Lu Zheng nodded, responding aloud, thinking to himself that he’d cast a Nightmare Curse on Liu Yifan, along with a suggestion in his dreams. Let’s see how long he could hold out before returning.
Over the next few days, Lu Zheng treated Lin Wan with acupuncture in the mornings, then returned to the ancient world in the afternoons to discuss medicine with Liu Qingyan.
After Liu Qingyan finished reading a few concise medical texts, Lu Zheng brought her two hefty tomes: *Thousand Golden Prescriptions* and *Compendium of Materia Medica*.
Liu Qingyan was ecstatic, displaying an enthusiasm Lu Zheng could scarcely imagine.
To Lu Zheng, it felt like a knowledge-hungry village child stepping into the national library.
Additionally, a few days after Duan Changzai returned to Yizhou Prefecture, an order came from the prefecture office, instructing the county yamen to hire craftsmen to build a Peach Blossom Shrine at Peach Blossom Ridge to honor the Peach Blossom Fairy.
The county’s overseer was Clerk Li, who, along with Constable Liu, visited Lu Zheng’s home that day to consult on how the shrine should be constructed.
As prominent figures in the county, they were privy to some confidential matters. Moreover, Constable Liu had assisted on the night the scorpion demon was slain, handling the aftermath.
Lu Zheng’s performance had been observed closely, and frankly, it outshone even Daoist Yuanjing’s.
The prefecture’s order was clearly related to that night, so Constable Liu, with keen insight, brought Clerk Li to pay a visit.
Lu Zheng nodded, went to his study, and returned with a scroll of painting and a piece of calligraphy.
“The statue of the Peach Blossom Fairy in the shrine should be modeled after this portrait. Also, erect a stele in front of the shrine inscribed with this poem.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Clerk Li nodded repeatedly, taking the painting and calligraphy. He exchanged a look with Constable Liu, thinking they’d made the right call.
…
Acupuncture, studying medicine, practicing cultivation by day, and visiting the peach grove by night.
Days passed, and Lu Zheng consumed another seventeen strands of fate light, significantly boosting his cultivation and foundation.
One day, entering Lin Wan’s home, he found her walking in the living room, fully recovered.
“Lu Zheng!”
“Lin Wan.”
“Today’s the last session?”
Lu Zheng nodded with a smile, “Actually, you were fully recovered three days ago. These past three days were just reinforcement.”
“Really?” Lin Wan was thrilled yet incredulous. “I’m all better?”
“What, want more needles?”
“If you’re the one needling, I’m game!” Lin Wan declared.
“Alright, lie down.”
“Okay!”
In the bedroom, Lin Wan turned away from Lu Zheng, deftly removed her top, and lay face-down on the bed.
Lu Zheng took out the acupuncture needles and began inserting them along her spine and lumbar region.
“Auntie’s not back yet?”
“No, probably a few more days,” Lin Wan shook her head.
Lin’s mother had to return to her hometown two days ago to handle some work-related matters.
It wasn’t urgent, and if Lin Wan were still bedridden, her mother wouldn’t have left.
But a week ago, Lin Wan had become almost fully mobile, so her mother left with peace of mind.
…
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan chatted casually, and an hour passed quickly.
Lu Zheng removed the needles one by one, placing them in the disposal box.
“All done, get up.”
Lu Zheng turned back to see Lin Wan still lying on the bed.
“Finished!”
“All better?” Lin Wan asked.
“All better!”
“No issues with any movement?” she asked again.
Lu Zheng smirked, “If you’d trained in dance, you could do a backbend fold right now, no problem.”
Lin Wan nodded, got up, and turned around.
“Holy—!” Lu Zheng jumped. “You didn’t—”
Lin Wan stepped forward, grabbed his collar, flung him onto the bed, and straddled him.
…
“I’m getting up!” Lu Zheng tried to rise.
“No way!” Lin Wan pushed him back down.
…
Two hours later.
Lu Zheng, “Keep going.”
Lin Wan, “Stop it, I can’t move~”
…
“That assassin was right. You definitely have a secret,” Lin Wan said softly.
Lu Zheng blinked, staying silent.
Lin Wan wasn’t foolish. She’d thoroughly inquired about her condition at the hospital.
Forget the severed nerves—her fractured lumbar vertebrae alone couldn’t have healed fully in just over a month.
And now? Two hours!
Could a paraplegic do that?
Could a self-taught TCM novice achieve this?
No wonder Lu Zheng told her not to tell others, citing fears of failure and embarrassment. The real concern was healing too quickly.
Lin Wan knew Lu Zheng could have stretched the treatment to six months or a year to avoid suspicion. He didn’t, clearly to spare her suffering.
With such a glaring clue, his earlier excuses about fearing death and stumbling into martial arts fell apart.
Lin Wan couldn’t help but thump his chest. “You jerk!”
“I’ll have to hide at home for two months before showing my face.”
Her words made her stance clear.
Lu Zheng already knew her position when she entrusted herself to him before voicing her suspicions.
“You keep your secrets. I won’t ask,” Lin Wan said, resting on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I trust you. You’re a good person.”
Handing out a good guy card after all this was a bit late…
“Relax, I’m just a law-abiding citizen. What could I do?” Lu Zheng laughed, confident that none of his methods broke the law.
Lu Zheng was happy. He trusted Lin Wan, and she trusted him. They guarded each other’s boundaries and respected each other’s feelings.
That’s what made it lasting.
Lin Wan smiled, “If I can’t crack a case in the future, can I come to you?”
She hadn’t forgotten how Lu Zheng found the target hotel on the day of the incident.
“Wow, paying a deposit first and now demanding service?”
Lin Wan wiggled her hips. “Can you handle it?”
“Ow—slow down, you’ll break it,” Lu Zheng said, steadying her waist. “Problem is, I don’t solve cases. I just find people.”
“What do you mean?”
Lu Zheng said calmly, “Give me an object, and I can find whoever touched it.”
Lin Wan blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“Just the object? No fingerprints, no blood, no sweat, no skin cells?”
“If you’ve got those, why would you need me?”
Lin Wan was stunned. “How’s that possible? How do you do it? Is it through the qi sense you cultivated?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “You said you wouldn’t ask.”
Lin Wan glared, gritted her teeth, gave his chest a light nip, and then truly stopped asking.
She lay quietly for a while.
Then she looked up suddenly. “Did you do something to Liu Yifan?”
Lu Zheng immediately denied it. “Nope, wasn’t me, don’t talk nonsense!”
“Tch—”
Lin Wan shot him a sidelong glance, wiggled her body, and said, “Keep going!”
