After Shen Qingshan left the Martial Arts Academy, Fang Jie didn't rush to report to class. Theoretically, Mo Wanwu was his direct professor, but Fang Jie's special case was that Qiu Yu was the one directly responsible for him. Anyway, Mo Wanwu was used to Fang Jie not coming to class, and Fang Jie was used to being alone.
He sat in the room for ten minutes, carefully recalling what had happened from the time he fainted until he woke up. He could only clearly remember a little. What interested him most was that Qiu Yu hadn't told Dean Zhou the truth. At that time, he had gradually regained his senses and heard Qiu Yu's answers to Dean Zhou's questions.
Why didn't Qiu Yu tell Dean Zhou the truth?
What was her purpose in concealing her physical changes?
Fang Jie was certain that Qiu Yu had no ulterior motives towards him, so her concealing her physical changes and the insects…didn't she even trust Dean Zhou? Why?
If Qiu Yu was protecting him, why? Fang Jie wasn't foolish enough to believe Qiu Yu would have feelings for him. That woman… perhaps wasn't even a woman at all. Her personality dictated her assertiveness, and destined her to never easily develop feelings for any man. So why would she deceive Dean Zhou to protect him?
Fang Jie couldn't understand, so he simply got up and went to find her directly.
He didn't take a single detour, finding Qiu Yu still perusing ancient texts in the library. When Fang Jie saw that the book in Qiu Yu's hands was about the Gu poison of the Western Frontier barbarian tribes, his heart warmed. Regardless of Qiu Yu's motives, her concern for him was genuine.
Fang Jie didn't see the worms, but Shen Qingshan had already told him the whole story. When Fang Jie learned that there were many disgusting fleshy worms inside his body, the urge to vomit almost overwhelmed him. The more he thought about it, the more nauseating it became.
Fang Jie placed the paper packet containing peanuts on the table and nodded to the old man. The old man smiled back at him, took the packet, and began peeling and eating peanuts.
"Thank you, sir."
Fang Jie walked to Qiu Yu's side and sincerely thanked him.
Qiu Yu looked up at him, then pointed to the floor beside him: "Sit down."
Fang Jie sat down on the floor next to Qiu Yu, glanced at the book in Qiu Yu's hand, and asked, "Qing Shan told me that you and he both suspect that what I vomited was poison from the Western Frontier barbarians. I haven't had any contact with barbarians. Although I did stay in Nan Yan for a while at first, I didn't encounter any sorcerers. Not only do the martial arts world of the Central Plains regard those barbarian sorcerers as evil spirits, killing them on sight, but even the people of Nan Yan despise those sorcerers. If the barbarian tribes hadn't been hidden deep in the jungle, the Nan Yan army would have already attacked."
Qiu Yu hummed in agreement. "You suspect those aren't poisonous Gu?" Qiu Yu asked.
Fang Jie shook his head. "I just can't imagine who could have planted Gu poison in me without my knowledge."
"Perhaps when you were very young, before you had any memories."
Qiu Yu handed Fang Jie a book. "This book contains some scattered records, but they're not very detailed. I paid special attention to a method used by barbarian tribes to control puppet soldiers. Look..."
Qiu Yu pointed to a drawing in the ancient book. "The insects drawn here look similar to the insects in your body."
"Puppet soldiers?"
Fang Jie was surprised. "Hmm..."
Qiu Yu said, "The barbarian tribes of the southwestern border capture strangers who stray into their territory and then implant this Gu poison. Those infected become mindless walking corpses, completely obedient to the sorcerer who casts the spell. These puppet soldiers feel no pain; even if their hearts are pierced, they can still move. Furthermore, their bodies become as hard as iron, making them difficult to harm with ordinary swords. However, their weakness is their slow movement; escaping is not difficult if they encounter one. Also, their bodies are jet black, making them easily distinguishable from ordinary people. To kill these puppet soldiers, there are only two methods: first, remove the Gu poison from their bodies; second, cut off their heads."
Fang Jie subconsciously recalled his past and found he had no such symptoms.
Qiu Yu continued, "But I asked Shen Qingshan, and she said you haven't shown any unusual behavior from childhood. It was only after meeting Prince Zhong in Fan Gu that you started to change, so it shouldn't be the poison controlling the puppet soldiers."
"More advanced?"
Fang Jie asked.
Qiu Yu nodded, "That's the only way to deduce it, but shamans are extremely rare, even among barbarian tribes. Ever since shamans who left the forest were considered evil, their numbers have dwindled. The few remaining dare not venture out, fearing they'll be burned alive. I haven't found any records of people controlled by the poison remaining completely unaffected. If the poison in your body is a very high-level technique, then the shaman who cast it must be extremely famous. Either this person never left their tribe, or they died long ago; otherwise, there would be some record of them."
Fang Jie shook his head; he still had no clue. "It seems the best way to find out these things is to ask someone from the southwestern frontier."
"There's someone who should know something."
Qiu Yu glanced at Fang Jie, then smiled and said, "Chang'an is a very, very large city, and its people come from all over the country."
"Who?"
Fang Jie asked.
"Do you remember that promising military student who was expelled because of the Keshengju incident? He was a border guard commander in the southwestern frontier, and he led troops to massacre those barbarians more than once. I heard that after being expelled, he didn't leave Chang'an, and somehow managed to escape most of his punishment. Now he's very close to a steward in Prince Yi's mansion. It seems he plans to find a position there to make a living."
"Wang Wei! That border guard commander from Baishui City."
Fang Jie smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Of course..."
Qiu Yu smiled slightly, "I will not admit that I told you these things."
...
...
Qiu Yu glanced at the old man sitting in the distance, shelling peanuts and drinking wine, making sure he wouldn't hear his conversation with Fang Jie. The old man was too old; his hearing wasn't very good anymore.
She recounted the changes in Fang Jie's body when he woke up, then asked in a very low voice, "If I'm not mistaken, your body is definitely very different now than before. If you're smart, don't try to hide it from me. You should know that I seem to understand your body better than you do... When you woke up, several red veins appeared on your body, starting from your lower abdomen and connecting to your limbs. Along the paths these veins passed through, thirty-six acupoints glowed."
She smiled and said, "And the opening of these thirty-six acupoints is the most basic condition for cultivation."
"But I still haven't discovered that you have a Qi Sea."
Fang Jie smiled wryly, "I always feel like I'm naked in front of you."
Qiu Yu hummed in agreement, "You should think of it this way... Most people are naked in my eyes. Unless their cultivation is very..." "It's tall enough to block my view."
Fang Jie was taken aback, then said with great envy, "Then you must have seen countless people?"
Qiu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, and Fang Jie immediately moved to the side: "Well… let's talk about my body. It's true, as you think, I can vaguely sense a trace of the primordial energy of heaven and earth. But perhaps because I can sense so little, it's very blurry. I've tried, but I can't incorporate the sensed primordial energy into my body to transform it into internal energy."
Qiu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because you can sense so little… and you still don't have a Qi Sea. You can sense the primordial energy of heaven and earth, but you can't incorporate it into your body. Without a Qi Sea, there's no place to store the primordial energy of heaven and earth, so… you can only sense it now."
"Then isn't that the same as before?"
Fang Jie said somewhat frustrated. "How could there be no difference?"
Qiu Yu smiled and said, "Before yesterday, I was certain you'd never be able to sense the primordial energy of heaven and earth. Even if your body was special, you'd still be useless for cultivation. But today, you can already sense the existence of primordial energy. Who knows, in a few days, your Qi Sea might just appear out of thin air?"
"Your words are very unreliable."
Fang Jie shook his head and said, "You have meridians connecting your Qi points, but no Qi Sea… You can sense the primordial energy of heaven and earth, but you can't draw it into your body. I really don't know what's so great about that." "It's actually more painful than before. For example... even if a eunuch is interested in women, he knows he can't, so he accepts his fate. But one day he suddenly discovers he has 'that thing' again, and overjoyed, he immediately goes to find a woman, only to find he can't get an erection at all..."
Qiu Yu looked at him seriously and said, "If I hear you use that analogy again, I'll castrate you."
Fang Jie was startled and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, sir, I forgot you're a woman..."
"Forgot..."
Qiu Yu gritted his teeth and repeated, a murderous glint gradually spreading in his eyes.
Fang Jie quickly moved further away, waving his hand to explain, "Um... that's not what I meant. I didn't realize it and it just slipped out."
Qiu Yu sighed, "You're a very annoying person, don't you know that?"
Fang Jie nodded, "As long as you promise not to beat me up, I know everything."
Qiu Yu laughed, annoyed, "Get back to your seat. Do you really think I'd stoop to your level? Besides, your body... since you can sense the existence of the primordial energy of heaven and earth, it means your body is capable of cultivation. As for why you don't have a Qi Sea, I think it's probably just because it hasn't fully formed yet... wait a few more days, and it should change."
"Moreover, ordinary cultivators only have one meridian connecting their Qi Acupoints and Qi Sea, like a rope without a head or tail." "It's a continuous, endless cycle. But you're different. Yesterday I saw at least four meridians form, and another one only extended an inch or so from your lower abdomen before stopping, and it didn't grow any longer."
She pointed to Fang Jie's lower abdomen and said, "Perhaps your Qi Sea will only appear after this meridian forms."
Fang Jie asked, "How exactly does one channel the primordial energy of heaven and earth into the body?"
Qiu Yu was silent for a moment before saying, "The most basic thing is breathing, but some great cultivators can make every pore on their body able to breathe. That is to say, even if you block their nose, as long as you don't seal off their entire skin, they won't suffocate. And such great cultivators often improve their cultivation much faster than ordinary people."
In that instant, Fang Jie thought of… Chu Liuxiang…