Chapter 393: Developing a Big Appetite

Sun Rao stood up and leaned in close, examining his chest and limbs. Aside from some suggestive hickeys, she found no unusual marks.

After a moment of thought, she checked his head. As her fingers parted the loose hair behind his ear, her pupils suddenly contracted.

“There is one,” her voice darkened. “Behind your right ear. It’s a fiery red mark, about the size of a fingernail.”

Yang Xun furrowed his brow. “Describe exactly what it looks like.”

“The pattern resembles a flower with long, narrow petals—five of them in total. The color is very deep, and the edges are a bit blackened, like… a scorch mark.”

Yang Xun closed his eyes. The contents of the Rejuvenation Medical Scripture flashed rapidly through his mind. A moment later, he opened them. His voice carried a heavy, icy chill. “Transplantation.”

“What?”

“It’s an unorthodox Array that uses a specific medium to steal the target’s Life Energy and Essence Qi.” Yang Xun’s voice wasn’t loud, but it suppressed a brewing anger. “The only person who could plant this kind of mark on me is someone I’ve had intimate contact with.”

A few names quickly flashed through his mind. The number of people who could get that close to him and possessed the ability to use such a method could be counted on one hand.

Su Mei! Aside from that woman, it seemed no one else could pull this off.

“I think I know who it is,” Yang Xun gritted his teeth.

He had allowed her to absorb his Essence Qi every time they were together, which had apparently only whetted her appetite. It really was true that the more beautiful the woman, the more ruthless her heart. She was actually trying to kill him! All that talk about the physical pathway to a woman’s soul… it was all a lie! They had slept together so many times, yet she hadn’t developed a shred of affection for him.

“Since you know who it is, is there any way to recover?” Sun Rao asked.

“Give me the silver needles,” Yang Xun said, his fists clenched as he tried to suppress his mounting fury, his expression ice-cold. Right now, he had to find a way to heal his eyes; otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to get revenge.

Sun Rao hurriedly handed him the acupuncture kit, her face filled with worry.

Yang Xun fumbled with his fingers to extract a few silver needles. Taking a deep breath, he began to apply them around his eyes. His movements were steady. Despite the gauze covering his eyes, his tactile sense was exceptionally sharp, allowing him to precisely insert each needle into the corresponding acupoint.

“Stand guard for me,” Yang Xun muttered. “Don’t let anyone interrupt.”

He immediately began circulating his True Qi, attempting to repair the damaged meridians in his eyes. However, it wasn’t long before he stopped. Although True Qi could mend wounds, the Array was continuously siphoning his power and draining his Primordial Qi. For every bit he repaired, half a bit was snatched away. At this rate, his recovery speed could never outpace the rate of depletion.

“Sun Rao,” Yang Xun said, setting the silver needles down. He turned his head slightly, his voice carrying an awkward helplessness. “I need your help.”

“How can I help?”

Yang Xun fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “Practice Dual Cultivation with me to replenish my internal True Qi. Only with an abundant supply of True Qi can I temporarily heal my eyes.” He knew that as long as the Technique remained, other problems would continue to plague his body.

Sun Rao didn’t hesitate. She stood up briskly, reached back to lock the hospital room door, and walked back to the bed.

“Lie still. I’ll do it,” she said, her voice calm and crisp, carrying an unquestionable certainty.

Yang Xun felt her breath draw near as a sweet fragrance filled his nose.

“You’re going to be okay.” Her breath was like orchids as she kissed his lips.

The curtains in the ward were drawn tightly, shutting out the afternoon sun. The harsh fluorescent lights had already been turned off, leaving only a small nightlight by the bedside. Its dim, yellow glow bathed the two figures in a hazy, warm light.

Sun Rao straddled Yang Xun, her movements slow and restrained. Having followed Scarface for so long, she knew that Cultivators could enhance their strength through Dual Cultivation. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a Cultivator herself, so the amount of True Qi she could help Yang Xun recover was quite limited.

A warm surge of power slowly flowed into her meridians, circulated through her body, and returned to Yang Xun’s, like a river connected end-to-end in a strange, cyclical loop.

“Mmh…” Sun Rao couldn’t help but let out a soft moan as her body arched slightly.

It wasn’t her first time doing this with Yang Xun, but this time felt remarkably different. The True Qi flowing through her body acted like a pair of invisible hands, gradually awakening something deep within her and bringing about a tingling sensation she had never experienced before.

Yang Xun kept his eyes closed. Although his vision was blocked by the gauze, the flow of True Qi allowed him to clearly sense the condition of Sun Rao’s body. With her every movement, a steady stream of Primordial Yin Qi poured into his Dantian, replenishing the Essence Qi that the Array was continuously draining.

With his vision gone, his other senses seemed to sharpen. He felt Sun Rao’s body trembling incessantly. It felt as though she was only one step away from becoming a Cultivator herself.

“Almost there…” Yang Xun rasped through suppressed pants. “Just hold on a little longer.”

Sun Rao’s breathing grew increasingly rapid. Her body felt as if it were bobbing in a current of scalding water, each rise and fall carrying an electrifying tingle. The temperature in the room steadily climbed. After an unknown amount of time, Sun Rao’s body suddenly went taut, and she let out an uncontrollable, trembling gasp.

Her fingers gripped Yang Xun’s shoulders tightly. She was like a fully drawn bow that snapped loose in an instant. At the same moment, a rush of warm Primordial Yin Qi flooded into Yang Xun’s Dantian, filling him with a sudden surge of power.

Yang Xun gritted his teeth and circulated the Yin Yang Dragon and Phoenix Technique with all his might, guiding the True Qi in his body toward the damaged meridians in his eyes. He could feel the tissues in his eyes repairing and healing at an incredible speed. His previously blurred vision gradually began to clear up.

Beneath the gauze, his eyeballs shifted slightly.

“Done,” he said, his voice carrying a relieved hoarseness.

Sun Rao rolled off him and lay on her side next to him. Her chest was still heaving slightly, a flush lingering on her cheeks.

Yang Xun raised his hand and peeled off the gauze. He slowly opened his eyes. The bloodshot veins in the whites of his eyes had mostly faded, and his pupils refocused.

“Can you see?” Sun Rao asked, a trace of nervous tension in her voice.

Yang Xun blinked. His gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds before the corners of his lips curled into a smile. “I can see.”

Looking deeply relieved, Sun Rao relaxed entirely. She fell back onto the pillow, exhaling a long breath. “That’s good.”

Yang Xun sat up and flexed his slightly numb fingers. Although his vision was restored, he could feel that the True Qi in his body was still unstable. The Transplantation Array had only been temporarily suppressed, not completely destroyed. He needed to find it and ruin the Array as soon as possible.

Su Mei’s visits to the bathhouse were always highly regular, with intervals never exceeding five days. Every time, she was like a ravenous wolf, eager to squeeze him dry. Logically, she should have made an appearance by now, but he hadn’t heard Xu Qian mention any reservations from her.