Zither Emperor

Xiang Luan giggled before saying, “What are you two up to? It looks like you’re going on a blind date. Ye Yin Zhu, why did you come here looking for Hai Yang? Yesterday, Hai Yang carried you back to your dorm and returned very late in the evening. I asked her what she did over there, but she wouldn’t tell me. Did you bully her?”

“I, I…” Ye Yin Zhu didn’t know if his actions yesterday could be considered as bullying Hai Yang. For a moment, he was genuinely unable to come up with a reply.

“Older Sister Xiang Luan, stop bullying him. He is a well-behaved man.” Hai Yang finally spoke, but her voice was still cold. The iciness, however, was now more frenetic.

Xiang Luan smiled and said, “Let him speak for himself. Ye Yin Zhu, what’s your explanation! What are you doing here?”

Ye Yin Zhu sucked in a deep breath. He suddenly realized that girls were very difficult to deal with; it was very easy for them to tease him whenever they spoke. “I came here to thank Senior Hai Yang for taking care of me yesterday.”

“Don’t mention it. You did save us earlier during the match,” Hai Yang answered indifferently. By this time, her gaze had already returned to normal.

“Furthermore, I wanted to try and see if I can heal your face,” said Ye Yin Zhu, hurriedly finishing the second half of his explanation.

“What are you saying? You can heal Hai Yang’s face?” Xiang Luan stared at Ye Yin Zhu with amazement, her beautiful eyes full of pleasant surprise.

Hai Yang’s complexion changed greatly, her gaze instantly turning cold. “How about you leave. I don’t need your treatment.” Even Sura, who stood behind Ye Yin Zhu, could feel the iciness her body discharged. He couldn’t help but secretly scold Ye Yin Zhu in his heart. ‘This fool, how can he directly talk about that girl’s sore spot. Hai Yang looks like a person with high self-esteem. Isn’t he asking for trouble like this?’

Ye Yin Zhu naturally didn’t understand a female’s mind and hurriedly said, “Senior Hai Yang, although I am not completely sure, I can still try. Your face must be suffering from the injury. We are fellow students, and I merely want to help you.”

Hai Yang was about to refuse. Xiang Luan, seeing this, quickly rushed to say, “Hai Yang, since he dared to come find you, maybe he really does have a way? Let him try.”

Hai Yang sighed lightly. She also realized that Ye Yin Zhu didn’t intentionally attack the sore spot on her heart. The iciness in her eyes disappeared somewhat as she faintly said, “There’s no need. From childhood to now, no matter which doctor or Light mage tried, weren’t all the treatments I received ineffective? I don’t want to be disappointed again. Ye Yin Zhu, thank you for your good intentions. You can leave now.”

Ye Yin Zhu didn’t expect Hai Yang to be such a stubborn and distant person. “Senior, I only want to help you. The scarring on your face must be caused by the corrosive nature of Dark magic. There’s a high probability it was inflicted by a curse. Although Light magic can dispel Dark magic, it cannot treat the injuries Dark magic had already caused. It must be blocking the face’s meridians. If we care for it tomorrow, your face might be completely restored. I want to try and unblock the meridians on your face. If it’s successful, there’s at least an eighty percent chance you can restore your appearance.”

Hai Yang stared at Ye Yin Zhu with extreme astonishment. The idea of refusal was no longer clear on her face. By her side, Xiang Luan hastily said, “Hai Yang, let him try. He already gave the Divine Music division a miracle. Maybe he can also give you one?”

Hai Yang’s expression showed her slight struggle before she slowly nodded her head and said, “Alright. What are you going to do?”

Ye Yin Zhu pointed at the sofa and said, “Senior Hai Yang, please sit down first.”

Hai Yang complied to his request and sat down. Xiang Luan and Sura stood on either side of her. They also wanted to see how Ye Yin Zhu intended to treat Hai Yang. One must know, injuries caused by Dark magic’s corrosive nature were the most difficult to treat, not to mention the scarring on Hai Yang’s face, which was magically cursed.

Ye Yin Zhu walked up to Hai Yang, stood in front of her, and lightly raised his hand over her face, which her long, black hair still concealed. He gathered her black hair behind her ear. The simple movement made her body tremble. Even though Ye Yin Zhu’s hand didn’t touch Hai Yang’s skin, she could clearly feel the heat from it. Ye Yin Zhu’s single-minded gaze towards her made Hai Yang feel as if she were on pins and needles. Her most painful suffering and regret was now completely exposed to this unfamiliar man in front of her. Even if she had a somewhat favorable impression of him, Hai Yang’s heart still brimmed with all kinds of complicated emotions.

“I, I don’t want the treatment anymore.” Hai Yang desperately wanted to hide behind her long hair again, but Xiang Luan pressed her on.

“Hai Yang, behave. This might be a genuine opportunity.” Xiang Luan placated her, using her other hand to cover Hai Yang’s eyes and making her incapable of seeing Ye Yin Zhu. This caused the nervous Hai Yang to relax somewhat.

Ye Yin Zhu carefully examined Hai Yang’s face, his single-minded, devoted gaze similar to how he looked at the guqin. Almost eighty percent of Hai Yang’s face was withered flesh and skin, the flesh a fierce and vicious dark red—seemingly made to terrify people. Although the Dark magic’s corrosiveness and curse had already been dispelled, this huge scar couldn’t help but make a feeling of intense pity rise up in Ye Yin Zhu’s heart. He could only imagine how much suffering Hai Yang had received for the scarring on her face.

Faint yellow rays of light appeared from Ye Yin Zhu’s right hand as he carefully touched the scarring on Hai Yang’s face with his four fingers.

Hai Yang’s face was very cold while Ye Yin Zhu’s hand was very warm. As he stroked Hai Yang’s scarred face, her body distinctly shivered. A warm feeling circulated throughout her face like a river, and the scar on her face boiled.

“It’s more severe than I imagined. Some of the meridians are already dead.” Ye Yin Zhu lowered his hand, his expression becoming grave.

Xiang Luan urgently asked, “Can you still heal it?”

Ye Yin Zhu nodded and said, “I’ll try. I need to repeatedly treat it, however, for there to be a chance of complete recovery. Senior Hai Yang, in a moment, you may feel a slight aching and numb itching sensation. Please bear with it.” As he said this, he lifted one of his trouser legs.

Sura and Xiang Luan looked simultaneously. Tied around Ye Yin Zhu’s right leg was something like a cloth. Ye Yin Zhu took it off and handed it over to Sura, gesturing for him to open it up in his hands. Now Sura could clearly see that it was a cloth bag, each pocket was in the shape of a strip. A faint purple light was emitted from the pockets.

Ye Yin Zhu waved his right hand over the cloth bag. Immediately, a violet needle appeared between the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand. The needle was about 11 centimeters long, and its entire body was violet. Both ends were extremely sharp, and the entire needle emitted a soft violet light.

Xiang Luan looked at Ye Yin Zhu in surprise as she asked, “What is this? What use does this needle have?”

Ye Yin Zhu answered, “This is a Violet Bamboo Needle. Only the bamboo forest in the Desolate Jade Sea, my home, has it. In the center of the Desolate Jade Sea is the Bamboo of Life. Altogether, 18 violet bamboos grow around it. It is as hard as iron and has tremendous vitality as well as nature’s power of harmony. Every violet bamboo has a bamboo core. Through a special extraction process, they can be fashioned into a needle. In my cloth bag, there are 18 Violet Bamboo Needles to be used for my family’s traditional art of healing, which can treat some ailments.”

Originally, Ye Yin Zhu had lost his space ring, making him lose the Zither Sect’s five treasured guqins simultaneously. Fortunately, he carried the Bamboo Sect’s treasure on his person. The Jade Silk was fastened around his wrist, while the Violet Bamboo Needles were fastened around his calf. Even though they appeared to be very insignificant objects, both of them were unique treasures in the Bamboo Sect. Ye Li was afraid that his grandson would suffer losses in the outside world, so he gave these treasures to him. Even Ye Zhong hadn’t complained. During the last year he spent in the Desolate Jade Sea, Ye Yin Zhu primarily relied on his exceptional concentration and intelligence to study both the Jade Silk and Violet Bamboo Needle.

Xiang Luan, alarmed, involuntarily cried out, “Don’t tell me that this is the Divine Acupuncture Vein Treatment. Didn’t this art of healing die out long ago?”