“Perhaps?” Wanqi Jue looked at Zhu Yuan as whatever hope he had drained out of his face in an instant. If even Divine Doctor Rong was unable to come up with a viable plan to tackle this problem, death must be the only conclusion. He sighed. “I thought that he’d be able to save me. I didn’t expect to hear such news.”
The bitter feeling of regret swelled up from the bottom of his heart. His family had been facing constant ostracization by the current British leader.
If they chose not to participate in this upcoming competition and subsequently fail to obtain precious resources, he could imagine just how difficult things would be for his family in the future.
Zhu Yuan was also unsure about this situation. There was no guarantee that Gu Xiqiao would be able to get Wanqi Jue back into practicing ancient martial arts within a span of two months. Still, that did not stop him from trying to do so.
He walked out the door and gave Gu Xiqiao a phone call.
Shi Haizhe overheard their conversation and finally understood what was going on.
He was shocked to the very core when he heard from the divine doctor that Wanqi Jue could not participate in the ranking competition.
One thing set him apart from both Rong Feishuang and Zhu Yuan. He was aware of Wanqi Jue and his family’s position within the United Kingdom. Of course, that included the essential role that Wanqi Jue was playing. Now that he himself was injured, what would happen to the Wanqi family?
“Wanqi, does the leader of the UK know about your injuries?” asked Shi Haizhe with a dead serious expression.
Instantly, he was reminded of the car accident from earlier today. For such things to happen simultaneously, he wouldn’t believe it if you told him there wasn’t a plot behind this!
Wanqi Jue looked down at the ground. “My family was looking for a doctor out on the streets. No way they wouldn’t notice it.”
“I must return to the UK first,” responded Shi Haizhe who gripped Yin Aoxue’s wrist tightly.
Yin Aoxue, the usual oddball, was surprisingly obedient today. Despite her hand hurting from being squeezed too tightly, she said not even a word in protest.
“No, there’s no need for that. It’s futile, really. You won’t get past those men, I’m sure.” Wanqi Jue looked down at both his hands. “I’m afraid the Wanqi family can only run away from this conclusion for a hundred years. I fear that they’d even cut off our final route of escape.”
Shi Haizhe went silent upon hearing this. Judging from how relentless those people have been, this outcome wasn’t completely unfeasible.
For a moment, there was nothing in the place but dead silence.
***
Gu Xiqiao was waiting by the entrance of the middle school. The bell that signaled the end of the day had already rang. She saw Hua Youlin hugging onto a pile of books, strolling out of the entrance beside Luo Wenlin.
“Little Hua, over here.” Just in case Hua Youlin did not see her, Gu Xiqiao made sure to wave her hands at him.
Hua Youlin noticed her the moment he walked past the school gate. Standing near the entrance, her unusually beautiful face attracted the attention of many students. Despite standing in the middle of a sea of humans, his eyes were able to locate her pretty face in just a couple of seconds.
Waving Luo Wenlin goodbye, Hua Youlin jogged over to where Gu Xiqiao was standing.
“Big Sis Gu, why are you here?” It didn’t seem like she had driven here. Were they gonna walk home today? For some unknown reason, he was a little excited to see her.
Gu Xiqiao responded with a smile. She proceeded to point at a milk tea shop not far away. “I just happened to be around the area. Say, do you want to get some milk tea with me?”
Hua Youlin glanced up at Gu Xiqiao. “Big Sis Gu, it’s time to cut down on your consumption of milk tea. It only serves to add to your blood sugar level. It’s also harmful to one’s ability to retain memories. Long-term and consistent consumption of milk tea will lead to sodium cyclamate poisoning, which is a component within…”
Blah Blah Blah.
“Fine.” Gu Xiqiao didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry at the situation. “Now now, I’m not afraid of these things.”
Recalling how unrivaled her memory was, Hua Youlin’s mouth sealed shut immediately.
“Hey, you really don’t want a cup for yourself?” asked Gu Xiqiao as she stopped near the milk tea shop.
“… Banana flavored.” He could feel his will slowly being chipped-away by the temptation the banana-flavored milk tea offered. In the end, he fell helplessly into Gu Xiqiao’s trap.
Poof!
Gu Xiqiao disappeared into the milk tea shop to buy him his banana-flavored beverage.
She froze up upon placing the steaming hot cup of milk tea into Hua Youlin’s hands. Looking behind the boy, the smile that was initially on her face disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hua Youlin followed Gu Xiqiao’s gaze after grabbing onto his milk tea. Turning around, he noticed a familiar figure standing not far away. That person started walking towards them at a snail’s pace.
Despite the freezing temperature, that man did not have a coat on. The only thing he wore was a crisp white shirt with its cuffs rolled up, which added to the ruggedness of his look.
Jiang Shuxuan slowly walked up to their table. Seeing the umbrella in Gu Xiqiao’s hand, he instinctively reached for it. To his surprise, Gu Xiqiao tightened her grip on the umbrella. He pulled but failed to get the umbrella out of her hand. “What’s wrong?”
His ink-dark eyes focused on Gu Xiqiao’s face. His expression was a little puzzled but his face remained handsome nonetheless.
“Nothing.” Gu Xiqiao smiled before passing the umbrella handle over to Jiang Shuxuan. “Brother Jiang, bring Little Hua back home with you. I have to meet up with Zhu Yuan first.”
She raised her phone and showed Jiang Shuxuan the most recent text message she received.
Jiang Shuxuan stared at her for a handful of seconds before mumbling a response.
“Hm.”
“I’ll watch as you two go.” Gu Xiqiao flashed him an innocent smile, as if nothing had changed between them.
“When are you coming back? I’ll pick you up.”
Gu Xiqiao wiggled her phone around. “I don’t know. I’ll give you a call when the time comes.”
Jiang Shuxuan looked at her face and upon concluding that there wasn’t anything different from before, he left with Hua Youlin.
It was only after seeing their two silhouettes disappear into the distance that Gu Xiqiao’s facial expression changed. Her initially cheerful smile turned instantaneously into a dark frown.
“Say, if I can predict Wanqi Jue getting injured, why can’t I predict that he would show up?” Gu Xiqiao covered her eyes in an attempt to hide the coldness in her eyes as well as the tears that were about to roll down her cheeks.
The system flew out to console her. “Beauty Qiao, this isn’t your fault at all. Even I find it impossible to detect Master Jiang’s emotions. It’s relatively normal that you can’t predict his next move.”
Normal?
Was that really normal?
Gu Xiqiao did not come up with a reply. Step by step, she walked over to the address where Wanqi Jue was supposed to be at. Although her stride was small, she reappeared at a spot a hundred meters away in the next second.
Amidst the noisy crowd, her existence was like a ghost.
***
Zhu Yuan, who came down to welcome her saw for the first time, how cold and hostile her expression could get. Standing next to her felt like standing smack in the middle of an ice cellar. There was also an invisible pressure that made him struggle to lift his foot to take the next step.
The room upstairs was filled with silence.
Wanqi Jue was looking down at his own two hands while Rong Feishuang, upon receiving the needles that Zhu Yuan brought over, was continuously making calculations, constantly sniffing around for new methods to approach this problem. Reconnecting a broken chi channel was a hard enough task on its own. To achieve full success within two months was something not even God was capable of!
Rong Feishuang couldn’t help but sigh helplessly.
Shi Haizhe’s heart sank even lower when he saw Rong Feishuang’s reaction.
With a ‘click’, the door popped open.
It wasn’t very loud. However, one could hear even the drop of a needle in the dead silence of the room. Out of reflex, everyone in the room spun around to look at the door.
In came a young lady. There wasn’t an ounce of emotion on her face. Her expression was ice-cold and so was her gaze. It almost felt as if her face was shining like freshly-fallen snow under the sun. Amidst her mystifying good-looks was a hint of bitterness. Even so, the dark gray atmosphere that plagued their room had brightened up significantly the moment she stepped through the door.
Wanqi Jue too was momentarily taken aback. If not for his photographic memory, he would not have recognized who Gu Xiqiao was.
One was elegant and refreshing, the other was as cold as ice. Two completely different archetypes and yet as amazing as one another.
Gu Xiqiao first walked over to Rong Feishuang. Respectfully, she greeted him, “Divine Doctor Rong.”
Her clear voice jolted everyone out of their mental daze.
“Pretty sister!” Yin Aoxue, who had remained silent for a while finally opened her mouth. Immediately after that, she attempted to break free from Shi Haizhe’s grip but to no avail as he tightened his hands further around her wrist.
Shi Haizhe too, looked over at Gu Xiqiao. He remembered instantly that he had met this young lady before.
Gu Xiqiao lowered her gaze. Glancing at Yin Aoxue, her facial expression was surprisingly calm considering the situation they were in.
“Miss Gu really is a battle-hardened veteran in medicine. I don’t think I am worthy of being called a divine doctor with you around. You can just call me Grandpa Rong next time,” responded Diving Doctor Rong immediately. Although this young lady was barely twenty years old, her knowledge and grasp of medicine was as good as his. In some aspects, she had already exceeded what he was capable of.
How could he be called a divine doctor then?
“Grandpa Rong” said Gu Xiqiao in a friendly manner. She then moved her gaze over to the table next to Rong Feishuang. Laid out across its surface were a couple of needles, all arranged in a specific order.
She stared at it for a while, trying to hold herself back, which she eventually failed to. She started to shift the needles around.
Rong Feishuang watched as her fingers moved the needles around. Suddenly, a glow appeared in his blurry eyes. Staring wide-eyed at the needles, he suddenly said, “I didn’t know it works this way too!”
“Take a look at Mr. Wanqi.” Zhu Yuan looked at the needles on the tabletop before realizing that this was precisely the acupuncture technique that Gu Xiqiao had taught him not long ago. He did not mull over it that much. Instead, he started briefing her on Wanqi Jue’s illness. “His meridian channels and muscles have been broken. Apart from that, his lungs have been damaged…”
Wanqi Jue stared at the young lady who approached him step by step. He discovered that when talking to her, Zhu Yuan was acting in a surprisingly respectful manner. Unconsciously, he placed himself in a more submissive position in relation to Gu Xiqiao.
To make the arrogant Zhu Yuan act so subserviently, his curiosity towards Gu Xiqiao was piqued. For a brief moment, he forgot all about the pain his body was going through.
Suddenly, he felt a coldness in his wrists.
Looking down, he noticed a jade-like fingertip resting on his inner-wrist. Her pale-white skin was so radiant it seemed to be emitting a bright white light.
In the next instant, warmth flowed from her fingertips down into his arm and into the core of his body.
He could feel his entire body being enveloped by a ball of warmth. His pain slowly dissipated while his chi, which was on the brink of death, gradually returned to his body.
It wasn’t only him who felt this; everyone in the room suddenly felt a tidal wave of life-giving energy sweep over them.
Rong Feishuang held his breath as he awaited the final outcome.
‘Little system, scan his body now.’ While directly injecting chi to restore his broken channel, Gu Xiqiao ordered the system to take a real-time scan of Wanqi Jue’s body.
A clear panel materialized in front of her face in the next moment. On it were details about Wanqi Jue’s injury as well as an overview of the treatments that Rong Feishuang used on him.
Gu Xiqiao retracted her hand. Peering back up at Wanqi Jue, she asked with a face devoid of emotions: “How do you feel now?”
“Not bad at all.” Wanqi Jue touched his hand out of reflex and was overfilled with joy when he discovered that movement had indeed been restored. His blue eyes were honest when he said, “My hand, it can move again.”
As soon as he said that, silence ensued. They all looked with shock on their faces as Wanqi Jue raised his arm.
The muscles in his injured hand had been completely torn apart. Rong Feishuang said that it would take at least a week before he could move it again. Shi Haizhe was bewildered by how fast Wanqi Jue had recovered. He had never heard about someone recovering in such a manner.
It had only taken a few minutes at best. And yet, here he was, moving his hand around. If he wasn’t aware of how serious Wanqi Jue’s injuries were, he would’ve accused him of faking an injury right then and there!
Zhu Yuan was sure that Gu Xiqiao had a plan in her mind but never thought that it would take effect so quickly. Fortunately, he had grown used to such a scene. Glancing at his master, he realized that Rong Feishuang’s jaws had dropped almost to the ground.
Never in his life had he seen his master react so dramatically. Zhu Yuan sighed in silence before looking back up at Gu Xiqiao.
“It’s good that you can move your hand.” Gu Xiqiao seems to have already expected this to happen. She then produced a set of needles which she skillfully pierced into his skin. “I heard that there’s a feud between your family and the leader of the United Kingdom?”
Although it was phrased as a question, she sounded like she already knew all about it.
Wanqi Jue’s pupils constricted. This was their family’s safeguarded secret; only core members of their family knew about this. Where on Earth did she learn about this?
“Don’t give me that look. I just want to make a deal with you,” said Gu Xiqiao bluntly. Upon sticking in her final needle, she looked into Wanqi Jue’s eyes and firmly added, “Would you accept a deal if I replaced the power that rules over the UK with someone from the Wanqi family?”
