Chapter Five: The Divergence of Yin and Yang Forms

The Ghost Doctor took a swift stride into the cave dwelling, his wooden water jug tumbling noisily to the ground.

The first thing to catch his eye was not an enemy warranting his utmost caution, but Tong Jin lying on the stone bed. Yet Tong Jin’s current condition left the Ghost Doctor momentarily stunned.

Though Tong Jin appeared to lie rigidly across the stone bed, his body was actually hovering half an inch above it. Two strands of vibrant energy—one blue, the other orange—twined and enveloped him. Draped over his form was the Ghost Doctor’s usual, somewhat oversized gray robe, now fluttering wildly under the force of the energy.

The bedding that once covered him had been tossed about, its whereabouts unknown. Around the cave, tables, chairs, books, and countless jars and bottles lay scattered in disarray.

The Ghost Doctor’s mind raced in confusion. Judging by Tong Jin’s condition, he seemed to have awakened. His once unconscious body trembled violently atop the stone bed, writhing in visible agony.

“What on earth is happening?” The Ghost Doctor had never witnessed such a bizarre phenomenon. A boy on the brink of death suddenly erupted with such terrifying energy. Even a master at the pinnacle of Qi transformation could scarcely match this. Yet, he had previously probed Tong Jin’s body and found no trace of true energy whatsoever.

“Ah! Ah! Ah—” Tong Jin’s screams tore through the air, filled with heart-wrenching pain.

The Ghost Doctor dared not approach. The oppressive aura radiating from the two energies was so overwhelming that even his own Qi resistance faltered.

This spectacle lasted nearly half an hour. Just as the Ghost Doctor was about to retreat and reconsider, the energy suddenly retracted and vanished into thin air. Tong Jin’s body crashed heavily back onto the bed.

Clatter. The jars and bottles previously swept up by the energy fell to the ground, releasing a complex mixture of scents that soon filled the cave.

The Ghost Doctor reached into his bosom and pulled out a paper packet. Opening it, he scattered half a handful of white powder throughout the cave.

Among the broken vessels were various poisons and antidotes concocted by the Ghost Doctor himself. Fortunately, all were common, mild toxins. The white powder served to dispel the lingering poison in the air.

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The Ghost Doctor hurried to the stone bed, carefully refraining from immediately taking Tong Jin’s pulse. Instead, he observed quietly.

The contorted pain on Tong Jin’s face eased, sweat pouring down his brow and soaking the gray robe. Suddenly, the Ghost Doctor noticed blood at the boy’s neck. He brushed aside the hair covering the wound.

“It’s the bite of the Corpse Poison Ant!” he exclaimed, startled by his own words.

No one understood the horror of these ants better than he did. To control their breeding and infestation, he had pored over countless ancient texts and secret methods.

“Ah!” Before the Ghost Doctor could ponder further, Tong Jin’s eyes snapped open, startling him. It wasn’t the opening of his eyes that frightened the Ghost Doctor, but rather the sheer strangeness of the situation. First, the nearly dead boy emitted that terrifying burst of energy. Then he was bitten by a poison ant whose sting was invariably fatal. And now, this fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth before him suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Those eyes were utterly devoid of spirit, like two hollow pits set in his pale face. A faint, eerie blue light flickered and danced where his irises should have been, soon followed by a faint crimson glow. The two colors intertwined and chased one another, as if his eyes had become their playground. As the lights moved faster, they pulled out countless fine threads that tangled and overlapped until the colors blended into one. Eventually, the pupils darkened completely.

Tong Jin furrowed his brows on the stone bed, his eyes gradually regaining their expression.

“W-where am I?” His voice was hoarse and dry, like a wanderer lost in the desert for days without water.

The Ghost Doctor, still stunned, twitched the corner of his mouth. “Hey, kid, are you alright?”

Tong Jin weakly turned his head toward him, clearly still dazed. “Old Ghost?”

The Ghost Doctor was amused and exasperated by the nickname. Rolling his eyes, he said, “You little brat, I pulled you back from the gates of death, and you open your eyes calling me old ghost and young ghost! If I get tired of living, I’ll send you back myself!” Though he said it half-jokingly, inside he was deeply moved. After all, Tong Jin had finally awakened and didn’t seem too badly off.

“Old… uh… what happened to me?” Tong Jin started to call him “Old Ghost” again but stopped himself, unsure how else to address him.

“Ha,” the Ghost Doctor chuckled at Tong Jin’s hesitation. “I am, after all, the Ghost Doctor. Calling me old ghost isn’t wrong. If you like it, then so be it. But don’t start to say it and then hold back—don’t choke yourself to death.” Finding it amusing, he didn’t mind the nickname. After a lifetime of hardship, he had heard all sorts of names.

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Tong Jin scratched his head sheepishly and mustered the strength to sit up. His joints and muscles cracked with unbearable pain, as if they were about to tear apart. Before the Ghost Doctor could speak, Tong Jin cried out like a ghost, “My body! My power—it’s all gone!”

The Ghost Doctor watched him, eyes bloodshot and staring blankly at his hands, and shook his head helplessly. “Kid, you’ve managed to cling to life this time, which is no small feat. We can find a way to regain your power.”

Though he spoke reassuringly, the Ghost Doctor knew all too well that once power was lost, reclaiming it was nearly impossible—like ascending to the heavens.

“What happened to me? Why has my body become like this?” Tong Jin murmured, as if questioning himself.

“Sigh…” The Ghost Doctor hesitated, unsure whether to share the grim truth. Finally, steeling himself, he said quietly, “You were struck by that monster—your Yang body was broken.”

“Cough!” Tong Jin erupted into a violent cough, spewing thick black blood from his mouth. Gasping heavily, the devastating news left him utterly blank.

Broken Yang body! Broken Yang body! Broken Yang body… The phrase echoed like a curse in his mind. Tong Jin knew exactly what it meant—his martial arts were lost forever, condemned to endless ruin.

“Hey! Kid! Kid!” The Ghost Doctor shook Tong Jin’s frail shoulders. “But just now, your body suddenly burst with strong energy—it didn’t look like a sign of dissipating power. Don’t lose hope!”

Tong Jin paused, frowning slightly as if recalling something. “Has the Yin-Yang hybrid body burst forth again?”

Though whispered softly, those words struck the Ghost Doctor like a blazing wildfire. “What?! Yin-Yang hybrid?!”