"Did you get in a fight again?"
Guo Xianhu is startled when he hears the familiar voice.
"No…" said Guo Xianhu. His eyes are looking down to the ground.
"Then tell me, why are you looking like this?" asked Guo Lingxin. Tears are starting to form in her eyes.
This is not the first time that Guo Xianhu come back home in this manner. And every time it happens, Guo Lingxin feels her heart sliced.
"You should stop doing that thing," said Guo Lingxin. "I know you were learning from Big Red."
Guo Lingxin has known that her big brother is pickpocketing since a while ago. She didn't say anything before this as they did need the money.
"Big Red was caught and then he was executed last week. You should stop doing it before you get caught in a similar fate."
Guo Lingxin can't imagine what will happen to herself if that day ever comes. Her big brother is her only remaining family.
"No, I was framed," said Gui Xianhu. "I didn't steal anything today.
"I just walk around, looking for a job that I can do.
"Then by chance, I was found by the Budding Verdant's men. They decided to beat me for fun."
Gui Xianhu looked at his little sister. He explained what had happened today.
"If you didn't believe me, you can ask that man over there."
Gu Xianhu pointed his finger toward Xue Yang. The little sister is bewildered seeing another person in this place. Her mind was full of Guo Xianhu and his injuries. Guo Lingxin didn't notices Xue Yang.
Guo Lingxin hastily wipes the tears from her face.
"Uhm…"
Pulled into this situation, Xue Yang can only sigh.
"That is right. He is not lying," said Xue Yang. He didn't know if Guo Xianhu was telling the truth or not. But he decided to follow it for now.
"I saw it happening from the start.
"And I feel bad for your brother so I wanted to help him."
"Is that so?" Guo Lingxin is a little relieved.
At least her big brother is not looking for a problem himself. But this is still a problem. Who knows when he will get beaten up again?
"Anyway, let me help him first," said Xue Yang. "Is there a place for him to sit?"
Guo Lingxin guides Xue Yang to a small house in this cramped alley. She is unsure if she should let a stranger go inside their home. So she let Guo Xianhu sit outside.
Guo Xianhu is sitting in a wooden chair outside. He reluctantly sticks his right leg out.
Xue Yang squatted down and took a look at the injured leg. He sees that Guo Xianhu's leg is swollen in many parts. Glancing at the other leg, Xue Yang can also see some swelling there.
"This is horrible," said Xue Yang as soon as he looked at the injuries. "Are there any injuries in your body? They kick your body, right? Open your clothes."
Guo Xianhu is reluctant to open his clothes. Seeing that, Xue Yang signaled to the little sister. Guo Lingxin understands what Xue Yang means. She then looked at her big brother and nodded at him.
Guo Xianhu can only do what his little sister says. So he opens his clothes. Slowly, the injuries on his body are revealed to Xue Yang and his little sister.
Xue Yang is surprised to see Guo Xianhu's body. His body is so thin, but it is full of injuries. Many have been healed and dried. Some are still fresh.
Guo Lingxin also gasped. She didn't expect that her big brother was carrying this many injuries. "Big brother…"
Xue Yang sighed. He then picks a medicinal paste from his bag. This medicinal paste is the one that he bought from that grandma's shop.
"Sir, do you want to use that?" asked Guo Lingxin. "We don't have any money to pay it. It is better not to—"
"I know," interjects Xue Yang. "I know you don't have money. I am not looking for money. I am just sad seeing a child getting beaten in black and blue.
"Don't worry… If I want to scam someone for money, I will search for a richer person."
***
Xue Yang takes a deep breath before he touches Guo Xianhu's leg. He then sends a small amount of Spiritual Energy to Guo Xianhu's body.
'Ah! I accidentally send Spiritual Energy.'
When checking the body of Yu Guanyu and the other two, he always uses Spiritual Energy. This time, he did it out of habit.
"Eh?"
The two siblings looked at Xue Yang in an instant. Guo Lingxin fears that Xue Yang found a bad injury. Gou Xianhu also thinks the same. Maybe there is another injury that even he didn't know?
Xue Yang asked Guo Xianhu, "Have you ever cultivated?"
Xue Yang was surprised when he found a trace of Qi inside Guo Xianhu's body. He is sure that the boy in front of him has cultivated before.
Looking at the thin body full of injury, Xue Yang becomes more sure. There is a reason why Guo Xianhu is still alive despite having that many injuries.
"Cultivate? No, I have never done that," said Guo Xianhu. "We are only trying to live day to day. There is no time doing something like that."
Xue Yang is perplexed. 'If it didn't come from cultivation, where else can a Qi comes from?'
Xue Yang then remembers another possibility. Guo Xianhu might not specifically train. But his body can cultivate by itself. Xue Yang decided to send another drop of Spiritual Energy. This time he wanted to look at Guo Xianhu's first acupoint, the Spirit Sense Acupoint or the Heart Acupoint.
And just as Xue Yang expected, it was opened. It is just the opening is very tiny. It would not be found if Xue Yang didn't observe it in more detail using Spiritual Energy.
Xue Yang hastily picks up the jade slip that contains the 'Manual of Body Refining and Qi Condensation'. Xue Yang always brings this jade slip with him everywhere he goes. The reason for that is, he didn't want to lose this item.
Rushing through the content, Xue Yang is looking for a similar condition.
'This one!'
Xue Yang is filled with joy when he finds it.
Thanks for reading~
If you find any mistake, feel free to correct me.
If you like the story, add it to your library. Or you can give me some power stone? Hehe