Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

The antidote was from Wu Zhong.

He claimed it could cure the Biluo Poison, but who knew if that was true?

Before giving Ruan Yuqing the medicine, Jiang Ran had to probe the secrets of this Biluo Poison.

As their fingertips gently touched, Jiang Ran felt Ruan Yuqing tremble.

He couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

"The great Gentle Water Sword herself, and you’re trembling? I’m only checking your pulse.

"It’s not like I’m sticking you with a needle. You can’t be scared, can you?"

"...You’d be a lot more tolerable if you just talked a little less."

Ruan Yuqing shot Jiang Ran a sidelong glance.

Jiang Ran pursed his lips.

"I seem to recall someone saying just a moment ago that I’d done a great service to all five of your great sword sects.

"And now, just a moment later, I’m already intolerable?"

"Enough of your nonsense."

After she said it, Ruan Yuqing seemed to regret her words and gave a light cough.

"They say a diagnosis requires complete concentration. You’re examining me. What if you make a mistake and end up killing me with your treatment?"

"Then I’ll just dig a hole and bury you."

"..."

Ruan Yuqing took a deep breath. ’Don’t get angry,’ she told herself, forcing her heart to become as still as water.

Jiang Ran said no more. He probed in silence for a moment, his brow furrowed.

He then released her hand, opened the vial of medicine, and took a sniff. His eyebrows shot up.

"There really is a problem."

"Huh?"

Ruan Yuqing was taken aback. "What problem? Is it the wrong medicine for the poison?"

"Not exactly."

Jiang Ran explained,

"The medicine in here can indeed cure you. However, there’s an extra ingredient.

"The moment you take this pill, the Biluo Poison will be cured, but you’ll immediately be afflicted with a different poison.

"With your life in someone else’s hands, we’d truly have our hands tied."

"What a venomous scheme."

Ruan Yuqing let out a soft sigh.

"So be it. Perhaps this is my fate. It’s better to let it end this way than to struggle needlessly."

"So you’re just giving up? Not going to get treated?"

"Wu Zhong is dead. How can I be cured now?"

"By me."

Jiang Ran said with a smile,

"I was wondering what this Biluo Poison was all about. Turns out, it’s nothing special.

"If I can identify the extra ingredient in the antidote, how could I not know what herbs it’s made of?

"Considering the nature of the poison in your system, concocting an Antitoxic Pill is only a matter of time.

"Do you have a brush and ink in this room?"

"I do."

Ruan Yuqing gave Jiang Ran a surprised look. She rose, fetched the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for him, then began to grind the ink stick with water, all while looking back at him.

"I knew you were a master of martial arts, but I never expected you to be so skilled in medicine as well."

"I wouldn’t say I’m skilled."

Jiang Ran sighed.

"My master was an odd man. His ability to heal people was average at best.

"For everyday things like headaches and fevers, he could manage. A bowl of herbal soup would more or less do the trick.

"But he was helpless against any serious or complicated illness.

"And yet, he was a profound expert on all manner of poisons.

"If you were merely sick, I doubt I could do much for you, even with all my effort.

"But if you’ve been poisoned... well, that’s a different story."

As he spoke, he had already dipped the brush in ink and begun to write with fluid strokes.

In just a moment, the names of several medicinal herbs filled the page.

Jiang Ran studied the list, pondered for a moment, then added a few more items before finally speaking:

"There. Have Gang Leader Fang help gather these herbs in Sanshui County as quickly as possible. I’ll use them to prepare the pill for you."

"Thank you."

Ruan Yuqing gazed at Jiang Ran.

"I owe you my life. Again."

Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"It’s nothing. The matter with the Jiaowei zither has already caused several women of the Shuiyue Sword Sect to lose their lives.

"My conscience... is far from clear."

This was not an empty platitude.

Although Jiang Ran had never considered himself a good person.

But... whether he was good or evil, that was his own affair.

To drag others into his problems and cause them harm... that truly sat poorly with him.

That was why he had organized the tea and zither gathering.

He wanted to concentrate all the risks in one place. Letting others pay for his troubles with their lives was not in his nature.

"You saved them. They kept your secret, and they did so without complaint, no matter the cost.

"You shouldn’t dwell on it."

Ruan Yuqing comforted him in a soft voice.

Jiang Ran shook his head, stood up, and said to Ruan Yuqing,

"I have a unique technique. While it can’t purge the poison completely, it can temporarily force out a portion of the Biluo Poison.

"It will lessen your suffering..."

"Then I thank you, Young Hero Jiang."

Ruan Yuqing nodded.

Jiang Ran gestured to the bed, telling her to go and wait there.

An awkward expression crossed Ruan Yuqing’s face. The women of the Shuiyue Sword Sect were always so sensitive about such things.

Jiang Ran sighed. He could understand.

Once Ruan Yuqing was seated, he moved behind her and, with a flick of his finger, pressed a point on her back.

Jiang Ran was using the Great Brahman World-Saving Finger. When performed with its corresponding Dharma Manifestation, it had the power to neutralize poisons and heal wounds.

Although Jiang Ran made it sound trivial, the Biluo Poison was in fact a peculiar toxin, so much so that the Great Brahman World-Saving Finger alone could not completely purge it.

However, with the help of the medicinal formula he had just written, it would not be difficult.

Thus, after nearly an hour, Jiang Ran withdrew his Inner Strength. Ruan Yuqing promptly fainted.

The process was like scraping the poison from her very bones. Having Inner Strength sweep through her meridians, though harmless in the long run, was excruciatingly painful to endure.

He gently laid her down and covered her with a blanket before leaving the room.

The moment he stepped out, he saw a group of Shuiyue Sword Sect disciples craning their necks, furtively peeking in his direction.