Shui Miao pushed the door open forcefully and saw her grandfather with his eyes darting around, 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 said urgently. Before Shui Miao could react, he hurriedly got out of bed. “No, 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 sudden change. He looked healthier, with a rosy complexion, his voice strong and without any signs of pain, so 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 cultivate my energy anymore?”
Unable to cultivate energy! Hearing this, Shui Miao was shocked. No wonder her grandfather was so upset—it was as if decades of cultivation had been destroyed. Such a catastrophe would make anyone panic, regardless of who they were.
“What… what energy cultivation?” Wang Yong was taken aback, clearly not understanding what Xiong Ying meant.
Seeing Wang Yong’s confusion, Xiong Ying became even more anxious. He grabbed Wang Yong’s collar. “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 trace of energy. Tell me quickly…”
“It’s just a prescription, Master. Please calm down. It shouldn’t be like this!” Naturally, Wang Yong didn’t want to reveal the secret, but he was also uncertain himself—he had never practiced energy cultivation and didn’t know how someone like Xiong Ying would react to the medicine.
“It’s useless! I’ve already tried several times. If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you!” Suddenly, Xiong Ying grabbed a kitchen knife and pressed it against Wang Yong’s neck. Decades of cultivation couldn’t just vanish like this. Xiong Ying couldn’t accept the outcome and was determined to fight back. At this point, he needed to find out what he had taken to see if there was still a chance for salvation. But Wang Yong kept hesitating and wouldn’t speak, so there was no choice but to force 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 cut his skin, causing sharp pain.
Wang Yong wasn’t the kind of person who would sacrifice his life for a secret.
He wasn’t ready to die yet, and certainly wouldn’t let an old man like Xiong Ying be the cause of his death.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. The item is inside the ancient vase outside. Let Shui Miao go get it…” To save his life, Wang Yong quickly explained, “It’s not something harmful. It’s just a stone to dispel cold and negative energy, passed down from my father. Ancient tomb raiders often carried such items to ward off evil spirits and cure poison or injuries. Whenever I get sick or have other issues, I use the powder from this stone mixed with water to drink. It has absolutely no side effects. Master, please calm down. If I 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 located the bundle.
“I found it…”
Shui Miao ran back into the kitchen with the warm bundle. By this time, Xiong Ying had already removed the knife from Wang Yong’s neck, though he still held it tightly in his hand.
“Unwrap it.”
Still wary of Wang Yong, Xiong Ying didn’t approach the bundle himself.
“Okay…”
As Shui Miao unwrapped the cloth, revealing the rough, oval-shaped iron egg, he was stunned. “What is this?”
“Let me do it…”
Seeing that Xiong Ying had calmed down a bit, Wang Yong sighed in frustration. Since things had come to this point, there was no need to hide anything anymore. He explained, “This is a mechanical box I bought in the black market when I was in my twenties. It doesn’t have much use, except for storing this warm stone.”
Wang Yong pressed a protruding point on the box with his finger, and it opened automatically. Seeing the bright red stone, Xiong Ying’s eyes widened. He touched it and found it warm and soft to the touch. He was astonished and shook his head. “This isn’t a stone…”
Xiong Ying stopped halfway through his sentence.
Suddenly, he recalled his master once telling him about a rare item known as a “Stone Spirit.” It resembled a stone egg, yet was not hard; rather, it was formed from the essence of mountain spiritual energy. This item could not be exposed to direct sunlight, but could be ground into powder and consumed, even used to cure illnesses and improve health. However, it must never be cut open, for doing so would disperse the spiritual energy, rendering the Stone Spirit useless. It could be carried on one’s person to supply spiritual energy to cultivators, making it a rare and invaluable “immortal stone.”
Wang Yong didn’t recognize its true value, knowing only that it could ward off cold.
Xiong Ying had initially been worried about losing his martial arts abilities, but upon realizing this was a Stone Spirit, he felt reassured. Such a rare item was priceless to cultivators and certainly wouldn’t cause the loss of martial arts skills. It was possible, however, that the spiritual energy might alter the structure of the yin-yang five-element martial arts energy, enhancing the yang energy, which was the hardest to cultivate.
Damn it, I’ve hit the jackpot! Xiong Ying’s expression remained blank, but his mind raced with calculations.
After a dozen seconds, Xiong Ying shook his head. “I don’t care what this is. The fact remains that I can’t cultivate energy anymore. If you don’t help me find an antidote and restore my normal state, you won’t get this item back. No, this thing isn’t useful enough. You must give me something else as collateral. I’ve spent decades cultivating martial arts, finally reaching a certain level, and now after drinking your medicine, I can’t even summon energy. Can you blame me for this? You must find a way to restore me so I can continue cultivating.”
Xiong Ying resorted to manipulation, but whether the energy could be restored or not was entirely up to him to decide, as no one else could verify it.
What else could he do in such a situation? Wang Yong felt helpless. Suddenly, an idea struck him. “Right, Master, I have a solution. My room is full of cold and negative energy. If you stay there for a while and dispel the yang energy in your body, won’t you return to normal?”
Wang Yong’s suggestion was reasonable.
“Go back there again?” Xiong Ying was surprised. “Your place could freeze a person to death!”
“Hehe, it’s a bit cold, but not that bad. For the sake of your martial arts cultivation, you should endure it,” Wang Yong urged, not wanting Xiong Ying to take the warm stone away.
“Alright then, but you have to come with me. If I get too cold to move, you can help me,” Xiong Ying turned and said to Shui Miao, “Shui Miao, you stay here and guard this stone. This evil object has harmed me, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll take it to the hospital for testing and find a cure.”
As Xiong Ying spoke, he winked at Shui Miao several times.
“Oh come on! Master, my home is right here. I won’t run away!” Wang Yong was getting impatient. This rural old man was such a hassle.
Xiong Ying shot Wang Yong an annoyed look and said, “You talk so easily. Without my martial arts, I can’t practice feng shui anymore. What a huge loss! Are you going to support me for the rest of my life?”
“Uh… okay, okay. If it doesn’t work, I’ll definitely take responsibility. At the very least, I’ll support you for the rest of your life.” Wang Yong smiled bitterly. At this point, anything he said would be meaningless. The cold stone in the safe could make someone cold, while this warm stone could make someone hot. The contrast of cold and heat should help Xiong Ying recover.
Seeing Wang Yong’s sincere attitude, Xiong Ying dropped the knife and grabbed Wang Yong’s arm, pulling him upstairs.
Wang Yong hurriedly said to Shui Miao, “Little brother, you stay inside and don’t go out or play with it. This item is very delicate. If you drop it, it’ll be ruined. Although it’s not worth much money, you can’t buy it on the market!”
“Don’t worry. My apprentice is steady. At most, he’ll scrape off some powder for research. He won’t mess around recklessly.”
Xiong Ying was strong and pulled Wang Yong directly up the stairs.
What’s going on?
Did Grandpa mean for me to scrape off more powder?
Shui Miao’s eyes sparkled. Grandpa had winked at him several times. He must want me 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 was just the right firmness in his hand; a little pressure from the knife would cut off a small piece, so he had to scrape slowly to get powder. Shui Miao scraped carefully, not in a hurry. After about ten minutes, he had scraped off a lot of powder. As he was scraping, the kitchen door suddenly opened, and Wang Yong shouted, “Brat, what are you doing?”
Shui Miao was startled, and the knife slipped, cutting his finger. A three-centimeter-long cut opened up, and blood immediately started flowing. The wound touched the Stone Spirit, and Shui Miao suddenly felt a sharp pain in his finger, as if it were on fire!
“Ahh!”
In pain, Shui Miao dropped the Stone Spirit. Seeing this, Wang Yong quickly reached out and caught it just in time.
“Ahh! It hurts so much!!”
Shui Miao felt the burning sensation shoot up his arm and spread throughout his body. He felt as if he had been thrown into boiling water. The pain made him sit on the ground, his body convulsing…
Seeing this, Wang Yong realized he had scared Shui Miao into cutting his finger!
Blood had touched the Stone Spirit, something that had never happened before. Seeing Shui Miao convulsing, Wang Yong was terrified. He immediately dropped the Stone Spirit and picked up Shui Miao, rushing upstairs…
Xiong Ying was meditating…
Shui Miao’s body was getting hotter and hotter. Wang Yong, desperate to save him, kicked open the door without hesitation, placed Shui Miao on the ground, and rushed to open the safe with his key…
“Shui Miao, what happened to you?” Xiong Ying opened his eyes, saw Shui Miao convulsing on the ground, and was greatly startled.
Wang Yong quickly explained while opening the safe, “It’s all your fault. You told him to scrape the stone with a knife, and now he’s cut his hand. His wound touched the stone powder, and now he’s like this.”
Wang Yong was in a panic, focused only on saving Shui Miao. To be honest, he quite liked Shui Miao. But at this moment, he felt more guilt. If he hadn’t shouted when he entered the kitchen, this wouldn’t have happened. If Shui Miao had any accident now, he would be a murderer, a responsibility he couldn’t bear.
To save Shui Miao, Wang Yong quickly opened the safe and took out the octagonal box. He immediately removed the golden lock and opened the lid, revealing two black stone eggs. As soon as the box opened, a chilling coldness filled the room.
“A Yin attribute Stone Spirit!!” Xiong Ying’s eyes widened in shock. He never expected that not only a Yang attribute Stone Spirit but also two Yin attribute Stone Spirits were hidden in Wang Yong’s home. For a cultivator, these two types of Stone Spirits were priceless treasures!
Wang Yong immediately took one of the black stone eggs and placed it in Shui Miao’s hand.
As to why he placed it in Shui Miao’s hand, Wang Yong didn’t think much about it; he just felt it should be there.
Shui Miao, feeling dizzy from the heat, was in a daze with blurred consciousness, when suddenly a cool spiritual energy entered his body. With each breath, his body temperature dropped, replaced by a refreshing sensation, and his mind became clear. In such a situation, Shui Miao thought of nothing else but instinctively recited a spell, guiding the yin and yang energies to circulate within his body…
Wang Yong touched Shui Miao’s body and found the temperature had returned to normal. He finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Beside him, Xiong Ying inhaled several deep breaths of the Yin energy and suddenly realized that the yin-yang five-element energy within him could circulate once again.
After waiting a while longer and seeing no other abnormalities in Shui Miao, Wang Yong put the other Yin Stone Spirit back into the safe and locked it again.
Thus, after waiting for over an hour, Shui Miao still hadn’t opened his eyes.
Xiong Ying had already regained his ability to cultivate energy. Compared to before, the yin-yang spiritual energy within him had increased only slightly.
Wang Yong, however, remained by Shui Miao’s side, worried that the high temperature might have damaged his brain, leaving him in a vegetative state.
“Master, Shui Miao hasn’t woken up yet. Let’s take him to the hospital,” Wang Yong suggested. Although he had shifted the blame to Xiong Ying earlier, 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—just used to ward off the cold. Besides, he had already agreed to give Shui Miao some powder. He hadn’t broken the stone, yet this incident might have left Shui Miao in a vegetative state. That would be a terrible sin, 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, which was normal. Now, he took it again and found Shui Miao’s pulse calm and steady, “Strange, his pulse is normal, so why hasn’t he woken up yet?”
“We can’t wait any longer. We must take him to the hospital.”
After hearing Xiong Ying’s words, Wang Yong became even more convinced that Shui Miao had become a vegetable. To save him, he quickly picked up Shui Miao and started to leave.
“Clang…”
As Wang Yong picked up Shui Miao, the key to the safe that Shui Miao had secretly duplicated slipped out of his pocket, “clang” landing on the ground… Seeing the key, Xiong Ying’s face turned pale. Damn it, this was truly the worst possible timing!
If Wang Yong saw the key, he would truly have no face to show anyone!
To preserve his dignity, Xiong Ying didn’t hesitate and suddenly pushed Wang Yong down with all his might…
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