Chapter 35: Acupuncture

Chapter 35: Acupuncture

Lin Su was drenched, water dripping from his hair and the hem of his clothes. When the winter wind blew, it felt like he'd freeze solid.

He didn't seem to notice; in fact, he felt calm. He said casually, "Didn't fall in. Saw a big fish by the river, so I jumped in to catch it. Here."

He held up the fish for Fu Yun to see, changing the subject: "Why'd you run out in your underclothes? And you've been crying—nightmare?"

Fu Yun shook his head, his clear voice stuffy from crying: "No nightmare. Brother, wherever you go from now on, take me with you. Don't leave me behind, okay?"

He looked like a pitiful little puppy who'd been abandoned. Lin Su thought back, confirming he'd only gone to swim at the village entrance for half an hour while Fu Yun was asleep. Why was Fu Yun acting like Lin Su was a heartless husband who'd left home and abandoned his child?

He let out a laugh of exasperation: "Alright, alright, I'll tie you to my belt from now on. Wherever I go, I'll take you, okay?"

Fu Yun nodded seriously: "Okay."

Now it was Lin Su's turn to be speechless. What kind of villainous doctor was this? Just a clingy little thing.

"Alright, I won't abandon you. Let's go home."

Back inside, Lin Su changed and cooked a big pot of savory fish congee, feeding himself and his little one.

The heat had completely disappeared. Just as he lay down to nap, the familiar heat surged back, stronger than before, quickly spreading from his chest to his limbs.

Even the flow of his supernatural ability became sluggish.

But Lin Su checked himself thoroughly and found no other abnormalities, only that his body temperature was gradually rising from the inside out. He felt hot enough to fry an egg on his skin.

He called for help: "Fu Yun, quick, prescribe me some fever medicine. Your brother is roasting!"

"Huh?" Hearing his shout, Fu Yun rushed over in a panic. Seeing Lin Su lying on the bed in despair, face flushed and drenched in sweat, he was startled and quickly grabbed his wrist to check his pulse.

After about ten seconds, he frowned oddly and felt the pulse for a while longer, muttering to himself: "So chaotic. Overall it's gentle and strong, but with intermittent weak and sluggish pulses. Meridians are blocked, qi and blood are obstructed..."

Fu Yun didn't hesitate. He took out silver needles, told Lin Su to remove his underclothes, and with a deft motion, accurately pierced the acupoints.

Soon, Lin Su's whole body was covered in silver needles, especially on his chest and abdomen. With the last few needles, he quickly pierced his limbs, and Lin Su felt a small spurt of blood.

Lin Su: ...Wow, bloodletting too.

Wait, did that blood get on the bed?!

Fortunately, Fu Yun quickly caught it with a clean white cloth, so the bed wasn't stained.

To Lin Su's surprise, the acupuncture took effect extremely quickly.

The heat in his body soon faded. Lin Su felt an unprecedented comfort, and in that instant, he sensed that since his transmigration, he finally had complete control over this fused body.

After Fu Yun removed the needles, Lin Su let out a comfortable sigh, grabbed Fu Yun's hand and nuzzled it: "Amazing, little Fuyun. Good thing I have you, or I'd be done for."

Fu Yun checked his pulse again anxiously. Once he confirmed Lin Su was fine, he sighed in relief. Pouting, his voice turned nasal again: "You scared me to death, brother. Don't go fishing in winter anymore. This illness of yours is so weird."

He thought Lin Su had gotten sick from going into the river to fish.

"Alright, I won't go fishing in the river in winter." Lin Su reached out and stroked Fu Yun's head. "I'm exhausted. Wanna keep your brother company for a nap?"

"Mm." Fu Yun obediently lay down, snuggling against Lin Su's chest.

Lin Su watched him silently for a moment before closing his eyes to sleep.

For the next three days, Fu Yun gave Lin Su acupuncture once a day. Although Lin Su felt better than ever, Fu Yun insisted. After three straight days, he finally relented and planned to take a seven-day break before starting again.

Now that he was better, Lin Su planned to go to the county town again to look into shops.

But with the end of the year approaching, shops were scarce, and even empty stalls on busy streets were hard to come by.

After three days of inquiries, Lin Su gave up and decided to wait until after the new year.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to go home. The festive atmosphere was strong—a month before New Year's, many shops and stalls were already decorated with festive red, and passersby wore smiles.

With the excitement of visiting a temple fair, Lin Su dragged Fu Yun around to explore. Fu Yun, with a childlike heart, was drawn to the sugar paintings and dough figurines. He squeezed in among a group of kids who only came up to his waist, watching intently.

Lin Su bought a few elegant, festive dough figurines and even spun the turntable to get every zodiac sign. Even so, Fu Yun still wasn't quite satisfied.

"Alright, we'll come play again next time. If you spin any more, the stall owner will run out of sugar, and other people won't get to buy any today," Lin Su said helplessly.

Fu Yun bit the head off a little dog in one bite and obediently complied: "Okay, next time then."

He generously shared the duplicate zodiac sugar paintings with the surrounding kids, who cheered and thanked him loudly, all the while envying that this big brother could spin the turntable as much as he wanted.

At the end of their outing, Lin Su picked out two sets of fitted martial arts clothes for himself at a clothing shop—one black and one navy blue, simple and well-fitting.

His choices for Fu Yun were much more varied: wide-sleeved flowing robes, narrow-sleeved tight-fitting ones, round-collar and cross-collared garments, long gowns and cloaks, all embroidered with auspicious patterns like clouds, cranes, flowers, and birds...

Every time he saw a piece, Lin Su felt it suited Fu Yun. The soft fabric had naturally dyed colors, and even bright shades like red, yellow, orange, and purple carried a classical and elegant charm, making Fu Yun look like a little immortal boy from heaven with his rosy lips and white teeth.

"Wrap all of these up!" Lin Su waved his hand generously, buying six or seven sets of clothes.

The clothing shop owner beamed, quickly told his assistant to pack them up, and threw in two embroidered pouches and handkerchiefs.

Fu Yun, however, was a bit reluctant: "Brother, these clothes are such a hassle. I won't be able to gather herbs in them."

Lin Su pondered and said, "You have a point."

The owner's heart tightened, and he was about to persuade them when Lin Su continued, "Then, shopkeeper, wrap up those two sets of martial arts clothes over there too."

"Certainly!" The owner clicked his abacus. "That'll be twenty-four taels and fifteen coppers. I'll waive the odd bit—twenty-four taels even."

Fu Yun, who was habitually reaching for his pouch, froze. He now understood the difference between copper coins, silver taels, and silver notes, so he wouldn't be easily fooled by Lin Su anymore.

Twenty-four taels was a lot of silver. With that thought, Fu Yun pouted and was unwilling to take out his pouch.

"Brother, these clothes are too expensive. Let's not buy them."

The owner, who was waiting for Lin Su to pay, was left speechless.

Lin Su was amused by his stingy look: "What's this? Didn't you say you wanted to earn money to support me? You can't bear to spend just this little? Then brother would be really heartbroken."

Fu Yun shook his head like a rattle drum, repeatedly explaining: "No, it's not that. I'll buy for you, brother. I don't want any for myself."

"If you don't want any, how could brother want them? Sigh, it seems Fu Yun is reluctant to spend money on brother after all."