Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 378: Treatment

Tang Wanzhuang and Huangfu Qing were the same age. Both of them were twenty-nine this year.

In her twenty-nine years, Tang Wanzhuang had never experienced what a kiss felt like.

Given her more reserved nature, this kiss left her even more bewildered than Huangfu Qing when she had her first kiss. While Huangfu Qing was still able to entertain all sorts of chaotic thoughts, Tang Wanzhuang’s mind went completely blank at this moment, other than the repeated echoes of “Didn’t we agree not to have a romance between us?” and “Didn’t you call me an average auntie? So what are you doing?”

In fact, if she could analyze her thought process herself, she would wonder why she was not feeling repulsed or disgusted, but instead, she was thinking about how he called her an aunt yet still kissed her.

She had not even considered the fact that they had never spoken of love, so why did he kiss her?

In her confusion, another thought arose.

Well, I do only have three months left.

In her dazed state, she seemed to feel her soul drifting to a place of clear mountains and fresh waters. The air was fresh, the scent of flowers delightful, lush grass everywhere, and a vibrant spring atmosphere. A clear stream flowed down from the mountaintop, the sound of water faintly audible, wild geese returning, their calls echoing in the vast sky. Looking up, the sky was a brilliant blue.

A valiant young man in clean, tidy warrior’s garb stood to the west, smiling at her.

She looked back at him, noticing a scar on his face.

Yet the scar did not mar his handsomeness; instead, it added a touch of wild charm to the gentle and elegant landscape.

It looked like a masterpiece painted by some divine hand.

The young man, seeing her gaze, smiled slightly and sat cross-legged.

Before him, a guqin appeared out of nowhere. The young man then gently strummed, and music flowed from the guqin.

The guqin-carrying maid, Baoqin, was carrying a handful of books and stood timidly beside her, peeking out curiously.

She sat down calmly, casually picked up a scroll, and leaned against a rock to read.

The breeze brushed her face, the music filled her ears, and she felt incredibly comfortable.

Is this the life I dreamed of, retiring to the countryside after resolving all the affairs of the empire?

With mountains and rivers, books and music, a valiant and handsome man smiling at me... Eh... Wait, why are you playing the guqin here? Shouldn’t you be governing your empire?

Tang Wanzhuang suddenly snapped back to reality. There were no mountains and rivers, no books and music, just a young man kissing her right in front of her eyes.

Tang Wanzhuang regained her clarity and was about to push him away, but then she noticed the changes in her body.

Through his lips and tongue, he was transferring his qi, circulating endlessly with the energy of heaven and earth, yin and yang flowing back and forth.

In this union of yin and yang, the essence of rejuvenation he transferred was at least ten times stronger than what he had been able to channel through holding hands earlier. The warmth and blooming flowers she had seen in her vision most likely originated thanks to this more intimate connection.

At this time, there was also more than just the transfer going on.

Just as Xia Chichi could transfer the essence of the Azure Dragon to Zhao Changhe, Zhao Changhe was now transferring his insights from the second page of the Heavenly Tome he acquired—his understanding of the beauty of nature, the essence of mountains and rivers, the sound of nature—directly into Tang Wanzhuang’s sea of consciousness.

His eyes were closed, fully focused on the transfer, with not a single inappropriate or lustful thought. His lips and tongue were motionless, neither sucking nor licking, and his hands were still. He was entirely concentrated on the transfer of his qi and intent.

This was an incredibly demanding task, leaving no room for distraction.

“Okay, then cooperate.” Yes, that’s what he said.

It actually seemed to be working. The dual cultivation technique from the Pure Bliss Art, the essence of nature he comprehended from the page of the Heavenly Tome, and the Azure Dragon Rejuvenation Art from the Four Idols Cult seemed to perfectly complement each other. The combination of the three appeared to be the only solution to her condition, significantly supplementing what she had lost during her forced breakthrough.

Tang Wanzhuang was extremely surprised. How could this be?

The combined efforts of the entire empire could not save her, even the top experts of the entire world were at a loss when it came to her condition, yet he somehow had a way to help her?

Was he sent by the heavens to save me?

Although he was still somewhat lacking in strength, unable to fully cure her, the fact that he could already slightly improve her condition and somewhat repair her meridians was incredible. It reduced the overflow of energy within her, extending her life.

Whether he could truly cure her or not was still uncertain, but it appeared that he should at least be able to prolong her life.

Tang Wanzhuang stared blankly, her hands on his shoulders, but she could not bring herself to push him away.

Her hand felt the warm, damp sensation of his blood. It was from the wound on his shoulder, where he had gotten pierced by Yu Cixiu’s spear and which he had yet to treat. Despite his wound, he was wholly focused on treating her.

As her hand touched the wound on his shoulder, Zhao Changhe winced in pain, his eyebrows knitting together as he finally opened his eyes.

The treatment stopped abruptly, and their eyes met.

Their lips were still connected, and neither knew what to make of the look in the other’s eyes.

Zhao Changhe could not discern the emotions in her gaze, but he could tell that she was clear-headed. He did not dare to linger on her lips, slowly pulling back a bit and saying softly, “Sorry... this is the only method I could try... I could not waste time hesitating over whether or not it would work.”

Tang Wanzhuang did not say anything. She just looked at him.

“Well, it seems to be working?” Zhao Changhe, feeling a bit flustered by her gaze, lost his earlier bravado and awkwardly took a step back. “If you’re angry, you can hit me... Just be gentle...”

He was unsure if this counted as being forward or just a huge loss, because he really did not get to experience anything. His mind had been entirely focused on channeling the technique, and he only felt a hint of softness before pulling away, her intense stare stopping him from continuing or trying anything further.

Seeing him retreat awkwardly, Tang Wanzhuang’s expressionless face masked an urge to laugh.

Outwardly, she said coldly, “What kind of sorcery did you learn? What kind of illusion did you infuse into me?”

“Huh? That wasn’t an illusion, it was the essence of nature,” explained Zhao Changhe. “If your breakthrough back then was lacking in anything, I suspect it was that while your martial arts align with the essence of mountains and rivers, you lived a life filled with military and administrative burdens. You comprehended a concept related to nature, and so you broke through. Unfortunately, as you could not live it, you had to force it. That should be the root of your problem.”

Tang Wanzhuang was genuinely astonished. How is he able to identify such a deep-seated issue with his low level of cultivation?

Her issue was related to the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, which he was not even close to.

Of course, Zhao Changhe had only realized this after the hint from the blind woman. If Tang Wanzhuang’s injury was to her soul, why was it so? And why did she say that the second page of Heavenly Tome was useful to her? Although the level of his cultivation was not high, he could still analyze the issue logically. If everything was put together, it seemed pretty clear.

In theory, if Tang Wanzhuang wanted to properly break through, she needed to resign from her duties and live in seclusion in nature. Unfortunately, she could not bring herself to do so and forced the breakthrough, resulting in a mishap. If she wanted to be cured thoroughly, in addition to the need for appropriate means, she would need to resign and seclude herself.

Seeing Tang Wanzhuang remain silent, seemingly not pursuing his bold actions, Zhao Changhe grew bolder and whispered, “I told you, don’t push yourself too hard... I’m here.”

At this moment, his words were a naked confession, tearing away the pretense of “average aunt” and “no romantic involvement.”

Tang Wanzhuang, as if not understanding, asked another unrelated question, “You said that was the essence of nature, so why was there a person? If it wasn’t an illusion, then what was it?”

“A person?” Zhao Changhe was confused by her question and scratched his head. “The only other thing besides energy that I transferred to you was some of my insights on the essence of nature. What would that even have to do with people... Oh, if there was a person, it could be that my Rejuvenation Art rousing your dreams, possibly working together with the essence of nature to create a vision of the life you long for. That person should have been someone you imagined yourself, someone you longed to live your life with.”

I imagined someone who I wanted to live my life with?

Baoqin by my side, timid and cute, while he’s playing the guqin, with a smile in his eyes and a gentle gaze.

Tang Wanzhuang tightly pursed her lips together. Her usually calm and composed demeanor suddenly changed as she pushed Zhao Changhe away fiercely. “Don’t think that you can use the excuse of treating me to take liberties with me. Besides, you haven’t even managed to cure me!”

As her strength returned, how could Zhao Changhe possibly stand a chance? He stumbled backward, and in the confined space of the secret room, his legs soon hit the edge of the bed.

Tang Wanzhuang shoved him onto the bed and, with a swift motion, removed his shirt.

Zhao Changhe covered his chest in horror. “What are you doing?”

Is this how you get revenge? Then please, increase the intensity!

But he saw Tang Wanzhuang expressionlessly take out a bottle of ointment. She dabbed a bit on his shoulder and said resentfully, “You always scold me for not taking care of myself, but look at you! With such little cultivation, you think you’re invincible. If you don’t treat this wound properly, it’ll ache every rainy day, and you’ll regret it then!”

While scolding him, she applied the ointment with a bit more force, causing Zhao Changhe to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.

Grimacing from the pain, Zhao Changhe looked at her puffed-up face and suddenly smiled. “This is great.”

Tang Wanzhuang said angrily, “Not hard enough for you?”

“When you’re too calm, it makes me worry because I don’t know if you’re thinking of ending it all, since you only have a few months left... But when you get angry, I can at least be sure that you still have emotions and still want to live.”

The force that Tang Wanzhuang was using to “punish” Zhao Changhe lessened slightly, and she sighed inwardly.

“Also...” Zhao Changhe looked into her eyes and continued softly, “When you get angry, you seem more alive... like when Tang Buqi pushed you over the edge... It’s as if a lifeless person in a painting stepped out into the world.”

Tang Wanzhuang’s face remained expressionless. “What does that have to do with you? Are you going to break your promise?”

Zhao Changhe said, “How can a real man...”

“...break his word” was what Tang Wanzhuang thought he was going to say, so imagine her surprise when he continued with “...be constrained by mere words?”

Tang Wanzhuang: “?”

Zhao Changhe said confidently, “If it’s about words, I actually said another thing back then.”

Tang Wanzhuang instinctively asked, “What?”

“I’m just a bandit, but the person I covet next might be Tang Wanzhuang! Tell her to clean herself and wait for me!”

“AH~!” His screams echoed from within the secret room, and even the special soundproofing that was in place could not completely muffle them. The faint sounds of his screams reaching the duck store.

Da Zhou looked at the braised duck he was working on and wondered if First Seat Tang’s late-night visit had been just for this.