Chapter 21: Recovery, the Beginning of Farewell
Late at night.
The clean, soft moonlight spilled in through the window, casting its glow onto the bed in the wooden cabin.
Under the effects of potent medicine, the boy's frail body was drenched in cold sweat. He groaned in pain, his small face twitching slightly in distress.
Hmm?
Hearing a noise, Zhu Zhuqing was momentarily startled and turned her head.
Realizing it was Su Ye making the sound, she stepped closer.
Bathed in moonlight, the boy's face was pale as water, his features twisted in agony as he murmured in pain—his body curled up like a vulnerable child, completely devoid of his usual unruly boldness.
"Mom… don't go…"
"Don't leave me…"
Hearing Su Ye's whispered pleas, Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled violently.
Was his mother… dead?
Zhu Zhuqing didn't know. Thinking back to the past few days, the boy had never once mentioned his family.
He had always appeared strong, never revealing even a trace of weakness.
If not for his meridians being completely shattered now, leaving his body unable to withstand the strength of the medicinal restoration, she likely would have never seen this side of him in her entire life.
"Clearly his life isn't easy, yet he insists on putting on a strong front."
"And he still wants to help change my fate…"
At this thought, a mist of tears rose in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes as her gaze toward Su Ye grew even more tender.
Even though this guy never had anything nice to say and often made her angry…
She could feel the rare kindness hidden deep within him.
No one would risk their life to save another without reason.
And certainly no one would nearly die for someone they just met.
Gently wiping the sweat from Su Ye's forehead and seeing him still tormented, like he was trapped in a nightmare—so pitiful…
Biting her pink lips in hesitation, Zhu Zhuqing fought off her shyness and lay down on the edge of the bed, gently cradling his head.
Thump—
Their bodies pressed close in a way far too intimate. Her heart was in utter chaos, but as she watched the boy gradually calm, the pain easing from his face, she had no choice but to suppress her embarrassment.
"We're even now!"
"From now on, I don't owe you anything!"
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Drinking the extremely bitter medicinal decoctions each day, Su Ye gradually regained the ability to move his limbs and eventually managed to walk.
A few days later, behind Zhu Zhuqing's back, he secretly synthesized a Grade-Five Meridian-Restoring Herb. His shattered meridians had mostly healed.
In the courtyard.
The sounds of training echoed through the air.
He struck with both palms toward the opponent's throat—aiming for vital points—his stance low and rooted. Gathering strength in his arms, he unleashed a powerful strike. It was the Baji Fist's lethal move: King of Hell's Three-Point Strike.
Boom! The large tree trembled violently.
Something clicked in Su Ye's mind. He struck again, this time with soul power entwined in his strength, erupting forth with force.
Bang—!
A strange force pierced through the tree, tearing open the bark on the far side. With a loud crack, it blasted out a hole the size of a palm.
"This…"
Looking at the hole, Su Ye was stunned.
His body hadn't even fully recovered yet, and he had used only twenty percent of his strength—yet still managed to blast through the other side of the tree.
If he'd used full force, he could probably break it clean in half with a single strike.
He knew well that after being strengthened by over a dozen soul rings, his physical power was already terrifying.
But in that strike, his hand hadn't even made contact with the tree—there was a gap of several centimeters. The soul power and internal strength had penetrated the trunk.
"The Penetrating Force… I've done it!"
Suddenly realizing this, Su Ye's face lit up with joy.
Baji Fist focused on mastering three major forces:
Sinking Force,
Cross Force,
and Coiling Force.
The first emphasized a stable lower body, the second explosive internal power, and the third was a grappling technique.
However, true masters of Baji Fist pursued an even higher realm—Penetrating Force, which could bypass an opponent's external defenses and directly harm internal organs.
In his past life, his father had trained for twenty years and never reached that level. Even Su Ye once believed this force was just a myth.
Whoosh!
Su Ye gathered strength again and unleashed another strike.
As his palm neared the trunk, power poured forth like a torrent. Instantly, the tree—thicker than a grown man's thigh—was split in two and sent flying from the courtyard.
Boom! The tree crashed to the ground. Fortunately, it landed in an overgrown field, not on a house—otherwise, it would've caused serious trouble.
His wounds stirred from the exertion, and Su Ye began coughing, but his face was full of excitement, as if he had discovered a great treasure.
"Combining soul power with Penetrating Force creates such terrifying power."
"This truly is a huge surprise."
No wonder people said, "Martial might rests in the Eight Extremes, able to shake the world." Its reputation was well deserved.
Su Ye recalled that ten thousand years later, Shrek Academy's Mu En had created a technique called Sovereign's Dominion, combining spiritual and physical attacks.
Although soul power combined with physical force didn't have the same mysterious subtleties as spiritual power, the destructive power was considerable.
He could carve out his own unique path.
"Your body's just recovered, and you're already overexerting it? Don't you know how to take care of yourself?!"
Just as Su Ye was reveling in his progress, a cold voice rang out from the kitchen—like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.
Zhu Zhuqing walked out carrying the dishes, an apron tied around her waist, her expression icy—as if someone owed her tens of millions of gold coins.
"If your meridians get ruptured again, I won't take care of you anymore. You can just stay here and fend for yourself."
Knowing Su Ye was coughing from overexerting himself, she tilted her head slightly and shot him a blank, cold glare, then huffed those words at him.
Su Ye spread his hands and strolled over casually.
"I was just lightly practicing, checking my body's condition."
"I've been lying down for a whole week. If I keep resting, my body's going to rust. Wouldn't that just make it even more trouble for you to take care of me?"
Zhu Zhuqing's fair face flushed, lips pressed tight. Just thinking about taking care of Su Ye's every need these past few days—feeding, cleaning, everything—was enough to make her die of embarrassment.
"Eat."
She threw out that single word and then walked inside, eating on her own.
The unspoken meaning: Now that you're better, don't expect me to serve your food—much less feed it to you.
Su Ye simply shook his head and didn't take it to heart. He picked up a bowl and chopsticks and served himself.
Sitting at the stone table, his eyes were drawn to the rich and plentiful meal laid out. His heart stirred, and he joked half-seriously:
"Oh, not bad…"
"You saw I was feeling better and prepared all this meat and fish to help me recover properly, huh?"
Zhu Zhuqing bit down on her chopsticks but quickly composed herself, pretending nothing had happened and continued eating.
Warm sunlight bathed the courtyard in multicolored rays, birds chirped cheerfully, and the village was especially quiet in the midday stillness.
In the small courtyard, the two of them ate lunch together in peaceful calm—no longer like enemies constantly on edge.
"I'm leaving."
Suddenly, silence fell over the courtyard.
The girl's voice wasn't loud, but both of them clearly heard it.
Zhu Zhuqing kept her head down, slowly moving her food around. Her expression was indifferent, as if she were stating something trivial.
But her long, elegant lashes trembled violently—revealing that her heart was far from calm.
"Is that so?"
A flicker of unease flashed across Su Ye's face, but he quickly recovered and gave a half-hearted laugh:
"Well, go then. I'm mostly healed anyway. I don't need you looking after me anymore."
"In a few days, I'll be heading into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. Wouldn't want to bring you bad luck…"
Zhu Zhuqing let out a soft "Oh," and didn't say anything more.
The once-delicious food on the table suddenly lost much of its flavor.
(End of Chapter)