Chapter 19: Reaching the Heart Qi and the Appearance of the Lunatic Lao Lao (18+) Part I
Bai Zhe arrived at his home. Glancing at the clock, he noted that he had about 3 hours before his parents came back home. The boy unwrapped the package of herbs. He lit the stove, placing a steamer on it. Then, he measured out the herbs into different portions and put them into the steamer, turning it into a medicine fabrication furnace. The boy put his qi into the gas stove, then turned it off, using his qi as the fuel source. He controlled the temperature of each part of the steamer, in order to distill various herbs at various temperatures.
“That’s it. Now, I have to dispose of the filthiness,” said Bai Zhe. Sweat now bathed his face. It took a lot of qi energy to fabricate medicine. The power was used for not only the fuel but also for controlling the medicine which was distilled into liquid form and getting rid of the filthiness.
“It’s clean. The next thing to do is form the medicine into balls before the appropriate time has passed.” The boy put more of his qi into the medicine to condense it. A fragrant aroma wafted out of the steamer afterward.
“It’s done.” Bai Zhe used his qi to open the steamer’s lid before using his qi to place the balls of the medicine into a ceramic jar that had been prepared. His qi power was used again to clean the kitchen and put the steamer in its place. After he finished cleaning, Bai Zhe tipped out one ball of qi medicine and put it into his mouth, using his qi to digest it.
His parents came back to find the boy meditating. They did not greet him or interrupt him in any way, They went through their normal routine before they went to sleep. The boy continued putting the medicine balls into his mouth. From what he had witnessed today—the martial artists that had heart qi, and the Divine Sects—it seemed like the old man was just a mid-level artist. The people that he had to worry about were those who had more power than the old man. He used to think that there was no martial artist living in this world. Luckily, he had met those mid-level artists. If he let other martial artists know that he was one of them, they might cause him some trouble.
Bai Zhe opened his eyes around midnight with qi power spreading out from his body. Black stains covered his skin. He had finally reached the heart qi.
“I shall take a shower. I haven’t done my homework yet. Tomorrow, I have to go sign the book copyright contract as well.” The boy got up to take a shower. He did his homework after that and went to sleep.
In the meantime, in the basement of a building located in the capital city, which was about 300 kilometres away from Bai Zhe’s town, a man was walking with another middle-aged man who was dressed as a woman. In the basement was a long hallway, with iron doors lining along the hallway’s entire length.
“Lao Lao, how is my son, Yi Han?” the man asked the middle-aged man.
“Han Han is in the innermost room. Follow me, Mr. Yi San. I called you today to see your son be reborn,” said the man who was dressed as a woman. He led Yi Han to the innermost room.
When the door opened, Yi San saw his son completely naked and had his arms and legs chained up. He felt hurt, seeing his son like that. Yi San tried to walk toward the boy, but Lao Lao blocked him with his arm.
“Let me talk to him,” said Yi San.
“No!” shouted Lao Lao, snapping his fingers.
Two men of about 25 years appeared, seizing Yi San and taking him to a nearby room from which one could see what happened in the room where Yi Han was chained through a special mirror.
After Yi San was taken to another room. Lao Lao sauntered toward Yi Han, who was still unconscious. Lao Lao’s thumb and long, beautiful index finger lifted the boy’s chin.
“Wake up, little boy.” Lao Lao caressed Yi Han's cheek with his other hand, making the boy awaken. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a man dressed as a woman lifting up his chin.
His eyes opened wide before struggling. He was even angrier and more embarrassed when he found himself naked in front of Lao Lao.
He tried to recall what had happened before he fainted. He wanted to take revenge on Bai Zhe who embarrassed him, so he asked his dad to help him. Yi San called one of his connections to ask for an assassin‘s number.
They asked Yi San and Yi Han to meet at a restaurant. They met a good-looking young man. He had bright skin and was so handsome, like an actor. The man was the opposite of an assassin’s image Yi Han had in his mind. The boy thought an assassin had to be bald with a cruel face with a large scar on it. They had to be tall and large, and very muscular.
“From what you are saying, you want me to kill a person named Bai Zhe, right?” the man asked.
“Yes. This is his picture.” Yi Han showed Bai Zhe’s picture to the young male assassin.
“Don’t you want to take revenge by yourself? It’s much more fun than hiring me to kill him. Imagine it. You can torture him to death slowly. Cut off finger by finger. Slowly cut off his arms and legs. Listen to him begging for his life in torment. It will be much more satisfying to you,” the man said like he was having fun. Yi Han, feeling impetuous, was persuaded by his words.
“I want to, but I’m not as good as you,” answered the boy.
“It’s not that hard. You can come with me if you are interested. I will take you to my teacher. He could make you stronger. Not only you could take revenge on Bai Zhe, but money, fame, and women will also belong to you if you train until you are skilled,” said the man. Yi Han agreed to go with him that instant.
“Can you take me there now?” The boy sprang up from his seat.
“Of course, you can follow me now.” The assassin stood up and exited the restaurant, followed by Yi Han.
Yi San got up from his seat, intending to follow them, but he was stopped by the young man. He handed Yi San a piece of paper with a telephone number on it.
“I will contact you in 2 days. I can guarantee your son’s safety. You don’t need to be worried. You pay my wage as we have agreed. Think of it as a referral fee,” said the man before leaving with Yi Han in a taxi. Yi San could only watch the young killer leave with his only son.
At an Abandoned Building
The man took Yi Han to a building that looked deserted from the outside. The inside was empty, but it looked surprisingly clean.
He led Yi Han to the farthest wall and touched a spot on it. The wall opened, revealing a secret stairway to a basement. Yi Han could not help but feel excited because he was a fan of secret bases.
“Yi Han, you wait here on the sofa. I will go to tell my teacher about you. Let’s see if he will take you on as his student.” The assassin took a picture of Yi Han and went to a room that had a sign that read Lao Lao on its door.
It was not long before he came out of the room. He took Yi Han to a long, narrow hallway, which had a large door at its end.
The young man opened that door. Yi Han stepped back two to three steps. He saw boys around 15 to 20 years old bind to crosses. They were flogged and tortured. Some were tortured by having hot metal pressed to different parts of their body. Some had knives slashed across their bodies. There was something strange, though. After the tormentors hurt the boys, they hovered their hands over the wounds they had created. After a faint green light appeared from their hands, the wounds were healed. They completely disappeared as if nothing had ever happened.
“Wh…what is this?”
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone