterns at the edge of his sleeve, most of which had faded.

Her expression changed, as though a crack had appeared in the defenses she had always kept up.

"Give me your hand." Lin Qing walked over. She hesitated for a moment, then held out her wrist.

Lin Qing frowned slightly as Bamboo Breath probed inside.

Her poison was indeed not as deep as Dugu Bo's, but it was spread more widely. Poison lay dormant in nearly every tiny meridian, like a dark bluish-green spiderweb wrapped around her entire body.

Those strands of poison were fine, densely packed, and buried deep. Drawing them out would not be easy.

"This will hurt a little. Bear with it," he said.

The power of ice and fire surged in by turns, and Dugu Yan's body went rigid. She didn't cry out, only bit down hard on her lip, her nails digging into her palms.

Cold Qi froze the fine strands of poison, and hot Qi followed close behind, burning them away.

Bamboo Breath followed, drawing out the remaining poison strand by strand and purifying it.

The process took longer than it had with Dugu Bo because the poison was spread so thin. Each area took more time to track down and purify.

Half a shichen later, Lin Qing withdrew his hand. A clump of dark bluish-green poison residue lay in his palm.

He crushed it, and Bamboo Breath circulated. The residue turned into specks of light and dispersed.

Dugu Yan looked down at the faded patterns on her wrist. She was silent for a long time, saying nothing.

"I'll come back in seven days and clear it out again." Lin Qing stood up. "Your poison will take two sessions to remove completely."

He turned and walked out. He didn't stop as he passed Dugu Bo.

When he reached the doorway, Dugu Yan's voice came from behind him, very soft, as though squeezed out of somewhere that was seldom opened. "...Thank you."

Lin Qing didn't look back. He merely raised a hand and waved, then continued on his way.

The wind in Sunset Forest swept through the treetops, carrying the scent of damp earth and vegetation. He quickened his pace, heading toward Heaven Dou City.

By the time he emerged from Sunset Forest, it was nearly dark.

He saw a man by the road, wearing a gray robe washed pale and leaning against a roadside tree. He had a thin frame and looked as though he were waiting for someone.

Another figure stood beside the tree, not tall, but with his back held very straight. Tang San had come too.

Lin Qing's steps paused for a moment, then he walked over. "Grandmaster, Xiao San."

Yu Xiaogang glanced at him, his gaze lingering on him for a while. "Level thirty?" Lin Qing nodded. Yu Xiaogang didn't press him, only said, "People from Spirit Hall came looking for you."

Tang San pulled a letter from his robes and handed it over. "They came three days ago. A cardinal in red, with a few people.

They asked for you by name." Lin Qing took the letter. There was nothing on the envelope except a gold-stamped design-two crossed swords beneath a floating crown. The emblem of Spirit Hall.

He opened the letter. There was only one line inside: "We have heard of your extraordinary talent and unusual Martial Soul.

In one month, the Golden Generation selection will be held in Spirit City. We hope you will come as promised." It was stamped with Spirit Hall's seal. Brief and direct, it left no room for refusal.

Lin Qing folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. "I'll go," he said.

Yu Xiaogang didn't stop him. He simply nodded. "Then let's go back and prepare."

Tang San didn't say much either. He turned and walked ahead. Moonlight fell on the three of them, stretching their shadows long.

A wind blew from the direction of Heaven Dou City, carrying the scent of earth and vegetation.

Lin Qing clenched his fist. The two ice and fire marks on his palm flashed once and went dark.

[End of Chapter Fourteen]