I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 196: Understanding Through Perception

Shen Ping listened, feeling a chill throughout his body, and was greatly shocked.

Recalling the events now, he vaguely remembered that in the past two nights, there was a blurry figure who stayed by his side, administering acupuncture to him several times.

But he never expected that the one giving him acupuncture was the young man in front of him.

"Truly, courage comes with skill!" Shen Ping couldn’t help but marvel internally.

He had to admit that with such potent medicine, coupled with the skill of acupuncture, and given his body’s endurance, it could indeed withstand a wave of potent medicine. This method could indeed save a life in dire situations, pulling one out of hell.

However, this method was exceedingly perilous and bold, akin to walking a tightrope over a cliff.

He was indeed amazed by the young man in front of him; so young yet so well-versed in medical knowledge, with a bold and fearless mind.

"Truly, the heavens have not forsaken me!" Shen Ping sighed deeply looking at Duan Rong, then his eyes suddenly moved.

There is still a barrier to this method. This medicine is so fierce; how difficult is it to accurately grasp the timing to disperse the energy at various acupoints?

Shen Ping estimated that even he could likely at most achieve eighty to ninety percent accuracy, which was already quite good.

Shen Ping looked at Duan Rong and asked, "Dispersing energy with acupuncture to neutralize the medicine’s ferocity is theoretically sound, but how difficult is it to manipulate in practice? If I were conscious, you could apply the needles based on my cues, but how could you achieve it when I was entirely unconscious?"

Duan Rong rubbed his nose and said, "I can’t really explain it clearly, but I can indeed do it."

Shen Ping, seeing Duan Rong’s calm demeanor, felt his doubts still unresolved. To be honest, if it weren’t for the fact that he had indeed risen from a critical illness, he would have thought Duan Rong was lying.

Duan Rong indeed used acupuncture to save him, which is an undeniable fact.

"Come on, I had some ginseng chicken soup at noon, and now the ginseng’s effects are dispersing through my meridians. Give me a few needles to disperse the energy, and let me see!"

Duan Rong sighed; he could tell that Shen Ping’s attitude was quite stubborn, and if he didn’t administer the needles, this matter would likely not pass.

Duan Rong had no choice but to take out his needle pouch and sat by the bed.

He pinched a silver needle in his hand, his eyes flickering, reaching out with his left hand to gently press several places on Shen Ping’s body.

Shen Ping’s body was covered in wounds, and with Duan Rong’s pressing, waves of pain inevitably came over him... But his eyes bore no blame, instead fixedly watching Duan Rong, curious about his next actions.

Duan Rong’s pressing left hand suddenly paused at Shen Ping’s chest.

And almost simultaneously, the silver needle in Duan Rong’s right hand suddenly pierced an inch beside Shen Ping’s left nipple.

Shen Ping’s eyes suddenly brightened, his hair standing on end. "With one needle, you’ve brought out the energy sensation."

Duan Rong continued to press slowly, applying a second needle. Equally precise!

As Duan Rong was about to apply a third needle, Shen Ping suddenly said, "There’s no need for more!"

"How did you do it? The movement of medicinal energy through the meridians—how did you know where it was accumulating?" Shen Ping asked, looking at Duan Rong, incredulous.

Shen Ping himself could know through introspection, but Duan Rong could find the precise spot by just pressing on him, which was truly unbelievable.

Duan Rong put on a vacant expression and said, "Talent, I suppose. I don’t know either. Maybe I sense it."

Duan Rong said a bunch of noncommittal vague words.

In fact, he was using divine sense projection to penetrate through Shen Ping’s body and observe the flow of medicinal energy within him.

This was even more detailed and precise than Shen Ping’s introspection.

Applying the needles in this manner, naturally, each needle hit the mark!

As for Duan Rong’s light pressing with his left hand all over Shen Ping’s body before each needle, it was merely a blinding technique.

Otherwise, if he just applied the needles directly and each one hit the mark, it would be too shocking, without even an excuse to hide behind.

But even so, it almost made Shen Ping’s jaw drop.

"Sense...sense it?" Shen Ping looked at Duan Rong for a long time, as if looking at a monster.

The flow of medicinal energy through the meridians isn’t like a pulse; you can’t just feel it with light pressing.

Shen Ping had read all the medical books under the sun and found no such theory.

One could only say that this was a unique skill of Duan Rong’s, perhaps, as he himself said, a talent.

Shen Ping looked at Duan Rong, his thoughts whirring. He was almost certain that if this young man had a good mentor to teach him properly, his future achievements in the Medical Dao would surely stand unrivaled in the world!

Furthermore, he might even touch a realm that Shen Ping had never touched; who could say?

A true talent, a gem that needs polishing!

Shen Ping said, "Your needle technique, I noticed, bears traces reminiscent of Gu Suxiu’s Plum Blossom Needle Technique."

In the same Xianggu County, although both are medical families with different temperaments, there was still a certain understanding of each other.

Duan Rong’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, "I learned this needle technique from a reclusive master of the Jianghu."

Shen Ping smiled and said, "You needn’t worry. I’m not interested in the lineage of your needle technique."

Duan Rong cursed Shen Ping as an old fox in his heart, put away the needle pouch, and said, "The ointment on your body needs changing."

Shen Ping asked, "Is this dark ointment also left by Gu Suxiu?"

"Yes," Duan Rong pointed to a porcelain bottle on the table.

"This medicine isn’t good. Gu Suxiu, that old fellow, is conservative in his methods, but his understanding of medical principles and medicinal properties is far from enough; adaptation is even more out of the question. The medicine he made is limited in effect and heals too slowly."

Shen Ping looked at Duan Rong and said, "Sit down, and I’ll dictate a formula for you. You can prepare a new ointment for me."

Duan Rong was surprised, "Prepare a new ointment?"

"It’s just some common procedures, not difficult," Shen Ping said. "As long as you mind the heat, I’ll be watching, so there shouldn’t be any problems."

Duan Rong saw Shen Ping’s confident tone and demeanor, took out pen and paper, sitting at the table, and recorded as Shen Ping dictated.

Duan Rong looked at the ointment formula, quite surprised at the many obscure herbs and some uncommon ingredients like donkey hoofs and pig bladders...

Even though Duan Rong had devoured the Artifact Spirit and gained the ability to identify hundreds of herbs, he still didn’t know the medicinal properties of donkey hoofs and pig bladders. He even suspected the old man was deliberately messing with him.

"Go, gather the herbs according to the formula, and prepare everything first."

Duan Rong rubbed his nose, cast a suspicious glance at Shen Ping, then left the Escort Agency and gathered all the items listed in the formula.

Returning to Liu’s House, Duan Rong first performed an initial treatment on the items in the formula.

Duan Rong took down a large iron pot from the kitchen stove and used green bricks to build a simple stove in the courtyard.

Duan Rong boiled some water in the large iron pot and threw in the washed pig bladders, which immediately emitted a strong stench. Duan Rong was choked and had to pinch his nose and jump away for quite a while before recovering.

The donkey hoofs needed to be roasted over a fire until charred and then ground into powder.

Some herbs needed to be decocted first before being added, so Duan Rong prepared them in advance.

After completing the basic preparations, Duan Rong carried Shen Ping from the bedroom bed and placed him on a stone table in the gazebo, covered with a blanket.

The courtyard stove was built next to the gazebo, making it convenient for Shen Ping to guide him closely while he prepared the medicine.