David Harris nodded and said, “Wuyang wood is already extremely rare—very few people have even heard of it, let alone actually used it. The dosage of Wuyang wood was a bit too high, but that’s understandable. Overall, this prescription is very appropriate for your condition. As long as you reduce the amount of Wuyang wood by half, you can go ahead and decoct and take it as prescribed… Boss Brooks, let me stop your bleeding first. Letting out too much blood at once is a bit of an overcorrection.”

As David Harris spoke, his wrist turned, and a cold gleam flashed between his fingers—suddenly, there were three shiny little knives. The knives were willow-leaf shaped, looking somewhat like acupuncture needles, but they were in fact real scalpels, crafted with exquisite precision. If you didn’t look closely, you really couldn’t tell the difference.

Chapter 10: The Longevity Chapter

The purpose of these three willow-leaf knives was indeed to pierce acupuncture points. After six needles, the blood gushing from Ethan Brooks’s palms gradually stopped.

Ethan Brooks was dumbfounded.

Although he was considered a martial arts expert, he had only ever heard of the technique of stopping bleeding by piercing acupuncture points. There were doctors in Qingyuan City who could perform acupuncture, but they were absolutely not on the same level as David Harris—the difference was like night and day.

William Grant watched intently and sighed softly, “Truly miraculous skill!”

David Harris brought the blood-stained willow-leaf knife to his nose and sniffed it lightly, then nodded and said, “Boss Brooks, the Yanluo Hand technique involves soaking the hands in medicinal herbs for training, which is actually a legitimate method. Chinese martial arts are broad and profound, with all kinds of training methods. In Buddhism, there’s the Muscle-Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing; in Daoism, there’s Rebirth and Transformation—both require the aid of medicinal substances. But the medicinal hand technique you practice, if I may speak frankly, focuses solely on destructive power and has gone astray—it’s not the right path… This isn’t your fault; it’s likely a mistake passed down from your sect. Once the cold poison in your body is expelled, practice your sect’s techniques again, but it’s best not to use Chuanwu, Chan Sha, Centipede, or Scorpion anymore.”

At this point, Ethan Brooks was already completely convinced by David Harris, and without even thinking, he nodded repeatedly in agreement. He thought to himself, no wonder that old bastard retired from the martial world in his forties and hid away in this godforsaken place in Qingyuan—it turns out the training method passed down by the sect was deeply flawed. If not for a stroke of luck in meeting someone as capable as David Harris, his own fate would likely have been even worse than that old bastard’s. At least the old bastard was quick to see the writing on the wall—though he hid for decades, he still lived into his nineties. There’s no way I could last that long. Even if I was lucky enough to find Wuyang wood and take the medicine as prescribed, with the wrong dosage, I’d only die faster.

Maybe it just wasn’t my time to die, and Heaven sent this great savior to pull me back from the gates of hell.

David Harris looked carefully at Ethan Brooks’s face again, nodded slightly, and said, “Boss Brooks, your ancestors accumulated considerable hidden virtue, and you were originally destined for a long and blessed life. But your own actions in recent years have been too extreme, which has diminished much of your ancestral merit. From now on, I advise you to do more good deeds and accumulate more hidden virtue. It will benefit both you and your family greatly.”

“Yes, yes, Mr. Brooks… I will definitely remember Mr. Harris’s teachings, mend my ways, and never do anything harmful again…”

Cold sweat streamed down Ethan Brooks’s forehead, and his face turned extremely pale.

“Mm.”

David Harris nodded lightly.

“Jia’er, take three qian of Wuyang wood for Boss Brooks.”

Linda King took out a small, earth-yellow rattan box from her shoulder bag. With a slight squeeze of her delicate fingers, the box broke apart in her hand. The black rattan strips that had been inlaid around the box as decoration suddenly snapped straight, as if imbued with life, trembling slightly.

A cold gleam flashed between Linda King’s fingers, and three pieces of Wuyang wood, each about an inch long, were cut off. The cut surfaces were neat and tidy, shining with a dark golden luster, and a faint spiritual energy seemed to flow within.

In that instant, Ethan Brooks felt a wave of heat rush toward him, and the surrounding temperature suddenly rose.

William Grant immediately gaped in astonishment and exclaimed, “Second only to the most yang thing in the world—its reputation is well deserved.”

Of course, this sudden rise in temperature vanished in a flash. The cut surface of the Wuyang wood quickly turned dark and dull again, with no trace of luster, looking no different from ordinary rattan.

Linda King opened her snow-white palm toward Ethan Brooks, soft and pink—no one would ever guess that, once this hand gripped a sword, it could, in just a few moves, skewer the infamous “Yanluo Medicinal Hand” Edward Brooks, who dominated the southwest, like a string of meat.

Ethan Brooks hurriedly stood up, extending his blood-soaked hands, and respectfully received the three precious pieces from Linda King. He examined them carefully in his palm, but found nothing unusual.

David Harris slowly stood up.

“Old Grant, Boss Brooks, we won’t trouble you any further. We’ll take our leave!”

Ethan Brooks immediately panicked and said repeatedly, “Mr. Harris, Miss King, how can this be? You’ve both helped me so much—it’s as if you’ve saved my life, Old Edward Brooks. If you just leave like this, how could I not be laughed at by my friends? No matter what, you must stay a few more days and let me show my hospitality…”

Such a great favor for saving his life absolutely had to be repaid properly.

Edward Brooks was not an ungrateful or ignorant man.

David Harris smiled and said, “Boss Brooks, I appreciate your kindness. Perhaps I’ll need to trouble you again in the future.”