FRGNM -Chapter 174 The Foolish Wolf

Nodding slightly, Luo Mingyu spread his right hand. Purple Dou Qi surged outward, forming a barrier around them. No matter how much noise the humans outside made, it would not affect the people within.

“This is bad…” Ling Ruoxi pressed one hand against Yu Chou’s pulse and couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath.

Raising an eyebrow, Luo Mingyu looked at her without speaking.

Ling Ruoxi’s expression grew even heavier. She even inserted silver needles into Yu Chou’s spine before lowering her voice. “Luo Mingyu, can you transfer some of your Dou Qi to him? His condition is very serious.”

“Hm? He just missed soaking in the medicinal bath for a short while. How bad could it be?” Luo Mingyu asked.

Shaking her head, Ling Ruoxi forced a bitter smile. “You still don’t understand? Time on Death Island is completely different from time here! It may not affect us, but it has a huge impact on Yu Chou!”

“You mean…?” A sharp glint flashed in Luo Mingyu’s eyes. One day here equaled one year on Death Island. Had several days here already meant several years for him?

Ling Ruoxi nodded. “That’s right. His time follows Death Island’s flow. And he’s a cursed man—someone who can never leave Death Island. Once he does, his life begins to end. At most, he has one month. Whether or not he returns, he’ll still die.”

All her efforts now could only prolong his life; they could not cure him completely. This was the most heartbreaking moment Ling Ruoxi had experienced in all these years.

She knew he would die, that he would leave this world—yet there was nothing she could do. She didn’t even know how to sever his connection to the formation and restore his vitality.

His body was rotting, his internal organs failing—clear signs of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man. The man before her was already close to his final burst of life. It was impossible for him to return to how he once was. Impossible…

“So that’s how it is…” Luo Mingyu finally understood. He quickly pressed his palm against Yu Chou’s back, circulating his Dou Qi.

But the moment his Dou Qi entered Yu Chou’s body, it was seized violently—as if Yu Chou’s body were a ferocious beast that had starved for ten thousand years, madly devouring it.

Even Luo Mingyu couldn’t control the flow anymore! If this continued, all of his Dou Qi would be drained!

Damn it—how could he have overlooked this?!

“I’ll help too,” Ling Ruoxi said softly. Her slender fingers pressed against Luo Mingyu’s wrist as a gentle stream of Dou Qi entered Yu Chou’s body. Her face changed instantly.

That body was like a raging tornado, devouring their Dou Qi without mercy. They couldn’t pull away at all.

This was bad!

The necklace at her neck flared with light. The Dou Qi within the Hetian jade drained rapidly, completely unstoppable. No—stop, stop now!

Ling Ruoxi’s pupils shrank. She knew how important the Hetian jade was to her. Without it, she would revert to her former self—a useless person who couldn’t even use Dou Qi in battle.

“Cough…” Yu Chou weakly opened his eyes and looked at the two behind him. Realizing what was happening, he forcibly cut off the intake of Dou Qi.

Both Luo Mingyu and Ling Ruoxi were thrown backward. Luo Mingyu swiftly wrapped an arm around Ling Ruoxi’s waist to keep her from falling.

“Cough, cough… damn…” Ling Ruoxi exhaled deeply, clutching her chest. Thank goodness Yu Chou woke up—otherwise she would have been completely drained.

The man slumped over the tub was extremely weak. His unfocused eyes looked at Ling Ruoxi. “I’m sorry… I…”

“Don’t talk yet. Regulate your breathing and circulate your own Dou Qi while combining it with the medicinal bath,” Ling Ruoxi said quickly, stepping aside and examining the water that hadn’t yet changed color, frowning slightly.

Yu Chou nodded and struggled to sit upright. While unconscious, his vitality had nearly stopped, and even his Dou Qi had weakened significantly.

As he circulated his Dou Qi in the medicinal bath, Yu Chou noticed it recovered faster than usual. Was it because of the medicine?

Watching him regulate his breathing, Luo Mingyu finally let out a sigh of relief. If Yu Chou hadn’t stopped in time, the Nine Nether Qi within his own body would have been completely exposed, his vital energy leaking out. At that point, the old monsters of Duanyun Kingdom and the people of Qiongyu Immortal Island would have immediately sensed his location.

What shocked him even more was this—his own Dou Qi was nearly exhausted, yet Ling Ruoxi seemed mostly fine. She couldn’t use Dou Qi herself and relied entirely on the Hetian jade. How much energy was still left inside it now?

“You…” Luo Mingyu finally spoke, meeting her clear eyes. “Can your Hetian jade be replenished with Dou Qi?”

“No.” Ling Ruoxi shook her head with a bitter smile. “It formed naturally and contains its own spiritual energy. I only convert that energy into Dou Qi. Once it’s depleted, I have to find another piece of Hetian jade. But in all these years… I’ve only found this one.”

How could another be obtained so easily?

Luo Mingyu knew how rare Hetian jade was. There was no other choice now—only to take things one step at a time. How long the jade could last, even he couldn’t be sure. Fortunately, when its spiritual energy neared exhaustion, the jade would turn nearly transparent. The jade at Ling Ruoxi’s neck was still milky white—its energy should still be abundant for now.

“Enough talk. Once he finishes the medicinal bath, acupuncture must begin immediately. Not a moment can be wasted!” Ling Ruoxi snorted lightly, flicking her hand open. A long roll of silver needles spread across the table. She casually picked one up and twirled it, then glanced at her wrist.

Looks like this right hand wouldn’t be usable for at least three days.

As clean water gradually turned blood-red—ten times in succession—no one knew how much blood had been lost. The man soaking in the tub was already barely alive, completely unconscious.

After prolonged soaking, his body had turned an unnatural pale white. The black scale-like marks still covered his skin, like fish scales spreading across his entire body.

“Alright, get him out,” Ling Ruoxi said coldly. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes as her index and middle fingers lifted slightly, silver light bursting forth.

Luo Mingyu moved just as fast. With a wave of his hand, purple Dou Qi lifted Yu Chou from the tub and placed him flat on the bed. Still uneasy, the petty man even pulled a blanket over Yu Chou’s vital areas.

“What are you doing? I’m not needling there—no need to be so nervous,” Ling Ruoxi said, both amused and exasperated. There was no time to explain.

Pulling the blanket aside, she saw only a patient before her—male or female made no difference. In that instant, her gaze changed, as though flames burned within her eyes.

The man standing with arms crossed froze slightly, looking at Ling Ruoxi in surprise. He hadn’t noticed before—but when she became serious, she possessed a completely different kind of charm.

Swish!

The silver needles in her hands flicked downward. Ling Ruoxi bent forward sharply, her body nearly at a ninety-degree angle. Her hands moved like lightning—only afterimages remained.

At the same time, red points rapidly appeared where the needles pierced Yu Chou’s body. Purple Dou Qi surfaced at the skin, and just as bright blood emerged, it instantly凝固ed.

Even Luo Mingyu couldn’t help sucking in a breath.

Could this be—

The Poison Scripture!

Only techniques recorded in the legendary Poison Scripture could accomplish this—needling every acupoint in the human body within the time it takes a stick of incense to burn. It had to be done in one continuous flow. If the incense burned out before completion, the patient would die.

Like a shadowless hand, Ling Ruoxi shifted positions rapidly, silver needles falling one after another. Red points blossomed across Yu Chou’s body, followed instantly by flashes of purple Dou Qi. In the blink of an eye, his upper body was covered in needle marks.

Her hands moved swiftly. Sweat seeped from her skin as she flicked her wrists—two silver needles pierced Yu Chou’s Baihui point, another into his Tanzhong point. Her movements were smooth and flowing, like drifting clouds.

In an instant, two more needles pierced the soles of his feet.

She withdrew the needles from the jar, flipped Yu Chou over, and several more needles appeared in her hand. With a single motion, they all fell at once. The long roll of silver needles was now empty—every one embedded in Yu Chou’s back.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the last of the incense burn away.

Exactly one stick of incense.

Perfectly completed.

“Phew…” Ling Ruoxi let out a long breath and looked down at her trembling right hand. It felt as if she had just lifted a hundred-pound boulder—aching and numb.

Looks like this hand really wouldn’t be usable for a while.

“The needles on his back, feet, and Baihui point can be removed after half an hour. I’ve cleared his meridians and stimulated his internal organs with the needles. It should extend his life for some time,” Ling Ruoxi said calmly, turning her head and giving a small nod.

The man beside her raised an eyebrow and wrapped an arm around her slender waist, smiling lightly. “And you? Is it fine to injure yourself just to save him?”

Holding her small hand, Luo Mingyu lowered his head and kissed her slender fingers. Purple Dou Qi flowed into her body—but Ling Ruoxi, already exhausted, noticed nothing unusual.

He was being unusually gentle—almost unlike his former self.

Ling Ruoxi smiled awkwardly and clenched her right hand. “It’s fine. I’ll recover after two days of rest. But for Yu Chou… this is important, isn’t it?”

“You…” Luo Mingyu tapped her forehead lightly and naturally withdrew his hand from her waist. “Rest properly. That foolish wolf should be back by now…”

“What did you say?! Who are you calling a foolish wolf?! You think everyone’s an idiot compared to you?!”

A man suddenly burst in. Once dressed in pristine white robes, he was now in tatters, clearly clawed by something. Even his handsome hairstyle looked like a wasp’s nest.