Physician's Odyssey

Chapter 257 - A group of cat assassins

Translator: Thyaeria

Su Tao was starting to take a fancy to martial arts, just like how he was obsessed with medicine. He slowly sank into a profound state, which he could feel his body heating up along with a flow of energy coursing through his body. He was familiar with that flow of energy, but he had never been able to control it as he intended.

The true essence of martial arts was to uncover the secrets of the human body. While the bones and muscles were external, cultivating Qi was internal.

His body was a treasure trove, to begin with. With his long years in medicinal practice, his Qi had practically reached the pinnacle. However, he couldn’t utilize them since he had never trained them in the past.

It was all due to the teachings of the martial arts grandmaster, Yan Wujin, that he was able to achieve such speedy enlightenment.

Although Yan Wujin’s techniques might look simple, they contained deep profundities of martial arts that enlightened Su Tao on how to exert strength and control his Qi to achieve explosive force.

Although he was practicing the Jiang Clan Swordplay that he was familiar with, he managed to unlock the treasure trove in his body under Yan Wujin’s guidance.

The latter had long noticed that Su Tao’s technique of cultivating Qi wasn’t the same as other martial artists.

Qi was usually stored in the Dantian for traditional martial artists, but Su Tao’s Qi was stored in his acupoints. So it would lose all meaning if Yan Wujin was to call Su Tao to recultivate his Qi. Thus, after long pondering, Yan Wujin finally figured out a way for Su Tao to learn the ways of condensing Qi in the acupoints.

Jiang Qinghan was also an expert in martial arts, so she managed to see that Su Tao’s acupoints were buzzing with Qi, looking endless, unlike traditional martial artists. This was also the reason why she said that she couldn’t teach Su Tao.

Martial artists that cultivate Qi would usually find ways to store it in their Dantian, but Su Tao had gone an entirely different route. There were other similar positions in the body like the Dantian that can be used to store Qi.

While Yan Wujin watched this scene, he sighed in exclamation. He never expected that Su Tao was really able to combine the Pulse Art with the Acupoint Fists Sutra that he had created.

The Acupoint Fists Sutra was something that he had created for Su Tao. There weren’t any stiff moves, since it was meant to enlighten Su Tao on how to subdue with the Qi stored in his acupoints. Even Yan Wujin had no idea of this technique’s effects, despite being the creator. After all, his Qi was stored in his Dantian.

After Su Tao executed the last move, a satisfied smile spread out on Yan Wujin’s face.

When he finished practicing the moves, Su Tao greeted Yan Wujin with his hands clasped together, which Yan Wujin accepted it. Su Tao knew that the latter had given him something precious that would benefit him for his lifetime.

After that, Yan Wujin gave Su Tao a few guidance points that increased Su Tao’s comprehension of the Acupoint Fists Sutra. You give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Yan Wujin was teaching Su Tao the ways of martial arts, since the latter had a good foundation and comprehension. Thus, he decided to skip through the traditional teaching process.

When it was around 11 p.m., Yan Wujin smiled. “We’ll stop here for today. Remember to practice it, and don’t be lazy.”

“Grand Master, don’t worry. I won’t be sloppy.” Su Tao smiled as he continued, “I’ll return home, then.”

Although Yan Wujin wanted to leave Su Tao for the night, it wasn’t appropriate after some pondering. After all, there were women in the house. Thus, he smiled. “Sure, ask me anytime if you’re stuck.”

“I’ll send him.” Jiang Qinghan knew that Su Tao did not drive over, and it would be late if he walked home.

After a brief pondering, Su Tao felt that it was an excellent opportunity to spend some time with his master and agreed with a smile, “Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

When Su Tao boarded the police jeep, he smiled. “It feels weird, for some reason. Is this considered misusing government vehicles for private usage?”

Jiang Qinghan rolled her eyes as she responded, “I came back home late last night, so I borrowed a vehicle. I’ll return it tomorrow morning. Why? Are you going to report me?”

Her words left Su Tao briefly stunned before he sighed, “Working overtime even on the first day of Chinese New Year is a little too tough. How could I report you? I have to write a letter to commend you instead!”

“Full of nonsense!” Jiang Qinghan no longer paid attention to Su Tao, since this disciple of hers was actually teasing her.

When the car drove out, Su Tao swept a glance at Jiang Qinghan and realised that his master was incredibly charming.

Her facial features were exquisite with bright eyes. Her hair was tied up with a purple hairband and draped on her neck. Although her expression was a little cold and indifferent, her lips permeated a faint warmth. She was wearing a long coat that revealed the white collar of her shirt, and her bosom was proudly propped, outlining her impressive figure. Despite having a heroic air around her, there was also a charm at the same time.

“What you and Yan Sha did during dinner wasn’t right!” Jiang Qinghan’s face turned stern as she reprimanded.

“Master, you can’t blame me for this.” Su Tao proudly replied before he continued, “I tried to stop him, but he was too innocent and was tricked by Yan Sha.”

His response made Jiang Qinghan roll her eyes and sighed, “Is Xu Rui really that hateful?”

“Not really, I find him somewhat cute, instead.” Su Tao faintly smiled, before he continued, “And he still has some worth as a shield.”

Stepping on the breaks, Jiang Qinghan did not expect that Su Tao could see through her, so she replied, “Don’t say that. I’ve treated him like a friend, so where did the shield come from?”

“As an outstanding widow, you aren’t lacking in wolves around you. So having a pursuer can dispel the thoughts of other admirers.” Su Tao seriously analysed.

“You’re overthinking too much!” Jiang Qinghan smiled. It felt good to occasionally have her thoughts read.

Roughly ten minutes later, they arrived at the Three Flavour Hall. Su Tao threw out an invitation with a smile. “Want to come in and have a seat?”

Shaking her head, Jiang Qinghan refused, “It’s getting late, and it’s inappropriate.”

Sighing at Jiang Qinghan’s strong guard, Su Tao showed a disappointed expression before he exited the car.

Knitting her brows, Jiang Qinghan got out of the car as well, which Su Tao’s mood instantly brightened. Did master change her mind?

“There’s something wrong!” Jiang Qinghan knitted her brows as she continued, “Don’t you feel that it’s a little too quiet?”

When Su Tao looked around, he also felt something abnormal. The Old Street was way too silent.

As a veteran investigator, Jiang Qinghan was sensitive to the environment, so she could feel a pressure on the Three Flavour Hall.

Although Su Tao’s senses weren’t that keen, Jiang Qinghan wasn’t someone that would speak without reason. Thus, there must be something amiss.

“Meow...” An eerie cry resounded from the corner. It was a plump white cat with cold flickers in its eyes that seemed like wisp fires from the underworld.

When he turned his gaze towards the sound, Su Tao’s face changed. What’s going on? While he was puzzled, more cries resounded that broke the silence in the Old Street.

Cats gave others a weird feeling to begin with, not to mention a bunch of them. It felt as if they were controlled to surround Su Tao and Jiang Qinghan.

Although Jiang Qinghan was bold, she could feel goosebumps as she hollered, “Who’s messing around?!” She was an atheist, but she believed in supernatural occurrences. So her intuition told her that someone was behind this.

“Keke...” A cold chuckle resounded from the corner before a silhouette walked out. That figure had a small frame with a mask and wasn’t wearing many clothes. She was only wearing a sinh dress that exposed her shoulders.

Su Tao’s expression turned grave when he saw her. He figured out why there would be so many cats surrounding the Three Flavour Hall in the middle of the night. It must be that woman in the sinh dress!

She used a Southeast Asia taming skill along with a unique aroma to attract a specific species of animals. Like how humans could get hallucinations from medicine, it was also useful for cats, which allowed them to be tamed.

If he hadn’t guessed it incorrectly, that woman should be an assassin from Thailand to take revenge on him for the black magic he resolved some time ago!

“FWEE...” A whistle resounded from that woman and the wild cats started to go insane and growled.

That whistling tool was black, looking like a demonic artifact from the underworld.

While Su Tao and Jiang Qinghan stood with their backs together, they wore grave expressions and took fighting poses.

Suddenly, that white cat, who was the leader, made a move. It pounced forth with a roar and charged at Jiang Qinghan.

Jiang Qinghan’s face sank down as she lashed out a roundhouse kick, striking the abdomen of that cat. As the cat shrieked out in pain, it crashed against a wall and twitched before losing the ability to fight.

Despite that, the other cats weren’t intimidated. They charged towards the two of them from all directions.

Although Su Tao was knowledgeable with acupoints on the human body, there was nothing he could with cats. Thus, he could only resort to his fist and legs to fight back.

However, the number of wild cats continued to increase, and there were at least a few hundred of them. If it was viewed from the sky, it would be terrifying, as if they were endless!

Su Tao knew that by dealing with the mastermind, he would be able to resolve this entire situation. He glanced at Jiang Qinghan. The sharp claws of those cats scratched her coat. The moment those cats got a bite in, they practically wouldn’t let go and held on tightly. So if they did nothing, then they would be torn to pieces by these cats sooner or later.

Taking two steps forth, Su Tao charged out, ignoring the cats that were biting onto his limbs, and charged towards that woman.

However, that woman did not panic as she calmly looked at Su Tao while whistling and gave orders to the cats.

Around a dozen seconds later, there were tons of cats pouncing in the direction of Su Tao. Jiang Qinghan was worriedly looking over. Those cats were swaying left to right as Su Tao moved.

Su Tao could feel his body getting heavier by the second. However, he gritted his teeth and persevered to close up the distance before firing a silver needle forth.

That woman cried out as she held onto her chest and ran in panic.

That needle was struck her Shanzhong Acupoint, which was a healthcare acupoint and a fatal acupoint at the same time.

Along with the departure of that woman, those wild cats stopped as if they lost their souls before they dispersed.

A brief moment later, there were only a few heavily injured wild cats on the ground, along with Jiang Qinghan and Su Tao, who were busy catching their breaths.

After a long time, Jiang Qinghan stood up and walked towards Su Tao. Although she was injured, her condition was better than Su Tao’s. After Su Tao sat up with great difficulty, he looked at the back of his hand, which was covered in blood.

“That person fled!” Jiang Qinghan sighed with complicated emotions. That was a terrifying opponent. Her means were too unusual and practically cannot be defended against.

“Don’t worry. She will come to look for me!” Su Tao said with confidence. Although he fired that needle from a distance away, he was confident that it would make that woman pay a price.