Chapter 30: Spiritual Power Surpasses Internal Strength

When Hua Changxi returned to the warehouse carrying the heavily injured Yu Hui on her back, she startled everyone inside.

"What happened to Brother Yu?"

Yu Hui's two close associates, Wan Xiaozhou and Li Meng, rushed over to take him from her.

Hua Changxi said, "I don't know. When I was returning to the Medical Department, I saw Brother Yu collapsed and unconscious at the back gate. His injuries are quite severe; you should hurry and take him to a doctor."

Wan Xiaozhou immediately said, "Li Meng, go find a cart quickly. Oh, and go to the dormitory to get a blanket. The nearest clinic to the Medical Department is several miles away."

Hua Changxi had intended to leave, but hearing this, she paused. "There are so many clinics in the Medical Department; why do you need to go outside to see a doctor?"

Wan Xiaozhou gave a bitter smile. "Sister Changxi, the clinics in the Medical Department aren't places we can just enter."

Hua Changxi frowned. "What, do the Medical Department's clinics discriminate against laborers?"

Wan Xiaozhou replied, "It's not discrimination against laborers; it's that the fees are too expensive. We simply cannot afford the consultation costs."

Hua Changxi said, "You haven't been working in the Medical Department for long, right? You should have some savings. Surely you can't even afford a single medical consultation?"

Li Meng said with a distressed face, "Both Xiaozhou and I have families to support. We send our monthly wages back home every month. Brother Yu also has people to take care of."

Hua Changxi interrupted him, "Isn't Brother Yu an orphan?"

Wan Xiaozhou said, "Brother Yu is an orphan, but he has companions he grew up with, as well as an old beggar who looked after him when he was a child. When these people can no longer survive, Brother Yu cannot simply ignore them. Most of his monthly wages are spent on them."

Hua Changxi hadn't expected Yu Hui to be so loyal and sentimental. Why, then, was he so stingy with her? He had stopped speaking to her just because she had taken some dried herbs.

Glancing at Yu Hui's injuries, Hua Changxi thought for a moment and said, "Moving Brother Yu around like this will worsen his injuries."

Wan Xiaozhou said helplessly, "There is no other way."

Hua Changxi fell silent for a moment, then looked at Wan Xiaozhou and Li Meng. "I know medical skills, you know that, right?"

Wan Xiaozhou let out an "Ah."

Hua Changxi continued, "If you trust me, I can treat Brother Yu, but you will have to provide some medicinal ingredients."

Wan Xiaozhou hesitated.

If he agreed, Sister Changxi was only thirteen; even if she knew medicine, she likely only knew the basics.

But if he didn't agree, neither he nor Li Meng had much silver, and he had no idea how much seeing a doctor would cost.

Furthermore, after the hour of Hai (21:00), all the gates of the Medical Department would be closed. It was already dark; if they took Brother Yu out to see a doctor, they might end up sleeping on the streets tonight.

Li Meng was more decisive and immediately asked, "What ingredients do you need?"

"Let's get this straight: although we guard the herb warehouse, every entry and exit of herbs is recorded. If the ingredients needed are too many or too precious, we won't be able to provide them."

Hua Changxi said, "Don't worry, just some common herbs." As she spoke, she listed about a dozen names of medicinal herbs.

After hearing this, Wan Xiaozhou and Li Meng relaxed; they were indeed common herbs used by martial artists.

The two men first carried Yu Hui into the dormitory. Afterward, Li Meng went to fetch the herbs, while Wan Xiaozhou went to find the medicine pots and mortar that Hua Changxi required.

Not long after, Wan Xiaozhou returned first with the items, looking at Hua Changxi with some unease. "Sister Changxi, can you really treat Brother Yu?"

Hua Changxi was carefully examining Yu Hui's injuries and replied without looking up, "Don't you know the saying: 'If you use a person, do not doubt them; if you doubt them, do not use them'?"

Wan Xiaozhou truly had no confidence in Hua Changxi's medical skills. He wanted to ask more, but unfortunately, Hua Changxi ignored him entirely.

Soon, Li Meng also returned with the herbs.

Hua Changxi had the two men fetch water to clean Yu Hui's wounds. She then began processing the herbs—boiling some into a medicinal soup and crushing others into a medicinal paste for external application.

Yu Hui's most serious injury was the blow from the Fourth-Rank martial artist's palm, which carried internal energy. Medicine had to be used to neutralize that internal energy.

After working for half an hour, the medicinal soup was ready. Hua Changxi had Wan Xiaozhou administer it to Yu Hui, and then had Li Meng apply the crushed medicinal paste to his wounds.

Once Yu Hui had swallowed the medicine and his breathing gradually stabilized, Hua Changxi said, "He must continue to drink the soup, three times a day. You know which herbs were used; if anything is unclear, I can answer when I come to collect the herbs tomorrow."

"Alright, I'm going back now."

Watching Hua Changxi leave, Wan Xiaozhou and Li Meng looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Can Sister Changxi really cure Brother Yu?"

"When Sister Changxi was being bullied before, Brother Yu just sat by and did nothing. Do you think she might be taking this chance to get revenge?"

"She wouldn't, would she?"

When Hua Changxi returned to the dormitory, her roommates had finished their duties and gone to rest. Even Sister Shi, who was on leave, had returned.

Sister Shi's expression was somewhat unnatural; she was still regretting that she hadn't been able to swap shifts with Hua Changxi. "Changxi, why are you back so late? We thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

Hua Changxi replied with a smile, "I was afraid of delaying my duties." Having said that, she took her basin to wash up.

After washing, Hua Changxi climbed into bed. This time, she did not fall asleep immediately but instead began reading *Lingbo Weibu* (Tiny Steps).

She knew too little about cultivation and had no access to cultivation spells, so she could only start with the martial arts techniques from her family.

*Lingbo Weibu* was accompanied by clear practice diagrams, making it easy to get started by following them.

However, how much power it could exert depended on the depth of the practitioner's internal energy.

Seeing that Hua Changxi did not go to sleep immediately, the others felt a bit unaccustomed, but after a busy day, they didn't have much energy to concern themselves with others' business.

Before long, everyone fell asleep.

Hua Changxi found that her memory had improved significantly; after reading *Lingbo Weibu* three times, she had memorized the footwork.

Afterward, lying in bed with her eyes closed, she simulated the footwork of *Lingbo Weibu* over and over again. Once it was past the hour of Zi (23:00) and the entire Sixth Bureau had fallen silent, she quietly climbed out of bed.

*Swish—*

Under the moonlight, a figure flashed rapidly along the banks of the ditch in the front courtyard of the Sixth Bureau.

The person running was none other than Hua Changxi.

Only after running ten laps around the ditch did Hua Changxi manage to calm her inner excitement.

Mobilizing the spiritual energy within her body could truly unleash the power of *Lingbo Weibu*!

Moreover, the consumption of spiritual energy was very low; it only took one spiritual energy point to complete ten laps.

Almost all the men in the Hua family practiced *Lingbo Weibu*. Among them, Hua Minghe and Hua Dalang practiced it best. Hua Changxi had watched them circulate their energy and knew that when they activated *Lingbo Weibu*, it consumed a great deal of internal energy.

Based on the spiritual energy she had consumed, internal energy must be a different level of power than spiritual energy; spiritual energy was far more profound than internal energy.

Therefore, she currently possessed combat strength that was not inferior to a martial artist.

She just didn't know how many ranks of martial artists she could face with her current level of cultivation points.

Having learned a footwork technique, Hua Changxi happily returned to her room, climbed into bed, and began to sink into cultivation.

"Water..."

Just as dawn was breaking, Wan Xiaozhou, who had watched over Yu Hui all night, was preparing to open the warehouse gates when he heard Yu Hui's faint voice.

"Brother Yu, you're awake?"

Seeing Wan Xiaozhou and glancing around to realize he was in the warehouse dormitory, the deep frown on Yu Hui's face relaxed slightly.

Wan Xiaozhou walked over to help him sit up and poured him a cup of water. "Brother Yu, who beat you like this?"

Instead of answering, Yu Hui asked, "Was it you who saved me?"

Wan Xiaozhou shook his head. "It was Sister Changxi who saved you." As he spoke, he explained how she had carried him back and treated his injuries.

Yu Hui's expression froze. "It was actually Sister Changxi who saved me."