Chapter 223: Compromise

"Only I know the condition of every inch of your skin and every single energy channel in your body. I know how much force to apply and from what angle to proceed. If anyone else were to make even a slight mistake, they wouldn't just fail to save you; they would destroy your energy channels and internal organs," Zu An said in a deep voice.

He wasn't entirely truthful. It wasn't he who understood the intricate details of her body, but Mi Li. She had previously occupied Chu Chuyan's body, and thus knew it as intimately as her own.

Since he had promised Mi Li not to reveal her presence, he had to use himself as a shield.

Chu Chuyan was taken aback. "How do you know my body so well?"

Zu An chuckled, "Have you forgotten? When I saved you in the underground palace, I devoted myself to nourishing and repairing your energy channels. Of course, I know your body better than anyone else; no one else had that opportunity."

Chu Chuyan's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. "Alright, alright, that's enough. Just start the acupuncture."

Zu An smiled slightly, took out the various medicines he had asked Cheng Shoubing to prepare, used his vital energy to grind them into powder, and then mixed them into a medicinal liquid.

Catching a faint scent of the medicine, Chu Chuyan couldn't help but ask, "You know medicine? As far as I know, you haven't studied it."

Zu An replied with a smile, "Didn't I mention it before? A mysterious old man taught me all sorts of skills, including medicine. I wasn't very interested in it before, but I picked it up again now to save you."

"Who are you calling an 'old man'?" Mi Li's displeased voice echoed in his mind. "Am I that old?"

Zu An thought, *You've lived for thousands of years; isn't that old enough?*

Of course, he dared not voice such thoughts. He quickly responded, "I wasn't talking about you. It's just a fabricated person I made up in the past to explain how I acquired my various strange abilities."

"That's better," Mi Li snorted. "But speaking of which, I'm curious. Where did all your unusual abilities come from, and why did you know my true name the first time we met?"

Zu An was filled with regret. He had just slipped up and dug himself into a hole. He shouldn't have told her the truth; he should have just blamed everything on that "old man."

"Let's talk about all that later. Anyway, you're with me now, and you'll find out eventually. For now, let's focus on saving you," Zu An quickly said.

Mi Li remained silent, apparently giving her tacit approval, which made him secretly sigh in relief.

"What's wrong?" Chu Chuyan noticed his fluctuating expression, as if he were lost in thought.

"Nothing. Let's begin," Zu An said, reaching out to take her hand.

Chu Chuyan instinctively pulled back, but Zu An didn't let go this time. He firmly pulled her hand back towards him.

Knowing he was doing this for her treatment, Chu Chuyan felt her reaction had been a bit excessive and stopped resisting.

Zu An soaked the silver needles in the mysterious medicinal liquid for a while, then picked one up and lightly flicked it. His technique resembled that of an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who had specialized in acupuncture for decades.

The doubt in Chu Chuyan's eyes grew stronger. This man truly held many secrets.

Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she found the silver needle already inserted into the web between her thumb and forefinger.

Chu Chuyan blinked. She had expected it to be painful, but to her surprise, she felt nothing at all, only a subtle warmth slowly spreading from the needle tip.

Zu An pulled her sleeve up to her shoulder, revealing a fair and delicate arm.

"What are you doing!" Chu Chuyan was startled.

Zu An pursed his lips. "It's not like I haven't seen or kissed you before. Do you need to react so strongly? I'm just performing acupuncture on other acupoints on your hand."

Chu Chuyan was extremely flustered by his words. Recalling how he had pressed her down and kissed her wildly in the underground palace, she felt both embarrassed and angry.

Anger value from Chu Chuyan: 33!

Seeing the anger value in the background, Zu An was startled, thinking he had truly angered her. However, after seeing the specific number, he relaxed, realizing that she was just feeling a bit embarrassed and experiencing emotional fluctuations.

"Focus your mind; don't think about nonsense," Mi Li's warning voice echoed in his mind at that moment.

Zu An's expression became serious. Knowing that there was no room for error, he quickly concentrated his mind. Following Mi Li's instructions, he used his vital energy to insert the silver needles to varying depths into the acupoints on her arm, while simultaneously enveloping the needle tips with a faint layer of Primordial Qi.

If it were anyone else, without him having cultivated the fourth level of the Primordial Chaos Scripture, the Primordial Qi would have no healing effect whatsoever. However, Chu Chuyan had shared physical intimacy with him, and her previous energy channels had been repaired by his Primordial Qi. Now, some residual Primordial Qi remained in her energy channels, allowing for a perfect internal and external resonance.

Chu Chuyan was admiring his professional needlework when she suddenly felt waves of coolness surge towards the acupoints where the silver needles were inserted. Then, faint wisps of visible cold air began to emanate from the needles into the air.

Zu An gently placed her hand on a cushion without removing the silver needles, then took her other hand.

Feeling the clear effects, Chu Chuyan was no longer resistant this time. She cooperatively raised her hand, allowing him to roll up her sleeve.

Zu An followed suit, inserting silver needles into various acupoints on her right hand as well.

"How do you feel?" Zu An asked, placing a pillow under her right hand to keep it flat.

"My hands feel less cold, and the chill around the acupoints is constantly dissipating," Chu Chuyan remarked, observing the wisps of white mist emanating from around the needles. "I can't believe it's actually working."

Zu An replied, "It's not that simple. The cold energy in your body is very severe. It's likely because your talent is too high, and your cultivation progressed too quickly over the years, causing your body's adaptation to fall behind the rate of cold energy accumulation. Then, severe injuries can cause the problem to fully erupt."

"Now that I think about it, the injuries you sustained during the last clan competition probably initiated this problem. You might have been able to barely control it then, but later, your energy channels were completely severed in the secret realm, and you were forcibly elevated to a higher cultivation level by the Traceless Illusion Lotus. Another injury from Shi Lezhi caused the cold energy in your body to completely spiral out of control."

These were all Mi Li's analyses, which he was merely relaying. He had previously informed Mi Li about her injuries during the clan competition.

"That's exactly right," Chu Chuyan said, her admiration growing. His analysis was precisely accurate to her condition.

"The cold energy in your body is deeply intertwined with your energy channels and internal organs. It won't be resolved in a day or two. It will require at least two to three months of daily acupuncture to expel the cold," Zu An said in a solemn voice.

"Then I'll have to trouble you," Chu Chuyan said, breathing a sigh of relief. Bao Yourou had previously declared her condition incurable, and even judged that Ji Dengtu would have no solutions. To be cured in two or three months now felt incredibly fortunate.

"Since you're willing to cooperate, that's great. Take off your clothes now." Zu An's next sentence stunned her.

Chu Chuyan: "???"

"Why are you looking at me like that? I've only slightly dispelled the cold from your hands. The bulk of the cold energy is still in your body, and your internal organs are the most challenging to treat," Zu An said, rolling his eyes. "How can I perform acupuncture if you don't take off your clothes?"

"I..." Chu Chuyan was usually quick-witted and sharp, but now she had no idea how to respond.

"It's not like I haven't seen you before, why such a strong reaction?" Zu An asked, somewhat bewildered. "If you don't want to, then let's switch to the first treatment method. That way, recovery time is shorter, and the process is more pleasant... *cough, cough*, and it's less trouble for me too."

Chu Chuyan shook her head like a rattle drum. How could she possibly accept the first method? "Can... can you cover your eyes? I've heard that some highly skilled doctors can perform acupuncture with their eyes closed."

"No," Zu An replied flatly. "I don't have that kind of skill. Besides, your condition is different from others; even a slight misapplication of force could cause devastating damage to your energy channels and internal organs. I need to be completely focused, so how could I deliberately increase the difficulty?"

Chu Chuyan: "..."

After a long pause, she bit her lip and glared fiercely at Zu An. "Are you doing this on purpose, you scoundrel!"

"Doing what on purpose?" Zu An asked, watching her slightly annoyed yet beautiful expression, which was truly an ultimate visual delight.

"Both options you gave me are... *like this*! How am I supposed to choose?" Chu Chuyan was almost frantic. "Is there a third option?"

Zu An sighed. "Wife, you must understand that your current condition is considered incurable. Having two treatment options is already a blessing; there won't be a third."

A look of struggle appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. The first method was immediately ruled out, but the second...

Sensing her hesitation, Zu An quickly added, "When the time comes, you can use a thin veil to cover sensitive areas. Those particular spots shouldn't require needling."

Hearing this, Chu Chuyan finally sighed in relief. "Alright then, the... the second option it is."

Zu An secretly chuckled. Human nature truly was like this. If he had proposed the second option initially, she would never have agreed. But by first offering the much more difficult-to-accept first option, the second one became comparatively easier to accept.

Lu Xun's saying was spot-on: if you propose opening a skylight in an airtight room, people will definitely refuse; but if you suggest tearing off the entire roof, they'll come out to compromise and let you open a window.

"Can we start with... with my back first?" Chu Chuyan asked, her head bowed and her chest rising and falling rapidly. She was clearly incredibly flustered at the moment.

Zu An smiled slightly. "Of course."

Chu Chuyan pursed her lips, then quietly sighed. She unfastened her belt, and the snow-white silk dress slowly slipped from her fragrant shoulders, revealing her flawless, jade-like back.

She truly was the most beautiful woman in Brightmoon City, dreamt of day and night by countless men. Her back was exquisitely smooth and evenly toned, like a polished mirror, without the slightest blemish. Her waist curved into a tempting line, extending downwards to the subtly visible shapely buttocks hidden beneath her dress.

Chu Chuyan pulled a nearby brocade quilt to cover her chest, a hint of playful annoyance in her voice. "Why haven't you started yet?"