"Confucius said, 'Is it not a pleasure to learn and then practice what you have learned at the appropriate time...'"
The voice of Song Yixuan reciting the Analects of Confucius came from a small courtyard in Su City, Yu State.
At this moment, Song Yixuan was only wearing a thin shirt. With a bowl of water on his head, he was squatting in the courtyard doing horse - stance.
His legs were trembling, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. Indescribable soreness came from all over his body, which made him always want to give up. So he had to recite the Analects of Confucius to distract himself.
Beside him, three - year - old Xiangxiang was imitating his actions in an orderly manner. Every time Song Yixuan recited a sentence, Xiangxiang would follow suit. But the sentences were too long, so he only managed to repeat the last one.
"Is it not a pleasure!"
The little boy had no idea what Song Yixuan was doing. He just thought it was fun and followed along. Remarkably, Xiangxiang, who was usually naughty and fond of playing, had managed to hold on with Song Yixuan until now.
Even Guard Kong, who was in charge of teaching Song Yixuan martial arts, praised, "I didn't expect that the young master is actually a good candidate for martial arts."
Song Yixuan glanced at Xiangxiang, who looked happy and didn't seem to feel any pain, and felt a bit proud.
This was the child of General Ji Lingchuan, the protector of the country. Naturally, he had inherited his father's courage and tenacity.
However, Xiangxiang was still too young. After a while, he couldn't hold on anymore and plopped down on the ground. He looked disappointed and said, "Woo, Xiangxiang lost to Uncle again."
Song Yixuan smiled and said, "Xiangxiang, don't be discouraged. If you want to beat Uncle, you have to grow up quickly!"
Xiangxiang got up from the ground and nodded vigorously, "Yes, Xiangxiang wants to grow up quickly!"
The weather was quite nice today. Qi Lei was sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun. Watching the interaction between the uncle and nephew, a faint smile appeared on his face, but there was still worry hidden in his eyes.
In a blink of an eye, Song Yihuan and Feng Tingyun had left Su City for Yanyun to get medicine for a month. He wondered if they were doing well and safe in Yanyun?
Thinking of Song Yihuan, Qi Lei felt his emotions surging. He covered his lips and coughed. A sudden dizziness hit him, and he had trouble catching his breath.
Song Yixuan noticed something was wrong. Without caring about his practice, he put down the bowl on his head and staggered towards Qi Lei with his sore legs. He helped Qi Lei up and asked anxiously,
"Father, are you okay?"
Xiangxiang also came forward, looking worried, "Grandpa, what's wrong with you?"
Qi Lei coughed extremely violently this time, as if he was about to cough out his lungs. His body suddenly trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood from his throat.
"Father!"
Song Yixuan was so anxious that tears welled up in his eyes. His hands that were wiping the blood from Qi Lei's lips couldn't stop trembling. He turned to Guard Kong and said, "Guard Kong, could you please go outside and find a doctor to examine my father?"
This scene also scared Guard Kong. He immediately stood up and said, "Don't worry, young master. I'll go right away!"
Just then, there was a sudden sound of horses galloping outside. It sounded like several horses had stopped at the door of the small courtyard at the same time. Guard Kong's expression changed. He immediately drew out the knife from his waist and held it in front of him, looking ready to fight.
Before Song Yixuan could react, the door was kicked open. The familiar voice of Song Yihuan rang out in the courtyard, "Father, Xuan'er, Xiangxiang, I'm back!"
Song Yixuan was stunned for a moment, and then his face lit up with ecstasy, "Sister!"
Xiangxiang even jumped up happily, "Mother! Master Father, and big - sized Bobo!"
It was Song Yihuan, who they hadn't seen for a month, who had kicked open the courtyard door. Behind her were Ji Lingchuan and Feng Tingyun!
The four - year - long war finally ended seven days ago with the great defeat of the Beidi and Xirong tribes. Liao City was recaptured by Yu State. The commanders - in - chief of the Beidi and Xirong tribes were beheaded, and all the Northern Allied Forces except those in Yanyun had become captives.
Under pressure, the kings of the Beidi and Xirong tribes had to send envoys to Liao City again to sign documents with Yu State and Yanyun. After resolving all these matters, Song Yihuan didn't dare to stay in Liao City any longer. After getting permission from Ji Zihuan, she, together with Ji Lingchuan and Feng Tingyun, took the medicine she had obtained from the imperial mausoleum in Yanyun and rushed back to Su City in a hurry to treat Qi Lei.
On this journey, the three of them didn't dare to stop for a moment. The journey that usually took five days was shortened to two days. Finally, Song Yihuan was back in the familiar small courtyard.
But when she pushed open the door, the sight that greeted her was Qi Lei spitting out blood. At that moment, her heart almost stopped beating. She stumbled forward, grabbed Qi Lei's slightly cold hand, and sobbed,
"Father, Huan'er is back. Huan'er is here to save you!"
She turned to Feng Tingyun and said, "Brother Wang, please save my father quickly."
Feng Tingyun looked solemn and said, "Help me move him into the room. I'll start the rescue right away."
Ji Lingchuan stepped forward and said, "I'll do it."
Qi Lei was carried by Ji Lingchuan and sent into the room. He was placed on the bed. Song Yixuan fetched Feng Tingyun's medicine box. Feng Tingyun sat on the bed. He mashed the branches, leaves, roots, and stems of the so - called "Phoenix Unicorn Flower" that they had obtained from the imperial mausoleum in Yanyun and put them into Qi Lei's mouth. Then he used gold needles to pierce through the petals of the Phoenix Unicorn Flower and inserted them into Qi Lei's major acupoints one by one.
After the petals were pierced by the gold needles, bright red juice flowed out and then slowly seeped into Qi Lei's body along the needles.
"General Ji, I need your help." Feng Tingyun said.
Ji Lingchuan nodded, "Doctor Feng, just give your instructions."
"Please help me protect Uncle Qi's heart and lungs so that the medicine can circulate through his eight extraordinary meridians."
"Huan'er, go and boil some hot water. Keep wiping your father's palms and soles."
Xiangxiang seemed to know that this was a crucial moment. Although he finally saw his mother whom he hadn't seen for a long time, he didn't dare to go into the room to disturb them. Instead, he waited patiently outside with Song Yixuan and Guard Kong.
The rescue lasted for two hours. When the bright red Phoenix Unicorn Flower gradually turned white and Qi Lei's complexion slowly became rosy from a grayish one, Feng Tingyun stopped.
"With the Phoenix Unicorn Flower, the illness in his body can be cured. But he has been ill for a long time, and his body is severely weakened. In the future, he needs to take good care of himself and not overwork." Feng Tingyun said.
Seeing that his chest was rising and falling more noticeably and there was no more noise in his breathing, Song Yihuan was overjoyed and wept.
"Great, great. Father is finally okay!"
She couldn't stop crying. Her tears wet her face and clothes. Ji Lingchuan felt sorry for her and hugged her into his arms, comforting her trembling back.
"Uncle Qi is saved. This is all thanks to the medicine you and Doctor Feng retrieved from Yanyun. Uncle Qi is honest and kind. He will surely live a long life and accompany you and Xuan'er for a long time."