Chapter 161: Fossil Divine Art and Soul-Mistaking Hand

Jiang Xiaoyu'er rose from the ground and walked toward the pavilion. He saw the young lady of this household, Murong Jiu, in a pale green dress. Her figure was lithe, and she carried an air of indifference that surpassed ordinary people. As for Gu Renyu, he had thick brows and large eyes, and though his frame was tall and sturdy, he always carried a hint of shyness.

When Jiang Xiaoyu'er arrived, Gu Renyu cupped his fists in greeting, but Murong Jiu and the Little Fairy didn't even raise their eyes; they didn't even look at him, continuing to speak naturally with Gu Qing. This left Jiang Xiaoyu'er feeling stifled. He had the urge to shout, but these people were not discussing borrowing a carriage—they were discussing the state of Yan Nantian's illness.

This left Jiang Xiaoyu'er with no choice but to hold it in.

At this moment, Gu Qing turned his head, looked at Jiang Xiaoyu'er, and smiled: "They say that once you enter the Jianghu, you are like a fish in water. How is it that such a small ripple has washed you up on the shore?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu'er felt as uncomfortable as if his throat had been obstructed. When his cleverness encountered Gu Qing, it truly could not be put to use.

"Are you after the secret sword manuals, or are you after gold and jewels?"

Jiang Xiaoyu'er asked.

In his mind, these were the only two things Gu Qing could be plotting.

"Of course, it is the secret manuals."

Gu Qing said candidly: "The current Jianghu is on the verge of chaos. Conspirators are stirring beneath the surface, and with Yan Nantian gone from the Villain's Valley, the villains within are about to swarm out. In such a situation, Yan Nantian has awakened, yet he has no internal energy left in his body. However, Yan Nantian still possesses a heart full of chivalry. Tell me, to whom should he entrust the secret sword manuals to suppress this chaotic Jianghu?"

In the original events, after Yan Nantian awakened, he encountered this very situation and could only entrust the secret manuals to the chivalrous Lu Zhongyuan, letting him disguise himself for a time. Later, this Lu Zhongyuan, disguised as Yan Nantian, was ambushed by Jiang Yulang.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu'er had the urge to curse Gu Qing for being the true conspirator, but he keenly grasped another point and said: "You want to make Yan Nantian wake up?"

"Of course."

Gu Qing reached out and pointed to Murong Jiu beside him, saying: "The peerless beauty before us, with her exquisite grace and refined talent, is one of the world's finest miracle doctors. It is just that she does not walk the Jianghu, so few know of her. Right now, she is diagnosing and treating the chivalrous Yan Nantian."

Hearing Gu Qing's praise, Murong Jiu felt slightly smug.

She had been admiring her own reflection in this Nine Shows Shanzhuang for too long.

This is a miracle doctor?

Jiang Xiaoyu'er felt it didn't seem like it.

"The young ladies of the Murong family are all talented and intelligent. Their lightness skills and hidden weapons are the best in the world. Things that others do not touch, they can study to great depths. Besides practicing martial arts, this Ninth Young Lady has studied medicine, which is already rare in the world."

Gu Qing heaped praise upon Murong Jiu.

Murong Jiu pursed her red lips and nodded as if it were only natural.

Beside them, the Little Fairy Zhang Jing looked left and right, feeling that Gu Qing's praise seemed to imply he was very interested in Murong Jiu. But looking at his expression, it didn't seem like it; it seemed quite pure.

"Back then, Yan Nantian entered the Villain's Valley, was ambushed and severely wounded, and was tortured by the villains until he was no longer human. He was nine-tenths dead. In this severe wounding, blood pooled in his brain, causing his muddled state."

Murong Jiu rose gracefully and said: "Although this is tricky, it is not enough to leave one helpless." Murong Jiu signaled for Gu Qing to bring Yan Nantian over, saying: "Follow me and watch me treat him with acupuncture."

Gu Qing nodded repeatedly, took Yan Nantian, and went with Murong Jiu toward the inner courtyard.

Jiang Xiaoyu'er was still uneasy and just wanted to move forward, but Gu Renyu blocked his path.

The structure of the Nine Shows Shanzhuang was complex. Murong Jiu led Gu Qing through several turns until they reached a bluestone path. At the end of the path was a large bronze door. Murong Jiu opened the door, revealing medicine racks, bronze tripods, alchemy furnaces, and more. Murong Jiu signaled for Yan Nantian to sit on the ground and took out silver needles from the side.

"Yan Nantian cannot move now, mainly because his blood flow is obstructed."

Murong Jiu said: "This problem has persisted for ten years. Although he has taken medicine and received acupuncture, there is still some clotted blood that has not been expelled."

As she spoke, Murong Jiu used silver needles to pierce Yan Nantian's Baihui acupoint, Quchi acupoint, and Huantiao acupoint.

"Miss Murong's acupuncture is truly precise."

Gu Qing immediately praised from the side.

"Just watch quietly."

Hearing the praise, Murong Jiu said coolly. She was a homebody in the Nine Shows Shanzhuang, spending a certain amount of time every day practicing the Fossil Divine Art. She did not walk the Jianghu and only saw her own sisters, brothers-in-law, and the like, so she took all kinds of praise as truth.

Now that Gu Qing praised her, Murong Jiu felt her acupuncture was indeed good.

"Miss Murong."

Gu Qing said: "Back then, Yan Nantian had eight of his fourteen meridians severed and was covered in wounds. For over ten years, the sequelae have been endless. Look, if you add two needles to the Fengchi acupoint and Waiguan acupoint, wouldn't he wake up faster?"

The suggestion Gu Qing made was not grating. Murong Jiu listened to it all, pondered with narrowed eyes, and reached out to add the two needles.

"Miss Murong, look at these few needles. If you use the piercing method—piercing the Quchi acupoint to the Shaohai acupoint, the Yanglao acupoint to the Jianshi acupoint, the Yanglingquan to the Yinlingquan, and the Xuanzhong to the Sanyinjiao—how would that be?"

Gu Qing again offered his opinion very gently.

Upon hearing this, Murong Jiu frowned slightly, pondering what effect piercing through these acupoints would have on Yan Nantian's body. Then, she slowly corrected them one by one. After all these acupoints were pierced, Yan Nantian's body seemed to tremble.

This development caused Murong Jiu to observe closely. She pondered for an unknown amount of time before suddenly reacting. She turned around to look behind her, but Gu Qing was no longer there.

In this room, there was another bronze door leading to a place filled with ice blocks—this was where Murong Jiu usually practiced her martial arts. At this moment, the door was wide open, and a chilling cold was radiating outward. Gu Qing was standing inside, looking at the Fossil Divine Art hanging within.

"I actually misjudged!"

Murong Jiu stepped forward and said coldly: "Your medical skills should be above mine. You tricked me into practicing medicine just to steal the martial arts manual?"

Gu Qing withdrew his gaze from the Fossil Divine Art. As for medical skills, Gu Qing had read the Lianhua Baojian and was also well-versed in the Old Man's medical skills; he was indeed above Murong Jiu. However, he flatly denied the point about stealing the manual, saying: "How can the affairs of a scholar be called stealing?"

Murong Jiu approached with a cold face, preparing to act.

"Miss Murong, you should be able to see that there is a huge hidden danger in this Fossil Divine Art, right?"

Gu Qing suddenly said.

If this set of Fossil Divine Art were practiced to the Ninth Realm, the skin would turn to stone, making it hard to be injured by sharp objects, and the whole body would be indestructible, naturally making one invincible in the world.

But the price paid was that the person would turn into something like a stone.

In Gu Qing's view, Murong Jiu must have seen the flaws in this martial art, which is why she practiced medicine, wanting to use medical skills to find the flaws in the martial art and compensate for them.

In the original work, Jiang Xiaoyu'er dressed as a ghost and scared Murong Jiu into madness; it is likely there were also reasons related to her martial arts.

Murong Jiu stopped because of this, looking Gu Qing up and down. After knowing that Gu Qing's medical skills were above hers, it led to many guesses. She said: "My relatives all advised me not to practice this martial art."

"Such a good manual, how can one not practice it?"

Gu Qing said: "We can compensate for the flaws within. Even if you are careless for a moment and your heart is sealed by stone, rest assured, I will definitely be able to pull you back."

As he spoke, Gu Qing raised his right hand.

Murong Jiu looked carefully and asked: "What makes you think this hand can pull me back?"

"Just because it is the Soul-Mistaking Hand!"

Gu Qing said: "Let alone a stone woman, even if it were a block of stone, I could rub water out of it!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 162 =====