That bearing, that aura, and the faint trace of sword intent so subtle as to be almost imperceptible: there could be no doubt. This was his senior brother, Yun Lie!
Xu Ziqing’s heart thundered, and he nearly stood there in a daze.
Only after drawing a deep breath did he manage to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Yun Zhenhai and the others did not notice anything unusual about Xu Ziqing. Yun Zhenhai merely said, “This is my son, Yun Tiangang.” Then he turned to the boy. “Tiangang, Father has invited Pharmacist Xu to see you. Greet him properly.”
The boy raised his eyes. At first they seemed utterly empty. When he looked over, however, a person’s reflection slowly appeared within them. “Pharmacist Xu.”
Xu Ziqing concealed his hands in his sleeves and squeezed his fingers together to stop their slight trembling. Then he smiled warmly. “May I call you Tiangang?”
Yun Tiangang inclined his head a fraction. “As you please.”
Yun Zhenhai and the others all felt relieved.
Yun Zhenhai and his wife, in particular, found the exchange strangely remarkable, and their impression of Pharmacist Xu improved.
There was a reason for this. Their eldest son had been different from everyone else since the day he was born.
Even now, Yun Zhenhai remembered his immense joy when his wife became pregnant ten years earlier. Yet the infant they welcomed into the world was so weak that his cries were faint and he could not withstand the slightest draft. A physician declared that he would not live past eight years of age. Heartbroken, the couple spent enormous sums to have a famous physician nurse him.
The name Gang signified strength and vigor. Tiangang was also the name of an ancient star, fixed in the heavens and unchanged since antiquity.
Yun Zhenhai had named his son Tiangang in the hope that he would possess an unyielding character, endure the mortal danger threatening him, and grow up safely.
The famous physician had helped to a degree, extending Tiangang’s life several years. But the least mishap could still prove fatal.
To preserve his life, Yun Tiangang had not once left this courtyard in all these years. At most, when he felt a little stronger, he walked in the inner courtyard at dusk.
Perhaps because of this, Yun Tiangang was extremely cold by nature and seldom spoke to anyone. Apart from answering his parents when they addressed him, he rarely replied even to the famous physician, except when asked about his illness.
The couple’s hearts ached for him all the more. Yet even at such a tender age, their eldest son was as steadfast and upright as his name suggested, never complaining or giving way to resentment. Their deep parental affection only grew stronger as time passed. Even after the birth of their healthy younger son, they loved their eldest more dearly than ever.
Now this Pharmacist Xu seemed kind, and their Tiangang did not reject his presence. That was a great comfort to them.
Xu Ziqing knew nothing of the parents’ thoughts. His gaze remained fixed on the body into which his senior brother’s primordial spirit had been reborn, and his heart held a hundred conflicting feelings.
Yes. This was indeed rebirth through the primordial spirit.
His senior brother’s temperament had not changed, yet he seemed to possess a little more human warmth than before. He was not quite so forbidding as ice and snow that had remained frozen for ten thousand years.
His parents in this lifetime must have contributed greatly to that.
Xu Ziqing recalled what his master had once told him. Yun Lie had been abandoned as an infant at the edge of a precipice, his ties of blood severed. Their master had then been absorbed in seclusion, and Yun Lie’s Ruthless Slaughter Sword Dao eventually froze his seven emotions so completely that not one could be stirred. Later, Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing became intimate friends and kindred spirits, then fellow disciples who fell in love. Yet familial affection could not be replaced. Even with Xu Ziqing as the source that had awakened Yun Lie’s feelings, he could not bring forth an emotion Yun Lie had never possessed.
Thinking of this, Xu Ziqing felt that spending one life among mortals might not be a bad thing for his senior brother after all.
Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, he did not forget why he had come. He addressed Yun Zhenhai. “If the manor lord does not mind, may I take Tiangang’s pulse?”
Yun Zhenhai was drawn from his many reflections and replied at once, “Then we will trouble Pharmacist Xu!”
His wife spoke with still greater gratitude. “A thousand thanks from this humble woman. Please take pity on my son, Pharmacist.”
Xu Ziqing smiled and went to the bedside. “Tiangang, would you extend your hand?”
Yun Tiangang placed his right hand upon his leg.
The sight made Xu Ziqing’s heart ache.
That wrist was so thin. When had his senior brother, who had once ranged unhindered in every direction, ever been this frail?
Steadying himself, he gently held the wrist and slowly sent in a thread of Yi-Wood qi.
The Yi-Wood qi traveled throughout Yun Tiangang’s body and soon returned information about his inner condition.
It was, indeed… riddled with damage.
This body was not merely inferior to the immortal-demonic body. Even compared with an ordinary mortal’s body, it fell far short.
Countless meridians throughout it were extremely fine. Although none was wholly blocked, they were so precarious that a little external force might snap them apart.
Many precious stores of vitality had become clouds of qi protecting the weakest points. These were the results of the prescriptions the famous physician had written over the years, slowly supplementing the body’s life force and extending his lifespan. Yet however gentle the medicines were, they were still mortal substances. Using them for the first few years was harmless, but over a long enough period they were bound to leave some residual harm.
If those hidden aftereffects erupted together, this body would perish.
Having swiftly examined the body’s condition, Xu Ziqing also sent in his spiritual sense.
The physical body was secondary. What concerned him most was unquestionably his senior brother’s primordial spirit.
His senior brother’s primordial spirit had been injured so gravely back then. Had it finally healed after these years of nurture?
If it had fully recovered, the end of this mortal body would not necessarily matter. The dantian of his immortal-demonic body had already healed, so there was no absolute need to retain the mortal vessel.
But if it had not fully recovered…
Xu Ziqing’s spiritual sense quickly entered Yun Tiangang’s Purple Palace. There, as expected, he found a sphere of light.
It was Yun Lie’s own primordial spirit.
Yun Zhenhai and his wife had suffered from poor health and remained without children for years. This pregnancy should originally have ended in a stillbirth; there had been no soul within the unborn body.
After Yun Lie’s primordial spirit entered it, that damaged spirit took control of the body. But the body had been deficient from the beginning, and even a shattered primordial spirit was difficult for an ordinary mortal vessel to contain. Those two circumstances had left Yun Tiangang terribly weak.
Moreover, while the primordial spirit was being nurtured, its many memories had sealed themselves away. They would remain inaccessible until the body grew stronger or the primordial spirit left it.
Xu Ziqing did not dare touch his senior brother’s primordial spirit with his spiritual sense. Yet from a careful observation he could already see its condition.
As expected, even with the help of the innate qi during gestation, it was only mostly healed. Some injured portions remained, and they would have to be slowly nourished by this mortal body.
That meant the longer this body lived, the better. It could not be abandoned lightly.
To Yun Zhenhai and the others, Pharmacist Xu had merely placed his fingers upon their beloved son’s pulse, then closed his eyes as if deep in thought.
They could not tell whether his findings were good or bad. Afraid that speaking might disturb him, they stood anxiously nearby, worried and increasingly uneasy.
After a long time, the young man finally opened his eyes. Yun Zhenhai hurriedly asked, “Pharmacist Xu, how is he?”
Xu Ziqing shook his head and sighed. “Without treatment, Tiangang has no more than three years to live.”
Yun Zhenhai’s vision darkened, and his heart felt pierced through.
Yun Zhenshan exclaimed, “Elder Brother, look at Sister-in-law!”
Yun Zhenhai came to himself and discovered his wife swaying on her feet. He hurriedly caught her in his arms. “Qingxiao, be careful!” Calming himself slightly, he thought back over Xu Ziqing’s words and remembered the phrase without treatment. He asked, “Pharmacist Xu, can he be treated?”
Seeing them like this, Xu Ziqing smiled again. “Of course he can. The treatment will simply take longer, and I will need everyone’s cooperation.”
Yun Zhenhai was overjoyed. “If Pharmacist Xu can heal our child, there is nothing my wife and I will refuse!”
Xu Ziqing gave a helpless laugh. “There is no need to go that far, Manor Lord.” His expression became serious. “Tiangang’s meridians are weaker than any I have ever encountered. Medicines can help Tianheng’s injuries, but if Tiangang is treated with medicines alone, aftereffects are inevitable. The cultivation art I practice, supplemented by acupuncture, can nourish him. However, that means I must transfer energy to him every day without interruption. If the slightest problem arises, I must examine him afresh. Therefore…”
Yun Zhenhai had been uneasy at the beginning, but he relaxed considerably when he understood. “I see. Pharmacist Xu’s generosity is extraordinary. Yun is deeply grateful. If you do not object, please move into this courtyard and live with my son. We shall entrust all his care to you.”
At this point Yun Zhenhai suddenly remembered how solitary and cold his son was, and how much he disliked strangers. Tiangang appeared to regard Pharmacist Xu favorably, but would he agree to share his home? The father could indulge his beloved son in anything else, but on this matter there was no alternative. He began thinking how best to persuade him.
Yet when Yun Zhenhai turned toward his son with a questioning look,
Yun Tiangang merely gave a slight nod. “I do not mind.”
Yun Zhenhai and the others were astonished, but immediately relieved.
Warmth spread through Xu Ziqing’s heart. He looked at Yun Tiangang with still greater tenderness.
Even with his memories sealed away, his senior brother treated him differently from other people.
How could he not miss him, and how could he not love him?
Yun Zhenhai was decisive and efficient in all that he did.
Having agreed to place Yun Tiangang’s treatment entirely in Xu Ziqing’s hands, he spoke kindly to the famous physician and moved him elsewhere. He asked the physician to use Xu Ziqing’s prescriptions to care for Yun Tianheng and to check any medicines Xu Ziqing subsequently used for Yun Tiangang. Every bit of the promised payment would still be given.
The following day, Xu Ziqing moved into the inner courtyard, taking a spacious room in the western wing.
A set of bedding belonging to Xu Ziqing was also placed in the outer room adjoining Yun Tiangang’s chamber.
At last Xu Ziqing could share a room with his senior brother again, and some portion of the longing he had endured throughout the previous ten years was finally soothed.
From then on, he would protect his senior brother, nurse the mortal body back to health, and wait for the day his primordial spirit returned.
On the bed in the inner chamber sat a long-haired boy in a single layer of clothing, legs crossed, expression calm and distant.
A young man in green sat facing him, holding both his wrists. The young man’s expression was peaceful and his gaze gentle.
Neither spoke, yet the atmosphere was tranquil.
There was no one else in the room.
Xu Ziqing sent Yi-Wood qi through the boy’s wrists, stimulating his meridians bit by bit and strengthening their life force.
He had already dispersed the medicinal energy lodged in the weakest parts on the first day, lest it interfere with the wood qi and harm Yun Tiangang instead.
Before long, all the meridians in Yun Tiangang’s body were covered by a thin layer of wood qi, with not a single omission.
This wood qi was exceptionally pure. Letting the meridians absorb it naturally was far more beneficial than externally administered medicine.
After examining him again, Xu Ziqing finally let go.
As soon as the wood qi had been completely absorbed, he would transfer more, without interruption.
His work finished, Xu Ziqing raised his voice. “You may all come in now.”
Sure enough, the brocade covering was lifted, and Yun Zhenhai and his wife entered with Yun Zhenshan and Yun Tianheng.