It was midnight when Qin Jue finally reached the bottom of the mountain. Originally, he would need to find a safe place for shelter, and because of the wolf’s cries earlier, he would also need to start a fire, fill his stomach up, and warm his body up.
But like a rope that had been stretched to its limit, when the rope has surpassed its limits, it won’t be too long before the rope eventually snaps.
That’s why as soon as Qin Jue found a flat secluded surface, his body quickly dropped toward the ground! The instant his body began falling, a gust of wind stirred up. Xie Lin Lang held onto him, carefully placing him down on the ground.
Her fingers pressed onto his veins. With her eyes closed, she felt an extremely tiny bit of Chi flowing in his veins and smiled with satisfaction.
As expected, people who have their Meridian opened have a much easier time obtaining their Chi flow. Although Qin Jue had suffered quite a bit of hardship today, if it was any other normal person experiencing what he did today, they wouldn’t have gotten any Chi flow even if they had broken past their limits either.
However, along with detecting his flowing Chi, she also felt a strain of chilliness with it. That chilliness permeated throughout his Chi center. And if it wasn’t removed as soon as possible, it will leave a concealed illness.
Thinking this, her fingers that held onto Qin Jue’s Chi flow tightened. Soon, the Chi energy that he worked so hard to obtain began flowing towards her fingers and then sucked away little by little.
What was also being sucked away was the chilliness inside his system.
Limits were never easy to surpass. When one surpasses their limits, their bodies tend to be at their weakest state. And it was the easiest for hidden illnesses to breed during this weakest state.
This was also how the chill in Qin Jue’s came to be. Fortunately, she found it before it was too late. Otherwise, if they were to let the illness live on, his body will likely revert to the weak state he had before.
After she had completely sucked the chilliness out of his body, Qin Jue’s brows were comparably looser than before. The different functions of his body had also begun operating as well.
Seeing this, Xie Lin Lang let out a breath. Not before long, a layer of fog surrounded her body. The chilly toxin from Qin Jue merely passed through her body and evaporated out swiftly.
Finishing all of this, she found a cave for Qin Jue and left him there.
When Qin Jue woke up the next day, the sky was bright outside.
His body was aching all over, but surprisingly, his energy level was alright.
He looked around at the cave he was in, thinking that maybe someone had rescued him. But when he walked out to observe the surroundings more, he only found one set of footprints on the ground. So he assumed it was because he was too tired that he didn’t remember how he stumbled upon the cave himself.
For the next couple of days, while hiding in the shadows, Xie Lin Lang fully gained first-hand knowledge of how resilient Qin Jue was.
He treated his wounds simply and continued on his way again.
Throughout his journey, no matter whether he’s tripping, drowning, or being trapped in the miasma, he always persisted onwards. Although his body was full of injuries, his travel speed only increased drastically.
After this series of events, Qin Jue had also discovered the benefits of an opened Meridian. He could feel his body quality rise completely in a very short time! This was an act that normal people could only hope to obtain.
Additionally, he also seemed to feel the Chi inside his body. The only problem was that the Chi seemed very weak – it was present at times, but sometimes not.
Soon, he had already crossed the seventh major mountain and was now headed towards the eighth.
Even though he seemed to be very energetic on the surface, as if he will never get tired and nothing can take him down, Xie Lin Lang guessed that he will probably reach his limit soon.
No one can become an expert in just a few short days. No matter how strong his willpower is, or how resilient he is to hardship, it’s simply impossible.
Just as expected, Qin Jue caught a fever on this day…
The fever was Qin Jue’s body’s way of giving a warning. Although he found and consumed some herbs, they were of no use. And at this time, he had stopped in a ravine, making it difficult for him to move back and forth.
This ravine was clearly not a place he could stay at for long, seeing that there are a lot of white animal bones laying on the floor.
At the same time, he also found a series of clearly defined footprints. Based on his hunting experiences in the past, the footprints most likely belonged to that of a tiger.
Inside of this ravine was the dwelling of a tiger.
* (This translation was brought to you by LeafInBloom on Patreon and Sleepy Translations.)
On the other side, Capital City.
A white dove landed on a window sill. The secret guard* carefully caught the bird, after removing the letter from its body, he immediately handed the letter over to the Imperial Preceptor.
*暗卫 [àn wèi]–guards that usually stay hidden in the shadows to protect their masters and carry out orders.
Inside of the elegant and luxurious Imperial Preceptor mansion was the Imperial Preceptor who had just returned home from the imperial court.
At this time, he was still wearing his court uniform, giving his appearance a less courteous and a more imposing aura.
“Imperial Preceptor DaRen, this is Shen Shao Feng’s letter!”
“Oh?”
Hearing the name, the Imperial Preceptor’s almond eyes squinted in a line and the corner of his mouth slightly curved upwards.
Judging by the time, if Shen Shao Feng was successful, they should already be on their way back by now.
Thinking thus, he opened the letter, only to be met with a single sentence.
––Xie Lin Lang took off Buddha beads as a threat, I was incapable and my efforts were to no avail.
It was just a simple sentence, but the Imperial Preceptor’s smile froze bit by bit. He looked downward simultaneously, it was as if the wind had blown through the front courtyard; all of the servants that had come to greet the Imperial Preceptor couldn’t help but shiver and lower their heads.
Seeing the Imperial Preceptor remain silent for a long time, none of them dared to make any type of sound. Their heart rate pulsed faster, thumping hard inside their bodies.
At this moment, the gatekeeper came running in. Seeing the Imperial Preceptor’s presence, he quickly kneeled down and reported.
“Imperial Preceptor DaRen, Top Military Officer Li and his wife requested an audience with you!”
The Imperial Preceptor pursed his lips, not speaking. The manager behind him quickly came to the front and asked in a lowered voice.
“What’s the rush for? DaRen only just returned home, he hasn’t even gotten to rest yet!”
The gatekeeper lowered his head and replied respectfully, “They’re here to seek the Aged Madam*, apparently under the Aged Madam’s orders to come here to seek their birthdate fortune-telling*.”
*Aged Madam – Imperial Preceptor’s mother.
*生辰八字 [shēng chén bá zì] – The date of birth and the eight characters of a horoscope.
The Aged Madam wanted to assign a concubine to the Imperial Preceptor. The whole capital knew that if it wasn’t for his high standards, his doorway would have probably been broken by the marriage-seeking families by now!
Originally, taking a concubine wouldn’t be a big deal, since it was just taking in a woman. But coming at such an awkward moment, this timing…
The manager thought for a moment, then whispered, “Alright, since it’s the Aged Madam’s orders, you can send them directions to the west wing. In the future, don’t disturb him for these kinds of things…”
“Tell him to get lost.”
The Imperial Preceptor’s sudden answer caused everyone to be startled!
For the longest time, the Imperial Preceptor had always presented himself as a courteous and orderly person but now he’s suddenly…
The gatekeeper was caught off guard. He clearly hadn’t thought the Imperial Preceptor would say something like this. The next moment, he saw the Imperial Preceptor crumple up the letter held in his hands and looked darkly in his direction.
His expression was ice-cold, yet he had a smile on his face. Except, the normally gentle and cultivated smile that he usually showed only caused their skins to crawl.
“If anyone like this comes to the door again, you’re not allowed to let any of them in. If my mother ever asks, just say it’s my order.”
Having said that, he strode towards his study, leaving the rest of the people silently looking at his retreating form. Even when he had walked a distance away, none of them had dared to raise their heads.
The manager wiped off the sweat from his forehead, nudging the gatekeeper, “What are you blanking out for? Go!”
Only now did the gatekeeper finally walk away obsequiously. As he walked away, his footsteps were light, similar to a ghost walking through the gates of the underworld.
After returning to his study, Shen Jun Qing* originally wanted to calm down his anger gradually, but wasn’t able to hold in his emotions and flipped all of the items in front of him onto the floor! It had been a very long time since he’d shown such an uncontrolled expression on his face. But this time, he was really furious!
*Shen Jun Qing is the Imperial Preceptor’s name.
The servants in the room were all very frightened by his actions. Only after an extended period did the Imperial Preceptor speak up again, this time in a softer peaceful tone.
“Say…how would you say I am, compared to the abandoned Crown Prince?”
The maidservant immediately kneeled down, speaking earnestly, “The decrowned Crown Prince is but a fourteen-year-old child. How could he be in comparison with Imperial Preceptor DaRen?”