A faint blue aura enveloped the entirety of my hands.
"This feels... unreal. Not only is my energy centered at one point, but my body feels a whole lot lighter too."
I wound my right arm clockwise. Those stiff joints in my bones weren't there anymore. It seemed like my tangled-up meridians weren't the only thing Old Qin attended to.
"You really are amazing, Old Qin. You said you used to travel around, right? Didn't you have some sort of clinic to run?"
"I did, but I also had a great deal of clients hiring me from all across the land. Nobles, lords, governors, even martial artists."
I sat on the ground cross-legged, listening to his tales as I fiddled around with the lingering qi wrapped around my hands as though it were playdough.
"Speaking of which, I had the pleasure of taking on a job for Kang Yuu."
Old Qin looked at me with great glee, as if waiting to see my face light up with astonishment. Unfortunately for him, I had no idea who that was.
"Who?"
The old man's smile vanished as fast as it came, replaced by a slight frown and an arched brow.
"Kid,"
Kid? What happened to 'Mister Tian'?
"it's not good to joke like that. You should know how great an honor that is."
"...But I'm not joking."
That puzzled look in his face morphed into one of genuine perplexity, as if I'd committed some form of blasphemy in front of him.
"How ridiculous. No matter your background, any martial artist worth their grain has definitely heard of Kang Yuu, vice sect-leader of the Big Rice sect."
Vice leader? Big Rice sect? ...no. What really caught my attention was the fact he called me a martial artist.
"Mister Tian, as you are my saviour, I'm sorry if this may sound rude, but I am very surprised you've managed to survive this long without this information."
Ah... now I look really suspicious.
"Not to mention your entangled meridians. Such a condition isn't uncommon among martial artists, but what is strange is for one to remain in such a position for as long as you, especially with how easy it is to fix."
Cough..
"Well.. well- you know, I'm just a poor little village boy who holds the dreams of exploring Jianghu just like everyone else. I only recently left my hometown and ended up on these streets."
I muttered under my breath the entire time, as if the story I was telling was completely fake.
"Anyways! You seem to be a big figure in this world.. what was your title, Old Qin? 'The Great Heavenly Doctor?' or maybe, 'The Holy Light.' Seems fitting to me!"
Old Qin scoffed without a laugh, clearly unamused.
"Nothing like that, I was just a humble doctor who got lucky."
I turned my eyebrows.
"Then what about that 'Kang Yuu' guy? Big Rice Sect? What are these things?"
Qin took a deep breath in, preparing to tell the tale.