"Time's up..."
Wan Yunting checked the time. It had been a little over forty minutes, so he went to the bedside and removed the silver needles from Liang Youle.
Chen Qiuyun, now feeling better, stood up and asked him, "How do you plan to deal with me now?"
Wan Yunting turned his head, glanced at her, and chuckled, "How do you want me to deal with you?"
Chen Qiuyun's expression was blank, with a look of indifference. "As you wish."
Wan Yunting smiled and continued to remove the needles from the child, saying, "I'm quite curious. Aren't you Sima Boyong's person? Why did he still give you the Seven-Day Poison to control you? Doesn't he trust you?"
Thinking of the past decade spent by Sima Boyong's side, a cold glint appeared under Chen Qiuyun's phoenix eyes. She said, "He doesn't even trust his own son, how could he trust me!"
Wan Yunting turned and looked at her. "Then what's your relationship with him?"
Chen Qiuyun calmly replied, "A mistress, I suppose!"
Wan Yunting's expression froze. He glanced at her, shook his head with a smile. Chen Qiuyun then said, "He saved my life once, so I've stayed by his side..."
Chen Qiuyun suddenly stopped speaking, realizing she didn't need to explain any of this to Wan Yunting. She asked, "Are you going to send me to the police station?"
"There's no need."
He put the removed silver needles back into the needle bag and then into the medicine box, asking, "Whose child is this?"
"It's Liu San's son," Chen Qiuyun said.
Recalling the drunken man she encountered at her home that night, Wan Yunting smiled. "Excellent acting. You two deserve an Oscar."
Chen Qiuyun took two steps back, looking at him. "Will you still treat this child in the future?"
"That depends on whether his parents bring him to me for treatment later."
Wan Yunting sat on the bed, crossing his legs, and looked at Chen Qiuyun, who stood before him wearing a black lace slip dress, her voluptuous figure alluring. He smiled, "Let's talk about you first. Sima Boyong gave you the Seven-Day Poison; do you harbor resentment towards him?"
Chen Qiuyun averted her phoenix eyes, not meeting Wan Yunting's teasing gaze. She calmly said, "He saved my life. Now he wants me dead. I have nothing to resent."
"You're so open-minded, so indifferent to your own life?"
Wan Yunting narrowed his eyes, staring directly at her, very curious about what had happened to her to make her this way.
Chen Qiuyun shook her head and looked at Wan Yunting with her phoenix eyes, not wanting to delve too much into her past with him. She said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do for you?"
Wan Yunting smiled. "Why do you think I would ask you to do something?"
Chen Qiuyun met his gaze with her phoenix eyes and said, "You're not one for idle talk. You told me so much, only because you want me to help you deal with Sima Boyong!"
"Clever."
Wan Yunting looked at her with admiration in his eyes and smiled. "Using your life to exchange for your freedom, would you do it?"
Chen Qiuyun raised an eyebrow. "You want me to kill Sima Boyong?"
Wan Yunting waved his hand and chuckled, "You couldn't even kill me, how could I possibly let you go back? Besides, can you even go back to Sima Boyong now?"
Chen Qiuyun said, "Then what exactly do you want me to do?"
Wan Yunting's eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled. "Doesn't Sima Boyong want the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles? I'll give him one!"
Chen Qiuyun looked a bit confused. "What do you mean?"
Wan Yunting looked up at her, then suddenly stood up, took two steps forward to Chen Qiuyun, and smiled, "Just act like nothing happened these few days. I'll talk to you after the New Year. Don't worry, I'll prepare the antidote for the Seven-Day Poison for you these next couple of days and help you get rid of the poison."
Chen Qiuyun didn't retreat. Her phoenix eyes met Wan Yunting's gaze. She asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll turn around and tell Sima Boyong that you discovered this about me?"
"Whether you tell him or not is up to you. We'll talk after the New Year anyway. I'm leaving now."
Wan Yunting waved goodbye to her, carrying his medicine box. He gave Chen Qiuyun a final smile and turned to head out, leaving directly.
Chen Qiuyun turned her head and watched Wan Yunting open the living room door and leave. Her brows furrowed, unsure of what this man intended.
Of course, she absolutely didn't believe Wan Yunting was doing this because he was attracted to her beauty. He must have wanted to use her to deal with Sima Boyong...
Wan Yunting went downstairs and got into his car, driving directly back to his own home. As he drove, he pondered why Sima Boyong had gone to such great lengths to have Chen Qiuyun approach him in this manner. What did he want to do with the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles?
Although the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles were a part of traditional Chinese acupuncture, an advanced acupuncture technique!
But the Grand Imperial Kunlun Needle Technique that Ren Dao Ren had passed down to Sima Boyong back then was actually no inferior to the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles!
After all, the Grand Imperial Kunlun Needle Technique had fewer limitations in treating diseases and could cure many kinds of illnesses!
But the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles were different; they specialized in epilepsy and neurological diseases, a niche acupuncture technique!
Sima Boyong had been unable to obtain the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles from his master, Gongsun Xiuliang, back then. Was he simply trying to steal the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles by learning from him through Chen Qiuyun?
It was probably not that simple. Perhaps the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles technique also hid secrets that Wan Yunting didn't know. Otherwise, Sima Boyong wouldn't have gone to such lengths to sneakily learn it this way!
Unable to figure it out, Wan Yunting didn't dwell on it further. When he had time after the New Year, he would go to the Wu Liang Daoist Temple to find Master Gui and see if he knew of any other uses for the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles besides treating illnesses!
At the same time, Wan Yunting also planned to personally visit South Korea after the New Year, once the matter of the Chinese Medicine Association was stabilized, to meet Sima Boyong and the Tianyan Divine Cult!
The next morning at six o'clock, Wan Yunting still appeared on the rooftop precisely to meditate and practice. Zhang Xian'er and Duan Yingying were also there. The three of them practiced without disturbing each other until eight-thirty. Ouyang Fanmeng came running up. Just as Wan Yunting opened his eyes, finished his practice, and exhaled a breath of stale air, he turned and saw the girl approaching, a gentle smile on his face. "Why are you here?"
"Brother, shall we go put up couplets together?"
Ouyang Fanmeng happily went up and linked her arm with the rising Wan Yunting, looking excited. "I've never put up couplets before."
Wan Yunting's expression faltered. He felt a pang of sympathy in his heart, reached out and gently stroked Ouyang Fanmeng's slender, pretty cheek, and nodded with a smile. "Okay, brother will take you to put up couplets."
"Mhm, let's go quickly..."
Ouyang Fanmeng, already impatient, happily tugged on Wan Yunting's arm and went downstairs, leaving Zhang Xian'er still meditating with her eyes closed. Duan Yingying pouted, looking enviously at them. She was an only child and wished she had such a brother.
"What are you standing there for? Still want to practice your sword?"
Suddenly, Wan Yunting turned back and shouted at Duan Yingying, "If you don't want to practice, come down for breakfast and go put up couplets with us."
"Hurry up, Sister Yingying."
Ouyang Fanmeng was the same age as Duan Yingying, but two months younger, hence she called her "sister."
"Okay."
Duan Yingying's eyes lit up, and she quickly followed. Wan Yunting smiled and took the two girls downstairs. They saw their parents already eating breakfast in the dining room. Noticing Wan Yunting bringing his sister and Duan Yingying down, Xia Xiangyun smiled and called out, "Xiao Wan, Fanmeng, Yingying, hurry up and come eat breakfast."
"Okay, Mom..."
Ouyang Fanmeng went and sat beside her mother. The girl's smile didn't cease. While eating, she said, "Dad, I'll put up couplets with brother later."
"Alright."
Ouyang Zhixin smiled. "After so many years, it's always been me putting up the couplets alone. Finally, this year I have someone to help me."
This sentence revealed the father's hardships over the years.
Wan Yunting smiled. "Okay, I'll write the couplets after I finish eating."
"Haha."
Ouyang Zhixin laughed and said, "Xiao Wan, be careful not to actually post the couplets you write outside. If those art collectors see them, they'll definitely loiter around our doorstep, thinking of stealing the couplets from the main gate."
"That seems true."
Wan Yunting thought about it and realized it was indeed a possibility, and the whole family burst into laughter.
However, for the sake of appearances, Wan Yunting personally wrote a pair of couplets for each of the main doors of the house. Especially for the main gate, he wrote the couplets in large characters, which was the first time he had written such large characters, conveying a sense of grandeur and momentum. Ouyang Zhixin praised him repeatedly, and even Duan Yingying and Ouyang Fanmeng, who didn't know how to read, along with their mother Xia Xiangyun, felt his calligraphy was beautiful.
"Good calligraphy."
Zhang Xian'er came out with a plate of fried dough sticks in one hand and a bowl of soy milk in the other. She saw Wan Yunting and Ouyang Fanmeng putting up couplets on the courtyard's main gate. The elegant font made her peach blossom eyes light up. She turned and asked, "Did you write that?"
"Who else? Who else could write such good calligraphy?"
Wan Yunting gave her a proud glance and, with his sister, carried the couplets on the left side and affixed them to the left side of the main gate...
Then they went inside to put up the couplets on the main gate of the villa compound, and then to the back to put up the couplets on the door of the smaller villa where his sister lived. It was only three main gates to put up couplets on, and it took them until past ten in the morning. Then, they saw three black sedans slowly stop at the entrance. Wan Yunting turned his head and knew who had arrived.
"Third Uncle..."
Sister-in-law Wang Chulin came down first, holding Wan'er. The little girl, dressed in a pink princess dress and wearing a thick jacket, saw Wan Yunting and ran towards him happily. Wan Yunting bent down and picked her up, smiling. "Miss Third Uncle?"
"Mhm, I missed you..."
Wan'er hooked her little hands around Wan Yunting's neck and nodded obediently and cutely.
Wan Yunting held her and went to meet his second brother Wan Dongming and his sister-in-law. Ouyang Zhixin, Xia Xiangyun, and Ouyang Fanmeng also came out to greet them. He asked Wan'er in his arms, "Did you go see Mommy?"
"Mhm, Second Uncle and Second Aunt took me to see Mommy yesterday."
Wan'er nodded, then pouted sadly. "Third Uncle, why isn't Mommy celebrating the New Year with us? Wan'er wants Mommy to spend the New Year with me..."
Seeing his niece looking sad and upset, Wan Yunting felt heartbroken. He quickly comforted her, "Your Mommy is busy with work. How about this, Third Uncle will take you to see Mommy again later, okay?"
"Mhm, thank you, Third Uncle."
Wan'er leaned on Wan Yunting's shoulder, her big eyes catching sight of Ouyang Fanmeng behind him. The little girl smiled happily, which melted Ouyang Fanmeng's heart. She asked, "Brother, can I hold Wan'er?"
"Of course."
Wan Yunting turned and handed Wan'er to Ouyang Fanmeng, smiling at the girl. "Say Auntie."
"Hello, Auntie."
Wan'er, in Ouyang Fanmeng's arms, smiled obediently and cutely.
"Good, good..."
Ouyang Fanmeng was delighted and smiled, "I've become an aunt now..."
This made Ouyang Zhixin and Xia Xiangyun laugh heartily...