Chapter 210: The Yokai Qi Within The Skull

Chapter 210: The Yokai Qi Within The Skull

Yi-gang closed his eyes tightly.

Beep—

It seemed like such a sound was coming to his ears.

He thought he had forgotten. Born as the eldest son of the Baek Noble Clan here, the time he lived was almost as long as his previous life.

Since the cancerous lump settled in his stomach and spread in all directions, he had been unable to leave the hospital.

Busy nurses and doctors moving around.

People dying next to him, lying in bed. Their cheeks deeply sunken, their eyes cloudy and gray.

The artificial scent coming to his nose, mixed with the breath of the patients, that damp and subtly foul smell.

Memories of his previous life that he thought he had forgotten surfaced.

“Bring more hot water! And clean cotton cloths too. Bring everything you have!”

That’s how the Golden Needle Phantom’s voice bellowed.

No, this place was different from the intensive care unit. It felt more like an emergency room at dawn.

The Golden Needle Phantom seemed exactly like a doctor running around while shouting commands.

Slap!

Dam Hyun smacked Yi-gang’s cheeks hard.

“Wake up!”

Yi-gang carelessly let go of Dam Hyun’s arm that he had grabbed and twisted.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“Damn it... Pay attention and match the order to properly release the acupuncture points.”

“Yes.”

In front of Yi-gang, the Sword Emperor lay as if he were dead.

He wasn’t dead. His chest, though shallow, was still moving up and down.

However, his body had several large holes big enough for fingers to pass through.

Even modern medicine poured into him wouldn’t have been enough to save him.

Just moments ago, blood had been gushing from these holes.

Surprisingly, that severe bleeding had stopped.

He used his internal energy to seal the wounds caused by penetrating injuries with acupuncture points.

It had an effect similar to surgically suturing the blood vessels.

Naturally, it wasn’t a method that could last long.

The Golden Needle Phantom had prepared an excellent hemostatic that he had thoroughly infused into a clean cotton cloth.

Dam Hyun held it, timing the moment.

“Now, one, two... three.”

Yi-gang swiftly tapped the Sword Emperor’s shoulder.

When he slightly loosened the part where the acupuncture points had been sealed, the tightly closed entry wound opened up.

Just as blood was about to gush out, Dam Hyun forcefully stuffed in a cotton cloth soaked in hemostatic.

The Sword Emperor’s body twitched. Though unconscious, he must have felt pain.

As the Golden Needle Phantom was about to insert another needle, he frowned, and Dam Hyun asked, “Should I prepare the anesthesia?”

“No need! Using that now would damage his body too much.”

The anesthesia mentioned was a type of anesthetic. Using it on the Sword Emperor now might prevent him from waking up.

The Golden Needle Phantom’s face was contorted like a ghost’s.

But surprisingly, his mouth was smiling. It resembled the face of a rogue before a battle.

He too was a master of martial arts, but what truly excited him seemed to be saving a patient’s life.

The Golden Needle Phantom indeed was a divine doctor. Both Yi-gang and Dam Hyun knew medicine and assisted as aides, but they dared not even attempt to emulate the Golden Needle Phantom’s level.

He used his eyes, nose, and ears to fully assess the Sword Emperor’s condition.

With his mouth, he directed Dam Hyun and Yi-gang, and with his hands, he applied the most critical treatments in real time to prolong the Sword Emperor’s life.

Zhang Sanfeng even marveled.

「Such an incredible doctor...!」

It was as if he was forcibly tying the Sword Emperor’s departing soul back to his body.

Then the Golden Needle Phantom lifted his head and suddenly twisted his face.

The reason was that multiple people, including Myung Won and other elders of the Wudang Sect, were peering through the open folding screen doors left ajar for ventilation.

“Get lost, it’s annoying!” the Golden Needle Phantom shouted unabashedly.

It wasn’t something one would dare say to the Wudang Sect’s leader, but no one could rebuke him.

They flinched every time a sharp knife was waved.

“If you don’t want to see the Sword Emperor die, leave immediately!”

Who would dare to cross a doctor in such a mood?

They all retreated without a word.

The Golden Needle Phantom focused again.

He had to suture the wounds and blood vessels with threads finer than hair.

It was the most crucial and difficult task.

Every time the Golden Needle Phantom sweated like beads, Yi-gang wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

Many had died or been injured due to the self-destruction of the Hidden Ghosts.

Already seven had died. The number of injured was similarly high.

Among them, the Sword Emperor was in the most critical condition.

How much time had passed?

Finally, the Golden Needle Phantom relaxed his hands.

“Phew...”

He had been so focused that his hands were trembling from the tension.

He didn’t know what would happen next, but the major crisis had passed.

Yet, the Golden Needle Phantom’s expression remained troubled.

His eyes were fixed on the Sword Emperor’s head.

A piece of metal shot by the Heaven-Shaking Thunder had lodged in the Sword Emperor’s head. It was a fragment of an iron bead shattered by Yi-gang’s sword.

To examine the wound area clearly, the scar remained on the cleanly shaved scalp.

A white cotton cloth covered it, but still, a pinkish fluid slowly seeped out.VịSit no(v)3lb/!n(.)com for new novels

The Golden Needle Phantom had decided to leave that wound untreated for the time being.

“Yi-gang.”

He then called Yi-gang in a low voice.

As Yi-gang looked up, the Golden Needle Phantom strode forward and grabbed him by the collar.

“Normally, I wouldn’t have listened to the likes of you while treating my patient.”

It was a strong tone, as if he might spew fire, clearly after exerting all his strength.



The Golden Needle Phantom had been waiting for them for some time.

The Sword Emperor’s body had been moved to a slightly elevated bed.

After being administered anesthesia, he lay motionless as if dead.

“We start the skull-opening surgery. Dam Hyun, assist me by my side. Yi-gang, sit in front and wait for the moment.”

“Yes.”

Yi-gang sat cross-legged.

Others could not see him, but Zhang Sanfeng was standing beside him.

「There’s only one chance.」

‘Yes.’

The Golden Needle Phantom picked up a small knife.

Normally, a saw was used to cut bone, but a master can substitute this by imbuing a weapon with Qi.

“Let me emphasize once again. Skull-opening surgery doesn’t mean completely opening the skull.”

“Yes,”

“We make an incision that allows the skin to be sutured back, and remove only the necessary pieces of bone from the skull.”

“Yes.”

The Golden Needle Phantom recited the process of the skull-opening surgery as if he were performing a solemn ritual.

“The important thing is to minimize damage to the brain inside the skull. After removing the fragments embedded in the bone, we will disinfect the wound with boiled water.”

“It’s ready.”

“Yi-gang, that’s when you step in.”

“Yes.”

That will be done.

And so, the skull-opening surgery began.

Even the Golden Needle Phantom had only performed the skull-opening surgery three times before.

And all three times, the patients did not survive.

The Golden Needle Phantom brought the small knife to the Sword Emperor’s scalp.

Swoosh—

The knife precisely sliced through the skin.

The blade that cut through human skin gathered blood and sebum. He placed the knife on a white cloth, then extended his hand to Dam Hyun.

“Give me the third knife.”

Dam Hyun handed him a slightly blunter and shorter knife.

A white light shone on the blade that the Golden Needle Phantom was holding.

He then applied it to the Sword Emperor’s skull.

Scrape—

It sounded more like cutting through the flesh of a radish or pumpkin rather than hard bone.

He placed the removed piece of skull on a silver tray with a clang, using gold tweezers.

From that point on, even more concentration was required.

Holding the gold tweezers, the Golden Needle Phantom didn’t even blink.

The silence, where not even a breath could be heard, lasted a long time.

The Golden Needle Phantom even controlled his breathing length.

It seemed to take him three times as long as an ordinary person to take a single breath.

The Golden Needle Phantom stirred the gold tweezers inside the Sword Emperor’s skull.

It took a considerable amount of time.

Finally, a nail-sized piece of metal was captured by Golden Needle Phantom’s gold tweezers.

Clang—

The piece of metal that had been consuming the Sword Emperor’s life was now exposed to the world.

By then, Yi-gang was already standing.

He strode forward and raised his hand, which had been disinfected with alcohol.

Soon, he did something tremendous.

He placed his white fingers on the Sword Emperor’s head, deep enough to feel the heat and softness.

「Focus. However, you only need to play the role of the legs. Empty your mind.」

The Golden Needle Phantom sat quietly in a meditative pose.

Dam Hyun’s eyes were wide open, as if not wanting to miss a single moment.

「Like true energy, yokai Qi also exists and does not exist.」

There was a concept known as Qi Bu Zai Lun.

It meant that Qi did not exist. If you saw a martial artist emitting sword Qi, this might seem incorrect.

However, some masters who have reached the Absolute realm have spoken of Qi Bu Zai Lun.

「You cannot touch Qi, and even less so yokai Qi. If you ask how one can extract the yokai Qi firmly entrenched in a person’s bones...」

Then how does one extract the yokai Qi from the mind, which seemed to exist yet not exist?

「Empty your body completely. Let the yokai Qi flow out as if dry paper were absorbing ink.」

Yi-gang did just that.

A strange energy was drawn from his hands.

It was not human Qi. It was neither pure nor evil.

It felt as if his fingertips were both freezing and burning.

This was demonic Qi.

Even Yi-gang, familiar with Heavenly Thunder Bell, could not handle the power of beasts and monsters.

「Let it flow. It is not a power you can handle.」

Cheongho poked its face out from Yi-gang’s embrace.

「Yokai Qi suits monsters. The power of the evil dragon has waned over time, so even your young fox could handle it.」

Cheongho flicked its tongue.

It looked more enticed than when it faced its favorite acorns.

Yi-gang removed his hand from the Sword Emperor’s skull.

And immediately, he thoroughly washed his fingers with boiled water.

The absorbed yokai Qi was gathered at his fingertips. Perhaps because of that, his fingers were tinged with a purplish hue.

As he brought it closer to Cheongho, Cheongho looked up at Yi-gang’s face.

A single drop of saliva fell from the corner of its mouth.

The moment Yi-gang nodded.

“King.”

Cheongho bit Yi-gang’s finger.

Cheongho’s still-white fur suddenly emitted a blue light.