Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 496 One Finger Divine Skill
Empress Dowager Gao's cloudy old eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp, cold light, and she said coldly, "So, did Minister Murong come here this time to act as an intercessor for the Emperor? Or have he come to force the Emperor to abdicate?"

Murong Fu smiled faintly and said, "Your Majesty, you misunderstand. This is only our first meeting today, and I have no prior acquaintance with the officials of the court. If you regard me as a strategist like Su Qin or Zhang Yi, who uses his eloquence to persuade rulers for fame and fortune, you are underestimating me. I am not boasting, but in terms of wealth, my Murong family, while not as rich as a country, certainly deserves the title of the wealthiest in the world. As for reputation, Murong Fu has gained some renown in the martial arts world over the years. While not exactly commanding hundreds of followers, he has a considerable following. In terms of power, although Murong Fu is merely a commoner in the Song Dynasty, he is the son-in-law of the Western Xia and Dali kingdoms, and has beautiful wives and concubines at home, enjoying all the pleasures of life."

"I have come here for two reasons. First, I admire the Empress Dowager's years of painstaking efforts and selfless dedication to the country. I cannot bear to see her toil for half her life without enjoying a single day of peace. Second, I fear that if the Empress Dowager were to pass away suddenly, the court would be plunged into strife again, and the people of the Song Dynasty would suffer once more. If the Empress Dowager agrees to mediate the future conflict between the old and new factions in the court, I will gladly alleviate her illness and ensure her good health."

Murong Fu turned his hands behind his back, calmly looking at Empress Dowager Gao, a fleeting glint of arrogance on his face. If we were to discuss who in this world is the most carefree and powerful, who else could it be but him?

Empress Dowager Gao laughed heartily and snorted coldly, "What if I don't agree?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Murong Fu smiled faintly and said, "Then this junior will still help my aunt to relieve her ailments."

Silence, a long silence, like dark clouds rolling in before a storm, shrouded the entire hall. An old woman and a young man gazed at each other from afar. Empress Dowager Gao's eyes were like a bottomless pool, calm yet brimming with a turbulent undercurrent. Murong Fu, with one hand behind his back, met her gaze with a haughty smile, as if he were facing not the pinnacle of power in the Song Dynasty, but an ordinary old woman from the countryside of Suzhou.

Empress Dowager Gao gazed at Murong Fu for a long time, then sighed, "I understand. If you can save my life this time, I will gradually return power to the Emperor and do my best to reconcile the disputes between the old and new factions in the court and mend the rifts during my lifetime. The Song Dynasty cannot withstand another round of upheaval."

Murong Fu laughed and said, "The Empress Dowager has misunderstood. As I said, I have no demands. I am just doing this on a whim."

Empress Dowager Gao sighed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir. May I ask what medicine you are using and what method you plan to employ?"

Murong Fu smiled and said, "My method requires no medicine, nor does it require observation, listening, questioning, or palpation. However, it does require dismissing everyone else so as not to be disturbed."

Empress Dowager Gao hesitated for a moment, then said to the beautiful woman in palace attire behind her, "Yun Jin, you stay. The rest of you, leave."

The remaining palace maids and eunuchs bowed and quietly filed out, leaving only Empress Dowager Gao, the beautiful woman in palace attire, and Murong Fu in the large palace room.

Empress Dowager Gao said, "Alright, now it's just the three of us. Sir, please use whatever methods you have."

Murong Fu said, "Please relax, Aunt. No matter what happens or what you see later, don't be surprised." Empress Dowager Gao smiled calmly, regaining her previous composed and elegant demeanor. "What's so difficult about that? I'll just pretend I'm already dead." As she said this, a sickly flush rose on Empress Dowager Gao's face, and a few coughs escaped her lips. The beautiful woman in palace attire quickly stepped forward and gently patted her back, helping her catch her breath. Her breathing was erratic, her bones felt frail, and her previous composure was merely a forced effort to maintain her spirit. Now that her mind had relaxed slightly, she could no longer withstand the torment of illness. Years of pressure and hardship had long since exhausted her strength. At the critical juncture of her impending death, even someone as strong as her, who had weathered the storms of four dynasties, couldn't help but feel a primal fear of facing death.

Murong Fu moved the prayer mat over and stood about ten feet away from Empress Dowager Gao. He then had a beautiful woman in palace attire light a stick of incense.

Murong Fu slowly closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy. When the incense stick had burned about an inch long, he suddenly leaped up from the futon, placed his left palm on his chest, and extended his right index finger, slowly pointing a pure and peaceful finger force toward the Baihui acupoint on the top of Empress Dowager Gao's head.

Empress Dowager Gao felt a warmth spread through her body as the finger force entered her body. In an instant, her body felt as if it were being exposed to the winter sun, an indescribable feeling of comfort and pleasure.

The unique skill of the Duan family of Dali: One-Finger Divine Skill.

Murong Fu's One-Finger Divine Skill was taught to him privately by Duan Yanqing. Duan Yanqing's One-Finger Divine Skill was limited by his internal strength and physical disability, and was originally only at the fourth grade. After Murong Fu healed his legs with the Black Jade Broken Leg Ointment, he barely stepped into the third grade. Murong Fu's One-Finger Divine Skill was at the second grade, which was unprecedented in the history of Tianlong Temple!

Murong Fu pointed with one finger and immediately withdrew it. Without moving his body, he pointed his second finger at the Hou Ding acupoint, which was one and a half inches behind the Baihui acupoint of Empress Dowager Gao. Then he pointed down the Qiangjian, Naohu, Fengfu, Dazhui, Taodao, Shenzhu, Shendao, and Lingtai acupoints. After about half of the incense stick had burned, he had pointed to the thirty-six major acupoints of Empress Dowager Gao's Du meridian in turn.

Murong Fu used the One-Finger Divine Skill to open up the eight extraordinary meridians throughout Empress Dowager Gao's body. Without stopping, he then pressed twenty-five acupoints on Empress Dowager Gao's Ren meridian. The vast and boundless Northern Darkness True Qi within Murong Fu's body was as viscous as liquid. The loss from using the One-Finger Divine Skill was like drawing a bucket of water from the Yangtze River or taking a grain of rice from a granary to him—utterly insignificant.

His arm trembled slightly as he pressed each finger, hitting three acupoints precisely, without the slightest error, and in an instant, he had pressed all the acupoints along the Ren meridian.

Murong Fu's right hand moved swiftly, his fingers flashing repeatedly until they left afterimages in the air. The beautiful woman in palace attire watched from the side, her face calm but her heart in turmoil. Had she not been mindful of losing her composure in front of the palace, she would have already cried out in astonishment, marveling at the existence of such miraculous finger techniques and the extraordinary level of internal energy cultivation. Murong Fu made no apparent movements, merely tapping and probing with his right fingers, his pure true energy transforming into a powerful finger strike that landed on Empress Dowager Gao from a distance of several feet. In an instant, he had struck all 360 major acupoints on her body. Empress Dowager Gao's face remained serene, her complexion and vitality growing ever stronger, as if she had instantly become more than ten years younger. Murong Fu, on the other hand, remained calm, showing no signs of weakening his internal energy.

By the time Murong Fu had finished lighting all the incense, the last bit of the incense had just burned out.

Murong Fu clapped his hands and laughed heartily: "Alright, mission accomplished. With this, as long as the Empress Dowager takes good care of her health and doesn't overwork herself, it's not a problem for her to live another ten years. I hope she will take good care of her health in the future."

(End of this chapter)