Chapter 712: Chapter 712: I Yield
(Chapter Six)
If Gu Changwei’s acupuncture skill had already dazzled Yang Qingyin, Wu Hongwei, and Wang Tongshan to the point of bewildernt, then Luo Ziling’s technique was utterly chaotic for them.
Luo Ziling’s acupuncture skill was incredibly fast, akin to Dongfang Bubai in the movies, practicing martial arts with an embroidery needle, making it nearly impossible to track his movents with the eyes.
If Yang Qingyin had wanted to describe Luo Ziling’s calligraphy using the idiom “like floating clouds and flowing water” before, then the movents of his needlework on the Bronze Figures were even more deserving of such a description.
Although one minute is a short ti, Yang Qingyin’s eyes were dazzled, and she almost miscounted the number.
Wang Tongshan and Wu Hongwei felt similarly, a bit older in age, their eyes couldn’t keep up with the speed of Luo Ziling’s needling, so the results they ca up with were actually different.
Wang Tongshan counted a total of three hundred and fifty-one needles, while Wu Hongwei counted two more than Wang Tongshan.
The number of needles Yang Qingyin counted was the sa as Wang Tongshan’s, and after so discussion, they agreed to use the count that Yang Qingyin and Wang Tongshan had, which was three hundred and fifty-one needles.
No matter which number it was, it was a great deal more than Gu Changwei’s, and what was more important, each needle Luo Ziling placed was effective, with rcury flowing out from the acupuncture points.
After Gu Changwei finished needling, the Bronze Figures were re-sealed with wax and refilled with rcury, ensuring that the needling by the first person did not affect the visibility of the effects for the next person to needle.
After Luo Ziling finished needling, the Bronze Figures would be freshly sealed and refilled with rcury.
Wang Tongshan and Wu Hongwei breathed sighs of relief after Luo Ziling’s needling session concluded. And Yang Qingyin, showing an unusually happy expression, coquettishly smiled at Luo Ziling, giving him a thumbs up.
“It looks like I’ve won a luxury sports car today, and from now on, I can often drive around for fun,” Luo Ziling chuckled at Yang Qingyin, then turned to the pale-faced Gu Changwei with a cupped fist gesture, “Mr. Gu, thanks for letting win. In a mont, I will have soone co to pick up the car you’re giving . As for the paperwork, just tell the person who cos to drive it away.”
Gu Changwei’s confidence suffered a critical blow, and he didn’t want to stay a second longer because he very much wanted to rush up and punch Luo Ziling’s face, which was even handsor than his, to vent his frustration. However, his grandfather’s competition with Luo Ziling was still to co, and he couldn’t leave. He definitely had to continue to stay there, and he also wanted to see how his grandfather would defeat Luo Ziling to avenge his earlier defeat.
Gu Jian’an was already a bit surprised when he saw Luo Ziling’s first needle go into the Bronze Figures. The level of his astonishnt grew as he watched Luo Ziling’s needlework, which even he found dazzling.
Originally, he thought he could easily defeat Luo Ziling with his experience and familiarity with the Bronze Figures. But after watching Luo Ziling stick more than four hundred needles in one minute, each and every needle hitting an acupoint with rcury flowing out, he felt a trace of fear and concern. He knew that with his technique and speed, it was impossible to stick so many needles accurately in such a short ti. Nonetheless, he was still confident about defeating Luo Ziling, because they were competing in ‘blind acupuncture’, a much more difficult challenge than the ‘visible acupuncture’ where needles are placed with the aid of sight.
His intimate knowledge of the Bronze Figures’ structure gave him a great advantage.
Over the years, the number of tis he had practiced on the Bronze Figures was countless; he was so familiar with its structure, he could be described as knowing it inside out. Even if Luo Ziling were familiar with blind acupuncture, if he did not know the structure of the Bronze Figures, he would not be able to match up to him.
Gu Jian’an was even more aware that during acupuncture treatnt, one must not be impatient but should hold the breath and stay calm; otherwise, mistakes were bound to happen. Therefore, he made an effort to calm himself down, not letting his grandson’s previous failure affect his mood.
The competition between Luo Ziling and Gu Jian’an was completely different from the one with Gu Changwei. Here, both competitors were blindfolded and would perform acupuncture on the Bronze Figures at the sa ti. That is to say, an acupoint that one person had already needled could not be needled again; doing so would be pointless, as no rcury would flow out. The difficulty of this task was several tis greater, and it was impossible for anyone to needle at such a speed of so many per second.
It was at that mont Wang Tongshan made a suggestion to dye the needles with different colors so it would be possible to distinguish which acupoints were needled by whom. Naturally, Luo Ziling and Gu Jian’an agreed to this proposal, and so the needles they used were dyed different colors.
Luo Ziling’s needles were dyed blue, while Gu Jian’an’s were dyed red.
Luo Ziling initially wanted to choose red for auspiciousness, but Gu Jian’an had already picked red, so he had to pick a different color of dye.
The dical hall’s staff brought over two pieces of cloth for blindfolding. Gu Changwei blindfolded his grandfather, and Yang Qingyin personally took the task of covering Luo Ziling’s eyes with the cloth.
As she was helping Luo Ziling with the blindfold, Yang Qingyin leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Junior Brother, you’re the best. Today you must beat Old Gu. If you win, don’t take his plaque right away. Let’s see how he deals with it, whether he’ll have the gall to hang it back up himself.”
“Okay,” Luo Ziling whispered in agreent, and while pretending to adjust the cloth over his eyes, he briefly touched Yang Qingyin’s hand.
Yang Qingyin didn’t react and quietly stood to the side.
After Luo Ziling and Gu Jian’an were prepared, they each stood with their needles by the Bronze Figure.
Both stood erect, trying hard to display their imposing manner.
In Luo Ziling’s heart, there was no trace of fear. Back when he was in the small mountain village in the Northwest, he often practiced blind acupuncture on the human body ridian and acupoint model that his grandfather had made. After over a decade of grueling practice, even his grandfather praised his blind acupuncture skill as being superb. While the Bronze Figure was sowhat different from the model he trained on, the difference wasn’t significant, and the size was roughly the sa.
Over the years, practicing acupuncture skills, Luo Ziling had committed to mory all of the human body’s acupoints without any deviation.
While standing to the side earlier, he had been carefully observing the structure of the Bronze Figure, and during the competition with Gu Changwei, he took the opportunity of needling to get even more acquainted with its structure. It could be said that he had morized the ridian structure of the Bronze Figure inside out.
With his eyes covered standing by the Bronze Figure, Luo Ziling could clearly sense his surroundings, and even the acupoints on the figure seed to twinkle in the darkness. This sensation was extraordinary, almost beyond rational explanation.
This feeling filled Luo Ziling with confidence. He believed that he wouldn’t fail tonight and he would defeat Gu Jian’an as well.
At the signal from Wu Hongwei, both n almost simultaneously delivered their first needle.
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