Chapter 20: The Internal Skill That Can Restore Meridians

Before long, Murong Fu frowned and said, "Young Master Song’s meridians are indeed... severely damaged... Did the Medicine King really say that Dòu Zhuǎn Xīng Yí (Shifting Stars) can treat Young Master Song? Perhaps I am not talented enough, but after practicing Dòu Zhuǎn Xīng Yí for twenty years, I have never known it to have the ability to restore meridians."

Song Qingshu was immediately greatly disappointed. Hu Furen also showed a look of sympathy and could not help but say, "Since Young Master Murong cannot help, I still need to accompany Brother Song to other places to try. I’m afraid I cannot stay here."

"Brother, there’s no need for that. Since this last hope is cut off, I have completely given up. If you want to investigate Murong Jingyue, it would be more convenient to stay here." Song Qingshu’s tone was filled with sadness and reluctance. The trip to Yanziwu could not heal his injuries, so he had to leave.

Although he could stay here with Hu Furen and live a stable life, thinking of the sword of Damocles hanging over his head—Zhou Zhiruo—he knew he had to accumulate more strength before she came looking for him.

Now that there was no hope of learning martial arts, it seemed the only way was to enter the imperial court. Song Qingshu’s thoughts rapidly spun. With the current forces in the world, to whom should he pledge his allegiance...

Seeing Hu Furen’s intention to leave with Song Qingshu, Murong Fu felt anxious and suddenly thought of a way. He hurriedly said, "There’s no need to worry. I seem to have remembered a method that can treat Young Master Song’s meridians."

Song Qingshu gave him a faint look. To be honest, during this period, his hopes for treating his meridians had gone from hope to disappointment, then back to hope, and finally to despair... He felt that the ups and downs of life were truly too intense, and now he was numb to any possible treatment.

"I hope Young Master Murong can enlighten us." Hu Furen was clearly much more enthusiastic.

"I have a cousin who is well-versed in all martial arts," Murong Fu’s eyes flashed with a hint of tenderness, but it was quickly replaced by determination, "A few years ago, when we discussed the internal skills of various sects, she mentioned an internal skill that can revive the dead and heal bones. I believe it can treat Young Master Song’s injuries..."

"Wang Yuyan?" Song Qingshu suddenly became interested. How could he forget this young girl who was a master of martial arts but knew no martial arts herself? If she really said it, there might be hope. He asked excitedly, "Young Master Murong, what internal skill is it?"

Murong Fu’s expression suddenly became complicated: "I forgot..."

It turned out that when Murong Fu first heard about this skill, he did not believe it and dismissed it, so he did not pay attention to its name. If it weren’t for Song Qingshu’s condition reminding him, he wouldn’t have suddenly remembered this anecdote in his haste to retain Hu Furen.

Seeing the strange expressions on the two people opposite him, Murong Fu quickly added, "But my cousin definitely remembers."

"Is your cousin at the manor?" Hu Furen now seemed more anxious than Song Qingshu.

"My cousin is at the Man Tuo Mountain Villa, which is quite a distance away. It’s already late, why don’t you stay overnight here? We can go see my cousin tomorrow." Murong Fu was thinking about how to make Hu Furen stay.

"Thank you, Young Master." Hu Furen did not want to push too much and bowed in gratitude.

"Ah Bi, go and arrange the food and drinks. Where is Ah Zhu?" Murong Fu turned to give instructions.

"Ah Zhu heard that Young Master has guests and has already gone to the kitchen to prepare the food and drinks." Ah Bi smiled gently and bowed, "I will go help Ah Zhu."

"Young Master Murong truly has good fortune to have such beautiful maids." Song Qingshu sincerely remarked.

Murong Fu smiled slightly but did not respond. Hu Furen gave him a glance, thinking that her uncle was always so blunt, how could he praise someone’s servants like that?

Seeing the strange expressions on the two people, Song Qingshu realized something was amiss. As a modern person, he was used to women making jokes that were even more daring than men, and praising someone’s beauty was a common way to build rapport. He didn’t expect this approach to be inappropriate in ancient times.

"Congratulations, Young Master, to have such distinguished guests today, congratulations indeed." A hearty laugh came from outside, and four people dressed as household guards entered together.

"Ah, the four estate masters of Gusu Murong, my apologies, my apologies!" Song Qingshu stood up and greeted them, but in his mind, he was calculating whether these four’s martial arts skills were as weak as in the TV series or as strong as in the book, almost on par with top-notch martial artists.

Seeing that he did not call them Murong’s household guards, the four felt a sense of goodwill and started to ask him about his well-being.

"Young Master, the food and drinks are ready, we can sit down now." While Song Qingshu was dealing with the four rough men, he suddenly caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance. For a moment, he thought a modern woman had also traveled through time. The familiar scent of rose perfume almost made him shed tears.

Turning around, he saw a girl in red, with a delicate and charming figure, looking sweet and lovely. Song Qingshu asked excitedly, "Do you know Jin Yong?"

The red-clad girl was clearly startled and glanced at Murong Fu, then hesitantly replied, "Young Master, are you mistaken?"

Seeing her puzzled look, Song Qingshu realized he had overthought it and couldn’t help but laugh, "Is the fragrance on your body rose perfume?"

The red-clad girl’s eyes lit up, looking as if she had found a kindred spirit, "Yes, yes, does Young Master also have knowledge of flower essences? This is my homemade rose essence..."

"Ah Zhu, stop fooling around." Murong Fu coughed lightly from the side.

Ah Zhu playfully stuck out her tongue and quickly helped Ah Bi set the table.

Song Qingshu was a bit dazed. What part of the plot of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was this? It seemed the story hadn’t started yet, so why had Qiao Feng already become the Southern Duke of the Liao Kingdom? But thinking about how he himself had traveled from the modern era, these discrepancies were not so hard to understand.

After dinner, Ah Zhu and Ah Bi led the two to their respective guest rooms. On the way, Ah Zhu seemed to want to say something but held back. Song Qingshu asked with a smile, "Ah Zhu, what do you want to say?"

Ah Zhu’s black eyes twinkled, and she giggled, "Young Master, why are you so knowledgeable about women’s little trinkets?"

"Do you mean the rose essence?" Song Qingshu laughed, recalling how he was familiar with the scents of various perfumes from Chanel and Dior, and dealing with a young girl was more than enough for him.

"Uh-huh~" Ah Zhu nodded continuously.

"Ah Zhu, I have a method to make the fragrance last longer..." Song Qingshu said, deliberately stopping and looking at her with a smile.

Ah Zhu, being a perceptive girl, realized that the other party had a request. She was wary, fearing he might harm Murong Fu, but her face showed a smile, "How can Young Master be willing to share this method with me?"

"Perhaps I can plead with Young Master Murong to give you to me." Seeing her cute appearance, Song Qingshu suddenly had a mischievous thought and teased her.

"Please don’t joke, Young Master." Ah Zhu’s smile froze.

"Ha ha, I’m just teasing you," Song Qingshu laughed, "I can teach you how to make the fragrance last, but you have to teach me the art of disguise."

Ah Zhu was taken aback, and Song Qingshu thought she might refuse, regretting his haste. He should have waited until they were more familiar, but he might leave Yanziwu tomorrow, so he couldn’t help but be anxious.

"Oh, I thought it was something serious," Ah Zhu giggled, "I’ve always liked to pretend to be others for fun. The more I learned, the more realistic I became, and gradually I developed a method. It’s not a special skill, but since Young Master likes it, I can share it with you."

Ah Zhu suddenly exclaimed, "Young Master, how did you know I can disguise myself?"

"Didn’t Ah Bi tell you that I am the all-knowing Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng, who can predict the future?" Song Qingshu raised his eyebrows, putting on a mysterious air.

Ah Zhu recalled that Ah Bi had indeed mentioned this to her and looked at him with a half-believing, half-doubting expression.

"I, as a man, cannot let a lady lose out," Song Qingshu, knowing that ancient people valued their word, directly said, "I will teach you the method to make the fragrance last."

"Young Master Song, you are truly a good person." Ah Zhu smiled at him.

Being unexpectedly given a "good person card" by a beautiful girl, Song Qingshu felt a bit depressed and said, "To make the essence last, you need to add a fixative. The fixative can be made from ambergris, sandalwood, musk, iris root... Choose what is convenient for you. Different fixatives will have different effects on the fragrance..." As he spoke, he recalled how he had studied perfumes in detail when pursuing a woman in his previous life, and he never thought it would come in handy now.

Ah Zhu’s eyes sparkled with admiration, and she listened intently.