Chapter 25 A Massage Is Also a Means of Cultivation!
Chapter 25 A Massage Is Also a Means of Cultivation!
After a quick nap, Li Yundong whipped up three dishes using the groceries they had bought from the supermarket last time. He brought the dishes to the coffee table in the living room, then hollered to let Su Chan know that it was lunch time.
They sat down at the coffee table and started eating. As usual, Su Chan ended up wolfing down most of the food on the table. Not that Li Yundong didn't put up a good fight. If the art of chopstick fighting existed, he'd probably be a black belt by now considering how much practice he'd had. He was still no match for Su Chan, of course. Damn, the girl was relentless. But the most appalling thing of all was that she'd actually snarled and growled at him when he tried to reach for the food on the table, the food that he had prepared.
The little minx!
Li Yundong laughed. "Damn, you really are like a kid."
Su Chan burped, then glanced at Li Yundong sheepishly.
"Just... It- it was delicious!" she said, blushing to the tip of her ears.
Li Yundong shook his head and smiled at her.
"Guess I'll have to prepare four servings from now on. Two servings isn't even close to enough! Hell, I've barely eaten two bites!"
Su Chan's blush deepened.
"Um... I'm sorry," she said, fiddling with the sleeve of Li Yundong's sweatshirt. "I stole your food again..."
"Nah," Li Yundong said, waving off her concerns. "It's okay as long as you're full."
Su Chan lowered her head. "A- actually..." she trailed off, stealing a glance at Li Yundong from under her lashes. "I'm only about a third full."
Li Yundong's butt fell off the couch onto the carpet. He gaped at Su Chan for a few seconds, then grabbed the empty rice cooker beside the table and showed it to Su Chan.
"That's four cups of rice I cooked! And you alone finished three cups! Holy shit! What is your stomach made of?!"
Su Chan's pout was so huge that her lips were almost pointing towards the ceiling.
"I was hungry!"
"I'll be damned..." Li Yundong said, then paused to look at her strangely. "Don't tell me you're still in puberty."
"As if!" Su Chan said, pushing her chest out proudly. "I'm already past puberty!"
Li Yundong stared at Su Chan's voluptuous chest, then swallowed hard.
Personality-wise, Su Chan was just like a child; she was cheerful and perky all the time, innocent, and perhaps a little bit naive. However, her body was a far cry from a child's. Hell, who was he even kidding? Her body was absolutely flawless. At 165cm tall, Su Chan was the living personification of perfection with her slender limbs and long legs, as well as her narrow waist.
Even when wearing his sweatshirt, which was at least several sizes too large for her, her bust was still pushing out against the front of the shirt. That's gotta be a D-cup at least... Li Yundong thought. And judging from the two sharp points vaguely visible through the front of the shirt, she wasn't wearing a damn bra.
F*ck.
Li Yundong cleared his throat and averted his gaze. So help him God, he might lose his marbles if he kept staring at those voluptuous, alluring, mouth-watering, sexy and—
Li Yundong stood up unsteadily.
"I'm going to start cleaning up," he said, stacking up the used plates and bowls from the coffee table.
Li Yundong entered the kitchen with a stack of dishes and headed for the sink. Once he began working on the dishes, his mind went into autopilot mode. Images of Su Chan's enticing figure filled his mind, stoking the heat inside his chest. His fantasies went on and on until a point where he felt something warm on his nose.
He reached up with a hand and wiped his nose.
Blood.
"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me..." Li Yundong said. "F*ck! Am I really this pathetic? I got a nosebleed coz of something like this?"
In the living room, Su Chan frowned when she heard Li Yundong talking to himself in the kitchen. She rose from the carpet and walked into the kitchen, where she saw Li Yundong standing at the sink with his head tipped back and his right head pinching the bridge of his nose. There were blood stains on his neck and the front of his shirt.
Su Chan ran to the sink.
"You're bleeding!"
Li Yundong turned away from Su Chan awkwardly, blushing to the tip of his ears. I can't let her see me like this, dammit! he thought. She's gonna laugh at me if she knew that I got a nosebleed just from having dirty thoughts about her...
"No, no. Don’t worry! I'm good!" Li Yundong said, stepping away from Su Chan. "It's no big deal. I got it handled." He held his free hand out in front of him to prevent Su Chan from coming any closer.
What the —
He felt a strong tug on his hand, and the next thing he knew he was practically crashing into Su Chan. He was still drowning in Su Chan's scent when he felt a light tap on the back of his neck, then another on the top of his head. Confused, he stepped away and looked at Su Chan strangely.
Su Chan was beaming at him.
"Hehe, you're fine now," she said. "Lower your head."
Li Yundong did as he was told, albeit hesitantly. When he found that blood was no longer spilling from his nose like a burst pipe, his head snapped back up and he looked at Su Chan in surprise.
"You tapped me two times, and the bleeding stopped," he said. "How the... I mean, that's amazing..."
Su Chan's grin grew wider.
"Yep, my master taught me that."
"Damn... Your master must be some kind of medical genius..."
All of a sudden, Li Yundong's body grew stiff.
"Hey... uh... listen... um... Th- The weather is too hot!" he stammered. "The nosebleed! I mean that's how I got the nosebleed. Don't get the wrong idea, okay?"
Su Chan smiled at him and patted his shoulder.
"Aw... You don't have to explain anything to me," she said. "I totally get it. I understand!"
Li Yundong's face fell. Oh, f*ck... Does that mean she knows I've been having dirty thoughts about her? There goes my f*cking reputation...
As it turned out, Su Chan did know, but not in the sense that Li Yundong thought. Su Chan knew the reason behind Li Yundong's nosebleed from a medical perspective, and she came to the conclusion that it wasn't a good thing at all.
Nosebleeds occur when the blood capillaries inside the nose rupture, which is typically caused by three things: one, strong impact on the nasal cavity; two, sudden expansion and constriction of the blood capillaries due to sudden temperature change; three, the failure of the body's Qi to control blood flow.
For Li Yundong, it was the third case.
If all the red blood cells in the human body form an army, then the body's Qi would be the General commanding the army. This is also why having a powerful Qi is important to ensure good health; life sustaining nutrients are transported to all cells in the body via the blood, and Qi helps in that regard by making blood flow more rapidly through the body. As such, a person with weak Qi would experience a slow blood flow, which in turn leads to poor health and even the formation of blood clots.
The blood capillaries inside the nose are delicate and fragile, which makes them highly sensitive to any changes in the state of a person's Qi. Having been enhanced by the Renyuan Jindan, Li Yundong's Qi was already more powerful than that of a normal human. Also, Su Chan had no doubt that the anger he'd experienced during his brawl with those weaklings this morning had left his Qi in an agitated state. Those two factors combined led to the rapid flow of blood through his system and, subsequently, a nosebleed when the capillaries inside his nose ruptured.
Su Chan wasn't at all surprised to see Li Yundong having nosebleeds at some point after consuming the Jindan. Still, the fact remained that his nosebleed was a sign of his Qi going out of control. Had he controlled his Qi and brought it out of its agitated state, his blood flow rate would be manageable as well.
Su Chan waited in the kitchen until Li Yundong finished up everything. Then, when Li Yundong was drying his hand with a dish towel, Su Chan walked up to him and said, "Let me give you a massage, okay?"
A tsunami of joy crashed into Li Yundong. He tossed the dish towel onto the counter and turned to face Su Chan. Boy, her face though. It was like she wasn't just asking him for permission, but also pleading for permission. In an instant, all the things that had been troubling his mind earlier faded into oblivion. Being able to enjoy a meal with a gorgeous woman, and then get a massage after that? Am I in heaven or what? At that moment, Li Yundong was sure of something: if given a choice between having eternal life and being able to grow old with the woman he loved, he'd choose the latter any day.
***
When Li Yundong agreed to her request with a nod, she grabbed his arm and led him out of the kitchen. Once in the living room, Li Yundong tried to move towards the couch, but Su Chan pulled him back, then shook her head. When Li Yundong gave her a confused look, she pointed at the carpet. Once she'd gotten Li Yundong to sit down cross-legged on the carpet, she moved around to stand behind him, then got to work.
Su Chan didn't perform the Three-Pronged Flower Gathering technique on Li Yundong this time since it would lead him to wearing the crown of three flowers. A person who wears the crown of three flowers would be in such a state where their Essence, Qi, and blood are the most vigorous.
However, this was the exact opposite of what Li Yundong needed at the moment, since his Qi and blood were already too energized. If Su Chan performed the Three-Pronged Flower Gathering technique on him right now, a nosebleed wouldn't be the only thing he had to worry about — he would be bleeding from all seven openings on his head!
While she worked, Su Chan secretly began to mobilize the Yin Qi inside her body, getting it to flow out of her body from the center of her palm. Then, she pressed her palm down on the top of Li Yundong's head and began rubbing his Baihui with a gentle circular motion: 32 times clockwise; 32 counter-clockwise.
The Baihui is the highest acupoint in the human body. If the human body were a pressure cooker, then the Baihui would be the air vent on top. As such, the Baihui is a very sensitive acupoint, the stimulation of which would affect all acupoints in the human body.
In essence, Su Chan was channeling the Yin Qi inside her body into Li Yundong's body through his Baihui. Once her Yin Qi entered Li Yundong's system, it would start balancing his Yang Qi, thus bringing it out of its agitated state and into a state of harmony. The combination of Yin and Yang leads to harmony. This is the Yin-Yang principle, an immutable law of nature.
Thanks to Su Chan, Li Yundong was experiencing the most pleasurable sensation of his life. It was like cool spring water was being poured into his body via some kind of opening on top of his head. The coolness gushed into his body and spread out through his body, seeping into every blood vessel. It was refreshing. Invigorating. It was as though life itself was being poured into his body. Minutes after the massage began, Li Yundong began moaning and groaning in pleasure.
"Oh God... That feels so good..." Li Yundong released a long sigh.
Su Chan gave him a stern look and said, "Don't talk."
Li Yundong clammed up immediately. He closed his eyes and focused on enjoying the massage and the cooling sensation spreading all over his body.
After she was done with Li Yundong's Baihui, Su Chan rubbed her palms together to warm them up. Then, she covered Li Yundong's ears with her palms and pressed inward. She held that position for about a minute or so before pulling her palms away from his ears abruptly.
The moment Su Chan's palms left his ears, Li Yundong heard a rumble inside his ears. At that moment, it was as though every single knot inside his body had been untangled and freed. Then, there was that cooling sensation again, this time originating from below his navel and surging upwards until it reached his head. He suddenly felt as if his vision and hearing had never been this clear. He'd never felt this refreshed before.
Where did she learn these massage techniques anyway? Li Yundong thought, his heart filled with curiosity and awe. And the effects are instantaneous... Is that even humanly possible?
Li Yundong had a lot of questions that he was dying to ask. But he didn't want to anger Su Chan, so he kept them to himself for now. Still, everything felt too bizarre for him to act like it was just a simple massage. This had to be something else. While Su Chan worked, Li Yundong kept turning his eyes upwards to look at Su Chan. His expression was a battle between curiosity, amazement, pleasure, fear, and worry.
"I'll tell you all about it later, so don't ask now," Su Chan said as though she had read Li Yundong's mind. "And don't think about anything. Just close your eyes and empty your mind."
Li Yundong nodded and did as he was told.
Su Chan's nimble hands worked wonders on Li Yundong's body, pinching his shoulders, rubbing circles on his back, as well as patting and pressing down on his head. The pressure applied by her hands varied. When the pressure was firm and strong, Li Yundong would feel as though he was standing right under a powerful waterfall with torrents of fresh and cooling water crashing onto his face. Instead of pain, he felt a pleasure so immense that he ended up shouting. In a way, it was like taking a sip of a strong alcohol — it stings in the mouth, but it was the good kind of sting. On the other hand, when her fingers were gentle, Li Yundong felt as though he was soaking in a hot spring where he felt warm and relaxed all over. It was a slow kind of pleasure, like sipping a cup of warm tea.
In the world of Cultivation, this massage technique was known as "Butterfly Flower Gathering."
Although the name sounded fancy, it wasn't without meaning. In nature, a butterfly lands on a flower briefly in order to suck the flower's nectar before flying away. This is a mutually beneficial interaction; the butterfly feeds on the nectar while the flower gets pollinated. In the Butterfly Flower Gathering technique, the masseur is the butterfly. As such, the masseur reaps benefits in the form of the mobilization of their Qi as well as improving their blood circulation.
Li Yundong ended up falling asleep not long after the massage session began.
Su Chan stopped massage the moment Li Yundong fell asleep. With one hand pressed over Li Yundong's Baihui, Su Chan watched Li Yundong quietly, observing the flow of Qi and blood inside his body.
Su Chan's massage had mobilized the Essence, Qi, and blood inside Li Yundong's body, getting them to flow in a complete circuit. In other words, Li Yundong was indirectly undergoing the process of Xiao Zhoutian, even when he was asleep.
It seemed like an easy way to Cultivate; after all, anyone could sleep. However, in actuality, this was one of the most dangerous ways to Cultivate.
A person's Qi has no free will and conscious thought, so before the meridians inside a person's body are fully activated, its flow is completely random and disorderly. If a Cultivator isn't careful during training, it is very easy for them to end up with a Qi-flow that is completely erratic and unpredictable! Think of electric devices. Electric devices only function when electricity travels in its intended circuit. In the case of a short-circuit, not only would the device stop functioning, but it might end up being destroyed as well. As such, it is important during Cultivation to ensure that Qi always flows down the path intended by the Cultivator.
Otherwise, the Cultivator's body would end up in the most dangerous state known in the world of Cultivation: Zouhuo Rumo!
The key, of course, is to always activate one's meridians during the process of Cultivation. When the right meridians are activated, the Cultivator can ensure that their Qi always flows down the intended path — the path defined by the meridians that they previously activated.
Since Li Yundong hadn't been taught how to activate his meridians, it was absolutely vital for Su Chan to keep an eye on the flow of Qi to ensure that his Qi flowed down the Xiao Zhoutian path. The moment Su Chan noticed his Qi beginning to stray from the Xiao Zhoutian path, she would press down on the acupoint where the Qi flow branched off and redirect it to the Xiao Zhoutian path. In essence, Su Chan was physically guiding the flow of Li Yundong's Qi.
It was undeniable how lucky Li Yundong was. With Su Chan guiding the flow of his Qi as he slept, he was literally Cultivating without Cultivating! And not to mention the fact that his Qi had been enhanced by the Renyuan Jindan! On one hand, there were the Cultivators who had spent years and months of hard work, honing their skills; on the other, there was this guy who had stumbled upon the Renyuan Jindan (by dumb luck no less!) and was Cultivating in his sleep! Any trained Cultivator would be pissed off to no end if they ever found out.
After sixteen circuits of Xiao Zhoutian, Li Yundong slowly came to. When he was fully awake, he let out a long and satisfied sigh, releasing a stream of Qi which shot out of his mouth like an arrow.
"Damn... If I got to experience this kind of massage every day, I think I really might end up as a Shenxian!"
Su Chan's eyes gleamed brightly.
"Then... Can I give you this massage every day?" she asked hurriedly. "Can I? Can I?"