Chu Liuyue's body was like a sponge as it crazily absorbed the energy from the herbs.
The two extreme energies—one as hot as fire and the other as cold as ice—circulated throughout her body and nourished every ounce of her muscle, blood, and bones.
The excruciating waves of pain kept coming one after another. Chu Liuyue bit her lips tightly until they started to bleed. However, she did not even make a single painful moan from the start till the end. She tolerated it forcefully and swallowed all her sufferings.
The lack of a Yuan meridian in her body was like the dry and dehydrated ground that cracked like a tortoiseshell.
All the energy surged into her body like a thunderstorm flooding the ground.
In the past, Chu Liuyue's body could not even keep the energy; she could only watch it slip away. Now, the waves of energy kept surging in her body, and there was finally a change in her body's Yuan meridian.
The dry and cracked Yuan meridian started getting nourished and grew.
As time passed slowly, the color of the medicinal bath also started to become lighter. All the energy in it was absorbed by Chu Liuyue.
Chu Liuyue shockingly discovered that some of the energy from the herbs entered her body and nourished her Yuan meridian, causing its lacking part to grow. The remaining portion of the energy went to a small lake in her dantian.
This lake was very small and had a clear color. When the energy entered the lake, it magically disappeared as if it was swallowed by something.
Chu Liuyue had observed it for quite some time and discovered that the lake was like a bottomless pit. Except for a few rippling waves, there were no signs of all the energy it absorbed.
She started to become curious.
That lake was transformed from the torn, transparent page. The blood-colored symbol that appeared at the start had never shown up again.
What exactly was it? How did it get there?
She searched through the original Chu Liuyue's memories thoroughly but did not find any relevant memories at all. It was as if it had appeared out of nowhere.
The crucial point was that she had clearly never seen such a thing before, but she felt a sense of familiarity towards it.
It seemed like… she brought it with her when she was reborn.
Chu Liuyue decided not to think about it and focused on her Yuan meridian's recovery instead since she could not figure out what exactly was going on in such a short time.
A night quickly passed.
In the morning, Chu Liuyue woke up when the medicinal bath turned transparent.
After briefly packing her items, Chu Liuyue found some wood, made a simple quincuncial pile, carved a wooden statue, and placed it at the side. She then tied one sandbag to each of her limbs and started training.
The training was very simple, but this was the most convenient and effective method to strengthen her body quickly in this scenario.
The Chu family had their own training ground, but she had always been ostracized. If she went there, she might cause some unwanted trouble. Even though she was not scared of trouble, she did not want to waste any time on it.
She wanted to frighten the rest and cause them to tone down on the bullying a little by using Chu Liansheng as a warning to the rest. She even made use of her marriage agreement with the Crown Prince to shock First Elder, Chu Xianmin, and the rest.
She then had to take advantage of this time to improve her body condition to the best that it could be.
Her forehead started to sweat; her breathing started to intensify, and her entire body was as heavy as a rock after running around the yard for a short period.
Chu Liuyue was helpless. This body was too weak. If she did not train it, she would not even be able to absorb the energy from the herbs, let alone from other sources.
Sweat gradually drenched her shirt.
It was currently July, the hottest month of the year. One could just imagine how hard it would be to train intensely under the ferocious sun.
Her face turned red; her lips were pale as sweat trickled down her neck. Her black hair was stuck to her face, and she looked terrible.
When she pushed her body out of her comfort zone, her legs turned to jelly, and she literally knelt on the floor. However, she did not stop. She went in front of the wooden statue, took a deep breath, and started training her basic moves.
In her previous life, she no longer trained in this aspect after she became a stage three warrior when she was seven. She focused on higher levels of martial arts and the Xuan symbol. It was lucky that she knew all the harshest and most accurate moves. Her experience was very useful to her now that she was picking them up again.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
In the quiet yard, one could only hear the sounds of a body hitting a wooden statue. The atmosphere was very solemn.
Chu Liuyue kept training herself like a maniac as if she did not know what exhaustion was.
…
Chu Ning worked as the Dragon Tiger Store's second-in-charge. The Dragon Tiger Store was a weapons store under the Chu family that normally sold knives, swords, and other weapons. He was sent to work here after he got injured since he was pretty knowledgeable about various weapons.
He was supposed to be the second-in-charge, but his status was still very low since he was trampled on by his younger brother—Chu Xianmin's father—Chu Yan. Furthermore, all the servants also ostracized him. However, Chu Ning discovered that these people were targeting him even more today.
When he went back to the store, he saw that all the weapons were placed haphazardly. He knitted his brows. "Xiao Song, why didn't you clean this place up? Everything is in a mess."
Wu Song continued to sit and not move as he munched on his plum and said lazily, "If it's messy, you can clean it up on your own. Can't you see that I'm busy?" When he talked, the few people in the store all turned around to look at them.
Chu Ning's blood boiled as he saw Wu Song roll his eyes and chuckle. "Do you still think that you're the Chu family's Eldest Young Master? You should pee on the floor and use it to take a look at yourself!"
The crowd laughed in secret and were all waiting to see Chu Ning's farce.
Everyone knew that his daughter, Chu Liuyue, had thoroughly offended Third Missy Chu Xianmin.
The father-daughter duo would definitely not have it easy in the future. Perhaps they would be chased out of the Chu family soon.
Chu Ning took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Does that mean you're not going to clean it up?"
Wu Song ignored him, finished his last plum, and clapped his hands as he stood up. He walked to the side and extended his hands to make a mess out of everything that was arranged nicely.
Cling! Kuang!
All the daggers, swords, and knives dropped all over the floor.
"Isn't it even messier now? I think you should clean it up yourself. Haha!" said Wu Song as he laughed arrogantly.
Once Chu Ning left, it would only be a matter of when he became the second-in-charge as long as he sucked up to the store's first-in-charge, Chu Yan.
Chu Ning clenched his fists tightly.
Wu Song whistled nonchalantly. "Oh? Do you want to fight? I think you haven't improved much over the years, right? Do you want to test your skills?" As he was talking, his gaze purposely landed on Chu Ning's leg.
His gaze made Chu Ning's anger erupt; he sent a flying punch out.
Wu Song moved backward and dodged the punch very quickly.
"Hah, is that all…" Before he could finish his mockery, Chu Ning swiftly moved forward and sent out a second punch.
Bang!
Wu Song was not prepared at all and was hit square in the face. He directly fell onto the floor, and his nose and mouth started bleeding. However, Chu Ning did not let him off and followed closely after. He grabbed Wu Song by his collar and gave him a good beating.
His punches rained down, and Wu Song quickly became unconscious.
Everyone looked on with their mouths agape.
Wu Song was not weak. Logically speaking, a half-crippled Chu Ning should not be faster than Wu Song! So how were Chu Ning's actions faster than Wu Song's?
Dong!
Chu Ning smashed Wu Song's head on the floor and finally stopped when he saw blood on his hands. His sharp gaze looked towards the crowd. "Is there anyone else who wants to fight it out?"
Everyone subconsciously took a step back.
The weak and easily bullied Chu Ning… seemed to have changed!
Chu Ning wiped away the blood on his hands and was stunned the moment he turned around. That's not right? It seems like my actions are much faster than before. The force in my body also seems to be even smoother than before when I rushed over.
He slowly lowered his head and looked at his right shin. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Yue'er passing him that bowl of medicine.
She had said that he would definitely get better.
Chu Liuyue only ended her training for the day when the sun went down. Without even looking, she knew that her body must be packed with bruises, but she was very happy. Doing such training would not only completely unleash the herbs' effectiveness, but she could also strengthen her fitness, which would be advantageous for her future cultivation.
Chu Ning noticed the extra quincuncial pile in the yard the moment he came home.
A thin, young girl was currently removing the sandbags attached to her limbs beside it.
Even though the sky was already dark, he could still see her exhaustion. Chu Ning's heart immediately started to hurt. "Yue'er."
Chu Liuyue raised her head and smiled at him. "Father."
Chu Ning's words of advice stopped at the tip of his tongue, and he decided not to say them anymore. Chu Ning knew that Yue'er had gone through an enormous setback after the previous incident, and she had changed completely.
It was obvious that she was trying hard to become stronger. The only thing he could do now was to do his best to support and protect her.
"Yue'er, I think the herbs you boiled yesterday are pretty useful!" Chu Ning walked over and wiped her sweat. Although he had tried his best to contain himself, he could not hide his excitement and curiosity.
Chu Liuyue showed a look of surprise. "Really?"
Chu Ning nodded and did not tell her about what happened in the store, but just said that he suddenly felt that his condition was much better than before.
"It looks like our Yue'er really has the gift to become a heavenly doctor!" Chu Ning was extremely emotional. If they had discovered this earlier, Yue'er would not have to suffer so much all these years.
Chu Liuyue smiled and blinked. "It's great if it works! It's not too late to discover this talent now."
Chu Ning thought that she was comforting herself and nodded. "Yeah. Yue'er, you should rest well during this time. We'll find you a good teacher after some time."
Chu Liuyue smiled and did not say a word. Teacher? Even all the heavenly doctors in Country Yao Chen combined aren't good enough to be my teacher.
"Oh yes, your birthday is coming. By then… what are you going to do about your marriage agreement with the Crown Prince?" Chu Ning spoke hesitantly. He did not bring this topic up previously since the father and daughter had literally been abandoned by everyone else, and his daughter always had some wild dreams about the Crown Prince.
Now that they started anew, she should start to consider this problem. After all, there was only about a month left.
Chu Liuyue's smile turned slightly cold. "I'll just wait and see." She was not the first person to panic.
…
At night, Xue Xue appeared as usual, but there was an extra bruise on his head.
Chu Liuyue asked about it, and Xue Xue buried its head in grievance.
Was it easy for him? Its master clearly agreed to let it come here, but he hit it in the end. When it came the previous day, it did not know that it would coincidentally see Chu Liuyue taking off her clothes. It was frustrated to death.
Chu Liuyue did not pay much attention to it after taking a look at its injury and realizing that it was not severe. She allowed the fellow to just lie in bed while she started to meditate and only slept in the latter half of the night.
When Chu Liuyue was sleeping soundly, Xue Xue then opened its eyes and inched closer toward her, wrapping its exuded warmth and strength around Chu Liuyue.
…
Everyone quickly forgot about the conflicts in the Chu family. This was because there was new popular news in the Imperial City—Seventh Prince Rong Xiu came back from Mingyue Tianshan.
Even though he was dressed casually and was very low key, an imperial edict from the Emperor immediately made the Seventh Prince the hot topic during meals.
Seventh Prince Rong Xiu finally came back after staying outside for so many years. The Emperor was so happy, he directly named him 'Prince Li' and gifted him a mansion—Prince Li Mansion—to stay in.
One could see the important meaning behind this imperial edict upon closer inspection.
Firstly, this proved that the Seventh Prince would stay in the Imperial City. Secondly, this showed that the Emperor liked and thought extremely highly of the Seventh Prince.
One had to know that the current emperor had nine sons—three of them passed on early, and six were left. Other than the first son, Rong Jin, who had been made the Crown Prince the moment he was born, out of the remaining eight sons, only Fifth Prince Rong Qi—who had the same mother as the Crown Prince—was made 'Prince Ping.'
One could tell from this that naming Rong Xiu as 'Prince Li' would attract a lot of attention.
Initially, no one had much of an impression of him and did not really care that the weak Seventh Prince had come back. However, it was hard not for one to overthink now that he was made 'Prince Li' the moment he came back to the Imperial City.
Overnight, Prince Li Mansion became a hotspot; many people sent letters to seek an audience. However, the Prince Li Mansion rejected all of them, claiming that Prince Li was exhausted from all the traveling and needed to rest.
Chu Liuyue naturally did not know about all these secret happenings. Now, she was most concerned about her own body.
Zhen Bao Pavilion was very diligent in their work; the second batch of herbs was delivered over punctually.
Chu Liuyue did not busy herself with arranging the herbs, but chose to go out instead. This time, she did not directly leave from the main entrance but disguised herself as a young man. She wore a black robe and a hat, and flipped over the wall near the backdoor.
The Imperial City was very crowded, and many people wore all sorts of weird outfits on the streets, so Chu Liuyue's garb did not gather much attention.
She left the Chu family compound and headed all the way west until she reached Ghost Street at the city's west side.
The name was Ghost Street, but it was actually a place where people from all walks of life sold or bought items. It was a very messy place, and it sold everything at different prices. It was unknown how much money was needed to buy what kind of items.
It was precisely because of this that people loved to visit this place. If they were lucky, they could buy some items at a lower price.
Chu Liuyue also came here today with similar thinking.
Ghost Street was indeed very crowded, and it was filled with all sorts of stalls on both ends.
Chu Liuyue leisurely walked as if she was casually looking around, but her gaze was actually rapidly sweeping past the items.
Time passed slowly. After going through half of Ghost Street, Chu Liuyue did not find anything she liked and was quite disappointed.
When she was considering if she should go back, she spotted something in a torn stall from the corner of her eyes.
Her heart tingled, and she walked over calmly.
It was a rock around the size of a fist. It was grayish-white on the outside and even grew green moss. It looked just like a rock that someone casually picked up from the ground. However, if one took a closer look at it, one could see the two red streaks coming from the rock.
This showed that a precious ruby was most likely hidden in the rock.
Just when Chu Liuyue was about to ask for the price, someone intercepted her and picked up the stone.
It was a man around the age of 20. He had a chubby head, big ears, and was wearing a cotton gown. His entire body was exuding the aura of an upstart.
"Heh. I can't believe my luck is pretty good today, and I met with this red stone! Old man, name your price."
The owner of the stall was an elder with white hair. It was currently summer, but he was wearing a torn, cotton gown and was shaking a thin fan as he lay there lazily. Upon hearing this voice, he opened his eyes and extended one finger.
"One hundred silver taels?"
The elder shook his head.
"Ten thousand silver taels."
The young man exploded, and his fat body started to vibrate. "Are you crazy? I'm already giving you face by quoting 100 taels for a red rock. How dare you try to scam me? Do you know who I am? I'm the future Crown Princess's cousin!"
Upon hearing this, the silent Chu Liuyue raised her brows.
Why did she not remember having such a cousin?
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