I Command You

Stepping into the secret chamber, Qin Zheng looked toward Wuyazi. Wuyazi possessed a three-foot-long beard without a single strand of gray, a face smooth as crowned jade without the faintest wrinkle, and though he was clearly advanced in years, he remained spirited, poised, and elegant. Wuyazi was also sizing Qin Zheng up. Seeing that the young man carried an air of upright righteousness and was strikingly handsome, and furthermore had attained such profound internal energy at so young an age, Wuyazi knew that had he been Qin Zheng's age, he would certainly have been no match for him. With a face full of regret, Wuyazi said, "What a pity. You possess peerless martial arts, so you likely look down on the heritage of my Xiaoyao Sect. Otherwise, I would have passed all my cultivation on to you." "No need for that," Qin Zheng replied. "I've already learned your Beiming Divine Skill, and I'll find a worthy successor for it." Wuyazi's eyes lit up. "You've been to the Boundless Jade Cave? Then did you see Qiushui?" Qin Zheng smiled faintly. "Before long, she'll come to Leigu Mountain to see you. Don't move just yet; let me examine your legs." Wuyazi shook his head. "I was ambushed by that traitorous disciple Ding Chunqiu and fell from a cliff. The bones in both my legs were completely shattered; there is no way to heal them." Qin Zheng examined them and said, "The bones are shattered quite thoroughly. I have three plans to get you back on your feet. Hear them out and see which one you prefer." Wuyazi trembled, an incredulous look surfacing in his eyes. "Can you truly cure me?" Qin Zheng said, "First, I re-shatter your misaligned bones and apply Black Jade Intermittent Ointment. After a hundred days, you'll be able to walk again, though running and using lightness skills will be entirely out of the question." Wuyazi said with delight, "As long as it allows this old man to walk, I won't ask for a full recovery!" Qin Zheng continued, "There's a catch with this plan: I don't have Black Jade Intermittent Ointment, nor do I know who can compound it." Wuyazi: "..." Then why even bring it up! Qin Zheng gave a dry cough and went on. "If we look for it, we'll find it eventually; it will just take time and manpower. My second plan is to nourish you with spiritual qi. However, things in this world that contain spiritual qi are far harder to find than Black Jade Intermittent Ointment; after all, emperors through the ages never found any." Wuyazi's heart was now completely unmoved. Blank-faced, he said, "Don't tell me your third plan is to find an immortal to treat me?" Qin Zheng laughed heartily. "You old man sure know how to joke. The third plan is rather simple: lie flat, and leave the rest to me." Wuyazi hesitated for a moment, then complied and lay flat on the bed. Qin Zheng then fed him a pain-relieving pill, roughly pieced the broken bones of his legs back together, pointed a finger at his legs, and shouted: "Bones of Wuyazi's legs, I command you to grow back to the way you were!" The expectant light in Wuyazi's eyes turned instantly blank: "..." Command my bones? Have you lost your damn mind?! Seven days later, leaning on crutches, Wuyazi cautiously followed Qin Zheng through rehabilitation exercises. Gazing at Qin Zheng's back, his face was still filled with disbelief. In the end, unable to hold back any longer, he asked, "Hero Qin, are you an immortal?" Qin Zheng turned around and said with absolute certainty, "There are no immortals in this world." "Then my legs..." "Human potential is immense. As long as you stimulate the meridians to give the body the correct commands, you can achieve incredible things within certain bounds. I just happen to have mastered this method. But don't go dreaming of things like immortality or bringing the dead back to life." Wuyazi said with deep admiration, "This is already akin to divine arts." Just then, Su Xinghe's disciple Shi Qinglu finished preparing a meal and called out, "Grandmaster, Hero Qin, the medicinal meal is ready. Please come and eat!" Qin Zheng sat down and took a few bites of the medicinal meal, then frowned and said, "Have Xue Muhua find a way to get some top-grade fish maw and stew it together with century-old blood ginseng. Add plenty of salt and pepper; it'll help your grandmaster recover faster." Shi Qinglu quickly noted it down, then asked humbly, "During a patient's recovery, shouldn't their diet remain light and bland? Why add plenty of salt and pepper?" Qin Zheng said, "Because I like it that way." Shi Qinglu froze on the spot. "Huh?" Wuyazi chuckled. "Listen to Hero Qin." Shi Qinglu nodded and stepped aside to send a message by carrier pigeon. In any case, she was only relaying the words; let Senior Brother Xue deal with the headache himself... Qin Zheng glanced at Wuyazi and said solemnly, "On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, I am going to hold a grand assembly here. This assembly is of utmost importance to me, and it directly concerns the fate of all living beings for centuries to come. Ding Chunqiu might show up to watch the excitement then. You must hold back, and only reveal yourself when you hear my signal. Otherwise, when I fly into a rage, even I scare myself." Seeing how serious Qin Zheng sounded, Wuyazi hurried to reply, "Rest assured, Hero Qin, this old man will certainly obey. There are still fifteen days until the assembly, by which time my legs should be fully recovered. If that wretched Ding Chunqiu dares show his face, he will never escape." "Father!" Even as they spoke, Li Qingluo walked over, looking agitated. Seeing his daughter, Wuyazi was overwhelmed with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy. With a heavy heart, he said slowly, "Qingluo, have you been well all these years?" Li Qingluo did not answer. Striding over in a fury, she demanded, "Father, you're at such an age, how could you arrange something as absurd as a bride-seeking martial contest!" Wuyazi looked bewildered. "A bride-seeking martial contest? Me?" Li Qingluo's willow-leaf brows raised in indignation. "You're still playing dumb? Didn't you have Qin Zheng send me an invitation, telling me to come a few days early to help out?" Wuyazi quickly pieced the puzzle together in his mind and asked, "You're saying that I am holding a bride-seeking martial contest on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, and Qin Zheng even sent you an invitation?" Li Qingluo nodded firmly. "Exactly! Father, do you have any explanation for your daughter?" Wuyazi: "..." The monumental affair that directly concerned the fate of all living beings for centuries to come was holding a bride-seeking martial contest for him?! The hell with that! Beside himself with rage, Wuyazi turned to glare at Qin Zheng, only to find that the young man had long since vanished from the table. Incensed, he slapped the stone table, his hand aching from the blow. "That bastard... when on earth did he slip me Tendon-Relaxing Powder..." Half a month slipped by in the blink of an eye. After being outmaneuvered several times by Qin Zheng, Wuyazi realized he was truly no match for him, and could only grit his teeth and yield to his whims. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, as dawn was just breaking, Duan Yu was pacing anxiously around the arena platform. Qiao Feng walked up and asked, "Three-Thousandth Brother, why are you so anxious? Did Second Uncle assign you some task that you're afraid you can't finish? Tell Eldest Brother, and I'll help you!" Duan Yu smiled bitterly. "Eldest Brother, truth be told, my mother is also coming today to take part in the bride-seeking martial contest. I'm afraid Hero Qin might accidentally hurt her." Qiao Feng's expression grew somewhat odd. He patted Duan Yu's shoulder and sighed. "Ah, it must be truly hard on you." Even as he spoke, Qiao Feng caught sight of Qiao Sanhuai and his wife walking over from the distance, accompanied by Ye Erniang. Beaming with joy, he hurried forward to greet them. "Father, Mother! Why have you two come!" Qiao Dasao bashfully lowered her head. "Isn't your second uncle holding a bride-seeking martial contest? He was worried too few people would show up, so he asked Mother to come make up the numbers." Qiao Feng froze, the smile on his face cracking instantly: "..."