Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 235 Wei Zhuang's Arrival, Qing Xu's Appearance
"If I'm not mistaken, they should have already entered the medical clinic."

On the shore of Mirror Lake, looking at the end of the wheel tracks, Honglian spoke softly.

Wei Zhuang tightened his grip on the Shark Tooth sword, which then suddenly flew out of its sheath. A beam of light pierced the void and landed in the lake, creating a huge splash.

"When prey faces danger, they will instinctively seek out a safe place to hide. That's probably the only place they can think of right now. But they're wrong about one thing: there is no absolutely safe place in this world."

After saying this, Wei Zhuang gave a cold laugh.

No place in the world is absolutely safe, not even Mirror Lake Medical Manor. Most people from the imperial court and the martial arts world are willing to abide by the rules here because they are wary of Qingxu's strength, but that does not mean that this place is absolutely safe.

Those reckless brutes who don't consider the consequences would dare to make a move here.

Even the Xianyang Palace, which was known as the safest place in the world, saw Ying Zheng survive countless assassination attempts.

Honglian gazed at the still, mirror-like lake before her, lost in thought. After a while, she spoke slowly, “The latest intelligence from Lin’er indicates that Yanri and Jingni of the Luo Wang are seriously injured. Based on the timing, the person who attacked them is likely Gai Nie.”

Recalling the traces left on that battlefield, a strange look suddenly appeared in Wei Zhuang's eyes. As top-tier assassins of the Luo Wang organization, Yan Ri and Jing Ni were exceptionally strong. To be able to deal with both of them at the same time and even repel them, one can imagine Gai Nie's current strength.

Honglian looked at Wei Zhuang with a complicated expression. She didn't know where the grudge between the two of them came from, but they seemed to be destined rivals.

He's gotten stronger.

"Very strong!"

Honglian's voice carried a hint of emotion. Wei Zhuang's current strength far exceeded that of ordinary Grandmasters. She had previously thought that this battle between the two factions was not much of a surprise, but now it seemed that things might not be so simple.

"Impressive, huh?"

Wei Zhuang's lips curled into a cold smile. If Gai Nie's strength was far inferior to his, then the battle between the two factions would be too bland and tasteless.

Unlike others, he did not want his opponents to be weak. In other words, he did not want Gai Nie to be far behind him. As his opponent, if Gai Nie's strength was far inferior to his, it would be a disgrace to him.

Not just anyone can become his opponent.

"He is my opponent, and the weak are not worthy to be my opponents!!"

Inside the Mirror Lake Medical Manor, Duanmu Rong dismissed everyone else, leaving Yue'er to treat Gai Nie's injuries.

In the courtyard, Xiang Yu and Tianming began to discuss in hushed tones.

"This older sister named Duanmu Rong looks so cold~~"

Tianming whispered something in Xiang Yu's ear.

From the moment the group carried Gai Nie in, to her conversation with Yan Ling Ji, Duanmu Rong didn't even manage a smile, so Tianming's feeling was understandable.

Xiang Yu raised an eyebrow after hearing Tianming's words.

He admired Duanmu Rong quite a bit. First of all, it was no easy feat for her to establish herself in the martial arts world on her own.

In addition, Duanmu Rong's medical skills were superb, she saved lives and healed the wounded, and her compassionate and impartial heart made him feel that her medical skills were even superior to Duanmu Rong's.

There are many skilled doctors in the world, but few can match Duanmu Rong's level.

“Tianming, Miss Rong deals with patients every day, which is also a competition with death. Every move she makes is under great pressure. Under such circumstances, even if it were us, we probably wouldn’t be able to laugh.”

Upon hearing Xiang Yu's words, Tianming was taken aback.

In fact, Tianming is not stupid; on the contrary, he is quite clever. There are some things he just hasn't thought about. Now that he hears Xiang Yu mention it, Tianming subconsciously starts to consider the matter.

The medical clinic is a place for treating and saving lives. Right now, there are only Duanmu Rong and Yue'er in the clinic. Yue'er is still young, which means that the pressure of saving lives is all on that girl.

"Kid, people are not the same."

Some people are cold on the outside but warm on the inside, while others seem amiable but are actually ruthless!

Having spent a long time wandering the world, Xiang Yu had encountered far more people and things than Tianming, thus gaining a deeper understanding of human nature.

"Miss Rong is a person who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. The longer you spend time with her, the more you will know that her heart is kinder than anyone else's."

A doctor's heart is benevolent; this was the principle that Nian Duan taught Duanmu Rong, and she has never forgotten her master's teachings.

"When a doctor enters the world, he should have a compassionate heart. Medical skills can be cultivated later, but compassion is formed from the very beginning."

"The compassion of a healer is like the swordsman's heart. When a swordsman knows why he wields his sword, the power he gains from within will enable him to continuously improve, surpass himself, and reach a higher level in the future. The same is true for healers."

"When a doctor has a compassionate heart, his medical skills will have no threshold. A doctor who can bear the weight of life will also be a very compassionate person."

Yan Lingji moved her five fingers slightly, and a wisp of flame burned quietly in her palm. Looking at this flame, she spoke leisurely.

Having journeyed between life and death, this young woman gradually developed her own understanding of the weight of life.

Qingxu had previously told her about some unique Taoist ideas, such as the Taoist belief in valuing life and the boundless salvation of all beings.

Even those Taoist elders who have achieved great success in their cultivation have a particularly deep understanding of the importance of life. For all things in the world, every life is extremely precious.

Such ideas have a greater influence as a person progresses through their spiritual practice.

Just like a swordsman, in the early stages of training, one must be quick and swift in striking the sword; in the middle stages, one must focus on the intent of the sword; and in the later stages, one must focus on the momentum of the sword.

As for taking it a step further, it requires an improvement in one's state of mind. A sword is a double-edged sword; it can hurt others, but it can also hurt oneself. If one only focuses on being fierce and aggressive, one will often end up hurting oneself in the end.

In this way, it would be extremely difficult to make further progress.

These were some principles that Qingxu had told her back then. At the time, she didn't take them seriously when she heard them, but as she progressed in her cultivation, she discovered that what he said was actually true.

When a person's mind cannot control their power, that person will become a puppet of that power, unable to restrain themselves, with their inner demons running rampant, and the final result will only be self-destruction.

Such things are not uncommon in the martial arts world. One obvious difference is the number of Grandmasters and Great Grandmasters. There are quite a few Grandmasters in the martial arts world, both openly and secretly, but there are only a handful of Great Grandmasters. The reason for this is that those Grandmasters have not yet reached a higher level of mental state. Under such circumstances, it becomes a luxury to want to go further.

Although Duanmu Rong was a healer, she had made rapid progress in cultivating her mental fortitude. Even after their brief interaction, she had already discovered that this young woman had reached the Grandmaster level. The Yimu Longevity Technique was a wood-attribute cultivation method, best suited for healing and health preservation. It was a special technique created by Qingxu, combining his own internal energy cultivation, and was later passed on to this young woman.

Currently, that girl has cultivated this technique to an extremely high level.

Yan Lingji had guessed some of the secrets behind this, but she didn't have a good way to improve her state of mind, unless someone with exceptional talent like Qingxu and Xiaomeng could see the autumn from a single leaf and understand the world and all living beings.

Now, Duanmu Rong's sudden rise has given her a new direction to refer to.

"People in the world pursue famous swords, but fundamentally, they have not escaped the dilemma of whether it is man who controls the sword or sword who controls man."

Just then, a voice came from outside the courtyard.

The people in the courtyard subconsciously looked towards the gate and saw a young man walking slowly towards them. He was dressed in a green robe and carried a peach-shaped sword. His steps were unhurried, and every move he made was in harmony with the great principles of heaven and earth. He was truly extraordinary.

"In other words, whether a person is powerful or not depends on himself or on the sword in his hand. If he cannot truly understand himself, then endless darkness awaits him."

"Son."

Yan Lingji stood up from the door frame and her eyes lit up. The person who came was none other than Qingxu.

When she first arrived at Jinghu Medical Clinic, she didn't see Qingxu and thought he had encountered some problem, which made her very worried. Fortunately, Qingxu did come, which put her mind at ease.

"Master Qingxu, it has been many years since we last met, and you are even more radiant than before."

Xiang Liang seemed to recognize the person in front of him. When they met in Shouying City of Chu, the other person was only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy. Seven years later, the other person had become a young man.

"General Xiang, you've aged quite a bit. Back in Shouying City, you were a fearless fellow."

Qingxu knew most of what happened in Shouying City back then, since he didn't show himself at the beginning but remained hidden in the shadows.

As the son of Xiang Yan, Xiang Liang was a powerful figure in Shouying City, both in temperament and character. He still remembered the scene of Xiang Liang confronting the nobles in the royal palace.

Seven years later, the son of this once-proud general has also toned down his brilliance and tried to appear more ordinary in order to avoid being hunted down by the Qin state.

The Xiang clan of Chu had long been targeted by the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) because of Chu Nan Gong's words. The Luo Wang's policy toward them was to rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.

"Even if Chu has only three households left, it will surely be Chu that destroys Qin!"

Qingxu sighed softly. The greatest sage of Chu in the past left behind such a prophecy. He didn't know whether it was to unite the Chu people or to trip up the Xiang clan.

No power wants to be overthrown, and Ying Zheng certainly didn't either. However, the situation in Qin was very complicated at the moment. Both the northern and southern borders needed military force to suppress, and he couldn't spare the troops to deal with the remnants of the six states in the Central Plains.

However, this dissatisfaction was still expressed through the Luo Wang and Ying Mi Wei. In the martial arts world, the Luo Wang meticulously carried out their missions. When they encountered members of the Xiang clan, they would usually kill them. This was also the reason why Xiang Liang subconsciously made that guess after hearing Yan Ling Ji's explanation.

Previously, the Xiang clan had suffered heavy casualties due to being targeted by the Luo Wang and Ying Mi Wei. Naturally, this was the direct reason why Xiang Liang was willing to save Gai Nie. If Ying Zheng wanted to kill someone, they would naturally protect him.

"Master Nan has really caused us a lot of trouble."

Upon hearing Qingxu's words, Xiang Liang let out a long sigh.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu subconsciously looked at his uncle. He had always thought these words were very domineering, but how come they had taken on a different meaning when spoken by his uncle?

Qingxu raised his eyes and looked at the two little ones in the courtyard. Xiang Yu was dressed in a purple robe and had a resemblance to Xiang Yan in his brows, which made him easy to recognize. As for the other one, he didn't need to guess to know that it was Tianming.

Then he said softly, "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise."

“Master Nan is not confused. He must have his own reasons for doing this. Some things you will never understand unless you experience them.”

As he said this, Qingxu's gaze became somewhat distant. In fact, he was the same in some matters; there were things that one would probably not believe unless one experienced them firsthand.

"But the old man is quite bold, putting all his eggs in one basket."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Liang's eyes flickered slightly, and he simply smiled awkwardly without responding. However, the other party's gaze towards Qingxu became more wary.

The Xiang clan had made many efforts to reach this point, but in the end, they were powerless to reverse the situation, so they chose to take a desperate gamble.

Who made the move?

After greeting Xiang Liang, Qingxu's gaze fell on Yan Lingji. In just a few days, Yan Lingji had been injured. He absolutely did not believe it was an accident.

"It was Xuan Jian from the Luo Wang organization, who was later scared away by Gai Nie's Hundred-Step Flying Sword."

Upon hearing this, Qingxu looked somewhat surprised. Previously, Gai Nie had fought fiercely with two top-tier assassins from the Luo Wang organization, Yan Ri and Jing Ni, and in the end, he estimated that both sides would be severely injured.

In the subsequent battle, will Gai Nie still be able to use the Hundred Steps Flying Sword?

"With only the power of one sword strike, the person fell into a coma and has not yet woken up. Miss Rong is currently performing emergency treatment."

Upon hearing this explanation, Qingxu's gaze swept past everyone and fell upon the room in the middle. The courtyard of the medical manor was not particularly large. Standing here, he could already sense that the girl was circulating her internal energy to heal Gai Nie's injuries.

"If it weren't for my uncle's sword, that bastard wouldn't have left!"

Hearing that Tianming only had the power of one sword, he felt inexplicably annoyed. Although it was indeed a fact, if it weren't for Gai Nie's Hundred Steps Flying Sword, that Xuan Jian might not have been able to retreat.

Upon hearing this, Yan Lingji smiled and shook her head.

"This little guy is called Tianming. After Gai Nie left Xianyang, the two of them traveled together. On the way, I talked to Gai Nie and he said that he planned to go to Tianzong to find Master Chisongzi and Master Beimingzi."

Qingxu nodded.

He knew Tianming's true identity, and the sealing curse mark on his neck was Ying Zheng's doing.

"A sealing spell??"

"Young master's insight is brilliant!"

(End of this chapter)