For a long time after that, the term “Half-Human, Half-Demon” kept swirling, dancing, and cackling madly in Li Jiangying’s mind.
In a daze, Li Jiangying reached out and clenched her fist. “No wonder… No wonder…”
No wonder what?
“No wonder I haven’t had my period in so long!” Li Jiangying exclaimed. “It wasn’t because of my cultivation, it’s because my species mutated!”
Gu Qinglin: “Your period? If your relatives refuse to visit because you’re turning into a demon, you can do without them.”
“That’s not the kind of period I meant.” Li Jiangying was about to explain but had no idea how to clarify the euphemism for menstruation, so she quickly changed the subject. “Forget it. Doctor Gu, what if I remove the Demon Core?”
Gu Qinglin nodded and said, “The Demon Core has been inside your body for quite some time. You’re already under its influence. Removing it rashly would cause a severe backlash. Damage to your Dantian would be the least of your worries; in serious cases, you’d be stuck forever, neither fully human nor fully demon, unable to advance.”
Li Jiangying asked, “Doctor Liu suggested I practice a Body Tempering Technique. What do you think?”
Gu Qinglin replied, “Of course, you can. But it would be a shame not to utilize a perfectly good Demon Core inside you. If you’re willing, why not temper your body while simultaneously nurturing the Demon Core within?”
“Can you tell what kind of demon’s core it is?”
Gu Qinglin paused. “A Fire Element Demon. Perhaps the core of a Descendant of the Divine Phoenix. However, I’ve never seen a phoenix, so I can’t say for sure what the specific situation with the core in your body is.”
Li Jiangying sighed wistfully. “Regardless, thank you very much.”
“No need to thank me. If it’s possible—” Gu Qinglin pulled out a small knife and a porcelain bottle, “—give me a little more of your blood.”
Li Jiangying: “…”
Gu Qinglin coughed lightly and explained, “I thought you were merely a mortal with an extremely unique constitution. But now, I see that under the influence of the Demon Core in your body, your blood might also have wondrous uses. Rest assured, I swear by the Heavenly Dao that I will neither misuse it nor reveal its secrets. If I do, may I be plagued by Inner Devils and unable to break through.”
Li Jiangying had no choice but to painfully offer her blood. Turning her head, she saw the Little Madwoman pressing her lips tightly together and glaring furiously at Gu Qinglin.
Li Jiangying raised her hand, curled her finger, and brought it down—thump, thump, thump.
“Don’t cause trouble.” After warning the Little Madwoman, she turned back to Gu Qinglin. “Since you’re a Medical Cultivator, can you also treat common ailments? Right, Doctor, lately I’ve been feeling a cold sensation in my stomach. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but not like diarrhea. What could it be?”
Gu Qinglin looked at her in shock for a moment before saying, “Describe the circumstances around when this symptom started appearing.”
Li Jiangying honestly recounted it. Gu Qinglin then said, “When I probed your Dantian earlier, I detected a persistent flow of Water Element power. So that’s it… Your natural constitution is Fire Element, and the Demon Core in your Dantian is also of the fire attribute. Water and fire clash. You can’t suppress it, yet it flows endlessly, thus causing the discomfort. To resolve this, you must either find the other three elements of Devil Qi to participate and harmonize, or you must stop this branch of Water Element Devil Qi.”
Li Jiangying: “Thank you, Doctor!”
“Alright, alright. Next is the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable. I wonder what ailment afflicts the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable?” Gu Qinglin smiled. “I heard the Moon Shadow Devil Venerable has been plagued by Inner Devils and madness for thousands of years. Looking at her now, she seems quite well.”
Li Yueying snorted softly and threw herself onto Li Jiangying’s back, burying her head to act cute. “Yingying, I don’t want her to examine me! Let’s go home! Home, okay? Uuuh…“
Li Jiangying peeled her off her own body and forcibly pushed her forward. “No acting spoiled!”
“Yingying…” She tried to win Yingying’s heart by selling her pitifulness.
Li Jiangying was cold and heartless. “Didn’t you say you want to protect me? How can you protect me when you’re so badly injured?”
Li Yueying hung her head dejectedly and said no more.
Li Jiangying said to Gu Qinglin, “Let’s set aside A Yue’s madness for now. The main issue is that the wounds on her body keep festering and won’t heal. To this day, she can no longer assume human form. Transforming too often easily triggers her madness. While I hope her injuries heal so she can become stronger,” Li Jiangying also hoped this unlucky Snake Demon could stay looking this silly forever.
Li Yueying protested, “I’m not!”
“Shut up!” Li Jiangying continued. “She was previously forced to transform once using a Form-Shifting Pill, and then was injured repeatedly afterward… I had thought to buy a Yin Wood Water Essence Pill to treat her wounds, but my purse is empty. Is there perhaps an alternative method?”
“How could you force a catalyzed transformation with a Form-Shifting Pill?” Gu Qinglin frowned disapprovingly. “The Yin Wood Water Essence Pill is indeed my concoction and is quite effective for injuries caused by demons.”
Li Jiangying’s eyes lit up. She quickly asked, “Then, Doctor, do you still have any here?”
Gu Qinglin shook her head mercilessly. “I already sold it to the Flying Swallow Auction. The main ingredient for this pill can only be harvested once a year. I can no longer refine more this year.”
“In that case, please start treating her first.”
During the treatment, Li Yueying was extremely uncooperative. Left with no choice, Li Jiangying pinned her in her arms, stroking the fur on her head with one hand while letting Gu Qinglin examine her with the other.
This examination took most of the day. Gu Qinglin said, “Although the internal injuries are severe, they will eventually heal with slow nurturing. However, the disorder in her divine sense causes the Devil Qi in her body to surge erratically, harming her constantly. Moreover, the old wound in her Dantian has never healed, which makes this quite troublesome.”
In the end, Gu Qinglin said she could help regulate her condition. She told Li Yueying to stay temporarily in the residence so she could perform a nurturing treatment once daily.
“If I had a Yin Wood Water Essence Pill, these injuries would heal faster. Without it, no matter how I treat her, it will be a long time before she’s healed to the point where she can fully assume human form. As for a complete cure, don’t even think about it.”
It seemed the Yin Wood Water Essence Pill was unavoidable.
Severe injuries couldn’t be delayed. With or without the pill, treatment had to proceed. As Gu Qinglin pondered, inspiration struck, and she rattled off a string of medicinal names to her senior disciple, telling her to prepare them.
Then she said to Li Jiangying, “Any day is as good as another. Let’s begin the first nurturing session today.”
Her treatment plan consisted of internal spiritual medicine, acupuncture to clear the meridians, and medicinal baths. The first step was simple. Li Jiangying pried open the Snake Demon’s mouth and tossed the medicine in. The Snake Demon, eyes brimming with tears, wanted to spit it out. Li Jiangying covered her mouth, stroked her throat, and she was forced to swallow.
“Yingying, I don’t want treatment anymore!!” Li Yueying hugged Li Jiangying’s waist and sobbed.
Li Jiangying sneered and forcibly pushed her into the inner room, warning, “If you don’t behave, I’ll fly away to a place where you’ll never find me!”
Li Yueying: “…”
The second step, acupuncture, was complex, intricate, and involved Gu Qinglin’s secret techniques, so Li Jiangying could not observe. She waited in the outer hall. With nothing to do, she thought she might as well try absorbing the other three elements of Devil Qi. Unfortunately, doing it alone was far too slow, and the amount she absorbed was pitifully small.
So she pushed open the door of the outer hall. The people waiting outside all looked over. This room was sealed with a restriction so those outside couldn’t hear the conversation within.
Li Jiangying said, “A Yue is undergoing treatment and it will take a while. Xiangshui, come here for a moment.”
“Me?” Li Xiangshui pointed at her own nose, astonished. “Are you sure?”
“That’s right, you.” Li Jiangying smiled exceptionally amiably.
Once Li Xiangshui entered, Li Jiangying closed the door. Her smile instantly vanished, replaced with the detestable demeanor of a Slave Owner. “Come to think of it, you possess a Fire Element Body but cultivate a Water Element heart technique. It’s not that I can’t understand. But now that we’ve left Chasing Moon City, you don’t have the purified Water-Gathering Devil Array to aid your cultivation. No matter how hard you try to absorb Water Element Devil Qi, you’ll inevitably inhale Fire Element Devil Qi. Besides, absorbing more is useless to you anyway.”
Li Xiangshui: “Just what are you trying to say?! Is there any need to stab me in the heart like that?!” And what’s more, it was this hateful woman who had ordered her to cultivate diligently in the first place! How outrageous!
Li Jiangying spread her hands. “What I mean is: give up cultivating your heart technique for now. Honestly absorb Fire Element Devil Qi for me. Once you can have some cultivation base as well, then you can cultivate your heart technique.”
Li Xiangshui said coldly, “Why should I endure the pain of fire devils entering my body for no reason, without receiving a single reward?”
“Indeed, enduring the pain of fire devils entering your body alone, without receiving any reward… that kind of thing is truly disheartening and frustrating. I understand how you feel.” Li Jiangying rubbed her chin and sighed empathetically. “But if you want to ask me ‘why’… because I am your master!”
Li Xiangshui: “Sooner or later, I will kill you.”
“I wish you eternal failure.” Li Jiangying smiled.
