~~~
In the end, Liu Jin was told to wait outside once more. Whatever was discussed that night between his father, Old Jiang, and Xiao Zheng ended up being a secret to him.
It is annoying.
As much as Liu Jin respects all his father's decisions, he must admit that much. The conversation did not even have the decency to be short. Instead, Liu Jin waited outside the clinic for over an hour before Xiao Zheng left with a pleased smile on his face. The patriarch of the Xiao Sect laughed upon seeing him and ruffled his hair.
"I knew I made the right choice," the giant of a man said before walking away.
That was over two weeks ago, and Liu Jin is still wondering just what was discussed that night. What secrets were shared? His father promised to tell him once he is older, and Liu Jin knows he can trust those words because they are his father's words. However...
How can he continue his normal days with so many questions inside his head?
As far as he can remember, Liu Jin has borne the whispers against his father while deep down cursing their luck. After all, his father is the greatest person to ever live. In knowledge and virtue, he is superior to all others. Liu Jin believes that from the bottom of his heart. That is why for his father to lack that which people value the most, Qi, is nothing but a cruel joke of fate. That thought has crossed his mind countless times.
Now, Liu Jin knows that is not true.
It was not a whim fate that robbed his father of the ability to use Qi. Instead, it is something his father inflicted upon himself. The reason for so many of their problems... is something his father caused.
Why? What could make a person do such a thing?
What type of past does his father have that someone in the Emperor Realm was his master? It does not make sense. It is as if Heaven and Earth have switched places. Liu Jin does not understand how can he be expected to continue his daily life when his world has changed so drastically in so little time.
Yet that's what he has to do
Yet that's what happens.
His father keeps working at the clinic as usual. Liu Jin keeps splitting his time between being a disciple of the Xiao Sect and helping at the clinic as usual. As for Old Jiang...
"You are doing it wrong."
Liu Jin does not open his eyes when the now familiar voice of Old Jiang rings throughout the room. Ever since that day, Old Jiang has become a guest in their home. According to his father, the old man's condition is not yet cured. More treatments are needed, and his father is the only one who can provide them. It is only natural for his father's old master to stay with them.
Even so, Liu Jin finds his patience tested.
"Honored elder," Liu Jin says, because he knows staying silent would be rude, "I apologize for my rudeness, but I require focus right now."
It is not a lie. It is not often Liu Jin finds free time at the clinic. Right now, his father is out delivering medicine. There are no more patients scheduled for the rest of the day. It is a rare opportunity that Liu Jin is using to do some basic exercises. The young child sits cross-legged in his room. A light sheen of sweat covers his body as he moves Qi throughout his meridians.
"You require correction, child," Old Jiang replies, and Liu Jin knows that if he were to open his eyes, he would find Old Jiang’s amused face. "All the focus in the world will not help you if you are doing things wrong from the start. You will err with a clearer mind than most but err all the same."
This time Liu Jin does open his eyes and regards the old man carefully. As expected, Old Jiang's eyes shine with a light Liu Jin does not particularly care for. Those eyes make him feel there is a joke being had at his expense. However, regardless of how foolish Old Jiang can make him feel, there is no denying the old master is someone in the Emperor Realm. Logically, Liu Jin knows taking his advice can only be a good thing.
Despite knowing that, Liu Jin has not yet accepted his offer of apprenticeship.
Old Jiang had offered to make him his pupil in the art of medicine. He mentioned the possibility the first day they met and made a formal offer the day after. Liu Jin had not known how to answer for the only person he wishes to be taught by is his father. It is a childish wish, and Liu Jin realizes that. He knows there is much he can learn from someone who taught his father.
Yet he cannot help his feelings.
Perhaps sensing that, Old Jiang had told him to think it over carefully before making a choice.
When Liu Jin told Xiao Nan about it, the teen had nearly fainted. He had then taken Liu Jin aside and explained to him very carefully that one does not say no to an Emperor. Liu Jin now understands that Old Jiang is being incredibly kind by giving him time to think about his offer. Other Emperors could have seen his hesitation as a sign of disrespect, and disrespecting an Emperor is courting death.
"Is it alright for Honored Elder to give advice to someone whose mind is still not made up?" Liu Jin asks at last. Accepting Old Jiang's guidance before making a choice would feel too much like lying for Liu Jin’s tastes.
"Ah, yes," Old Jiang says, stroking his beard. "You are somehow hesitating to accept something most people would kill for. However, that was medicine, and this is cultivation. One does not need to involve the other."
Liu Jin considers those words for a moment.
"What am I doing wrong, Honored Elder?"
"It would be far easier for this Old Jiang to list the things you are doing right, few as they are," Old Jiang muses. Liu Jin fights the urge to frown.
"Inside your body, there are three dantian or energy centers." Old Jiang says as he moves directly in front of Liu Jin. He taps a spot three finger-widths below his navel, then at the level of his heart, and finally between his eyebrows. "Different regions have different names for them, but that's not important. What matters is that they are there. I trust you know at least that much."
Liu Jin nods.
"Essence into Vitality. Vitality into Spirit. Spirit into Emptiness," Liu Jin says, repeating one of the first things his father taught him about Qi.
"Good." Old Jiang nods. "Now, forget about that."
"I beg your pardon, Honored Elder?"
"Is there any point in teaching trigonometry to someone who does not know how to count?" Old Jiang asks. "Complete knowledge is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can become an obstacle under certain circumstances. Narrow your focus, child. When you move your Qi through your body, you are focusing your efforts on all three dantian when you should only be focusing on one."
Liu Jin goes silent, mulling over Old Jiang's words. He looks down at his torso for a moment.
"The lower one?" He asks at last, prompting Old Jiang to favor him with an approving nod.
"Good. Yes, the lower dantian is the one you should be focusing most of your efforts on right now. It is located in your center of mass and will work as the root for all that follows. Build a strong enough foundation and nothing will knock you down."
Liu Jin nods and adjusts his Qi flow accordingly.
"Better," Old Jiang says, carefully regarding Liu Jin. "However, there is still room for improvement. How about this?"
Liu Jin's eyes widen as Old Jiang does... something. He is not sure what it is. He does not even feel the man move, but he is certain that he did. All Liu Jin knows for sure is that the flow of his Qi has suddenly changed. It is as if walls suddenly appeared in his meridians while doors he did not know were doors opened at the same time. The change is not bad. Far from it. His Qi flows through his body more naturally now. He finds it easier to focus on refining energy in his lower dantian.
"Honored Elder," Liu Jin begins, trying to choose his words carefully. "This one humbly asks to know what just happened."
"Obviously, I modified the flow of your Qi, child. You are not dull enough to have failed to notice it. You already know what happened. You should be asking how it happened instead."
It takes ten breaths for Liu Jin to realize Old Jiang wants him to voice the question. "How is such a thing possible, Honored Elder?"
"It is rather simple though far from easy. I simply used my Qi to open some of your blocked meridians and close some of your open ones. This allowed your Qi to reach your lower dantian with greater ease. It is far from an optimal flow, but for the current you, it is the healthiest flow."
"Honored Elder can do such a thing?" Liu Jin asks, amazed.
“Even in this state, there are very few things this Old Jiang cannot do," the old man states. There is not even a hint of boast in his voice. "The concept is not dissimilar to pressure points. I trust your father explained those to you.”
Liu Jin nods. In the body, there are certain points that can be pressed to stimulate the flow of Qi in order to produce a wide variety of results. However, it is not something just anyone can do. Stimulating them requires quite a bit of skill. Even experienced doctors have to use needles, and the results are not instant. By contrast, Liu Jin is pretty sure Old Jiang had not even touched him. His technique is on an entirely different level.
"Father explained the concept to me, although not in too much detail."
At that Old Jiang frowns. "It is only to be expected," he says. "With his meridians the way they are, it is probably for the best. Many things are best done by those with Qi."
Liu Jin glares. "My father is a great doctor."
"Of course, he is, boy," Old Jiang scoffs. "He could draw a diagram of every single pressure point in the human body while blindfolded. I know that because I beat every single one of those points into his brain. However, there are things doctors with Qi can do that those without it cannot. You are too smart not to know this."
Liu Jin cannot deny the truth of those words. Instead, he chooses to focus on something else Old Jiang had said.
"Honored Elder, you said some of my meridians were blocked.”
"Of course, they were," Old Jiang replies. "It is far from uncommon. Qi flows through the meridians. That is something everyone knows. However, the truth is not quite so straightforward. It is not rare for people to be born with some meridians partially or fully blocked. Naturally, the same is true for you. I simply opened up some of them."
"I was born with some of my meridians blocked," Liu Jin says, mostly to himself. Just two weeks ago, that knowledge would have made him feel closer to his father. Now, he is not sure how to feel about it.
However, his words are not so low that they can escape Old Jiang's ears.
"Most people are," the old master says. "In fact, it is the opposite that is rare. A person who has full use of all his meridians from birth is unspeakably rare, a talent without peer that only appears once every thousand years. However, do not misunderstand, child. You were not only born with some of your meridians blocked. You have developed quite a few blocks over the years."
Shock appears on Liu Jin's face. "How is that possible, Honored Elder?"
"Meridians can become blocked for several reasons," Old Jiang explains, stroking his beard. "For example, spiritual and mental problems. That is the type of blocks you have developed over your short life. Do you understand how that came to be?"
Liu Jin stays silent.
Old Jiang snorts. "Obliviousness does not suit you, child. Do you mean to deny the anger inside of you, the resentment you feel every day?"
Liu Jin opens his mouth to defend himself. Old Jiang merely looks at him, and the words die in his throat.
"I am not accusing you or begrudging you for it. It is only to be expected. You may have learned to hide it behind bland acceptance, but the feelings are still there. You resent the people who mock your father's condition. You resent the treatment you receive because of it... You probably resent your father to some degree as well. All those things are natural, but what is natural can also be dangerous. Those feelings already interfere with the flow of your Qi. Even though I have changed your Qi flow for now, your emotions will eventually create the same blocks again. At higher levels of cultivation, those feelings can even become demons that tear your body apart from the inside."
Liu Jin does not know how to reply to that. He wants to look away from Old Jiang's knowing eyes yet finds himself unable to.
"What should I do then?" Liu Jin asks at last.
"Nothing."
The reply is so quick and unexpected it leaves him stunned.
"Why are you surprised? There is no simple way to settle one's feelings. If there were one, the world would be a lot simpler. You are not a fully-grown man but a child. Just keep living. Keep learning. Keep struggling. You will either find peace or you will not. It is that simple."
Liu Jin laughs. The sound is short and almost harsh. He cannot help it. That is how stunned he is. The reply is so unexpected his self-control vanishes for a second.
"Honored Elder is harsh indeed," Liu Jin says yet he finds himself smiling.
He smiles because even though Old Jiang's words are harsh, there is no heat in them. Old Jiang's words are simply what is. He will either deal with the feelings inside of him or he will not. Before that day comes, he will just have to keep struggling.
For now, Liu Jin just goes back to meditating under the old master's watchful gaze. He has a strong foundation to build.
~~~