All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 548: Heartache

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Her cousin’s skin was cold and fair, as white as Chinese white stone, making this redness especially eye-catching.

Yu Youyao’s heart tightened. Her cousin’s leg had already regained feeling. If Uncle Sun accidentally burned her cousin’s flesh, how painful would it be?!

With this in mind, she glanced at Uncle Sun resentfully.

Uncle Sun was old and experienced so he was more sensitive.

Uncle Sun sensed Yu Youyao’s gaze. She looked up and was a little confused, so he simply ignored her.

Yu Youyao couldn’t help but ask tactfully, “Uncle Sun, will the method to refine the pill…”

Before she could finish speaking, Uncle Sun realized what was going on. He glared at her with his beady eyes. ‘You, who are you looking down on? I’ve been practicing medicine for most of my life. How can I make such a mistake? You should stay aside so that you won’t be an eyesore.”

Yu Youyao pouted. She did not doubt Uncle Sun’s medical skills, but it was inevitable that a person would make mistakes. She was just asking a reasonable question!

Was it wrong to worry about her cousin?

Zhou Linghuai’s lips curled up. “After the medicinal pill was ignited, Uncle Sun has been guarding at the side and watching. Once the alchemy tablet is burned, the fire will be extinguished in time. It won’t really burn the flesh.”

With this explanation, Yu Youyao felt much more at ease.

Only then did she notice that her cousin was only wearing a pair of shorts. Yu Youyao was shocked again. She quickly darted her eyes and looked around the room. She lowered her head and stared at the tips of her shoes that were exposed outside her dress. Her ears were a little hot.

However, not long after, Yu Youyao recalled that she had caught a glimpse of her cousin’s thin figure just now. Her heart couldn’t help but ache.

Her cousin was sick and weak all year round, and he was tortured by his leg disease. He usually did not have a good appetite.

It wasn’t easy for him to recuperate for two to three years before she recovered a little. However, even so, her cousin still looked much thinner than ordinary people.

Yu Youyao looked up at her cousin again. Now, she suppressed her shyness and did not avoid her eyes.

Although her cousin was very thin, his body was long and slender, and his flesh was cold and white. He looked like a hard white stone, and his bones were rugged. He did not look like a sick young master, but like an isolated cliff that had been weathered by the wind, rain, snow, and frost.

He was firm and sharp.

That’s right!

How could her cousin be a weak scholar?

The torture of his illness had honed him to be indestructible.

His legs were not good enough for him to walk, so he was unwilling to be a piece of trash lying on the bed who only knew how to receive help.

Even though there were all kinds of inconveniences in his life, he gritted his teeth and endured them one by one.

He practiced his arm strength and waist strength every day. He used his waist arms to replace his legs so that he did not have to rely on others to live on his own.

Every day, he carved and exercised his hands and eyes. What he couldn’t do with his legs, he took another path and tried his best to do it with as flexible and agile hands as possible. He even did it better than everyone else.

Such a cousin was admirable.

But what he did would only make her heart ache uncontrollably. How could she be distant just because of the excuse of being wary of men and women?

Perhaps she was not a qualified young lady.

She yearned for the unrestrained life in the North that her cousin had mentioned and wanted to take a look herself.

She yearned to break free from the cage that imprisoned her and yearned for more freedom.

Perhaps she was born unorthodox.

In the first few years when Ms. Ye had just entered the residence, the classes she taught every day could not do without the various teachings of women. She did not like to listen to them, so she often used excuses to skip class. Even if she was punished, she gritted her teeth and admitted it.

She had known since she was young that these so-called teachings were a restraint on women.

She thought that by skipping class, she could escape.

It was only after being seriously ill and being slapped by Yu Zongzheng that she suddenly understood that the so-called teachings were just protective measures.

After learning it, she could protect herself.

She tried her best to appear gentle and magnanimous. Her words and actions were thorough and appropriate, and no one could find fault with her. However, her deviant ways were still deeply hidden.

Her cousin should know that he had taught her the Four Books and Five Classics, the Records of the Historian, and Zizhi Tongjian. He had never restricted her regarding what books she could and shouldn’t read.

Her cousin would even tell her about the local customs of various places. He had never thought that as a woman, she should stay obediently in the inner residence.

In her heart, her cousin did not only dote on her as her cousin.

He was also her confidant.

Uncle Sun snorted angrily. He pinched a slender golden needle and stabbed

Zhou Linghuai’s vital acupuncture points. A few of them were fatal acupuncture points.

Yu Youyao was shocked and panicked, but she did not dare to make a sound to disturb him. She did not even blink. It was not a bad idea to make a mistake, and her eyes were fixed on Uncle Sun’s every move.

Uncle Sun’s expression did not change. Although his hand was wrinkled, it was as stable as a rock.

Her cousin was also leaning against the couch as if he was fine. Clearly, he had been treated the same way for the previous three treatment sessions for 21 days. There shouldn’t be any problems.

Yu Youyao’s face turned a little pale. Only then did she realize that not only was the treatment of the internal acupuncture point painful, but it was also extremely dangerous.

If he had missed by a hair, he would have lost his life!

No wonder her cousin had never allowed her to be present. Even he and Uncle Sun were probably not 100% confident.

It was also after three treatments that her cousin’s health was stable and Uncle Sun became more confident. That was why her cousin agreed so easily and let her watch from the side.

After the acupuncture, Uncle Sun finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Yu Youyao handed him a gray handkerchief. “That’s it?”

“This is only the first step. Next, I have to use internal force to break through the acupuncture points.”

Uncle Sun took the handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. It wasn’t until the handkerchief was taken off and the gray color darkened that he realized in a daze that he had sweated a lot when he was performing the acupuncture just now.

He threw the handkerchief aside and twirled the ends of the needles one by one. Dozens of golden needles trembled in unison.

Yu Youyao also noticed that her cousin’s expression had gradually changed from calm to forbearance. Soon, his forehead was covered in a layer of sweat.

Yu Youyao immediately became nervous. “Uncle Sun, why are the golden needles trembling?

Uncle Sun was so tired that he panted. “By using the golden needles as a medium, you can use your Qi to attack the acupuncture points. That’s why it’s called Qi Breaking the Inner Acupuncture Point. Don’t worry. After three incense sticks of time, the golden needles won’t move anymore, and I can take them out.”

Yu Youyao handed Uncle Sun a cup of tea. Seeing that her cousin’s expression was getting worse, she was very worried. “But Cousin seems to…”

It was an extraordinary pain!

Previously, when her cousin’s leg disease acted up, it did not seem to be so unbearable.

Uncle Sun waved his hand and lowered his head to drink his tea.

The corners of Zhou Linghuai’s lips twitched slightly. “Don’t worry. The Qi rushing to the internal acupuncture points has stimulated the meridians in the legs. It will dissolve the blood clots and there will be a violent soreness and pain. I’ll bear with it for a while..”