Chapter 10: Your Skills Are Lacking

Blood splattered vividly across the white jade steps, like crimson plum blossoms blooming against a backdrop of snow.

A chill swept over Rong Yuyan’s entire being, as cold as a winter's frost and biting wind. “What have you done?!”

Blood stained his lips, and his sharp eyes flashed with a fierce glint.

“The poison coursing through your body is ruthless and violent. Yet, when met with the spring breeze’s gentle warmth, the two forces collide. In this clash, your meridians bear the brunt first,” Ji Hua spoke calmly, her silver needles steady in her hands. With a delicate twist of her fingers, four or five more needles slid smoothly into his back.

“The blood you just coughed up is called ‘urgent blood.’ It circulates to activate the channels, but every time it moves, the toxins within you deepen. Now, I can use acupuncture to guide your qi and check your meridians. Let’s see if what I said holds true.”

Her words were measured, neither humble nor arrogant—utterly composed and serene.

Rong Yuyan’s gaze grew colder, veins bulging on his arm.

Without a word, he quietly followed the gentle warmth brought by Ji Hua’s acupuncture, circulating through a small microcosmic orbit. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

She was… right.

Could it be that she was also well-versed in martial arts?

Rong Yuyan said nothing, the cold darkness in his peach-blossom eyes deepening.

Half an hour passed.

Sweat beaded on Rong Yuyan’s forehead, a faint blush coloring his icy skin.

His closed eyes no longer held the sharpness from before; only his eyelashes trembled lightly.

Ji Hua observed him carefully.

After a long while, seeing that his body had gradually calmed, she withdrew the needles one by one.

She cleansed them with clear water, then carefully heated them over a flame before storing the needle case.

Suddenly, the man’s eyes snapped open. Behind him, a towering waterfall surged violently, pouring down like the Milky Way.

The warm pool’s ripples shimmered, mist swirling around, and a faint warmth seemed to seep into the air.

Ji Hua smiled softly. It seemed the treatment was working.

Holding a half-length white jade flute, she smiled and raised the corner of her lips toward Rong Yuyan.

“Lord Rong, don’t forget our agreement. I will keep this flute safe.”

Rong Yuyan lifted his gaze to her. His usually cold black eyes lost some of their sharpness and chill, replaced by a deeper shade.

Ji Hua’s voice was gentle: “From now on, every seven days I will come to this place and perform acupuncture for you once. This is the corresponding prescription—one dose per day, never to be missed.”

She handed over a neat sheet of wild cursive script, simply listing four or five medicinal ingredients. At first glance, some of the herbs appeared contradictory in nature.

Rong Yuyan lowered his eyes, frowning as he scanned the prescription, a shadow darkening his brow.

Ji Hua said nothing further, tidied her things, and rose to leave.

By the time Rong Yuyan recovered, he saw only her graceful figure, skirt fluttering as she skimmed across the spring pool’s surface.

He stared blankly at the scene for a long moment, silent.

Just then, a misty blue figure swaggered in abruptly.

“Let me see—who dares to boast they can treat Lord Rong?”

The newcomer wore a misty blue brocade robe, tied with a jade-and-gold waist sash from which hung three copper coins and two translucent red jade gourds, one etched with the small inscription: ‘Healing the World.’

Zhou Xuanning carried a jade bone-carved bamboo folding fan, lazily smiling as he grabbed the prescription from the table.

He was a scion of the prestigious Zhou family in the capital, who had previously befriended Rong Yuyan and, due to his exquisite medical skills, had taken it upon himself to help restore Rong Yuyan’s health.

Yet, the poison was too severe; no matter how many medical texts he consulted day and night, no solution could be found.

Today, upon hearing someone else had come to Han Mountain to treat him, he hurried over at once.

If even he was powerless, who else could heal Rong Yuyan?

Rong Yuyan paid him no mind, sipping tea from a white plum blossom porcelain cup.

Zhou Xuanning’s smile faded as he examined the prescription, his brows darkening—an expression rare on his face.

His voice suddenly rose: “Is this the prescription that person wrote?!”

“So what?” Rong Yuyan’s eyes remained cold and clear.

Zhou Xuanning slapped the prescription on the table with wild enthusiasm. “It’s incredible! Yuyan, where on earth did you find such a renowned healer?”

He treasured the prescription as if it were priceless.

“Oh, this prescription is truly brilliant. Why did I not think of this before? The five-colored stone resin and scorpion venom—two ingredients that happen to collide perfectly against your condition!”

Brilliant. Truly brilliant.

Although Zhou Xuanning had studied medicine for many years and considered himself unmatched, he had never imagined such a formulation.

His eyes gleamed with admiration, then he suddenly looked at Rong Yuyan sharply.

“But... a prescription alone is too thin a thread. Did she do anything else for you?”

From the moment she arrived, Zhou Xuanning had felt the warm pool wasn’t as hot as before.

Rong Yuyan glanced at him coolly. “Acupuncture.”

“She dared to perform acupuncture on you?!”

Zhou Xuanning was shocked twice over, then grew even more impressed with the prescription.

“The herbs enter the body but cannot heal the meridians. Before, I tried to help you adjust treatments but could only address symptoms, never the root cause.”

In the past, he had tried stimulating acupuncture points through massage, but the effect was negligible.

Zhou Xuanning sighed in admiration, his expression darkening as he looked at Rong Yuyan carelessly.

“Do you know acupuncture is no simple matter? If your meridians had been even slightly off, you would have died today!”

This was why Zhou Xuanning had long hesitated to intervene with Rong Yuyan directly.

“Even I... could only barely manage five or six needles,” Zhou Xuanning said earnestly, lowering his gaze. “To accurately locate points, avoid meridians, and prevent the toxin’s erratic spread is no easy task.”

Rong Yuyan raised an eyebrow and sneered coldly: “Your skills are lacking.”

The woman’s acupuncture had almost effortlessly inserted dozens of silver needles in the blink of an eye. Was it really that difficult?

Zhou Xuanning rolled his eyes. “If you doubt me, go ask my master underground! Only an extraordinary person could treat you...”

Yet, he had never heard of such a person.

Realizing something, Zhou Xuanning hurriedly asked, “Do you know who she really is?”

Rong Yuyan’s eyes were composed and calm as he strung the strings of his five-stringed zither without a word.

Zhou Xuanning grew anxious, when suddenly another figure hurried inside.

“Lord! Those two women... have lost their tail.”

Jiu Qing knelt on the ground, frustrated. “I beg you, punish me, Lord!”

Rong Yuyan remained indifferent, his gaze unchanged as he looked at Jiu Qing without concern. “You may leave.”

If they had truly been followed, those women wouldn’t have been able to slip away so easily.

At his side, Zhou Xuanning folded his jade bone fan and smiled faintly. “Quite skilled, indeed.”

…

Back at the Rong residence, it was already past midday.

Liu Yiyi finally regained her composure from shock, bursting out after holding it in all along: “Miss, how did it go with what you had to do?”

“Everything went smoothly,” Ji Hua replied with a faint smile.

Liu Yiyi exhaled sharply. God only knew how worried she had been when that person took Ji Hua away; she’d feared something terrible would happen.

Finally seeing her return whole and unharmed, yet mentioning they were still being followed...

“Miss, those people are terrifying. When we were on the mountain, I dared not even breathe for fear of saying the wrong thing and losing my head, dragging you down with me...”

“And Miss, you were truly amazing! They were so fearsome, yet you stood firm like a mountain collapsing without changing your expression, even negotiating terms with them...”

God only knew, she had been petrified, that person’s martial skill was formidable, clearly a merciless demon.

Ji Hua watched her chatter on, a gentle smile growing on her lips.

In this life, Liu Yiyi had never suffered so much hardship; her temperament was livelier and more innocent than in their previous lives.

She said softly, “Remember, what happened today must not be mentioned to anyone. Even in your dreams, you must guard this secret. Understand?”

“Understood!” Liu Yiyi nodded brightly.

Ji Hua entered her room, weariness finally tinting her delicate features. She gestured, “You may leave now.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The door opened and closed. Ji Hua carefully cleaned, heated, and stored the silver needles.

Just as she was about to rest on her beautiful couch—

Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the air from outside!