Qi Jingyi followed Qi Jingrong’s gaze, and his heart sank instantly. Then he nudged him, "Don’t say I didn’t warn you, stay away from her."
Qi Jingrong came to his senses, his face tinted with slight embarrassment, but he quickly laughed, "Eighth Brother is joking, our thoughts are probably the same, right? So it’s mutual..."
Qi Jingyi frowned but said no more.
"It’s time for that Gu kid to receive his acupuncture," Dao Xuzi said, waving his hand, then glanced at the others, "You all should go do what you need to do."
Only then did Yang Ruxin realize that they had been discovered being affectionate because the two of them had not considered the time and had lingered too long. Dao Xuzi had mentioned the schedule during breakfast, and now the time had come. She stuck out her tongue and then pushed Gu Qingheng into the house.
Qi Jingrong wanted to follow them inside but was blocked by Qi Jingyi.
"Eighth Brother, I can go in and help," Qi Jingrong blinked rapidly.
"No need," Qi Jingyi smiled. "The senior and Xinxin will take care of him." Although he too had feelings for Xinxin, he would not do anything inappropriate, which was why Gu Qingheng trusted him. However, he couldn’t guarantee that his tenth brother wouldn’t act foolishly. Despite being from different camps, they were both from the royal family, and he didn’t want Gu Qingheng to feel repulsed by the royal family members.
"Alright then." Qi Jingrong could only nod helplessly before turning and sitting down in the courtyard.
Qi Jingyi gave Weng Ji a meaningful look and then left, fanning himself.
"Eighth Brother, where are you going?" Qi Jingrong hurriedly followed when he saw him leave.
"I’m going to check on the fields, of course," Qi Jingyi smiled, "Now that we’re in the countryside, shouldn’t I observe the local customs and assess the hardships of the people?"
"I’ll join you," Qi Jingrong thought with disdain. He had been here many times; he was only now thinking of observing the locals? He didn’t buy it and knew Qi Jingyi must be up to something else. He had to follow.
"Suit yourself," Qi Jingyi walked out the door with a smile.
Meanwhile, Weng Ji stood at the threshold holding the treasure sword, his posture making it clear he wouldn’t let anyone enter.
Inside the house, Gu Qingheng had already been stripped of his clothes and was lying on the kang bed.
This was the second time Dao Xuzi had treated Gu Qingheng with acupuncture, for the needling technique was so powerful that it required intervals between treatments.
"Girl, watch carefully," Dao Xuzi took out his personal needle pack, which he always carried with him. Upon opening it, one side contained Golden Needles and the other Silver Needles of various sizes, roughly a hundred in total.
"You’ve called me Master, so naturally, I should teach you something." Dao Xuzi pointed at his needle pack with a respectful and serious expression, "This set of Needling Technique and the needles are handed down from our ancestors, and they’ve been passed down for hundreds of years. It’s called the ’Unity Needling Technique,’ deriving from the concept of ’ninety-nine returning to one.’ Initially, there were indeed ninety-nine needles: thirty-six Golden Needles and forty-five Silver Needles. But after successive ancestors’ continuous refinement and innovation, there are now a total of one hundred and eight needles, each of gold and silver numbering fifty-four, in line with the one hundred and eight major acupoints of the human body..." As he spoke, Dao Xuzi began inserting needles starting from the Baihui Acupoint on the head, proceeding down Gu Qingheng’s body in sequence, and finishing at the Yongquan Acupoint on the sole of the foot. He explained in detail which acupoints required Golden Needles and which required Silver Needles. He also demonstrated the technique, and after wiping the sweat from his forehead, he concluded, "It took me three full years to learn this Needling Technique. Whether you can master it depends on your fate..."