Li Yundong was having another lecture today. Once they were both comfortably settled in the last row of the lecture hall, Li Yundong studied Su Chan in amusement. Not that one could blame him, since Su Chan looked completely out of place with the way she was sitting cross-legged in the lecture hall’s fixed seating.
“You know Traditional Chinese Medicine?” Li Yundong asked after he had gotten over his amusement.
“Of course,” Su Chan answered, batting her eyelashes at him. “All of us know!”
Us? Li Yundong thought. Oh, right. She must mean the people in the mountains.
Little did he know that Su Chan was actually referring to Cultivators in general; namely, those who cultivate themselves in order to be one with the Tao.
All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in Su Chan’s head.
Hey… Why don’t I take this opportunity to start easing him into the art of Cultivation? she thought.
Thrill coursed through every cell in Su Chan’s body, but she forced herself to calm down; Li Yundong was going to feel suspicious if she got over-excited.
I have to ease him in slowly, Su Chan thought.
Keeping her features neutral and her voice even, she said, “Nine out of ten people who seek to unite with the Tao know Chinese Medicine. Take Sun Simiao, for example. He’s someone who has united with the Tao and achieved spiritual transcendence and immortality. Basically, he became a Shenxian. But that’s not all he is. He’s also the King of Medicine.”
Su Chan paused, letting her words sink in.
A moment later, she took a deep breath and picked up where she left off.
“There are many more like him. A lot of great historical figures like Peng Zu, Ge Xuan, Zuo Ci, and Ge Hong have all become Shenxians. But, at the same time, they were also masters in the art of healing.”
Li Yundong was taken aback by her sudden digression. However, surprise quickly gave way to skepticism, and he snickered.
“Look, I’m aware that Sun Simiao is the King of Medicine and all that. He wrote the Qianjin Yaofang after all. But uniting with the Tao? A Shenxian?” Li Yundong let out a little snort. “Who did you hear that from anyway?”
“My master!”
Li Yundong guffawed.
“What, so your master is part of the woo-woo crowd?”
Su Chan puffed out her cheeks in anger.
“Don’t you dare speak ill of my master!”
“Alright, alright, I won’t,” Li Yundong said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender all the while trying his best to keep his laughter at bay.
Su Chan’s anger went away as swiftly as it came. Her huge, round eyes flickered with anticipation and tension.
“Do you… Do you want to learn? I mean, I can teach you if you want…” she said tentatively.
Li Yundong smiled and waved off her suggestion.
“Medicine?” Li Yundong snorted. “No thanks. My brain’s definitely going to fry if you ask me to memorize all those ancient texts. I mean, I don’t want to end up with Yang deficiency after spending nights going through all that stuff.”
Li Yundong laughed at his own joke.
Su Chan summoned her courage. Here goes… She pulled in a deep breath and said, “No, I was referring to the art of Cultivation! Being one with the Tao!”
Li Yundong paused mid-laugh and gave Su Chan a strange look.
“You mean like what you’ve been doing in the mountains?” Li Yundong groaned. “Oh, come on. Spare me, please. My life’s fine right now. Why would I suddenly be interested in Cultivation? Hell, I don’t want to end up as a Taoist priest or some kind of monk a few years down the road.”
And I’m still hoping to get you naked, thank you very much, Li Yundong thought. If I become a monk, the only naked body part I’ll be seeing for the rest of my life is my own hairy balls.
Frustration coursed through Su Chan at her failed attempt.
I’m not asking you to be a Taoist priest, you moron! I just want you to get closer to the truth! That’s what being one with the Tao means! she thought.
However, Su Chan decided to keep those thoughts to herself; she didn’t want Li Yundong to start feeling edgy or wary around her.
Better to play it safe and take things slow… she thought.
Their conversation came to an end when the professor tapped the surface of the lectern a few times with his pointing stick and began today’s lecture.
As the lecture droned on, Li Yundong’s mind could only register bits and pieces of what the professor was saying. A few words here, and maybe one or two pieces of jargon there: ideologies; states; vanguard; revolution; Marx; Lenin. Even those sounded like a bunch of gobbledygook to him to be honest. The fact that he was even awake at this point was a miracle in and of itself.
While Li Yundong was struggling to stay awake, Su Chan was studying him relentlessly. Ugh! This sucks! This guy has no idea how lucky he is! she thought. If Cultivators like us consumed the Renyuan Jindan, we would’ve hidden in a quiet cave right away and spend years to properly absorb the Jindan’s power.
But this clueless guy is happy to just allow the Jindan to enhance his constitution and leave it at that? What a waste! He could’ve done so much more by converting his vigorous essence, Qi, and blood into Yuanyang with the use of Cultivation techniques! (T/N: Yuanyang is the core or the most essential component of a person’s Yang Qi)
If he’s willing to train himself in the art of Cultivation under my guidance, I’m sure he could complete the Zhuji phase by the end of his first year of training, the Shentong phase by the end of the second, and the Jinshen phase by the end of the third!
Argh!!! This is so unfair! I can’t believe this clueless dunce is getting all the benefits! And through dumb luck no less! Yet, here he is, wasting them! Argh!! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Damn it all to hell! Why is it that the good stuff always falls into the hands of the inept?!
After spending a while cursing and complaining, Su Chan’s thoughts began to take a different direction. Instead of whining, she began to consider the repercussions of her current situation.
No, no, no. I can’t allow things to drag on like this. The Jindan’s effect will slowly diminish with time, so will the potential to convert his essence, Qi, and blood into Yuanyang. He needs to start training immediately, otherwise the effects would be greatly reduced even if he managed to reach the Zhuji phase later! If that happens, there’s no way I’ll be able to reap the full benefits of the Jindan even if I have sex with him.
What should I do?
All of a sudden, an idea struck her and, in a disgustingly sweet voice, she said, “Yundong, I’m going to give you a massage, okay?”
A surge of electricity shot up Li Yundong’s spine.
God, that voice… Li Yundong thought.
It had to be some kind of sorcery that allowed him to remain upright at this moment considering that his bones had just been reduced to dust. His chest tingled uncomfortably as conflicting emotions flooded his heart.
I want to say yes, but… Li Yundong thought. It was as though there were suddenly hundreds of claws scratching his heart at the same time.
Li Yundong gave Su Chan a strange look.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, pointing towards the lectern, where the professor was still droning away about state capitalism. “I’m in the middle of a lecture.”
Su Chan, however, wasn’t looking for his permission. She stood up before Li Yundong could even blink and then walked around the seating so that she was standing directly behind him.
Any words of protest were immediately forgotten when Li Yundong felt the pressure of Su Chan’s hands on his scalp. At that moment, heat began gathering into a ball in the lower regions of his stomach, somewhere below his navel. A split second later, the heat surged to the top of his head, instantly revitalizing him. It felt similar to all the times he stretched himself out first thing in the morning, only a hundred times better. After reaching his head, the heat spread out swiftly towards his extremities. Tension eased away from his muscles and his body plunged into total relaxation. It was like taking a dip in a hot spring or taking a hot bath but, again, a hundred times better. Li Yundong’s eyes fluttered closed.
The spot that Su Chan had just pressed down on was known as the Baihui. Out of all the acupoints found on the human body, the Baihui was the only one capable of raising a person’s Yang Qi levels when stimulated. Many practitioners of acupuncture would poke a needle into their patients’ Baihui as a means of resuscitation, since doing so would cause a spike in the patients’ Yang Qi levels and could even save their lives.
In the movie “The Message”, there was a scene where “Old Ghost”, a mole in the government, was tortured by Mr. Six with a bunch of acupuncture needles. When Old Ghost was about to die from the torture, Mr. Six stuck a needle into Old Ghost’s Baihui to prevent him from dying.
***
Su Chan’s thumbs began rubbing gentle circles on Li Yundong’s Baihui while her other fingers spread out to both sides of his head. Her middle fingers settled on an acupoint located on the center of his forehead called Shenting, while her pinkies reached all the way to the side to rest on Li Yundong’s temples.
The Shenting is a crucial acupoint on the forehead; Qi flowing along the Du Meridian to the head will always pass through it. Because the Shenting is located on the forehead, which is a tough part of the skull, its stimulation requires the application of a significant amount of pressure. Thus, it is common practice to massage the Shenting with the middle finger, since it is the strongest finger of the hand.
The Taiyang is located on the temple, one of the human skull’s softer parts. For that reason, even a weak finger like the pinky could provide enough stimulation.
As Su Chan worked her magic, her hands hovered above Li Yundong’s head like a pair of three-prong forks. In the world of Cultivation, this hand position was known as the “Three-Pronged Flower Gathering.”
In the art of Cultivation, there was a saying which called upon Cultivators to “wear the crown of three flowers.” Explanations for what constituted the “three flowers” could be found in the written works of Cultivators in the past. Alas, the explanations given by the ancient texts were profound at best and utterly mystifying at worst. However, scholars had long since analyzed and interpreted the texts to come up with a simpler explanation. In today’s Cultivation world, the “three flowers” represented: Essence, Qi, and Blood! This understanding thus gave birth to the saying “wearing the crown of three flowers.” The underlying principle of this phrase implies the gathering of one’s Essence, Qi, and Blood in one’s head.
By performing the “Three-Pronged Flower Gathering” on Li Yundong, Su Chan was, quite literally, “gathering” Li Yundong’s “three flowers” (Essence, Qi, and Blood) with her hands (three-pronged fork).
At this point, Su Chan had successfully mobilized the Yuanyang inside Li Yundong’s body. Starting from his lower Dantian, Li Yundong’s Yuanyang flowed towards his Huiyin and anus. Then, from his anus, it traveled up his body, via the Du Meridian, along his spine to his Weilyu, Jiaji, and Yuzheng, before reaching his Baihui on the top of his head. From his Baihui, the Yuanyang flow would split into two different paths, moving down to his ears, then forward along the cheeks to reach his Yingxiang, the two acupoints located right beside his nostrils. The two paths then converged at an acupoint on the roof of his mouth, known as the Queqiao, before moving down to his chest and abdomen, through the Ren Meridian, and then back to his Dantian. (T/N: Think of Dantians as containers inside the body that stores a person’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Refer to the glossary for more details)
Having his Yang Qi thus mobilized was almost equivalent to having him perform a technique in the art of Cultivation known as Xiao Zhoutian, which would require the practitioner to move their Qi through the same path Su Chan just did for Li Yundong. Essentially, Li Yundong was indirectly training in the art of Cultivation. Of course, the effects of such indirect training weren’t the same as undergoing the actual training itself. Even so, there would be no difference in terms of the physical sensations resulting from either method since they both involved the flow of Qi through the meridians.
Why were Cultivators capable of sexual abstinence?
Well, when performing the Xiao Zhoutian or Da Zhoutian, Cultivators were able to mobilize the Yuanyang inside their bodies, getting it to flow in a complete circuit through the meridians. This flow of Qi would provide Cultivators with a stimulation of utmost intensity, especially when Qi arrived at their Huiyin.
The pleasure resulting from the process was no different than that experienced through sexual intercourse. Sometimes, it might even be better!
Li Yundong had never experienced something like this before. No words could describe the euphoric sensation pulsating inside his body at that moment. It started out gentle, like a tiny brook inside his core, where the pleasure trickled out before spreading to other parts of his body. But, with each stroke of Su Chan’s fingers, the sensation intensified and the brook quickly became a vast, boundless ocean which engulfed him completely!
Once the intensity subsided, Li Yundong felt himself floating back up to the surface of the ocean. When he finally broke through the surface, the ocean was warm and calm. From there, he allowed himself to drift in this ocean of euphoria as pleasure and happiness pervaded his body, invigorating him right down to his hair follicles!
However, as Li Yundong drifted along and wallowed in pleasure, the sensation intensified once again. All of a sudden, he could feel something brewing inside his chest. He didn’t know what it was, just that it was intense and that the only way he could find release was by shouting at the top of his lungs.
The students sitting near him had been watching the whole display from the start, their eyes wide in disbelief and their teeth clenched in envy.
Sure, they had seen people showing off before, but never to this extent!
He just asked a pretty girl to give him a massage right in the middle of a lecture?! What the f*ck?!
F*ck, I can’t stand this sh*t anymore. None of this even makes sense! Man, look at the bastard’s face! It’s like he’s showing off just how much he’s enjoying the massage and all we can do is watch! God, I feel like shoving my foot down his throat!
Suddenly, the entire lecture hall plunged into silence. Behind the lectern, the professor stood stock-still with a face as dark as the bottom of a scorched pan, his lecture on Marxism-Leninism all but forgotten. Oh, he’d heard things from his colleague, alright. Yesterday, the Professor of The History of Ancient Chinese Literature mentioned something to him about a cocky sophomore from the third class of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, something about fooling around with a beautiful woman in the middle of class!
Today, he’d seen with his own eyes just how brazen this brat was. Asking a beautiful woman to give him a massage during a lecture? The nerve of him!
Son of a bitch, the professor thought. Where does he think he is? A massage parlor? He thinks he owns the damn place?
I’ve seen my fair share of impudent students. But this! This is a whole new level of arrogance!
A crack formed on the chalk that the professor was holding in his hand. Tightening his jaw, the professor stepped down from the lectern and walked past rows of seats towards Li Yundong. When he was only a few feet away from Li Yundong, Su Chan’s fingers stilled and she looked up from Li Yundong’s head.
Su Chan smiled at the professor and pressed her index finger to her lips in a silent gesture, then added a playful wink.
The professor stopped short.
Professor Liu was a man in his mid-twenties who had taken a teaching position at the university immediately after he completed his postgraduate research. Being a man in his prime, his mind stood no chance against the flirtatious wink that the young beauty had just given him. His mind went completely blank as he stood rooted on the spot, not knowing what to do.
The professor was in a serious predicament. On one hand, he wanted to put an end to the pair’s inappropriate behavior, but on the other, he couldn’t seem to find it in him to deny this pretty girl’s wish. Why did she have to look so beautiful, damn it! No man would be able to deny her!
But there are more than a hundred students watching me… he thought. I can’t just stand around and do nothing. There’s no way I’d be able to teach this class again if I allow this.
Professor Liu was at his wits’ end. There he stood, a few feet away from Li Yundong, with a pained and panicked look on his face.
All eyes in the lecture hall were now trained on the professor, who honestly looked like he was about to shit his pants. Then, when the students saw the look of utter bliss on Li Yundong’s face, they ended up struggling between amusement and shock. None of them dared to laugh, though.
Su Chan retracted her fingers from Li Yundong’s scalp, then patted the top of Li Yundong’s head with the center of her palm to redirect his Yuanyang back to his meridians.
Li Yundong shuddered and let out a long sigh. “God, that’s feels so good!”
Under normal circumstances, Li Yundong’s voice wouldn’t have drawn anyone’s attention. Alas, the lecture was completely silent moments before he uttered those words. Besides, he had just completed Xiao Zhoutian, which meant that his body was overflowing with Qi, including the splenogastric region. When he spoke, his voice came out loud and clear, as if he had spoken through a megaphone. Naturally, everyone in the lecture hall heard him.
Li Yundong had yet to notice that anything was amiss after his utterance of pleasure. However, when he opened his eyes, he nearly fell off his seat.
“Wh- what?” Li Yundong’s eyes went wide. “Pro- Pro- Professor Liu! Wh- what are you doing?”
“Wahahahaha!”
Roars of laughter tumbled out of the mouths of all students in the lecture hall.
Everyone began pounding their chests and stomping their feet like a bunch of laughing gorillas.
Professor Liu’s cheeks twitched with every passing second of laughter he heard.
When the laughter subsided, he growled one word at a time, “Enjoyed yourself enough?”
Those words triggered another round of laughter.
Li Yundong forced out a smile. “E- enough!”
Professor Liu pointed at the exit. “Get out of my sight!” he snarled. “I don’t welcome students like you in my class!”
Li Yundong gaped at Professor Liu, unable to speak. Beside him, Su Chan felt as though they had both been unjustly treated. However, Li Yundong held her back before she could say anything.
“Fine, fine,” Li Yundong said. “I’m leaving now.”
Dragging Su Chan with him, Li Yundong fled the lecture hall, leaving gales of laughter in his wake.
“Why are you afraid of him?” Su Chan said angrily when they were far away enough from the lecture hall. “Let’s go back! I’ll give him a piece of my mind!”
Li Yundong groaned, almost in tears at this point.
“I’m screwed,” he said. “F*ck! I’m pretty sure I’m in the Hall of Shame now!”
Su Chan rolled up her sleeves.
“Come on!” she said, dragging Li Yundong back towards where they came from. “I’ll teach him a lesson!”
Li Yundong stopped her quickly, his eyes widening into a glare. He was just about to go on a tirade when he remembered Su Chan’s gentleness when giving him a massage. He sighed inwardly.
Everything that she did was for my sake, wasn’t it?
His anger evaporated instantly.
Nah, none of this is her fault, he thought. I only have myself to blame!
Li Yundong lowered his head dejectedly. “Forget it. Let’s just go home. They won’t let me go back to class anyway,” he said. “We shouldn’t make this any worse than it already is, otherwise I’d be expelled.”
