Chapter 1293 - 1288: Remolding the Meridians
"Their family said in ten days there would be a wedding ceremony. After that, they would release my mother; otherwise, I'd have to collect her corpse." Luo Tian hung his head dejectedly, his face turning a livid shade.
Luo Xiaojuan stomped her feet in frustration. Despite feeling miserable, neither she nor her brother knew martial arts, so going there would be futile. At this point, they had no choice but to comply. Luo Meimei was a shrew to begin with, and who knows what chaos she'd bring once married into the family!
The atmosphere at home suddenly turned cold and gloomy. Lin Chuan could fully understand the siblings' feelings, so he did not say much. After all, they were in far worse trouble than he was.
At night, the Luo siblings went to rest with faces full of frustration, but Lin Chuan couldn't find sleep. The moonlight gradually streamed through the window lattice onto his body. Soon, he found it gathering on his legs, and the places where the bones had fractured started feeling a tingling numbness, itch spreading to the core that made him desperately want to scratch.
This was still visible to Lin Chuan, but elsewhere, where he couldn't see, the moonlight gathered around his head, emitting a faint white glow in the darkness.
"Who am I? Why am I here? Who pushed me off the cliff?" A series of questions hovered in Lin Chuan's mind, making his complexion paler. Finally, a miserable cry escaped his mouth, and everything went black as he fainted.
When he woke, two days had already passed. Lin Chuan opened his eyes, and the glaring light gave him a slight headache as fragments of information raced through his mind.
"I'm Lin Chuan; I ended up here entirely because I was harmed by that woman Lin Xiaoyun." Lin Chuan sighed softly, surprised at how quickly his memory returned. Looking at his stiff, immobile legs, his expression grew even more disheartening.
At this moment, the door opened, and Luo Tian walked in with a bowl of medicinal soup.
"Brother, time for your medicine," Luo Tian placed it on the table and looked up, surprised, shouting, "You're awake! When did you wake up? How are you feeling? Is there any discomfort?"
Lin Chuan smiled faintly: "Luo Tian, I just woke up. I'm feeling much better now. By the way, I know who I am. My name is Lin Chuan. Don't worry, I will help you resolve your mother's issue, but you must wait until my leg heals."
Upon hearing Lin Chuan's words, Luo Tian was so overjoyed he nearly cried: "That's wonderful! But the matter with Mother isn't something Brother needs to worry about. It's a Luo family matter that I must solve myself; otherwise, what kind of man am I?"
Lin Chuan, hearing Luo Tian speak like this, suddenly felt he wasn't entirely useless. At least he understood the responsibilities of being a man, so he laughed and said, "Since you want to handle it yourself, fine. I'll teach you a sort of fast Cultivation Technique. It can turn you into a martial arts expert in a month, but you need to sacrifice much. You won't become a supreme master; your prospects might be limited to this."
Luo Tian abruptly knelt, expressing thanks: "Really, thank you, Luo Tian. Even if this means I'll die soon, I'll willingly do it. Mother said I'm too old to achieve much; if you have a method, Luo Tian will die without regret."
Lin Chuan quickly moved to help him up, saying: "Don't say that. I can only help you this much. Although once I recover, I can further assist you, I can't support you forever. Eventually, you have to face it yourself. Do you understand?"
Luo Tian nodded solemnly.
Fortunately, the wedding was scheduled for ten days later, giving Lin Chuan and Luo Tian ten days to make use of. Lin Chuan's method was nothing but placing someone in a perilous situation to spur growth.
Human veins are incredibly complex. Lin Chuan's Cultivation Technique was somewhat unorthodox; as long as he had breath within him, he could automatically absorb Spiritual Energy and cultivate. Yet, only he could use this method—it couldn't be taught to Luo Tian, and how he learned it, he himself didn't know. Hence, there was only one other option: breaking down the body's meridians and reconstructing them.
Simply put, it meant breaking all of Luo Tian's meridians, and allowing him to use his own strength to reconstruct them, while simultaneously unlocking all 108 acupuncture points in his body. This way, Luo Tian could become a martial arts expert overnight. With time for consolidation and participation in actual combat, he could become a bona fide martial artist.
Of course, his level would never advance beyond the moment Lin Chuan guided him—forever bounded. Despite this limitation, he'd rise to rank among the elite in the current martial world, at least that "break intestines" would be insignificant.
Luo Xiaojuan heard that Lin Chuan would teach her brother martial arts and clamored to learn too, but Luo Tian shook his head: "Sister, I've never fulfilled a brother's duty. It's time for me to shoulder the responsibilities of a brother and a son. My dear sister, I want you to grow up carefree and marry well. Don't worry! Brother is here for everything."
Luo Xiaojuan, hearing this, burst into tears: "Brother, you've finally become like a brother. Mother and I have waited too long for this day."
Luo Tian also shed joyful tears. At that moment, he resolved firmly to persist no matter what, ensuring his sister wouldn't be disappointed, and wouldn't let the benefactor's efforts be in vain.
Lin Chuan still couldn't move, so he was unable to use martial arts. However, he described the Spiritual Power circulation path to Luo Tian and infused a trace of Spiritual Power within him, helping him understand the flow of Spiritual Energy.
Luo Tian quickly grasped everything, despite his advanced age, and Lin Chuan even entertained the idea of accepting him as a disciple.
Time flowed swiftly like sand through fingers, and soon it was the day of Luo Tian and Luo Meimei's wedding. Yet Luo Tian hadn't returned, and Luo Xiaojuan showed no worry. She quietly prepared everything needed for her brother's marriage, even preparing clothes for her mother and herself. Though not entirely celebratory red, they were clean and tidy.
The day of the grand wedding finally arrived. Luo Xiaojuan changed into clean clothes and sat quietly in the room, her expression calm and composed, not the slightest hint of panic, instead with a serene smile.
"Father, your daughter is coming to find you." Luo Xiaojuan glanced at her father's memorial tablet not far away, a faint smile on her face.
After waiting for about an hour, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Luo Meimei and her brother Luo Yaofeng rushed in.
"Luo Xiaojuan, where is your brother? Today is our wedding day, where is he?" Luo Meimei had waited at home all morning, but there was no sign of Luo Tian coming to greet her. At this point, her subordinates said that Luo Tian hadn't been seen for days, and might have escaped. Luo Meimei immediately flew into a rage and dragged her brother over, demanding answers.
Luo Xiaojuan looked at her coldly: "Why should I tell you where my brother has gone?"
"Ridiculous, do you not care about your mother?" Luo Meimei snorted coldly, then waved her hand, and Mu Niangping was pushed in, tied up tightly.
Seeing this, Luo Xiaojuan turned pale and looked at her mother. Her mother had lost weight and looked much more haggard, her eyes sunken, her dark circles showing that she hadn't rested well in a long time.
"Mother, I'm sorry, I sent brother away." Luo Xiaojuan let out a bleak smile.
Mu Niangping looked at her daughter with approval: "Juan-er did the right thing. I have said, even if I, Mu Niangping, die, Luo Meimei will not become part of our family."
"Wretched woman," Luo Meimei shouted angrily and turned to slap Mu Niangping.
The slap was quite heavy, and Mu Niangping's mouth immediately bled bright red.
"Tell me, where did Luo Tian go? If you don't, I'll kill your mother!" Luo Meimei drew a sword from her waist and placed it on Mu Niangping's neck.
Luo Xiaojuan glared at her coldly and turned her head away, ignoring her.
"Speak, if you don't, I'll really kill her." Luo Meimei was about to lose her mind with anger when Luo Yaofeng rushed over from the side.
"Sister, you can't kill her. If you do, even if Luo Tian returns, he won't want you anymore."
"Then what should we do?" Luo Meimei stomped her foot in frustration, looking at her brother.
"How about this, you give Luo Xiaojuan to brother. If she doesn't reveal Luo Tian's whereabouts, brother will take her, and do it in front of her mother. I don't believe any mother could bear to watch her daughter being humiliated."
Luo Meimei was momentarily stunned, but quickly understood: "Fine, let's do as brother says."
Upon hearing this, Luo Xiaojuan and Mu Niangping turned even paler. Luo Xiaojuan shouted angrily, "Luo Meimei, you vicious woman, you actually thought of such a malicious way to torment me. I tell you, even if I, Luo Xiaojuan, die, I will never reveal where your brother is, so you might as well give up!"
Luo Xiaojuan's furious outburst made Luo Meimei even more furious. She simply turned away, "Brother, go ahead. I don't believe it. If one person isn't enough, I'll arrange for more people to come. Let's see if she still won't talk then."
Luo Xiaojuan, full of despair, pulled a dagger from somewhere, pointed the tip at her own chest, and shouted, "Mother, your daughter is leaving first."
As soon as she finished speaking, she fiercely stabbed the knife towards her chest. Mu Niangping's face was calm, her eyes filled with admiration, yet she thought, "Daughter, go slowly, mother will follow soon."
Luo Yaofeng was shocked and rushed forward like a madman, trying to snatch the dagger from Luo Xiaojuan's hand. At that moment, a cold light shot in from outside the door, hitting the dagger in Luo Xiaojuan's hand before Luo Yaofeng could reach her, while also sweeping past Luo Yaofeng and hitting a critical part of his body.
Luo Yaofeng cried out and fell to the ground, clutching his male organ in agony and rolling around.
"Oh no, brother." Luo Meimei was shocked, turning her head to look outside. The door slowly opened, and Luo Tian, clad in white, walked in from outside. Each step he took radiated a chilling murderous aura. Around him, spiritual energy formed and swirled on its own, with the sound of the wind howling by.
Luo Xiaojuan finally breathed a sigh of relief at this sight.