: Mu Lan Schemes for Ning Zhuo

Mu Lan lifted the tent flap and stepped inside.

Unlike usual, the Zhang Shu she remembered, Zhang Zhongyi, wasn't busy preparing herbs. Instead, he held a jade slip in his left hand, his spiritual sense immersed within it.

Hearing footsteps, Zhang Zhongyi withdrew his spiritual sense and looked up to see the female general Mu Lan.

Mu Lan was, as always, clad in her red military robe over bronze armor, a picture of heroic vigor. However, at the moment, her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was enduring pain.

"You're here. Sit," Zhang Zhongyi gestured for Mu Lan to sit beside him. He placed the jade slip on the table, stood up, and walked to his workbench to begin preparing the healing herbs for her.

"Earlier, Ning Zhuo came to me to treat his friend," he said. "It was successful. This jade slip contains the treatment method we designed for this case; we came up with three sets. You can take a look."

Mu Lan immediately showed interest. "Ning Zhuo? That young man who was sitting next to you, Zhang Shu, in the outer hall last night?"

Zhang Zhongyi nodded. "That's the one."

As she picked up the jade slip, Mu Lan said, "I recall you mentioning that his friend practices the童子功, suffered a Dao injury, and that treatment would be quite troublesome. It would require inviting at least an Earth-element Grandmaster to design a specific spell to sort out the Earth-element principles involved."

Zhang Zhongyi lowered his head and began crushing herbs. "You might not believe this," he said, "but Ning Zhuo himself has reached the Earth-element Grandmaster realm!"

Mu Lan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Him? How old is he?"

Zhang Zhongyi sighed with admiration. "Certainly no older than eighteen. Such talent... Before this, I've treated Dao injuries three times. None of those collaborations were as effortless as this one! Thinking back now, Ning Zhuo's personal mastery of the Earth element might even surpass the Grandmaster level."

Mu Lan found this hard to believe and let out a disbelieving laugh. "For Zhang Shu to praise a young junior so highly, this Ning Zhuo must have really caught your eye."

Zhang Zhongyi paused his pestle, formed a hand seal to examine the composition of the herb paste, then added another leaf as needed. He resumed grinding while pouring in a certain spiritual liquid. He chuckled, "What if I told you that Ning Zhuo also has Grandmaster-level attainment in the Wood and Fire elements? Would you be even more skeptical?"

The surprise on Mu Lan's face deepened. "Isn't that a bit exaggerated? Grandmaster in three elements?" She then changed tack, "However, Zhang Shu, you've seen countless people, and now there's the proof of the cured Dao injury. So, this Ning Zhuo must indeed be a three-element Grandmaster." After a pause, she added, "For someone so young to have such achievements is truly impressive!"

Zhang Zhongyi supplemented, "More than just impressive! You couldn't find anyone like him in the entire Liangzhu Kingdom. He's too young, yet his accomplishments are unbelievably high. Also, his friend is no ordinary person either. This treatment could have been completely successful, but his friend stopped it midway. The reason was that the friend actually found a clever method to use the injury for cultivation during the recovery period. In my opinion, the effectiveness of this cultivation method is outstanding! As a result, he's turning misfortune into blessing; the foundation of his physical body will increase by at least threefold."

Mu Lan nodded. "Wolves don't dwell with dogs; eagles don't speak with chickens. An outstanding young man like Ning Zhuo would naturally have equally outstanding cultivators around him."

Zhang Zhongyi finished preparing the herbs, pouring the paste onto a white bandage. His hands kept moving as he spoke, "You might not know this yet, but this time, the Imperial Envoy secretly interfered, delaying the distribution of our army's supplies..." Before he could finish, Mu Lan nodded and interrupted.

"Zhang Shu, I already know about that. Ning Zhuo helped us resolve the situation."

It turned out that after being deliberately刁难, Mu Lan had ordered her subordinates to secretly keep watch and investigate the military situation. One of them happened to witness the entire process of Ning Zhuo resolving the issue and immediately reported it to Mu Lan.

Mu Lan said, "This time, we owe him a favor. If there's a chance in the future, I will properly thank him."

Zhang Zhongyi picked up the bandage coated with the herbal paste and walked over to Mu Lan. "No need to thank him. This time, I waived his consultation fee."

Mu Lan smiled. "Then I should thank you properly, Zhang Shu."

Zhang Zhongyi immediately shook his head. "Don't. It is I who should thank your father!"

Mu Lan subtly twisted her wrist, and the armor on her left arm automatically detached, transforming into a streak of bronze light that flew into her storage belt. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing her forearm. It was covered with many wounds, some of which had torn the flesh from the inside out and were still bleeding.

Zhang Zhongyi wrapped the bandage around Mu Lan's forearm. Then, he held his palms hovering over her arm, facing the bandage from a distance. He channeled his法力, infusing it into the herbs to activate their medicinal properties and treat Mu Lan's injury.

Waves of intense pain assaulted her, but Mu Lan's expression remained calm throughout.

Soon, the thick layer of herbal paste was absorbed and digested, becoming thin.

Zhang Zhongyi took out a set of gold needles and inserted over a dozen of them into acupuncture points on Mu Lan's forearm. As time passed, the tips of the needles gradually began to glow with a white light. The sharp white light eroded the needle tips into powder.

Zhang Zhongyi's face darkened. "Niece Mu Lan, your condition has worsened considerably recently. I've told you before, it's best not to frequently activate your family's heritage technique, the Mysterious Gold Armor-Piercing Art. This technique is more suitable for men to practice; it's overly masculine and sharp. As a woman practicing it, you are highly prone to an excess of Yang energy, which harms your feminine Yin body."

Mu Lan shook her head. "Zhang Shu, with a major battle imminent, I must drill the troops daily. Using the Mysterious Gold Armor-Piercing Art will naturally increase, and it will increase even more in the future. As for this internal injury, it will have to wait until after the war to be slowly treated."

Zhang Zhongyi sighed. "The condition is more serious than you imagine. If it continues to develop like this, it will likely erupt on the battlefield. You are underestimating it. In fact, there is a simplest method to resolve your ailment: Dual Cultivation! Find a male cultivator who possesses Primordial Yang and engage in Dual Cultivation with him. As the saying goes, 'Lone Yin cannot be born, lone Yang cannot grow.' The harmony of Yin and Yang is the great Dao of heaven and earth. This way, the excessively sharp Yang energy can be transferred to the male cultivator. Although your cultivation will temporarily weaken by several levels, once the burden is lightened, your Yin energy, no longer suppressed, will naturally flourish, giving you an opportunity for future Yin-Yang harmony. Otherwise, relying solely on yourself to achieve Yin-Yang harmony has no chance of success. Your condition has accumulated to a point of no return; only by external means is there hope for a solution."

Mu Lan nodded. "Zhang Shu, you mentioned this method last time. I've thought about it a lot since returning." Being the daughter of a military family, she showed no shyness. "To be honest, I would very much like to find a man for Dual Cultivation, but after much consideration, I haven't found a suitable candidate." Mu Lan sighed deeply.

Zhang Zhongyi nodded. "Indeed, finding someone suitable for you, niece, is truly difficult. Firstly, he must possess Primordial Yang. However, outstanding individuals tend to attract many of the opposite sex. The Dual Cultivation method is widely spread and can quickly increase cultivation. So, unless under special circumstances, most male and female cultivators lose their Primordial Yang or Primordial Yin as they age. Secondly, this person must be compatible with your Mu family. I heard that the current king's third son once expressed interest in pursuing you, but you refused him. That was correct. The third prince lacks military power the most, and his reputation is poor. What he values is the military prestige of your Mu family's General's Manor. Lastly, this person must be sufficiently outstanding; otherwise, some unworthy individual wouldn't be a match for you. In my opinion, only someone of the caliber of the Twelve Young Masters wouldn't委屈 you."

In the numerous cultivation nations today, some busybodies have ranked the young talents, creating a list called the Young Masters List. There are only twelve positions on this list, representing the universally acknowledged geniuses of the current era.

Mu Lan shook her head with a wry smile. "Zhang Shu, you think too highly of me. Although my family is from the General's Manor, we are merely one noble family in the Liangzhu Kingdom. Liangzhu Kingdom, in the whole world, is completely a small country. Sandwiched between the North Wind Kingdom and the South Bean Kingdom, blocked on both sides, it has little room for advancement. My father has been bedridden for years; the family's fortunes have declined. Although I have talent, I am not worthy of the Twelve Young Masters who are famous throughout the realm."

Zhang Zhongyi stroked his beard. "Niece, don't underestimate yourself. Since I entered your army camp and observed you training troops, I've seen that your skill almost reaches Old General Mu's level. Your talent in the art of war is truly exceptional. Consider the Twelve Young Masters; the list isn't fixed. People often fall off the list, and others ascend. It shows that heroes can emerge from anywhere; there are many who rise from unexpected places. Even if we can't reach the Twelve Young Masters currently, a seed with the potential of a Young Master is right before our eyes."

Mu Lan raised an eyebrow, then realized who Zhang Zhongyi was referring to. She found it both amusing and exasperating. "Zhang Shu, after all this, you want to recommend Ning Zhuo? It's not that I'm being arrogant, but you are making an absurd match. He's only at the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Zhang Zhongyi, however, wore a serious expression. "So what if he's at Foundation Establishment? Don't look down on his cultivation level. His cultivation is indeed relatively weak, but you have to consider his age! He's definitely not older than eighteen. Think about it, Foundation Establishment before eighteen? How does such cultivation talent compare to yours?"

Mu Lan's expression turned serious. "It's considerably better than mine. I only reached Foundation Establishment at twenty-one."

Zhang Zhongyi stroked his beard. "Niece, your family's heritage technique, the Mysterious Gold Armor-Piercing Art, isn't suitable for you. If you were a man, you could have reached Foundation Establishment before eighteen. Now, back to Ning Zhuo. His innate talent hasn't been fully探查清楚, but it's also possible he's hiding his true capabilities. Even if it's as it seems, it must be excellent. In terms of talent alone, he matches your superior talent. His comprehension is extremely high. Fire, Earth, Wood – three-element Grandmaster... tsk tsk, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it. Also, he comes from the Ning family of Fire Persimmon Immortal City. I don't know much about this family, but judging by Ning Zhuo's wealth and the fact that he's repeatedly brought out materials suitable for the Nascent Soul level... the Ning family of Fire Persimmon Immortal City can't be bad! Finally, Ning Zhuo is from the South Bean Kingdom, not a citizen of Liangzhu. Dual Cultivating with him wouldn't drag the Mu General's Manor into the political struggles within our country."

Mu Lan was silent for a moment before speaking. "Zhang Shu, what you say makes sense and... tempts me. However, Ning Zhuo comes from a prominent family; he might already have an engagement. This Dual Cultivation involves Primordial Yang and Primordial Yin; it's no small matter. Many engagements have strict stipulations regarding this. Zhang Shu, please take the opportunity in the future to subtly probe whether he has any意向. But..." Mu Lan's tone shifted slightly, "With the major battle imminent, if I undergo Dual Cultivation and my combat power drops, there are still many risks. Moreover, I need to rely on myself to achieve merits, revive the family fortunes. If I rely too much on outsiders, I won't be able to overcome my own mental barrier, and the effect of restoring the Mu Manor's prestige would be greatly diminished. So, regardless of whether Young Master Ning Zhuo is interested or not, I plan to schedule the Dual Cultivation for after this upcoming war."

Zhang Zhongyi nodded. "Sigh, that would be the best scenario. I just fear that with frequent battles, your pressure will increase drastically, causing your injury to erupt."

Ning Zhuo was unaware of the conversation between Zhang Zhongyi and Mu Lan after he left. The latter two were already scheming for his Primordial Yang.

On the way back, he pondered Sun Lingtong's suggestion – using the Dao injury to rapidly enhance his physical cultivation.

"With my Five Elements Grandmaster realm, cooperating with Senior Zhang Zhongyi this time indeed allows me to turn misfortune into blessing," he thought. "However, this method also carries risks. Currently, the Liangzhu Kingdom's army is about to engage the Thousand Peaks Forest; turmoil is imminent. If something unfortunate happens to Zhang Zhongyi, and I suffer a Dao injury, I wouldn't be able to find a skilled physician to cooperate with me. That would be disastrous."

After all, treating Dao injuries required tailoring the approach to the specific circumstances, designing spells and preparing herbs accordingly. The therapy used on Sun Lingtong wouldn't be effective if applied to him again the next night, let alone if used on Ning Zhuo himself.

"So, the safest method is for me to master advanced medical skills myself. As long as my medical skills reach the level needed to treat Dao injuries, I can treat myself alone and use the Dao injury to improve my physical cultivation."

"Ah!"

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo sighed deeply. "I am still too weak, my knowledge too limited. 'One only hates that there's not enough books when one needs them.' Learning has no end! If I had advanced medical skills, I could have cured Old Sun long ago and improved my cultivation without worry."

Ning Zhuo resolved to diligently study medicine! Not just for the present; he was considering more about his mother. In the future, when he needs to treat the Buddhist Physician, Meng Yaoyin's Dao injury, the safest and most reliable path is to become a skilled physician like Zhang Zhongyi himself.

Ning Zhuo pondered all the way back to the Three Generals Camp. As soon as he entered, he was informed by a cultivator that Generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang had been looking for him everywhere.

Ning Zhuo went to the center of the camp, lifted the flap of the main tent, and entered. At a glance, he saw Liu Er's yellow face, Guan Hong's red face, and Zhang Hei's black face gathered together, all six eyes staring intently at the account book on the table.

(End of )