Wu Yong lost track of time during his visit to the river. He and Tao Hua waded into the cool water for a third of the time spent there. The other times were spent washing and drying on the banks. Wu Yong led the horse back to his stable stall and closed the door as soon as the horse walked in. Wu Yong promised he would return to transform his still dirty stall into a spotless room. He would find the time and excuses but at this moment there are more pressing matters.
Wu Yong stops in his tracks. He almost entered the main courtyard but stopped a few steps short because he sees Xue Weifeng and a dozen students standing in an organized formation. Their eyes were all on him and he knew he would be receiving a grand punishment. Xue Weifeng is already unrolling her whip, holding it out in battle position. Wu Yong held his breath as he spoke, "Why don't we use words? I know I did wrong, please spare me Xue Weifeng!"
"Who are you calling Xue Weifeng!" Her eyes looked like those of a fish as she finally used her weapon. Xue Weifeng had aimed for his neck but he moved. The stinging whip caught his collarbone instead. This enraged the woman even further, "Who says you can dodge? Do you think that succeeding to cultivate means you are one of us now? Come, take your punishment like you used to!"
Wu Yong raised an eyebrow. He fooled them into thinking he cultivated overnight? Well, if the Xue family believes that and nothing else it would benefit him. Wu Yong held his arms out to take the punishment. He acted like his former submissive self by saying, "Hurry up so I can start recovering early. I assume it is one hundred lashes for escaping and thirty for stealing a horse?"
Xue Weifeng tipped her face up, satisfied by his obedient tone and actions. She does not care much about the horse but she feared he may have done something to put her name to shame. She loved seeing Wu Yong powerless and obedient so much that she forgot she gave life to him. "That is the good boy I always knew. Xue Liang would never have to take my whips but you, you are a mess! I should clear you myself."
Wu Yong winced as she whipped him relentlessly. His bloody rags gained new stains with each lash until blood dripped from threads. Still, the young man is stubbornly standing. Although he submits to Xue Weifeng, he will not kneel for her anymore. He knows the woman understands his actions when she exerts all her energy into each lash. Wu Yong could only grit his teeth and stand his ground.
Behind Xue Weifeng, the students were cheering her on and calling Wu Yong degrading names. None were eager to strike the lunatic but all enjoyed watching the dog obey its master. To Wu Yong, this moment is a humiliating punishment. To Xue Weifeng, it was a moment to project her anger onto a living being. To the disciples present, this was a show. As if they were watching public executions, they screamed to have Wu Yong mutilated.
Xue Weifeng tugged the whip back towards her, she was breathing loudly. Loose tendrils of hair stuck to the sides of her face with the help of sweat. The woman grinned as she rolled the whip to strap it back onto her waist. She breathed out in relief, glad to be able to release her fury. She was questioning the sudden changes of behaviour in the lunatic but she dropped her thoughts fairly quickly. With a last huff, she stalked away from the courtyard. The students followed her like a tail.
Wu Yong watched the gaudy group disappeared around the corner. A sudden burst of pain shot from his lower leg and he fell onto the hard floor. A sharp stone embedded itself into his palm when he put his hands out to prevent his face from smashing against ground. The young man put his head on top of his hands, hiding his face as much as possible. He released a heavy breathe, realizing he is unable to rise.
Wu Yong finally lifted his head to flip his palm up. He scraped the surface of the rock stuck deep inside his palm, grimacing as it was pushed deeper in. The realization hit him like a typhoon on a nice day. It would be difficult to remove the piece of rock without a tool to pry his wound open. "My legs do not work, I am bleeding and there is a stone stuck in my hand! I might as well become a spirit."
Wu Yong slapped himself feebly. He shook his head and quickly took back his words, "No! I still have to be a Demon King and I think I will have to stay alive for that. I should give into the Xue family. I can endure for another year, I am sure of it. Alright, I must pick up a sword and at least pass the first stage of cultivation. Then, I will pretend that I am taking the righteous path. When the year is over and I am no longer a lunatic I will escape. Oh, if I can get this damned pebble out of my hand first!"
"Little Lunatic, do you need my help?" Xue Qing Chu looked down at the battered man. His face did not betray his emotions, always the straight face displayed on the doctor. Wu Yong could never tell if the uncle genuinely wanted to help or if he was ordered to. Xue Qing Chu smirked. "Madam Xue told me about the bloody madman she left in the main courtyards. What happened to your fiery spirit?"
Wu Yong understood the man clearly. No one would help him by their own will. If a person wastes time and resources on this crazy man, they might as well be a lunatic just like him. Wu Yong swallowed his emotions and nod. At the moment he would even accept help from assassins. "Do not ask about my change of attitude. I went beyond crazy yesterday and I came to realize that I must be obedient to survive. After all my life was, is, and will belong in the hands of the Xue family."
"Right," Xue Qing Chu mused to himself. As a doctor, he knows that he is responsible for the lives of his patients. "You are a pitiful boy. I can see you want to be acknowledged and treated well but you need my help. I could leave you here and watch you become a true cripple but I am not as heartless as Xue Weifeng. Are you able to stand?"
Wu Yong shook his head and explained in detail. He described the excruciating pain that caused his fall and the current headache attacking the insides of his head. Xue Qing Chu asked about the whip wounds but Wu Yong did not feel them. He could feel the stabbing jolts of pain but the old and fresh lacerations did not affect him. "Ever since yesterday my body has reacted in strange ways. I am not educated enough to know if it is the result of cultivating in the wrong order of stages."
Xue Qing Chu rubbed the stubble on his chin, deep in thought. In all his years he had never heard of a cultivator attempting to cultivate outside of the usual order of things. He assumed that everything has a natural order therefore, Wu Yong not feeling certain pains could be a side effect. The doctor could care less about the man on the ground but he did want to study the strange phenomenon. "I will diagnose this odd receiving of pain as the result of cultivating in the wrong order. You will be subject to tests later but for now, I suggest you rest in the infirmary."
"Thank you," Wu Yong rasped with a cough. The pounding headache subsided but his lower legs felt as if thousands of acupuncture needles had been pushed in and yanked out, all needles at the same time. "I might need help walking though, how will I get to the infirmary with these dead legs?"
"I called for a stretcher earlier because I sensed you would have trouble walking after one hundred and thirty whips. You sustained a total of around three hundred in the past two days. It is a record!" Xue Qing Chu threw his hands into the air in faked exasperation. "Onlookers would believe you do not want to live long. The Blue Serpent Whip truly stings and you are lucky you are not paralyzed."
"I beg to differ," Wu Yong reached around to massage his legs. Since he could not use his legs but he could feel pain, he believes being paralyzed is better. The pain is his legs might go away but he was not so sure. "Oh! Is that what stretchers look like now? It looks impressive but can two thin boys carry me on that?"
Wu Yong recalled the last time he saw a stretcher. At that time it had been a simple wooden plank that is the same length as a man. Often times, a couple of people would pitch in to help lift the person on the plank. The new stretcher looked like two parralel poles of wood and cow skin. It looks similar to nets, only the stretcher does not have holes.
The two young boys carrying the stretcher lay the item on the ground. They must have been forced to come out which explains the glares directed at Wu Yong. Acting like saviors they drag the man onto the stretcher. Xue Qing Chu looks on proudly. The taller boy shouts to the shorter boy, "Lift! We should bring this thing to the infirmary as quickly as possible!"
Wu Yong held up a hand to protest, "Am I merely a 'thing'? I will obey all your demands if you treat me well enough. I will not die if you do not treat me but your teacher may not be happy. I'll tell you the truth: I am a rat to the Xue family. If I must be taken to the infirmary it is purely for research. Now you boys know that, am I a rat or a thing? I will never ask to be your patient so stop looking at me with those faces!"
"I have had enough of you," The younger carrier grumbled. He used one hand to take out long acupuncture needles. His colleague shot him a look when the stretcher lost balance. The younger boy pushed a few needles into the man on the stretcher. It took a bit but he eventually lost consciousness. "He is such a nuisance. It is a wonder the Xue family still keeps him as their subject. I would use rats if the other option is to work with this weird man."
"Hush, you are only saying this because the sick kitchen girl is stressing you. We must tread lightly with him because he may have started cultivating like in the rumors." The older boy sounded like a brother scolding his younger sibling. He is the calmer one of the two. "I think he would go crazy if he truly cultivated. By then, he would do anything to satisfy his past grievances. I heard a chef in Li family did that years ago. He damaged the big sect."
"Right, he has been exiled since." Xue Qing Chu joined the conversation. This matter he was familiar with as he was in the Li house when the cultivating chef killed all the people who criticized his cooking on a daily basis. "If Wu Yong becomes a cultivator he would wait until he reaches a high stage. I fear that deep down, he is very determined. He might make a breakthrough in his cultivation any day and we would have to watch how we treat him. For now make him obey us and be careful after we finish treating him."
The three healers entered the courtyard of the infirmary house. Sitting under the large gingko tree was a group of new sect disciples sore from long lessons. Xue Qing Chu greeted them quickly while ushering the stretcher carriers into the house. The boys knew their way well so they carried Wu Yong to the room but beds while Xue Qing Chu retrieves herbs and tools from the herbal storage room. The boys pushed Wu Yong off the stretcher and onto a narrow bed. They did not bother to give him a pillow and left.
Shortly after the boys had gone, Wu Yong regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He had to narrow his eyes to keep out bright light. He remembered Xue Qing Chu needed light to operate and that included sunlight from large windows, hundreds of candles and hanging lamps. All these luminescent items gave Xue Qing Chu energy but it had the opposite effect on Wu Yong.
The young man had stayed inside Forbidden Room for the majority of his life. Whenever he stepped out of the dark house the sky is either cloudy or pitch black. The light in the infirmary room harmed him physically and he really he was not normal. When Xue Qing Chu returns he would ask for a dimmer setting. "Is anyone out there? Can someone bring me water?"
Wu Yong knew there were a couple disciples keeping guard at the doors but no one replied. Instead he heard muffled snickers and giggles. He had a feeling his throat would be left to dry for a while. He let out a cough and croaks, "I cannot do much. The only thing I can do at this moment is be quiet and take these blows. When is Xue Qing Chu going to arrive?"
The doors slid open and the doctor finally entered the room. He found Wu Yong awake on the last bed in the room. The patients around the lunatic had puzzled expressions but Xue Qing Chu was not in the mood to explain. The doctor silently cursed his students for placing Wu Yong so far back. He knew they situated the man there to spite him but the house was so large it took some time to reach the end. The healer made a note to scold his disciples.
"Eat this pill," Xue Qing Chu gave the young man a green ball. He did not explain the purpose of the medicine or its effects. They both knew the mysterious pill was the latest edition of the test pills. Xue Qing Chu would learn the benefits and side effects of the new pill after several trials which will take place during the next few days. The old man watched Wu Yong obey his instructions with a smile on his face. As soon as the pill is swallowed, the research begins.