Chapter 16: Mute Raftman

## The Human World

An hour later, as the water cooled, the two reluctantly climbed out of the medicinal tub.

As usual, they performed their evening lessons and practiced martial arts. Qin Sang had already formed a habit of returning to his room in the late evening and resuming his cultivation of the *Nether Scripture*.

After completing one full cultivation cycle, Qin Sang suddenly stopped, opening his eyes with a look of shock.

Lately, he had become accustomed to making small, incremental progress with each session, but today was suddenly different. A single cultivation cycle had yielded as much progress as half a day's cultivation previously!

Feeling the significantly strengthened 'qi' within his body, Qin Sang quickly settled his mind and re-entered meditation to begin the next cycle.

The second cycle also showed significant improvement, though slightly less than the first. Qin Sang continued to control the cultivation technique, and with each subsequent cycle, the improvement gradually diminished, until by the ninth cycle, the effect was the same as usual.

After completing nine cycles, Qin Sang lay down. He was supposed to sleep for an hour to replenish his energy, but he was too excited to sleep.

The only explanation for the sudden significant progress was last night's medicinal bath. He hadn't expected the old Taoist priest's inherited prescription to not only strengthen the body and cultivate vitality, but also to be effective for the *Nether Scripture*.

Truly worthy of being an imperial physician.

Qin Sang secretly rejoiced; the *Tiger Subduing Long Fist* had truly been put to good use. Luckily, he had gotten Mingyue involved as well, otherwise, the old Taoist priest would never have produced the prescription just for him!

Thinking of this, Qin Sang quickly recalled the prescription. His memory also seemed to have improved, as he remembered it down to the last detail. In the future, even without the old Taoist priest, he could gather and prepare the herbs himself.

With the help of the medicinal bath, Qin Sang finally saw a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough. He was too excited to sleep, and soon, as dawn broke, he got up and hurriedly went to Qingyang Hall to start a fire and brew the medicine.

After the master and disciple had washed up, they came to the main hall. Seeing Qin Sang so proactive for the first time, they couldn't help but exchange glances.

Taoist Priest Jixin stroked his long beard and asked with a smile, "How about it? How effective is this prescription of mine?"

"You are truly a divine physician! A divine medicine!"

Qin Sang repeatedly gave thumbs up and approached him with a fawning expression, "Taoist Priest, how many more ancient prescriptions do you have? Could you bring them all out and let me broaden my horizons?"

Taoist Priest Jixin snorted loudly and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Mingyue sidled up to Qin Sang, shifting his back somewhat uncomfortably, and whispered, "Senior Brother, what did you feel last night? Why did I feel an unbearable heat inside my body, along with some tingling and itching? I fell asleep very late and didn't feel any benefits."

Mingyue was certainly affected by the medicinal properties. However, Mingyue didn't cultivate the *Nether Scripture*, so it was estimated his efficiency in absorbing the medicinal power was far less than Qin Sang's, and it had all been wasted as internal heat.

Qin Sang blurted out, "Oh, don't worry, you're just going through puberty."

Mingyue kept asking what puberty was until their next medicinal bath.

Soaking in the medicinal soup, Qin Sang recalled how the medicinal power had gradually weakened during his cultivation last night. A thought suddenly struck him: What would happen if he cultivated the *Nether Scripture* while in the bath?

Cultivating the technique only required sitting in meditation and calming the mind. The medicinal soup was murky, so his posture below the surface wouldn't be visible from outside. Qin Sang decided to act on his thought immediately: He sat cross-legged and began to circulate the cultivation technique.

Unexpectedly, before even completing one cycle, Qin Sang suddenly felt faint pain in his meridians. He was very familiar with this feeling and quickly stopped cultivating.

Mingyue was still resting with his eyes closed and didn't notice Qin Sang's little action.

Qin Sang looked down at the medicinal soup, his gaze slightly focused. The color of the soup around him had become significantly lighter than around Mingyue. If the light in Qingyang Hall hadn't been dim, it would have been easy to notice.

Qin Sang quickly stirred the medicinal soup to mix it. He felt the qi within his body—the progress was indeed significant—but the pain from his meridians was too distinct, and they might be overwhelmed at any moment.

It seemed absorbing too much medicinal power was not necessarily a good thing, so Qin Sang temporarily abandoned the idea of going out to establish his own practice.

Later on, Qin Sang had no choice but to be patient and only absorb the medicinal power for a short while each time.

By the seventh day, during the last medicinal bath, the medicinal power in the soup had become very dilute. Only then did Qin Sang dare to absorb it freely, not stopping until all the medicinal power was completely absorbed, wasting not a single bit.

After the medicinal bath, Qin Sang and Mingyue scraped out the remaining herbal residue and discarded it. The once dark and murky medicinal soup now looked somewhat clear.

"Senior Brother, why isn't Master back yet?"

Mingyue stood at the entrance of the Taoist temple, holding a wooden ladle and gazing outwards, asking with a hint of worry.

Today was another auspicious day. A family at the ferry crossing was building a new house and had chosen today for the roof-raising ceremony, inviting the old Taoist priest to perform rituals for peace and blessings. Now, it was about to get completely dark. Usually, they would be about to do their evening lessons by this time, but the old Taoist priest hadn't returned.

Qin Sang frowned and said, "You stay and guard the temple. I'll go down the mountain to meet the Taoist Priest."

The donkey had been ridden away by the old Taoist priest. Qin Sang picked up a wooden stick and walked down the mountain.

The forest was dense, and at the end of the mountain path, only a dark void could be seen. When the night wind blew, a rustling sound filled the surroundings, as if countless ghostly figures were baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

However, Qin Sang didn't feel much fear. Although he only knew a superficial boxing technique, after cultivating the *Nether Scripture*, his hearing and eyesight were sharp, his limbs agile, and his movements swift. He was confident he could even fight a vicious wolf.

Mingyue had studied martial arts with Qin Sang, but he was no match for Qin Sang in a single move, which was very frustrating.

However, before Qin Sang had gone far down the mountain, he saw three dark figures. Qin Sang's eyesight was good, and he recognized the one in front as Taoist Priest Jixin.

"Taoist Priest, why are you returning so late today?"

Qin Sang ran over to help lead the donkey and observed the stranger following the Taoist Priest.

The person was very thin and small, carrying a large bundle on their back.

From a distance, Qin Sang had thought the old Taoist priest had found a new lease on life and brought back a girl, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was an elderly man.

He was only slightly taller than a dwarf, with a hunched back and a sallow face full of wrinkles. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, yet his steps were light, and he walked steadily even on the steep mountain path, following closely behind the old Taoist priest. He was clearly a poor person accustomed to walking a lot.

"This is Patron Wu," the old Taoist priest said, gesturing subtly towards Qin Sang to indicate Wu's inability to speak. "Patron Wu cannot speak. He works as a boat tracker at the first ferry crossing. He used to be from the north and just fled here, unable to find a place to stay. I invited him to stay at the temple for a while. Your spare room is empty; he can stay next to you."

He then said to the mute man, "This child is called Qin Sang; he's clever. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, just ask him for help."

Qin Sang harbored many secrets and naturally didn't want anyone living next door. But the Taoist temple wasn't his, so he could only suppress his displeasure and greeted him, "Old Wu, from now on, just call me Qin Sang... Ah, wait!"

Qin Sang lightly tapped his mouth and chuckled apologetically, "I tend to speak without thinking. Please don't mind me."

Old Wu looked uncomfortable, gestured repeatedly with his hands, and made a few 'ah-ah' sounds, confirming he was indeed mute.

There wasn't much to say to a mute person, so the three silently walked back to the Taoist temple. Old Wu ate dinner with them, then Qin Sang led him to find his room.

Back in Qingyang Hall, Qin Sang asked the old Taoist priest about Old Wu, and the old Taoist priest sighed softly.