Catching Monsters

Chapter 387: Methods to Restore Meridians?
A chill, an icy cold that cut to the bone, woke Qin Shujian. He gritted his teeth and tried to open his eyes, attempting to sit up, but his whole body ached.

He curled up and reached out to cover the surrounding weeds.

It was already late at night when Yang Liunian, who was asleep, heard a noise and quickly looked up at him.

Yang Liunian hurriedly came to Qin Shujian's side and helped cover him with weeds: "How are you?"

"Cold, cold..."

As he spoke, Qin Shujian's expression changed slightly. He felt that all the magical power in his body had disappeared.

Their magical power is currently sealed; normally, they can still feel the presence of magical power within their bodies.

But now, all the magic has vanished.

All the foundation and techniques of my Dao that I had painstakingly cultivated had vanished without a trace.

He lay on the ground, feeling utterly helpless, oblivious to the bone-chilling cold, finding it hard to accept the reality.

He couldn't hear Yang Liunian's low question anymore.

At the same time, Wang Longzhi arrived at the courtyard where Xiao Min'er lived as soon as possible. Xiao Min'er's legs have now recovered.

I often stroll around this small courtyard, enjoying the experience of being able to live like a normal person.

She also took good care of the flowers and plants in the yard.

After entering the courtyard, Wang Longzhi took a deep breath and whispered, "Min'er, something's happened..."

"That bastard Xiao Jingqi, I don't know what's gotten into him, he actually went and provoked my master..."

"That bastard probably doesn't know how important Qin Shujian is to my master..."

Soon, Wang Longzhi told Xiao Min'er the whole story. Xiao Min'er, who was pruning flowers and plants in the courtyard, paused upon hearing this and asked, "Xiao Jingqi is dead?"

"That idiot not only courted death, but now he's ruining our plans."

To raise an army, one must have a legitimate reason for doing so, and Xiao Jingqi himself has the right to inherit the throne.

Xiao Jingqi's uprising was completely different in nature from the previous rebellions in the three southwestern provinces.

This is at most a power struggle within the royal family. With an army of 400,000, as long as they advance unstoppable, they can promise high-ranking positions and generous rewards to officials along the way.

Many people will take advantage of this and come down.

At the very least, those who defected, whether military generals or officials, would not feel such a great sense of guilt.

"How many people still know about this?" Xiao Min'er asked, frowning.

"Besides my master and me, there's only you and my two trusted men who disposed of Xiao Jingqi's body. Don't worry, his body has already been chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs."

Xiao Min'er pondered for a moment: "Then let's continue the uprising in Xiao Jingqi's name."

……

The next morning, there was a post station fifteen miles north of Wuling Prefecture.

Inside a room at the post station, Jiang Yun and Linglong were sitting.

Wang Miao'er was among them, guarded by the two men, and was not allowed to leave the room even for a moment.

Linglong glanced at Wang Miao'er, then lowered her voice and whispered in Jiang Yun's ear, "Jiang Yun, nothing should go wrong, right?"

"Probably not." Jiang Yun shook his head, looked out the window in the direction of the Martial Spirit Mansion, and said slowly, "Wang Miao'er is very important to Wang Longzhi."

"Wang Longzhi is unlikely to try any tricks in this matter."

Time passed slowly, and finally, a group of people coming from Wuling Prefecture could be faintly seen in the distance.

All 270 Imperial Guards were chained together and made to walk in a line, like slaves being transported.

On both sides, there were also some soldiers from the Wuling Prefecture following.

At the head of the group, Wang Longzhi and Xie Yifeng, with solemn expressions, led the group to the front of the post station.

Then Wang Longzhi waved his hand, stopping the entire team.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun said to Linglong, "You keep an eye on Wang Miao'er for now. I'll go down first, in case anything unexpected happens."

He paused, then glanced at Wang Miao'er: "Kill her, then escape as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, do I need you to teach me?" Linglong nodded with a smile, then reminded Wang Miao'er, "You'd better behave yourself."

Soon, Jiang Yun emerged from the post station and stood before Wang Longzhi. He glanced at the numerous Imperial Guards and then asked, "There shouldn't be any missing, right? Where's my apprentice?"

“He’s naturally in the group too.” Wang Longzhi said calmly, his hands behind his back. “I’ve brought him. Where’s my sister?”

"I need to make sure my apprentice is here first." After saying that, Jiang Yun walked along the back of the line, judging from Xie Yifeng's behavior yesterday.

It's not impossible that they secretly kept Qin Shujian behind.

Soon, at the very back of the line, he saw Yang Liunian and his group. Behind them was a cart used for hauling goods, and Qin Shujian was lying on it.

"Commander Yang." Upon seeing this, Jiang Yun quickly stepped forward and came to the cart: "Shujian, what's wrong with you?"

"Master." Qin Shujian tried hard to get up, but he couldn't.

Jiang Yun frowned and hurriedly stepped forward to grab his wrist to check his internal condition.

Most of Qin Shujian's meridians were fine, but three of them were broken, making it difficult for magical power to gather and flow throughout his body.

In short, Qin Shujian became a cripple.

"Who did this?" Jiang Yun's expression hardened.

"I made it."

Behind him, Xie Yifeng's voice soon rang out. Xie Yifeng stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Jiang Yun, you and your disciple are stubborn and refuse to let him join my sect."

"I am eager to nurture talent, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: the Heavenly Marrow Cleansing Technique. Unfortunately, the technique failed, and he destroyed three of his meridians."

"If it were Qin Shujian yesterday, or if you had agreed to my request, there would have been no need for this whole ordeal, which has ruined this young man's extraordinary sword talent."

Jiang Yun turned around, a surge of anger rising within him. He clenched his fists and said, "Senior Xie, isn't what you're doing a bit unfair? You've ruined my disciple like this, and yet you still have the audacity to say such shameless things."

Xie Yifeng was quite decisive at this moment, saying, "The man is already crippled. If you want him, take him with you. What difference does it make if I destroy him?"

“You can’t beat me.” Jiang Yun gritted her teeth, and Qin Shujian behind her quickly grabbed Jiang Yun’s wrist.

Qin Shujian looked at Xie Yifeng with hatred in his eyes, but he didn't want Jiang Yun to act impulsively: "Master, don't do anything reckless, don't implicate the other Jinyiwei brothers."

Jiang Yun looked at the many ragged and disheveled Imperial Guards. These were his brothers who had been brought along but failed and had fallen into Wang Longzhi's hands.

If they were to actually attack Xie Yifeng right now, they would probably all be in grave danger.

Even Qin Shujian was included.

Jiang Yun took several deep breaths before giving Wang Longzhi a cold look and saying, "Release them first. Once they're far away, I'll hand Wang Miao'er over to you."

Wang Longzhi was just about to object...

Jiang Yun said, "Don't worry, I won't leave this place."

"I will stay here until the deal is done."

"If anything goes wrong, you can have Xie Yifeng attack me at any time and take my life."

"What's there to worry about?"

"I wouldn't joke about my own life."

Upon hearing this, Wang Longzhi nodded, raised his hand and waved it, and many soldiers stepped forward and quickly unlocked the shackles on these Imperial Guards.

As for the iron nails stuck in their collarbones, they need to leave this place first and wait until medicine is available before removing them, to prevent anyone from dying from excessive blood loss.

"Lord Yang, you should take your books and sword and head towards the capital first. I'll catch up later." Jiang Yun patted Yang Liunian on the shoulder.

Yang Liunian knew Jiang Yun's personality. He glanced at Qin Shujian lying on the cart, then at Jiang Yun: "You kid, don't act impulsively."

"at this point……"

Jiang Yun smiled, reassuring Yang Liunian.

The Imperial Guards, their chains removed, quickly left along the official road in front of the post station.

Wang Longzhi, with his hands behind his back, watched the Imperial Guards slowly walk away and asked, "Can my sister show herself now?"

Jiang Yun shook his head: "General Wang, don't be anxious. It's only a short distance. What if you send your soldiers to catch up and capture them?"

At this moment, Wang Longzhi said very seriously, "Since I, Wang Longzhi, have agreed to exchange people with you, I will not play any other tricks."

"I believe you feel the same way."

Jiang Yun's expression darkened slightly as he glanced at Xie Yifeng: "But we didn't say yesterday that you would cripple my disciple. This is something you added on top of the fact."

"According to the principle of reciprocity, I will cripple one of your sister's hands and one leg, and then give them to you. Only then will this transaction be fair, right?"

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Wang Longzhi was slightly shocked and became genuinely anxious. He widened his eyes and said, "You dare! Jiang Yun, let me tell you, if my sister loses even a single hair, you will not leave this place alive."

Xie Yifeng remained calm and slowly said, "This kid wants some other benefits or conditions; he's not one to suffer losses easily."

Jiang Yun glanced at Xie Yifeng and thought to himself, "He's definitely a seasoned veteran."

Jiang Yun was naturally furious that Qin Shujian had been destroyed.

But he was a very calm person. Knowing that he was no match for Xie Yifeng, forcibly seeking revenge would only be courting death.

Hearing this, Wang Longzhi breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Jiang Yun, you can mention any conditions or ideas you have."

"Of course, the premise is that my sister cannot be harmed in the slightest, understand?"

"I want a treasure to restore my disciple's meridians. Do you have one?" Jiang Yun asked in a deep voice.

Xie Yifeng said calmly, "The meridians are different from other parts of the body; they are the most important places for the circulation of magical power."

“I have already taught him the Eight Swords of Heaven and Earth. If he is determined and can enter the Dao through sword intent, he may still achieve something even without magic power.”

"That Eight Swords of Heaven and Earth can be considered his compensation."

Jiang Yun's face darkened. What kind of martial arts techniques did this bastard not have? Why would he need yours?
Jiang Yun said directly, "I want one more thing, the Imperial Seal of the State."

"I'm not sure what your sister would be missing if she didn't have the Imperial Seal."

Upon hearing this, Wang Longzhi's pupils contracted slightly. He said in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun, what you're doing is going too far. Your disciple has only been crippled, yet you want to use that to raise the price for the Imperial Seal of the State?"

“Linglong!” Jiang Yun shouted loudly.

A window above the post station was opened, and Linglong, holding a dagger to Wang Miao'er's neck, pushed her out.

Jiang Yun slowly said, "I'll count to three. If you don't agree, I'll make her kill Wang Miao'er."

"three."

"two."

Wang Longzhi looked up at the post station and saw his sister being held hostage. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

Before their parents passed away, they told me to take good care of my younger sister.

Wang Longzhi's greatest virtue is his loyalty and sense of righteousness.

Its biggest flaw is also its deep sense of loyalty and affection.

"Stop!" Wang Longzhi gritted his teeth, staring at Jiang Yun: "The Imperial Seal is indeed unacceptable; I can't explain this to Min'er!"

"I'll agree to any condition except for the Imperial Seal of the State."

Jiang Yun narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she had been waiting for him to say those words.

"You said it yourself, you'd agree to any conditions."

"Then I want Xiao Jingqi; bring him back to the capital!"

Wang Longzhi took a deep breath, a look of embarrassment on her face, and said, "I'm sorry, this condition is also unacceptable..."

They've already chopped them into mincemeat and fed them to the dogs, how can they give it to Jiang Yun?

Wang Longzhi's mind raced, and finally, he thought of something. He said, "I have a method that can restore your disciple's meridians! You might be able to use it. If you want it, I will tell you."

Jiang Yun was slightly taken aback. This guy really had a way to restore his meridians?
He glanced at Xie Yifeng subconsciously. If he really had it, would he not have used it? Instead, he returned Qin Shujian to him?
(End of this chapter)