“A unique way? Do you not know what it is?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“I do not know what it is,” Miao Xinhe said. “That’s the biggest secret in our stockade. It has been handed down for hundreds of years. Such a secret is only in the hands of a few people.”
“Can it be considered the core secret of the Valley of Thousands of Medicine?”
“You could describe that way.”
Being 80 with the body of a 40-year-old or even younger sounded unbelievable. How did he do it?
“Who else has this ability besides your chief?” Xu Xinyuan asked.
“Some elders in the stockade.”
“How old are they?”
“80 to 90 years old.”
“Are they in good health?”
“They are very healthy. They can probably live for another 30 years without a problem,” Miao Xinhe said. “At least, it was like that when I left.”
This was an unexpected discovery. Health and longevity were one of nearly everyone’s greatest aspirations. For one’s eyes to not be blurred and their ears to always hear, as well as to stably walk, look after oneself instead of lying in bed, require no medicine or food from others, and not need excrement carried away at the age of 80 or 90 years old was what countless people wanted.
That stockade village hidden within the mountains and forests had such a big secret.
“Why not promote it?” Xu Xinyuan asked. “You said that there is only one surname in your village. The men do not marry women from the outside, and the women don’t marry men from the outside. Since you are all from the same ethnic group and connected by blood, wouldn’t it be better for all of you to be healthy and to live a long life?”
“Well, I heard my parents mention it by chance. The process may be more rigorous, requiring many precious herbs, and there are certain risks. In the past, people died because of that process, so few people use it.”
“Oh.” Xu Xinyuan nodded his head. The explanation made things clearer, but it was still new and interesting.
In this society, everything could be solved with money and power. It was not a problem to get precious medicinal herbs as long as one had enough money.
It is necessary to make a thorough investigation of this matter, Xu Xinyuan thought.
“I think you’d better get in touch with those friends of yours who escaped from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine and confirm whether this matter is related to them.”
“OK, I’ll communicate with them again,” Miao Xinhe said.
“Do you have a friend who has been implicated in this incident?” he asked.
“Yes, he has been implicated a lot,” Xu Xinyuan said.
As the main person in charge of He County, Guo Zhenghe had been greatly implicated. In fact, the higher-ups were very dissatisfied with him, but they were still enduring it for various reasons.
“Sorry,” Miao Xinhe said after a moment of silence.
“It’s not because of you. You don’t have to feel sorry.”
“There is a strong possibility that this matter is related to the stronghold. By the way, some foreigners studied medicine in the stronghold,” Miao Xinhe said.
“Studied medicine?”
“Yes, who is the most famous doctor in southern Yunnan?”
“The King Pharmacist,” Xu Xinyuan said after a moment of thought.
“Have you heard of him?”
“I have heard of him. He is very famous. I heard that as long as one can find him, there are no diseases he can’t cure or people who can’t be saved. There are even rumors that he can cure incurable diseases, but the conditions and cost of treatment are unique.”
“Yes, he once studied medicine in the Valley of Thousands of Medicine.”
“What?” Xu Xinyuan was shocked.
“Who else?”
“I am not sure about that, but the number must be very small. Besides, if you want to learn medicine in our stockade, you need to get the approval of the chief. The Miaojiang King of Medicine was a disciple of our previous chief.”
“He was the old chief of the last generation, so to speak. Were the old chief’s medical skills very powerful?”
“Of course, as far as I know, there are no diseases that he could not cure. According to the rules of the stockade, the chief of every generation is the one with the strongest medical skills,” Miao Xinhe said.
“For every generation?”
“All of them.”
“What about this generation?”
“Miao Xihe is an amazing person, both in terms of medical skills and poison. The elders all sing high praises of him, saying that he is the most outstanding person in the stockade in the past 100 years,” Miao Xinhe said. “Although I hate him very much, I have to admit that he has a considerable ability.”
“Is he that powerful?”
“He is a master of medicine, kung fu, and poison,” Miao Xinhe said.
“Of course, it might also be because I have not been in contact with a lot of people, so I think he is too outstanding.”
“Alright, there are two things. The first is for you to settle down. If you need anything, just tell me. The second thing is to ask you to help me understand, on the premise of protecting yourself, who caused those series of events and where the missing Miao Qingshan might be.”
“OK, I’ll try my best.”
“Alright, you must protect yourself. Your stockade is not as seemingly aloof from the rest of the world as it appears to be.”
“Yes, I know,” Miao Xinhe said.
“Remember to inform me immediately when you need anything.”
“I got it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. To put it plainly, we are just taking what we need from each other. By the way, how are your medical skills?”
“I understand it a little, but I have not mastered it,” Miao Xinhe said.
Although their stronghold was said to study these things for generations, not everyone was proficient in them. After all, some people were not willing to learn, and some people were not suitable for learning it. Some people did not have the talent for it.
Xu Xinyuan left the place where Miao Xinhe was temporarily living. After he left, Miao Xinhe’s face suddenly became a little gloomy.
“Chief, I have given you trouble. I hope you like it.” After saying that, he laughed. He gave off a creepy feeling when he laughed.
After leaving Jizhou, Xu Xinyuan flew to southern Yunnan.
Adjacent to Qi Province, in Lianshan County, on Nanshan Hill…
In the stone battle array…
There were two people.
“Well, have you found any regular patterns?” Wang Yao was holding a cup of tea as he smiled at Su Xiaoxue.
The two of them had come to Nanshan Hill. Su Xiaoxue wanted to go into the stone battle array. Wang Yao was worried, so he went in with her. In the end, Su Xiaoxue could not find the way out.
“Well, I can’t find any regular patterns,” Su Xiaoxue said.
The stones looked different in size and shape, and the grass and trees on the ground were irregular. After entering it, she felt as if she was just spinning wildly around the stones. She could not find her way out no matter how hard she tried. She felt as if her surroundings were all stones. It was as if she had been trapped by the lifeless stones. Su Xiaoxue tried to make some marks on the stones but realized that she was turning around in the same place.
“What is this principle?” Su Xiaoxue curiously asked.
“Well, the five elements of Yin and Yang and some other things. If you want to learn them, I can teach you,” Wang Yao said with a smile.
Su Xiaoxue thought about it carefully and shook her head. “Hmm, forget it.”
“I have enough classes for now, and I have to practice martial arts with you. This array must be something quite profound upon closer thought.”
“It’s not very profound. Come on, let me explain the basics to you.”
Wang Yao began to speak. Everything he told Su Xiaoxue was the most basic knowledge. As he spoke, the scene in front of them changed. The stones disappeared and were replaced by lush trees.
Looking back, the stone battle array stood quietly behind them. It seemed to be quite ordinary. There was nothing special about it. Only when one went in could one discover the mystery and feel deep regret and fear.
“It’s amazing!” Su Xiaoxue exclaimed. After Wang Yao’s explanation, she had a preliminary understanding of the array.
“Come on, let’s go explore somewhere else.”
“Alright.”
The two of them walked around the mountain.
On Nanshan Hill, the climate was warm. Even in winter, once one left a certain area and came to Nanshan or Dongshan hills, the climate immediately changed. The mountains and hills were normally windy. Even though where they were was warmer, there was a hint of the cold wind whistling.
“Are you cold?”
“I’m not cold,” Su Xiaoxue replied with a smile.
“Ah, with your cultivation now, you should be able to reach the level of cold and heat resistance,” Wang Yao said.
“Yes, when I was in Jing, I tried it. I didn’t feel cold even if I wore very little. I didn’t feel too hot if I wore too much as well,” Su Xiaoxue said.
Weather changes no longer had much effect on her.
“Sir, can you teach me some more martial arts?”
“Martial arts?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I’ll teach you my best move,” Wang Yao said after giving it some thought.
In Jing, Wang Yao had taught her some martial arts, but it was only the basic foundation of boxing and kicking, which was not considered advanced.
“Pokong Punch?”
“Yes, Pokong Punch,” Wang Yao said.
This was the skill he had learned from the ancient boxing classic. It was also the most profound martial arts skill he had studied. It was powerful when coordinated with one’s neixi, and it could be used in countless ways.
It looked like a simple punch on the surface, but it could harness an unexpected power.
Su Xiaoxue was very serious while learning it.
“Sir, is this boxing method powerful?”
“Yes, it is quite powerful,” Wang Yao said after some thought.
“Will it kill people?”
“Well, it will if you use enough strength,” Wang Yao seriously said.
“Ah, I’ll have to be careful.” Su Xiaoxue smiled. Her eyes were like the crescent moon, beautiful and lovely.
“It’ll be fine once you get used to it,” Wang Yao said. “Practice makes perfect. You understand martial arts while practicing it.”
He explained it carefully and practiced it once. He did it slowly, especially when he had reached some parts where skills were needed. It might have looked like a simple boxing method, but the punch, which required strength and Qi, needed to be coordinated and practiced.
“I did not expect this boxing method to require so much skill.”
“Of course, it is the method of boxing after all,” Wang Yao said.
It was an external skill. Neixi was an internal skill. With the combination of internal and external, integration of Yin and Yang, and intersection of virtual and reality, this was a high-level martial art’s move.
The happy times seemed short as the day quickly passed.
The sky began to grow dark. The mountain village was very quiet in the daytime. It was especially so at night, but Wang Yao’s house was lively. Wang Ru and Du Mingyang were back.
