Hearing this, the martial artist froze his outstretched hand.
He carefully observed Li Miao's face, finding it increasingly familiar. Suddenly, it clicked.
He was there the day Li Miao went to trouble Fei Junxuan. He had seen Li Miao before.
It was that Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who defeated Zuo Lishan!
His face instantly paled, and he lowered his head to look at his toes, mumbling nothing.
Li Miao walked over to Gao Ling, knelt down to examine her injuries, poked her a few times, grabbed her wrist, and channeled internal energy into her, temporarily stabilizing Gao Ling's injuries.
Li Miao was wearing casual clothes today, and only a few martial artists recognized him. They stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move or speak. The rest of the onlookers looked at him curiously.
Li Miao stood up, pulled out his Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) waist token from his Arms, and turned it around for everyone to see: "Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) are on official business, everyone disperse."
Although few people recognized the waist token, upon hearing Li Miao's words, the crowd instantly scattered with a "whoosh," wishing they had more legs as they fled in all directions.
The city gate instantly became empty, and even those who were originally preparing to enter the city retreated, not daring to linger in front of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
Li Miao grabbed Gao Ling's clothes with his left hand, swung her onto his shoulder, and led Gao Ling's horse with his right hand, walking into the city on his own towards the inn where he was staying.
Upon reaching the room, Mei Qinghe rose from her chair and took Gao Ling.
"Senior, this is... Senior Gao of the Mount Tai Sect, why is she so injured?"
Li Miao said, "She was beaten by Zuo Lishan, I just happened to pick her up. You continue your practice, don't worry about it."
Mei Qinghe acknowledged, found some cloth to spread on the bed, placed Gao Ling on it, then turned and sat back on the chair, closing her eyes to continue cultivating.
Li Miao glanced at her: "You're being too hasty. If your internal energy flows too fast, it will leave hidden injuries in your meridians."
"When cultivating internal arts, you must be calm and collected, imagine you are holding a handful of sand. If you hold it too tightly or too loosely, it will leak out. You need to let your internal energy flow as if it's scattered but actually gathered."
"Now that you are switching to the original internal art, the most important thing is not speed, but stability."
Mei Qinghe acknowledged, trying to calm her mind.
After Zuo Lishan escaped that day, Mei Qinghe asked, "Aren't you going to chase him?" Li Miao said, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, "I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with the cultivation method you're practicing."
Later, Li Miao examined Mei Qinghe's cultivation method and discovered—there was indeed a problem.
On the surface, it was a Huashan Sword Sect internal art, but deep down, there were several hidden mechanisms; it was not the original Huashan Sword Sect internal art.
In terms of progress speed, it was faster than the original. However, it would affect one's mind, making Mei Qinghe's personality increasingly rigid and extreme.
This was Mei Qinghe's first time descending the mountain after joining the Huashan Sword Sect, and Zhao Dehua was the first person she killed.
To be able to use such methods during her first kill, besides Mei Qinghe witnessing her mother being tortured to death and her lingering hatred, it was also due to the influence of this internal art.
Li Miao knew the original Huashan Sword Sect internal art and compared it with Mei Qinghe's, confirming the problem.
This internal art's influence was not significant yet. But if Mei Qinghe continued to cultivate it, in twenty years, she would become a person like Abbess Miejue.
Mei Qinghe was depressed for a few days, so Li Miao had her switch to cultivating the original Huashan Sword Sect internal art, which was not considered betraying her sect.
This matter was very dangerous; a slight mistake could lead to qi deviation. That's why Li Miao had Mei Qinghe stay in his room to cultivate, so he could look after her in time.
Let's set aside why Mei Qinghe's internal art from her sect had been tampered with, and let's also put aside Mei Qinghe's current grief, sorrow, and confusion. Let's return to the present.
Li Miao walked to the bedside, first pricked several acupoints on Gao Ling's body to prevent her from moving around after waking up, then placed his palm on Gao Ling's heart meridian, using his cultivation method to heal her.
The heart meridian is in the chest.
Li Miao felt a soft, yielding sensation in his palm, making it difficult to even touch the breastbone, and the internal energy transfer was somewhat obstructed.
Gao Ling was forty-five years old this year, which in ancient times was already an age where one foot was in the grave.
However, she had cultivated internal arts for many years, remained unmarried her entire life, and never had children, so she didn't look old at all. Facially, she appeared to be in her late thirties, a stage of ripeness.
When she was young, her appearance was outstanding, with an heroic look, and eyebrows as thick and bushy as a man's. A few fine lines at the corners of her eyes instead added a touch of charm.
As for her figure... one could only say, very curvaceous.
Even the loose long robe she wore below her waist showed rounded curves on her body. A belt was tied tightly at her waist, but above, her clothes were stretched taut again.
Li Miao's actions at this moment were actually a bit inappropriate. However, he certainly wasn't lustful; although he was unmarried, he was in his thirties, highly skilled in martial arts, and not bad-looking. Naturally, he was not inexperienced and wouldn't be so desperate.
Channeling internal energy from the heart meridian was a technique from his miraculous healing art.
A moment later, Gao Ling slowly woke up.
She hadn't yet recovered from her escape, and seeing the ceiling above, she thought to herself that she hadn't managed to reach a medical clinic after all. Had someone saved her?
Then, she saw Li Miao's hand placed on her chest.
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In an instant, Gao Ling's eyebrows shot up, but she immediately sensed the internal energy flowing into her heart meridian, realizing that this was for her healing. She could only suppress her anger, but a blush involuntarily appeared on her face.
She was not young, but she had never experienced matters between men and women. Now, with Li Miao performing such an intimate action, how could she not be nervous and ashamed?
"Your Excellency... thank you for saving me. I am fine now, please stop..."
After saying that, Gao Ling tried to prop herself up, only to find that all her acupoints had been pricked, rendering her completely unable to move.
Li Miao glanced at her: "Don't rush, Elder Gao."
"I'm repaying a favor with a favor, you don't need to be polite."
"Calm yourself first. Once your injuries are healed, I have questions for you and a task for you to do."
At this moment, Gao Ling was unable to move, and Li Miao's attitude was resolute, clearly having his own plans. She was powerless to resist and could only close her eyes, allowing Li Miao to do as he pleased.
As she calmed down, she noticed something unusual.
After that encounter with Zuo Lishan, she had suffered eight sword wounds and was on the verge of death. Even the best doctor could only barely sustain her life, and it would take at least half a year to recover.
But at this moment, her body felt as if it were soaking in warm water, constantly radiating warmth. Her injured meridians were also recovering, and her internal energy flowed without any obstruction.
And from the several sword wounds on her body, a constant tingling and itching sensation emanated, causing her to involuntarily let out faint hums from her nose.
Behind her, Mei Qinghe appeared to be concentrating on cultivating internal energy with her eyes closed, but her face was flushed red.
How could she have seen such a scene? At this moment, hearing the sounds Gao Ling made, she didn't know whether to open her eyes or keep them closed.
After a while, Gao Ling's face also turned crimson, and fine beads of sweat trickled down her fair forehead. Only then did Li Miao withdraw his hand, stand up, and smile.
"Jia Yi Divine Skill has been lost for decades. The Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) only found a partial manuscript. It took me a lot of effort to deduce the complete version."
"You are also lucky to have met me. There is no other person in this world who knows this miraculous skill."
"Alright, tell me about Zuo Lishan's situation, Elder Gao."