Chapter 44: Village
Two days had passed since they accepted the old horse.
After Li Qi granted it a strand of Azure Dragon divine qi, the old horse became quite fatigued. For these past two days, it mostly walked slowly beside Li Qi and his companions, looking drowsy.
Li Qi was somewhat worried if it couldn't handle the Azure Dragon divine qi, coupled with its old age and its body couldn't keep up.
Would it just die like this?
Shen Shuibi, however, studied it for a bit and told Li Qi, "Don't worry, he's just grinding away the malevolent Qi."
Then, she began to recite from books.
She spoke of: "The Qi from the upper jiao(roughly around chest cavity) warms the muscles and flesh, nourishes the bones and joints, and permeates the couli (skin pores and interstitial spaces)."
And a few more lines: "When Yin and Yang are established, they move in accordance with breath, having a fixed order and reason, harmonizing with Heaven, never ceasing."
Then a few more lines: "The Qi from the middle jiao(spleen and stomach) emerges like dew, rising to the Huogu (valley of vitality) and seeping into the sunmai (minute collaterals), where it mixes and regulates with body fluids, transforming into blood. When the blood is harmonized, the sunmai are first filled to overflowing, then it flows into the luomai (collaterals), and when they are all full, it then flows into the jingmai (main channels)."
Li Qi didn't understand a single word, but he forced himself to remember it, later pondering over each word and asking Shen Shuibi for the specific meaning. Finally, he grasped the essence.
The various types of Qi generated within the human body circulate throughout the entire body along different channels.
Among them, the Qi originating from the upper jiao can warm the muscles and skin of the whole body, nourish the tendons, bones, and joints, and penetrate the couli.
The Qi originating from the middle jiao, like dew sprinkling on the earth in nature, flows through the small and large spaces within the human muscles, and also infiltrates the blood vessels. Combined with the regulation of bodily fluids, and through the Qi transformation function of the heart and lungs, it transforms into blood, circulating within the body's meridians.
When blood circulation is smooth and orderly, it first fills the sunmai, then flows into the luomai. Once the luomai are full, it then flows into the jingmai. In this way, the blood Qi in both Yin and Yang meridians becomes abundant, circulating throughout the body with each breath.
Within the body, the circulation of Qi follows these laws and cycles, similar to the movement of celestial bodies, cyclical and ceaseless.
Therefore, the human body, as a miniature heaven and earth, has a striking resemblance to the vast external universe.
Currently, the old horse was using its own power to control the Azure Dragon divine qi, gradually circulating it according to the natural laws, grinding away the malevolent Qi within its body.
Because when malevolent Qi invades the blood vessels, it causes blood circulation to stagnate. When blood circulation is obstructed, the wei qi (defensive qi) in that part of the body also becomes congested and cannot disperse.
When Qi and blood cannot circulate back and forth but are forced to gather in a specific area, it forms a carbuncle. These festering swellings, when prolonged, generate heat. The accumulation of toxic heat corrodes the muscles, turning them into pus. If the pus cannot be discharged, it further corrodes the fascia, eventually spreading into the gaohuang (the vital region between the heart and diaphragm, considered incurable).
Once it reaches the gaohuang, it will damage the bones and the malevolent Qi cannot be expelled, constantly tormenting the bones, causing the bone marrow to stagnate, which then leads to the depletion of blood.
When blood stagnates, the tendons, bones, muscles, and internal organs all fail to receive nourishment from both ying qi (nutritive qi) and wei qi (defensive qi), ultimately leading to the decay and deterioration of the physical body, resulting in death.
Although its wounds had been cleaned before, the old horse's body was still filled with malevolent Qi, which was why it needed to ask Li Qi for a strand of the Great Forest Wood Qi from the Azure Dragon divine qi.
At that time, Shen Shuibi also said: "The book says that this condition, when it occurs in the thighs and shins, is called guzhiju. Its external appearance does not change much, but the pus adheres to the bone. If not treated quickly, death can occur within thirty days. That's why the old horse was so anxious."
Li Qi listened to her explanation and then understood that she was talking about the guzhiju of the thighs and shins. Although there were no obvious external changes, the pus from the swelling adhered tightly to the bone. If not treated quickly, death could occur within thirty days.
That's why the old horse was very anxious.
"The Great Forest Wood Qi, in springtime, is when the wood Qi ascends. It is composed of the divine qi of the Eastern Wood Constellation, the Azure Dragon among the Four Symbols. At this time, things are timely, branches and leaves are lush, forming a dense forest, taking from the abundance of wood. It uses the vitality of wood to promote its own vitality. Wood is born in Hai (12th earthly branch), branches sway in the wind and twigs support the moon. In this way, it can remove the malevolent Qi."
Shen Shuibi spoke in such a scholarly manner, utterly bewildering Li Qi.
She truly deserved to be called a cultured rabbit.
Then, Li Qi went back and pondered for a long time.
Damn it, if he were to translate this, wasn't it just about stimulating the body's immune system to make the carbuncle recede on its own! Relying on the body's immunity to fight the infection!
Once he figured this out, Li Qi no longer worried.
Fighting an infection with immunity would definitely cause fever, weakness, dizziness, and such. It should get better in a couple of days.
So, he simply climbed a hill to look around, painstakingly found traces of a village and then spent half a day heading towards it.
First, he would go to the village to exchange his wok, farming tools, and other items for supplies, then properly tend to the old horse's injuries.
After all, the old horse couldn't walk much now, and carrying people was even less possible; he himself was almost unable to walk.
Furthermore, Li Qi didn't have anything good to feed him. Li Qi himself could only pick wild fruits, drink spring water and eat rice cakes, so the old horse could only nibble on grass and some green leaves.
Shen Shuibi said this wouldn't do; it would slow down his recovery.
Li Qi also felt that if things continued this way, the old horse might die before fighting off the infection. They still needed to get some bird eggs, soybeans, or something to supplement his nutrition.
There weren't many chicken eggs in this world because the chickens here could fly... and they were very fierce.
Could they even be called chickens?
Never mind, don't think about that.
The old horse also seemed to understand his situation. Shen Shuibi translated many times along the way that he was continuously thanking the two of them.
Li Qi didn't know what to say. After all, it was an eight-chi dragon steed. If it hadn't aged and fallen on hard times, with his status as a boat hauler, and without any other fortuitous encounters, he probably wouldn't even have the right to ride it in this lifetime.
So, Li Qi merely told him it was mutual aid. Afterwards, he transferred another strand of Great Forest Wood Qi, which he had just cultivated the next day.
In this way, on the second day, they finally reached the village.
The village was very conservative, even having a simple wooden wall made of thick logs driven into the ground.
Being able to establish a village in the wilderness, Li Qi knew with his toes that these villagers were not to be trifled with; ordinary bandits probably wouldn't dare provoke them.
Worlds with cultivation techniques were truly a pain in the ass.
"Folks!" Li Qi stood outside the village, leading the old horse: "We're travelers, merchants! Do you want to see some goods!?"
"I have salt, hoes, rake heads! And cloth!" Li Qi put down his backpack, displaying the farming tools and cloth inside.
A middle-aged farmer, holding a pitchfork, asked with a booming voice, "Other merchants travel in groups. How dare you travel alone?!"
"They don't have a horse! I do! They run for four days; I only run for one! No fear on the road!" Li Qi shouted again, "My horse is injured! I want to rest here for a day and buy some food!"
His words were reasonable and well-founded and his backpack indeed contained salt and iron farming tools that the villagers needed.
In addition, he also brought a woman.
A man traveling with a woman surely posed no threat, and besides, there was a horse.
That was a horse. Merchants with horses probably wouldn't look down on the goods in their village.
The simple wisdom of the villagers led them to a decision, and they opened the village gate: "Then come in!"
(Chapter End)