NOVEL NEXT 81. Healing Tian Xu
(Bu Cai POV)
*Gulp*
Haha.
Hahahaha.
HAHAHA!
As soon as my Qi entered the ring and I had a look at what was inside, my only thought was,
I've hit the fucking jackpot!
Just envision a gigantic space filled with hundreds and hundreds of herbs in separate containers just all around the place, ones of different sizes, colours, shapes etc.
And all these herbs were not the usual good stuff, oh no.
These were all the creme de la creme of herbs!
Some of these herbs I couldn't even use identify on, as the sheer amount of Qi they had prevented it!
This was the first time, ever, that I hadn't been able to identify a herb or regular material. A herb or material's effects weren't solely based on how much Qi it has accumulated, rather, a host of other factors, such as age or growing environment, also contributed.
Due to this, I was still able to use analyse on a herb like the Hazy Emerald Grass, which could be somewhat helpful to even a nascent soul realm cultivator, because of the difference in power level, or accumulated Qi, was still reasonable between us.
There could also be other factors that contribute to this, however, I've not discovered them yet. Presumably, I should be able to figure out more about how the System works as time passes.
Anyways, this all meant that the herbs in the storage ring were on a whole new level than what I'd previously witnessed before.
After taking everything in, a tremendous amount of greed filled me- One that I hadn't felt since my years at the nurturing facility.
Risky and downright idiotic thoughts coursed through my head such as,
Why don't I just steal more than I had intended, it's not like it'll hurt anyone!"
Would an oldie like him even remember all the great herbs he has? Surely not!
W-Why not pretend that this has to be a long-term treatment? Like that, I could easily drain a lot more from this guy.
But...I stopped myself.
All these thoughts were just delusions brought about by greed, and it definitely wasn't any good.
Just the issue back then, when I was stripped of all my accumulated wealth, should be enough of a lesson for me as to why controlling one's self in the face of huge temptation was vital.
Firstly, who said that Sun Qiu wouldn't catch on and consequentially I would lose a perfectly good opportunity to gain an edge against Long Tian and possibly even lose my life in the process!
Also, although I'm self-aware that I was already stealing and was not a saint by any means, I still wanted to draw a line somewhere and not be too immoral as it really was a bit much playing with this grandpa's life and making him suffer in that state of limbo in between life and death for any longer than needed just to fuel my greed.
Therefore I only retrieved three things, which were:
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{Identify}
[Material: Seven-Coloured Crow's Bone Marrow ]
[Rank: S]
[Extra Information:
An incredible material that can be used in just about anything whether it be for using it to refine you're bones during cultivation or as a good component in weapon refining.
This is very useful for the Host as it can allow you to strengthen some of your skeletal structure. ]
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...
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{Identify}
[Material: Seven-Hundred-Year-Old Snow Ginseng]
[Rank: A]
[Extra Information: This ginseng is great for helping one cleanse themselves internally, and allows cultivators to gain insights to the Ice Dao easily.
It also tastes great. ]
======================
...
======================
{Identify}
[Material: Clear-Petal Lotus ]
[Rank: A]
[Extra Information: This lotus grew on a solitary lake by a mountainside and grew peacefully.
Its effects allow someone to be calm and rational therefore helping one focus on cultivation, comprehension, and a multitude of activities. This lotus is also great for alchemy as it helps alchemists concentrate during pill refinement, and is also used in a variety of pill recipes.]
=======================
...
I was glad that I didn't have to find the bone marrow myself, and that the System could do its magic, otherwise, I would've been screwed. The other two were the ones I found had similarities to the things I made up, and also felt like I hadn't been too excessive with taking these for myself.
I put them all on the table and then, with great reluctance, gave the portable goldmine back to Sun Qiu.
As soon as I handed it to her, the old man's voice once again spoke, asking,
"Have you successfully been able to find the required herbs, or ones equivalent, boy?"
I replied with confirmation and began doing what I was here to do.
Heal the Spear God.
The method of doing this was rather simple, you just have to ensure that the bone marrow can be sensed by the leech in the body and then it'll frantically crawl right out.
No pressure points, no specialised knowledge, or any other bullshit.
It was as simple as that.
Of course, there were some complications in the way of achieving this, and the most obvious obstacle was...
...His skin.
As someone who had reached the Martial Emperor realm, it went without saying that his defence stat would be impressive. It was basically a certainty that he would never get a papercut for the rest of his existence- Even if that paper was replaced with a divine sword!
Even considering the fact that he was at death's door, that still wouldn't mean I could cut him. Therefore, the only other way of getting the bone marrow in him was through one of his orifices.
Naturally, there was no way I would dig through the old man's nose or asshole, hence, the only option- and the most logical one- was the mouth.
As I reached the bedside again with the box of bone marrow in hand, I muttered to him apologetically,
"Forgive me for my impudence."
Then pried open his mouth with one hand, and started shoving the bone marrow in his mouth.
The Spear God was clearly surprised by my actions as his eyebrows rose, and Sun Qiu instantly shouted behind me,
"What do you think you are doing?!"
I could feel her grip my shoulder and start pulling me back however I shouted back,
"Let go of me!
This is what I have to do in order to bait the leech out!
Are you seriously going to doubt me at the most important stage?!"
This seemed to work as she stopped pulling me away, and looked down at me nervously.
Although I knew that feeding him this it wouldn't go near the heart, but it wasn't like I had to do that!
All that needed to happen was for the thing to detect it, and if he breaths and eats enough of this powder, it would most definitely get in his lungs.
And since it will go into his lungs, and with that, the job would be done.
It was that straightforward.
It'd be more of a hassle if there was only a bit of bone marrow, but the old man was stacked!
He had a fuck ton of this stuff, so as long as I kept at it then everything would be fi-
LEECH!
Poking its body out of the old man's chest was the very root of the issue.
The leech looked very sinister as it had a slimy green body that was drenched in thick crimson blood and its head was aligned with rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth.
Once it fully exposed itself, the leech's size came to around sixteen inches.
SIXTEEN INCHES!
But it wasn't the size that got me squirmish, rather, it was the fact that this monstrosity could dig through this guy's skin!!
I was frozen in place.
Before I knew it, the leech had disappeared from my sight and I suddenly heard a powerful slash performed behind me. I twisted my head to look around the what I saw made me sigh in relief.
The leech's large body was impaled by Sun Qiu's spear in a small burrow.
Presumably, the big guy was going for a grand escape or something along those lines as it had dug itself quite deep in a blink of an eye. Unfortunately for it, a heroine on standby was not going to let that happen.
It was quite brutal in all honesty but, nevertheless, a good bulldozer leech is a dead one in my books!
Sun Qiu quickly turned around to look at me again with a small smile and asked curiously,
"Is this the thing that was killing master?"
I nodded instantly, then turned around to look at the old man's condition.
The hole made by the leech's departure was fully regenerated, and he was starting to look better already!
I was once again reminded of how absurd Qi was, then asked the Spear God,
"Do you feel better now, Sir?
I'm not quite sure about how long it will take you to fully recover from this, however, I can guarantee that the main problem is solved. All that's left is to let your body do its thing."
As I finished, he opened his mouth and replied to me by saying in his ancient voice,
"Thank you, young man.
I was quite doubtful at first because of your age, however, it seems like I've grown senile through growing older!"
Sun Qiu had already appeared by Tian Xu's side and had a wide smile on her face.
She bowed deeply to me and said,
"I also sincerely thank you for healing my master!
I will never forget this favour!"
I rubbed my nose with pride and said back,
"It's no problem, isn't it natural that I should help someone as noble as the Spear God?
Isn't it the younger generation's job to take care of the old?"
"HAHAHAHA!"
The Spear God burst out in laughter, and said,
"Good, good, good! You are absolutely right!
Disciple, I'd like to talk to this young man in private.
Go back and spend some time with your family."
Sun Qiu's eyes widened a bit after hearing him, however, she didn't say anything and left after bowing.
I wasn't nervous about this as I was sure the Spear God had another way of transporting me back, however, I was surprised that we would be chatting alone.
After waiting a few moments in silence, the old man suddenly sat up and said to me with a wide grin,
"You're one interesting fellow.
Not only could you identify the reason behind my illness, which was something even I couldn't do, and you were even able to find a way to solve it!"
I was quite surprised he could sit up, but I didn't dwell on it and replied to him by saying,
"It was just luck, Sir!
This junior only knows one or two things, I am not worthy of such praise."
"Hahaha!"
The old man started to chuckle even more after hearing my words as he said,
"Maybe this is due to feeling the best I've felt in a long time, but you are a funny kid!
It's not your knowledge that makes you interesting boy, rather, it's your guts!"
After hearing his words a bad feeling arose in me.
*Gulp*
"I don't know what you mean, Sir.
I've not done anything particularly courageous here, but I'll gladly accept any compliments from someone as great as yo-"
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?
"Well, let me tell you now, it's been multiple millennia since the last time someone dared to swindle me!"
...
*Gulp*
Fuck.
I've dug myself a hole and jumped straight in it, haven't I?
...
Meanwhile, Bu Cai was away healing the Spear God, Chen Fei had decided to go for a walk around the City since he was given a day off by his father.
As he walked along the crowded streets with a steamed bun in his hands, he felt...At peace.
Being beaten for the past week with a blindfold on by his own father, then having to train straight after, was something that tired him a lot.
The only thing that kept him going was due to his desire to get stronger and...
...The knowledge that Brother Bu was also getting his ass beat alongside him.
As they say, brothers together will never surrender!
But after only seven days of training, not only had Bu Cai improved tremendously and left him behind, but he also got a day off!
Still, Chen Fei endured.
He thought, what was one day in solitude anyways?
Maybe he could even take that opportunity to get ahead of the game and surpass Bu Cai!
However, the next day came and his brother in beatings didn't arrive.
Rather, his father told him that Bu Cai had reached a rare state of enlightenment and he wouldn't be training until it was over.
That was when his will to train dwindled a bit.
He felt rather sour knowing that Bu Cai could sit cross-legged and cultivate peacefully mean whilst he was taking a one-to-one abuse session.
Regardless though, he still persevered with the mindset that he could gloat over how sloppy his senses would be compared to Bu Cai's.
But then, as if the heavens were favouring Bu Cai, one of the Empire's top flowers personally snatched his dear brother away before he could even get a taste of more training!
HE WAS JEALOUS!
At least he was able to get this day as a break- whether it was due to pity or not was unknown to him- otherwise, he would feel very incredulous.
Let's see then, where should I go first?
It's currently the early afternoon, so maybe I should visit some famous stores around here?
He looked around through the crowds of people and then he spotted a small smithy called 'Three Hammers'. It wasn't anything special, but he decided to enter anyway.
As he went in, the sounds of hammering could be heard, however, Chen Fei ignored it and looked at the weapon racks to see if there were any nice weapons.
He wasn't expecting too much but, unexpectedly, two simple yet elegant blades caught his eye. Once again, they were not anything special but Chen Fei had a fun idea.
Why not use these blades the next time we spar?
Every time Chen Fei and Bu Cai sparred, regardless of the result, Bu Cai would always complain that there was a huge 'weapon diff' between his and Chen Fei's sword.
Truth be told, Chen Fei's sword was given to him from the clan treasury and was on the level of a mid/high tier clan's heirloom, whereas Bu Cai's was just a decent but not notably outstanding in any way.
Of course, Chen Fei always shrugged it off but it still bothered him- Especially since Bu Cai would win 90% of the spars!
He decided to purchase them, so he went to grab them off the rack but just as he was about to take them, another hand grabbed onto them.
He immediately turned around to see who the perpetrator was, and decided that he'd teach him a lesson!
How dare he try and take what this young master desires!
...Yes.
Chen Fei may have gotten a better attitude after meeting Bu Cai but, in essence, he still was a... Young master.
...
Sun Ting was merrily trotting down a random street in the City feeling better than ever!
After finding out about his physique, his ego took a huge leap and so did his confidence.
He was a proud fourth-stage Qi refining realm cultivator!
No longer were his days of wallowing away at restaurants and drinking until he was drunk, now he was a brand new man!
These days he'd come to the understanding that there was now more he could hope for than just the acceptance from his family. Previously, it was what he wanted the most as it was the only thing he thought he was capable of achieving.
But now his aspirations had reached another realm!
As long as he kept working hard and following his heart, it was almost a certainty he would become someone he wanted to be!
Recognition from just his own family?
Fuck that!
If he put in the effort he could get recognition from the emperor himself!
All these doors have been opened to me thanks to Brother Bu!
I don't even know how to repay him for this, but I should a least get him a small gift to apologise to him for all my shameful behaviour!
Just as he was thinking about what to get, a small blacksmith shop caught his attention.
Three Hammers smithy. Hmmm!
I've got it!
Why not get some swords so we can spar a bit?
Although I'm not a swordsman, I'm sure it'll be fun giving it a try!
Who knows, maybe I'll discover a sword talent hidden in me as well!
With those thoughts, he made his way into the blacksmiths. As he entered, he heard the rhythmic sounds of hammers striking metal but he ignored it and went to the weapon racks to find some good swords he could get.
And then he spotted the perfect pair.
Two simple yet elegant swords were placed side by side, both were identical.
That's perfect!
With those, everything will be even and that petty bastard won't complain once I demolish him with his own weapon. I mean, isn't sword arts a form of art as well?
Surely I'll get the hang of it using my physique.
Sun Ting hurriedly approached the pair of swords and grabbed them, but just as he was about to take them he saw another hand grab them as well.
Naturally, Sun Ting had decided that these were going to be his no matter what!
So he decided to show this person the immensity of heaven and earth. He turned around whilst thinking to himself,
Which mongrel dares to steal from this talented young master?!
...As you have guessed, Sun Ting has changed due to the presence of Bu Cai. He is now no longer a depressed and hedonistic young master, but has instead evolved into a true arrogant young master!
...
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Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it.
Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but to be honest with you all, I've been rather lazy therefore this chapter took ages to complete.
The next chapter probably won't be until next weekend, but you never know.
Of course, any suggestions are welcome.
Bye.