I still believe more in the theory that He Gang is using an artifact or similar, something fused to his body. I don't think that even in future books Qi will be a common thing, it's more likely that this will be the case for the purer Inner Emergy of the Rogues. I mean, if it really was the Butterfly who gave Qi to He Gang, why didn't she do the same for the Rogues? If not for everyone, why not for the special ones, like Prince Song? So I think it's more likely that giving Qi to someone comes at a huge cost to the person receiving it. That being the case, I believe she gave an artifact capable of emulating meridians, or someone else created it.