“So confident?”
“I am confident, but I have more confidence in Sir.” Zhong Liuchuan looked up at Jia Zizai and asked, “How do you view Sir?”
“How should I put it? He is the best among the best,” Jia Zizai replied. “He is a man gifted from heaven.”
“I think Sir can live for at least 200 years,” Zhong Liuchuan said.
“How can you see that?” Jia Zizai was not particularly surprised by the number but curious about how his senior could tell.
“It’s a feeling,” Zhong Liuchuan said.
“A feeling? Is it that kind of bullsh*t again?” Jia Zizai asked with a smile.
“You have met Sir’s parents, right?” Zhong Liuchuan asked.
“I have met them a few times. What’s the matter?”
“Look carefully next time,” Zhong Liuchuan said. “Those two old people are getting younger.”
“Is that so?” Jia Zizai asked. “I haven’t paid much attention to that.”
“You haven’t really started learning about the deeper stuff yet,” Zhong Liuchuan calmly said. “After you have started, you will know exactly what it is that Sir is teaching us.”
With the deepening of practice, he gradually realized how magical the method of self-renewing to induce Qi that Wang Yao had taught him was. It was not only useful for the conditioning and improvement of the physical body, but it also elevated spirituality. Zhong Liuchuan had a feeling that the path he was walking on was probably the path toward the cultivation of immortals mentioned in novels.
What was the biggest difference between mortals and immortals?
It was not the ability of immortals to call upon the winds and rain, but the immortal’s ability to live as long as the heavens. In other words, it was longevity. One would naturally have more opportunities to encounter extraordinary things when one lived for a long time. One would also have acquired extraordinary skills and mastered extraordinary abilities.
“Our strength is still trapped within our bodies,” Zhong Liuchuan said. “It can’t be exerted at the moment. Sir’s strength can already allow him to communicate with this world!”
“Why do I feel that your words are just crushing my motivation?” Jia Zizai asked with a smile.
“I don’t mean that,” Zhong Liuchuan said after he took a sip of tea. “I was just expressing my feelings. Moreover, Sir has already said that it is just a matter of following our hearts with practicing and cultivation. Here we are, reading books quietly, chanting sutras, drinking tea, and playing chess while watching the sunrise and the sunset calmly. We are watching as the clouds drift past us. This state is relaxed and comfortable. What’s wrong with it?”
Hu Mei, who had come to refill their drinks, said, “I finally understand why Senior’s progress is so fast.”
“That state of mind is not something we can be compared with,” Jia Zizai said.
“You flatter me, Junior,” Zhong Liuchuan said to Jia Zizai with a smile. “Your progress is not slow, but someone has to make use of all the time he has to work harder.”
Among the three of them, Jia Zizai’s progress in cultivation was the slowest. Even Hu Mei, who had joined them last, had surpassed him. Because Hu Mei’s temperament was better than his, her temperament was quieter, which was compatible with the essence of cultivation.
“No worries, no worries, it’s no shame to be surpassed by my wife,” Jia Zizai said.
“I’m at the stage where I remain indifferent whether I’m granted favors or subjected to humiliation,” Jia Zizai said. “If I continue to pursue that tranquility, I will be just like you are now, Senior.”
“That would be the best.”
In the clinic, Wang Yao was reading a medical book. He had just bought the book from the Internet, and it was filled with mistakes. He changed and corrected the mistakes while reading it.
He thought, How can this kind of book actually be published? It will cause people to be severely misguided!
Ring! Ring! Buzz! The phone on the desk rang out.
“It’s me, um, OK.” After hanging up, he went on reading.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. The clock hanging on the wall continuously ticked. The hands were steadily turning, pointing to one number after another.
When it was 3:30 p.m., there was a knock on the door.
“Enter!” Wang Yao shouted toward the door. A person walked in a moment later.
“Hello, Mr. Wu,” Wang Yao said.
The person who had entered was Wu Tongxing. The old man from the Wu family had not come for many days.
“Is the old man in bad condition?” Wang Yao asked after looking up at him.
“Yes, very bad,” Wu Tongxing said.
He had hurriedly arrived just for his father’s disease. According to reason, his father had reached that age, and he could just leave. As his children, they wanted to try their best to help him live for a couple more years, even if the extra years meant he lived a kind of painful torture.
“Since his time has come, why force it?” Wang Yao asked.
“We still want to be filial.” At this time, Director Wu did not have the momentum of a superior. He was just a filial son.
“I don’t have the time now. Come back tomorrow,” Wang Yao said.
“Alright, thank you.” Hearing that Wang Yao had agreed, Wu Tongxing was very happy. He was afraid that the other party would not agree when he arrived. That was the most troublesome thing.
“The old man is hurting very badly, right?” Wang Yao asked.
“Very badly.”
Wang Yao did not speak. Wu Tongxing left after putting down a packet of tea.
The old man from the Wu family, whom he had seen before, had the same kind of disease as Wang Yilong except that the position of the disease was different and it was more severe. He was also too old now. It was the magic of Wang Yao’s elixir that had allowed him to live until now.
“Try again.”
If the old man, who was now in Jing, was in the mountain village at the moment, Wang Yao would use the combination of medicine and acupuncture. He could have a certain degree of assurance in curing the old man’s incurable disease again, just like Wang Yilong’s case. Unfortunately, the identity of the other person was different after. It was unlikely that he would leave Jing to come to such a small mountain village in the county.
I’ll make a few more doses of medicine, Wang Yao thought.
At the Su family residence in Jing, thousands of miles away…
“Elder brother, why are you free to come over today?” Song Ruiping smiled as she poured water for the man.
“Isn’t it because I want to ask you for help?” Wu Tongrong replied with a smile.
His younger brother had gone to Lianshan County to find the doctor, but he was still not sure. He knew about the person’s relationship with the Su family, so he went there to visit the doctor’s future mother-in-law. It was just for some assurance.
“Is it about the old man’s health?”
“Yes, it’s getting worse,” Wu Tongrong said with a sigh. “The doctors said it will be hard for him to survive this winter.”
“Don’t worry too much, Older Brother.” Song Ruiping tried to comfort him.
“I’m here to ask you to put in a word for me, Sister,” Wu Tongrong said.
“What is it you mean?” Song Ruiping was stunned. In a flash, she understood the other party’s intention.
“Do you mean regarding Xiao Yao?”
“Yes, to be honest, I’m afraid Tongxing has already arrived in Lianshan County by this time. I’m still worried that Dr. Wang won’t help.”
“Ah, that’s easy to settle,” Song Ruiping said with a smile.
“Is Xianghua still quite busy?” Wu Tongrong asked.
“Yes, he is so busy that he is not at home the entire day,” Song Ruiping replied.
“I know he likes tea. Try it.”
“Thank you, Older Brother.”
Song Ruiping called Wang Yao in front of Wu Tongrong and explained the matter.
“I got it, Auntie,” Wang Yao said. “I’ve met with Mr. Wu.”
“Good, good.”
“Don’t worry, Xiao Yao said that he would prepare to brew the medicine tonight.”
“Oh, alright, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Wu Tongrong sat down and chatted for a bit before leaving.
The woman to her side said, “Madame, old man Wu…”
“I’m afraid that it will be hard for him to survive it this time. After all, he is already in his 90s, and it’s still that kind of disease. It’s already quite remarkable of him to have survived until now.”
The night deepened.
On Nanshan Hill, there was a spot of yellow light.
In the hut, the firewood crackled.
The unique smell of medicinal herbs wafted out of the room.
Ganoderma lucidum, Angelica sinensis, plough grass…
Wang Yao was brewing medicine.
It would clear heat, relieve pain and blood stasis, and harmonize Yin and Yang.
He turned the firewood calmly as he watched the color of the herbal soup changing in the multifunctional pot.
Is it possible to integrate part of the mountain spirit into the herbal soup?
This was not the first time he had thought about it.
I’ll think about it some more and try something.
The next morning, Wu Tongxing arrived very early. He arrived even before the door of the clinic was opened. He didn’t sleep well the previous night. He had called home and asked the doctor about his father’s condition around 10 p.m. He was worried that something would happen to the old man, whose life was already hanging by a thread, while he was gone. He was relieved after he heard that his father was fine for the time being.
The secretary who came with him was comforted him. “Don’t worry too much, Boss.”
“Alright,” Wu Tongxing replied.
If only Wang Yao could be invited to Jing. It’s such a pity! He sighed.
He is here.
