Shui Miao pushed the door open forcefully and saw her grandfather with wild eyes, clutching his head with both hands, clearly in a state of panic. She had no idea what had happened.
“Shui Miao, quickly bring Wang Yong here!” Xiong Ying’s voice was urgent. Before Shui Miao could react, he hurriedly got out of bed, “Better yet, I’ll go find him myself. Where is he? Has he left yet?”
Xiong Ying looked like something catastrophic had occurred.
“He hasn’t left. He’s downstairs.”
Shui Miao quickly stepped aside to let her grandfather pass, puzzled by his behavior. He seemed much better—his face was rosy, his voice strong, and there was no sign of pain. Why was he acting so frantic?
Still confused, Shui Miao followed her grandfather downstairs to the kitchen.
Wang Yong was washing dishes when Xiong Ying rushed in and demanded, “Wang Yong, what exactly did you give me? Why can’t I meditate and practice my qi anymore?”
Unable to practice qi! Upon hearing this, Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder her grandfather was so upset—it was like losing decades of cultivation. Such a massive setback would make anyone lose their composure.
“What… what qi?” Wang Yong was clearly confused and didn’t understand what Xiong Ying meant.
Seeing Wang Yong’s reaction, Xiong Ying felt even more uneasy and desperate. He grabbed Wang Yong’s collar, shouting, “Tell me! What did you give me? I’ve practiced martial arts for years, and after drinking your medicine, I can’t even summon a bit of qi anymore! Tell me now…”
“It’s just… just a recipe. Master, please calm down. Try again—it shouldn’t be like this!” Wang Yong naturally didn’t want to reveal his secret, but now he was also worried. He had never practiced qi cultivation and didn’t know how the medicine would affect someone who did.
“It’s useless! I’ve tried many times already. If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you!” Suddenly, Xiong Ying grabbed a kitchen knife and held it to Wang Yong’s throat. Decades of cultivation couldn’t be destroyed like this—he couldn’t accept it and was determined to fight back. At this moment, he had to find out what he had taken. If there was still a chance to reverse it, he had to force Wang Yong to speak.
This was the first time Wang Yong had a knife at his throat. Xiong Ying was so emotional that the blade had already cut his skin, causing sharp pain.
Wang Yong wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life over a secret.
He wasn’t ready to die yet and certainly didn’t want to lose his life to an old man like Xiong Ying.
“Don’t, don’t, don’t! I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! The item is inside the ancient vase outside—have Shui Miao go get it…” To save his life, Wang Yong quickly spoke, “It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a stone that removes cold and negative energy, left to me by my father. Ancient tomb robbers often carried such items to ward off evil spirits and cure poison or injuries. Whenever I got sick, I’d make tea from the powdered stone—it has no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t still be here washing dishes and making porridge for you.”
Upon hearing this, Shui Miao quickly ran outside to find the ancient vase and soon found a cloth-wrapped bundle.
“I found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen with the warm bundle. By now, Xiong Ying had already removed the knife from Wang Yong’s neck, though he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it.”
Xiong Ying remained cautious of Wang Yong and didn’t touch the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
As Shui Miao unwrapped the cloth, revealing the rough, oval-shaped iron egg, she was stunned, “What is this?”
“Let me do it…”
Seeing Xiong Ying calm down slightly, Wang Yong sighed in frustration. Since things had come this far, there was no point in hiding anything anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanical box I got from the black market over twenty years ago. It’s not particularly useful—it just holds this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a protruding point on the box, and it opened automatically. Seeing the red-hot stone, Xiong Ying’s eyes widened. He touched it and found it warm and soft to the touch, so he shook his head in disbelief, “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying stopped mid-sentence.
Shui Miao pushed the door open and saw Grandpa’s eyes darting around wildly, his hands clutching his head as if he were going crazy. She had no idea what had happened.
“Shui Miao, go get Wang Yong for me right now,” Xiong Ying said urgently. Before Shui Miao could react, he quickly got out of bed. “No, I’ll go find him myself. Where is he? Has he left?”
Xiong Ying looked as if something earth-shattering had happened.
“He hasn’t left. He’s downstairs.”
Shui Miao quickly stepped aside to make way for her grandfather, though she was utterly baffled. Her grandfather seemed much better—his face was rosy, his voice strong, and he showed no signs of pain. So why was he acting so frantic?
Puzzled, Shui Miao followed her grandfather downstairs to the kitchen.
Wang Yong was washing dishes and scrubbing pots. Xiong Ying rushed into the kitchen and blurted out, “Wang Yong, what on earth did you give me to take? Why can’ I meditate and practice Qi anymore?”
Unable to practice Qi! Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder Grandpa was going crazy—this was the reason. Losing the ability to practice Qi was like destroying decades of cultivation! Anyone would be frantic if something like this happened to them.
“What…” Wang Yong was taken aback, not quite understanding. “What… what practice of Qi?”
He clearly had no idea what Xiong Ying was talking about.
Seeing Wang Yong’s confusion, Xiong Ying grew even more anxious. He grabbed Wang Yong’s shirt and demanded, “Tell me! What did you give me? I’ve practiced Qigong for so many years, but after drinking your medicine, I can’t gather any Qi at all. Speak up!”
“It’s just… just a prescription, Master. Don’t panic. Try again. This shouldn’t be happening!” Wang Yong naturally didn’t want to reveal his secret, but he was also unsure. He had never practiced Qi and didn’t know how someone who did would react to the medicine.
“It’s useless. I’ve tried several times already. If you don’t tell me, I’ll… I’ll fight you!” Xiong Ying suddenly grabbed a kitchen knife and held it against Wang Yong’s neck. Decades of cultivation couldn’t be destroyed just like that. Xiong Ying couldn’t accept this outcome and was desperate to salvage the situation. If he could just find out what he had taken, there might still be hope. But Wang Yong was hesitating and unwilling to talk, so he had no choice but to force it out of him.
This was the first time in Wang Yong’s life that a knife had been held to his neck. Xiong Ying was agitated, and the blade had already nicked his skin, causing a sharp pain.
Wang Yong wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life for a secret. He hadn’t lived long enough and certainly didn’t want to die at the hands of an old man like Xiong Ying.
“Wait, wait, wait! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! It’s inside the ancient vase outside. Ask Shui Miao to fetch it…” Wang Yong spoke quickly to save his life. “This thing isn’t bad. It’s just a stone that dispels Yin-cold energy. My father left it to me. In ancient times, tomb raiders almost always carried something to ward off Yin energy. This stone not only dispels Yin energy and misfortune but also detoxifies and heals. Whenever I’m sick or something happens, I grind its powder into water and drink it. There are absolutely no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t have stayed here to wash dishes and cook porridge for you.”
Hearing this, Shui Miao rushed outside to find the ancient vase and quickly located the cloth bundle.
“Found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen holding the warm cloth bundle. By then, Grandpa had already removed the knife from Wang Yong’s neck, but he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it and let’s see.”
Xiong Ying, still wary of Wang Yong, didn’t unwrap the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
When Shui Miao unwrapped the cloth and saw the pitted, oval-shaped iron egg, she was stunned. “What… what is this?”
“Let me handle it…”
Seeing that Xiong Ying had calmed down a bit, Wang Yong shook his head helplessly. Since things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanism box. I got it from the black market when I was in my twenties. It’s not very useful—it’s just for storing this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a bump on the box, and it opened automatically. When Xiong Ying saw the fiery red stone, his eyes widened in surprise. He touched it and found it warm and pliable. Shaking his head in amazement, he said, “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying stopped mid-sentence…
He suddenly remembered his master once saying that there was something in this world called a Stone Spirit. It looked like a stone egg but wasn’t hard. It was formed from the spiritual energy within mountains. This thing couldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight, but its powder could be consumed and even had healing properties. However, it couldn’t be cut open, as doing so would cause the spiritual energy to dissipate, rendering it useless. A Stone Spirit could be carried around to provide spiritual energy to cultivators. It was a rare, almost mythical, treasure.
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its value. He only knew it could ward off cold.
Xiong Ying had been worried that his Qigong was ruined, but after realizing it was a Stone Spirit, he felt relieved. Such a rare Stone Spirit was priceless to cultivators and couldn’t possibly destroy one’s Qigong. Instead, it might alter the structure of Yin-Yang Five Elements Qigong, strengthening the hardest-to-cultivate Yang energy.
Damn it, I’ve hit the jackpot! Xiong Ying looked stunned on the outside but was quickly calculating in his mind…
After a dozen or so seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head and said, “I don’t care what this is. The bottom line is, I can’t practice Qi anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore me to normal, don’t even think about getting this back. No, this thing is useless. You’ll have to give me something else as collateral. I’ve practiced for decades and finally reached a certain level in Qigong. Now, after drinking your medicine, I can’t even practice Qi anymore. How is this my fault? You have to find a way to restore me so I can continue practicing Qi.”
Xiong Ying was acting shamelessly. Whether he could practice Qi or not, and whether he recovered, was something only he could decide. No one else could verify it.
What could he do in such a situation? Wang Yong felt utterly helpless. After a moment’s thought, an idea suddenly struck him: “Master, I have an idea. My room is filled with heavy Yin-cold energy. Go stay there for a while to dispel the Yang energy in your body. Wouldn’t that restore you to normal?”
Wang Yong’s suggestion sounded reasonable.
“Go again?” Xiong Ying was taken aback. “That place is freezing cold!”
“Heh, it is a bit cold, but it’s not that bad. For the sake of your Qigong, please bear with it,” Wang Yong urged quickly. He didn’t want Xiong Yong to take the warm stone away.
“Fine, but you have to come with me. If I’m too cold to move, you can help me,” Xiong Ying said, then turned to Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, guard this stone. It’s the evil thing that harmed me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find the right treatment.”
As he spoke, Xiong Ying blinked several times at Shui Miao.
“Ah! Master, my home is here. I’m not going anywhere!” Wang Yong was exasperated. This country old man was nothing but trouble.
Xiong Ying turned back to Wang Yong and said irritably, “You say it’s easy. Without my Qigong, I can’t practice Feng Shui anymore. Do you have any idea how much of a loss that is? Or are you going to support me in my old age?”
“Uh… okay, okay. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll support you in your old age,” Wang Yong said with a bitter smile. At this point, anything else he said would be redundant. The cold stone in the safe could make people cold, and this stone could make people warm. The interplay of cold and heat should be able to restore Xiong Ying to normal.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincerity, Xiong Ying put down the kitchen knife, grabbed Wang Yong’s arm, and pulled him upstairs.
Wang Yong quickly said to Shui Miao, “Little brother, stay inside. Don’t go out, and don’t take it out to play. This thing is delicate. If you drop it, it’ll be useless. It may not be worth much money, but you can’t buy it on the market!”
“Don’t worry, my disciple is steady. At most, he’ll scrape some powder off to study it. He won’t mess around.”
Xiong Ying, with his great strength, pulled Wang Yong straight up the stairs.
What’s going on?
Does Grandpa mean for me to scrape off more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes darted around. Grandpa had blinked several times—he definitely wanted her to scrape off some powder!
Thinking this, Shui Miao quickly got to work. She took out a dry porcelain bowl and carefully began scraping the Stone Spirit with a fruit knife. The Stone Spirit felt neither too hard nor too soft in her hand. If she applied too much force, a small piece would break off, so she had to scrape slowly to get powder. Shui Miao scraped carefully, in no particular hurry. After about ten minutes, she had gathered a considerable amount of powder. Just as she was scraping, the kitchen door suddenly swung open, and Wang Yong shouted, “You brat, what are you doing?”
Shui Miao was startled, and the knife slipped, cutting a three-centimeter-long gash on her finger. Blood immediately gushed out… When the wound touched the Stone Spirit, Shui Miao felt a sudden, intense pain in her finger, as if it were on fire!
“Ah!”
In pain, Shui Miao dropped the Stone Spirit. Seeing this, Wang Yong reached out and caught it just in time.
“Ah! It hurts!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation rapidly spread up her arm and throughout her body. It felt as if she had been thrown into boiling water. She collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain…
Seeing this, Wang Yong realized he had startled Shui Miao into cutting herself!
Blood touching the Stone Spirit—this had never happened before. Watching Shui Miao convulse, he was terrified. He dropped the Stone Spirit, picked Shui Miao up, and rushed upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body grew hotter and hotter. To save her, Wang Yong didn’t hesitate. He kicked the door open, laid Shui Miao on the floor, took out his keys, and opened the safe…
“Shui Miao, what’s wrong?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes and was shocked to see Shui Miao convulsing on the floor.
Wang Yong, while opening the safe, said quickly, “It’s your fault for telling her to scrape the stone with a knife. She cut her hand, and when the wound touched the stone powder, this happened.”
Wang Yong was frantic, his mind focused solely on saving her. To be honest, he quite liked Shui Miao. But at this moment, he felt more guilt than anything else. If he hadn’t shouted when he entered the kitchen, this wouldn’t have happened. If anything happened to Shui Miao, he would be a murderer—a responsibility he couldn’t bear.
To save her, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe, took out an octagonal box, removed the golden lock, and lifted the lid. Inside were two black stone eggs. The moment the box opened, an overwhelming Yin-cold energy filled the room.
“Yin-attributed Stone Spirits!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief. He never expected Wang Yong to have not only a Yang-attributed Stone Spirit but also two Yin-attributed ones. These Stone Spirits were priceless treasures for Qi practitioners!
Wang Yong immediately took out one of the stone eggs and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
He didn’t overthink why he put it in her hand—it just felt like the right thing to do.
Shui Miao, delirious from the heat, was in a daze and barely conscious. Suddenly, a cool spiritual energy seeped into her body. Within moments, her body temperature dropped, replaced by a soothing sensation. Her mind cleared instantly. In this state, Shui Miao didn’t overthink it. She instinctively recited a mantra, allowing the Yin and Yang energies to circulate within her body…
Wang Yong felt Shui Miao’s body and found her temperature had returned to normal. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Nearby, Xiong Ying inhaled several breaths of the Yin spiritual energy and suddenly found that the Yin-Yang Five Elements energy within him could circulate again.
After waiting a while longer and seeing that Shui Miao showed no other unusual symptoms, Wang Yong put the other Yin-attributed Stone Spirit back and locked it in the safe.
An hour passed, and Shui Miao still hadn’t opened her eyes.
Xiong Ying could practice Qi again. Compared to before, the Yin and Yang spiritual energy within him had only slightly increased.
Wang Yong, however, stayed by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high temperature had damaged her brain and turned her into a vegetable.
“Master, Shui Miao still hasn’t woken up. Should we take her to the hospital?” Wang Yong had earlier shifted the blame to Xiong Ying, but he still felt guilty. It was just a stone—why had he shouted like that? The stone wasn’t that useful to him anyway; it only warded off cold. Besides, he had already promised to give Shui Miao some powder. She hadn’t damaged the stone. If this turned her into a vegetable, his sin would be too great, especially since Shui Miao was only twenty years old!
“Don’t panic. Let me check…” Over an hour ago, Xiong Ying had already taken Shui Miao’s pulse, and everything had been normal. Now, he took her pulse again and found it calm and steady, with no abnormalities. “Strange, her pulse is normal. Why hasn’t she woken up?”
“We can’t wait any longer. We have to take her to the hospital.”
Hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao had become a vegetable. To save her, he quickly picked her up and headed out.
*Clatter…*
As Wang Yong lifted Shui Miao, the spare safe key she had secretly made slipped out of her pocket and fell to the floor with a clatter… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, why did it have to be this of all things!
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would truly lose all face!
To preserve his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t hesitate. He pushed Wang Yong with all his strength, sending him tumbling to the ground…
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its value—he only knew it could dispel cold.
Xiong Ying had been worried about losing his martial arts ability, but upon realizing it was a Shi Ling, he felt reassured. Such a rare item was invaluable to a cultivator and wouldn’t possibly erase his martial arts. It might even alter the structure of his yin-yang five elements qi, enhancing his yang energy—the most difficult to cultivate.
Damn it, I’ve hit the jackpot! Xiong Ying pretended to be stunned while secretly calculating in his mind.
After about ten seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head and said, “I don’t care what it is. The bottom line is, I can’t practice my qi anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore my abilities, you won’t get this item back. No, this thing isn’t enough—I need something else as collateral. I spent decades cultivating to reach my current level, and now after drinking your medicine, I can’t even summon my qi. Can you blame me for being upset? You must find a way to restore me so I can continue cultivating.”
Xiong Ying was clearly playing hardball, but whether his qi could be restored or not was entirely up to his word—no one else could verify it.
What could he do in such a situation? Wang Yong was frustrated. Suddenly, an idea came to him, “Right, Master, I have an idea. My room is filled with cold and negative energy. If you stay there for a while, it might help you dispel the yang energy and restore your normal state.”
Wang Yong’s suggestion made sense.
“Go back there again?” Xiong Ying was surprised, “You’ll freeze me to death!”
“Hehe, it’s a bit cold, but not that bad. For the sake of your martial arts, you should endure it a little,” Wang Yong urged, not wanting Xiong Ying to take the warm stone away.
“Alright, fine, but you’re coming with me. If I get too cold to move, you’ll have to help me,” Xiong Ying turned to Shui Miao and said, “Shui Miao, you stay here and guard this stone. It’s the evil thing that harmed me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find a cure.”
As he spoke, Xiong Ying winked at Shui Miao several times.
“Oh come on! Master, I live right here—I’m not going anywhere!” Wang Yong was getting annoyed. This rural old man was such a hassle.
Xiong Ying turned back to Wang Yong with an annoyed expression, “Easy for you to say! Without my martial arts, I can’t read feng shui anymore. That’s a huge loss! Are you going to support me for the rest of my life?”
“Uh… fine, fine. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll even support you in your old age,” Wang Yong reluctantly agreed with a bitter smile. At this point, anything he said would be useless. The cold stone in the safe could make someone cold, and this warm stone could make someone hot. The balance of hot and cold should help Xiong Ying recover.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincere attitude, Xiong Ying dropped the knife and grabbed Wang Yong’s arm, dragging him upstairs.
Wang Yong quickly said to Shui Miao, “Brother, just stay inside and don’t go out or play with it. This item is very delicate—drop it once and it’s ruined. It might not be worth much money, but it’s irreplaceable in the market!”
“Don’t worry, my apprentice is responsible. He might just scrape off some powder for research, but he won’t mess with it recklessly.”
Xiong Ying was strong and dragged Wang Yong straight upstairs.
What was going on?
Did Grandpa mean for me to scrape more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes lit up. Her grandfather had winked at her several times—surely he wanted her to scrape some powder!
Thinking this, Shui Miao quickly got to work. She took a dry porcelain bowl and carefully started scraping the Shi Ling with a fruit knife. The Shi Ling was just the right firmness in her hand—pressing the knife too hard would cut off a piece, so she had to scrape slowly to get powder. She worked carefully, not in a hurry. After more than ten minutes, she had scraped off a lot of powder. As she was still scraping, the kitchen door suddenly opened, and Wang Yong shouted, “Brat, what are you doing?”
Shui Miao was startled, and the knife slipped, cutting her finger. A three-centimeter-long gash opened up, bleeding heavily. The wound touched the Shi Ling, and Shui Miao suddenly felt intense pain, as if her finger was on fire!
“Ahh!”
Shui Miao dropped the Shi Ling in pain. Seeing this, Wang Yong quickly reached out and caught it.
“Ahh! It hurts so bad!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation rapidly spread from her finger up her arm and throughout her body, as if she had been thrown into boiling water. She collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain…
Seeing this, Wang Yong realized he had scared her into cutting herself!
Blood had touched the Shi Ling—an unprecedented situation. Seeing Shui Miao convulsing, he panicked and immediately dropped the Shi Ling, scooped her up, and ran upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body was getting hotter and hotter. Wang Yong, desperate to save her, kicked open the door, placed Shui Miao on the floor, and rushed to open the safe with his key…
“Shui Miao, what happened to her?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes, saw Shui Miao convulsing on the floor, and was shocked.
Wang Yong quickly explained while opening the safe, “It’s all because you told her to scrape the stone with a knife. Now she’s cut her finger, and the wound touched the stone powder—this is what happened.”
Wang Yong was anxious, focused only on saving Shui Miao. Truthfully, he quite liked her. But at this moment, he felt even more guilty—if he hadn’t shouted when entering the kitchen, none of this would have happened. If Shui Miao had any serious consequences, he would be a murderer—too heavy a burden for him to bear.
To save her, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe, took out the octagonal box, removed the golden lock, and opened the lid, revealing two black stone eggs. As soon as the box opened, a chilling coldness filled the air.
“Yin attribute Shi Ling!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in shock. He never expected Wang Yong to not only hide a yang attribute Shi Ling but also to have two yin attribute Shi Lings. For a cultivator, these two Shi Lings were priceless treasures!
Wang Yong immediately took one stone egg and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
As for why he placed it there, Wang Yong didn’t think much—he just felt it was the right thing to do.
Shui Miao pushed the door open and saw Grandpa rolling his eyes wildly, clutching his head with both hands, looking utterly frantic. It was unclear what had happened.
“Shui Miao, go get Wang Yong for me right now,” Xiong Ying said urgently. Before Shui Miao could react, he quickly got out of bed. “No, let me go find him myself. Where is he? Has he left?”
Xiong Ying looked as if something earth-shattering had happened.
“He hasn’t left. He’s downstairs.”
Shui Miao quickly stepped aside to make way for his grandpa, though he was utterly baffled. Grandpa seemed much better—his face was rosy, his voice strong, and he showed no signs of pain. So why was he so frantic?
Puzzled, Shui Miao followed his grandpa to the kitchen downstairs.
Wang Yong was washing dishes and scrubbing pots. Xiong Ying rushed into the kitchen and blurted out, “Wang Yong, what exactly did you give me to take? Why can’t I meditate and practice Qi anymore?”
Unable to practice Qi! Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder Grandpa was going crazy. Being unable to practice Qi was like having decades of cultivation destroyed! Anyone would be frantic if something like that happened to them.
“What…” Wang Yong was stunned, not quite understanding. “What… what practice of Qi?”
He clearly had no idea what Xiong Ying meant by “practicing Qi.”
Seeing Wang Yong’s reaction, Xiong Ying grew even more anxious. He grabbed Wang Yong’s shirt and demanded, “Tell me! What did you give me? I’ve practiced Qigong for so many years, but after drinking your medicine, I can’t gather any Qi at all. Speak up!”
“It’s just… just a prescription, Master. Don’t panic. Try again—this shouldn’t be happening!” Wang Yong naturally didn’t want to reveal his secret, but he was also unsure. He had never practiced Qi and didn’t know how someone who did would react to the medicine.
“It’s useless. I’ve tried several times already. If you don’t tell me, I’ll fight you to the death…” Xiong Ying suddenly grabbed a kitchen knife and held it against Wang Yong’s neck. Decades of cultivation couldn’t be destroyed just like that. Xiong Ying couldn’t accept this outcome and was desperate to salvage the situation. If he could just find out what he had taken, there might still be hope. But Wang Yong was hesitating and unwilling to speak, so he had no choice but to force it out of him.
This was the first time in Wang Yong’s life a knife had been held to his neck. Xiong Ying was so agitated that the blade had already cut into Wang Yong’s skin, causing sharp pain.
Wang Yong wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life for a secret. He hadn’t lived long enough and certainly didn’t want to die at the hands of an old man like Xiong Ying.
“Wait, wait! I’ll talk, I’ll talk. It’s inside the ancient vase outside. Have Shui Miao go get it…” Wang Yong spoke quickly to save his life. “This thing isn’t bad—it’s just a stone that dispels Yin-cold energy. It was left to me by my father. In ancient times, tomb raiders almost always carried something to ward off Yin energy. This stone not only dispels negative energy but also detoxifies and heals. Whenever I’m sick or something’s wrong, I grind its powder into water and drink it. There are absolutely no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t still be here washing dishes and cooking congee for you.”
Hearing this, Shui Miao rushed outside to find the ancient vase and quickly located the cloth bundle.
“Found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen holding the warm cloth bundle. By then, Grandpa had already taken the knife away from Wang Yong’s neck, but he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it.”
Xiong Ying, still wary of Wang Yong, didn’t unwrap the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
When Shui Miao unwrapped the cloth and saw the pitted, oval iron egg, he was stunned. “What… what is this?”
“Let me handle it…”
Seeing that Xiong Ying had calmed down a bit, Wang Yong shook his head in frustration. Since things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanism box. I got it at a black market when I was in my twenties. It’s not very useful—it’s just for storing this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a raised dot on the box, and it opened automatically. When Xiong Ying saw the fiery red stone, his eyes widened. He touched it and was surprised to find it warm and pliable. Shaking his head in amazement, he said, “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying stopped mid-sentence…
He suddenly remembered his master once saying that there was something in this world called a “Stone Spirit.” It resembled a stone egg but wasn’t hard. It was formed from the spiritual energy within mountains. This thing couldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight, but its powder could be consumed and even had healing properties. However, it couldn’t be cut open—once split, the spiritual energy would dissipate, and the Stone Spirit would be ruined. It could be carried around to provide spiritual energy to cultivators, making it a rare and invaluable “immortal stone.”
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its value; he only knew it could ward off cold.
Xiong Ying had been worried his Qigong was destroyed, but upon realizing it was a Stone Spirit, he felt relieved. Such a rare Stone Spirit was priceless to cultivators and couldn’t possibly destroy one’s Qigong. Instead, its spiritual energy might alter the structure of Yin-Yang Five Elements Qigong, strengthening the hardest-to-cultivate Yang energy.
Damn it, I’ve stumbled upon a treasure! Xiong Ying looked stunned on the outside but was quickly calculating in his mind…
After a dozen seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head and said, “I don’t care what this is. The point is, I can’t practice Qi anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore me to normal, don’t even think about taking this back. No, this thing is useless. You’ll have to give me something else as collateral. I’ve practiced for decades and finally reached a certain level in Qigong. Now, after drinking your medicine, I can’t even practice Qi. How is this my fault? You have to find a way to restore me so I can continue practicing Qi.”
Xiong Ying was acting shamelessly. Whether he could practice Qi or not, and whether he recovered, was something only he could decide—no one else could verify it.
What could Wang Yong do in such a situation? He felt utterly helpless. After a moment of thought, an idea suddenly came to him. “Master, I have an idea. My room is filled with heavy Yin-cold energy. Why don’t you spend some more time there to neutralize the Yang energy in your body? Wouldn’t that restore you to normal?”
Wang Yong’s suggestion sounded reasonable.
“Go again?” Xiong Ying was taken aback. “That place is freezing cold!”
“Heh, it is a bit cold, but it’s not that bad. For the sake of your Qigong, please bear with it,” Wang Yong urged, not wanting Xiong Ying to take the warm stone away.
“Fine, but you have to come with me. If I’m too cold to move, you can help me,” Xiong Ying said, turning to Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, guard this stone. It’s the evil thing that harmed me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find the right treatment.”
As he spoke, Xiong Ying blinked several times at Shui Miao.
“Master, my home is here. I’m not going anywhere!” Wang Yong was exasperated. This country old man was nothing but trouble.
Xiong Ying turned to Wang Yong and said irritably, “You say it’s easy, but without my Qigong, I can’t practice Feng Shui anymore. Do you have any idea how much of a loss that is? Are you going to support me in my old age?”
“Uh… okay, fine. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll support you in your old age,” Wang Yong said with a bitter smile. At this point, anything else he said would be redundant. The cold stone in the safe could make people cold, and this stone could make people warm. The interplay of cold and heat should be able to restore Xiong Ying to normal.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincere attitude, Xiong Ying put down the kitchen knife and grabbed Wang Yong’s arm, pulling him upstairs.
Wang Yong quickly said to Shui Miao, “Little brother, stay inside and don’t go out. Don’t take it out to play either. This thing is delicate—if you drop it, it’ll be useless. It may not be worth much money, but you can’t buy it on the market!”
“Don’t worry, my disciple is steady. At most, he’ll scrape some powder off to study it. He won’t mess around.”
Xiong Ying, with his great strength, pulled Wang Yong straight up the stairs.
What’s going on?
Does Grandpa mean for me to scrape off more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes lit up. Grandpa had blinked several times—he definitely wanted him to scrape off some powder!
Thinking this, Shui Miao quickly got to work. He took out a dry porcelain bowl and carefully began scraping the Stone Spirit with a fruit knife. The Stone Spirit felt neither too hard nor too soft in his hand. If he applied too much force, a small piece would break off, so he had to scrape slowly to get powder. Shui Miao scraped carefully, in no particular hurry. After about ten minutes, he had gathered a considerable amount of powder. Just as he was scraping, the kitchen door suddenly swung open, and Wang Yong shouted, “You brat, what are you doing?”
Startled, Shui Miao’s hand slipped, and the knife cut his finger, leaving a three-centimeter-long gash. Blood immediately began to flow… As the wound touched the Stone Spirit, Shui Miao felt a sudden, intense pain in his finger, as if it were on fire!
“Ah!”
In pain, Shui Miao dropped the Stone Spirit. Seeing this, Wang Yong reached out and caught it just in time.
“Ah! It hurts!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation rapidly spread up his arm and throughout his entire body. It was as if he had been thrown into boiling water. He collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain…
Seeing this, Wang Yong realized he had startled Shui Miao into cutting his hand!
Blood touching the Stone Spirit—this had never happened before. Watching Shui Miao convulse, Wang Yong was terrified. He dropped the Stone Spirit, picked up Shui Miao, and rushed upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body grew hotter and hotter. To save him, Wang Yong didn’t hesitate. He kicked the door open, laid Shui Miao on the floor, took out his keys, and opened the safe…
“Shui Miao, what’s wrong?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes and was shocked to see Shui Miao convulsing on the floor.
Wang Yong, while opening the safe, said quickly, “It’s your fault for telling him to scrape the stone with a knife. He cut his hand, and when the wound touched the stone powder, this happened.”
Wang Yong was frantic, his mind focused solely on saving Shui Miao. Truth be told, he quite liked Shui Miao. But at this moment, he felt mostly guilty. If he hadn’t shouted when he entered the kitchen, this wouldn’t have happened. If anything happened to Shui Miao, he would be a murderer—a responsibility he couldn’t bear.
To save Shui Miao, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe, took out an octagonal box, removed the golden lock, and lifted the lid. Inside were two black stone eggs. The moment the box opened, an intense Yin-cold energy filled the room.
“Yin-attributed Stone Spirits!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief. Not only did Wang Yong have a Yang-attributed Stone Spirit, but he also had two Yin-attributed ones! For someone practicing Qi, these were priceless treasures!
Wang Yong immediately took out one of the stone eggs and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
He didn’t overthink why he put it in Shui Miao’s hand—it just felt like the right thing to do.
Shui Miao, delirious from the heat, was barely conscious when a cool spiritual energy suddenly seeped into his body. Within moments, his body temperature dropped, replaced by a comfortable sensation. His mind cleared instantly. In this state, Shui Miao didn’t overthink it—he instinctively recited a mantra, allowing the Yin and Yang energies to circulate within his body…
Wang Yong felt Shui Miao’s body and, finding his temperature normal, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Nearby, after inhaling several breaths of Yin spiritual energy, Xiong Ying suddenly found that the Yin-Yang Five Elements energy within him could circulate again.
After waiting a while longer and seeing that Shui Miao showed no other unusual symptoms, Wang Yong put the other Yin-attributed Stone Spirit back into the safe and locked it.
An hour passed, and Shui Miao still hadn’t opened his eyes.
Xiong Ying could practice Qi again. Compared to before, the Yin and Yang spiritual energy within him had only slightly increased.
Wang Yong, however, stayed by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high fever might have damaged his brain, turning him into a vegetable.
“Master, Shui Miao still hasn’t woken up. Should we take him to the hospital?” Wang Yong had earlier shifted the blame to Xiong Ying, but he still felt guilty. It was just a stone—why had he shouted like that? The stone wasn’t that useful to him anyway—it just warded off cold. Besides, he had already promised to give Shui Miao some powder. Shui Miao hadn’t damaged the stone. If this incident turned him into a vegetable, the guilt would be unbearable, especially since Shui Miao was only twenty years old!
“Don’t rush. Let me check…” Over an hour ago, Xiong Ying had already taken Shui Miao’s pulse and found everything normal. Now, he checked again and found Shui Miao’s pulse calm and steady, with no abnormalities. “Strange, his pulse is normal. Why hasn’t he woken up?”
“We can’t wait any longer. We have to take him to the hospital.”
Hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao had become a vegetable. To save him, he quickly picked Shui Miao up and headed out.
*Clatter…*
As Wang Yong lifted Shui Miao, the spare safe key Shui Miao had secretly made slipped out of his pocket and fell to the floor with a clatter… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, why did it have to be this of all things?
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would truly lose all face!
To preserve his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t hesitate. He pushed Wang Yong with all his strength, sending him tumbling to the ground…
Wang Yong touched Shui Miao’s body and found her temperature had returned to normal. He finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Shui Miao pushed the door open and saw her grandfather rolling his eyes wildly, clutching his head with both hands, looking utterly frantic. She had no idea what had happened.
“Shui Miao, go get Wang Yong for me right now,” Xiong Ying said urgently. Before Shui Miao could react, he quickly got out of bed. “No, I’ll go find him myself. Where is he? Has he left?”
Xiong Ying looked as though something earth-shattering had happened.
“He hasn’t left. He’s downstairs.”
Shui Miao quickly stepped aside to make way for her grandfather, though she was utterly baffled. Her grandfather seemed much better—his face was rosy, his voice strong, and he showed no signs of pain. So why was he so frantic?
Puzzled, Shui Miao followed her grandfather to the kitchen downstairs.
Wang Yong was washing dishes and scrubbing pots. Xiong Ying rushed into the kitchen and blurted out, “Wang Yong, what on earth did you give me to eat? Why can’t I meditate and practice Qi anymore?”
Unable to practice Qi! Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder her grandfather was going crazy—this was the reason. Losing the ability to practice Qi was like destroying decades of cultivation! Such a major event would drive anyone to despair.
“What…?” Wang Yong was stunned, not quite understanding. “What… what practice of Qi?”
He clearly had no idea what Xiong Ying was talking about.
Seeing Wang Yong’s confusion, Xiong Ying grew even more anxious. He grabbed Wang Yong’s shirt and demanded, “Tell me! What did you give me? I’ve practiced Qigong for so many years, but after drinking your medicine, I can’t gather any Qi at all. Speak up!”
“It’s just… just a prescription, Master. Don’t panic. Try again. This shouldn’t be happening!” Wang Yong was reluctant to reveal the secret, but he was also unsure. He had never practiced Qi and didn’t know how someone who did would react to the medicine.
“It’s useless. I’ve tried several times already. If you don’t tell me, I’ll fight you to the death…” Xiong Ying suddenly grabbed a kitchen knife and held it against Wang Yong’s neck. Decades of cultivation couldn’t be destroyed just like that. Xiong Ying couldn’t accept this outcome and was desperate to salvage the situation. If he could just find out what he had ingested, there might still be hope. But Wang Yong was hesitating and unwilling to speak, so he had no choice but to force it out of him.
This was the first time in Wang Yong’s life that a knife had been held to his neck. Xiong Ying was so agitated that the blade had already cut into Wang Yong’s skin, causing waves of pain.
Wang Yong was no fool—he wasn’t going to risk his life for a secret. He had no intention of dying at the hands of an old man like Xiong Ying.
“Wait, wait! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! It’s inside the ancient vase outside. Ask Shui Miao to fetch it…” Wang Yong spoke quickly to save his life. “This thing isn’t harmful. It’s just a stone that dispels Yin cold energy. My father left it to me. In ancient times, tomb raiders almost always carried something to ward off Yin evil energy. This stone not only dispels Yin evil and misfortune but also detoxifies and heals. Whenever I’m sick or something happens, I grind its powder into water and drink it. There are absolutely no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t still be here washing dishes and cooking congee for you.”
Hearing this, Shui Miao rushed outside to find the ancient vase and quickly located the cloth bundle.
“Found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen holding the warm cloth bundle. By then, her grandfather had already removed the knife from Wang Yong’s neck, but he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it and let’s see.”
Xiong Ying, still wary of Wang Yong, didn’t unwrap the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
After unwrapping the cloth, Shui Miao was stunned to see a pitted, oval-shaped iron egg. “What… what is this?”
“Let me handle it…”
Seeing that Xiong Ying had calmed down a bit, Wang Yong shook his head in frustration. Since things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanism box. I acquired it at a black market when I was in my twenties. It’s not particularly useful—it’s just for storing this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a raised dot on the box, and it opened automatically. Xiong Ying’s eyes widened at the sight of the fiery red stone. He touched it and was surprised to find it warm and pliable. Shaking his head in amazement, he said, “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying trailed off mid-sentence…
He suddenly remembered his master once mentioning something called a “Stone Spirit” in this world. It resembled a stone egg but wasn’t hard. It was formed from the spiritual energy within mountains. This thing couldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight, but its powder could be consumed and even had healing properties. However, it couldn’t be cut open—once sliced, the spiritual energy would dissipate, rendering the Stone Spirit useless. It could be carried around to provide spiritual energy to cultivators, making it a rare and invaluable “immortal stone.”
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its value; he only knew it could ward off cold.
Xiong Ying had been worried about his Qigong being destroyed, but upon realizing this was a Stone Spirit, he felt reassured. Such a rare Stone Spirit was priceless to cultivators and couldn’t possibly nullify Qigong. Instead, its spiritual energy might alter the structure of Yin-Yang Five Elements Qigong, strengthening the most difficult-to-cultivate Yang energy.
Damn it, I’ve stumbled upon a treasure! Xiong Ying appeared dazed on the surface, but his mind was racing…
After a dozen seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head and said, “I don’t care what this is. The bottom line is, I can’t practice Qi anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore me to normal, don’t even think about taking this back. No, this thing is useless. You’ll have to give me something else as collateral. I’ve practiced for decades and finally reached a certain level in Qigong. Now, after drinking your medicine, I can’t even practice Qi anymore. How is this my fault? You have to find a way to restore me so I can continue practicing Qi.”
Xiong Ying was acting shamelessly, but whether he could practice Qi or not, and whether he was restored, was something only he could decide. No one else could verify it.
What could Wang Yong do in such a situation? He felt utterly helpless. After a moment’s thought, an idea struck him: “Master, I have a solution. My room is filled with heavy Yin cold energy. If you stay there for a while longer and dispel the Yang energy in your body, won’t that restore you to normal?”
Wang Yong’s suggestion sounded reasonable.
“Go again?” Xiong Ying was taken aback. “Your room is freezing cold!”
“Heh, it is a bit cold, but it’s not that bad. For the sake of your Qigong, please bear with it,” Wang Yong urged, not wanting Xiong Ying to take the warm stone away.
“Fine, but you have to come with me. If I’m too cold to move, you can help me,” Xiong Ying said, turning to Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, guard this stone here. It’s the evil thing that harmed me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find the right treatment.”
As he spoke, Xiong Ying blinked several times at Shui Miao.
“Master, my home is right here. I’m not going anywhere!” Wang Yong was exasperated. This country old man was nothing but trouble.
Xiong Ying turned back to Wang Yong and said irritably, “You say it’s easy, but without my Qigong, I can’t practice Feng Shui anymore. Do you have any idea how much of a loss that is? Are you going to support me in my old age?”
“Uh… okay, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll support you in your old age,” Wang Yong said with a bitter smile. At this point, anything he said was superfluous. The cold stone in the safe could make people cold, and this stone could make people warm. The interplay of cold and heat should restore Xiong Ying to normal.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincerity, Xiong Ying put down the kitchen knife, grabbed Wang Yong’s arm, and headed upstairs together.
Wang Yong quickly said to Shui Miao, “Brother, stay inside and don’t go out. Don’t take it out to play either. This thing is delicate—if you drop it, it’s useless. It may not be worth much money, but you can’t buy it on the market!”
“Don’t worry, my disciple is steady. At most, he’ll scrape some powder off to study it. He won’t mess around.”
Xiong Ying, with his great strength, pulled Wang Yong straight up the stairs.
What’s going on?
Does Grandfather mean for me to scrape off more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes darted around. Her grandfather had blinked several times—he definitely wanted her to scrape off some powder!
Thinking this, Shui Miao quickly got to work. She took out a dry porcelain bowl and carefully scraped the Stone Spirit with a fruit knife. The Stone Spirit felt neither too hard nor too soft in her hand. Applying too much pressure with the knife would cut off a small piece, so she had to scrape slowly to get the powder. Shui Miao scraped carefully, in no particular hurry. After about ten minutes, she had scraped off a considerable amount of powder. Just as she was continuing, the kitchen door suddenly swung open, and Wang Yong shouted, “You brat, what are you doing?”
Startled, Shui Miao’s hand slipped, and the knife cut her finger, leaving a three-centimeter-long gash. Blood immediately gushed out… As the wound touched the Stone Spirit, Shui Miao felt a sudden, intense pain in her finger, as if it were on fire!
“Ah!”
In pain, Shui Miao dropped the Stone Spirit. Seeing this, Wang Yong reached out and caught it just in time.
“Ah! It hurts!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation rapidly spread up her arm and throughout her body. It felt as though she had been thrown into boiling water. She collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain…
Only then did Wang Yong realize he had startled Shui Miao into cutting her hand!
Blood touching the Stone Spirit—this had never happened before. Seeing Shui Miao convulsing, he was terrified. He dropped the Stone Spirit, picked up Shui Miao, and rushed upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body grew hotter and hotter. To save her, Wang Yong didn’t hesitate. He kicked the door open, laid Shui Miao on the floor, took out his keys, and opened the safe…
“Shui Miao, what’s wrong?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes and was shocked to see Shui Miao convulsing on the floor.
Wang Yong, while opening the safe, said quickly, “It’s your fault for suggesting she scrape the stone with a knife. She cut her hand, and when the wound touched the stone powder, this happened.”
Wang Yong was frantic, his mind focused solely on saving her. To be honest, he quite liked Shui Miao. But at this moment, he felt more guilt than anything else. If he hadn’t shouted when he entered the kitchen, this wouldn’t have happened. If anything happened to Shui Miao, he would be a murderer—a responsibility he couldn’t bear.
To save her, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe, took out an octagonal box, removed the golden lock, and lifted the lid. Inside were two black stone eggs. As soon as the box opened, an oppressive Yin cold energy filled the air.
“Yin-attributed Stone Spirits!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief. He never expected Wang Yong to have not only a Yang-attributed Stone Spirit but also two Yin-attributed ones. For someone practicing Qi, these Stone Spirits were priceless treasures!
Wang Yong immediately took out one of the stone eggs and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
He didn’t overthink why he placed it there—it just felt like the right thing to do.
Shui Miao, delirious from the heat, was in a daze and barely conscious. Suddenly, a cool spiritual energy seeped into her body. Within a few breaths, her body temperature dropped, replaced by a comfortable sensation. Her mind cleared instantly. In this state, Shui Miao didn’t overthink it—she instinctively recited a mantra, allowing the Yin and Yang energies to circulate within her body…
Wang Yong felt Shui Miao’s body and found her temperature had returned to normal. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Nearby, after inhaling several breaths of Yin spiritual energy, Xiong Ying suddenly found that the Yin-Yang Five Elements energy in his body could circulate again.
After waiting a while longer and seeing no other abnormalities in Shui Miao, Wang Yong put the other Yin-attributed Stone Spirit back and locked it in the safe.
An hour passed, and Shui Miao still hadn’t opened her eyes.
Xiong Ying could practice Qi again. Compared to before, the Yin and Yang spiritual energy in his body had only slightly increased.
Wang Yong, however, stayed by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high temperature had damaged her brain and turned her into a vegetable.
“Master, Shui Miao still hasn’t woken up. Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?” Wang Yong had earlier shifted the blame to Xiong Ying, but he still felt guilty. It was just a stone—why had he shouted like that? The stone wasn’t particularly useful to him anyway—it just warded off cold. Besides, he had already promised to give Shui Miao some powder. She hadn’t damaged the stone. If this turned her into a vegetable, his sin would be too great, especially since Shui Miao was only twenty years old!
“Don’t panic. Let me check…” Over an hour ago, Xiong Ying had already taken Shui Miao’s pulse and found everything normal. Now, he took her pulse again and found it calm and steady, with no abnormalities. “Strange, her pulse is normal. Why hasn’t she woken up?”
“We can’t wait any longer. We have to take her to the hospital.”
Hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao had become a vegetable. To save her, he quickly picked her up and headed out.
*Clatter…*
As Wang Yong lifted Shui Miao, the safe key she had secretly copied earlier slipped out of her pocket and fell to the floor with a clatter… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, why did it have to be this of all things?
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would truly lose all face!
To preserve his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t hesitate. With a sudden burst of strength, he pushed Wang Yong to the ground…
After waiting a while and seeing no other unusual symptoms from Shui Miao, Wang Yong put the other yin Shi Ling back into the safe and locked it.
An hour passed, but Shui Miao still hadn’t opened her eyes.
Shui Miao pushed the door open and saw Grandpa rolling his eyes wildly, clutching his head with both hands, looking utterly frantic. It was unclear what had happened.
“Shui Miao, go get Wang Yong for me right now,” Xiong Ying said urgently. Before Shui Miao could react, he quickly got out of bed. “No, let me go find him myself. Where is he? Has he left?”
Xiong Ying looked as if something earth-shattering had happened.
“He hasn’t left. He’s downstairs.”
Shui Miao quickly stepped aside to make way for his grandpa, though he was utterly baffled. Grandpa seemed much better—his face was rosy, his voice strong, and he showed no signs of pain. So why was he so frantic?
Puzzled, Shui Miao followed his grandpa to the kitchen downstairs.
Wang Yong was washing dishes and scrubbing pots. Xiong Ying rushed into the kitchen and blurted out, “Wang Yong, what exactly did you give me to eat? Why can’t I meditate and practice Qi anymore?”
Unable to practice Qi! Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder Grandpa was going crazy. This was equivalent to destroying decades of cultivation! Anyone would be frantic if something like this happened to them.
“What…” Wang Yong was stunned, not quite understanding. “What… what practice of Qi?”
He clearly had no idea what Xiong Ying was talking about.
Seeing Wang Yong’s reaction, Xiong Ying grew even more anxious. He grabbed Wang Yong’s shirt and demanded, “Tell me! What did you give me? I’ve practiced Qi Gong for decades, and after drinking your medicine, I can’t gather any Qi at all. Speak up!”
“It’s just… just a prescription, Master. Don’t panic. Try again. This shouldn’t be happening!” Wang Yong naturally didn’t want to reveal his secret, but he was also unsure. He had never practiced Qi and didn’t know how someone who did would react to the medicine.
“It’s useless. I’ve tried several times already. If you don’t tell me, I’ll fight you to the death…” Xiong Ying suddenly grabbed a kitchen knife and held it against Wang Yong’s neck. Decades of cultivation couldn’t be destroyed just like that. Xiong Ying couldn’t accept this outcome and had to do everything to salvage it. If he could just find out what he had ingested, there might still be hope. But Wang Yong was hesitating and unwilling to speak, so he had to force it out of him.
This was the first time Wang Yong had ever had a knife held to his neck. Xiong Ying was agitated, and the blade had already cut into his skin, causing waves of pain.
Wang Yong wasn’t foolish enough to risk his life for a secret. He hadn’t lived long enough and certainly didn’t want to die at the hands of an old man like Xiong Ying.
“Wait, wait! I’ll talk, I’ll talk. The thing is inside the antique vase outside. Ask Shui Miao to get it…” Wang Yong spoke quickly to save his life. “This thing isn’t bad. It’s just a stone that dispels Yin-cold energy. My father left it to me. In ancient times, tomb raiders almost always carried something to ward off Yin energy. This stone not only dispels Yin energy and misfortune but also detoxifies and heals. Whenever I’m sick or something happens, I grind its powder into water and drink it. There are absolutely no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t still be here washing dishes and cooking congee for you.”
Hearing this, Shui Miao rushed outside to find the antique vase and quickly located the cloth bundle.
“Found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen holding the warm cloth bundle. By then, Grandpa had already removed the knife from Wang Yong’s neck, but he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it.”
Xiong Ying, still wary of Wang Yong, didn’t unwrap the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
When Shui Miao unwrapped the cloth and saw the pitted, oval iron egg, he was stunned. “What… what is this?”
“Let me do it…”
Seeing that Xiong Ying had calmed down a bit, Wang Yong shook his head gloomily. Since things had come to this, there was no point in hiding it anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanism box. I got it from the black market when I was in my twenties. It’s not very useful—it’s just for storing this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a protruding point on the box, and it opened automatically. When Xiong Ying saw the fiery red stone, his eyes widened. He touched it and found it warm and pliable. Shaking his head in surprise, he said, “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying stopped mid-sentence…
He suddenly remembered his master once saying that there was something in this world called a Stone Spirit. It looked like a stone egg but wasn’t hard. It was formed from the spiritual energy within mountains. This thing couldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight, but its powder could be consumed and even had healing properties. However, it couldn’t be cut open—once split, the spiritual energy would dissipate, and the Stone Spirit would be ruined. It could be carried around to provide spiritual energy to cultivators, making it a rare and invaluable “immortal stone.”
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its value. He only knew it could ward off cold.
Xiong Ying had been worried his Qi Gong was destroyed, but upon realizing this was a Stone Spirit, he felt reassured. Such a rare Stone Spirit was priceless to cultivators and couldn’t possibly ruin Qi Gong. Instead, its spiritual energy might alter the structure of his Yin-Yang Five Elements Qi Gong, strengthening the hardest-to-cultivate Yang energy.
Damn it, I’ve stumbled upon a treasure! Xiong Ying looked stunned on the outside but was quickly calculating in his mind…
After a dozen seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head and said, “I don’t care what this is. The bottom line is, I can’t practice Qi anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore me to normal, you can forget about getting this back. No, this thing is useless. You’ll have to give me something else as collateral. I’ve cultivated for decades and finally reached a certain level in Qi Gong. Now, after drinking your medicine, I can’t even practice Qi. How is this my fault? You have to find a way to restore me so I can continue practicing Qi.”
Xiong Ying was acting shamelessly, but whether he could practice Qi or recover was something only he could decide—no one else could verify it.
What could Wang Yong do in such a situation? He felt utterly helpless. After a moment of thought, an idea struck him. “Master, I have an idea. My room is filled with Yin-cold energy. Go stay there for a while to dispel the Yang energy in your body. Wouldn’t that restore you to normal?”
Wang Yong’s suggestion sounded reasonable.
“Go again?” Xiong Ying was taken aback. “Your room is freezing cold!”
“Hehe, it is a bit cold, but it’s not that bad. For the sake of your Qi Gong, please bear with it,” Wang Yong urged, not wanting Xiong Ying to take the warm stone.
“Fine, but you have to come with me. If I’m too cold to move, you can help me,” Xiong Ying said, turning to Shui Miao. “Shui Miao, guard this stone. It’s the evil thing that harmed me. If it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find the right treatment.”
As he spoke, Xiong Ying blinked several times at Shui Miao.
“Master, my home is here. I’m not going anywhere!” Wang Yong was exasperated. This country old man was nothing but trouble.
Xiong Ying turned to Wang Yong and said irritably, “You say it’s easy. Without this Qi Gong, I can’t practice Feng Shui anymore. Do you know how much of a loss that is? Are you going to support me in my old age?”
“Uh… okay, if it doesn’t work, I’ll take responsibility. I’ll support you in your old age,” Wang Yong said with a bitter smile. At this point, anything else was unnecessary. The cold stone in the safe could make people cold, and this stone could make people warm. The interplay of cold and heat should restore Xiong Ying to normal.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincere attitude, Xiong Ying put down the kitchen knife and pulled Wang Yong’s arm, heading upstairs together.
Wang Yong quickly said to Shui Miao, “Bro, stay inside. Don’t go out, and don’t take it out to play. This thing is precious. If you drop it, it’ll be useless. It may not be worth much money, but you can’t buy it on the market!”
“Don’t worry, my disciple is steady. At most, he’ll scrape some powder off to study it. He won’t mess around.”
Xiong Ying, with great strength, pulled Wang Yong up the stairs.
What’s going on?
Does Grandpa mean for me to scrape off more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes darted. Grandpa had blinked several times—he definitely wanted him to scrape off some powder!
Thinking this, Shui Miao quickly got to work. He took out a dry porcelain bowl and carefully scraped the Stone Spirit with a fruit knife. The Stone Spirit felt neither too hard nor too soft in his hand. Applying too much force would cut off a small piece, so he had to scrape slowly to get powder. Shui Miao scraped carefully, not rushing. After about ten minutes, he had gathered a fair amount of powder. Just as he was scraping, the kitchen door suddenly swung open, and Wang Yong shouted, “You brat, what are you doing?”
Shui Miao was startled, and the knife slipped, cutting a three-centimeter-long gash on his finger. Blood immediately gushed out… When the wound touched the Stone Spirit, Shui Miao felt a sudden, intense pain as if his finger were on fire!
“Ah!”
Shui Miao dropped the Stone Spirit in pain. Seeing this, Wang Yong reached out and caught it just in time.
“Ah! It hurts!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation rapidly spread up his arm and throughout his body. It was as if he had been thrown into boiling water. He collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain…
Seeing this, Wang Yong realized he had scared Shui Miao into cutting himself.
Blood touching the Stone Spirit—this had never happened before. Watching Shui Miao convulse, Wang Yong was terrified. He dropped the Stone Spirit, picked up Shui Miao, and rushed upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body grew hotter and hotter. To save him, Wang Yong didn’t hesitate. He kicked the door open, laid Shui Miao on the floor, took out his keys, and opened the safe…
“Shui Miao, what’s wrong?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes and was shocked to see Shui Miao convulsing on the floor.
Wang Yong, while opening the safe, said quickly, “It’s your fault for telling him to scrape the stone with a knife. He cut his hand, and when the wound touched the stone powder, this happened.”
Wang Yong was frantic, his mind focused solely on saving Shui Miao. Truth be told, he quite liked the boy. But at this moment, he felt more guilt than anything. If he hadn’t shouted when he entered the kitchen, this wouldn’t have happened. If anything happened to Shui Miao, he would be a murderer—a responsibility he couldn’t bear.
To save Shui Miao, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe, took out the octagonal box, removed the golden lock, and lifted the lid. Inside were two black stone eggs. The moment the box opened, an oppressive Yin-cold energy filled the room.
“Yin-attributed Stone Spirits!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief. Not only did Wang Yong have a Yang-attributed Stone Spirit, but he also had two Yin-attributed ones. These were priceless treasures for Qi practitioners!
Wang Yong immediately took out one of the stone eggs and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
He didn’t overthink why he put it in Shui Miao’s hand—it just felt right.
Shui Miao, delirious from the heat, was in a daze when a refreshing spiritual energy suddenly seeped into his body. Within breaths, his body temperature dropped, replaced by a soothing sensation. His mind cleared instantly. Without overthinking, he subconsciously recited a mantra, allowing the Yin and Yang energies to circulate within his body…
Wang Yong touched Shui Miao’s body and found his temperature had returned to normal. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Beside him, Xiong Ying inhaled several breaths of the Yin spiritual energy and suddenly found his Yin-Yang Five Elements Qi circulating again.
After waiting a while longer and seeing no other abnormalities in Shui Miao, Wang Yong put the other Yin-attributed Stone Spirit back into the safe and locked it.
An hour passed, and Shui Miao still hadn’t opened his eyes.
Xiong Ying could practice Qi again. Compared to before, the Yin and Yang spiritual energy in his body had only slightly increased.
Wang Yong, however, stayed by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high temperature had damaged his brain and turned him into a vegetable.
“Master, Shui Miao still hasn’t woken up. Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital?” Wang Yong had earlier shifted the blame to Xiong Ying, but he still felt guilty. It was just a stone—why had he shouted like that? The stone wasn’t that useful to him anyway—it just warded off cold. Besides, he had already promised to give Shui Miao some powder. Shui Miao hadn’t damaged the stone. If this turned him into a vegetable, the guilt would be unbearable, especially since Shui Miao was only twenty years old!
“Don’t rush. Let me check…” Over an hour ago, Xiong Ying had already taken Shui Miao’s pulse, and everything was normal. Now, he checked again and found Shui Miao’s pulse calm and steady, with no abnormalities. “Strange, his pulse is normal. Why hasn’t he woken up?”
“We can’t wait any longer. We have to take him to the hospital.”
Hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao had become a vegetable. To save him, he quickly picked Shui Miao up and headed out.
“Clatter…”
As Wang Yong lifted Shui Miao, the spare safe key Shui Miao had secretly made slipped out of his pocket and fell to the floor with a clatter… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, why did it have to be this of all things?
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would be too ashamed to show his face!
To protect his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t hesitate. With a sudden force, he pushed Wang Yong over…
Wang Yong, however, remained by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high temperature might have damaged her brain, leaving her in a vegetative state.
“Master, Shui Miao hasn’t woken up yet. Maybe we should take her to the hospital?” Wang Yong had just shifted the blame to Xiong Ying, but he still felt deeply guilty. It was just a stone—why did he have to shout so loudly? The stone wasn’t that important to him—it was only for dispelling cold. Besides, he had already agreed to give Shui Miao some powder. If she ended up in a vegetative state because of this, the guilt would be unbearable—after all, she was only twenty years old!
“Don’t rush. Let me check…” Over an hour ago, Xiong Ying had already checked Shui Miao’s pulse, which was normal. Now, he checked again and found her pulse calm and steady with no abnormalities, “Strange, her pulse is normal, so why hasn’t she woken up yet?”
“We can’t wait any longer—we must take her to the hospital.”
Hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao was in a vegetative state. Desperate to save her, he quickly picked her up and headed for the door.
“Clang…”
As Wang Yong lifted Shui Miao, the spare key she had secretly made for the safe slipped from her pocket and fell to the ground with a loud clang… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, this was the last thing he wanted to happen!
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would truly lose face forever!
To preserve his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t think twice—he pushed Wang Yong down with all his might…
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