Wu Ying returned to his room, feeling a bit like a hypocrite, and slapped himself across the face.
To think that Huimei's talent was genuinely recognized as that of a protagonist in a tacky web novel.
This made Wu Ying feel an even greater sense of urgency. He could never let a little girl stand on the front line if something were to actually happen.
He rubbed his cheeks. Time to take a gamble.
Since the alchemy flame had already formed, could he use it to temper his five viscera?
Ultimately, he could transform his heart into a heart orifice, which could be used to store excess vital energy and blood.
He calmed his mind and prepared to begin the tempering process, though he remained slightly worried about Tsunade, keeping a tentative eye on her with his spiritual power.
Even though the cultivation formulas purchased from the store became one's own after practice, they still couldn't be executed with complete fluidity; they lacked a certain connecting switch.
After wasting a bunch of time acting like a slacker for a few days, he had also laid his cards on the table with Tsunade—he just hoped everything would go as he wished.
Sensing that Tsunade had stood up and was walking toward her room, and that her emotions seemed stable as well, Wu Ying stopped paying attention.
He recalled matters related to the five elements and the five viscera...
Using his spiritual power and the true essence of his Dantian as a foundation, he stimulated the five viscera according to the generating cycle of the five elements...
He sensed that the energy gathered in his Dantian was increasing.
Maintaining his breathing rhythm, he channeled the vital energy and blood, mixed with true essence, to Guanyuan, Huiyin, Weilü (Changqiang point), Mingmen, and Jiaji (Shendao point)...
Impacting the Dazhui point was always unsmooth...
He continued to stimulate the five viscera, accumulating the volume of true essence...
Wu Ying fell into a demonic state, stubbornly refusing to quit.
His Dantian began to grow slightly warm again, and following the circulation method provided by the cultivation formula, he attempted to forcibly absorb and circulate the vital energy and blood of the five viscera.
He began the impact from the upper Dantian.
There was a slight delay at the Dazhui point, after which it passed through Yuzhen (Fengfu point)...
And finally returned to the upper Dantian via Niwan...
With the final storage in the lower Dantian.
Wu Ying turned himself into a machine, circulating it over and over until the feeling of resistance disappeared...
The next day, when Huimei saw that her unreliable older brother was sleeping in again, she pushed open the door and was startled—his condition was even worse than last time.
Crying out in panic, she ran to fetch Tsunade to examine Wu Ying.
Wu Ying's condition genuinely terrified them; his skin was cracked and dry, his flesh withered, making him look like a mummy.
Tsunade had finally managed to fall asleep late last night, but looking at Huimei's ceaseless tears now, she managed to steady her emotions.
She chased Might Guy and the others away, leaving Shizune and Huimei behind, and then began to investigate Wu Ying's condition.
Huimei held back her tears and whispered softly from the side:
"Brother wasn't this bad last time, though he did bleed a lot."
Hearing this, Tsunade grew even more puzzled. She had no idea what kind of secret art this brat had been practicing to turn himself into such a ghost.
Fortunately, there was no bloody scene this time, otherwise she really wouldn't have known how to handle it.
Chakra circulated through Wu Ying's body. After a long moment, she realized it was merely over-consumption of vital energy and blood, and she let out a sigh of relief.
She placed a hand on Huimei's head and ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry, little girl, this brat is fine. Shizune, go buy some medicinal herbs to replenish vital energy and blood, and get some chickens and ducks as well."
Hearing this, Huimei also felt relieved and went along with Shizune.
Only after Tsunade withdrew her chakra did Wu Ying dazedly snap back from his deep meditative trance.
He couldn't even manage to open his eyes, feeling utterly and bone-wearily exhausted.
"You brat, who knows what kind of secret art you're practicing. You'd better not practice it anymore from now on."
Hearing Tsunade's voice, it seemed some new situation had arisen, otherwise she wouldn't have mistaken his actions for practicing a secret art.
Once the medicinal bath was finished and he had downed some medicinal broth, Wu Ying finally sobered up, no longer looking so withered and frightening.
Huimei shed little pearlescent tears as she scolded Wu Ying, and he had no choice but to take it.
He lay paralyzed on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Seeing her brother looking like this, Huimei let out a sigh and went to fetch Tsunade to double-check on him.
After Tsunade entered, Wu Ying saw that her mental state was quite good. He grinned and smiled, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.
Tsunade circulated her chakra to investigate for a moment, then said, "He'll be fine after resting for a few days."
"You brat, just take care of yourself first and stop making this girl worry."
With that, she patted Huimei's head.
"I've accepted this disciple. You, brat, help prepare the resources for her training. Heh heh, some money is going to have to be coughed up. We'll talk when you're better, or else I'll pummel you with my little fists..."
Wu Ying could only blink frantically to show he understood.
It seemed Tsunade hadn't turned emotional; she must have taken what he said last night to heart, and that was for the best.
When Tsunade left with Huimei, Wu Ying pulled up his interface and took a look, nearly cursing aloud.
The proficiency of the Hunyuan One-Qi Formula, which had been on the verge of maxing out, had actually reset to zero.
Damn it?!
He racked his brain, but couldn't come up with any explanation.
Could it be that forcefully circulating the vital energy and blood had consumed his true essence?
Wu Ying shook his head. It seemed physical training could not be neglected.
He had a lingering feeling that forcefully absorbing the vital energy and blood of the five viscera a few more times like this would completely ruin his body.
He had to temper his five viscera while simultaneously enhancing his vital energy and blood...
Without a concrete clue, messing around blindly like this was practically asking for trouble.
He searched the store carefully from top to bottom, but couldn't find any relevant cultivation formulas.
On second thought, he might as well start by tempering his heart next time.
If Tsunade hadn't been around this time, Wu Ying wouldn't have been so reckless and courted death.
He had taken steps that were too small, and certain schemers had already marked him. If he didn't risk his life to improve his strength, he was genuinely afraid of capsizing.
Putting his thoughts aside, he began to mobilize his remaining true essence to recover his body.
Another day passed, and Wu Ying was finally able to get out of bed and walk around.
The guards had cleared out the shop. Leaning on support, Wu Ying sat in the corner to give a few instructions, announced that they would open for business tomorrow, and then returned to the backyard.
He tracked down Tsunade, and after much persuasive talking and a promise never to practice that secret art again, he finally managed to wheedle the relevant materials on Sealing Jutsu and the Flying Thunder God out of her.
Looking at the Katsuyu summoned by Tsunade, he kept wanting to ask about some events before the descent of Kaguya.
On second thought, however, he held back and didn't ask.
He skimmed through some of the materials, then dispatched Huimei to fetch Tenten.
Once the two girls arrived, Wu Ying had Huimei ghost-write a pair of couplets:
First line: Ten thousand threads and a thousand needles transform into a melody of beauty;
Second line: A single foot and twin shears tailor the spring and autumn of one's attire.
He told Huimei to take them to the front and hand them to the manager, instructing him to have someone urgently manufacture them into door couplets and hang them at the shop entrance. The shop's trade name would be—The Myriad Embroidery Pavilion.
Watching the busy Huimei, Tenten glared fiercely at Wu Ying.
"Uncle, exploiting your younger sister like this is not nice."
Wu Ying felt bitter inside as well, blaming himself for failing to recruit anyone back in Konoha.
Still, he retorted:
"Your Hokage is exploiting you guys too, making you fight for his life on the front lines."
Hearing this, Tsunade put down her wine gourd, her pretty eyes turning toward him.
"That whole Will of Fire of yours has been played to perfection by your Third Hokage. Sigh! Pity those high-spirited people, throwing away their lives on the battlefield at such a tender age."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. This is the manuscript for the Flying Thunder God. Copy it over the next few days, and don't go talking nonsense when you get back to the village. Your space-time talent should be pretty good, yet you actually cultivated in the wrong direction."
Wu Ying stared at Tenten, sizing her up with some hesitation, before continuing:
"I also know you love peace, but the premise is that you must possess formidable strength. How about letting Tsunade take you as a disciple too?"
Tenten glanced at the scroll, then at Tsunade, shook her head, and said:
"Uncle, you're saying my space-time talent is good? If that were really true, I wouldn't have time to learn anything else."
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief; she had been genuinely afraid that Tenten would agree, which would have eaten into her free time even more.
Truth be told, among the people in Konoha, the ones Wu Ying appreciated were probably just a handful, and Tenten was one of them.
Seeing that Tenten was about to leave, Wu Ying tossed out another remark.
"By the way, I want to ask you something—do you really like Neji?"
"Uncle, you... what are you talking about!"
"It seems you do like him a bit. But you're still young now, so put more effort into improving your strength. Since you didn't talk back when I spoke ill of your Hokage, you clearly have your own mind. I have high hopes for you."
Before Wu Ying could finish speaking, Tenten was already walking away. He immediately raised his voice at her retreating figure and called out:
"My shop opens for business tomorrow, remember to come help out. That outfit of yours makes me feel quite nostalgic... Ahem, there are also many similar styles in the shop, if you see anything you like, keep it for yourself."
Tenten paused in her steps, turned her head to look at Wu Ying, and finally replied:
"Hmph! Smelly uncle, I get it."
After Tenten left, Tsunade cast a sideways glance at Wu Ying and asked with an inscrutable expression:
"Were those clothes all designed by you?"
Subconsciously, Wu Ying lifted his chin and stared right at Tsunade's plump chest.
Just as he was lost in thought, Tsunade's fist was already waving right in front of his eyes.
Wu Ying snapped back to his senses with a start, then gave a dry cough to diffuse the awkwardness.