Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yan Liqiang had gotten into trouble and there had been a huge commotion. Naturally, everyone who was familiar with him in the Imperial Capital all knew about it. From the second day onward, people started coming to the Imperial Academy of Medicine to make inquiries and visit.
The Imperial Academy of Medicine was the best medical facility in the Imperial Capital. This medical facility only provided their services to the royal family as well as the ministers who served the imperial court. The Imperial Academy of Medicine was a little like the more specialized organizations such as professional facilities and convalescent hospitals that Yan Liqiang had seen in his previous life. By right, based on his current rank, he didn’t have the rights to seek treatment in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. However, thanks to Eunuch Liu and the Emperor, Yan Liqiang had become the most important patient in the Imperial Capital’s Imperial Academy of Medicine. Not only did they prepare a small private courtyard that only superintendents from the six ministries or higher would be able to enjoy, but there were also specialists who attended to his meals and medicine. The imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine would also check on his condition twice a day.
Yan Liqiang’s body was fine. He had transmitted all of the vital Qi in his dantian into the Heavenly Stone, and thus there wasn’t any left. When the imperial physicians checked every day, they would only discover that his dantian was empty. Even if they sent in a hint of vital Qi, it would dissipate in the blink of an eye. Faced with such a problem that would only occur when a person fell into Qi deviation, the imperial physicians had no solution either. They could only do their best.
Fang Beidou, Xu Enda, and Hu Haihe came to see him the next day. Yan Liqiang’s small courtyard was open to visitors. When the three of them saw that Yan Liqiang’s condition wasn’t life-threatening and that he had only suffered some light injuries in addition to showing some signs of falling into Qi deviation, they heaved a sigh of relief while feeling enraged.
After Fang Beidou and the others had visited, Lu Peien and Manager You from the Gan Provincial Guild Hall also stopped by. An imperial physician from the Imperial Academy of Medicine whose surname was Ma also came along with them. Imperial Physician Ma was also from Gan Province and he was the Imperial Academy of Medicine’s administrative assistant. He was considered to have come from the same hometown as Yan Liqiang and when Yan Liqiang went to the Gan Provincial Guild Hall previously, Manager You even introduced this Administrative Assistant Ma an ensign of the people from Gan Province in the Imperial Capital’s officialdom. The other two officials from Gan Province who also worked in the Imperial Capital — in the Ministry of War’s Bureau of Transportation and the Central Secretariat — didn’t come. For one, they wanted to avoid trouble. In addition, they weren’t that close with Yan Liqiang either.
Lu Peien’s visit wasn’t unexpected considering the relationship Yan Liqiang had with the Lu Clan. Seeing that Manager You and Administrative Assistant Ma were willing to visit him without having any concerns about getting implicated, Yan Liqiang felt that they were people who were capable of assuming great responsibilities and he started to see them in a different light.
After seeing Lu Peien, Yan Liqiang even specially told him to not write about the matters that had happened in the Imperial Capital back home. He did not want his father to worry about him after finding out about this.
Lu Peien and the others left, and Yan Liqiang was once again taken by surprise. Yuan Beihong, Zhang Rui, and Miao Yusen — the people whom he had met once due to Liang Yijie — had come. Both Yuan Beihong and Zhang Rui cursed Lin Zhe while Miao Yusen was very concerned about Yan Liqiang’s injuries. Yan Liqiang was a little surprised that they would come, but he was also a little disappointed as he did not see Hua Ruxue.
Eunuch Liu said that both Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao had personally asked him about the matter concerning Yan Liqiang. After knowing that his condition was not life-threatening, they were relieved.
During these two days, while it appeared to others that Yan Liqiang was recuperating, Yan Liqiang was the only one who knew that he did not remain idle even while he was in the Imperial Academy of Medicine. He continued to study on how he could differentiate the rare beast core crystals. He had even gotten Little Li to bring him the few rare beast core crystals he had left in Deer Villa. He fiddled with them constantly, trying to decipher their profoundness.
The additional small golden vortex in his consciousness still remained there. While studying the rare beast core crystals, Yan Liqiang also studied its effects. Slowly, after the few days of studying, Yan Liqiang discovered some things about that golden vortex. He realized that it could move in his consciousness. As long as he relaxed his body and focused his spirit and will, treating that small golden vortex as a part of his body and consciousness, it seemed like he had activated it since he could control it. It could move about in his consciousness like a small tornado. This was completely different from the control of his vital Qi in his dantian. Controlling the dantian’s vital Qi required taking charge over it, just like driving a carriage or riding a horse. The person would be a separate entity from the carriage or horse. On the other hand, when Yan Liqiang was controlling the small vortex in his consciousness, he needed to let his consciousness and that small vortex become one. Only then would the vortex listen to him. It was very mysterious. And it was because of this that Yan Liqiang had only figured very little about it after fiddling with it for a few days.
Vital Qi came from the dantian and passed through the eight extraordinary meridians. It circulated throughout the body and could be beneficial to a person. Therefore, could his brain’s consciousness be the same as the dantian, and that the small golden vortex in the consciousness be the same as vital Qi? Would they be able to leave the place they were produced and enter certain organs or other body parts to bring about some mysterious effects?
The moment this thought appeared in Yan Liqiang’s mind, he increasingly felt that it made sense and his heart started to throb. There were several moments where he almost couldn’t help but want to let that golden vortex come out from his consciousness and see what it could do. However, upon careful consideration of how unique his brain and organs were, Yan Liqiang contemplated it for a very long time and gave up on this risky plan. It was because he was really scared that he would mess things up and the golden vortex from his consciousness would end up making a mess in his brain. He might not be able to handle the consequences. If he accidentally turned himself into an idiot or vegetable, it would be horrible. He could mess with the things in his stomach. He might not end up dead even if he were stabbed once or twice in the stomach with a blade. However, the brain could not withstand any wrong attempts or sufferings. There might be uncontrollable consequences even if a toothpick were to pierce through, let alone being stabbed once or twice with a blade. The brain was the most mysterious and most fragile organ in the human body.
Early in the morning on the third day, after the assessment from the few imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, taking the prepared medicinal pills, and changing fresh dressings for his wounds, he went to an octagon pavilion in the courtyard. He breathed in the fresh morning air while slowly moving his body.
The Imperial Academy of Medicine was really something. Yan Liqiang could feel that the injuries he had on him had started to recover after a mere three days. The wounds under the bandages felt numb, tingly, and they were starting to itch a little. This was the feeling of a recovering wound. In the medical assessment earlier, the imperial physicians said that his wounds would recover completely within ten days. Moreover, there would not be any scars at all.
He had only moved for a short while when Little Li ran into the courtyard and reported to Yan Liqiang, “Manager Yan, someone’s here to visit you again!”
“Oh? Who’s that?” Yan Liqiang was stunned for a moment and stopped what he was doing.
“That person asked me to hand this to you, saying that you’ll understand after seeing this!” Little Li said this and handed a small metal figurine with detailed joints to Yan Liqiang. When Yan Liqiang saw that small metallic human figurine, a person’s image flashed in his mind.
“Who else is there other than this person?”
“There’s also a woman, a very, very beautiful woman…” Little Li replied seriously.
“Invite them in quickly. Oh, right, get someone to bring a tea set for the guests…” Yan Liqiang instructed.
“Alright!”
Little Li quickly left. In just a short moment, under Little Li’s lead, the two people entered the courtyard through the round door.
“Yan Liqiang pays respect to Elder Brother and Miss Shi…” Yan Liqiang smiled and stood at the entrance to the courtyard, greeting the two of them. “Brother Rong, please pardon me that I’m unable to go out to welcome the two of you without permission from the imperial physicians as I’m currently unwell…”
The two who came to visit Yan Liqiang was the number one engineer Zhang Yourong, as well as the beautiful female disciple, Shi Bingbing, from the Soul Mountain Sect whom he had met once previously…
