“Let me take your pulse,” Mo Sigui’s eyes gleamed. Ever since he learned to use spiritual energy for pulse-taking, he had been experimenting on everyone he could. This method was thousands of times more precise than traditional pulse-taking, and he was eager to discover how the pulse of someone with two souls differed from normal.
Mo Sigui placed his fingers on An Jiu’s wrist, his spiritual energy forming into thread-like strands that slowly penetrated.
He meticulously explored her entire meridian system but found no difference from ordinary people. Unwilling to give up, he searched again and again.
After two cups of tea’s worth of time, Mo Sigui finally detected a subtle difference around the heart meridian. There were some tiny fluctuations, unlike the overall smoothness. As he tried to approach with his spiritual energy, the small fluctuations suddenly disappeared.
An Jiu noticed sweat beading on Mo Sigui’s temples and his face growing increasingly pale. “Are you done?” she asked.
Mo Sigui frowned slightly, not answering.
The room was filled only with the bubbling sound from the medicine pot. An Jiu felt a slight movement in the air around her, and a clean, strong hand suddenly gripped Mo Sigui’s wrist.
An Jiu felt the spiritual energy in her body rapidly dissipate. She looked up to see Elder Qi’s furious face.
A moment later, when Mo Sigui opened his eyes, Elder Qi slapped the back of his head, shouting, “You rascal! If you want to die, get out of my pharmacy! People only come in here horizontally, they don’t leave that way!”
Used to being hit, Mo Sigui calmly smoothed his disheveled hair. “See? I’m still alive and kicking.”
“Alive and kicking!” The renowned doctor, who had cultivated his temperament for decades, was panting with anger. “Tell me! How many times in the past few days have I pulled you back from the brink? If you don’t start behaving, you can get out!”
Elder Qi had just returned from gathering herbs on the back mountain when he found a guard unconscious on a corridor beam. As he approached, he smelled a hint of knockout powder mixed with the calming medicine. He immediately guessed it was Mo Sigui’s doing.
Elder Qi deeply regretted teaching Mo Sigui the method of pulse-taking with spiritual energy. The boy was talented and had strong comprehension skills. Initially, Elder Qi was very pleased, but within days he realized he had a big problem on his hands—this rascal was trying it on everyone he met! It was as if he thought spiritual energy grew on trees!
This method of pulse-taking was extremely draining on both energy and spiritual power. Occasional use could refine one’s spiritual power, which was beneficial in the long run. However, overuse in a short period could lead to energy depletion and spiritual power decline, potentially resulting in sudden death.
Elder Qi had tried reasoning with Mo Sigui and had given him several stern warnings, but to no avail. The boy simply couldn’t control his curiosity!
Elder Qi slowly calmed his anger and warned again, “Behave yourself, or I’ll break those mischievous hands of yours!”
Mo Sigui lazily leaned against a nearby medicine cabinet, supporting his chin with his fan. He grinned, “I’ve been good. It’s been three hours since I last tried. This was a special case.”
“Three hours! Such a long time!” Elder Qi kicked him away irritably.
Having been with Elder Qi for a long time, Mo Sigui knew what he wanted. He quickly jumped up, dutifully wiped the stool with his sleeve, fanned it vigorously, and helped Elder Qi sit down. “Please, have a seat.”
“Ah!” Elder Qi sighed helplessly.
Elder Qi had a peculiar temper, but he was particularly powerless against Mo Sigui. Sometimes when he was extremely angry, he thought about simply driving the boy away. But then he would think of Mo Sigui’s exceptional talent and couldn’t bear to do so.
After all, how many people in this world could earn the title of “Divine Doctor” in Bianjing at the age of twelve or thirteen? Even if most people were impressed by his youth and gave him some leeway, without real skill and knowledge, he couldn’t have earned such a grand title.
Mo Sigui’s intuition for medicine was something even Elder Qi admired. His curiosity and focus on medicine were qualities Elder Qi appreciated, but these same traits also gave him headaches.
“Is something wrong?” Elder Qi asked An Jiu.
Before An Jiu could answer, Mo Sigui interjected, “She says the weaker spiritual power has gone silent. We don’t know if it’s disappeared or what.”
An Jiu nodded.
Elder Qi glared at him and asked, “What did you find from taking her pulse?”
“The other spiritual power has only weakened but hasn’t disappeared,” Mo Sigui added. “I’m not entirely certain, but I’m about 70-80% sure.”
“I’ve never encountered two souls in one body before, but these past few days I’ve been poring over ancient texts and found some fragmentary records,” Elder Qi said. “After much contemplation, I believe this situation won’t last long. Two tigers can’t share the same mountain. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the stronger will eventually devour the weaker.”
Elder Qi placed his fingers on An Jiu’s wrist, felt her pulse for a while, and slowly said, “It’s natural selection. Whether you’re willing or not.”
“How is she now?” An Jiu asked.
Elder Qi shook his head, his face expressionless. “Such matters are profound and mysterious. I can hardly fathom them.”
Knowing she wouldn’t get any more information, An Jiu stood up and said, “Thank you.”
“Mm,” Elder Qi accepted graciously.
Seeing An Jiu about to leave, Mo Sigui jumped up. “Let me see you out!”
“Sigui!” Elder Qi called out to him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t seek death,” Mo Sigui tossed back as he left the room first.
Outside, the sunlight was brilliant. Icicles on the eaves refracted golden light, and the snow glare was dazzlingly white.
An Jiu squinted her eyes.
“Since you’re not the same person as Fourteen, do you have a name?” Mo Sigui asked.
An Jiu walked towards the exit with her head down. Just before leaving, she said, “An Jiu.”
She responded to Mo Sigui because she hadn’t given up on the idea of self-destruction. Elder Qi was unlikely to cooperate, but Mo Sigui seemed quite interested in the matter.
“An?” Mo Sigui pondered, hands behind his back. “So you have both a given name and a surname. Are you a wandering soul? Did you do too many bad deeds to be reincarnated? Should I find some monks to chant sutras for you?”
“You might want to prepare that for yourself,” An Jiu said without looking at him as she stepped out the door. “I think someone like you is likely to do plenty of bad deeds. When you’re on your deathbed, you might want to call hundreds of monks to chant sutras for a hundred days. Then you might have a chance to be like me.”
“I’m trying to be kind. Can’t you show a little appreciation?” Mo Sigui fretted for a moment, seeing no reaction from her. He hurried after her, trying to smooth things over. “Fine, I’m just a kind-hearted person. Tell me about some good deeds you’ve done. I’ll ask a high monk to mention them to Buddha now and then. It might help a bit.”
Some things were quite mysterious. An Jiu, taking a “better safe than sorry” approach, thought carefully. “I let the neighbor’s child play with my favorite toy for three days.”
Although she had beaten the child severely when he broke the toy afterward.
“…” Mo Sigui’s eyes widened. After a while, he said, “Is there anything bigger, more meaningful?”
An Jiu pondered for a long time, her furrowed brow finally relaxing. “When I was doing community service, I helped an old lady feed her dog for a month.”
“You…” Mo Sigui met her cold gaze. “That’s truly a great merit.”
“Are you unable to determine Mei Jiu’s condition?” An Jiu asked.