Chapter 6: Leg Ailment (1)

In the second month, during the Awakening of Insects, spring thunder stirs, awakening insects from their winter slumber. The yang energy grows stronger each day, and the weather gradually warms.

For ordinary people, this marks the beginning of spring plowing—a good thing. However, for spirits and demons cultivating, it’s quite the opposite. This is the day with the most celestial thunder in the year. Each year, eight or nine out of ten cultivating demons perish during the Thunder劫 (thunder calamity), with less than one-tenth surviving to face the next year’s trial.

Year after year, only those who endure a hundred years of thunder calamities can achieve ascension.

“Shopkeeper,” Wen Yao sweated, her face filled with fear.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m afraid…”

“Afraid of what?”

Wen Yao pointed to the sky. Di Jiang immediately understood and laughed, shaking her head. In a voice only the three of them could hear, she said, “At your current cultivation speed, even if you live for a thousand or two thousand years, the Thunder劫 won’t concern you. So just relax.”

Shuxiang couldn’t help but chuckle, earning a glare from Wen Yao.

Zhong Xu looked up upon hearing this, his eyes full of questions.

Not wanting to be too rude, Di Jiang covered her mouth and laughed. But in Zhong Xu’s eyes, the three of them just seemed even stranger.

“How many days has Madam Di been here?” Zhong Xu asked.

“Two days.”

“Is there an inn here?”

“Right across,” Di Jiang pointed to an inconspicuous two-story building at the corner. “It’s not exactly an inn, just a place for travelers to stay. The conditions are much worse than in Taiping Prefecture, so Daoist Master, please make do.”

“For those cultivating the Dao, dining on wind and dew, sleeping on the streets is common. Having a roof over one’s head is already excellent.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, Master Daoist’s realm is truly high.” Di Jiang sincerely praised him, but he turned dark again, placing some copper coins on the table before getting up to leave.

“Excuse me, Zhong Xu.”

“Don’t leave so hastily, Master Zhong!” Di Jiang led Shuxiang and Wen Yao to chase after him, but he acted as if he hadn’t heard.

Di Jiang quickly stepped forward to block him: “Why is Master Daoist in such a hurry?”

“I have young children at home who don’t understand worldly affairs. After finishing here, I need to return promptly.” Zhong Xu looked impatient, his eyes conveying, “Unlike you, idling around and swindling everywhere.”

Di Jiang sighed and nodded, gesturing ‘please’ to him: “Master Zhong has had a hard journey. Rest early.”

Zhong Xu clasped his hands, his face grim, nodding at her before entering the inn with his baggage.

“Alas, he’s still so uninteresting…” Di Jiang yawned and told Shuxiang: “Go pay the bill. We should go.”

Obediently, Shuxiang got up to pay while Wen Yao eagerly asked: “Where shall we play this afternoon?”

“Play?” Di Jiang glanced at her: “We have important matters to attend to.”

“What matters?” Wen Yao looked puzzled.

“Haven’t I just told you? To treat your distant cousin’s leg ailment!”

Upon hearing this, Wen Yao’s eyes lit up: “Shopkeeper, do you really intend to help Old Pan?”

“Mm.” Last night, while playing chess, she had been thinking about it—Old Pan’s leg could actually be treated.

“I knew it! Shopkeeper, you’re all talk but soft-hearted inside. You pretend to be indifferent but care deeply for Old Pan. Last night, you were just teasing me, right?” Wen Yao hugged Di Jiang, fawning, almost kissing her cheek.

Di Jiang pushed her away, disgusted: “You’re overthinking. I just don’t want Zhong Xu to underestimate me.”

This was also true.

“Shopkeeper, don’t be modest. I know you have the kindest heart!” Wen Yao hummed a song, feeling unusually cheerful. Di Jiang didn’t bother arguing and led them straight to Old Pan’s house.

Along the way, Di Jiang secretly chuckled: “When I truly cure Old Pan’s leg, Zhong Xu won’t suspect anything. Excellent, wonderful! I’m truly a genius!”

The town wasn’t large. After walking through several alleys and crossing a bridge, they reached the end of the road where Old Pan’s red apricot tree stood. From afar, today seemed different from yesterday. Upon closer inspection, they realized all the apricot blossoms had fallen overnight. Not a single flower remained on the branches, and the ground was covered with red petals, making it uncomfortable to look at.

It felt like a grand floral funeral, burying everything beneath the flowers.

The red apricots by the roadside were still blooming. Though not as vibrant as Old Pan’s tree yesterday, they hadn’t all fallen like today’s.

Wen Yao knocked on the door, but no one answered after three knocks.

“Is anyone there?” Wen Yao shouted.

“Is anyone there?” She called three times, still receiving no response.

Di Jiang sighed, wanting to push the door open, but Shuxiang stopped her: “Shopkeeper, the owner might not be home. Should we still go in?”

“He’s there; he just didn’t hear us. Let’s go find him in the backyard.”

“What if that madwoman is there too? What then?”

“If it comes to a fight, are we afraid of her?” Di Jiang stubbornly pushed the door open. Immediately, they saw two half-human-height burlap sacks by the gate, and white banners tied all around the flower beds. All three were shocked.

Zhong Xu had opened a coffin shop across from the pharmacy, specializing in funeral supplies. They naturally knew what these white banners were used for.

“Could Old Pan have been beaten to death by that woman?” Wen Yao was startled and quickly opened the burlap sack. Finding it filled with red apricot flowers, she felt somewhat relieved.

Di Jiang observed the wooden ladder leaning against the tree trunk and the bamboo pole nearby, realizing that these apricot blossoms had been knocked down rather than falling naturally.

“Why did they gather all the red apricots?” Shuxiang asked.

Di Jiang shook her head: “I’d like to know too. Let’s go to the backyard and ask Old Pan.”

Di Jiang led Wen Yao and Shuxiang to the backyard. Just as they hopped over the bamboo fence, they saw Old Pan half-kneeling against a corner of the fence.

“Old Pan?” Wen Yao anxiously ran over, helping him up from the ground and calling out repeatedly, “Old Mr. Pan?”

Di Jiang went over to check his breathing. Seeing he was breathing fine, she relaxed.

“He might have fainted from exhaustion, which is why he didn’t hear our noise in the front yard.”

“Fainted from exhaustion?” Wen Yao was indignant. “How exhausted must one be to faint outside in this weather without even realizing it?”

“Rest assured, he’s not in mortal danger.” Di Jiang sighed. Seeing several burlap sacks neatly placed in the backyard, she added, “It’s not easy to collect all these red apricots in one night. He must just be overly tired. Who knows how long he’s been sleeping here? We should make sure he doesn’t catch a cold… You two carry him inside carefully.”

“Yes!” Wen Yao and Shuxiang carefully carried Old Pan back to bed. As they walked, Wen Yao said, “He’s so light, not at all like a grown man.”

“He hasn’t lived much like a man these years,” Di Jiang nodded. She looked around and noticed Sister Li wasn’t in the room.

The room was spotless, except for a few small boxes scattered in front of the dressing table. Several boxes hadn’t been closed, indicating Sister Li had left in a hurry and didn’t have time to tidy up her cosmetics, leaving them for Old Pan to clean up.

Wen Yao noticed these details too. After settling Old Pan comfortably under the covers, she stood with her hands on her hips, angrily saying, “This is outrageous! How could there be such an unfaithful woman! Leaving her husband at home to clean the yard while she gallivants around!”

Di Jiang sighed again, looking at Old Pan’s pale lips on the bed. She couldn’t say something like “It’s none of our business to comment on others’ affairs” anymore.

He appeared so frail and aged that it was heartbreaking.

“Shopkeeper, let’s leave him some silver,” Wen Yao innocently suggested. “If Old Pan has some private money, Sister Li won’t look down on him.”

“This isn’t something money can solve,” Di Jiang shook her head calmly. “Take off his pants.”

“What? Take off his pants?” Wen Yao was shocked, blushing. “This…”

“What are you thinking?” Di Jiang tapped Wen Yao’s head and told Shuxiang, “Expose his broken leg. I need to examine it.”

Wen Yao finally understood, her face lighting up with surprise. She eagerly said, “Let me do it!”

Afraid Shuxiang would be too slow, Wen Yao rushed to the bed, quickly rolling up Old Pan’s pant legs above his knees. Carefully covering the rest of his body with a blanket to ensure he wouldn’t catch a cold, she told Di Jiang, “Shopkeeper, you may begin!”

“Mm.” Di Jiang cleared her throat, sat by the bed, and pressed three times on the Yin Valley, Fish Belly, and Knee Dissolution points on his leg. The texture beneath her fingertips was soft and weak.

“Degenerated tendons and muscles, shattered leg bones—this is truly beyond help…” Di Jiang shook her head and added, “At the time of treatment, his leg could still be saved, showing the doctor put in great effort.”

“For ordinary doctors, it might be beyond help, but for you, it’s a piece of cake, right?” Wen Yao flattered Di Jiang with a smile. Di Jiang glared at her and continued examining Old Pan’s leg.

Di Jiang bent Old Pan’s leg and pressed the Knee Eye and Liang Qiu points consecutively, forming an idea in her mind.

“Prepare a charcoal fire and heat my golden needles until they’re red-hot,” Di Jiang instructed Wen Yao and Shuxiang.

“Yes.”

Upon receiving the order, Wen Yao immediately went out to find a charcoal basin, while Shuxiang took out a complete set of 128 golden needles from the portable medicine box. The wooden box was carved with three lotus flowers, but the vines beneath the flowers were bizarre and different, as if their branches supported the lotuses or were suppressed by them.

Soon, Wen Yao ran in with a small charcoal fire, complaining, “The Pan family is so strange. The firewood shed is full of charcoal, but there’s no charcoal basin. All I found was this small heater.”

Di Jiang looked closely and realized that Wen Yao was holding half of a copper hand warmer. It was exquisitely crafted, intricately carved, resembling an item used in a wealthy young lady’s boudoir. Di Jiang calmly remarked, “Old Pan’s family is too poor to afford charcoal, but no matter how poor, they wouldn’t let Sister Li suffer. So they bought a small heater to warm her hands and feet every night.”

“Old Pan treats his wife too well. Sister Li is so ungrateful!” Wen Yao cursed bitterly, feeling more sympathy for Old Pan.

Di Jiang appreciatively nodded at Old Pan lying on the bed: “He knows how to care for someone, but unfortunately…”

“Unfortunately what?” Wen Yao asked, puzzled. “Is it because he’s lame?”

“There are many unfortunate things…”

“Yes, yes, the most unfortunate thing is marrying an ungrateful woman who exploits him every day.”

Di Jiang ignored Wen Yao’s chatter, counting the 70th to 75th golden needles from the box. She picked them up, heated them on the charcoal fire until they turned red-hot, then swiftly inserted them into the acupoints on Old Pan’s leg, sealing his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. Immediately afterward, she grabbed Wen Yao’s hand, using the first needle to prick her index finger, writing Wen Yao’s birth date and time in blood on Old Pan’s leg.

The blood seeped into the bone, instantly penetrating the marrow. Another cold flash followed, vanishing in an instant. On the surface of the skin, only faint red marks were barely visible unless examined closely.

“Sh, Shopkeeper, what are you doing?” Wen Yao exclaimed in shock.

“Borrowing your life.”

“Borrowing life?”

Di Jiang nodded: “His leg is beyond repair, but if he uses your leg as his own, he can walk briskly.”

Wen Yao suddenly understood, reassured, and praised, “So that’s how it is. Shopkeeper is so amazing!”

“You’ll just have to endure being lame for a few days. It’s nothing serious.”

“What!” Wen Yao was shocked again. “You mean Old Pan will use my leg, and I’ll become lame?!”

Di Jiang nodded.

“How can this be allowed!” Wen Yao’s face darkened like ink was about to drip out, grabbing Di Jiang’s hand pleadingly. “Shopkeeper, you can’t sacrifice me! Shuxiang is a boy; he’s more suitable than me!”

Shuxiang heard this, his brow twitching slightly, clearly wanting to scold her but restrained himself.

Di Jiang watched Wen Yao fretting, amused: “Don’t you sympathize with Old Pan? Why are you unwilling to make this small sacrifice?”

“I want to help Old Pan, but I don’t want to be lame!” Wen Yao suddenly felt her own leg ailment, immediately trembling in her legs. “Sh, Shopkeeper, I feel my legs getting weak!”

“It’s not your legs weakening; it’s fear.” Di Jiang glanced at her. “This method takes four hours to take effect. Your legs feeling weak now is purely due to being scared.”

“Truly…?” Wen Yao looked like she was about to cry.

Di Jiang patted her shoulder and laughed: “Don’t worry. Your life isn’t at its end. Old Pan’s lifetime compared to yours is just a blink of an eye. Just be temporarily lame for a while. I’ll have Shuxiang take good care of you.”

“Shopkeeper…” Wen Yao looked like she was mourning the loss of a parent.

Seeing her distress, Di Jiang couldn’t bear to tease her anymore and laughed heartily: “Alright, alright, stop crying. I was just joking with you.”

“What about my legs?”

“Rest assured, your legs are fine.” Di Jiang waved her hand. “This is sharing, not deprivation.”

Wen Yao breathed a sigh of relief, breaking into tears of joy. “You really scared me… Shopkeeper is so mischievous!”

“Get Old Pan dressed. He’ll wake up soon, and we shouldn’t let these things scare him.” Di Jiang pointed to the golden needles scattered on the floor.

Shuxiang nodded, knowing Di Jiang’s treatment was over, and began to carefully clean up. He meticulously handled everything without needing instructions, showing remarkable attention to detail.

Shuxiang carefully reheated each of the four used golden needles in the charcoal fire, then immersed them in water for cleaning. Throughout the process, his face showed no unnecessary expressions, and his mouth uttered no inappropriate words.

Di Jiang couldn’t help but nod approvingly, thinking: Compared to Wen Yao’s impatience, Shuxiang’s calmness and restraint are truly astonishing.