Chapter 68: Acupuncture to Supplement Qi

In the room, a young boy was kneeling, kowtowing to Elder Liu, while beside him sat a poorly dressed woman.

The woman wasn’t old but appeared quite frail.

Elder Liu was leaning over, taking the woman’s pulse.

Liu Qingquan called out, and the boy turned around—it was the Hu family boy who had attacked Lu Zheng in the Peach Grove that day.

"It’s you?"

Liu Qingyan shouted at Elder Liu, "Father."

"Uncle Liu."

Elder Liu nodded but didn’t take his hand away from the woman’s wrist.

The Hu family boy wore an unpleasant expression.

To him, Lu Zheng and the others were his enemies, yet now he had come begging at their door...

If it were just him, he would’ve turned and left; but with no money, he had sought help from several clinics—all claimed his mother was beyond saving, except this one willing to help...

At that moment, the Hu family boy was confused and didn’t know whether to beg for forgiveness or stubbornly leave with his mother.

Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan certainly ignored the boy’s thoughts.

Liu Qingyan saw Elder Liu’s frown and softly asked, "Father, what’s wrong?"

Elder Liu frowned deeply, "This ailment is too deep, reaching the bones; it’s been at least fourteen or fifteen years, and..."

Upon hearing this, the boy stopped worrying about pride and courage issues and urgently kowtowed to Elder Liu, saying, "My mother’s health has always been poor; today she just fainted, I..."

Elder Liu interrupted with a wave of his hand, "She was greatly harmed at your birth and has been worn out ever since, never recovering.

In her younger years, it wasn’t obvious, but today her body reached its limit."

"Waa!" The boy cried out upon hearing this.

"Zhou’Er, don’t cry, you’ve matured recently, and can take care of yourself, which make your mother happy and relieved."

Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered.

Clearly, this woman had always been in poor health, but the family was struggling, and the boy was immature, so she kept pushing herself, exhausting her body’s potential.

If the boy continued being immature, perhaps this woman could’ve relied on willpower to carry on for another year or two.

However, perhaps due to the events of the previous day, the boy had woken up and suddenly become sensible.

The woman relaxed, and her body could no longer endure.

This situation, Lu Zheng had heard of it before, back in Hua Country’s impoverished times, many elderly women lived through hardship, putting in a lifetime’s effort, enduring until the family’s situation improved, only to pass away amid smiles.

"Can it not be replenished?"

Seeing the boy crying so sorrowfully and the woman smiling through tears, Liu Qingyan felt a twinge of sadness in her heart, unable to watch any longer.

Elder Liu shook his head, "Difficult, the marrow is almost through, hard to replenish, and she’s both Qi and Blood empty; it’s admirable she lasted until today."

Liu Qingyan asked, "What about using needles?"

Elder Liu frowned, "Needling requires prior medication, and the needle must penetrate the spinal marrow, with utmost precision; even if I succeed in needling, in her current physical state, she probably cannot absorb the medicinal power!"

"Without medication, direct replenishment with Blood Qi."

Elder Liu was startled, his eyes flickered, "I don’t possess such skill."

Liu Qingyan firmly said, "I will do the needling."

Elder Liu was shocked, disbelief flickering in his eyes, "Don’t joke around; even if you do the needling, you don’t have True Qi to replenish her Primordial Qi!"

"Not me." Liu Qingyan shook her head, then turned to Lu Zheng.

"Lu Lang, life is at stake, can you lend a hand? Your Martial Dao prowess makes replenishing sister’s Blood Qi deficiency not challenging."

Before Lu Zheng could respond, the boy knelt before Lu Zheng with a loud ’thud,’ repeatedly kowtowing with "thud thud thud" sounds.

"Hero! Hero! I beg you! I’ll serve you as a horse in the future; please save my mother!"

Lu Zheng helped the boy up with a raise of hand.

"Get up, don’t make random vows; you are strong, just think more before acting in the future."

Lu Zheng shook his head, "I don’t need you as a horse."

Turning to Liu Qingyan, Lu Zheng nodded, "What should I do?"

"I will use Silver Needle to pierce this sister’s spinal marrow, then utilize Vibration Technique to open her bone seams; you follow with Blood Qi."

Liu Qingyan explained while guiding the woman to the bed at the back of the room, "Sister is already at the point of exhausting her oil; you mustn’t go overboard, just replenish a little Blood Qi, for once overflowed, it would be harmful."

"Can Blood Qi heal illnesses?"

Liu Qingyan nodded, "Of course, Blood Qi, essentially the power of Qi and Blood, forms the basis of exertion during daily activities; it can cause harm, but also heal and cure.

Blood Qi can directly replenish this sister’s Qi and Blood source, while True Qi can stimulate her source vitality.

Lu Lang, you are actually a born physician."

Saying this, Liu Qingyan’s face radiated joy.

"Is that so? Maybe I’ll start learning medicine from you tomorrow?" Lu Zheng joked.

Liu Qingyan’s eyebrows curved, blush surfacing, but before she spoke, Elder Liu handed the needle box to her.

"Learning medicine can wait till tomorrow, treating and saving lives comes first!"

Liu Qingyan blushed shyly and quickly turned around after taking the needle box.

First, she lit the oil lamp, then she picked up scissors and snipped a few small openings in the woman’s clothes.

"Miss, can, can my illness really be cured?" The woman turned her head, looking at Liu Qingyan, her voice trembling slightly.

"Rest assured; it’s just that your Qi and Blood source is depleted and hard to replenish, but your internal organs and bones are not dried; as long as we perform needle qi supplementation, it’s treatable."

Tears hung at the corners of the woman’s eyes; who wouldn’t choose life over death?

"Just... just... but we have no money..."

"Life is paramount, let’s treat the illness first." Liu Qingyan gently replied.

"Good! Good! Thank you, miss, thank you, physician, thank you, young sir!"

"Lu Lang, I’ll begin needling. Once I signal, you enter with Blood Qi; remember to directly pass through the needle."

"Alright!"

...

Next, Lu Zheng watched Liu Qingyan hold her breath and perform needling punctures, soon inserting twenty or thirty needles into the woman’s shoulder, neck, and spine.

Then, employing various techniques—rotation, insertion, vibration, among others.

"Lu Lang, this needle!"

Lu Zheng reached out, lightly holding the Silver Needle, passing a trace of Blood Qi.

Lu Zheng could feel the trace of Blood Qi being gently scattered by the needle’s vibration, then merging into the woman’s body.

"Next needle!"

Lu Zheng held the Silver Needle again, passing another thread.

...

The process of needling and infusing Qi lasted for half an hour, during which the woman’s face visibly became rosy.

After an hour, Liu Qingyan sighed with relief, signaling Lu Zheng to stop, and removed the Silver Needles one by one.

"Is it cured?" Lu Zheng curiously asked.

"It’s not that simple." Liu Qingyan shook her head, "The source is replenished, life saved, but sister’s body is excessively depleted; the rest requires a slow grind, at least ongoing needling and medication, without worrying about sister’s inability to endure."

The woman cried tears of joy, while the boy watching behind the group wasted no time kneeling to kowtow.