Chapter 2: The Book of Life and Death (Part 2)

  The Dragon's Nest is located between the two peaks of Yulong Mountain, resembling a bamboo basket that follows the mountain trend in an irregular elliptical shape. The longest north-south part has 13 or 14 meters, and the narrowest part is only 4 or 5 meters.

  The water flowing down from the Jade Dragon Waterfall flows into the dragon's den and then flows out through a terrain like a spout, forming a small river about two meters wide.

  The full moon was in the sky, Zhao Yang swam a few laps around the dragon's nest with relish, then lay down under the "spout", letting the cool water flow over his body, which was many times more comfortable than any sauna or massage.

  Xiao Hei was still afraid to enter the water, Zhao Yang pulled it hard, and it desperately struggled backwards. But seeing Zhao Yang swimming in the water, it cautiously approached the water's edge, and as soon as it touched the water, it jumped back in fright, at this time it ran back and forth in the grass by the riverbank.

  Swimming in the Dragon's Lair, the sound of the Jade Dragon Waterfall is very loud, but as the mountain turns, lying here at "Hu Kou", the sound of the water becomes much smaller.

  Having soaked in the water for a long time, when I came out to put on my clothes, the mountain wind blew and I shivered all over. In this sweltering summer, it's hard to describe how comfortable it felt!

  "Xiao Hei, let's go!"

  But then he saw a small black dog yelping and jumping around under the rock, as if it wanted to bite something.

  Zhaoyang walked closer and saw a book hanging from a branch of a sour jujube tree. He picked up a stick, brought it down, and looked at it in the dim moonlight. The title was "The Book of Life and Death"! When he opened it, inside was still "Journey to the West"!

  This book is identical to the one he bought from Wang Quanyi, so is this inconsistency between title and content a mistake or was it originally like that?

  There must be a next one. Zhao Yang thought for a moment, put the book under Xiao Hei's nose and said hopefully: "Xiao Hei, can you find another book?"

  Although police and troops often use wolf dogs to crack cases, Xiao Hei had not received any training and did not understand, he just stared at him with his eyes and barked twice.

  Zhao Yang smiled and said that Xiao Hei was only five months old, what could he understand? He stood up and tried to sense the direction of the wind, then went against it.

  Although there was a moon, it was almost impossible to find a book on the mountain. After searching for more than half an hour, not only did he not see any books, but also no hair of a book, so Zhao Yang just took it as a night stroll.

  But Xiao Hei made another achievement! It found "The Book of Life and Death" under a rock!

  Zhao Yang happily hugged Xiao Hei's head and stroked it a few times, laughing: "Let's go, we're going home!"

  Three books are placed on the table, almost identical "Journey to the West"!

  Zhao Yang widened his eyes and looked at it several times, finally deciding to give up. Maybe someone was using the book with a well-written cover to practice calligraphy. What's the point of him thinking about it here?

  As for the words, the words in this book are indeed good. He picked up "Journey to the West" written on the "Book of Life and Death" and took a look.

  Handwritten books are indeed different from printed ones. A good handwritten word paired with beautiful calligraphy is like a beautiful flower paired with a beautiful person, complementing each other and making the reading experience even more enjoyable.

  After reading it once, Zhao Yang felt unsatisfied and began to study the characters on it.

  Zhaoyang had also practiced calligraphy for a period of time, but unfortunately didn't persist and couldn't even get through the door. However, the characters above are elegant and free-spirited, unrestrained and natural, forming an integral whole. The further down you look, the more it seems that this kind of character matches Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering", as if using characters to expound on Zhuangzi's writing. Zhaoyang looked at it with relish, gradually becoming immersed in the meaning of the characters, then the characters slowly disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a landscape painting:

  In the painting, a mountain residence is depicted with a round moon hanging in the sky. A carefree scholar wearing a square hat and long gown stands in front of a desk writing a book. The whole person exudes a warm and elegant demeanor, as if he is about to set sail on the wind.

  As the Carefree Wanderer wrote, a voice echoed in Zhao Yang's mind: "At five years old, I learned medicine; at nine years old, I knew a hundred herbs; at eighteen years old, I understood the fullness and emptiness of qi and blood, and became a famous doctor under heaven; at thirty years old, I grasped yin and yang, and among doctors of my time, there was none who surpassed me; at forty years old, I judged life and death, and thus attained carefree wandering! Those in later generations who obtain my mantle should examine what is fundamental and what is secondary..."

  Zhao Yang wanted to take a closer look at what Xī Yóu Zǐ wrote, but couldn't get close. His voice continued to echo in his mind: "... Qián Hú, its effect is longer than Qián Xià, so it can cure phlegm-heat, cough, bloating, vomiting and other diseases. When the air goes down, the fire will also go down, and the phlegm will also go down. Therefore, there is the achievement of pushing out the old and bringing in the new, for phlegm Qi is a key medicine... Liè Dāng, suitable for men's five labors and seven injuries, etc."

  Xiao Hei closed his eyes and lay on one side. If he opened his eyes at this time, he might have discovered that Zhao Yang was motionless, but the book was turning its pages by itself! And on the pages of the book, a series of faint mountain and water paintings kept emerging, constantly floating into Zhao Yang's eyebrows and ancestral aperture!

  "Recognize the nature of medicinal substances, examine the viscera, blood and qi, then you can treat them. Being confined to established methods and restricted by compatibility is what mediocre doctors do..."

  When the book turned to the last page, the last picture floated into Zhao Yang's ancestral aperture, and Xiangzi's voice slowly disappeared. Zhao Yang came back to his senses from the mysterious and profound atmosphere. He stretched his waist, spat out a mouthful of turbid air, and looked down at the book on the table with its cover closed upside down. He still didn't dare to believe it, but the knowledge of various Chinese medicines in his mind made him unable to disbelieve. Looking again at the quartz clock on the wall, 9:40, only fifteen minutes had passed!

  But he clearly remembered that Xīyáng Zǐ had elaborated on the medicinal properties of various herbs and minerals, and just explaining these over 2,000 types of medicine would take four or five hours, not to mention that Xīyáng Zǐ also explained methods for treating illnesses afterwards.

  In the view of Pao Tzu, when the five viscera are full of vital energy and blood, it is manifested externally as a healthy body, strong vitality, and not easily getting sick. When the five viscera lack vital energy and blood, it is manifested externally as a weak body, weak vitality, and easily getting sick. Correspondingly, as long as one knows whether the patient's viscera are full or empty of vital energy and blood, one can use the corresponding medicine to treat illness and nurture life.

  He divided the fullness of the five zang organs' qi and blood into ten levels, with one being critical, two to three being ill, four to five being diseased, six to seven being normal, eight to nine being peaceful, and ten being complete. If one can maintain a level of ten, they can achieve longevity!

  Zuo also provided a method for diagnosing the fullness or emptiness of the zang-fu organs' qi and blood: Jinghuo technique.

  Zhao Yang first used Jinghu technique to observe himself.

  He followed the method taught by Xīyángzǐ, first condensing a mirror in his mind, and then using his heart to sense each of the internal organs. Soon, the operating conditions of each organ appeared on the mirror: red was heart energy, green was liver energy, white was lung energy, black was kidney energy, yellow was spleen energy, etc. Among them, the fullness degree of kidney energy was nine, liver energy was eight, spleen energy was six, lung energy was eight, and heart energy was eight.

  They all look healthy, but their temper is slightly weak. From the perspective of Xiaoyaozi just now, overthinking hurts the spleen, and it seems that the previous period of time was too worried about the company's affairs and hurt the spleen.

  Zhao Yang clenched his fists, his heart racing with excitement. He looked around and saw that only Xiao Hei was by his side, so he used the Jing Hu technique on Xiao Hei.

  This time, although the gas and blood circulation of Xiao Hei's internal organs can be observed, the mirror is like a thick layer of dust, and the reflected image is very blurry, making it impossible to determine which level has been reached.

  Suddenly hearing Xiao Hei's bark, Zhao Yang was startled and the mirror in his mind shattered with a crash. He opened his eyes to see Xiao Hei looking at him curiously.

  He reached out and hugged the little black's big head, nudging it gently with his own. The little black stuck out its tongue and licked his face, causing Zhao Yang to burst out laughing. He knew that the Mirror Lake Technique was extremely fragile at this point and would shatter if disturbed even slightly. Moreover, he could only observe himself for now. However, Xuanxiaozi had already explained everything clearly: the Mirror Lake Technique was ultimately a manifestation of human qi and blood. Only when all internal organs reached 10% fullness could it be used clearly on others. He also taught methods to increase human qi and blood: one was through diet and medicine, and the other was the "Augmenting Origin Method".

  Zhao Yang put away "Sheng Si Bu Shang". At this time, looking at the words on the book again, although they were still elegant and free-spirited, he felt that something was missing. When the three books of upper, middle and lower volumes were placed together, this feeling became even more pronounced.

  He took out "The Book of Life and Death" to continue reading, but suddenly felt a bit dizzy. After thinking for a moment, he understood. Although only fifteen minutes had passed, there was so much knowledge in his mind, and thinking about the knowledge of qi and blood he had just learned, it must be because the brain's qi and blood were consumed too much.

  He hastily put down the book and returned to his bed, sat cross-legged, and quietly activated the "Xī Yuàn Fǎ".

  There are twelve meridians in the human body, and each hour has a stage where one of the meridians is running strongly. The so-called "tonifying method" uses this time period to utilize special breathing techniques, mobilize specific muscles and bones, and exercise to strengthen specific internal organs.

  It is now 10:28 in the evening, which is the stage of prosperity of the Triple Energizer Channel. The Triple Energizer Channel is divided into Upper, Middle and Lower parts, including the Heart, Lungs, Spleen, Stomach, Kidneys, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, and is the exterior-interiorly related to the Pericardium Channel, serving as its guardian.

  Zhaoyang initiated the "Zengyuan Method", and soon the muscles in his chest and abdomen trembled, causing the internal organs to move slightly and adjust to their optimal positions. This made the Triple Energizer Meridian run smoothly, calming his mind and slowly entering a state of complete absorption.

  The next time, Zhao Yang's mind was empty and thoughtless, but his body continued to run the "Xiangyuan Fa". The next morning at 5:40, when he woke up, Zhao Yang felt an indescribable comfort in his body, especially in his chest and abdomen. He used the Jinghu technique to observe himself again, and found that all other internal organs had not changed significantly, but his spleen energy had reached 70%.

  In the morning, after returning home and finishing lunch, Father threw an iron shovel to Zhao Yang, saying: "Aren't you going back home to farm? Go on, go dig ditches!"

  Zhao Yang didn't mind, and followed his father to the orchard. On the way, he asked his father, "I learned a breathing method from society that can improve physical fitness, I'll teach it to you two elders!"

  "Stop making excuses! Since you want to go back home and farm, don't even think about being lazy!"

  Zhao Yang thought for a moment, "Zengyuan Fa" is actually very complicated. Each time period has its own specific method of breathing and mobilizing muscles and bones. He was able to pick it up easily because Xīaoyāozi directly carved the technique into his mind. If he were to teach others, it wouldn't be something that could be explained in just a few words. Moreover, older people's thinking is not as agile as young people's, so learning would be even more difficult.

  However, once he raises his internal organs' energy to 10, he can use the Mirror Lake Technique on others and then be able to cultivate the Two Elders' Regimen. As long as their energy is adjusted to 10, according to Xiangyaozi's description, they can achieve longevity!

  Zhao Yang is an only child, spoiled by his parents when he was young, rarely helping with farm work, instead playing with friends or watching TV while his parents worked in the fields. Now that he's working in the fields himself, he finally understands how hard his parents worked and feels even more indebted to them.

  PS: It's always hard to get started, but now that the background introduction is over, we can finally begin the formal storyline~~

  Thanks hentai9527 for collecting my book~~