His brows slowly furrowed. Out of her 365 major meridians, nearly a hundred were in terrible condition, some cracked, some twisted together like tangled roots. A few were so damaged that even qi refused to flow through them. It would take an immense amount of time and patience to restore them to their natural state.
'The flow of qi inside her is chaotic, unstable, like a river that had lost both its source and its mouth. Will it still be a river if it can neither flow nor breathe?' Su Wen thought silently, his fingers tightening ever so slightly around her wrist.
He then extended his Mental Sense into her body for a deeper examination. The instant his mental sense entered, a surge of cold energy lashed back at him, sharp, pure, and biting to the soul.
'That's… Yin Energy', Su Wen realized, his eyes narrowing. 'I almost forgot, she possesses the Pure Yin Immortal Body.'
He furrowed his brows. 'With my mental sense, I can analyse her meridians and other injuries, but I won't be able to treat them because of her Yin Qi unless I breakthrough my soul to Soul Awakening realm and transform my mental sense into Soul Sense. And these deeper wounds… are the mark of a Heavenly Tribulation. Healing them will take immense time and effort just like her meridians.'
He released her wrist and withdrew his mental sense from her body.
After observing her current state, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Du Yue, who had already known about her condition, didn't change her expression, but a quiet weight of disappointment still pressed on her chest. The others in the room weren't faring any better either, feeling the gravity of Su Wen's long 'sigh'.
Before anyone could speak, Su Wen broke the silence. "You little girl, tell me, do you want to hear the good news first, or the bad news?"
Du Yue, having long lost all hope, didn't want to hear good news first only to be crushed by bad news afterward. Her voice came out soft and quiet: "Bad news first."
"Alright," Su Wen said, standing from his kneeling position and then sitting calmly on the chair, his eyes steady and composed, radiating the aura of a scholar. "Around one hundred of your major meridians are injured, and many of them are completely entangled, blocking the flow of qi. Your dantian is fully obstructed, which means the qi in your body has no proper way to circulate, you're essentially in a mortal state right now. The first step is to open at least a single path from your dantian to a meridian so that qi can flow in and out properly."
He paused for a moment, letting the information settle in the room, before continuing. "The injuries in your body are severe, caused by Heavenly Tribulation. Healing them will be a huge undertaking, it won't be quick or easy but painful."
"And there's more," he added, his tone still calm. "You have a Pure Yin Immortal Body. With my current cultivation, I can't heal you completely because of the resistance of the Yin qi in your body. Think of it like this; resistance is like a massive tree trunk in my way. With my current strength, I can't cut it, but when my cultivation improves, I'll be able to strike it down in a single blow."
He looked at her steadily, letting his words sink in.
There was a heavy silence in the room. Even his grandparents, who didn't know much about cultivation, felt the weight of Su Wen's words pressing down like a stone.
Du Yue remained quiet, staring at the floor, unsure of what to say. She had long given up hope of ever recovering her cultivation, and the idea of even a peaceful mortal life seemed like a miracle already.
The little sparrow, however, couldn't stand the tension any longer. It hopped from the table to Su Wen's shoulder and chirped impatiently, "-chirp~ What's the good news already?"
Everyone turned to look at Su Wen again, not expecting much as they already know how dire the situation really is. Du Yue, especially, didn't expect anything grand, survival alone was fortune enough for her.
Su Wen, calm as ever, eyes like sharp swords that could cut through any doubt, met everyone's gaze and said with quiet pride and confidence, "I can heal her… and when I'm done, she'll be much stronger than before!"
The room froze. Silence stretched, thick and heavy, as the weight of his words sank in. The little sparrow, perched on his shoulder, couldn't hold back an internal complaint. 'Again? Today has been full of shocks. Must everything be this dramatic?'
Even Du Yue's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of disbelief and something else, hope? - crossing her usually lifeless gaze. For the first time in days, a spark stirred in her heart.
Grandpa, who was sipping his tea, couldn't help but complain. "Can't you just say it directly? Why do you have to be so dramatic? I almost burnt my lips!"
Grandma, on the other hand, looked at Du Yue with sparkling eyes, as if she had discovered a treasure. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh, so now we have a new family member in our home… hehehe!"
Su Wen felt a chill run down his spine when he heard this.
Du Yue's face and ears, which had just returned to their normal colour, flushed red again. She stole a glance at Su Wen, and her heartbeat quickened.
Grandma, delighted by her reaction, had already started planning who they would invite, and who they wouldn't, to the wedding.
Little Sparrow, overjoyed, couldn't contain herself. She darted around excitedly, swatting Su Wen in the face with her tiny feathery fists, scolding him for being so dramatic.
Du Yue, who had just regained the light in her eyes, suddenly remembered something and said grudgingly, "My name is Du Yue, and I'm not a little girl anymore. I'll turn seventeen at the end of the year. So instead of calling me a little girl, maybe I should call you a little boy… since I'm a little older than you."
Silence. Again, silence.
Everyone stared at her innocent expression, clearly not understanding the meaning of her words, and waited, confused, for someone to respond.
Grandma, Grandpa, and the little bird looked at her with strange expressions, but chose not to say anything, they didn't want to completely destroy their grandson's pride.
Su Wen felt like he was about to blow a fuse. Without thinking, he decided a cold bath in the lake was the only way to cool down. He stood up and went to the lake, but didn't notice the faint blush creeping across his face as he plunged into the water.