Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 17.1

Chapter 17.1
You gave me poison, and I gave you candy

“What does this have to do with you?” Luo Wanqing swept her cold eyes over.

“We’re going to travel together,” Qin Jue gazed at her and smiled, “Let’s get to know each other a bit?”

Not waiting for Luo Wanqing to open her mouth, Qin Jue continued, “You have strong internal energy, but your tendons are damaged, and your skills are so poor. It stands to reason that with this kind of internal energy, you should have practiced martial arts for many years. So, how could you fight like someone who’s never learned martial arts before? Without any techniques? Moreover, with such internal energy, how could you only be a small leader in the Salt Gang? ‘Little Master Liu,” Qin Jue stared at her, scrutinizing and smiling, “You’re too weird.”

Hearing Qin Jue’s words, Luo Wanqing knew that covering it up further would cause more suspicion.

“This internal energy is mine.” Luo Wanqing said in the speech that Liu Xiniang had prepared for her long ago, “I practiced martial arts since I was a child, but no one guided me. It might be because of my poor natural talent or the shortcomings of the martial arts that I practiced. After many years of practice, I couldn’t run my true qi. I forced it to run, but not only did my tendons not widen, it hardened to this state. Although my martial arts is not pretty, it’s enough to be useful in a place like the Salt Gang.”

“I see.” Qin Jue pondered and lamented, “Then your natural talent is truly lacking.”

Luo Wanqing coldly glanced at him, “If you don’t know how to speak, shut up.”

“I’m not saying that you’re not suited to learning martial arts,” Qin Jue turned around to see her displeasure and smiled, saying solemnly, “On the contrary, you have excellent perception.”

Luo Wanqing ignored him.

Seeing that she remained silent, Qin Jue explained, ”I taught you how to fight Black Bear, but in just a few moves, you realized the path. You don’t have a teacher and practice on your own. Yet you’re able to have such internal strength. You’re truly a genius. It’s just that your roots are too poor, and your veins are not connected, but this is repairable. Don’t worry, with me here, it’s just a matter of time before you become a top expert.”

“Oh.” Luo Wanqing listened to him use her to brag about himself and muttered, “You’re tired. It’s time to sleep.”

Seeing her forcefully change the subject, Qin Jue didn’t care and nodded while saying, “Alright, then I’ll sleep first. Tomorrow, we’ll go into the city together and find an inn to rest properly.”

“Uh-huh.” Luo Wanqing answered.

Qin Jue organized the uneven ground underneath him, found a comfortable position, and lay down with his back to her.

Luo Wanqing looked at his back, unable to hold back, “Qin Jue.”

“Hmm?”

“You believe me when I say the internal energy is mine?”

“Of course.” Qin Jue turned his back to her, “How many people in this world are willing to give their lives to another? Compared to someone else giving it to you, it’s still more sane for you to cultivate without any guidance.”

Luo Wanqing froze and couldn’t help but say, “Giving inner strength to another person is equal to giving life?”

“It’s not actually giving your life,” Qin Jue closed his eyes and casually replied, “If you give your inner strength, you’ll become an ordinary person. For someone practicing martial arts, with so many years of roots gone, isn’t it worse than being killed?”

“Can’t -” Luo Wanqing frowned. She was somewhat confused. “Can’t it be given in halves?”

“It’s not like splitting a big pie,” Qin Jue laughed. “How can you split as much as you want? True qi is a breath. If you give it, you give it all. I’ve never heard of anyone giving only half. If someone says that to you, then don’t you doubt it-“

Qin Jue spoke with certainty, “He’s lying to you.”

These words made Luo Wanqing’s heart skip a beat. She wanted to confirm it again but felt that asking too many questions would reveal too much. However, if the inner strength wasn’t like what Liu Xiniang had said, that it could divide equally, then Liu Xiniang was equivalent to giving her everything. Then how would she escape?

Liu Xiniang was not related to her. It was already mutually beneficial for them to give her half of her internal force to conceal her identity longer when she took the examination of the Inspection Department. But she gave it all —

Why? For what reason?

Luo Wanqing couldn’t understand, but she quickly calmed down. She couldn’t trust the person in front of her. Moreover, Liu Xiniang was a killer of the Feng Yu Pavilion. Qin Jue was only a son of a noble family who might know some of the secret techniques. But he wasn’t familiar with everything under heaven either. Maybe Liu Xiniang used a method that Qin Jue didn’t know about. Liu Xiniang didn’t have any reason to give her everything. There must be a way to split the internal energy, but Qin Jue didn’t know about it.

Luo Wanqing was sure of this idea, so she didn’t think more. She closed her eyes and meditated for a while. When it was dawn, they cleaned up the traces of fire, faked their whereabouts, and left together.

After walking towards the north for half an hour, they finally saw a field in the pathway. They looked at each other and saw the outcast clothes on the other.

Luo Wanqing pursed her lips and said, “Do you have anything of value on you?”

Outcast prisoner clothes are too conspicuous and will cause panic when people see them. If the officials were alarmed, not to mention the possibility of exposing Qin Jue’s location, the most important thing was that, without the Inspection Department’s team, the local officials wouldn’t send them to Dongdu, yet wouldn’t release them because they were prisoners. In the end, the probability was that they’d be stuck here, waiting for execution after the fall.

Qin Jue knew what she meant, pulling out a small bag from his clothes, shaking the bag, and saying, “I hid a bag of gold beads.”

Hearing the words gold beads,’ Luo Wanqing’s eyes widened. Not to mention that ordinary people rarely have this much gold. Even if they did, how could he bring it out of prison?

“Don’t ask me how I brought it out. Immortals have their brilliant plans.”
Qin Jue took the gold beads and turned around, “Although taking without telling is stealing, two sets of clothes for a gold bead, someone should be willing, right?”

After discussing, they quietly sneaked into a farmer’s house using their martial arts. Qin Jue left a gold bead on the table. Luo Wanqing quickly took two sets of clothes and identity documents and slipped out again unnoticed.

They found a grain pile, changed their clothes, disguising themselves as husband and wife, and entered the city.

After entering the city, they booked a room and then split up to go shopping. Luo Wanqing bought a bunch of medicinal herbs and things necessary for traveling. She waited for Qin Jue in the room while making medicine.

When it was dark, Qin Jue finally turned back and stood outside, knocking on the door, “Xiniang, can I come in?”

Luo Wanqing was in the middle of grinding herbs. She had spent the afternoon dealing with all types of herbs. Hearing the other’s voice, she answered, “Come in.”

With that, a white-clothed youth entered.

Luo Wanqing looked up and was stunned. The youth before her had ordinary features, but his eyes were gorgeous. He wore a white robe embroidered with peach blossom petals on the corner. Red and white cloth tied up his hair high. He carried a wine jug on his waist and a peach blossom fan in his hand. He looked elegant and dashing, setting off his facial features to be somewhat handsome.

Luo Wanqing frowned and said, “What did you go for?”

“Buying clothes.” Qin Jue spun around. “How about it? Doesn’t it feel like spring is approaching? I haven’t changed my clothes since I’m in jail. I also bought a couple of sets for you, one white, one pink, and one black ……”

“What else did you buy?” Luo Wanqing interrupted him.

Qin Jue pondered, “Wine, pastries, candied fruit, handkerchiefs ……”

“Okay.” Knowing he didn’t buy anything serious, Luo Wanqing interrupted him, “Have a rest. It’s time for you to tell me how to repair my tendons.”

“Boring, ah.” Qin Jue sighed and placed the stuff on the table. He walked over to Luo Wanqing and curiously asked, “What are you doing?”

“Making medicine. For easy carrying and use.” Luo Wanqing cleansed her hands in the water basin beside her and said lightly, “Tell me how to repair my tendons after this.”

“Alright,” Qin Jue nodded, then added, “I’ll explain it to you in plain and simple terms. The biggest problem with your tendons is that they become impaired after being forcibly widened. So, the first thing you need to do is to use your internal energy to warm them up and repair them. After that, they would restored. But–“

As Qin Jue emphasized, Luo Wanqing looked up, “But what?”

“But if only that, there’s no way for you to utilize your inner strength fully.”

“Why?” Luo Wanqing frowned.

Qin Jue took a peach blossom in full bloom from a nearby porcelain vase and tapped the palm of his hand, slowly and lazily saying, “Because there’s a problem with your roots and bones.”

“What problem?”

“Let me put it this way,” Qin Jue walked to her with the peach blossom. He lightly tapped on the back of her neck. The peach blossom still had a watery chill, causing Luo Wanqing to shiver lightly.

Qin Jue traced her spine and slid down to her veins, “The veins flow all around your body and are a companion to the bones. Usually, people who have practiced martial arts since childhood will let their bones grow to make it easy for the tendons to flow. The true qi is like streaming water. The tendons are rivers and canals, and the bones are the mountains and hills. Your true qi is only smooth when the rivers and canals are.”

When the peach blossom stopped at her waist, Qin Jue raised his eyes to look at her, quite regrettably: “However, your bones are no different from normal people, so there are many rough spots. When your true qi passes through there, it will be clogged up and stagnant, so even if I can repair or even widen your tendons, your roots and bones are not good. You’re still unable to use them properly in a fight. There is only one way to fix this, and that is to mold your bones.”

“How?”