Chapter 26 – Benevolence (1)

It was obvious that he didn’t like it, but said it, anyway. For her—because she wanted it.

Was it because that he was afraid of her staying out for days, like she had done? And in order to keep her by his side, he had her give him a bath.

Could it really be that simple? This man, a person obsessed with cleanliness, willing to compromise over bathing and had waited for her by the door all night long without any complaints, was suddenly revealing his innermost thoughts to her, which was very uncharacteristic of him. There must be another reason.

“Actually, even if you don’t offer this reward, I will still heal your legs,” she said.

He must be really desperate for her help; he was offering to sacrifice his innocence in exchange.

Zhao Xi, however, wasn’t surprised; during her years as a practitioner, she had seen all kinds of people. Many looked down on girls, as a result, she sometimes wore men’s clothes and practiced medicine, posing as a man.

She had met some bold women in her time, who would take off their clothes, offering their bodies to pay their bills. It was similar to what Shen Fei is doing now. He, though, was a bit more tactful, perhaps, only dropping hints, but this practice was well understood by both parties involved.

“You are paralyzed in the lower half of your body and cannot feel at all. Even the best doctor couldn’t do anything about it. Why do you think I can cure you?” Zhao Xi asked him, genuinely curious.

If one had a spinal cord injury, it was almost irreversible. He or she would be paralyzed for a lifetime; the possibility of regaining mobility was very small. The only relief: medicine could provide was to ensure that the patient’s condition did not deteriorate. A cure, however, was impossible.

“I read your books, every one of them.” Shen Fei took out one of them out from under his pillow. “This kind of acupuncture technique is not very popular. If what’s written in the book is true, you are the only one who can cure me.”

That technique of acupuncture was obscure; almost impossible to practice. Its requirements were difficult to procure and the conditions difficult to recreate.

Zhao Xi smiled bitterly, “There were a lot of things that master didn’t teach me; she thought I wasn’t very capable…clumsy too.”

When they read the book together, there were words that Zhao Xi didn’t recognize, which had to be explained to her, ultimately by Shen Fei.

There were both patterns and acupuncture points described in it as treatment plans. She could barely make sense of some of the words, coming across them after more than ten years.

“You know how to practice the techniques.” Shen Fei was assured, “I have seen you use it on Ping An.”

Ping An’s height, weight and strength had almost always been equal to an adult bear’s as he had grown up, even though he was barely an adult. Zhao Xi used Jiuqi acupuncture on the bear, changing his body points, and allowed him to grow quickly without any struggles; this special method had played an important role in his treatment.

Whether it be a human or an animal, various toxins and germs are produced in the body during puberty, which were repeatedly detoxified by her, after which, Ping An was found to be as robust as a ten-year-old bear despite being younger.

Zhao Xi had mentioned accidentally that Ping An was rescued by her when she was still young. After living with it for two years, she had wanted to leave, but found that she couldn’t. Baby black bears are driven out by mother bears to hunt on their own when they are three years old. They can only hunt small animals. Ping An, probably was probably injured when he encountered large animals. Considering that he lived with Zhao Xi for four years, his age, adding the three years in the valley, is easy to calculate. Ping An is about seven years old now.

“The Jiuqi acupuncture method mentioned in the book is the Jiuming acupuncture method, right?”

Shen Fei has never heard of the Jiuqi acupuncture method, had heard of the Jiuming acupuncture method. While there are similarities between the two, the practice of this method was very rare. He had once heard from a lady that this technique had to be acquired at a young age with full concentration and pure talent.

The needles should be inserted lightly, and each needle after the other, to a total of nine needles. People called it the Jiumingacupuncture method.

The technique is very different from the others. If a mistake is made in the execution of this method, the patient may die. The practitioner must possess acutely sensitive hearing, vision, and sensation, and must be able to concentrate to the fullest to apply the technique successfully.

While he wasn’t sure about the other criteria, he knew one thing: Zhao Xi never lighted candles at night: She had great vision. Apart from being gifted, she had to have practiced hard at a young age and adapt to the darkness to walk, eat, drink, or pick stuff up without any difficulties in darkness.

Zhao Xi often sat on a tall tree and kept watch from there every day, apparently sitting in a daze but, in reality, she practiced her eyesight and hearing.

She was the successful practitioner of the Jiumingacupuncture technique, had learnt it since childhood, and her hearing, vision, and sensation were far more specialized than that of ordinary people.

“But I don’t know the Jiuming Acupuncture method.” Zhao Xi told the truth, “The master only taught me a few techniques.”

“Few techniques?” Shen Fei’s elegant eyebrows lowered into a frown.