Mo Sigui lacked direct evidence to prove that Lou Mingyue was Qiu Ningyu, it was just an intuition. He had time to prove it slowly.
“Still no improvement in your meridians,” Mo Sigui stroked his chin and clicked his tongue. “It seems you’re naturally at odds with me, always causing trouble in my medical practice. But it’s truly stimulating.”
An Jiu had previously questioned Sheng Zhangku because she didn’t trust Gu Jinghong. Now, comparatively, she trusted Mo Sigui more. “Are my meridians suitable for practicing the Meridian-Breaking Palm?”
“Oh my! The Meridian-Breaking Palm!” Mo Sigui’s expression turned strange.
An Jiu looked puzzled.
“Haha, just hearing the name makes it sound like an unorthodox martial art,” Mo Sigui explained with blatant mockery. “Your meridians can’t be restored quickly. Practicing external martial arts moderately would be beneficial. As for the Meridian-Breaking Palm… haha, it’s really funny. You can casually practice this external martial art, but I must cure your meridians.”
“Understood.” Having received an affirmative answer, An Jiu decided to practice diligently. To increase her strength, she was willing to endure any hardship.
Before returning to her room, she glanced at Lou Mingyue’s tightly closed door. “If you like her, you should take responsibility. Don’t be a cowardly bastard.”
“Hey! Stop right there! Who are you calling a bastard?” Mo Sigui jumped up angrily.
But he only shouted verbally, not chasing after her. An Jiu saw clearly that Lou Mingyue had embarked on the path of revenge with overwhelming hatred. Liking her meant helping her share this burden, which was already a heavy load for Mo Sigui.
In his heart, he both hoped and feared that Lou Mingyue was Qiu Ningyu.
During his time at the Hua residence, he had asked Hua Rongjian to help investigate news about the Qiu family, but to no avail. However, all clues suggested that Qiu Ningyu was likely alive.
“Lou Er,” Mo Sigui approached her door. “You’re Ningyu, aren’t you?”
The door opened.
Lou Mingyue looked at him coldly. “You also call me Lou Er. Don’t ask unnecessary questions. Mo Sigui, I’ve told you before, I’ll repay your life-saving kindness in the next life.”
Mo Sigui fell silent. If she was Qiu Ningyu, she wouldn’t acknowledge him, because his Ningyu wouldn’t drag him onto the path of revenge.
“Fine, I’m staying next door to Fourteen. If you need anything, you can find me,” Mo Sigui smiled. “I’ll see this through to the end. I am conscientious.”
The surrounding area was fully occupied, with each person assigned a large room divided into two. Mo Sigui’s room originally belonged to An Jiu but had been temporarily allocated by Sheng Zhangku.
“Hey!” An Jiu called from the window to remind him, “People occasionally launch sneak attacks here. Be careful.”
Mo Sigui lit a lamp and lazily lay on the bed, mumbling, “Mm. Don’t overexert yourself in tempering your body. Excess is as bad as deficiency; it’ll make your meridians worse.”
An Jiu punched open the window and looked at him. “How confident are you that you can cure me, and how long will it take?”
Mo Sigui scrambled up from the bed angrily. “Mei Fourteen, are you doubting my medical skills?”
An Jiu stared at him silently.
“Alright,” Mo Sigui didn’t want to waste time glaring at her. “I’m fifty percent confident. As for when you’ll be cured, it could be one or two years, or it could be ten or twenty years!”
An Jiu grunted in acknowledgment and turned to leave.
“Mei Fourteen, what kind of attitude is that!” Mo Sigui shouted. “With your injury, I’m the only one under heaven who dares to claim a fifty percent chance of success!”
An Jiu believed his words, but she didn’t have much time to wait, nor did she have enough chips to gamble. Once she entered the Konghe Courtyard, she had to improve herself quickly—for her final redemption.
To practice external cultivation, she first needed to understand what it was.
When An Jiu first reincarnated, she had thoughts of soul possession, so she read some books about internal cultivation and Taoism. Later, as she gradually abandoned the idea of possession due to Mei Yanran’s maternal love for Mei Jiu, she didn’t pay much attention to it. As for external cultivation, she truly didn’t know much about it.
Taking advantage of her unhealed hand injury, she spent her days in the library reading the basics of external cultivation. After going through about ten books, she gained a general understanding.
Physical training, combat techniques, and fighting skills should all be considered external cultivation. They train muscle strength, limb coordination, and speed. To practice these, one needs not only good innate physical qualities but also sufficient endurance and willpower. The external cultivation in this world was even more brutal than her previous practices.
Firstly, if one’s innate physical qualities weren’t perfect enough, they had to be rebuilt using medicines. There was a prescription for rebuilding tendons and bones on the tree, but it didn’t explain the principles, only vaguely mentioning “flesh, tendons, and bones renewed as if reborn.” Secondly, at each level of practice, the body must be tempered with medicines.
An Jiu’s innate conditions were good, but due to her previously severely damaged meridians, Mo Sigui recommended rebuilding.
Mo Sigui modified the original prescription.
One great advantage of the Konghe Courtyard was the inexhaustible resources available. The Courtyard didn’t restrict basic materials too strictly; as long as it could improve one’s skills, they didn’t mind bearing the cost. Mo Sigui bribed the Xuan Instructor with a bottle of pills that could boost power, obtaining all high-quality medicinal ingredients.
Rebuilding tendons and bones requires applying ointment all over the body. An Jiu sought out Lou Mingyue several times, but Lou Mingyue seemed to be deliberately avoiding Mo Sigui during this period and hadn’t returned.
Realizing she would need to change the medicine midway, An Jiu simply asked Mo Sigui for help directly.
That fellow shyly declined once, then readily agreed.
The room was filled with the fragrance of medicine.
“Get ready to get in,” Mo Sigui pointed at the steaming bathtub, his peach blossom eyes shining brightly.
This was his first time preparing an external cultivation medicinal bath. An Jiu had the honor of being the guinea pig, and he was eager to see the results.
“Are there any side effects?” An Jiu asked.
“How could there be!” Mo Sigui denied it.
“Your face is clearly showing four characters right now.”
Mo Sigui raised an eyebrow. “What?”
An Jiu spelled it out word by word: “Reck-less-with-life.”
“It won’t be harmful, I guarantee it with my reputation,” Mo Sigui said urgently, seeing her hesitation to use the medicine. He fanned himself quickly.
“Swear it,” An Jiu stared at him intently. “If you’re lying to me, you’ll never be able to practice medicine again.”
“That’s too harsh!” Mo Sigui snapped his fan shut and said shamelessly, “Okay, it might hurt a tiny bit, like ant bites or bee stings, but there absolutely won’t be any after-effects. Otherwise, I, Mo Sigui, will never be able to practice medicine again!”
An Jiu nodded and began to undress.
Mo Sigui brought a bucket of paste-like medicine. Seeing An Jiu already completely naked, his cheeks reddened. He turned his face away and coughed dryly a few times. “Um… you don’t mind, do you?”
“You’ve already seen, stop pretending to be pure,” An Jiu said coldly.
Despite his thick skin, this was Mo Sigui’s first time seeing a woman so undressed. He couldn’t help feeling awkward. As he silently applied the medicine to An Jiu’s body, he muttered, “What a sin, I’m sorry, my little Yuyu.”
An Jiu snorted derisively. “Taking advantage and then acting coy, such despicable behavior is truly shameful.”
“What advantage am I taking!” Mo Sigui’s embarrassment immediately halved. He pointed at her with a bamboo strip. “No breasts to speak of, no buttocks either!”
Bang!
An Jiu’s fist connected with his face. “Hurry up!”
After taking a punch, Mo Sigui finally settled down. He quickly applied the ointment all over her body and wrapped her tightly with cloth strips.
An Jiu sat in the bathtub.
Mo Sigui sealed the lid of the tub.
“Mo Sigui, now that you’ve seen a woman’s body, do you feel any sense of responsibility?” An Jiu suddenly thought of Chu Dingjiang.
Mo Sigui was sealing around the tub with mud. His mud-covered hands slammed onto the tub lid. “I’ve already sacrificed to this extent! I don’t care, I’m only responsible for my little Yuyu. I saw her naked when she was five. Besides, as a doctor, I can’t be responsible for everyone.”
“I didn’t say you should be responsible. Don’t look like you’ve been violated!” If An Jiu wasn’t trapped in the tub, she would have stood up and given him a good thrashing.
“You scared me,” Mo Sigui thought of An Jiu’s various misdeeds and found it hard to harbor any amorous feelings towards her. For instance, on their wedding night, she might grab his manhood and coldly say: It’s too small! Or like now, standing naked in front of him, not showing a hint of shyness but instead throwing powerful punches at him…
Heavens! The mere thought made him break out in a cold sweat.
Mo Sigui shuddered and quickly placed a huge iron weight on the tub lid.
“What are you doing?” An Jiu frowned.
Mo Sigui fanned himself, his hair flying, his face beaming with a radiant smile. “You’ll know soon enough.”