Chen Zhao tried his strength. This weight was pretty much his limit. He couldn’t pick it up with one hand.
Eugh!
He applied force and pulled. The bar lifted.
Gaia’s eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. Right now, Chen Zhao was a monster to her.
He could only lift the four-ton barbell to his chest. He couldn’t lift it over his head like standard weightlifting.
Thud—
Chen Zhao tossed the barbell down. His left arm was clearly weaker than his right. Of course, he was already strong enough for regular situations.
“Right now, I’m doubting if you’re a human.”
“Well, I’m not a regular human.”
“Is it possible for me to reach this level?”
Chen Zhao thought about it and replied, “My situation is a bit special. But you can still surpass your current limit.”
“How much will it cost?”
“Train Tiger well, how about that?”
“I’m only in charge of his technique. You’re definitely more professional in terms of strength and fitness.”
“Then after he recovers fully in a bit, I’ll train both of you for fitness.”
Gaia nodded. Chen Zhao agreed to her request because of their friendship, so she wouldn’t take advantage of it. After sitting in Chen Zhao’s house for an hour and touring it, she left.
Chen Zhao didn’t plan on moving Gaia’s equipment into the house. It would damage the infrastructure if it fell onto the ground.
He planned on just leaving it outside. After exercising for half an hour, he started getting ready. He washed up and put on a casual outfit to go out.
He always cared about his appearance. Whether he went out for work or visiting friends, he would always tidy himself up.
Today’s schedule was to visit the Sean family. Yesterday, Sean had called, saying that his father’s situation may have changed. Chen Zhao had to go look.
When he reached the manor, the atmosphere was still heavy. They were the mafia, after all. But Chen Zhao was a regular guest, so he was led into the manor after a slight check.
“Mr. Chen.” Sean went over to him and shook his hand.
Chen Zhao had proven his abilities in the past few months. Sean’s father had been declared to only have three months left, but Chen Zhao had already stretched out that number.
Thus, he also gained Sean’s trust. Sean would notify him immediately about his father’s condition.
“Mr. Sean, how is your father?”
“I don’t know about the specifics, but according to the servant taking care of him, his facial muscles keep twitching.”
“When did it start?”
“Yesterday.”
Sean took Chen Zhao to Old Sean’s bedroom. Old Sean was in the wheelchair, as always, and had two servants beside him.
Sean waved his hand and the servants left.
Chen Zhao went over to check Old Sean’s pulse, heartbeat, and tongue. Then he asked, “What has Old Sean eaten these past few days?”
“Are you saying that he was poisoned?”
“No, it’s just a routine question.”
“He would have a daily bottle of nutritious liquid and oatmeal with some meat. It’s like that every day.”
“Anything else?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Check your father’s servants or the kitchen.”
“So it’s still poison?”
“It’s only a minor amount of poison from red spider lily,” Chen Zhao said.
The red spider lily had a more well-known name: hellflower.
Of course, it wasn’t able to actually send you to hell. It could be put in medicine but had certain toxicity.
It was pretty widespread, though it was mainly produced in Southeast Asia. It wasn’t a rare type of plant.
The hellflower wasn’t highly poisonous. Of course, if you consumed too much or had health like Old Sean, it could still easily be fatal.
The person who did this was very careful. Old Sean only showed slight symptoms as well.
After giving Old Sean some antidote, Chen Zhao gave Sean some advice. “Mr. Sean, I shouldn’t get involved in your family matters, but I hope you do things after investigating fully instead of killing everyone related.”
Sean looked at him, surprised. After a pause, he nodded. “Okay.”
…
Chen Zhao went to Ethan’s motel. After greeting him, Chen Zhao went straight to Li Qing’s room.
“Auntie Li, I’m here to check on you.”
“Mr. Chen, I’m much better. You don’t have to visit me every day.”
“It’s alright. I don’t have much to do either.”
Li Qing glanced at Chen Zhao and studied him for a bit. “Mr. Chen, you seem well today. Your brows are smooth. The shadows from earlier have disappeared. Did you solve some big problem?”
Chen Zhao smiled. Li Qing’s eyes were as sharp as ever.
“I took care of that thing.”
“You did it by yourself?”
“No, I had some friends.”
“Mr. Chen has wide connections, as expected… Oh, did you read the scriptures of my Qingyi Sect?”
“I read some.”
“Is there anything that you don’t understand?”
Chen Zhao listed everything that he didn’t understand and Li Qing answered them one by one.
The Qingyi Sect wasn’t a big sect in China. It had experienced many ups and downs to be passed on to the present day.
Its style was small but detailed. It didn’t have any majestic or shocking spells. Most of the techniques were used for individuals, with some auxiliary techniques mixed in.
This had something to do with the founder of the Qingyi Sect, Xiangliu Qingyi. Rather than the evil god by the same name, this man was from the end of the Tang Dynasty.
At first, Xiangliu was the heir of the Mayi Sect. He was greatly talented and received the true inheritance of Mayi. Then he left the mountain and wandered through the world. He became known for his medical abilities and saved many lives.
Because war erupted often, the commoners had difficult lives. Xiangliu started his own sect and took up Qingyi as his title.
Xiangliu was the title given to him by his teacher in the Mayi Sect. He kept this name to show respect for the Mayi Sect.
Later, people referred to the founder of the Qingyi Sect as Xiangliu Qingyi.
He’d read many medical books, so many of the Qingyi Sect’s techniques were related to medical practices. It also contained the techniques of the Mayi Sect, so it was also able to defeat demons.
The Mayi Sect was actually a branch of the Mao Mountain School, which was part of Taoism. Xiangliu Qingyi had started his own sect, but he never declared that he’d left the Mayi Sect. Thus, Qingyi and Mayi were both closely connected to the Mao Mountain School.
Chen Zhao could also tell from Li Qing’s words that she guessed the Mayi Sect or Mao Mountain School had suggested Xiangliu Qingyi to found the Qingyi Sect.
The reason didn’t have anything to do with modern-day matters, so it was just a topic for chit-chat.
Chen Zhao and Li Qing weren’t historians. They didn’t have to be completely clear about things that had happened more than 1,000 years ago.
