Chapter 34 - A Storm is Coming

Zhang Qingfan’s heart tightened as he cried out in a low voice, “Leave Luo Yunshang and Meng Wu here! The others, follow me out…now!” With that, he turned and left. Now that the arrow was on the string, even if he was really being played, he had to brace himself and bear it! Everyone looked gloomy as well and walked out of the ice chamber with all sorts of moods.

“Meng Wu, take off her clothes. Teacher Luo, hold up the curtain.”

“Li Yunxiao, have you had enough? The consequences of this matter are beyond your ability to bear, so you better take it seriously!” Yunshang said angrily.

Pa!

Yunxiao opened the box containing the gold needles, then bent his finger and flicked it without lifting his head. “Teacher Luo, I’m going to puncture your Cloud Gate acupoint, and the needle will go seven millimeters deep into your skin,” he said softly.

A faint whistle rang out.

Yunshang’s pupils constricted as she saw a wisp of golden light flash before her and then felt a faint tingling sensation on her shoulder blade like that of a mosquito bite. When she looked down, she saw a gold needle as thin as hair stuck in her Cloud Gate acupoint, having gone exactly seven millimeters deep!

She was struck dumb instantly, her eyes full of horror, while a great wave was surging in her heart! Her undergarment was sewn with gold thread, which had a certain resistance to Primordial Qi. The strength required for the gold needle to penetrate it could not be controlled at all, not to mention it had to puncture exactly seven millimeters into her flesh! Besides, how did he know she was wearing a gold-threaded undergarment?

Yunxiao chuckled. “When we were outside just now, I noticed a slight golden glow on your neck, so I figured you are wearing a gold-threaded undergarment. It’s in fashion with girls nowadays. In addition, you are wearing three coats, and there are six meters between us, so I’ve used thirty percent of my strength to throw out the needle. Is there any deviation?”

Yunshang’s face turned pink with embarrassment. She could not calm down when she realized a man knew what kind of undergarment she was wearing. So, even though her heart was filled with great shock, she shouted angrily, “Li Yunxiao, you really have a big mouth!”

Yunxiao laughed, “Let’s get started quickly. In fact, I am confident only when I use flying needles. How can I calm down when Ruxue is stripped naked in front of me? Although she is young, she has everything of a mature woman, like her ample bosom…”

“Enough!” A gleam of shyness flashed through Yunshang’s eyes. The gauze curtain spread from her hands and immediately separated Yunxiao from Ruxue. She then calmed down a little and said softly, “You may begin now.”

Meanwhile, Meng Wu nervously took off Ruxue’s dress and held her carefully.

A faint whistle rang out.

Wisps of golden light flashed across the air as Yunxiao’s flying needles began to pierce through the curtain one by one and stick into the acupoints on Ruxue’s body.

Yunshang’s pupils constricted as she focused all her attention on each of Yunxiao’s movements, memorizing them as clearly as possible in her head.

…

The group of men outside the ice chamber was very quiet, and no one dared to breathe loudly, because Zhang Qingfan’s face was extremely unsightly. No one dared to provoke him at this time.

But soon, Xu Han finally could not help asking, “Zhang, do you think this Li Yunxiao is messing around?”

Zhang Qingfan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Now that we have reached this point, we have to bear all the consequences even if we were to eat sh*t.” With a gloomy and murderous look in his eyes, he turned to stare coldly at Jia Rong, causing the latter to shiver with fear as beads of cold sweat dripped off the forehead.

Pa!

The door of the ice chamber suddenly opened, and everyone’s heart gave a jerk with the sound! They all turned around and saw Yunxiao walk out leisurely.

“What’s the matter? Hasn’t the treatment started yet?” Zhang Qingfan asked. “The Princess’s illness cannot be delayed any longer!”

“It’s done,” Yunxiao said lightly.

It’s…done?

Everyone was stunned. So fast! It had only been a few minutes! Was he playing with them? Their hearts filled with a feeling that they had been tricked. Jia Rong’s head was reeling and he almost passed out on the spot. He seemed to have seen himself dismembered by the furious Zhang Qingfan…

“Li Yunxiao, how dare you!”

Zhang Qingfan finally exploded with the rage that had simmered for a long time and rushed over. “How dare you fool us with the Princess’s life! I’m going to slice you into pieces today even if Li Chunyang is here!”

Pa!

A figure flashed past as Yunshang appeared in front of Yunxiao and gently blocked Zhang Qingfan’s fist. “Master Zhang, what he said is true. The Princess is healed,” she said softly.

A total silence reigned in front of the door…

For a moment, Zhang Qingfan felt that his brain could not function properly. “Hea-healed…The Princess is healed? Yunshang, since when have you become so facetious?”

Xu Han’s figure flashed as he bolted straight into the ice chamber. Soon, a shocked voice came out of it, “I…I can’t believe this…The Princess is healed!”

All the people outside the door sucked in a cold breath at the same time, and then glanced at each other in horror. The princess’s serious condition, which had troubled them for more than a decade, was solved by this teenager in only a few minutes?

Jia Rong felt he had exhausted all his strength in an instant and collapsed to the ground. Of course, he was relieved on the inside, because his life was finally saved!

Looking at Yunxiao’s cold eyes, Zhang Qingfan became a little embarrassed. Traces of sweat oozed from his forehead as he said hesitantly, “How…how can it be so fast? Is this a lie? Heh, hehe…” He managed a few laughs, but his expression looked very awkward.

“Heh my a*s!” Yunxiao scolded. “It was only eighteen needles in total. It will only take me a brief moment to hack you eighteen times with a knife, so how long do you think it will take me to treat the Princess? Three days and three nights? I can’t believe you are the chief alchemist of the imperial palace! What an idiot!”

Everyone gaped while Han Bai and Chen Zhen opened their mouths wide enough to fit a watermelon. It was unusually quiet outside the door once again…

‘Did he just scold the chief alchemist of the imperial palace as an idiot? Heavens! Even His Majesty the King dares not to do that! Is this boy insane?’ Everyone was sweating profusely.

Jia Rong’s heart, which had just calmed down, jumped back up to his throat in an instant. He struggled desperately, wishing he could immediately get up and quickly disassociate himself from Yunxiao. ‘Heavens! I don’t know this boy! Don’t get me into trouble!’ he cried wildly in his heart.

Zhang Qingfan was stupefied as well. He could not remember how many years had passed since he had last been called an idiot. He was only an intermediate apprentice alchemist back then, and was often knocked on the head and scolded for being an idiot when he was purifying ingredients for his master. It had been years since he had heard this adjective.

He himself felt strange too, for he should have been flown into a rage now, but he was not angry at all. Instead, he was somewhat sad.

“You…call me an idiot?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Hmm…”

Yunshang cried out in cold sweat, “Li Yunxiao, don’t talk nonsense! Apologize to Master Zhang right now!”

“Apologize?” Yunxiao laughed coldly and walked away without paying any attention to the terrified faces of the crowd. “He can come to me when he has learned how to use flying needles, then I can consider apologizing to him.”

Everyone looked at each other and could not believe that he dared to say such a thing!

Yunshang felt dizzy as she said quickly, “I’m sorry, Master Zhang!”

Zhang Qingfan shook his head somewhat dejectedly and sighed, “It doesn’t matter when one starts learning. The one who discovers the truth should be the teacher…He is right.”

It was one’s strength that counted in this world. Zhang Qingfan’s statement was obviously an attitude of admitting defeat. While the crowd was silent, their hearts were filled with extreme shock.

“Now that the Princess is healed, you may all leave. I plan to stay here for a few days and observe her condition.” Zhang Qingfan waved and walked straight into the ice chamber, his expression a little bleak.

The crowd left silently one by one. Han Bai and Chen Zhen also planned to go back, but Luo Yunshang caught them. Soon, the three of them left the Alchemist Association together.

“You two are the closest to Li Yunxiao. Do you know why he has changed so much recently? The soaring cultivation base and superb medical skills are by no means achievements that can be attained in a short period of time.” Yunshang went straight to the point.

The two of them were silent. Li Yunxiao, who had always needed their care, suddenly left them far behind for no apparent reason and became an existence they needed to look up to.

Yunshang stared at them coldly. “Don’t tell me you don’t know. Even if he had been keeping a low profile because he wanted to hide his true strength, he would never be able to hide it from you. I’m sure you can see some clues”

They exchanged a glance, both looking blank.

Chen Zhen said playfully, “Teacher Luo, you are his headteacher. The fact that you have made him into a student who even Master Zhang had to admit inferiority to shows that you are really good at teaching…”

Pa!

Yunshang slapped him on the back of the head and cut off his words. After pondering for a while, her eyes suddenly flashed with a glimmer of light, and then she said seriously, “Do you think Li Yunxiao’s low profile has something to do with the current situation of the Li Family?”

Chen Zhen and Han Bai’s faces grew grim.

With her eyes gleaming, Yunshang said thoughtfully, “Just when everyone thought he is a loser and an insignificant person, he suddenly stood up under the limelight. For a person who is so scheming and can endure for such a long time to stand on the stage at this time, perhaps he has already made all the preparations. Perhaps, something big is going to happen in the Li Family.”

“Duke Jingguo is in a life and death reclusion,” Han Bai said in a deep voice, “and he has made Li Yi in charge of the Li Family. Now, the whole Li Family is under the control of this guy. Even General Feilong, who is guarding the frontier in the northwest, can’t do anything to him. Could it be that the rumor is true?”

Chen Zhen’s face also became extremely unsightly. “Rumor has it that Duke Jingguo was not in a life and death reclusion, but was imprisoned by Li Yi. Otherwise, how could he be given such great powers, when he is merely an adopted son who was given the surname of Li? Although Young Master Yun’s recent performance is amazing, the Li Family is still being supported by some elders. It should not be time for him to stand up!”

Yunshang said lightly, “Maybe there have been changes we don’t know about, and Li Yunxiao must have gotten some support to make him dare to stand up. This technique of stimulating acupoints with gold needles and the Floating Life Seal is the best proof. If there is turmoil in the Li Family, it will definitely affect the foundation of the state. You should also be prepared.”

Han Bai said coldly with a determined look in his eyes, “I’ve long hated that Li Yi. As long as Young Master Yun stands up, we will always stand by him and support him!”