Gongyi Tianheng faintly nodded his head: “He seems to be worried.”
Gu Zuo furrowed his brows: “What’s he still worried about?”
Ling Ziqi had already gotten revenge on his clan’s enemy and could go to search for chances at the Great Tomb of the Human King right away. No matter how one looked at it, he shouldn’t have had this kind of worried look.
Tianheng slightly pondered: “If there’s something he’s still currently worried about, it probably has something to do with Young Lady Ling.”
Gu Zuo didn’t understand: “Could it be that he doesn’t want Tianyang and Young Lady Ling to get together?”
Ah, after thinking about it, this was also incorrect. Although Tianyang didn’t have such astonishing talents like his dear big brother, Tianyang was definitely a young elite. On top of that, there were many resources in Qingyun Sect. Tianyang would quickly break through to Xiantian and become an Inner Sect disciple in a meteoric rise. After that, his future outlooks would certainly be immeasurable.
If this kind of person wasn’t qualified enough to be with Young Lady Ling, then no one would.
Tianheng said: “If I haven’t guessed wrongly, there should be a problem with Young Lady Ling’s body.”
Gu Zuo thought it over: “What’s wrong with Young Lady Ling?”
Tianheng replied: “Wait till we find an opportunity. Maybe Ah Zuo can check her pulse to find some clues.”
Gu Zuo felt that this was reasonable.
Young Lady Ling was the sole family member of Young Master Ling, and she seemed well on the surface. As such, the probability was relatively high that her health was the only cause of Young Master Ling’s worry. Not to mention anything else, for the infatuated Tianyang, Gu Zuo would give a proper diagnosis to get a clear understanding of that Young Master Ling’s heart knot.
After making his decision, Gu Zuo no longer thought about this matter and continued refining a cauldron of medicinal pills.
The wild bird’s flight speed was extremely fast, and the journey was no more than five hundred kilometers. Even though it deliberately slowed down its speed, they arrived in the vicinity of Queying City after about four to six hours.
Queying City was also a large city. Because it neighbored Danyun City, many martial artists had gathered here. Many businessmen also obtained medicinal pills and top-notch ingredients from Danyun City and resold them in Queying City. As they accumulated vast amounts of wealth, the development of this city also prospered.
When entering this city, one needed to pay a city entrance fee.
Gu Zuo was somewhat curious. Previously, there were many cities that didn’t have this way of handling things. So what was reason for this place?
Tianheng explained it to him: “This place is in the territory of the Qingcang Empire. Everyone entering a city belonging to this country needs to pay a city entrance fee.”
While Tianheng spoke, Tianyang had already acted as an attendant and handed over the expenses for the group of five people.
As everyone walked in, Gu Zuo asked: “Then, what about Danyun City?”
Tianheng said: “Danyun City doesn’t belong to the Qingcang Empire. Although it’s close to Queying City, it’s actually an independent existence. Danyun City’s City Lord position is passed from one generation to the next, and is considered another type of organization.”
Gu Zuo understood: “Danyun City is headed by the Xin Clan. It’s an existence that has assembled many pharmacists.”
Tianheng nodded slightly: “Just so.”
Soon, they entered the city and came to a large street.
They would still need to stay here for quite some time. The first thing they had to do was to find and check into a sufficiently safe and comfortable tavern.
Queying City’s largest tavern was Great Blessings Tavern. It was said that the tavern’s boss had some connections with Queying City’s City Lord. Queying City’s City Lord also had some connections with the Qingcang Empire’s upper echelons. So, the security should’ve been the best. Although the prices were somewhat expensive, so long as it saved them trouble, it would be worth it.
Gu Zuo was silent.
Actually, it wasn’t only somewhat expensive… It was very expensive.
For the best, highest quality room, a single room cost ten gold every day! Ten gold!
While it didn’t sound the same as buying medicinal ingredients, one needed to know that medicinal ingredients were luxury goods! And for this place, it was only living in a room…
Tianheng ruffled Gu Zuo’s hair: “Let’s go in.”
Gu Zuo silently kept pace with him.
Yes. His big brother had also unexpectedly obtained the wealth of several hundred million gold…
A group of people checked into the Great Blessings Tavern just like this. Altogether, they asked for three upper rooms. Among them, Gu Zuo and Tianheng were in one room, Tianyang and Ling Ziqi were in another room, and Ling Ziwei got special treatment as a little sister and had her own room.
After Tianheng directly handed over the expenses for ten days, the tavern’s front desk clerk, waiters, and other workers all saw that they weren’t short of money. Thus, the staff’s bearing was even more cordial.
Once they had a meal together, they gathered in Tianheng’s room.
Gu Zuo sat to the side of the table: “Big brother, when will we go to open the Great Tomb of the Human King?”
Tianheng pondered for a bit: “Tomorrow, we’ll first scout around the location of the Great Tomb. I’ll make a decision later.”
Gu Zuo: “Oh.”
The others didn’t have any complaints.
Tianheng glanced at Tianyang and Ling Ziwei, and gestured at Gu Zuo.
Gu Zuo nodded to express his understanding. After that, he spoke to Ling Ziqi and Ling Ziwei: “Young Master Ling, Young Lady Ling. Now that we’ll be going to the Great Tomb of the Human King, allow this Gu to feel your pulses beforehand, just in case. I’ll see if there are any latent dangers in your bodies. It’ll naturally be the best scenario if there are none, but if there are any latent dangers, I’ll treat them in advance. Otherwise, if we wait till we go to the Great Tomb and something happens, it won’t be any good.”
He paused, and looked at Tianyang: “Tianyang, you as well.”
Tianyang naturally didn’t have any objections.
As early as Qingyun Sect, Gu Zuo routinely checked the pulses of their group. This was to prevent their bodies from developing any internal injuries or unknown illnesses over the course of practicing martial arts or other such reasons. It was all promptly resolved. Right now, everyone was going to the Human King’s tomb. Wanting to make even more preparations was to be expected.
As a result, Tianyang immediately extended his hand and gave up all resistance.
Gu Zuo quickly squeezed his wrist, and used psychic power to swiftly examine him. After that, Gu Zuo said: “Tianyang has recently practiced martial arts and needs to strike a balance between work and rest, but this isn’t a problem. Just take a Snowy Ginseng Pill. Replenish your qi and blood to regain your vigor, and you’ll be okay.”
At once, Tianyang took out a medicine bottle, poured out a medicinal pill, and swallowed it.
Immediately after that, his face flashed with bursts of red light. After the red lights disappeared, his complexion became much better.
Following which, Gu Zuo looked at Ling Ziqi.
Ling Ziqi saw that Tianyang was so straightforward, so he also extended a hand.
As before, Gu Zuo felt his pulse. After that, Gu Zuo took out three medicine bottles and gave them to him: “Deficient in qi and blood, the meridians are damaged, and there’s a lot of built-up impurities. Young Master Ling, three types of medicinal pills, one of each. You should see the effects immediately after taking them.”
Ling Ziqi hesitated a little bit, and then swallowed each of those three pills according to Gu Zuo’s words. The next moment, the surface of his body exuded some black sludge and his eyes became even more spirited.
His face instantly revealed a happy expression: “It’s really much more effortless!” After he finished speaking, he looked at his own filthy, outstretched hands and immediately said with shame, “Pardon me. I’ll be right back.”
Tianheng smiled: “Please do as you wish.”
Ling Ziqi stood up right away and rushed out to return to his own room.
After a short time, he came back. Now, his eyes were lively and his face glowed. It was like a crushing boulder was lifted from his body, and even his appearance looked more dashing.
Gu Zuo didn’t do anything else during this time. He saw Ling Ziqi return, and sized him up and down. Then, he nodded like he was reassured: “For a long period of time following this, Young Master Ling should be able to improve even faster when practicing martial arts.”
Ling Ziqi cupped his fist: “Many thanks, Pharmacist Gu.”
Then, Gu Zuo looked at Ling Ziwei: “I hope Young Lady Ling doesn’t take offense.”
Ling Ziwei looked to her own elder brother, Ling Ziqi.
Ling Ziqi’s smiling expression stiffened.
He didn’t know whether this pharmacist would see anything…
But perhaps, this was an opportunity, too.
Some things couldn’t be avoided.
Ling Ziqi nodded to Ling Ziwei.
Ling Ziwei tenderly smiled: “Thank you for your trouble, Pharmacist Gu.”
Tianyang’s expression also became focused.
He wanted to know if there was anything wrong with the body of the girl he had a good impression of.
Gu Zuo’s fingers gently felt Ling Ziwei’s pulse.
In a split second, a string of psychic power followed along her wrist’s meridian and passed through her body. In the blink of an eye, it circulated through the meridians of her whole body, and sent back information about the circumstances inside.
Following that, Gu Zuo was somewhat surprised.
…This Ling Ziwei’s body was a little strange.
Gu Zuo was very clear about the average person’s physical body. As for a comparatively special one he’d known for the past many years, it was his dear big brother, whose meridians were clogged by Xiantian Qi and who later possessed six sets of bone pearls. Besides this, there were some Tianlong Guards who took Xiantian Pills refined with his big brother’s blood. Their bodies contained two sets of bone pearls, and their physical bodies also appeared more flawless than that of other martial artists.
In addition, some people’s meridians were wider, some people’s meridians were narrower, and some people’s bodies possessed different powers due to cultivating different martial skills or cultivation methods.
But aside from this, it was all roughly the same.
However, Ling Ziwei’s blood seemed to contain a type of power.
It definitely wasn’t the true qi that a Houtian would accumulate. Rather, it was a special power. When Gu Zuo’s psychic power got into contact with that power, he seemed to detect…an absent-minded, hazy feeling being transmitted through his psychic power.
What was it?
Could it be that Ling Ziwei’s blood was very special?
Subconsciously, Gu Zuo recalled his dear big brother’s Tiandu Body.
He remembered that, in order to better treat Tianheng, Gu Zuo carefully studied the specific circumstances of the Tiandu Body. He knew it was a special physique that was envied by heaven and earth. At this time, he suddenly thought of something. If there was a physique that was envied by heaven, would there be a physique that was protected by heaven, too?
Besides one hundred acupoints being unimpeded at birth, each Tiandu Body had its own peculiarities. Gongyi Tianheng’s peculiarity rested with his six sets of bone pearls. From looking at the Tianlong Guards’ situation, the origin of his Tiandu Body’s special power might’ve had the greatest relationship with his blood.
— Within Ling Ziwei’s blood vessels, there was a special power as well. Did this special power prove that she possessed a type of special constitution?
Thinking of this in his heart, Gu Zuo’s frame of mind was like a stormy sea.
If his guess wasn’t wrong — If the power in Ling Ziwei’s blood vessels could be discharged, then she would become a terrifying talent!
Of course, she probably wouldn’t be like his dear big brother, who received the envy of heaven and earth…
“Pharmacist Gu…”
“Ph-pharmacist Gu?”
“Ah Zuo, wake up.”
Gu Zuo collected his thoughts.
He saw Ling Ziqi looking over with a face full of embarrassment. He saw Tianyang and Ling Ziwei who were somewhat hard-pressed. He also saw Tianheng, who reached out a hand to flick his forehead, waking him up.
Thereupon, Gu Zuo also felt embarrassed.
Unexpectedly, he had been pinching that little sister’s wrist the entire time. Although it was to treat an illness, it had taken a bit too long… There was nothing to be done. He really had been astonished!
Moreover, he was also a little excited by association.
Gu Zuo released his hand at once, but didn’t start speaking.
In actuality, he was communicating with the system through his own consciousness in his Tianfu Acupoint.
[System, what’s going on with Ling Ziwei’s body? Do you know?]
[Side mission started.]
[…Huh?]
The system directly issued a mission.
[Side Mission: Diagnose Ling Ziwei’s body information.]
[Mission Item: <<Comprehensive Collection of Heaven and Earth Physiques>>]
[Completion Method: Unrestricted.]
[Completion Time: Within one day.]
[Failure Penalty: Deduction of one hundred strands of medicinal qi.]
Gu Zuo’s expression suddenly turned strange.
So to say, now he needed to…check the book, right?
The next moment, an item book appeared in Gu Zuo’s hand.
Tianheng’s gaze flickered, and then his body flashed over. He had already appeared behind Gu Zuo: “Ah Zuo’s reading…”
Gu Zuo wasn’t stingy, and showed the book cover to his dear big brother: “I hadn’t paid attention to it before. Now that I’ve seen Young Lady Ling’s situation, I unexpectedly thought of this book.”
Because emphasis was put on “before” and “now”, these two keywords, Tianheng naturally understood Gu Zuo’s hint — Gu Zuo had received another mission, and the item book was newly released. In addition, the mission’s required time certainly wasn’t long. Otherwise, Gu Zuo wouldn’t have been so quick to take the book out and flip through it.
Gu Zuo spoke to the Ling Clan siblings: “I seem to have an impression of Young Lady Ling’s situation, but I’ll need to check on it before coming to any conclusions.”
Ling Ziqi opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
As for Tianheng, who stood behind Gu Zuo, he had a highly retentive memory, and read together with Gu Zuo.
Gu Zuo released his psychic power, and it enveloped the book. He started to browse swiftly.
One page after another. The time spent on each page was no more than a brief blink of an eye.
After about a joss of incense passed, that thick item book was memorized by two people.
Each page only recorded a single physique. Moreover, because it was an item book given to Gu Zuo, a pharmacist, there was a recounting of each physique’s distinctive features and attributes, the practiced methods, created martial skills, and formidable powers of those who once possessed these physiques, the general similarities between external and internal conditions of the physical body, and the minor details of distinguishing case models.
These things were naturally useful to Gu Zuo, and the most useful section was certainly the external and internal conditions of the physical body. And with regards to Tianheng, this let him gain insights into the various kinds of strange bodies in this world. This also let him understand how those people with special constitutions became so powerful — In the future, if he encountered such a person, he would be able to anticipate his enemy’s decisive opportunities and would obtain some certainty of the outcome at the start of the fight.
After he finished reading, Gu Zuo slowly let out a breath: “From the perspective of this ancient text, this Gu has made some progress. Only, there are a few situations like Young Lady Ling’s. I’ll still need to ask Young Master Ling to tell this Gu about the specific circumstances for this Gu to make an accurate judgment.”
Speaking up to here, he slowly came to a halt: “Young Master Ling, you should’ve long known about any peculiarities of Young Lady Ling, right?”
Without waiting for Ling Ziqi to respond, Ling Ziwei had already looked over in surprise: “Big brother, my… What’s happening to my body? You, you know about what’s happening to me? What’s going on?”
Ling Ziqi stiffened for a moment. He looked at Ling Ziwei and gave a heavy sigh: “Yes. Not only do I know, but in our direct bloodline, father and grandfather also knew.”
Ling Ziwei never thought that she was different from common folks. Even though she looked beautiful, she also didn’t feel that she was anything special. However, now she heard that she was actually different from ordinary people?
For a short while, her mind was somewhat frantic. At the same time, she couldn’t help looking at Tianyang and into Tianyang’s deeply concerned gaze. She inched closer to him.
Ling Ziqi looked at his younger sister acting this way, and his mood was very complicated. After that, he said: “Actually, we’re all not too clear about what’s going on with my little sister’s body. However, as my little sister grew up, if a full moon appeared in the sky during her birthday, she seemed to become a whole other person. She would emit a very frightening…attraction.”
Gu Zuo suddenly understood a little in his heart.
Meanwhile, Ling Ziwei’s voice became panicked: “Become a different person? Um, several times during my birthday, I would get drunk during the clan feasts…”
At this moment, she recalled something.
Ling Ziqi nodded his head and said: “That’s right. Little sister is fifteen this year. This event has happened four times already. When little sister turned four, eight, and twelve years old, the sky had a full moon that day. When the moonlight descended, little sister’s skin became crystalline. You sat beneath the moonlight, and wore a smile that was full of attraction. Anyone who made the mistake of looking at little sister became imbecilic and crazy. They attacked each other in order to gain little sister’s favor! It wasn’t until dawn that little sister sank into unconsciousness, and those confused people awoke.”
Ling Ziwei listened and only felt as if she was hearing about something from another world. Everything was too hard to believe.
Ling Ziqi continued to talk: “Fortunately, after waking up, it didn’t matter if it was a confused person or little sister herself, none of them had any memories of that night. When this happened during little sister’s fourth birthday, there was a clan feast. Only a few knew about this matter. However, no one knew if this would happen again in the future, so for several years afterwards, we didn’t dare let little sister stray too far or let her see too many people. As little sister grew older, we gradually discovered the pattern. It was just that we didn’t want to burden little sister, and no one told her about it.”
Ling Ziwei’s eyes reddened.
From Ling Ziqi’s description, she could see the love and protection that all of her family members held for her. However, she would never be able to see these cherished people again.
Tianyang looked at her, and his eyes flashed with hints of tender feelings. He hesitated, but used his hand to gently pat her left arm.
Ling Ziqi sighed again. He looked at Gu Zuo: “Pharmacist Gu, this is all of it. Do you know what kind of constitution my little sister has? We’ve always been worried that this constitution would cause her to be scorned or used by the other party if she ever found her sweetheart…”
It was also because of this that, while they were fully aware that Ling Ziwei basically held no feelings of admiration for that white-eyed wolf Ling Tianen, they still held on to the hope that familiarity would breed fondness. It was because they thought they knew all of Ling Tianen’s roots and foundations, so that even if he turned out to be no good for her, they could promptly find out and support Ling Ziwei.
Gu Zuo knew what was going on. He said to Ling Ziqi: “There’s no need to worry. This Gu already knows Young Lady Ling’s specific constitution.” He continued to console Ling Ziqi, “Rest assured, Young Master Ling. Young Lady Ling’s constitution is a type of good thing; not a bad thing. There’s a way to resolve it, too.”
Ling Ziqi was overjoyed at once: “Pharmacist Gu’s words are true?”
Tianyang and Ling Ziwei also looked towards Gu Zuo with anticipation.
Gu Zuo said confidently: “You can feel assured. Although it’s somewhat troublesome, there really is a way.”
Tianheng shook his head, and lightly knocked on Gu Zuo’s forehead: “Okay, Ah Zuo. Just spit it out.”
Gu Zuo also shook his head and forced a laugh as he rapidly answered: “First, let me say that Young Lady Ling’s constitution is a type of physique. It’s classified as an offshoot of the Bodies of Enticement, and it’s called the Moon Siren Body. Before she grew to adulthood, she was able to temporarily awaken her constitution because of the light of the full moon on the day of her birth. That is, the terrifying attractive force shown once every four years previously. In fact, once Young Lady Ling is eighteen years old, it’ll be like that all of the time — Attracting men with insufficient willpower, and making them hysterical. Most of all, the attractive force will increase when there’s a moon at night. If it’s a full moon, then the attractive force will be at its most terrifying level.”
Ling Ziqi startled: “Then?”
Gu Zuo continued speaking: “Originally, this would’ve been a troubling matter. However, we can change directions to reflect on this issue. Young Master Ling, think about it. If Young Lady Ling can control her own constitution, and unexpectedly exhibits this extraordinary attractive force when battling someone, she’ll be able to confuse the opponent and achieve victory. In a life and death crisis, this can even save a life!”
At this moment, Ling Ziwei also became anxious: “Then, then how can I control my own constitution?”
Gu Zuo immediately said: “A method where we get to the root of the problem. Naturally, it’s practicing a cultivation method that is specially provided for the Moon Siren Body’s cultivation. If someone knew how to help Young Lady Ling develop her constitution, that would be even better.” Speaking up to here, he paused, “Unfortunately, my big brother and I don’t have this type of cultivation method. We can only search for it slowly. As for a method to treat the symptoms, I can do it…”
Tianyang was deeply concerned: “Brother Ah Zuo, what is it?”
Gu Zuo lightly sighed: “I’m a pharmacist. Later on, I can refine a medicinal pill that can control this constitution, but…”
Tianheng had a smile on his face: “But what?”
Gu Zuo didn’t keep them in suspense: “It’s just that, while this medicinal pill can control it, if one can’t treat the root cause, there’ll be a severe backlash when the pill isn’t in effect.”
T/N: The next two chapters are regular length, so they’ll be out sooner rather than later.
Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
Please don’t forget to support the original author.
