Dongting Immortal Clan

Old Zhang's medicine was very effective. After only three days, Chen Chuansheng was able to get up and eat on his own, and the wounds on his legs began to scab over.

Chen Dajiang is young and in good health. After waking up, he was fine and has taken over Chen Xiaohu's job of taking care of his father and second brother.

Chen Changhe's breathing gradually stabilized, but he never regained consciousness.

Five days passed in this way, and Chen Changhe finally woke up from his deep sleep at dusk.

Chen Dajiang was sitting by the bedside, feeding him his medicine. When he saw him open his eyes, he immediately smiled.

"Changhe has awakened!"

"Are you feeling any better?"

Chen Changhe looked somewhat dazed. He wanted to speak, but his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't make a sound.

Seeing this, Chen Dajiang quickly helped him sit up, poured a bowl of warm water from the table, and fed him half a bowl of water before Chen Changhe was able to speak.

"Where's Dad?"

Chen Changhe was pale, still thinking about Chen Chuansheng.

Chen Dajiang pointed to the main room, "He woke up a few days ago and is resting in the room now. His leg injury hasn't healed yet."

Hearing this, Chen Changhe breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked:

"Have I been unconscious for several days?"

"It's been five days. Are you hungry? I'll get you a bowl of porridge."

Chen Dajiang put him down and, after confirming that his second brother was gradually recovering, left the house with peace of mind.

Chen Changhe leaned against the headboard, feeling cold in his limbs and aches all over his body. Looking down, he saw that his body was wrapped in gauze, the wounds had stopped bleeding, and he could faintly smell the fragrance of medicine.

"My godfather saved me."

Chen Changhe muttered to himself that before he fainted, he saw Old Zhang and Hu'er rowing towards him.

He took a deep breath, feeling a tearing pain in his lungs. He subconsciously looked inward at his body and sensed his dantian. Immediately, Chen Changhe's expression changed drastically.

"How could this be!"

"My inner fire has become so weak!"

Chen Changhe forced himself to stay awake; his inner fire was still burning, but it was as faint as a spark that could be extinguished at any moment.

His energy channels were completely empty; not a trace of the magical power he had cultivated remained. His body felt as if it had been corroded by something, leaving it riddled with holes.

Upon realizing this, Chen Changhe's heart tightened, and he pondered:

"That beast in the lake is too vicious. I have been robbed and injured by it, and I am afraid that my foundation has been damaged."

"I will guide the moonlight into my body later and see if there is any change."

……

After drinking the medicinal porridge, Chen Changhe's complexion improved somewhat. He then asked Chen Dajiang to lock the door and silently guided his qi into his body according to the method of sensing.

Although it is not completely night yet, there is still a faint moonlight in the sky.

Chen Changhe endured the pain, sat cross-legged on the bed, faced the sky with his palms facing outwards, and closed his eyes to look inwards.

Soon, as the method was activated, wisps of moonlight were drawn into his body from the top of his head.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Chen Changhe awoke from his meditation, his face darkening.

"My meridians were corroded by that evil aura, becoming riddled with holes, like a sieve. As soon as the moonlight entered my body, it would disperse everywhere, making it difficult for my inner fire to refine them, and my magical power could not be restored..."

"I can no longer use this method, and I'm afraid I'll become a cripple in the future."

Chen Changhe's eyes were slightly red, and his heart was filled with bitterness. When he closed his eyes again, he thought of what had happened that day.

He fought the dark figure at the bottom of the lake and almost lost his life. Now his body is half crippled, and his cultivation is even more difficult.

Was it all really worth it?

Chen Changhe asked himself this question in his heart.

The moment this bitter feeling arose, Chen Changhe's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists.

This question does not need an answer.

Because my father is still alive.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chen Dajiang, shirtless, practiced horse stance and stance training in the courtyard.

His stance training was taught by Old Zhang, and he could stand for most of the day.

Chen Xiaohu was stretching his muscles and bones, practicing flexibility exercises.

The three sons of the Chen family all became Zhang Tiezhu's godfathers, and the old man kept his promise and began to teach them boxing and martial arts.

Although it's called boxing and martial arts, there aren't any fancy routines. It's just the most basic stance training, stretching, hitting sandbags, and lifting stone weights.

Old Zhang said, "Kung Fu is only useful if you practice hard."

When it comes to fighting tooth and nail, what matters is physical strength and vitality, not fancy moves.

After finishing his stance training, Chen Dajiang started chopping firewood in the yard.

This was what Old Zhang asked him to do, but it wasn't just ordinary wood chopping.

Old Zhang taught him a breathing technique: each breath should be coordinated with the movements.

Inhale when you raise the axe and exhale when you chop it down. Your breathing should be even and without any fluctuation.

Chopping wood in this way not only strengthens muscles and bones, but also invigorates the body's blood and energy, which is very beneficial for spiritual practice.

After chopping for a quarter of an hour, a layer of heat emanated from Chen Dajiang's body, and the fire in his dantian also became active.

Although that wisp of white flame was only the size of a soybean, it was exceptionally bright.

This was the very fire in his heart that he had been trying to cultivate for half a year without success.

In that desperate moment on the lake, anger ignited a fire in his heart, and now, day after day, chopping wood, practicing stances, and training, that fire burns ever brighter.

Old Zhang sat in the Chen family's courtyard, holding a wood-chopping knife and whittling a white waxwood pole.

Ash wood is a good material for making gun barrels; it is light, tough, and not easily broken.

After shaving for a while, the old man looked up and glanced at Chen Changhe, who was sitting in the sun by the wall.

Chen Changhe's face was still a little pale, but much better than when he first woke up.

He leaned against the wall, squinting as he gazed at the distant Dongting Lake, lost in thought.

"Cultivation inherently involves countless tribulations and myriad difficulties."

Old Zhang put down his machete and patted the sawdust off his hands.

"Don't give up on yourself. The world is vast, and there may be things that can repair your meridians."

"When I was young, I worked as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in Yuezhou and heard many strange and wonderful stories, such as thousand-year-old Lingzhi mushrooms and ten-thousand-year-old He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum), which are all things that can bring the dead back to life."

"You're still so young, you have a long life ahead of you."

"Godfather is overthinking it."

Chen Changhe raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. Although the sunlight wasn't strong, it was still quite dazzling.

His tone was calm, unlike that of a teenager.

"I was wondering when those immortal masters would be able to come to Yunmeng."

He stretched slightly, the movement very gentle, as if afraid of aggravating the injury in his chest, and continued:

"I won't feel at ease until that beast in the lake is eliminated."

"With so many households in Baiyukou, all relying on fishing for a living, who would dare to set out on their boats if there's something like this in the lake?"

Old Zhang glanced at the boy beside him and saw that he hadn't lost his spirit, his eyes were clear, and although his tone was calm, his stubbornness was still there. He felt somewhat relieved.

"After this incident, the city's high-ranking officials and nobles are even more panicked than you are."

Old Zhang picked up his machete again and continued whittling the white waxwood pole.

"The boat capsized at Qingshanzui, and Zhao Dehou died. The Zhao family has connections in the county, so they won't let this go easily. They've probably already reported it to the prefectural city. It wouldn't be right for those immortal sects to ignore it."

"You should rest and recover. It won't be long before a celestial master arrives."

Chen Changhe nodded and said nothing more.

He turned his gaze to the other end of the courtyard, watching Chen Dajiang chop firewood, watching Chen Xiaohu practice his kung fu, and watching his father walk out of the main room with his cane and sit down in the sun at the door.

It's good that the whole family is together.