Chapter 54: I Want to Learn This

Chen Changsheng led him into the Library Pavilion.

Tong Zhihuan looked around at the books inside. Many were very old, almost tattered from repeated use. Most appeared to be Taoist Scriptures, likely kept by the Flowing Cloud Temple.

Chen Changsheng walked to the very back and pulled a book from the shelf.

“Keep this book safe,” Chen Changsheng said.

Tong Zhihuan took it with both hands. “Mister, may I look at it now?”

“You may.”

Tong Zhihuan opened the book, but froze as soon as he did. Flipping through more pages, his confusion only grew.

He blinked. “There are no words?”

Chen Changsheng replied simply, “They will appear soon enough.”

Chen Changsheng continued, “Regarding the art of healing, what I know is limited to the concepts of Yin-Yang harmony and the mutual interactions of the Five Elements. When it comes to medicinal recipes and the nature of drugs, I cannot teach you anything. These, you must learn step by step on your own.”

Stunned for a moment, Tong Zhihuan answered, “For you to teach me at all is already a great kindness. I dare not hope for more.”

Chen Changsheng waved a hand. “It’s not that I won’t teach you about medicinal recipes. It’s that I don’t know them myself.”

“Huh?”

Tong Zhihuan froze in place.

Chen Changsheng smiled. “Truly, I don’t know.”

He had never studied medicine himself. How could he understand such things?

As Tong Zhihuan stood there dazed, Chen Changsheng spoke again. “What I shall teach you now is the path of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang.”

Tong Zhihuan instantly snapped back to attention, his expression turning serious.

“Yin and Yang both support and oppose each other. Traits such as coldness, descending energy, inwardness, darkness, and stillness all belong to Yin. Traits like heat, rising energy, outwardness, brightness, and movement fall under Yang.”

“Within Yin lies Yang; within Yang lies Yin. Extreme Yin births Yang; extreme Yang produces Yin. At the peak of cold, heat is born; at the peak of heat, cold arises. In medicine, Yin-Yang Balance is seen as the sign of a healthy person. If this balance breaks—if Yin or Yang becomes too strong or too weak—it brings discomfort to the body.”

“An ancient medical teaching says: for emptiness, supplement; for excess, drain; for cold, warm; for heat, cool. This, too, is the way of Yin-Yang Balance.”

“In simple terms, a person’s Yang represents heat energy—it is fire. Yin represents bodily fluids—it is water. If Yang heat becomes too intense, the body displays dryness, fever, dry throat…”

“The Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth—correspond to the heart-fire, the liver-wood, the kidney-water, the lung-metal, and the spleen-earth…”

Tong Zhihuan listened intently. He had actually read about these things in medical texts before and wasn’t too surprised.

But as Chen Changsheng went deeper, Tong Zhihuan began to feel something was different.

“A person has Qi and Blood, tied to Yin and Yang. For ordinary people with unbalanced Yin-Yang, medicine is needed for healing. Yet there exists a method to control Qi and Blood, ensuring the fundamental state remains unchanged, leaving illness no place to arise.”

Tong Zhihuan gaped. “Mister, are you saying… Yin and Yang can be controlled? This is…”

“Hear me out first,” Chen Changsheng urged. “Have you ever encountered Martial Artists of the Jianghu?”

Tong Zhihuan shook his head.

“Since ancient times, it’s been said that practicing martial arts strengthens the body. In truth, it does more than that. Upon reaching a certain level, Martial Artists can control their own Qi and Blood. If coldness strikes, their Qi and Blood overflow naturally, driving the cold away. If heat attacks, their Qi and Blood balance themselves, dissolving the heat. This, too, follows Yin-Yang Balance.”

Tong Zhihuan trembled with awe. This was his first exposure to such ideas.

Chen Changsheng continued.

He then described how Martial Artists guided their Qi to achieve control over Qi and Blood.

Suddenly, Tong Zhihuan connected the dots. “If one can control their own Qi and Blood… could they control someone else’s Qi and Blood too?”

“Correct.”

Chen Changsheng nodded. “Within the Jianghu, there are healers who use needles guided by Qi and Blood to cure diseases that ordinary medicine cannot touch.”

Tong Zhihuan’s jaw dropped. This shattered everything he knew about medicine.

All his life, he’d thought studying medicine meant learning recipes and the nature of drugs. He’d never heard of such a healing method.

“Mister!”

“I want to learn this!”

At the Tong residence in Autumn Moon Market.

Tong Caizheng returned home alone.

His Madam Yu, startled to see him return without their son, asked, “Where is Zhihuan?”

Tong Caizheng walked over, took her hand, and pulled her inside.

“What’s wrong?”

Confusion filled her eyes.

Only after sitting down did Tong Caizheng explain. “It’s a long story. Do you remember the Mister Zhihuan told us about?”

Madam Yu nodded. Of course she remembered.

Tong Caizheng then described everything that happened after reaching the mountain, ensuring Madam Yu understood why Zhihuan had stayed behind.

Madam Yu was greatly shocked. Her lips parted, her eyes wide with incredulity.

She seemed almost dazed. “Could it be… an Immortal giving guidance?”

Tong Caizheng nodded. “That Zhihuan gets instruction from a Celestial Immortal… this is heavenly fortune beyond compare.”

Madam Yu clutched her collar, excitement rising within her.

“So wonderful, so wonderful…” she whispered, nearly incoherent.

But a new fear struck her. “Still,” she asked, looking worriedly at her husband, “if he’s studying medicine… wouldn’t Zhihuan… risk displeasing that Mister?”

Tong Caizheng shared this fear. He patted her back gently. “The Mister is not a harsh man. I also mentioned Zhihuan’s condition in advance. He shouldn’t be troubled. Let’s wait until Zhihuan returns tomorrow. Then we’ll know.”

“I still worry…”

Madam Yu frowned tightly, unable to relax.

Tong Caizheng was just as worried.

Thus, none of the couple slept that night. By the late watch, they still felt no drowsiness and gave up on sleeping.

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They went directly outside the Civic District as dawn lightened the sky, waiting at the mountain’s base.

Early morning.

Insects chirped and birds called along the Mountain Stream. Distant crowing roosters drifted faintly from the market.

Morning dew dripped from leaves. Inside the Library Pavilion of Flowing Cloud Temple, an Oil Lamp burned as before.

Tong Zhihuan held a book, reading intently. He didn’t even notice dawn breaking.

Beneath the Peach Tree, Chen Changsheng set down his brush.

Before him lay a neatly copied manuscript detailing methods for practicing martial arts and guiding Qi.

He’d originally found these in the Library Pavilion of Great Jing.

Chen Changsheng waved his sleeve. The ink on the pages instantly dried. He turned towards the Library Pavilion and rose to walk over.

“Creak.”

The Library Pavilion’s door opened.

Tong Zhihuan looked up, seeing the Mister.

“The sky is light,” Chen Changsheng said. “Time to go down the mountain. Your mom and dad are waiting below.”

Tong Zhihuan paused. Mom and Dad?

He lifted his gaze outward, finally realizing it was already daylight.

He scrambled to his feet and hurried over. “Mister… may I return up the mountain tomorrow?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “Tomorrow, I will be gone.”

He extended his hand, passing Tong Zhihuan the copied manuscript on controlling Qi and Blood. “This details the Qi and Blood method. If you do not understand, seek out Abbot Xuan Huang here in the future. He’ll teach you how to guide Qi.”

“Thank you, Mister.”

Tong Zhihuan accepted it reverently with both hands. “Where do you go now, Mister?”

Chen Changsheng smiled warmly. “A place very far away.”