"Yin-Yang harmony, endless life."
Wang Jian entered a peculiar state. His body, which had nearly been destroyed by the encroaching abnormal energy, began to recover and undergo a subtle, hidden transformation.
To outside observers, Wang Jian was no longer levitating; he had settled back onto the hospital bed. With the strange phenonon gone, the mbers of the Cai Family all breathed a sigh of relief, unsure if it was from fear or overwhelming shock.
Of everyone in the room, only Xu Changqing was different. His expression shifted from shock to doubt, and then to elation, changing as rapidly as a perforr in a Sichuan opera.
"Marvelous, simply marvelous!" he murmured once Wang Jian’s body had completely settled, still emanating a faint, wondrous aura. He could see Wang Jian’s body slowly recovering and his complexion vastly improving. "I never expected my disciple to have such a fortunate encounter!"
With a lifeti of Taoist cultivation, Xu Changqing imdiately understood what Wang Jian’s transformation ant. His disciple had comprehended the theory of Yin and Yang. He had miraculously subjugated the eerie deathly energy, making it his own. More than that, he had harmonized the two opposing energies, creating a self-sustaining cycle that was making him progressively stronger. This sudden turn of events transford a crisis into a blessing. How could Xu Changqing not be ecstatic? I wonder if this disciple of mine saved the world in a past life to be blessed with such profound fortune.
Although Xu Changqing understood the reason for Wang Jian’s change, he couldn’t possibly imitate it by making contact with that deathly energy. Matters of Yin-Yang harmony were more taphysical than scientific and were not replicable. Xu Changqing knew his own physical condition well. His internal energy had never undergone a qualitative change. If he were to forcibly touch that deathly energy, he would end up like the man nad Lu You, left in a near-death state. He would even risk damaging his bodily functions and developing cancerous lesions.
Therefore, Xu Changqing could only marvel at Wang Jian’s good fortune, his worries finally put to rest.
Hearing Xu Changqing’s exclamation, the others, who had been watching intently, all turned toward him.
Xu Qian and Cai Qiong spoke in unison, "What happened to Wang Jian?"
Cai Xing and his son also turned to look.
Xu Changqing laughed. "It’s nothing, nothing at all. My disciple saved himself, so my help isn’t needed. You can all rest assured. Not only will he be fine, but when he wakes up, he’ll be even better than before. So please, don’t worry. If you have other matters to attend to, you can head back first. I’ll stay here and watch over him."
The others exchanged glances. Seeing that Xu Changqing wasn’t faking his confidence, they all relaxed.
Cai Xing and his son had rushed over unexpectedly. Hearing Xu Changqing’s words, Cai Xing said, "In that case, we’ll take our leave. If you need anything, just let us know."
Before they left, the two called over to Cai Qiong. The girl was initially reluctant to go, especially since Xu Qian was staying. But Xu Qian was Wang Jian’s family, while Cai Qiong was still an outsider. Despite her protests, Cai Xing pulled her away.
Watching Cai Qiong’s resentful glare as she was led away, even the worried Xu Qian almost cracked a smile, though she imdiately sighed at another thought. Xu Qian had observed Cai Qiong’s behavior all night. She now understood that the young miss of the Cai Family had developed feelings for Wang Jian and clearly valued him a great deal. Xu Qian recalled Wang Jian once telling her that Cai Qiong was a lesbian. Now, it seed, Wang Jian had sohow managed to turn her straight. At this thought, as she looked at Wang Jian on the bed, a flash of resentnt crossed her face before it was imdiately overwheld by worry.
The attentive Xu Qian noticed fine beads of sweat forming on Wang Jian’s skin. She imdiately turned to Xu Changqing and said, "Master, please watch him for a mont. I’ll go get so water to wipe him down."
Xu Changqing nodded, watching her leave. After she was gone, he stared at the doorway for a long mont before turning back. He looked at his disciple on the bed with a hint of wistful sadness and said, "Silly boy... you’ve certainly entangled yourself in debts of love. To have t such a caring girl is truly one of your blessings."
With no one else in the room, Xu Changqing checked Wang Jian’s pulse one more ti and finally felt completely at ease. Before, Wang Jian’s pulse had been not only erratic but also growing steadily weaker—a fundantal difference from the strong, steady beat he felt now. Even without using his internal energy to observe, he could feel a powerful wave of vitality emanating from Wang Jian. This left Xu Changqing utterly amazed, and he hoped Wang Jian would wake soon to answer the questions in his heart.
Xu Qian returned shortly, carrying a small basin of warm water and a clean towel. She began to gently wipe Wang Jian down. To avoid any awkwardness, Xu Changqing discreetly left the room and found an empty stool in the hallway, where he sat and began to hum a little tune. The floor was already deserted, and in the quiet, the sound of his tune began to echo down the corridor.
> I see her tears wetting her pale, pear-blossom face,
> I see his sorrow slimming her willow-like waist.
> So rare, his bloody tears of filial piety like Cao E’s,
> Why even speak of the heart-clutching charm of Xi Shi?
> My own parents also passed on early,
> A fellow heart-broken soul, I offer comfort on this wretched night...
Wang Jian remained asleep, but his consciousness had returned the mont the Yin and Yang in his body harmonized. The profound changes his body was undergoing prevented him from truly waking up, leaving him imrsed in the transcendent sensation of this newfound unity.
He rembered Xu Changqing once saying that the state they pursued was not longevity, nor was it sothing as unrealistic as becoming an Immortal. It was, quite simply, transcendence. It ant breaking free of mortal perception and overcoming human limitations to reach a place no one had ever been before. From that transcendent vantage point, one could observe the world, gain enlightennt, and continuously grow stronger. This was the path Xu Changqing followed.
Previously, Wang Jian had never truly understood what "transcendence" ant. He’d assud that cultivating internal energy and being different from ordinary people was transcendence in itself. But now, with his Yin and Yang unified, he could actually feel the existence of his own soul. As Xu Qian wiped him down with a damp towel, the cool, wet sensation on his skin gave him an even deeper understanding of what transcendence ant.
He was experiencing the sensation of being wiped from a third-person perspective—a profoundly mystical feeling. It was as if he were standing beside the bed, watching Xu Qian attend to his own body. Everything around him looked magical. All objects seed to possess their own unique colors, emitting a vast array of different energies. He could even feel—and touch—the various energy particles that existed naturally in the air. Moreover, he discovered that in this state, everything around him would suddenly beco incredibly slow before returning to its normal speed.
His consciousness even drifted out of the room, and he found himself listening to Xu Changqing humming his little tune. Xu Changqing seed to sense sothing, glancing in the direction of Wang Jian’s disembodied perspective. Seeing nothing unusual, he went back to his song.
Wang Jian’s consciousness didn’t stop there. It drifted into the adjacent hospital room—the very place he had first encountered that wisp of dark energy. Inside, this transcendent perspective allowed him to truly understand its nature.
If the internal energy he and the others cultivated represented life, then this mass of dark energy was its opposite: death. This wasn’t an illness. It was more likely that Lu You had co into contact with sothing that had then invaded his body. Or perhaps, more sinisterly, soone had deliberately implanted it within him with the intent to cause harm.
As if guided by instinct, Wang Jian’s consciousness drew close to Lu You and attempted to pull the dark energy from his body. It was just as he suspected. Now that he had achieved a state of Yin-Yang harmony, the dark energy no longer posed a threat to him.
Wang Jian absorbed all of the dark energy directly, and in doing so, the unified Yin and Yang energy within him doubled in strength.
Reviews
All reviews (0)