122: A severed pulse is reconnected; a withered tree comes back to life!

Ye Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You're overthinking it."

"I told you to wash up because you're too dirty; it affects my ability to take your pulse."

"Take my pulse?" Liu Qingluo was taken aback.

"Otherwise?"

Ye Chen glanced at her.

"Your dantian is destroyed, your meridians are shattered, and what little residual True Qi you have left is running wild like a headless fly. If this continues, you'll definitely be dead within three months."

Liu Qingluo's pupils constricted, and her whole body shook violently!

He could tell?

No, impossible!

In her current state, even the well-informed traders in the Ghost Market only took her for an ordinary cripple. How could he see through it at a single glance?!

Ignoring her expression, Ye Chen held up one finger and continued, "First, I can reconnect your damaged meridians."

Liu Qingluo: "???"

Ye Chen held up a second finger: "Second, I can help you restore your lost cultivation."

Liu Qingluo: "???"

Ye Chen held up a third finger: "Third, I can restore these scars on your body to their original state."

Liu Qingluo: "???"

She was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.

Her eyes were filled with shock!

Was it possible?

Reconnect meridians?

Restore cultivation?

Even... make these burn scars that clung to her like maggots on a bone disappear?

This was simply a fantasy!

Even those legendary master healers might not dare to make such a boast!

But this excessively young man in front of her was telling her he could???

She stared intently at Ye Chen and asked with a trembling voice, "You... really can?"

"Whether I can or not, you'll find out soon enough." Ye Chen took out a set of needles and spread them out.

Liu Qingluo pursed her lips and asked hoarsely, "Why help me?"

"I bought you for ten yuan; I can't just let you be a decoration."

Ye Chen shrugged, speaking with perfect justification, "Only when you're healed can you do things for me."

"Do things?" Liu Qingluo's gaze sharpened. "What kind of things?"

"We'll talk about that when the time comes."

Ye Chen waved his hand, growing a bit impatient.

"Now, go take a bath."

"Only after you've washed up can I take a careful look at exactly how badly you're injured."

"Don't waste time; my time is very precious."

Liu Qingluo stood there, struggling internally.

Reason told her that there was no such thing as kindness without cause in this world, let alone miracles... but the desire to survive in the depths of her heart, along with the thirst for revenge, grew wildly like poisonous vines.

What if... what if it was true?

She already had nothing; even this life of hers was something she'd picked up, sold for the humiliating price of ten yuan.

The worst outcome would be nothing more than death.

But if it were true... the blood feud!

The hatred of her family's extermination!

Those sneering faces!

The splashing blood!

The agonizing pain of burning flesh!

Scene after scene flashed wildly through her mind!

She suddenly bit the tip of her tongue, the sharp pain and the taste of blood snapping her into clarity.

"Fine."

"I'll believe you this once."

"If you can really do it, from now on, my life, Liu Qingluo's life... is yours."

"If you want me to kill, I won't hesitate."

"If you want me to die, I won't live on in disgrace."

"As long as..."

"I can have my revenge!"

Ye Chen became curious and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Speaking of which, who is your enemy?"

Liu Qingluo remained silent for a moment before squeezing out two words through her teeth.

"Hidden Sect."

Ye Chen was stunned on the spot.

Good grief... what a coincidence.

Liu Qingluo continued, her voice tempered with icy hatred.

"I am from the Liu family of Pucheng; my family used to run a martial arts hall."

"Because my younger brother was young and reckless, he accidentally injured a follower of that Hidden Sect young lady on the hall's arena..."

"Seven days later, all forty-seven members of the Liu family were slaughtered in a single night."

"My cultivation was destroyed, and I was thrown into a fire... They left me alive just so I would suffer."

After listening, Ye Chen suddenly smiled.

"Isn't that a coincidence?"

"I also have a grudge against the Hidden Sect."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Go wash up immediately."

Liu Qingluo stared blankly at Ye Chen, equally shocked... Such a coincidence?

But on second thought, this might be the only chance the heavens would give her for revenge.

She didn't hesitate any longer, turning and walking straight into the bathroom.

Before long, the sound of splashing water began.

About twenty minutes later, the water stopped.

The bathroom door was pushed open gently.

Liu Qingluo walked out wrapped in a white bath towel.

Wet long hair clung to her shoulders and neck, and water droplets slid slowly down the lines of her collarbone.

The towel was only wrapped above her chest, revealing large areas of hideous, twisted burn scars that were quite shocking... but her back was held straight, and her eyes no longer dodged, looking at Ye Chen quietly.

Ye Chen pointed to the sofa beside him: "Sit."

Liu Qingluo sat down as instructed.

Ye Chen reached out and placed his hand on her wrist.

The skin his fingertips touched was slightly cool, and the scarred areas were rough and uneven, but the pulse beat clearly under his fingertips... chaotic.

Extremely chaotic.

Like a smashed clock, the gears were scattered everywhere, yet a few were still stubbornly turning.

Ye Chen closed his eyes and concentrated on his examination.

The power of the Inheritance flowed quietly through his fingertips, acting like the most precise probe as it moved through Liu Qingluo's broken meridians.

Her dantian was indeed empty; the place where the sea of qi should have been was like a deep pit violently destroyed, leaving only some cracks and clogged residue.

The Twelve Primary Meridians.

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Almost every inch was severed, and many places had even withered and adhered together.

But just as he had sensed before... in some of the deepest nodes of Liu Qingluo's meridians, a wisp of 'Qi' still remained.

The way that Qi circulated was very strange; it wasn't the usual cycle of an internal cultivation technique, but rather seemed like self-mending and growth.

"What cultivation technique do you practice?" Ye Chen suddenly asked.

Liu Qingluo was startled and whispered, "The family's 'Green Wood Everlasting Art'. It's not some profound martial art, just balanced and peaceful, good for nourishing Qi and prolonging life..."

"No wonder."

Ye Chen released her hand and opened his eyes to look at her. "This technique itself has extremely strong vitality and self-healing properties. Combined with your resilient will and the support of your hatred, it's what kept your meridians from completely withering and you from dying immediately after being crippled."

He paused and said something startling.

"It can be cured."

"But the process will be very painful, more painful than when you were burned by fire."

"Normally, several rare medicinal ingredients would be needed as catalysts to reopen and reconnect your severed and withered meridians, and finally reshape your dantian."

"But I have something here that can work on you."

"However, I'll say it again: whether you can endure it or not—if you can, I'll help you."

That's right!

The peach pit he had initially obtained from Bing Lan was the medicinal catalyst.

The peach pit itself was immune to all poisons and strengthened the body; moreover, it was perfectly compatible with Liu Qingluo's cultivation technique.

If Liu Qingluo could endure it, she might even develop a special constitution.

Liu Qingluo didn't hesitate for a second, looking directly at Ye Chen: "As long as I can have my revenge... I will endure even being sliced into a thousand pieces."

Ye Chen nodded, picked up a long needle, and looked at Liu Qingluo.

"Lie down."

"Undo the towel."

Liu Qingluo's body tensed instantly, her fingers clutching the edge of the towel.

Ye Chen added.

"I can't identify the acupoints through clothing. Your body is covered in scars, and the acupoints have already shifted."

"You can treat me as a doctor, or... as a stone."

"If you can't even get past this, you won't be able to withstand the pain that follows."

Liu Qingluo's chest rose and fell a few times before she closed her eyes.

True enough.

Given the state of this body, a corpse would probably be more attractive than she was.

She let go, and the towel slid down.

Then.

She lay down.

Ye Chen said no more and focused his mind.

What he was about to perform was the eighth needle of the Thirteen Needles of Gods and Ghosts, the 'Life-Extending' needle!

This needle was not for offense or killing; it specialized in reconnecting, mending, and awakening vitality. It was extraordinarily effective for severe injuries such as severed meridians and organ failure.

But its difficulty and consumption were even greater than the seventh needle, 'Return to Spring'!

Ye Chen took a deep breath: "Concentrate and stay calm. No matter how much it hurts, your consciousness must not scatter."

Liu Qingluo nodded.

The Qi within Ye Chen's body surged accordingly, all of it gathering in his right hand holding the needle.

With a flick of his wrist.

The first needle was inserted into the Baihui point!

"Ah..."

Liu Qingluo's body shook violently, and she let out a muffled groan.

Stabbing pain swept through her entire body; those numb and dead nerve endings seemed to be stung awake!

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged, and his hands didn't stop for a moment.

The second and third needles were placed at the Shanzhong point on her chest and the Shendao point on her back.

One in front and one behind, locking the central vital points of the human body to stabilize blood and True Qi.

The fourth through seventh needles were inserted along the vital points of the Ren and Du meridians at varying depths, activating, guiding, and connecting that faint wisp of vitality within Liu Qingluo's body!

As the first seven needles were inserted, the hideous scars on Liu Qingluo's body actually began to turn slightly red, and the intense pain hit her nerves in wave after wave like a tide.

She was soaked in cold sweat, her nails digging deep into her palms, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.

Ye Chen wiped the sweat from his brow, and then the eighth needle fell!

Severed meridians reconnected!

Withered wood meets spring!

"Ah!!!"

Liu Qingluo suddenly arched her body and let out a shrill scream of ultimate agony!

Pain!

Indescribable pain!

It was as if countless red-hot steel rasps were being forced through her broken meridians, scraping and bonding them!

It also felt like thousands of ants were gnawing at her bone marrow and tearing at her flesh!

It was a hundred times worse than being burned by fire!

Ye Chen ignored her screams until the limit when Liu Qingluo felt her consciousness about to be swallowed by the pain... Ye Chen's empty left hand flipped, and that peach pit appeared in his palm, which he then shoved into Liu Qingluo's mouth.