Chapter 36: The beauty of being alive

“The Medical Way” written by the world’s number one physician, Spring-Returning Hand, states: “The soul belongs to yang energy, governing thought and intellect; the po belongs to yin energy, governing the physical body and instincts. When soul and po gather, yin and yang are born, giving rise to essence, qi, and spirit. The convergence of these three aspects gives birth to the primordial spirit…”

Memory, belonging to thought, is the yang-energy soul.

The “po” in “Soul Snatching” should be the “yin-energy po”.

As the name suggests, the effect of “Soul Snatching” should be to snatch the yin po for one’s own use.

However, the actual effect is that the yin po is nowhere to be found, while the yang soul is clearly “present”…

This “Soul Snatching” technique was created by Emperor Yuan, but Emperor Yuan clearly did not know that “Soul Snatching” would plunder memories.

Then, considering that Emperor Yuan wanted me to use “Soul Snatching” to kill that courtesan…

“Soul Snatching” definitely has another purpose.

And the plundering of memories should be a side effect.

The soul belongs to yang, the po belongs to yin.

Men are yang, women are yin.

Having a Spiritual Root, having order, is yang. Lacking a Spiritual Root, having disorder, is yin…

“Huitian” is a method that extinguishes yang and gives birth to yin…

Besides “Soul Snatching,” once “Huitian” is cultivated to a certain level, one can also learn a method called “Soul Hooking”…

No, no, no, let’s not consider things that far ahead.

Just think about the present.

The current situation is: too many yang souls remain, causing confusion in thought, to the point where behavior and thinking have developed serious problems!

If left unchecked, I’m afraid I’ll eventually develop a split personality, or even become mentally ill.

So, the fundamental problem is too many yang souls.

If we compare yang souls to ropes, having too many ropes will create a tangled mess.

I must find a way to sort out this tangled mess.

At the very least, I can’t let the absurd delusion of thinking I have a husband happen again.

Thinking of a husband, Wang Sandong suddenly froze.

“Master” Spring-Returning Hand once said, “To become a good physician, one should taste a hundred herbs. Understand their nature, comprehend their principles, only then can one exhaust their capabilities and utilize them fully…”

Therefore, to completely solve the problem of memory confusion, I must first thoroughly understand these memories!

With this thought, Wang Sandong’s heart suddenly felt clear.

So from the very beginning, I was wrong.

For those memories that originally didn’t belong to me, I shouldn’t only try to understand the “useful” parts.

In fact, every single detail is key to forming those memories.

I should thoroughly understand everything, without any resistance.

Only then can these yang souls, which don’t belong to me, harmonize with my yin po…

Soul and po emphasize the balance of yin and yang.

Too many yang souls without yin po leads to excessive yang and deficient yin, and I happen to be a woman…

This is unreasonable.

So, in fact, “Soul Snatching” has already completely “snatched” the yin po, I just haven’t realized it!

From this, another conclusion can be drawn: The “Huitian” and “Soul Snatching” created by Emperor Yuan were originally intended to mold me into an extreme yin constitution with weak yang and strong yin!

Extremely weak yang and extremely strong yin would inevitably lead to a weak and frail body…

That “father” from the Zheng Clan once said: “The Noble Spirit Art is an extreme yang cultivation method, most effective against yin evils, and also most averse to yin evils…”

Emperor Yuan’s goal definitely isn’t just to deal with the Zheng Clan.

Sigh…

I really want to kill Emperor Yuan, then I wouldn’t have to rack my brains thinking about all this.

Wang Sandong raised her hand and made a grasping motion at her chin.

She grabbed empty air, only then realizing she wasn’t Mr. Yi and didn’t have a beard.

“Wang Tong.”

“Young Master, I’m here.”

“I’ll write a prescription. Go get some herbs and come back to brew some tea.”

My essence, qi, and spirit have been too poor lately, I need to recuperate properly.

This tea formula I’ve come up with is most suitable for my constitution.

If I keep drinking it for a year or two, my essence, qi, and spirit will definitely improve a lot.

Actually, the best way to recuperate isn’t drinking tea, it’s rest.

But I really don’t have time to rest.

I also need to sort out those chaotic memories.

Otherwise, the more people I kill, the more confused the memories become, and the harder they are to sort out.

Besides these things, there’s also the matter of the wedding.

My wedding on the sixth day of the month doesn’t need to happen anymore, but on the ninth, I have to attend Cui Jinnian’s wedding and prepare a wedding gift.

How about…

Give Cui Jinnian a prescription that all men like as a gift?

Hiss…

That gift seems pretty good.

“Wang Tong, don’t go yet.”

Having made up her mind, Wang Sandong called Wang Tong back. She quickly wrote out a prescription, took a gold leaf, and handed them both to him.

“Get these herbs together.”

When Wang Tong returned, brewed the tea, and she drank a cup, Wang Sandong immediately felt her whole body grow warm.

A gentle, warm current spread throughout her body, so comfortable it made her drowsy.

When Zheng Xiao arrived, Wang Sandong was already asleep.

Disturbed from her sweet dreams, Wang Sandong inevitably had a bit of “morning grumpiness.”

She rolled her eyes, yawned, and said, “Why are you here?”

“In a few days, I’m moving in,” Zheng Xiao said.

“Ah?”

Wang Sandong’s sleepiness vanished completely.

She sat up straight, looked at Zheng Xiao, and saw she wasn’t joking.

The corners of her mouth twitched twice.

“Wang Tong, get a seat.”

Zheng Xiao sat on the soft chair Wang Tong brought over and said, “Why are all the chairs in your house soft?”

“Soft chairs are comfortable.”

“True.”

Wang Sandong looked Zheng Xiao up and down and said, “Your complexion doesn’t look good.”

Now that her true self was no longer resisting those yang soul memories, many related things no longer required deliberate thought.

Plus, she had been using Mr. Yi’s memories to think about her own physical condition.

At this moment, Wang Sandong unconsciously began to think of herself as Mr. Yi.

Her thoughts and attention shifted to “diagnosing illness.”

With just one glance, Wang Sandong noticed Zheng Xiao’s poor complexion. Immediately after, she even thought of what prescription to write for her recuperation.

Such smooth train of thought gave Wang Sandong another idea: Was the memory confusion also due to resistance from her true self?

“I know,” Zheng Xiao said.

Wang Sandong was stunned for a moment, pulled her thoughts back, and casually asked, “How are things at home being handled?”

“My younger brother is taking care of it,” Zheng Xiao said.

“I heard that when trying to conceive, you need to adjust your mood. If you’re in a good mood, the child’s innate potential will be better. So… I came out to relax.”

The way she said that…

Forget it.

Not important.

Wang Sandong suddenly thought of a possibility.

After pondering for a moment, she said, “Sit a bit closer. Let me check your pulse.”

Zheng Xiao looked at Wang Sandong suspiciously.

“I am Mr. Yi’s closed-door disciple,” Wang Sandong said.

Zheng Xiao hesitated again, then moved her chair to sit beside Wang Sandong.

Wang Sandong reached out to take her pulse.

After a moment, she shook her head.

“About having a child… you should give up on that idea.”

Zheng Xiao frowned, stared at Wang Sandong, and didn’t say a word.

Wang Sandong explained, “Your family’s Noble Spirit Art is an extreme yang cultivation method, not suitable for women to practice. When women practice it, it leads to excessive yang energy. The higher your cultivation level, the harder it becomes to conceive.”

Hearing this, Zheng Xiao’s brow furrowed.

Then, with a seemingly calm expression, she forced a laugh and said, “Mr. Yi told you that, right?”

If you insist on putting it that way…

Sure.

Because it really was Mr. Yi who “told” her.

Wang Sandong muttered internally, but out loud she said, “You are one of the Nine Surnamed Kings, your strength is too great. Wanting to conceive a child… I’m afraid it’s very difficult.”

“Try more, maybe it’s possible.”

Try?

Try what?

No, the key is, with what?

Fingers?

Feeling extremely displeased, Wang Sandong said sarcastically, “With this body of mine, if we ‘try more,’ I’m afraid I’ll die.”

Not letting Zheng Xiao speak, Wang Sandong sighed and said earnestly, “Suddenly encountering a great calamity, suffering a mental shock, it’s inevitable to make some absurd decisions. You should calm down, don’t be impulsive.”

Zheng Xiao nodded.

“Your grandfather said the same thing.”

She looked at Wang Sandong again, her gaze scrutinizing.

“I consider my looks passable, and I’m one of the Nine Surnamed Kings. Many men in this world desire to marry me. Today, I want to marry you, yet you keep finding excuses to refuse. It really surprises me.”

Wang Sandong inwardly groaned.

The sense of achievement from having a Nine Surnamed King beneath her…

She wanted that too.

But…

“My heart already belongs to another,” Wang Sandong said with deep affection.

“Yuan Yuan is the love of my life. I will never betray her in this lifetime.”

Zheng Xiao withdrew her gaze, looked up at the sky, and stared blankly.

After a long time, Zheng Xiao suddenly asked, “What does it feel like to wait for death?”

This question stumped Wang Sandong.

For sixteen years, she had been waiting for death.

But no one had ever asked her that.

So, she had never thought about it.

Now, thinking about it, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Like Zheng Xiao, she looked up at the sky and replied, “It’s good to be alive.”

Zheng Xiao was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Wang Sandong.

Looking at her delicate, jade-like profile, at the gentleness in her eyes, Zheng Xiao pondered for a long time, then also smiled.

“Yes, it’s good to be alive.”

The closer you are to death, the more you can feel the beauty of being alive.

Zheng Xiao looked up at the sky again, watching a cloud drift farther and farther away, then new clouds arriving overhead.

Zheng Xiao said, “Cui Jinnian is your friend, right?”

“Yes.”

“He’s getting married on the ninth. We have to go to the banquet together.”

“Why?”

“The wedding date has passed, but due to special circumstances, the wedding wasn’t held, and the engagement wasn’t broken off…”

Zheng Xiao said.

“According to the Old Capital’s customs, we are husband and wife. Therefore, for red and white events, husband and wife should participate together.”

After a brief moment of stupor, Wang Sandong said, “Then let’s break off the engagement.”

“Not appropriate,” Zheng Xiao said.

“The Zheng Clan has just suffered a great calamity. If the Wang Family breaks off the engagement now, I’m afraid it will invite public criticism.”

Wang Sandong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She glanced up at Zheng Xiao and said, “Tell me, you, one of the illustrious Nine Surnamed Kings, why are you so determined to cling to and marry a dying person like me? Have all the men in the world died out? Or… are you still coveting my family’s ‘Water Essence’?”

Hearing this, Zheng Xiao hesitated slightly.

Between denial and honesty, she quickly made a choice.

She sighed and said, “My younger brother’s injuries haven’t fully healed yet. What if your prescription can’t cure his illness completely? I need to keep a backup plan.”

“Ah, how’s my brother-in-law doing?”

Wang Sandong’s tone carried concern.

“Old injuries not healed, new injuries added. Naturally, his condition isn’t good. But… he won’t die.”

As Zheng Xiao spoke, perhaps influenced by Wang Sandong’s attitude, she joked, “Our brother has a tough life.”

“It’s good that he won’t die.”

Wang Sandong sighed with emotion.

“If it doesn’t work, have our brother take a few more concubines, work the fields diligently. In a few years, the Zheng Clan will be prosperous with people again. If his body can’t handle it, I can write him a few prescriptions.”

“That’s a good method,” Zheng Xiao replied.

“I’ll talk to him about it later.”

After saying that, she sighed again.

“I have to go. There’s still a pile of things at home. Being an absentee landlord isn’t really appropriate either.”

She stood up and left directly.

Soon after leaving Anzhi Courtyard, Zheng Xiao’s mood slowly grew heavy again.

Then she began to mock herself.

How ridiculous.

To actually chat idly about this and that with a teenager in her teens.

They say “old children,” “old children.”

Could it be that as one gets older, one develops a childlike heart instead?

Leaving the Wang Mansion, she went straight home.

The closer she got to home, the heavier Zheng Xiao’s mood became.

The ruins that hadn’t been cleared yet, and the white funeral banners on them, were like a sharp knife, constantly gouging at Zheng Xiao’s heart.

She suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia.

Nostalgia for the comfort of looking at the sky with Wang Sandong.

Wang Sandong…

This name, really…

I remember her second brother who died young was called Wang Erdong.

The eldest son is called Wang Jinghong, a nice-sounding name with good meaning.

But the names of the second and third sons are so casual…

It feels like the difference between the protagonist and a cannon fodder character in a storybook.

Ahead was a fork in the road.

Going right leads to Fengyue Tower.

The Drunken Woman Yuan Yuan of Fengyue Tower is Wang Sandong’s love of this life.

Zheng Xiao was a bit curious: What kind of woman could make a dying person like Wang Sandong unable to forget her?

How about…

Go take a look?

Perhaps it wasn’t just out of curiosity, but also because she didn’t want to face her clan’s suffering.