Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that the reason people suffer from blood stasis and tumors is often because the Qi is stagnant, preventing the Xue (Blood) from flowing; when Xue fails to circulate, the meridians become obstructed, Qi and Xue accumulate, and tumors breed!

Lately, Li Yundong had been poring over numerous ancient texts, delving deeply into both Buddhist and Taoist scriptures. While many Taoist texts elaborate on esoteric cultivation methods, a significant portion covers the most fundamental knowledge for practice: Traditional Chinese Medicine!

A thought struck Li Yundong immediately—a way to help Zhou Qin stand on her feet again. He straightened up and said softly to Zhou Qin, "Don't worry, I will come back to see you."

Though Li Yundong felt he had a method to cure Zhou Qin, he wasn't entirely certain, needing confirmation from Ziyuan first. Therefore, he didn't voice his plan to Zhou Qin.

He walked to the door, exchanged a brief greeting with Zhou Keqiang, and was about to step out when he heard Zhou Qin say coldly, "Don't come again!"

Li Yundong froze at the threshold. He hadn't expected her first words to be such a rejection. He paused for a moment, then quickly understood: this stubborn and proud girl clearly did not want him to see her in her current diminished state.

Li Yundong smiled slightly, said nothing, and left the house.

Zhou Keqiang watched Li Yundong depart, sighing as he brought the water cup closer to Zhou Qin's hand: "Qingqing, is this worth it?"

Zhou Qin bit down hard on her lip, remaining silent. The fingers gripping the cup trembled slightly, turning white from the strain.

Li Yundong returned home, and upon entering, shouted loudly, "Ziyuan, Ziyuan!"

He searched the room but couldn't find her. Li Yundong rushed out to the balcony and yelled toward Ruan Hongling's adjacent balcony, "Ziyuan!"

After calling twice with no response from the neighboring apartment, he was about to fly over when he heard the sound of a door lock engaging. He turned to see Ziyuan wearing casual white sportswear, carrying bags stuffed with groceries. One plastic bag held a fish that was still wriggling vigorously.

Despite his preoccupation, Li Yundong couldn't help but laugh when he saw Ziyuan like that: "You look like a housewife!"

Ziyuan gave him a rare, sharp roll of her eyes, clearly still irritated by something Li Yundong had said the previous night.

Seeing she ignored him and headed into the kitchen alone, he cleared his throat, dropped the joking tone, and said, "Right, I need to ask you something."

Ziyuan busied herself expertly in the kitchen, replying casually, "Go ahead." She didn't turn around, continuing her tasks inside the kitchen.

Watching her busy silhouette from the doorway, Li Yundong suddenly felt an odd sensation; Ziyuan seemed more like the mistress of the house, and he, the guest!

Li Yundong recounted everything about Zhou Qin to Ziyuan, detailing his own thoughts and analysis. He concluded, "Do you think my method will work? If I can clear the blood stasis and tumors in her spine, will she recover?"

Ziyuan, who had been washing vegetables with her back to him, stopped, turned around, and pondered for a moment before saying, "Theoretically, it's feasible. However, even if you cure her, so what?"

Li Yundong blinked in confusion. "So what?"

Ziyuan's expression was placid. She wiped her hands on the apron in front of her and asked, "Even if she can stand again, what then? She has lost everything she once had, her entire life. Can she return to her old life? Moreover..."

Ziyuan gave Li Yundong a meaningful look: "...Moreover, can you give her what she truly desires?"

Li Yundong shuddered, falling deep into thought.

He wasn't unaware that Zhou Qin cared for him, but he hadn't imagined she was willing to sacrifice so much for him! This sacrifice was so profound that it felt almost impossible for him to ever repay.

Ziyuan sighed softly, her tone suggesting she had seen through the complexities of human relationships. She stated calmly, "You can heal her external wounds, but you cannot heal her internal ones. Unless... are you planning to offer yourself in marriage?"

Li Yundong immediately retorted with finality, "When I last visited Zhao Yujian in the hospital, I overheard Ding Nan say something outside the ward. She said: Love is not charity; you don't love someone just because they are pitiful. I love Su Chan, and she loves me. That hasn't changed, and it never will!"

Ziyuan gazed deeply at Li Yundong, then sighed. "My master once told me that among the sufferings of the mundane world, none is more bitter than the suffering of love. He said cultivators must never become entangled in worldly romance, or they will find it immensely difficult to achieve great cultivation and great success in the future!"

Li Yundong’s expression was serious as he countered, "I don't see it that way. I am a novice cultivator, but in my view, you practitioners cultivate purely for the sake of cultivation itself, never considering: Why am I cultivating?"

"Your master said the suffering of love is the greatest in the world, and you just accepted it? Have you ever tasted love? If you haven't even tasted what love is like, how can you claim it is bitter?"

Ziyuan was momentarily stunned, instinctively asking back, "When I saw you and Su Chan part, both of you were so desolate and grieved, tears pouring down—even as an outsider, I felt the pain as if it were my own. If that isn't bitterness, what is it?"

Mentioning Su Chan brought a gentle light to Li Yundong's eyes. He said, "In this life, where is anything perfect? You only see the partings and deaths in life, so you conclude life is bitter. You only see the separations and reunions in love, so you conclude that the greatest bitterness is that of love. But have you ever witnessed the sweetness and happiness shared when two people are together? Have you ever seen the immense joy and pleasure when longing is instantly satisfied upon meeting?"

Li Yundong’s voice grew softer as he spoke, his gaze drifting thoughtfully, as if leaping forward to the days after he brought Su Chan back. "Why do I cultivate? Because I know if I don't cultivate, I won't be able to protect myself, much less my girl! If something happens, we will be forced to face separation and reunion all over again!"

"I don't want to see that scene again, so I must cultivate!" Li Yundong declared. "You can think I have no ambition, that I lack drive, but that is who I am! I choose to be a cultivator who envies only the Mandarin ducks, not the immortals!"

"All my motivation for cultivating now is to become strong as quickly as possible, pass the Heavenly Tribulation, and then be with my girl, so I can care for her properly and ensure she never suffers the slightest harm again!"

Li Yundong’s words left Ziyuan stunned; she felt that some of her deeply held beliefs were being shaken. She muttered involuntarily, "My master told me that since I was little. Could he be wrong? Impossible. My master is never wrong; he never makes mistakes..."

Seeing Ziyuan, who was usually so composed and in control, looking so lost, Li Yundong couldn't help but say, "Must your master always be completely right? If everything he says is correct, then why did he become partners with Ao Wushuang back then?"

Ziyuan shuddered violently, her eyes wide, unable to speak.

Li Yundong looked at Ziyuan with sudden pity. "You yourself said that one cannot know the taste of worldly matters without experiencing them. Looking at you now, I dare to ask: Have you ever been in love? Do you know what it feels like to love someone? Can you grasp that feeling of loving someone so deeply that you are willing to give everything for them?"

Li Yundong’s questioning left Ziyuan rooted to the spot, her mind a chaotic mess. She instinctively asked, "But Zhou Qin has given you everything, too! How will you repay her?"

A deep, thoughtful look crossed Li Yundong's eyes. He let out a soft sigh and said, "She ruined herself for me; she ruined her life. Therefore, I must give it all back to her! I harmed her ability to stand, so I must make her stand again. I harmed her loss of a life of luxury, so I must provide her with another life comparable to it!"

Ziyuan snapped back to attention, realizing something, and tentatively asked, "You plan to teach her cultivation?"

Li Yundong nodded heavily. "Yes!"

Ziyuan took a deep breath and said slowly, "Since you have made your decision, I will say no more." With that, she turned back to washing vegetables, though her movements were now slow and stiff, clearly distracted, lost in thought.

Li Yundong stood at the doorway for a moment, then asked about a few specific medical points: "What methods can be used to dissolve a blood tumor in the spinal area?"

Ziyuan didn't turn around, her hands continuing their work, and she replied casually, "Ordinary people require gold or silver needles; those with less power use bone needles. Since the Qi within you is too powerful, simple massage stimulating the surrounding acupoints should suffice."

Li Yundong smiled. "That's what I thought, but I wasn't confident in my judgment and dared not act rashly."

Ziyuan stated plainly, "Then go and do it."

Li Yundong responded gravely, "I will go tomorrow."

Just as Li Yundong was about to leave, Ziyuan suddenly stopped what she was doing, turned around, and asked with a look of deep bewilderment, "Li Yundong, what exactly does love taste like? Why do so many people call it bitter, yet so many others seek to taste it? Even my master included?"

Li Yundong offered a slight smile. "Why don't you taste it for yourself? A thousand explanations from others are not equal to a single experience!"

Saying this, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Ziyuan remained rooted to the spot, lost in thought. Her gaze shifted mysteriously, and a silent sigh escaped her. A myriad of emotions seemed to cross her delicate, arched eyebrows, yet they ultimately resolved into a faint veil of contemplation.