Chapter 68

Song Li glanced warily at Long Ziyi, not because he had already become suspicious of her. After all, this was his greatest secret, and anyone asking about it would make him sensitive enough. Although he had developed a liking for Long Ziyi, it didn't mean he would reveal all his cards. Was he supposed to tell Long Ziyi that he came from another world and carried the "Imperial Fire Seed" of the Fire God Zhurong within him? This secret he couldn't even tell his parents, let alone outsiders.

Song Li was about to make up some nonsense to evade the question when Long Ziyi suddenly cried out in pain. Her face, which had been flushed, gradually turned crimson. She trembled all over, her brows furrowed, and large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, as if she were enduring immense pain.

"Qiqi, what's wrong with you?" Song Li was startled. He saw Long Ziyi's body swaying, about to fall to the ground! Song Li darted forward, extended his arm, and supported her waist. Long Ziyi lay in his arms, opened her eyes, and looked at him with a dazed expression. She opened her mouth to say, "I..." but her head tilted to one side, and she fainted.

Any alchemist is well-versed in the properties of herbs and the human meridians. So, a good doctor may not necessarily be an alchemist, but an alchemist is definitely a good doctor. Song Li, who had learned alchemy from his mother, was also deeply knowledgeable about medicine. After Long Ziyi fainted, Song Li immediately took her pulse and found it to be very unusual. If a normal person's meridians were compared to a well-trained symphony orchestra playing a harmonious piece, Long Ziyi's meridians were different. One of her meridians was particularly chaotic and fierce, like a trombone that shouldn't exist in the symphony, playing wildly without regard for notes or rhythm, disrupting the overall harmony.

Song Li was certain that this strange meridian was the cause of Long Ziyi's fainting. According to his diagnosis, this abnormal meridian in Long Ziyi's body was of the fire element. It had been suppressed by medicinal or cultivation techniques, but this time it suddenly flared up, likely due to her excessive drinking.

He needed to give Long Ziyi a thorough examination to consider how to treat her. However, this was a tavern, and it was very inconvenient with people coming and going. So, Song Li decided to take Long Ziyi back to the Ming王府 (Ming王府).

He called the waiter to settle the bill, then carried Long Ziyi in his arms. Although she was soft and warm, Song Li had no time for romantic thoughts. The abnormal meridian in Long Ziyi's body was pulsing fiercely, and he knew the girl in his arms was in constant danger. A moment's inattention could turn her into a cold corpse.

Exiting Zui Xian Ju, Pang Da saw Song Li carrying someone from a distance and hurriedly ran over, surprised. "Boss, this female hero is drunk?"

Song Li glared at him. It seemed that Pang Da had good eyesight and had also noticed that Qiqi was a girl.

"Don't ask too many questions. Help me call the carriage."

Pang Da quickly had a junior call the Ming王府's carriage. Song Li carried Long Ziyi into the carriage and instructed, "Remember my words. Watch Pan Shaofeng's carriage. Don't let them move without my order, even if the Heavenly King himself comes."

"Got it, you can rest assured." Pang Da agreed, watching Song Li's carriage disappear in the dust. He smacked his lips and muttered to himself, "Boss is the boss. When he acts, it's always with a stunning beauty. He brings her home after a few drinks. I still have a lot to learn."

Song Li had no time to care about Pang Da's dirty thoughts. He instructed the driver to take the shortest route, avoiding the crowd, and rushed back to the Ming王府.

The butler, Uncle Fu, saw the young master carrying a man in a hurry into the inner courtyard. He wanted to stop him but didn't dare. After Song Li ran far away, he came to his senses and muttered to himself, "My goodness, has the young master gone bad? What should I do? Should I tell the princess?"

The风气 (fēngqì) of keeping young boys for pleasure was quite prevalent in the imperial capital. Many noble families kept such boys, and as the butler of the Ming王府, Uncle Fu was well-informed. He had always despised such behavior. He never imagined that the young master of the Ming王府 would also have such a taste, and even carry a man into the house in broad daylight.

Song Li carried Long Ziyi into his bedroom, laid her on the bed, and felt her breath. He noticed that her breathing was very weak, and her body temperature was rising. He specifically felt her forehead, which was already hot to the touch.

If her body temperature continued to rise, it wouldn't be long before Long Ziyi would die. Song Li knew this very well, but he needed to understand the cause and extent of her condition to treat her properly.

However, to conduct a thorough examination, he had to undress her. This was a huge challenge for Song Li. But he only hesitated for a moment before making a decision. In an emergency, nothing was more important than saving a life.

He decisively began to undress Long Ziyi. Fortunately, she was wearing men's clothing, which was relatively simple. In a few quick movements, Song Li had stripped her down to nothing. When he removed her chest wrap and undergarments, his heart pounded like a drum. Poor Song Li, who had lived two lives, was still a virgin. Apart from Japanese actresses, he had never seen a real woman's body. A beauty like Long Ziyi, lying still and letting him undress her, if he could remain calm, he would either be a saint or impotent.

Long Ziyi lay there quietly, her body undulating, her skin as white as jade, and her curves so beautiful that they made one's blood boil! Song Li found that a certain part of his body had shamefully hardened. But he didn't care, scolding it as disobedient. If it wanted to revel, let it revel. If it wanted to eat meat, no way!

Song Li carefully examined Long Ziyi's body and found four twisted, sinister red lines on her skin, like centipedes. Inside these lines, he could faintly see a crimson flame rising! Two lines originated from her feet, and two from her palms, converging towards her heart. The lines from her feet had already reached her navel, and those from her palms had reached the top of her breasts! Song Li was certain that these four red lines were the culprits causing Long Ziyi's fainting. Once they converged at her heart, the toxic fire in her body would instantly burn her heart! A person without a heart couldn't live, could they?!

This was a congenital toxic fire meridian, present from birth. It was rumored that people with this condition couldn't live past seven years. But Qiqi was clearly a teenager, about eighteen or nineteen. In Song Li's view, her family must have spent a great deal of effort and resources to suppress this abnormal meridian, using both cultivation techniques and medicines, allowing her to live for over a decade.

However, cultivation techniques and medicines could only delay the condition, not cure it. A thought struck Song Li. He had the "Imperial Fire Seed" within him, the king of all fires, which was the nemesis of all flames, including the toxic fire meridian. If he could activate the Imperial Fire Seed and find a way to make the purple flame consume the toxic fire meridian in Qiqi's body, he could cure her completely.

However, the current problem was that he had no suitable medicine to activate the Imperial Fire Seed, and he didn't know how to make the Imperial Fire Seed consume the toxic fire meridian, especially since it was in someone else's body. How could he make their meridians merge?

For now, he shouldn't think too much about it. The immediate priority was to temporarily suppress the flaring abnormal meridian and stop the red lines from advancing. His mother had yin-cold attribute medicines, such as the Mystic Ice Qi Pill. Just as he was about to turn to get it, he suddenly realized that Qiqi had stopped breathing!

Song Li was startled and quickly felt her carotid artery, finding that her heartbeat had also stopped. Qiqi's condition was severe, and if not treated quickly, this beautiful girl would surely die!

Saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda. Song Li put aside all his杂念 (zániàn) and tilted Qiqi's head back to open her airway. He took a deep breath, covered her lips with his, pinched her nose, and blew air into her mouth twice. Then, he placed his hands on her chest and performed fifteen chest compressions.

This CPR technique was called the "2+15" method, suitable for patients whose breathing and heartbeat had stopped. Song Li had learned it during his college summer job as a lifeguard at a water park. It was now coming in handy.

While performing chest compressions, his hands inevitably touched Qiqi's trembling breasts, which were smooth and soft, almost melting to the touch. Song Li had to use great effort to suppress his desires, but his eyes couldn't help but focus on her trembling breasts, admiring them in such a critical moment, which proved how captivating Qiqi's body was.

After two sets of CPR, Song Li felt Qiqi's pulse start to beat again. As he was about to cover her lips again to blow air, Qiqi's eyes suddenly opened! She came to her senses and realized a man was straddling her, his hot hands on her chest, and his lips on hers...

Qiqi was terrified and shouted, "Pervert! I'll fight you to the death!" She punched with all her strength, hitting Song Li's left eye. Caught off guard, Song Li yelped in pain, covering his eye and gasping...

"You... you... actually took advantage of me... I swear... I won't rest until I tear you to pieces..." Qiqi glared at Song Li, her eyes wide with anger. Due to her weakness and the intensity of her emotions, she fainted again after saying this.