Zhang Junbao sat on the stool, his arm supporting his chin, his gaze never leaving Li Boyang's Tai Chi stance.
As Li Boyang swung his arm, cracking sounds echoed from his joints, shattering the air.
This is Tai Chi Single Whip.
Then he pinched the hammer with all five fingers, took a step forward, and struck out with the hammer.
This is a step forward.
Then came Wild Horse Parting Mane, As If Sealed and Closed, and Blocking and Punching...
They only stopped after completing a full set of Tai Chi.
Zhang Junbao stared at Li Boyang's movements, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, yet he couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling.
This was naturally intentional on Li Boyang's part. The Tai Chi Thirteen Styles training plan wasn't just about taking Zhang Junbao as an apprentice; it also required accelerating his growth.
"Junbao, the water should be boiling by now. Go take a medicinal bath."
In the world of Wudang, Zhang Junbao suffered internal injuries while breaking through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation at Shaolin Temple, and was eventually cured with the help of Qiu Chuji.
Qiu Chuji used the healing chapter of the Nine Yin Manual, and now that the Nine Yin Manual is in Li Boyang's hands, he can naturally heal Zhang Junbao as well.
"Mr. Boyang, is there any hope for my internal injuries?"
Zhang Junbao followed Li Boyang to the wooden barrel and saw a large pot under it, with firewood burning beneath it, and a sticky liquid inside the barrel.
"No problem, lie down quickly."
The medicinal bath was prepared by Li Boyang himself. Having stayed at Baozhilin for so long, he was naturally familiar with medical skills.
Looking at the sticky liquid in the wooden tub, Li Boyang felt a pang of heartache. The sticky liquid in the tub was made from precious medicinal herbs, and this one tub of medicinal bath had already cost him two months' worth of food and money.
He is no longer the same person he was in Wong Fei-hung's world, where he controlled Po Chi Lam and money was just a concept to him. Now he is just a teacher in the academy, and the amount of money he can earn each month is fixed.
Fortunately, Zhang Junbao's external injuries were not too serious; otherwise, if he had to undergo medicinal baths like this a few more times, he would have gone bankrupt.
The fire under the large iron pot grew stronger and stronger, and the steaming heat continued to rise.
Zhang Junbao stripped off his clothes and entered the wooden tub naked.
Li Boyang's expression was solemn. His ten fingers moved like magicians, striking acupoints on Zhang Junbao's body one after another.
With each finger strike, a surge of vital energy was transferred from the acupoint into Zhang Junbao's body, quickly tracing his damaged meridians before disappearing.
After the damaged meridians were soothed by the true qi, they recovered slightly, but the effect was not very obvious. It was clear that it was impossible to completely cure Zhang Junbao's internal injuries in one go.
Zhang Junbao, soaking in the medicinal bath, looked extremely ferocious. With each finger that Li Boyang touched, his teeth clenched tighter, clearly enduring intense pain, yet he didn't utter a single word.
Medicated baths are only effective for external injuries. To treat Zhang Junbao's internal injuries, one must rely on the secret method in the Healing Chapter of the Nine Yin Manual—the True Qi Crossing Acupoints.
The medicinal bath works externally, while the flow of vital energy through acupoints works internally. This combination of internal and external approaches is the fastest and most effective method.
After a while...
"That's fine."
When Zhang Junbao heard those three words, he was almost completely exhausted, drenched in sweat, and felt even worse than if he had been in a fight.
At this point, the medicinal bath water has become very diluted, which indicates that the medicine has penetrated the body.
Li Boyang was also suffering. He had been transferring his true qi to his acupoints for an hour, and as someone who had only recently entered the Qi Refining Realm, he was also in a bad mood.
“Mr. Boyang, I feel much better.”
Although the True Qi Crossing Acupoints procedure was painful, the effects were quite noticeable. Zhang Junbao clearly felt that the meridians in his body seemed to have improved a little.
"This medicinal bath is effective. After two more medicinal baths, your external injury will be almost healed."
Li Boyang's face twitched as he spoke. If it happened twice more, he would lose half a year's savings.
Zhang Junbao asked with some anticipation, "Mr. Boyang, how long will it take for my internal injuries to heal?"
The period after his injury was truly the most difficult time for Zhang Junbao. He couldn't practice martial arts, and he felt like a useless person. It was incredibly painful.
"Don't rush it. I will apply my Qi to your acupoints once a day from now on. You should be fully recovered in about a month."
"Another month to go, this is going to be tough."
Zhang Junbao, who had initially been somewhat hopeful, instantly lost his temper upon hearing the time.
Li Boyang was amused and replied, "What? You think it's too slow? If you think it's too slow, go find someone else."
Zhang Junbao quickly explained, "Mr. Boyang, you misunderstand. That's not what I meant."
Even Abbot Juekong of Shaolin Temple couldn't cure his injuries, so Zhang Junbao was already very grateful that Mr. Boyang could heal him. The thought of Abbot Juekong being severely injured because of him made Zhang Junbao's face suddenly darken.
"Stay here and relax. I'm not even in a hurry to ask you for money, so why are you in such a rush?"
"Oh, you need money? But what if I don't have any?"
Upon hearing that Li Boyang would charge him for treatment, Zhang Junbao panicked, as he was penniless.
"If you have no money, sell yourself and work for me to pay off my debts."
Zhang Junbao said somewhat awkwardly, "Alright, then what can I do to help you, sir? How about I cook for you from now on?"
In his mind, it was only right that he should pay for Mr. Boyang's treatment. However, upon further reflection, he realized that apart from knowing some martial arts and having worked in the Shaolin Temple's kitchen to prepare some vegetarian dishes, he didn't seem to know anything else and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.