Qin Mu finished sorting the medicinal herbs, prepared the medicine, and applied the concoction to Old Ma's arm and The Cripple's leg. Then he went to the Imperial Academy's storehouse and purchased some Southern Borderlands Gu powder.
This Gu powder was called Vermillion Youth Gu, a type of incredibly tiny insect. A single bug placed before one's eyes was invisible to the naked sight; it required the Celestial Eye to perceive.
After being sun-dried, the insects turned into a fine powder that would revive upon contact with blood.
He took a little fresh blood from both Old Ma and The Cripple, using it to dissolve the Gu powder. Nourished by the fresh blood, those infinitesimally small insects came alive, making the two cups of blood appear as if they had a life of their own.
Old Ma and The Cripple peered into the tea cups. With their extraordinary vision, they could naturally see the insects within the blood. The two cups teemed with tens of thousands of Gu insects, densely packed and quite terrifying.
The Cripple forced a nervous smile. "Qin Mu, are you planning to use these bugs to treat our hands and legs? What kind of insects are these? Are they harmful?"
Among the villagers, if one spoke of someone fierce enough to frighten little girls, the butcher could only rank second. The one who took first place was the Herbalist, who loved raising flowers, grass, and little bugs.
The Herbalist's face was scary, but his bugs were even more so. The Cripple was habitually inclined to steal. Every person's room in the village had been visited by him. He had even scammed Qin Mu out of several candied haws, yet he wouldn't touch a single thing in the Herbalist's room.
Having studied medicine under the Herbalist, Qin Mu was quite knowledgeable about these insects. Seeing the bugs in those two tea cups, The Cripple couldn't help feeling his hair stand on end, plagued by the persistent feeling that some malicious commoner was out to harm him.
"Rest assured, Grandpa Cripple. The Vermillion Youth Gu is a Gu technique of the Five Miao in the Southern Borderlands. It doesn't pose much harm to the body."
Qin Mu infused the two cups of blood into the blood vessels of Old Ma's arm and The Cripple's leg respectively. The Vermillion Youth Gu was thus planted in the arm and the leg. He explained, "The reason this Gu is called Vermillion Youth Gu is that women of certain sects in the Southern Borderlands use it to preserve their looks and maintain eternal youth. Even after death, they remain lifelike."
"Lifelike after death..." The Cripple shuddered, feeling that this Vermillion Youth Gu was anything but a pleasant thing.
Qin Mu placed their limbs into a medicinal cauldron, which he had already filled with a pot of prepared medicinal soup. He said, "These Gu insects can consume the dead blood in the circulation, the dead skin on the surface, the damaged membranes and muscle fibers in the flesh, the bone fragments in the bones, and the dead marrow in the marrow. Therefore, those who take the Vermillion Youth Gu can maintain their youthful appearance until the very moment of their death. Grandpa Herbalist said that back in the day, he had several female acquaintances who cultivated this Gu within their bodies. They looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, remaining tight and youthful. Grandpa Herbalist said he liked tight, youthful girls..."
The youth looked up with a thoughtful expression. "What does 'tight, youthful girls' mean?"
The Cripple replied, "You're still too young to think about such trivial matters. Can I use it?"
Qin Mu found a seed among the spiritual medicines from the palace, lifted a brick in the main hall, and revealed jade-like soil beneath. "Of course you can. However, this Gu has a drawback. If the Gu insects get hungry, they will consume healthy blood and flesh. Therefore, those who take the Gu must consume fresh blood daily to nourish them. Moreover, as time passes, the number of Vermillion Youth Gu inside the body increases, and the amount of fresh blood needed daily grows ever greater."
He opened the Gluttonous Beast Pouch, retrieved some water from Jade Dragon Lake, and poured it over the soil. "Grandpa Herbalist said that in the land of the Five Miao, there are often beautiful women who seduce young, strong men. After their carnal pleasure, the men are left as nothing but empty husks, dying as lustful ghosts. They are drained of their essence and blood, which these women harvest to feed the Vermillion Youth Gu."
The Cripple shuddered again.
After Qin Mu watered the spot, the soil mound swelled. A tender sprout pushed up from the earth, growing taller at a visible pace.
The youth circulated the Tyrant Body Three Pill Art and paced around the small sapling in the main hall, channeling the Creation Earth Essence Art from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra. His seal formula shifted unpredictably as he pressed his palms toward the little tree. His palms and darting fingers would bounce away the instant they touched the leaves.
When the sapling's branches and leaves were touched by his palms or fingers, they produced a delicate tinkling sound, like the notes of a zither. A beautiful melody filled the main hall.
Qin Mu's footwork became erratic as he used the Creation Earth Essence Art to stimulate the small tree. The tree grew to over a person's height, began to sprout, and tender green leaves unfurled one after another.
Then flower buds emerged and bloomed, covering the tree with snow-white pear blossoms.
"The reputation of the Vermillion Youth Gu isn't exactly pristine. When I went to the Imperial Academy's storehouse to buy this stuff earlier, the academy officials questioned me about its purpose. One of the officials said that some noble ladies in the capital, and even some imperial concubines, have a fondness for this item. The Imperial Medical Bureau then modified the Gu insects, making these Vermillion Youth Gu incapable of self-reproduction."
Qin Mu's feet didn't stop, nor did his hands. His seal formula shifted like Guanyin flicking her fingers. Each flick produced a resounding note, like a pebble dropping into a still lake.
The pear blossoms on the tree withered, giving way to a full tree of small green pears, no bigger than a fingertip.
But under the continuous change of his seal formula, the green pears gradually grew larger.
"Physician You even created a Detox Pill to kill the Gu insects. When the Vermillion Youth Gu threatens one's health, one can take the Detox Pill to kill the Gu and expel them from the body."
Qin Mu continued channeling the Creation Earth Essence Art, further ripening the green pears, which had now grown to the size of fists. "Just now, I had the academy official fetch a Detox Pill for me to examine. This Detox Pill uses only common medicinal ingredients, yet it is sold at an exorbitant price. A month's salary of the State Preceptor of Yankang wouldn't be enough to buy a single one. That official said Physician You became one of the wealthiest among the imperial physicians precisely because of this miraculous pill—filthy rich!"
The Cripple's eyes lit up. "Physician You? Filthy rich?"
The pears on the tree turned yellow, giving off a rich, fruity aroma.
Qin Mu picked a few and tossed them to Old Ma and The Cripple. The two elders each took a bite. Their mouths filled with fragrance, and they couldn't help but exclaim in praise.
"Little Divine Doctor, what kind of magic is this that conjured these pears?" Old Ma asked.
Qin Mu blushed. "Please don't mock me, Grandpa Ma. This is the Creation Earth Essence Art from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, passed down to me by Grandma Si."
"The Creation Earth Essence Art?"
Old Ma and The Cripple exchanged a bewildered glance. The Cripple muttered, "I've seen Grandma Si use the Creation Earth Essence Art. That old woman used this technique to cultivate her Yang Spirit. Right at high noon, with her five openings facing skyward, she would gather the essence fire of the sun. Flaming clouds would roll in across the heavens, quite terrifying. It was clearly a supreme demonic art. Grandma Si used this technique to burn many people to death—it doesn't seem like the way you're using it..."
Qin Mu was stunned. "Did I cultivate it incorrectly?"
Old Ma said, "You didn't. Your cultivation is remarkably pure. I reckon Grandma Si took a skewed path. The Yang Spirit nurtures all living things. It should naturally be used this way."
Qin Mu picked a few more yellow pears, split them in half, and placed them into the medicinal soup. "I'm using the Vermillion Youth Gu to remove the necrotic portions in the arm and leg. Once they are removed, I will use medicine to force the Gu insects out of the body. The insects won't harm your limbs. These yellow pears are also a type of medicine—a catalyst that activates the potency of the other ingredients. But eaten alone, they taste quite nice and possess no medicinal properties."
His attainment in the medical arts surpassed even Physician You's. Physician You used the Detox Pill to poison the Vermillion Youth Gu, and after death, the dead Gu insects would remain inside the host's body, slowly being expelled over time.
But he used medicine to make the Gu insects swim out on their own, leaving not a trace behind.
Moreover, the medicinal soup he prepared contained blood-activating ingredients that could stimulate the vitality of Old Ma's arm and The Cripple's leg, reviving their living tissue. Once everything was properly treated, he could reattach their limbs.
Qin Mu picked the rest of the pears from the tree, filling an entire basket with yellow pears. Then he uprooted the pear tree and placed it in the courtyard.
Qin Mu then called over Hu Ling'er and Dragon Qilin, sharing the pears with them. Hu Ling'er tried one and praised it endlessly. Dragon Qilin also ate quite a bit. Though they weren't Red Fire Spirit Pills, the dragon qilin still devoured them with great relish.
"This fellow really needs to go on a diet."
Qin Mu stared at the dragon qilin, thinking, "If he keeps eating like this, I'll seriously doubt whether he can still tread on clouds of fire and take to the skies."
The Cripple couldn't sit still. After staying at Qin Mu's place for half a day, he clamored to go out for a stroll. Old Ma, worried he might run into the State Preceptor of Yankang, immediately went with him.
The Cripple had always been most submissive to Old Ma, respecting and fearing him in equal measure. Unable to refuse, the two of them ran off together. Qin Mu, for his part, wasn't worried about their safety.
The State Preceptor of Yankang had also suffered serious injuries. If he encountered The Cripple, it wasn't necessarily The Cripple who would come out worse.
Furthermore, Old Ma was the most composed person in the village. With Old Ma present, The Cripple wouldn't act recklessly.
A few days later, the Imperial Academy students who had been sent to the front lines returned. During this expedition, they had encountered demonic summoning by the Hongshan Sect at the Yong River in Lizhou and in Lu County, soul calling by the Nine Nether Gate, and corpse manipulation by the Corpse Immortal Sect.
Afterward, they were ambushed by rebel forces led by General Xiaoyi. In that battle, a full thirty percent of the Imperial Academy students were lost—each one among the elite of the elite. The casualties were devastating.
In the darkness, the expeditionary students were nearly annihilated. Fortunately, the subsequent main army of the State of Yankang, led by the State Preceptor of Yankang, swept through the Yong River. General Yuyuan Chuyun rallied the combined might of the generals, slew the summoned demon god, and destroyed the Gate to the Netherworld that had been cast into the river.
Lizhou's Vice Prefect, Yuyuan Chuyu, led her forces across the river, fiercely blocking General Xiaoyi's advance and halting his momentum. The two armies clashed in a bloody battle upon the river's surface. Yuyuan Chuyu and Yuyuan Chuyun combined their swords in a dual attack. As the sun set over the Yong River, a sword-sun sank halfway into the water at the river's center. From that setting sun, countless sword lights erupted across the river's surface, cutting down untold numbers of rebels. War towers plummeted from the sky, and corpses rained down like a deluge.
General Xiaoyi was forced to retreat and flee.
After Yuyuan Chuyu and Yuyuan Chuyun's army crossed the river, the chaos in Lizhou was finally quelled.
When the Imperial Academy students were later tallied, the extent of the losses became clear. Several academy officials had even fallen in battle against the demon god while protecting the students.
Afterward, many students followed the academy officials across the river to help quell the rebellion. When the State Preceptor returned to court, these students finally ended their expedition and returned to the Imperial Academy—which was why they arrived a few days later than Qin Mu and the others.
With such heavy casualties among the students, Gu Linuan could hardly escape responsibility. He submitted a memorial to the Emperor seeking punishment. The Emperor reduced his salary for half a year and demoted his official rank to Subordinate Fourth Grade, though he retained his position overseeing the Imperial Academy without being dismissed.
Gu Linuan ordered the compilation of a casualty roster, hoping to see Qin Mu's name among the dead. Unfortunately, he did not.
After preparing the list of fallen students, Gu Linuan immediately entered the palace for an audience with the Emperor. He ran headlong into a eunuch bearing an imperial decree heading toward the Imperial Academy. Gu Linuan quickly asked, "Eunuch, are you going to the Imperial Academy to deliver a decree?"
The eunuch smiled. "Congratulations, Lord Gu. The Doctor of the Imperial Academy distinguished himself in pacifying the rebellion and protected the students under his command. His Majesty has sent me with a decree to promote him!"
Gu Linuan's face stiffened, and he said with bitterness, "This is simply his duty. Why must he be rewarded?"
"His Majesty says that some people can't even manage to do their basic duties properly. He intends to make an example of a few chickens to scare the monkeys."