Go and capture those thirty-six fierce villains.

Qin Ning also stood up, cleared his throat, took two steps, lifted his clothes, and turned his back to Bai Gudao.

"The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people!"

Upon hearing this answer, Bai Jiheng's eyes lit up, but were quickly filled with doubt.

He walked to Qin Ning's side and said, "Brother Guiyuan, what you said is very true! But what I need to do right now is exactly what you said."

"But in my eyes, all people are just people, regardless of nationality."

"That's not my opinion..." Qin Ning glanced sideways, her eyes resolute, her tone serious: "Ji Heng, it's good that you have the intention, but what you've done isn't enough!"

Louis Koo immediately became agitated: "I'm willing to risk my life, doesn't that make me a true hero?"

"No!" Qin Ning patted the other man's shoulder and said earnestly, "You only know how to risk your life, seemingly fearless. But you don't realize how many more people you could save by preserving your life!"

Bai Gu was confused, and then he heard it again.

"Then let me ask you, what are you best at?"

"They say I'm best at craftsmanship, but I feel I'm better at being a chivalrous hero."

"Look at you! You're wasting the talent God gave you, and you insist on going to great lengths instead of using what's right in front of you." Qin Ning said with a pained expression. He walked to the stove in the room, filled the copper kettle he had just taken down with some water, and put it back on.

Bai Gu scratched his head: "Brother Qin, what do you mean? Do you want me to focus on craftsmanship? Didn't I tell you..." Qin Ning waved his hand to interrupt: "I know, you said that although ink ware is good, it cannot be used by ordinary people, and to a certain extent, it even encroaches on the living space of ordinary people."

Turning around, Qin Ning took a piece of white paper from the desk in the room, tore it into small pieces, and held it in her palm.

"But what if I told you that there is a power that doesn't require the ink core to activate it, or even a cultivator? If you study it in depth, everyone in the world can live a better and more convenient life with it, and you could even use it to destroy the Great Spirit Secret Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Louis Koo stood frozen in place.

After a moment, he said earnestly, "Brother Guiyuan, I consider you a confidant. You mustn't be afraid of my death and make up lies to fool me!"

"Why would I lie to you? Just you wait!"

After half an incense stick's time, steam gushed from the copper kettle, accompanied by a buzzing sound.

The lid of the teapot trembled slightly.

Seeing this, Qin Ning placed his palm above and slowly opened it.

Paper scraps scattered and fell slowly. Those that touched the steam gushing from the copper kettle instantly changed their trajectory.

"Ji Heng, have you understood?"

Qin Ning spoke in a profound and mysterious way, but he didn't really have much confidence in his words.

He planned to tell Bai Gu that there was something in this world that could be powered by steam, called a steam engine. However, this thing was extremely complex in reality, and Qin Ning only knew a little about it, so he didn't know if he could explain it clearly.

Looking at the few scraps of paper that landed much later than their "companions," Bai Gu stood there, his mouth slightly open, his clear eyes revealing a deep sense of contemplation.

For a long, long time...

Bai Gu jumped up and pounced on Qin Ning: "Brother Guiyuan, I've got it!!! I've got it!!!"

He was excited for a long time before finally letting go of Qin Ning's arm and holding Qin Ning's shoulder, saying seriously, "How come I never noticed such a simple principle before? Brother Guiyuan, you are not only my confidant, but if you join the Mohist school, you will definitely be a craftsmanship genius no less than me!"

"Why don't you come with me to the Heavenly Crafts Pavilion now, and we'll study... study this together..."

"Steam," Qin Ning reminded him.

"...Yes...the steam phenomenon!"

I don't even know how you figured it out... Silently swallowing the long string of words he had prepared, Qin Ning shook his head and refused.

Judging from Bai Gu's behavior, he probably won't be considering killing the Great Spirit Emperor again anytime soon.

"I am already a retainer of the Prince's mansion, and I still need to treat the young master's strange illness, so I can't leave for the time being."

He was well aware of his own physics abilities; if he were good at it, he wouldn't have studied traditional Chinese medicine back then.

Bai Gu looked regretful and said, "Alright." Then he said impatiently, "I'll go back to the Tiangong Building to study this principle first, and I'll let you know when I have any results."

Without waiting for Qin Ning's reply, this master craftsman burst out the door.

...What happens every day?

Unable to believe that Bai Gu had been persuaded so easily, Qin Ning sat alone at the table for a while to calm down.

The rain that had just stopped outside started to fall again, drizzling down.

He had intended to brave the rain to visit the concubine's private treasury, but the eldest prince sent someone ahead of time to summon him, so the matter of retrieving the medical books and martial arts manuals had to be postponed.

Following the attendant's directions, they arrived at the Crown Prince's study.

Upon entering, one sees the person bent over behind a vermilion desk, processing official documents and files. Two physicians stand at a distance under an ancient painting, presumably to avoid seeing the contents of the documents on the desk.

Hearing the noise, Li Qingyan looked up and gave Qin Ning a friendly smile as a greeting before burying herself back into her work.

The deputy physician approached quietly: "We have been administering acupuncture for five quarters of an hour. The strange illness in the young master's body will flare up again in a little while. Qin Xingzhen, be ready at any time."

Qin Ning nodded, and the two chatted in hushed tones for a few moments. Only then did he learn that three years ago, as Prince Su's health deteriorated, he stopped handling many of Suzhou's government affairs.

Privately, he entrusted everything to Crown Prince Li Qingyan.

As the two were talking, Li Qingyan, who was holding a jade pen, stopped and nodded his head lightly on the table a few times, as if he were dozing off in class.

However, the result was different. As soon as he made this move, no chalk came flying at him.

The attendant standing nearby stepped forward, placed a soft pillow on the table, and gently supported the prince's chin.

Qin Ning knew it was her turn to step in, so she took out her acupuncture kit and stepped forward to insert the needles into the prince's tiger's mouth.

The two supernatural powers, [Greed] and [Plague], were activated in turn. Halfway through the treatment, a servant specially offered two bottles of replenishing pills.

So this is the benefit of joining a "big company"... But why is the plague energy in the prince's body not decreasing, but rather even more than yesterday?

Noticing this anomaly, Qin Ning felt even more strongly that the strange illness in the other person's body was not simple.

After a long while, Li Qingyan slowly woke up, said softly that he had gone to his troubles, and then bent down on the desk to deal with the few remaining official documents.

So diligent... Subconsciously looking at his left shoulder, Qin Ning then remembered that he had left the cat in the room.

Returning to the ancient painting, wiping the sweat from his brow, he told the two physicians about his discovery. They confirmed that the strange illness was indeed worsening.

At this rate, within a year, if the Crown Prince doesn't have a physician by his side, he will probably be in a coma all day.

"Hasn't the Prince considered any other solutions?"

Qin Ning walked with the two men out of the study and asked curiously.

"You are aware of the situation in Suzhou. The Prince has already reported to the court, but the imperial physicians from the palace have not yet arrived." The deputy physician sighed, and Physician Zhang chimed in, "It's because our medical skills are inadequate; otherwise, the young master wouldn't be suffering from this strange illness every day."

The three of them talked as they walked out of the study and turned into the corridor.

Qin Ning saw at the end of the road that a woman dressed in a gray-blue Taoist robe and with her hair styled in a bun was walking towards him.

It was the same person he saw on the third floor of the library.