Chapter 2 - The papaya is truly delicious

Entering Lin Wan's home. Her house was a one-story bungalow with three rooms, accompanied by a small courtyard that housed a green-tiled kitchen and a bathroom. One room served as a clinic, another was her living quarters, and the third belonged to her daughter. Although she lived alone, she kept the place impeccably clean. On the clothesline in the courtyard, several washed-out clothes fluttered in the wind. *Sister Wan is way too thrifty, wearing those for so many years,* he sighed. Lin Wan indeed lived a hard life. Being a village doctor didn't actually make money; instead, she often spent her own money. She also grew some fruit trees and picked herbs to sell. Her annual income was only a few thousand yuan, just enough for daily expenses and her daughter's living costs, leaving her with no spare money to buy new clothes. Suddenly, he looked at one of the garments and was instantly startled. Was this the clothing that had satisfied some of his fantasies when he was in junior high school? "Gousheng, what are you looking at?" Lin Wan scolded. Her face flushed red. As someone with life experience, she naturally knew about the "mischief" Ye Chen had done back then. However, she didn't blame him because, as a half-medical professional, she understood the thoughts of adolescent boys. She quickly pulled Ye Chen into the house. On the old round table in the house, there was an old but clean red koi-patterned plate, and in the plate were sliced papayas. "Gousheng, eat," said Lin Wan. Ye Chen was just hungry and ate with great relish. Lin Wan grew many papayas, which were fragrant and sweet. Although they weren't as big as the papayas he had bought in the market before, they had a very natural taste, which he loved. Although Meirengou Village was poor, most of the food there was very healthy. "Sister Wan, you eat too." "Sister Wan doesn't eat at night. Look, I'm getting fat." Where was she fat? She was just right. Lin Wan's figure had a fatal attraction for a young man like him. Ye Chen finished eating in no time, still wanting more. "Gousheng, do you want to eat more?" Ye Chen looked at the few ripe papayas on the table and nodded. He would just have papayas as his dinner tonight. Lin Wan continued peeling. "Sister Wan, you're so good to me." "Just remember that. Come help Sister Wan with some farm work more often in the future, like carrying water, plowing the fields, and weeding." "Okay." Ye Chen had been observing Lin Wan's condition. She had severe symptoms of liver qi stagnation, and that mass of evil qi in her liver was definitely liver cancer. What should he do? He should start by massaging the Taichong acupoint on the top of her foot where the liver meridian was located, to see if he could draw out some of the evil qi. Ye Chen naturally sat on the ground. "Gousheng, why are you sitting on the ground? It's dirty. Get up quickly." Ye Chen grabbed Lin Wan's foot and said with a silly smile, "Sister Wan, your feet are so beautiful and white." He placed his hand on the Taichong acupoint and massaged it. "Gousheng, what are you doing?" Lin Wan asked in confusion. "Sister Wan works too hard every day, picking herbs for Gousheng and doing farm work. I want to help you massage. Last time, Aunt Fat asked me to massage her feet and said I did a good job," Ye Chen said. "Hmm, it does feel comfortable." Seeing Ye Chen's clear eyes, Lin Wan breathed a sigh of relief. "Gousheng, in the future, don't help Aunt Fat massage anymore. She's a bad woman, understand?" Aunt Fat, Lin Cuie, was indeed promiscuous. He vaguely remembered that Lin Cuie often made fun of him and touched him inappropriately. "I'll listen to Sister Wan." Strange? Gousheng's massage technique was really good, Lin Wan thought to herself. Could it be that although he was "silly," his medical knowledge was still there? She felt her feet getting warm, and the warmth spread throughout her body, making her very comfortable. However, she didn't know what kind of medical skills Ye Chen had learned. Recently, she had indeed been feeling unwell, with a painful shoulder and隐隐作痛 (dull pain) under her ribs. When she pressed on it herself, she couldn't find where the pain was, which was very strange. Now, after being massaged by Ye Chen, she felt much more comfortable. At this moment, the yin-yang true qi in Ye Chen's body entered Lin Wan's body, following the liver meridian and reaching her liver to test that mass of evil qi. The ancestral Yin-Yang Heavenly Medical Art was divided into two parts: the Yin-Yang Art and the Heavenly Medical Art. The Yin-Yang Art was the foundation, which could strengthen the body and cultivate yin-yang true qi, while the Heavenly Medical Art was to absorb the evil qi in the patient's body and convert it into medical qi that could cure all kinds of diseases through yin-yang true qi. In fact, it used the principle of yin-yang transformation: evil qi was yin energy, and medical qi was yang energy. Medical qi healed people, while evil qi killed people. At this moment, Ye Chen felt solemn inside. This evil qi was of too high a quality, and his yin-yang true qi was actually neutralized by it. This was also because his Yin-Yang Art was still in the first level, and his yin-yang true qi was not strong enough. Ah! Lin Wan let out a cry of pain and covered her side under her ribs. "So painful! What's going on?" Ye Chen's face changed drastically. The evil qi had actually spread. He knew that if the tumor spread and the lymph nodes metastasized, it would be more difficult to remove and would seriously damage Lin Wan's body. This matter could not be delayed; he had to control it immediately. He directly took action and pressed on the Qimen acupoint in the sixth intercostal space of her ribs. This was the front mu acupoint of the liver and the highest acupoint on the liver meridian.压制住它 (Pressing on it) could prevent the evil qi from spreading through the liver meridian. However, this place was too close to "that area." He took a deep breath, his hands trembling, and performed the massage technique. "Sister Wan, does it hurt here?" Concentrating the yin-yang true qi in his hands, he continuously massaged and pushed, forcing that mass of evil qi back to its original position. Lin Wan was stunned, and then her face turned red with embarrassment. She slapped Ye Chen across the face. "Gousheng, you…" "Sister Wan, why did you hit me? What did I do wrong?" Ye Chen looked "aggrieved." "Gousheng, I'm sorry. Did it hurt you?" Lin Wan asked with concern. She blamed herself inwardly. Why was she getting angry at a "fool"? Moreover, he had done this because he was concerned about her. And just now, it had indeed been very painful, but now, after the massage, the pain had eased. "It doesn't hurt anymore," Ye Chen said. "Sister Wan, let me continue massaging." "Well… alright." Lin Wan wanted to refuse, but she thought that since he had already started, she might as well let him do more. Besides, Ye Chen was just a "fool" and didn't mean anything by it. After a long time, the evil qi was finally restricted, and he had absorbed some of it, which could temporarily delay the progression of the disease. He let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground, covered in sweat. The massage technique was extremely tiring both mentally and physically. But to cure it completely, he needed to break through to the third level of the Yin-Yang Art. He was very anxious inside. This evil qi had already become active and had to be eliminated within three days, otherwise, Lin Wan would be in great danger, and even irreversible damage could occur. "Gousheng, why did you stop? Continue," Lin Wan urged. She felt a stream of warm qi entering her body, which was very comfortable. The key was that Ye Chen's hands were very close to "that place," which actually made her have improper thoughts. "Sister Wan, my hands are tired. I want to eat papaya." Lin Wan was taken aback, immediately feeling extremely ashamed, and silently cursed herself for being shameless. "Okay, Gousheng has worked hard. Sister will peel it for you right away." She let out a silent sigh, feeling a bit empty inside, but she had to sit up, dry her fragrant sweat, and continue peeling the papaya. Just then, Ye Chen's face changed. The strand of evil qi he had absorbed into his body was actually devouring his yin-yang true qi. He wolfed down the papaya and immediately went out. "Gousheng, don't tell anyone about what happened tonight, or I won't give you any more delicious food," Lin Wan shouted. "Got it, Sister Wan." Ye Chen walked out of the courtyard, his heart a bit turbulent. This kind of massage treatment was simply torturous. How would he explain the next treatment to Sister Wan? To completely eliminate the evil qi, he had to massage along the entire liver meridian. He was faced with a dilemma. He immediately walked towards the back mountain. To continue his cultivation. That strand of evil qi was simply too powerful. He had to suppress it quickly. Night was the best time to cultivate the Yin-Yang Art. From 6 p.m. when the sun set, the yang qi between heaven and earth would decline, and yin qi would rise from the ground. This would continue until 3 a.m., when the yin qi would gradually return to the ground, and the yang qi would gradually rise until the sun rose. During this time, he could absorb the yin and yang qi separated between heaven and earth. Previously, his Yin-Yang Eyes had absorbed it passively, but now, with the Yin-Yang Pearl and the Yin-Yang Art, he could accurately capture the游离的 (wandering) yin and yang qi. As the sky grew slightly bright and the morning sun rose, with yang qi ascending, he immediately stopped cultivating. The yang qi during the day was too strong, and he didn't dare to absorb it, lest it bring disaster upon himself. "Ah? I've broken through to the second level of the Yin-Yang Art, and that strand of evil qi has also been suppressed. When I break through to the third level, I can convert it into medical qi." He immediately ran down the mountain. He wanted to tell his uncle Ye Xian, aunt Nong Yuezhi, who had been very kind to him, and his sister-in-law Wang Cui that he had recovered. He remembered that after he became an orphan, it was Ye Xian's family who had taken him in. Although his uncle and he both shared the surname Ye, they had no close blood relationship—they were distant relatives—but Ye Xian had been extremely kind to him and had never let him go hungry. During the year he had been "silly," Sister-in-law Wang Cui had been extremely good to him, heating a bowl of milk for him every day. When he returned to his uncle's house, he saw a fat woman shouting curses at the door. It was Aunt Fat, Lin Cuie, the village chief's wife. This woman was extremely fierce and was first-rate at both fighting and cursing. Ye Xian was a gentle man; how could he argue with her? At this moment, he was so angry that his whole body was trembling and he couldn't speak. Listening closely, it seemed they were arguing about land. He was filled with anger. This damn fat pig had been coveting his family's land for so many years.