Acupuncture + Massage = ???

Ryujin looked to the cause of the itch in his palms, and it was only then that he realized that he had totally forgotten about the Qi Stone.

He had been utterly focusing on fleeing for his life, not sure if the Winterhowler would chase him because of the stone or simply for revenge.

Moreover, the ringing noise the stone had been previously emitting had stopped, so he had totally forgotten about it for a moment.

Ryujin stopped running and began to stroll the remaining distance, using the ample time to get a closer look on the Qi Stone with his mental sense.

Upon shrouding the entire stone with his mental sense, the first thing Ryujin noticed was that the rough edges on the stone was gradually smoothening up, and it was his frozen blood that was itching him.

The surface was still rough, but now looked like a stone marble.

The ringing sound had also stopped for a while now, and whilst the quantity of the Qi within it was still the same, it had undergone a qualitative change.

Back when he saw it for the first time, the flow with which it was absorbing the atmospheric Qi had been moving like the last drop of coffee through a straw.

Now however, it had become steady, stealthily absorbing Qi with a regular pulse.

'Warning Luo Fei about Winterhowler should take priority.'

Ryujin thought to himself as he hid the Qi Stone within a pouch he hung around his neck.

By the time he arrived at Luo Fei's door, he had already straightened himself up and hid everything than needed hiding, and thus, he knocked.

Luo Fei let Ryujin in, before pouring him a cup of hot steaming tea.

With that, Ryujin began to explain his encounter and experience to her, describing the size and strength and bloodline talent of the Winterhowler in full details, leaving her utterly flabbergasted.

Of course, he never mentioned their fight.

Instead, Ryujin had simply claimed that he had fled as soon as their eyes met, and that he got away only thanks to his the movement technique he had gotten from his father; even going further to show her his tattered sleeves as proof.

"Good gods, kid." She exclaimed, still refusing to call him by his name.

"You have been really lucky it took it easy on you.

Had the Winterhowler decided to give you chase, we would definitely not be having this conversation.

Nonetheless, thanks for warning me first, instead of going to your parents." Luo Fei smiled as she ruffled his hair.

"How do you know I came here first?"

"Because if you didn't, your parents would have probably locked you up in your house, and one of them would have come here to give me a piece of their mind, before warning me about it, in your place."

Ryujin tensed at the thought. He had just dodged a bullet much scarier than any Winterhowler.

"You are right. Is better not to tell them, otherwise my hunting days may be over forever."

"Yeah. I suggest you taking the rest of the morning off. Make up and excuse for those sleeves and go home."

Luo Fei advised walked over the shed near her house where she kept her game maturating.

"Take these as a thank you for the heads up." She handed him a rabbit and a blinker, ready to be cooked.

"I was about to go in the forest, but I think I will follow your advice instead, and keep tanning the remaining pelts.

I'll go to hunting in the afternoon, when it should be safer."

Ryujin thanked Luo Fei with a bow.

He knew how precious meat was during this season, even for a huntress as good as Luo Fei; not to mention the fact that she had just saved him from a perpetual house arrests.

Days flowed past like the sand within an hourglass, and not long after, Ryujin turned five years old.

During the first few days of his birthday week, Ryujin made a very important discovery; he was finally able to use metavision to how to create a Qi Flow body imaging on others.

Furthermore, with his ability to parse the atmospheric Qi or even his own Vital Qi into another person's body, he could now slowly take control of their Qi Flow; urging it like its was his very own.

In a nutshell, this new ability gave Ryujin the precise diagnosis of a subject's physical condition; however, for now, the only way he could achieve such a result was to keep physical contact with the subject.

The moment he discovered this new ability, Ryujin immediately used it on Jada, and his findings were appalling.

Her body was full of the tar-like substance he had ejected from his own body a while ago; and for the lack of a better term, he had dubbed the substance, impurities.

Apparently, Jada's lungs were the cause of her illness, and despite the fact that she was now able to generate Vital Qi by herself, the solution only served to suppress the symptoms; not cure it.

Barely half of Jada's lungs were made up of healthy tissues; the rest appeared like a black-brown mass that actively produced impurities.

Over time these impurities would gradually corrupt the healthy tissues in her lungs and windpipe, making her cough first and fall ill afterwards.

One could say, it was her Vital Qi that was reducing this corruption rate, since the speed with which the impurities were being generated and undergoing their corruption process was more than the speed at which she generated Vital Qi

After giving it some thought, it didn't take long for Ryujin to find a solution that was much better than all his previous ones; however, it was one that warranted an embarrassing method.

Despite the fact that he was thousands of years old, mentally; Ryujin still found the idea of speaking about certain matters very much embarrassing.

Perhaps, this was because only a fraction of his soul was active; hence, causing him to act immature sometimes.

Or perhaps, it might be because people would look at him weirdly, his cousins most especially; after all, how can a five year old be speaking freely about a girl or lady's body?

Taking a few deep breaths, Ryujin calmed himself before calling Raja and Lin; after all, he would need the permission of Jada's father and the help of his mother to bear witness to the procedure.

He had to dumb down the procedure quite a lot to get them to understand what it was he was trying to do, and the possible positives of its success.

"Basically, I cannot cure Jada, not yet. But I have discovered a way that should make her feel very much better.

In the best-case scenario, she could even get rid of most of her symptoms entirely."

"And in the worst-case scenario?" Raja asked, his expression full of hope and worry.

"Worst case scenario, everything would remain just as it is; that much, I'm certain of. However, I would need you both to trust me on this."

Contrary to Ryujin's expectations, both adults did not make any objections or question.

Their trust in his mastery of Qi, human physiology, and even medicine was boundless; in fact, in their eyes, regardless of his insane mental prowess, he was still just a five-year-old monster, while Jada was barely ten.

She had yet to mature in every way, for them it was like yesterday when they would sometimes bathe together in the same wash tub.

---

The first phase of the procedure was the easiest.

Ryujin would take control of Jada's Qi flow by overloading her circulatory system with the atmospheric Qi; then he would forced the impurities out of her inner organs, and gather them just beneath her skin.

He had also one thought about helping her unlock her vessels, and that would have fixed the entire problem automatically; however, one must remember that not only does one need a body cultivation technique to find them in the first place.

Furthermore, even Ryujin had only managed to unlock his own vessels by accident, after he had pushed his body beyond its physical limits; and then again, there is also the possibility that node locations and vessel pathways were unique to each individual or sex.

Nonetheless, whenever Ryujin peeled off or directly cut off the corrupted tissues within Jada's lungs, she would spasm in pain; however, before the pain could get worse, Ryujin would use her Vital Qi to repair the damaged or missing tissues; even using his own Vital Qi sometimes.

Then when these corrupted tissues gather beneath Jada's skin, her body would heat up, almost as if she was suffering from high fever.

Then when these impurities are about to be ejected, Ryujin would demand to be blindfolded, whilst the adults witness the entire process themselves.

Though he would still get a mental image of Jada's system, they would only appear in an X-ray like manner, and thus, he was able to continue his procedure without making mistakes or desecrating the innocent girl's body.

Jada was still a kid after all, and no matter how mature she acted, Ryujin felt she might begin to harbor some suspicions over time, and that such suspicions might create a space between them, which in the worst case scenario, might continue to grow larger and larger if not addressed.

Though back on Earth; most especially in the middle ages, incestuous relationships were eerily common, Ryujin still wanted to avoid the slightest the idea of being thought of as a pervert.

The second and last phase required Jada to soak naked in the wash tub, that had been previously filled with hot water and soap.

Ryujin clearly remembered the stench the impurities gave off back when he had his breakthrough; and since ventilating the house was a no-no due to the harsh winter weather of the island, they had to make sure the odor was kept to the littlest minimum.

Moreover, Jada's condition usually worsened during these times, so cold was both hers and Ryujin's procedure's worst enemy.

However, Jada's pores weren't as loose as Ryujin's, and in fact, they could be said to be the tiniest of the entire family's.

Thus, Ryujin would have to let the hot water soften her skin, before giving her a thorough body massage that would gladly loosen these pores, and then force out the impurities through acupuncture.

The process was a arduous and difficult one, since it required Ryujin to expend his Vital Qi, Focus Qi, and even muscle control; after all, if he got too careless or became absentminded for even a second, his powerful physique might bruise or even break Jada.

After every single treatment session, Jada would always look like she just returned from a divine spa, while Ryujin would look like he just got back from mining coal or crude oil; drenched in sweat and out of breath.

"How do you feel?"

Jada inhaled and exhaled several successive deep breaths.

"I've never felt so good in like... ever!

Also, I always dreamt of having a winter bath, instead of having to resort to warm water-soaked towels.

Thanks, lil bro, you just made two of my wishes come true!" She tried to hug Ryujin, but the latter raised a finger in refusal.

"No, not now... not yet. I'm disgusting right now, so please don't ruin my hard work.

I need take a long bath first, eat some food after, recover my energy later, and then finally, rest for two hours minimum."

Ryujin explained as Jada and the two present adults nodded.

"Ryujin, dear, what was that thing you did with your thumbs?" Lin asked.

"Do you mean the..." Ryujin paused a little, realizing he had just created a technique he had yet to name.

Apparently, Ryujin had merged the perfect massaging technique with the perfect acupuncture procedure, creating something that even the Origin Codex had yet to name.

"You mean the Açu-massage?" He asked.

"Yes, that! It seemed so relaxing. Jada had fallen asleep many times during her treatment. Sure it must be pleasant." Lin's words were filled with expectation.

Ryujin was already on the verge of collapsing, so he had little to no time to spare some niceties.

"Are you implying that you would like an Acu-massage too?"

The trio responded with a simultaneous nod, and their hands joined in a silent plea.

"But... but..." Ryujin stuttered. "Both of you are..."