Chapter 30: Northern Astragalus Meditative Qi

“Are you cursing me?”

The young man snapped upright, his gaze piercing as he stared intently at Li Musheng.

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said with narrowed eyes

“I am merely speaking the truth. If you don't believe me... well, then don't believe me.”

As he spoke, he turned to look at the little eunuch who had stopped ahead and said

“You don't need to lead the way anymore. Just tell me which room I am staying in.”

Hearing this, the little eunuch hurriedly turned back to bow and handed Li Musheng a jade token

“Young Master will be staying in Room Seventeen of the East Building. This is your room token. If you have any needs in the future, you may go to the room at the end of the corridor to instruct us.”

With that, the little eunuch said, “This servant takes his leave,” and turned to depart without looking back.

At that moment, Li Musheng turned to the young man and said

“Try pressing the midpoint between the Danzhong acupoint and the Weili acupoint. Do you feel a sensation of pain, like being pricked by needles?”

The young man froze, staring at Li Musheng for a moment. Seeing that the man's demeanor was composed and he did not seem to be talking nonsense, he hesitated. After a moment, he folded his fan and tentatively reached out to press lightly on the position he had described.

However, in the next instant, the young man let out a cry of pain, his face turning deathly pale. Then, his head lolled to the side, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.

Seeing this, Li Musheng was slightly stunned

“Is this kid really this frail?”

Just then, the little eunuch, who had already walked a distance away, heard the noise and abruptly turned around. His figure vanished from his original spot, and in a few flashes, he appeared beside the young man.

The little eunuch gripped the other's wrist, immediately injecting true qi to check the young man's condition.

Soon, a look of strangeness appeared on his face

“The meridians are stable, the breath is normal, and the blood energy is sufficient. Why did he faint?”

As he spoke, he looked back at Li Musheng, who simply shook his head and said

“I didn't touch him. Why don't you try investigating his Pericardium Meridian from the Tianquan acupoint?”

The little eunuch frowned but attempted to inject his true qi as instructed.

However, in the next heartbeat, his expression changed drastically, and he violently retracted his finger.

A wisp of black mist surged backward from the young man's Tianquan acupoint. Following the true qi released from the eunuch's finger, it coiled upward like spreading vines, reaching his wrist in the blink of an eye.

Though the little eunuch did not know what this black gas was, he could guess it was certainly nothing good.

He immediately mobilized the true qi within his dantian, attempting to expel the black mist from his hand.

To his horror, however, the black mist acted like bone-eating maggots; not only did it merge with his true qi, but it also began to invade his meridians at an extremely rapid speed.

The little eunuch was struck with terror. Just as he was at a loss for what to do, a hand suddenly tapped him lightly on the shoulder from behind.

Immediately, he saw that the wisp of black mist that had already invaded his right arm's meridians vanished without a trace in an instant.

He gripped his palm in astonishment, as if the previous scene had been nothing more than an illusion and the black mist had never existed.

The little eunuch turned to look at the handsome and calm Li Musheng. Once he regained his senses, he hurriedly stood up and bowed

“Thank you, Young Master, for your assistance. This servant is eternally grateful.”

Li Musheng waved his hand dismissively and pointed at the young man lying on the ground, saying

“I'll leave this person to you.”

With that, he turned to leave. However, halfway through, he suddenly looked back

“By the way, I didn't do this to him. As for whether you want to know what happened, you'll have to figure out the cause from his body.”

“But I suggest you hurry. If more than six hours pass, he will be beyond saving.”

Upon hearing this, the little eunuch's face changed, and he opened his mouth to ask a question.

But Li Musheng ignored him, twirling the jade token between his fingers as he continued toward his room.

The little eunuch glanced back at the young man on the ground, frowned, but then reached out to carry him on his back, running toward the room at the end of the side corridor.

As a special institution personally established by Emperor Yuanwu, the Tianjin Guard held the authority to monitor the imperial officials and the entire Great Li Empire; they were also a lethal tool used to maintain imperial power.

Not only did they possess numerous martial arts masters, but they also practiced top-tier martial arts collected from the Great Li Armory, making their overall strength no weaker than that of the Six Doors.

Furthermore, the Tianjin Guard was divided into Inner and Outer Guards. The Inner Guard consisted of palace eunuchs with high bone and talent, answering only to Emperor Yuanwu himself.

The Outer Guard was composed of elites selected from the military, stationed in important prefectures and cities across Great Li to monitor the world and collect information regarding the commoners and officials.

...

In a room filled with curling incense smoke, An Quan, the Chief Eunuch of the Direct Hall, opened his eyes and ceased his cultivation of the "Sunflower Yin Scripture."

At that moment, the little eunuch rushed into the outer room carrying the unconscious young man, drawing the gazes of several eunuchs in the room.

“Xiao Anzi, what happened?”

An Quan pushed open the door to the inner chamber and looked at the young man on the little eunuch's back.

Xiao Anzi set the person down and hurriedly recounted everything that had happened in the corridor.

“Though you have only recently entered the Xiantian Realm, you are a true Xiantian expert. How could you be unable to handle a mere wisp of residual black gas?”

An Quan furrowed his sparse eyebrows, a hint of surprise coloring his shrill voice.

He stepped forward a few paces to reach the young man's side, reaching out to probe the Tianquan acupoint. Xiao Anzi hurriedly cried out

“Be careful, Godfather! That black gas is extremely eerie and difficult to deal with.”

An Quan let out a cold laugh and said

“You underestimate your Godfather too much. I have already placed half a foot into the Xiantian Grandmaster realm. A mere bit of black gas is nothing to worry about.”

With that, a stream of Sunflower Yin true qi shot from An Quan's fingertip. The chilling aura caused the surrounding air temperature to drop several degrees.

His fingertip traced a phantom shadow as he struck downward, precisely injecting the Sunflower Yin true qi into the young man's Tianquan acupoint.

Just as expected, another wisp of black mist surged backward from the acupoint, immediately attempting to coil around the Sunflower Yin true qi in An Quan's finger.

Seeing this, An Quan seemed to recognize something instantly. He decisively cut off the true qi at his fingertip and abruptly retreated several steps, distancing himself from the young man on the ground.

“Beiqi Meditative Qi?”

After steadying himself, the Grand Eunuch An Quan's expression shifted unpredictably. The surrounding group of eunuchs, not knowing what had occurred, did not dare to speak.

Only Xiao Anzi, seeing his master's visibly shaken state, asked cautiously

“Godfather, what is Beiqi Meditative Qi?”

Hearing this, An Quan regained some composure. He paced around, cautiously observing the young man on the ground, and said

“Beiqi Meditative Qi is one of the top secret manual techniques of the former Great Qi Imperial Court. It was lost after the fall of Great Qi. I never expected it to appear on this person today.”

(End of Chapter)