Chapter 220: You want her heart for what

Zu An was dumbfounded. He had initially thought it was a minor issue; after all, in the world of cultivation, spitting blood was a common occurrence. He himself had no idea how many times he had vomited blood before, and he had simply gotten used to it. He never expected Chu Chuyan's single episode of spitting blood to have such severe consequences. Beyond saving, even by deities?

Zu An felt a wave of dizziness. "How could this be…"

Just then, an alarmed cry came from beside him: "Yan'er, what's wrong with you?"

A waft of fragrant air preceded a graceful figure who leaped over, pushed Zu An aside, and embraced Chu Chuyan. Finding her unconscious and barely breathing, the woman's face turned pale with shock. She quickly turned back, glaring at Zu An. "What exactly did you do to my daughter?"

Zu An replied, "She was fine just a moment ago when I was talking to her. She suddenly vomited blood and fainted. I believe it's because her ice-element cultivation progressed too quickly, leading to an unstable foundation and a backlash of internal cold energy. Now, her life is in grave danger…"

He was cut off by Qin Wanru before he could finish. "What do you know! My daughter is a prodigy of this generation; rapid progress in cultivation is perfectly normal for her. How could her foundation be unstable? I know you've had some successes lately, but you're still far inferior to Yan'er. What right do you have to judge her? You're overestimating yourself!"

As a mother, hearing words like "her life is in grave danger" about her daughter infuriated her, especially coming from someone she had always looked down upon.

Rage points from Qin Wanru +502!

After speaking, she immediately scooped up her daughter and rushed to find her husband, even regretting wasting so much time arguing with Zu An when Yan'er needed saving.

Rage points from Qin Wanru +9+9+9…

Watching Qin Wanru's hurried departure, Zu An thought that the woman had at least one good quality: her abundant rage points. Just like how Cheng Shouping was evaluated, everyone had their unique use. It now seemed that Qin Wanru's greatest utility was for harvesting rage points.

At that moment, Mi Li's gloating voice echoed in his ear again: "Well, are you going to reconsider my suggestion from earlier?"

Zu An: "…"

"Sometimes I really doubt you're a queen. You seem more like a demonic witch or a seductive enchantress."

"Thank you for the compliment!" Mi Li said, completely unconcerned. "Who said a queen has to be virtuous and a model for all under heaven?"

Zu An considered this and realized she had a point; there had been many "demon queens" throughout history, and this woman was likely of a similar disposition.

Concerned for Chu Chuyan's safety, he ignored Mi Li's seductive words and quickly followed.

Chu Zhongtian had already arrived after hearing the news, injecting vital energy into Chu Chuyan to dispel the cold while anxiously awaiting the manor's physician. Chu Huanzhao also came, her small hands clenched tightly. Although her mother often compared her to her older sister, leading to many squabbles, she knew her sister deeply cared for her. Their sisterly bond was strong, and seeing Chu Chuyan in such a state, Huanzhao's heart was already filled with worry.

Not long after, a white-haired old man hurried over, surrounded by house servants. Zu An recognized him: it was Physician Bao Youlu, the resident doctor of the Duke's manor, effectively the Chu family's private physician. Throughout Brightmoon City, his medical skills were second only to Ji Dengtu. With his expertise, he wouldn't normally confine himself to a single residence, but he remained with the Chu family out of gratitude for the Duke of Brightmoon's kindness shown to him years ago, and because his advanced age made extensive travel inconvenient.

A maidservant had already prepared a silk cloth. Bao Youlu diagnosed Chu Chuyan's pulse through the cloth, his brows furrowing one moment, shaking his head and sighing the next, causing Chu Zhongtian and his wife's hearts to rise and fall with anxiety.

After a long while, he finally released her wrist. Qin Wanru immediately asked, "Physician Bao, how is my daughter?"

Bao Youlu hesitated, seemingly wanting to speak but holding back. Chu Zhongtian quickly dismissed the other people in the room. Zu An, being Chu Chuyan's nominal husband, was allowed to remain.

Once the others had mostly left, Bao Youlu sighed. "My Lord, My Lady, the young lady's cold energy has penetrated deep into all her vital meridians and internal organs. She is beyond cure. It would be best to prepare for her passing soon."

Chu Zhongtian: "???"

Qin Wanru: "???"

Chu Huanzhao: "???"

Zu An: "…"

Although they had noticed Chu Chuyan's current illness seemed somewhat serious, they hadn't imagined it was this severe. Upon hearing such devastating news, they all froze, just as Zu An had earlier.

Zu An, meanwhile, secretly sighed, realizing that this prognosis was identical to Mi Li's assessment.

"How could this be? My daughter was perfectly fine just now, how could she suddenly…" Qin Wanru's voice caught in her throat, her words turning into sobs.

Chu Zhongtian also asked, "Indeed, Physician Bao, could there be a mistake? Yan'er just advanced a realm; why would something suddenly happen to her?"

Bao Youlu's expression shifted. "Oh, how did the young lady advance?"

Since his daughter's life was at stake, Chu Zhongtian dared not conceal anything and quickly recounted how she had been injured in the secret realm and had consumed the Vanishing Illusion Lotus.

"I see," Bao Youlu said, stroking the beard on his chin. "I was wondering why the young lady, who has always been in good health, would suddenly contract such a severe illness. The problem lies here."

"Cultivating ice-element techniques often harms the body, though under normal circumstances, these effects are negligible. However, the young lady's vital meridians were completely severed in the secret realm. Although they later recovered by chance, her foundational vital energy was already damaged. In this weakened state, consuming the Vanishing Illusion Lotus forcefully elevated her cultivation by a major realm, leading to an unstable foundation. The hidden dangers within her body were completely magnified, and her body simply couldn't adapt, which resulted in this outcome."

Zu An noted that Bao Youlu's explanation was largely consistent with what Mi Li had said earlier, and he thought that the physician indeed lived up to his long-standing reputation.

At these words, everyone in the room stood dumbfounded. His analysis was logical and reasonable, and only then did they truly realize the grave danger Chu Chuyan was in.

"It's all your fault! If she hadn't tried to save you, Yan'er's vital meridians wouldn't have been severed; if you hadn't made her consume the Vanishing Illusion Lotus, she wouldn't have met with this misfortune. It's all because of you!" Qin Wanru suddenly rose, like a raging tigress, glaring fiercely at Zu An as if she might pounce on him at any moment.

Rage points from Qin Wanru +1024!

Zu An had no time to pay attention to her. Instead, he was frantically communicating with Mi Li in his mind: "Empress Sister, is there really no way?"

Mi Li snorted. "Didn't I tell you? Even deities would struggle to save her."

Zu An quickly said, "But I remember you mentioned in the secret realm that besides runes, you are also proficient in medical arts. Even if deities find it hard to save her, it certainly wouldn't be too difficult for you, Sister."

Mi Li's soft, cackling laughter echoed in his mind. "You certainly know how to flatter me in various ways. Very well. If Qin Shi Huang could compare his achievements to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, how could I be inferior to deities? I do have a way to save her."

"If that's the case, I beg for your guidance, Sister," Zu An said, his spirits lifted, quickly pressing her for details.

Mi Li let out a cold snort. "This woman treats you like this; are you sure you want to save her daughter?"

Zu An replied, "I'm saving my own wife; what does it have to do with her? Don't worry, if it were her, I absolutely wouldn't save her."

"Excellent. A true man should distinguish clearly between gratitude and grievances. How can one repay kindness if they repay resentment with kindness? It's better to repay resentment with justice!" Mi Li's tone finally softened slightly. She then slowly explained, "The reason your wife is so difficult to treat now is that her vital energy has deeply infiltrated her internal organs and vital meridians. If external force intervenes, even a slight oversight could destroy her vital meridians and severely damage her organs, causing her to die even faster than now."

"Only she herself is most familiar with her own body, knowing the limits of every vital meridian and every internal organ. Therefore, the cold energy within her can only be dispelled by herself. Unfortunately, in her current state, she cannot use her cultivation, and even if she could, her own cultivated vital energy is ice-attributed, which would only worsen her condition rather than heal it."

"However, while others can't save her, for you, there's a simple method: continue the Yin-Yang harmonization with her, just like last time, to make her body feel hot. Use the heat generated by her own body to disperse the cold energy. At the same time, you must guide the Primordial Qi to protect and repair her damaged vital meridians and internal organs. With this two-pronged approach, she could gradually return to normal in as little as half a month, or up to half a year."

Zu An was startled. "Why is there such a large time variation?"

A peculiar smile entered Mi Li's voice. "Nonsense. The healing effect will naturally differ whether you do it seven times a night or once every few days."

Zu An: "…"

"This method of treatment is far too outlandish."

"Stop pretending," Mi Li's sarcastic voice came, instantly seeing through his little thoughts. "I know you're already grinning from ear to ear."

Zu An's old face flushed. "Of course, I'm pleased, but Chu Chuyan might not be willing to do this. No, given her personality, she would definitely refuse."

"At a time like this, you're still concerned about such things?" Mi Li said impatiently.

Zu An replied earnestly, "It's easy to obtain the body, but difficult to win the heart. I hope she will willingly accept me in the future, rather than me taking advantage of her vulnerable state now." He even felt a bit disdainful of himself, realizing that he was only more eager to win her heart now that he had already obtained her body.

"Why do you want her heart?" Mi Li said scornfully. "Once her body gets used to accepting you, her heart will eventually be yours. Young people simply don't understand one truth: love is made."

Zu An: "…"

"Sister, are you… driving?"

"Empress Sister, you just mentioned that was the simplest method. So, there's clearly a more complex one, isn't there? What is it?"

Inside the Tai'a Sword, Mi Li's expression shifted between changing moods. "Hmph, I can't tell if you're truly foolish or just pretending. You act like a lecherous scoundrel on a daily basis, but deep down, you're actually an upright gentleman? Fine, fine. Listen closely; the difficult method is this…"

At that moment, Chu Huanzhao stopped the impulsive Qin Wanru. "Mother, there you go again. Sister already said it has nothing to do with him."

"Shut up! You're always siding with outsiders. What is he to you? Is he more important than your sister? More important than your mother?" Qin Wanru scolded angrily.

Chu Huanzhao's lips immediately pouted. "That's not what I meant."

"Enough!" Chu Zhongtian was also somewhat irritated. He turned to ask Bao Youlu, "Physician Bao, is there really no other way?"

Bao Youlu shook his head. "My knowledge is shallow, and I truly have no solution. Perhaps Divine Physician Ji might have some unconventional method, but I don't hold much hope. Moreover, I heard he hasn't been in Brightmoon City recently; he's gone to the neighboring county."

"Then I'll go find him immediately!" Chu Zhongtian quickly declared.

Qin Wanru quickly said, "Let me go instead. Your relationship with him has never been good."

"How can that be?" Chu Zhongtian instantly grew anxious. Sending his beautiful wife to that lustful man would be like leading a lamb to a tiger's mouth, wouldn't it? Furthermore, Ji Dengtu had pursued Qin Wanru years ago!

Just then, a voice echoed in the room: "I have a way to cure her."

Bao Youlu turned around and saw that it was Zu An who had spoken. A look of displeasure immediately appeared on his face. He had just declared the situation incurable, and now Zu An was claiming he could cure her. Where did that leave him? Besides, he had heard things about this son-in-law and had never known him to possess any medical knowledge.