Chapter 10
After receiving Ji Chun’s notice, Lin Queli’s mind went blank.
Lin Queli had no other choice. He couldn’t even walk properly, so he could only crawl to the bathroom and douse himself with ice-cold water.
This was a case of desperate measures for a desperate illness.
But it actually worked.
After he finished and stumbled out of the room, the cold wind in the heavy snow blew on him. His undampened hair and exposed skin immediately formed a layer of frost. The cold made him shiver, forcing him to calm down.
His weakened body was hit by this shock, and any strange feelings or pain were suppressed by the cold. Lin Queli could only feel the cold now, shivering uncontrollably.
Lin Queli wrapped his coat tightly around himself and stumbled towards the Ice Cave Abode.
“Shizun…”
Seeing the person sitting on the stone platform as always, Lin Queli forced himself to cheer up and said with a smile, “Shizun has summoned this disciple late at night. Are there any orders?”
Helan Xue looked down. The sensation from the bracelet had indeed subsided.
His tone was flat as he said, “What were you doing just now?”
“Ah…?! N-nothing… sleeping?” Lin Queli gave a dry laugh and clapped his hands together. “Ah! And I was busy thinking about Shizun! I remember Shizun’s words at all times!”
Helan Xue frowned slightly. “Then you should remember that This Venerable has said that the disciples under my tutelage should be cautious in their words and actions, exercise self-restraint, and abide by etiquette, not speak nonsense.”
Lin Queli looked away.
He naturally understood what Helan Xue meant. It seemed his confession had indeed disgusted Helan Xue.
So Lin Queli acted even more coy. “Every word from this disciple is sincere, so it is naturally not nonsense. If Shizun doesn’t like it, then besides punishing this disciple, this disciple doesn’t know how to restrain himself.”
“…”
Helan Xue didn’t continue this topic, but just said, “The grand competition is less than a month away. You should focus more on cultivation, not on sleep and play.”
Lin Queli thought to himself, that translates to, how can you sleep at your age.
But it was good to come and cultivate. It would be a bit tiring, but with Helan Xue, this great Buddha, here, he wouldn’t get sick so easily.
Lin Queli nodded obediently. “How should this disciple cultivate? Please teach me, Shizun!”
Helan Xue fiddled with his prayer beads and said, “For a beginner cultivator like you, there are only two types of cultivation. One is to cultivate the mind, such as meditating to absorb the essence of heaven and earth. The other is to cultivate the body, such as practicing with a sword.”
“You’ve already learned to meditate.” Helan Xue handed a wooden sword to him. “Now go outside and swing the sword five hundred times, counting out loud. You must do this every day from now on.”
Helan Xue said coldly, “To burn off some energy.”
Lin Queli: “???”
Wait a minute.
How many??
Five hundred???
Was this Helan Xue’s tactful way of kicking him out?
【Host, the book says the Long Aotian swings his sword five thousand times a day. The Xianzun is already very kind to make you only swing it five hundred times.】
Lin Queli: “…”
You and your cultivators.
Lin Queli blinked. “If this disciple can’t swing the sword five hundred times, will Shizun punish me?”
Helan Xue played with his prayer beads and closed his eyes to rest, not looking at him. “You were so scared the other day. Now you seem to hope that This Venerable will punish you?”
“No, no…!” Lin Queli quickly said, “It’s just that if Shizun wants to punish me, this disciple will… ah, ptooey, willingly accept it.”
“This Venerable has no hobby of punishing you. You must not miss a single one of these five hundred swings.”
Lin Queli: “…”
Meaning, don’t even think about taking the shortcut of getting spanked with the ruler to escape training.
Lin Queli struggled, saying softly, “But this disciple’s body is frail, I’m not good at martial arts, and I have no foundation…”
Anyway, I’ll cheat with points in the grand competition, and even if I start swinging the sword five hundred times a day now, I’ll still be trash. I don’t want to kill myself over this every day.
Helan Xue said coldly, “If you can’t even hold a sword, how can you slay demons and exterminate evil for the common people?”
Lin Queli gave a dry laugh. “Even if this disciple holds a sword, I might not be able to save the common people and slay demons…”
Maybe I can be the first to kill myself so I don’t drag my senior martial brothers and Shizun down when they’re slaying demons.
Helan Xue: “…”
Lin Queli asked doubtfully, “And didn’t Shizun ask me to swing the sword to burn off energy?”
Why are you bringing up the banner of the common people now? Could it be a new reason to persuade me to practice the sword?
Helan Xue: “…”
Lin Queli: “Shizun…?”
Helan Xue… closed his eyes and entered deep meditation, ignoring him.
Helan Xue didn’t punish him or scold him, which made Lin Queli feel a little uneasy.
Lin Queli carefully probed, “Then… this disciple will go back?”
“…”
Still no reaction.
Lin Queli became even more anxious. Could he be angry?
No, it didn’t seem like anger. Could it be that he was greatly disappointed in him?
Lin Queli walked out of the cave in a daze and saw Ji Chun waiting outside.
He struggled for a long time before finally approaching.
“Brother Ji… um, do you know how to swing this sword?”
“Ah?”
Lin Queli took a deep breath, as if he had made a huge decision, and said with his head bowed, pitifully but firmly, “I-I have to swing the sword five hundred times.”
“Good.” Ji Chun said with relief, “Come, come, watch me demonstrate…”
A moment later.
Lin Queli stood under a tree outside the cave, huffing and puffing as he swung the sword according to the movements Ji Chun had taught him.
“One, two, three…”
…
“Eighty-one, eighty-two…”
Lin Queli’s voice grew softer, and his movements grew slower.
“One hundred and fifty-one, one hundred and fifty-two…”
On a cold day, Lin Queli was sweating profusely, his breathing becoming more and more rapid, his hands so stiff he could barely lift them.
Lin Queli panted heavily, a little shocked. How could this be? He knew he was trash, but he didn’t expect to be this trash?!
He wasn’t even halfway through, and he felt like his body was about to fall apart. Could it be because his body was in a bad condition now? Or was this movement actually very strenuous?
The originally light wooden sword began to feel as heavy as a thousand pounds. Lin Queli shook his head and tried to focus.
“Two hundred and five… two hundred and six…”
Lin Queli suddenly felt dizzy and staggered back two steps, almost falling.
【Host, are you okay?!】
“I can do it!! Let’s go!”
“Two hundred and seven! Two hundred and eight!”
Lin Queli swayed two more steps.
When Helan Xue came out, he saw Lin Queli performing a drunken fist in the snow.
Noticing the newcomer, Lin Queli squinted his eyes and tried to say, “Shi-Shizun? Ah, I’m fine, I can do it! I’ll continue right away—”
Thump—!
Lin Queli fell into the snow and completely fainted.
A moment later, in his daze, he felt himself being carried into the cave by Ji Chun.
—Heaven and earth as my witness, this time I really didn’t do it on purpose.
Then Lin Queli completely lost consciousness.
…
“Young Master Lin’s forehead is hot, it seems he has a fever.”
Inside the cave, Lin Queli lay unconscious on the stone platform where Helan Xue meditated. After checking his pulse for a while, Ji Chun said, “Hmm, his pulse is floating and tight. He has been invaded by wind and cold, and has caught a chill.”
Helan Xue was silent for a long time.
Ji Chun thought to himself, this is indeed… strange.
No one had gotten sick in the Myriad Sword Sect for a thousand years, and it was not common for cultivators to catch a cold and have a fever. He was curious what Lin Queli had done to make himself so sick in the spiritually rich Myriad Sword Mountain.
Helan Xue took a deep breath.
“…Delicate.”
Ji Chun sighed. “Young Master Lin is indeed like a child who hasn’t suffered much. Fortunately, this illness is not serious. This junior will transfer some true qi to Young Master Lin, and the fever will be gone after a night.”
Ji Chun placed two fingers on Lin Queli’s pulse and sent a steady stream of spiritual energy into his meridians.
After finishing, Ji Chun was considering whether to send Lin Queli back to his room when Lin Queli, whose body was gradually warming up, regained a sliver of consciousness.
Lin Queli didn’t wake up. He closed his eyes and dazedly grabbed the corner of Helan Xue’s clothes, murmuring, “Two hundred and eight, eight… nine… Shizun… bad…”
Helan Xue: “…”
Ji Chun was amused. He first carefully glanced at Helan Xue, then tentatively said, “I heard that Young Master Lin’s parents passed away early, and Immortal Lord Changming has to manage the entire clan, so Young Master Lin naturally didn’t have any elders to take care of him. Now that he finally has Shizun to rely on, he probably can’t help but act like a child. It’s normal to be a little clingy when sick… If Young Master Lin knew that the Xianzun was with him while he was sick, he would probably be very happy…”
Seeing that Helan Xue didn’t comment, Ji Chun breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left, thinking that Young Master Lin would have to thank him when he woke up.
After Ji Chun left, only Helan Xue, who was meditating, and Lin Queli, who was curled up in a ball, sleeping beside Helan Xue and clinging to his robes, were left in the cave.
Lin Queli was not peaceful in his sleep, mumbling something he didn’t know, and from time to time he was still counting, but the numbers were completely messed up.
However, unlike what Ji Chun had said, the deeper the night, the worse Lin Queli’s condition became.
“Hot…”
Lin Queli’s voice was very soft, hoarse and uncomfortable.
This was indeed not right. Lin Queli had caught a cold, and Ji Chun had even transferred true qi to him. But when Helan Xue looked down, he saw that Lin Queli’s exposed skin was flushed red, and his whole body was scalding hot, as if he was so hot he could barely breathe.
This situation didn’t look like he was sick, but rather like he was in mortal danger. Lin Queli was so uncomfortable that his veins were bulging. As he tossed and turned, his dark hair came loose, and a few strands stuck to his sweaty cheeks.
Cultivators of the Dao of Cangsheng more or less knew some medical skills. Helan Xue checked Lin Queli’s spiritual veins and frowned slightly.
Lin Queli’s spiritual energy was already strange. Sometimes it was abundant and powerful, but his body was very weak. Now, there was a sudden surge of fiery energy in his body, as if it was rampaging around because it had not been soothed, forcing its owner to do something, or else it would tear the body apart.
It was a little strange.
