Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-1997

AST 1997 - Qing Ci Captured! Threats

Though he might not seem like it from the outside, internally, Qing Shui was very furious. He despised this kind of people the most. There was a saying: ‘one shall not involve the family members in their personal affairs’. Another thing was that if the life of the people close to him were threatened or put in danger, Qing Shui would definitely make them suffer.

To people like this, Qing Shui would eliminate them immediately as soon as he met them.

As of now, Qing Shui was also feeling a bit helpless. He could only wait for the enemy to begin their moves. For the time being, the enemies were the ones who had the initiatives. He had yet to hear anything from the detective bees. However, Qing Shui knew that he would definitely receive something soon. Hence, he wasn’t really worried about that. The only thing he was the most concerned about was whether or not the enemies would lay their hands on Little Mo. However, chances of this happening were relatively low.

Qing Ci, on the other hand, was feeling very anxious. However, she chose to remain silent. She didn’t want her master to worry. But at the same time, she was also worried about her own child.

For the time being, Qing Shui had stopped letting Qing Ci treat the patient’s illnesses. She wasn’t in the mood to do so anyway.

The detective bees returned after two days. They had pinpointed a rough area where Little Mo might be at. At the same time, Qing Ci also received a letter. The content of the letter was very straightforward. It was simply telling her that her son was in their hands. If she wanted her son back, she must stay quiet and head to the Jade Fragrant Restaurant alone.

Qing Ci was holding the letter, thinking about the things which Qing Shui had said to her before. She was wondering if she should tell Qing Shui, even though the letter instructed her to stay alone and remain silent about it. She was at a loss at the moment.

Maybe because she was now at Divine Grade and her ability to put her strength to use had greatly surpassed the existences a lot more powerful than herself that in the end, she decided to go alone.

Jade Fragrant Restaurant!

Qing Ci went to Jade Fragrant Restaurant alone but she couldn’t find the person whom she was looking for. Soon after noticing Qing Ci’s presence, a person came out, “Hello, young lady. Please come here.”

“You are?” Qing Ci was feeling doubtful and asked.

“I am taking you to see a person.” That person replied.

This was a middle-aged man. He looked very normal.

Qing Ci clenched her teeth. Reminded of the past two days when she hadn’t been able to see her son, she immediately followed the man.

When Qing Ci and the man entered a room, the owner of the Jade Fragrant Restaurant happened to see it from her room when she was looking out. She was also able to recognize the room. She immediately thought of Qing Shui. Coincidentally, for the past few days, she had also been hearing things about Qing Ci losing her son.

While all that was going through her mind, the woman called out to a person and gave him a few instructions. After that, the person left swiftly.

By the time Qing Shui arrived at Jade Fragrant Restaurant, the room was already empty. The owner of Jade Fragrant Restaurant was also very shocked to see that. Instead of walking out of the room, they had used a unique method to leave the place while making sure that they didn’t destroy anything in it.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have been so careless and should have stopped her.” The owner of Jade Fragrant Palace said with a guilty tone.

“Don’t worry about it. In fact, I should thank you instead for telling me about it. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t have found out about it even until now. I have told the brat before that she must inform me about everything that has happened. I have never thought that in the end, she would still come alone.” Qing Shui was a bit upset.

“Would you like me to help you investigate into this matter?” The owner of Jade Fragrant Restaurant offered her help.

“That’d be great!” Qing Shui accepted happily.

Qing Shui’s face was filled with surprises, “Well then, I am sorry for troubling you. I will definitely repay you handsomely once I find Ci`Er.”

The owner of Jade Fragrant Restaurant waved her hand, “You are welcome.”

Qing Shui waited here while the owner of Jade Fragrant Restaurant left the area temporarily.

After 2 hours, they had managed to gather some information. From here, Qing Shui was more or less able to figure out that the Jade Fragrant Restaurant was an existence similar to the detectives who made investigations and tried to look for more information. There was a high chance for them to have a huge force supporting them from the back. Their ability to gain new information was nothing to be underestimated.

The woman mentioned a location. When Qing Shui saw the location on the map, he already knew that it was the right place. The place which the detective bees from before had pinpointed was somewhere near here. However, due to some unknown reason, the bees were unable to pinpoint the exact location it was at. In fact, it even missed certain parts of the location.

“I will head there first! Thanks for your help!” Qing Shui left immediately as soon as he finished speaking.

“Mister Qing, please hold your steps.”

Qing Shui looked at her confused.

“Do you know where the place is?”

“No, I don’t.”

“That place is the location where the Sacred Medicine Palace is located at. If I am not mistaken, they should be the ones who have snatched away your disciple. There is a high chance that they are thirsting for your medical expertise. Even though the majority of the people in Sacred Medicine Palace are alchemists, they are still a force which you shouldn’t look down on.” The owner of Jade Fragrant Restaurant looked at Qing Shui and explained slowly to him.

“Even if it’s a land filled with mountains of daggers and seas of flames, it won’t stop me from going. I will be fine.” Qing Shui couldn’t contain his impatience.

The woman blushed when she heard Qing Shui’s words. She wondered to herself, ‘What do I have to be worried about? I don’t even share any relations with you. Whether you would be fine or not have nothing to do with me….’ However, this was a kind of mentality which every woman would have. Very soon, she began to realize that this wasn’t the case. Why would she want to tell him about Qing Ci in the first place? Why would she bother sending people to investigate Qing Ci’s whereabouts and even told him about the Sacred Medicine Palace?

For some unknown reason, the woman felt that this man was quite a decent man. Back then, when the Imperial Cuisine Hall had first opened, she got to taste its delicious food. Could it be that she desired for the dishes which he made?

“Do you need any help?” The woman asked after clearing her thoughts.

“I think I will be fine alone. If things are really out of my hand, I will come back to trouble you.” Qing Shui nodded. After that, he swiftly left the place.

……

Qing Ci dizzily woke up and realized that she was currently being put in a cell. She couldn’t muster up even a bit of strength in her body. Not long after she had woken up, she could already hear someone knocking on the door of the cell. An old man came in. He had very bright eyes and was currently looking at Qing Ci with a grin.

“Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?” At the moment, Qing Ci knew that she had fallen into the culprit’s trap.

“Do you want to see your son?” The old man said in a calm tone.

“My son! Let me see my son!” Qing Ci said in a hurried tone as soon as she heard Little Mo’s voice.

“Calm down. We don’t plan to harm you. How about this? We know that the Imperial Cuisine Hall knows the trick of connecting a person’s meridians to recover their Dantian. All you need to do is to hand over this little information and we will immediately let you go.” The old man smirked and looked at Qing CI.

“I have no idea how to do it. My master hasn’t taught me that yet.” Qing Ci said with a firm tone.

The old man only continued to smile.

“I have only learned from my master for a few days. Such a formidable medical technique isn’t something which can be learned within days. If that was the case, physicians like my master would have been everywhere!” Qing Ci continued.

“Write out the things that I want for me.” Like before, the old man was very calm.

“It’s true! I have never learned it before!”

“If that’s the case, I shall cut off the little brat’s arms. For each question that you fail to answer me, I will cut off one of his hands. Once both of them are cut off, we will start going for the legs.” The old man coldly said.

At that moment, Little Mo appeared in front of Qing Ci.

“Mother… Mother…”

The little brat had tears dripping all over his face. He was being surrounded by two large men. One of them was holding a blade whereas the other one was grabbing Little Mo’s arm.

“Little Mo……”

“I am going to count to three. If she still refuses to say it, chop off his head.” The old man spoke slowly.

One!

The old man could only use this method. It was no use even if the men had threatened her or even molested her. Her son was her biggest weakness. If even threatening her with her son’s life didn’t work then it might truly mean that they had no hope of ever learning it.

Two!

Three! Do it!

Stop! I will say it!

The blade was less than an inch away from cutting Little Mo’s arm. By now, Qing Ci’s voice was already very hoarse. She was watching as her son screamed and cried there. Deep down, how could she let her son’s arm get cut off right before her eyes? She would rather that to be her own arm.

“Write it out. Remember, we are also physicians. In fact, we possess even more knowledge than the Imperial Cuisine Hall could ever have. The only thing we need from you is the prescription. If in any cases, we find out that you have written something wrong, we will immediately cut off your son’s hand. There is no second chance.”