Immortal spiritual energy was surging forth from three main parts of Ling Yun's body. The top of his head, in between his brows as well as right below his navel region. The flow was wild and uncontrollable. The powerful immortal spiritual energy was coursing through his Twelve Principal Meridians as well as his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
What was strange was the fact that the three currents were not in conflict. They were flowing along their own separate routes, not interfering with one another. This was also the reason why Ling Yun did not lose himself despite having three separate flows of energy in his body.
If he was able to use divine sense, he would have clearly seen that within his body, the immortal spiritual energy was already beginning to differentiate. The most obvious indication was the color of the spiritual energy.
The immortal spiritual energy flowing in the top of his head had assumed a green color while that between his brows had turned golden. Lastly, the immortal spiritual energy flowing right below the navel area had divided into two separate colors; black and white.
At that moment, the spiritual energy that Ling Yun had absorbed still remained dormant, showing no signs of awakening.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, the immortal spiritual energy in his body had circulated for twelve evolutionary cycles. Having reached the Physique Tempering Stage Level 2 yesterday, he was only a small step away from reaching strength Level 3. Thus, with this violent outburst of immortal spiritual energy within his body, he immediately broke the limit and reached the mid-stage of Physique Tempering Stage Level Three.
This was an unexpected harvest and Ling Yun was overwhelmed with joy. Hence, he decided to start preparations to use this chance to reach Physique Tempering Stage Level 4. However, in a flash, he noticed that the immortal spiritual energy within his body had returned to where it came from. Now, he could hardly detect its presence in his body.
"What does this mean?" Ling Yun mumbled to himself. He was dumbfounded.
For such a sudden appearance and disappearance without a trace. This unconventional phenomenon no doubt transcended Ling Yun's knowledge.
Just as he was racking his brain for an answer, standing motionless like a statue, a pregnant woman entered the clinic. This was not just any pregnant lady, she was, in fact, Liu Li, the lady he had rescued this morning.
After going their separate ways in the morning, the ridiculous yet peculiar feeling that had risen within her heart had swiftly disappeared. After all, she was by no means an open-minded licentious woman. In fact, she is a highly conservative lady. If she was truly a wanton, she would have aborted the baby the moment her husband had injured himself and eloped with another man. She would not have chosen to endure Tian Xiaoguang's coercion to that extent.
Once home, she started ransacking the drawers and cabinets. After half an hour, she finally managed to find the brush. Other than the fact that the handle of the brush was made from stone and that the tip was fine and pointed, it was an ordinary brush. As compared to those extravagant fountain pens found in shops, it paled in comparison.
"Not only did he protect my innocence, he even saved the baby inside me. Furthermore, he even gave me money. To repay him with just a single brush is just…" Liu Li spoke to herself as she frowned. For a moment, she almost placed the brush back. However, after hesitating for a while, she decided to put it into her bag instead.
"Putting its value aside, it's still a precious family heirloom. Even though it's worth next to nothing, I'm sure he will feel my gratitude and sincerity."
After a simple breakfast, Liu Li took her bag and left for the hospital. She was going to change shift with her mother-in-law. Ever since her son had met with this misfortune, Liu Li's mother-in-law had been crying daily, her tears more than enough to fill a bucket. Even when she spoke, at best, she would just repeat the same word, 'karma'.
She had her reason for repeating this word everyday.
Liu Li's husband was called Li Yunxiang. He was from Henan Huai Yang county. Even though he was an ordinary man working as a construction worker, he was, in fact, from a line of grave robbers.
The stone brush that Liu Li was holding, according to her mother-in-law, had once belonged to Li Yunxiang's great great grandfather. He had found the brush in a great tomb alone without any ink slabs or brush pot. In addition, both Li Yunxiang's grandfather and father died at a young age. Now, even her husband himself had been smashed by a falling brick in the construction site. It was no wonder her mother-in-law would make such a claim.
In the afternoon, when her mother-in-law came again to switch with Liu Li, she passed her mother-in-law the thousand dollar note than Ling Yun had given her. At the same time, she explained to her about what had happened this morning. She also shared her plan to give Ling Yun the brush to express her gratitude.
Initially, her mother-in-law listened silently, her heart filled with shock and anxiety. She was also eternally grateful towards Ling Yun. Yet, upon hearing that her daughter-in-law intended to give her savior the useless brush that no one wanted, she could not help but speak up.
"Liu Li, this young man saved you. To repay one's debt is the natural thing to do. But to give that as repayment… It's not even funny…"
"Mother, I know that this brush is worthless, but with our current situation, there's really nothing else we can give…"
Liu Li's face was depressed and miserable.
Seeing her poor daughter-in-law worrying so much, Liu Li's mother-in-law had no choice but to relent, nodding her head in agreement as she spoke.
"Fine, let's go with that then. Even though we never managed to sell it, it's still an heirloom passed down for more than a century. I'm sure our feelings will reach him. If by chance he rejects the gift, just throw it away. Putting aside whether it's good or bad, it's an item that our family can't handle. Or else we would not have suffered such misfortune."
Liu Li nodded her head and left the hospital. After having a simple lunch, she headed for The People's Clinic.
Back to the present.
The moment Ling Yun saw Liu Li entering the clinic, he immediately put aside the matter about the immortal spiritual energy and motioned her to sit down.
"Mrs. Liu, how may I help you?"
Having experienced the incident this morning, Liu Li did not dare to look into Ling Yun's eyes. She nodded her head lightly and asked, "Are you alone in the clinic? Where's Doctor Qin?"
In the whole low-income district, it was not an exaggeration to say that there was no one who did know about The People's Clinic.Thus, very few people did not know who Qin Qiuyue was.
Ling Yun smiled gently before answering, "Yep, my mother has gone to the market to do some shopping with my sister. But don't worry, I am trained too, so I can surely fix your body without you having to take any medications."
Though he had reached Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, his abilities were still far from being able to resurrect the dead. However, for cases like Liu Li who merely had pregnancy issues due to excessive stress, he could cure it easily. In fact, he could do it even without the use of needles.
That being said, he wanted to help to strengthen Liu Li's weak constitution as well. Hence, he took out nine needles from his leather pouch.
"Uhm...Mrs. Liu, I'm a Chinese medicine practitioner, so for the treatment, I'll be using silver needles. Are you fine with that?"
"Silver needles? Where… where will you be poking?"Liu Li asked worriedly. She knew about Chinese medical treatments but seeing the hundreds of needles in his leather needle bag, she could not help but worry slightly.
Ling Yun understood her worries perfectly. After all, Liu Li was different from his past patients such as doctor Xue and the old man from the accident. One had been a doctor well-versed in Chinese medical practices while the other had been unconscious during the treatment. Both allowed him to carry out his treatment without having to concern himself about their mental states.
Thus, in response, he gave her a reassuring smile before softly replying, "Only a few acupuncture points around the stomach." Now, all he had to do was wait for her answer.
Upon hearing that he was going to poke her stomach, her face turned beet red. Being nervous, she accidentally made eye contact with Ling Yun. At that instant, her heart skipped a beat and she panicked. Without thinking, she hurriedly nodded her head in agreement.
"Ehm… Do I need to take off my shirt?" Liu Li asked with her pretty face flushed red, her yellow complexion getting redder and redder.
With his mind focused on the treatment procedures for Liu Li, Ling Yun failed to notice the changes in Liu Li.
"Nope, it's okay. You can keep your shirt on. You just have to reveal your waist, that's all. Now, follow me…"
Having said his piece, Ling Yun went behind the black curtains in the clinic. Behind it was a small bed for patients. Ling Yun was focused and had little thoughts when he saw the bed. Whereas, Liu Li face was already flushed like a ripe tomato. But for the sake of her child, she walked to the bed and laid down gently. As per Ling Yun's instruction, she then slowly lifted up her shirt to reveal her white and fair belly. She was so embarrassed that she had no choice but to close her eyes, leaving the rest to Ling Yun.
"You have to lower your waistband more," Ling Yun ordered upon seeing that her pants were blocking two of the acupuncture points that he was targetting.
Liu Li's face turned even redder as she kept her eyes close while she tried to pull her pants lower. However, now that she had laid down completely with her big pregnant belly, she struggled to pull down her pants.
Seeing her struggling in vain, Ling Yun decided to offer his help.
"Mrs. Liu, do you need my help?"
All Liu Li could do was nod her head, her eyes closed and her face red with embarrassment.
Thus, Ling Yun gently held her pants by the waistband and pulled gently. As a pregnant lady's waistband was stretchy by nature, in a single pull, Ling Yun managed to reveal her underbelly. At the same time, he revealed a few strands of black pubic hair. His heart jumped and he immediately raised his head, not daring to look at the area again.
Despite the preparations being a bit overly intimate and troublesome, the acupuncture treatment by Ling Yun was surprisingly fast. Having reached the mid-stage of Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, the nine silver needles in his hands were overflowing with spiritual energy, thus enabling him to hit the acupuncture points effortlessly without resistance.
In just three minutes, with the use of the Nine Needles of The Spiritual Pivot, Ling Yun had inserted all the needles into their respective points. This time, he held nothing back, each time a needle hit a point, he sent a wave of spiritual energy into her body through it. Once this treatment was completed, not only the child, even Liu Li would be able to regain her strength. With that, her body's health would soon return to that of an ordinary healthy person. In addition, she would not have to worry about getting most illnesses in the future.
"Mrs. Liu, please continue lying down. I'll be back in a while to remove the needles. Everything went smoothly!"
Ling Yun then went outside the curtains.
Liu Li was a woman shy and conservative by nature. Yet, the moment Ling Yun had inserted a needle into her, she immediately felt a change in her body. By the time he had placed all nine needles, she felt comfortable, peaceful and warm throughout her body. She was now freed of her anxiety.
Half an hour later, Ling Yun returned and removed the needles before carefully helping Liu Li to get up from the bed.
"How are you feeling now? Ling Yun asked with a grin.
"I don't feel the usual anxiety anymore, I also don't feel weak anymore. Even the child in me is quiet. Everything seems so peaceful," Liu Li replied joyfully.
Connected to her child by blood, even without checking, she knew that her child was fine now.
"Mrs. Liu, congratulations. It's a boy and he's really healthy!" Ling Yun exclaimed with a wide smile.
"It's really a boy? How do you know?" Liu Li asked. Her joy had overwhelmed her and made her forget about being shy.
Of course I would know after putting nine needles into you. Otherwise, how can I even call myself a practitioner?
While Ling Yun kept his needles, Liu Li went back to the chair and sat down. She then took the brush out of her bag.
"Ling Yun, I'm very grateful for all the help you have given me. Even though our house can't offer much currently, this brush is an expression of our gratitude. I hope that you'll accept this humble gift. It is our family heirloom."
Liu Li then stretched her hand forward, pushing the brush into Ling Yun's hand.
"Mrs. Liu, there's no need for you to go through the trouble…"
Before he could finish, Ling Yun felt the immortal spiritual energy within his body flowing once again. The flow was continuous, flowing from his palm into the brush!
Ling Yun's heart reached its highest level of shock!