The sunset was like blood. Outside the city gates, an old man named Liu Ku from the "Qingmu Sect" stepped out from behind the rocks.
"Physician Su, you broke the rules. That needle of yours crippled our business."
Han Yuan stepped forward, but Su Qing spoke. "Han Yuan, put away your sword intent. A sword is a weapon, but it is also a needle. If you only know how to hack and slash, you'll never touch the 'Return to Truth'."
She looked at Liu Ku. "Your liver meridian is scorchingly pathological. When you thrust this sword, your spiritual flow will stall for 0.1 seconds at the Qimen point. 0.1 seconds is enough for me to dismantle you."
Liu Ku moved. Emerald sword shadows filled the sky. Su Qing walked toward the rain of swords and extended a white, slender finger.
Clang!
Her fingertip pressed perfectly against the spine of the emerald sword. "Severing the Meridian."
Liu Ku felt an incomprehensible force. His proud Integration-stage power vanished like melting snow. Then, his spiritual power flowed violently in the opposite direction.
Boom! A cloud of green blood mist exploded from Liu Ku's chest. He didn't die, but his meridians were twisted into tangles; he would be a cripple forever.
"I won't kill you because your life isn't worth that price. Go tell your sect master: let him bring his own Spirit Root to see me."
Back at the Half-Life Clinic, the smell of burning greeted them.
"Su girl! Why the 'Bitter Almonds' in the porridge?" Old Man Mo emerged from the kitchen, soot-covered.
"The logic is sound," Su Qing said, ignoring the smoke. She turned to Han Yuan. "Go change. We are starting the surgery. If you die of pain, I will bury you with this pot of porridge."
Just then, a snow-white cat squeezed out of Han Yuan's box—Xiao Wu, the divine beast. It made a disgusted face at the burnt air.
"Look, even Little White thinks your porridge is trash," Mo sneered.
"Old Man Mo," Su Qing petted the cat, "you're washing the dishes tonight with your 'Corpse-Dissolving Powder.' If they aren't clean, I'll disassemble your poison threads."
That night, the lights of the Half-Life Clinic stayed lit.