MM Racing Chapter 19 Efficacy and Pain
Chapter 19 Efficacy and Pain
A burning heat penetrated deep into the skin and flesh with the rubbing, as if a faint flame was burning between the bones and muscles, gradually dispelling and melting away the lingering deep soreness.
"It works!" Xu Mo's spirits lifted; the burning sensation in his palms and the relaxation in his muscles were unmistakable.
The immediate effects of the safflower oil further solidified Xu Mo's determination to master traditional Chinese medicine. His future path, besides practicing martial arts, would also include—studying.
Only by mastering the knowledge can one maximize the efficacy of these medicines and truly transform the pharmacy in that static world into an inexhaustible repository of cultivation resources.
After applying the safflower oil and feeling the warmth emanating from his arms and legs, Xu Mo, with a "the more the better" mentality, picked up the stack of musk-infused bone-strengthening ointment. In pursuit of the ultimate restorative effect, he applied it to almost every part of his body that felt sore or was expected to be easily injured—from his shoulders and neck to his back, from his elbows to his wrists, from his knees to his ankles, paying particular attention to his forearms and shins, which bore the bruises the most.
More than ten plasters were applied! The medicinal cloth of the plasters almost covered half of Xu Mo's body.
As soon as the plaster was applied, Xu Mo felt a cool and refreshing sensation, completely different from the safflower oil, spread through his skin. It was as if countless tiny streams of ice were seeping into his muscles and fascia, neutralizing the spiciness of the safflower oil and bringing a strange sense of comfort.
Xu Mo could clearly feel that under the stimulation of the interplay of coolness and warmth, the subtle damage inside his body seemed to be slowly repaired and nourished, like parched land receiving the nourishment of rain and dew.
"Now everything should be foolproof!" Xu Mo was filled with anticipation. With such ample medicinal support, he felt that his cultivation path would be smooth sailing.
With the help of the medicine, Xu Mo once again immersed himself in the training of the "Thirteen Protectors Horizontal Training," and even practiced for half an hour longer than usual because he felt good.
However, Xu Mo seriously underestimated the side effects of such intensive medication use, especially the plaster.
As night fell and he prepared to rest, Xu Mo was subjected to a truly excruciating torture—the removal of the plaster!
The cool and refreshing feeling he experienced when applying it during the day was completely gone, replaced by the adhesive tape clinging tightly to his skin for hours. Xu Mo gritted his teeth, pinched a corner of a plaster on his shoulder, took a deep breath, and ripped it off sharply—
"Sizzle—!"
A loud, sticky sound pierced the quiet room, followed by an extremely sharp, intense pain, like having a layer of skin torn off. The skin covered by the plaster instantly turned bright red, the hairs were pulled out by the roots, and the clear adhesive marks were like branding marks. The burning pain shot straight to the head.
"Ugh—!" Xu Mo shuddered in pain, his forehead instantly covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
This is just the beginning! He still has more than ten such plasters on his body!
What followed was nothing short of a long and agonizing torture. Each time a plaster was torn off, it felt like a minor surgical procedure, accompanied by the sticky sound of skin and flesh separating and a tingling pain that made your scalp tingle.
Xu Mo grimaced in pain, tears welling uncontrollably in his eyes. His muscles were tense and trembling from the continuous stimulation. When the last plaster was peeled off his most delicate waist, he was almost exhausted, his whole body soaked in cold sweat as if he had been pulled out of water.
At this moment, Xu Mo's upper body and major joints were almost entirely covered in red, swollen skin with glue marks and scattered blood spots. The constant burning pain was like being on a grill.
The pain was so intense that even lying on the sheeted sofa felt like lying on needles and needles. Every slight friction brought a sharp pain, and the exhaustion in his body was amplified by the ubiquitous burning sensation on his skin, making it impossible for him to fall asleep.
"I was too greedy..." Xu Mo regretted his actions in anguish.
More medication is never better; the cost is far too high.
Xu Mo took out a ginseng root and cut off the thickest rootlet from the main root, holding it in his mouth. He slowly swallowed the bittersweet ginseng juice, and a gentle and deep warmth gradually rose from his abdomen, flowing slowly to his limbs, barely suppressing some of the excruciating pain and the accompanying chill, and his mind was somewhat calmed.
Under the combined effects of the warmth and extreme exhaustion, Xu Mo finally drifted off to sleep.
When Xu Mo woke up the next day, the situation was even worse than he had expected. Not only was the skin wound caused by removing the plaster the night before still red, swollen, and burning, but the deep muscle soreness had also completely erupted due to the excessive training the previous day.
Xu Mo felt as if he had been taken apart and then roughly reassembled. Every breath pulled at the muscles in his chest and abdomen, and every movement of his joints was accompanied by a sore, gritty feeling and a tearing pain in his skin.
Despite the discomfort, Xu Mo first checked the still red and burning skin on his body and decided to temporarily stop all external martial arts practice involving slapping or rubbing against the skin for today.
"The topical ointments can't be used for the time being, but the oral medications..." Xu Mo's gaze fell on the bottles of oral medications—trauma pills and muscle relaxant tablets.
Recalling the vague impression of the instructions, it seemed to be an oral medication for sprains, bruises, and muscle aches.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Xu Mo took the Die Da Wan (跌打丸) and Shu Jin Huo Xue Pian (舒筋活血片) according to the dosage on the instructions. The pills slid down his throat with a strong bitter taste of traditional Chinese medicine.
At first, he didn't feel anything special. Xu Mo continued to rub the red and swollen areas that hadn't broken the skin with safflower oil, still grimacing in pain.
But about half an hour later, when Xu Mo began to practice relatively gentle stance training, he vaguely sensed something different.
Previously, while standing meditation could regulate my breathing, deep-seated aches and pains in my body would constantly interfere like background noise, especially in the later stages of maintaining the posture, when the muscle tremors and aches would become more and more obvious.
This time, as he continued practicing Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), Xu Mo felt a gentle warmth rising from his lower abdomen. Unlike the obvious warmth of ginseng, this warmth was more subtle and focused on the muscles and joints of his limbs. It flowed slowly, and wherever it passed, the deep, stubborn soreness seemed to be quietly dissolved and dissipated by this warmth. Although his muscles were still tired, the stiffness and soreness originating from within his bones and muscles had indeed lessened.
"This oral medicine...it really works." Xu Mo was pleasantly surprised. Although the effect was not as immediate as safflower oil, nor did it bring strong hot and cold stimulation like plasters, the feeling of nourishing from the inside and slowly resolving stagnation seemed to be more fundamental and more suitable for long-term use during breaks in cultivation.
Xu Mo realized that external medicine is like a fire brigade, quickly treating surface pain and damage; while internal medicine is like an internal repairman, slowly and persistently cleaning up the "internal garbage" left behind by cultivation. Combining the two, treating both internally and externally, might be the right way.
Of course, having learned his lesson with the plaster, Xu Mo dared not use too much again. Strictly following the dosage instructions, he decided to observe his body's reaction and recovery for a few days.
"Haste makes waste...both physical health and medication require a gradual approach." Xu Mo reflected deeply.
He immediately made adjustments, returning the core of his practice to "standing meditation," focusing on regulating his internal energy and nourishing his muscles and bones. This process is relatively gentle and causes minimal stimulation to the skin and muscles.
External martial arts exercises that are prone to causing injury should be reduced in frequency and intensity, and relegated to a secondary practice. Once the body, especially the skin, has fully recovered from this "plaster disaster" and gradually adapted to the medication and training intensity, they can be cautiously and slowly improved.
Cultivation is a combination of science and art, not barbaric self-destruction. This time, the body taught Xu Mo a crucial lesson in the most direct way.