Book 3, Chapter 270: Medicine

Xue Shou answered shortly, and Chen Chuan told him about his situation. Xue Shou then said, “You sure are improving fast. How about we meet tomorrow, at 9 a.m.? Wait for me at the usual place.”

“Sure. I’ll be there

on time

,” Chen Chuan said.

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Thank goodness he had considered the possibility of meeting Xue Shou, which was why he had asked to meet Advisor Pei at night. No matter how late Xue Shou was, there was no way he would be so late that he would only arrive at night.

Since tomorrow was a day off, he didn’t have to go to the training center, so nothing would overlap.

Chen Chuan turned around and gave Dawncall fresh water and food. Dawncall had become bigger now, and its feathers had also become thicker and more colorful.

Chen Chuan went to the window and opened it. A huge gust of wind gushed in, and Dawncall chirped before flying out. He always let it out to fly, but it wasn’t allowed to leave the Arcane Palace nor fly too high. This was so it wouldn’t get into any accidents.

It made Chen Chuan think of something else. The creatures in the merged space all had mutated tissue because of where they lived. Could Dawncall also get mutated tissue?

It would be a great help to him if it did. Its ability to fly in the air was already a great advantage. While it wouldn’t be able to help much in the city, it was a great ability in the wilderness.

Dawncall had been the one to detect the enemy’s movements on their way back from Central City, which gave them time to get ready.

If Dawncall could get mutated tissue, it might be able to fight. Even if not, its physical abilities would still improve.

Perhaps he should ask the Secret Python Cult about it.

***

Ling Jianxing had his hands in his pocket as he stood in the airborne garden of the Arcane Palace. As he stared at the towering buildings ahead, he said into his Realm Pass, “It’s almost time. Get ready.”

He saw a flying creature and raised an eyebrow before giving it a teasing smile. Then, he continued, “I can’t give a specific time, but it’s soon.”

***

Chen Chuan was meditating. When Dawncall came back, he took the elevator downstairs and went to Lu Fang’s martial arts school.

Chen Xiaojin had been coming every day to train. Fang Zhixin had sent a driver for him. He had also learned that Lu Fang wasn’t a citizen, but that didn’t mean that he was weak, especially since Chen Chuan had introduced him. That alone meant that Lu Fang was trustworthy.

Once there, Chen Chuan parked his car and went inside. Chu Wu was pulling Chen Xiaojin up from the floor. They saluted each other and started fighting again.

Lu Fang walked over and handed Chen Chuan a cup of water. “Were you passing by?”

Chen Chuan thanked him and took the cup. “I was thinking about coming tomorrow, but I have two appointments, so I decided to drop by and take a look today. How has Xiaojin been?”

“He’s a hard worker and has been improving fast, but he’s lacking adaptability.”

In other words, Chen Xiaojin was rigid and fought by the book, while real fights were unreasonable. Some people might be weak, but they were great at seizing opportunities and finding openings during battle to win against stronger enemies.

To Lu Fang, Chen Chuan was the most talented of all the people he met in this regard.

Chen Xiaojin was lacking in this area. As for Chu Wu, he had stumbled about until he reached his current level. With Lu Fang’s help, he had begun learning a breathing technique, but his foundation was far weaker than Chen Xiaojin’s.

Yet when they fought, Chen Xiaojin was always at a disadvantage. In the beginning, it was because he lacked experience, but by now, he had gotten used to fighting. Even so, he was still lacking.

“Combat strength can be trained through constant practice and fighting suitable opponents. As long as he doesn’t give up, he’ll get stronger,” Chen Chuan said.

“You’re right about that,” Lu Fang said with a nod.

Despite being defeated many times and practically never winning, Chen Xiaojin never gave up. Even though any other person would have felt dejected and started doubting themselves, he was able to retain his desire to win. He didn’t know where that drive came from, but it was his strength, and it was a rare one.

As long as Chen Xiaojin didn’t die, he was bound to go far in his journey as a martial artist.

“When are you going to teach him refined force?” Chen Chuan asked.

Lu Fang pondered over it. “I intend to train him a bit more. With his current fighting experience, it’s not a good thing for him to learn refined force. He’ll rely on it to defeat his enemies and overlook his technique. Once he meets people at his own level, he will have a hard time winning.”

“That’s the right way of doing it.” Chen Chuan nodded.

“What do you think about Chu Wu, though?” Lu Fang asked.

“He might be slightly older than the average person when he first began breathing training, but he’s smart and has the drive to improve,” Chen Chuan commented.

The students who came here to learn martial arts were mostly going to end up as gang members. Once they began breathing training, they could become fighters or even leaders of gangs, which could earn them good money.

Chu Wu could do that, but he didn’t. Instead, he wanted to continue learning from Lu Fang. This alone made it clear that his judgment was better than that of a lot of other people. Chen Chuan also noticed that when he came over, Chu Wu had glanced at him once and started fighting even more seriously. It was likely he recognized him.

That would not be surprising. After all, many people had seen the video of him defeating Wei Wusheng.

Chen Chuan did not mind it. Having the motivation to get stronger was a good thing. If martial artists didn’t have some sort of goal, they weren’t going to go far.

“I intend to teach them refined force at the same time. The rest depends on how far they can go. If they learn together, they’ll be able to spar against each other at the First Limit. Then, they can push each other to improve,” Lu Fang explained to Chen Chuan.

“That’s an airtight plan,” Chen Chuan commented.

He waited for around ten minutes. During that time, Chu Wu and Chen Xiaojin fought twice more. When they stopped to take a break, Chen Chuan spoke to Chen Xiaojin and stayed a little longer before leaving.

Chen Chuan couldn’t get a clear read on Chen Bitong’s situation. The higher-ups were keeping an eye on him, but he could sense that Chen Bitong really enjoyed teaching him. Even if Chen Bitong was fine now, he might not be able to escape from danger in the future.

Still, he had taught him many things, so Chen Chuan intended to take care of his son.

When he left the martial arts school, it was almost noon. He called Ni Qianqian to treat her to lunch, but she was busy, so they had to push it further back.

Just as Chen Chuan was about to go back to Martial Valor University, he received a call from Mr. Ding. He answered immediately. “Hello, Mr. Ding?”

“Captain Chen, the young master has something to give you and asked me to call you. Do you have time to come and collect it?”

“I’ll come over right now,” Chen Chuan said.

***

An hour later, he parked his car in front of Cao Guiqi’s manor. Mr. Ding was waiting at the entrance, and he said politely, “The young master is admiring the flowers at the back. Please come with me.”

Chen Chuan followed Mr. Ding to the back of the manor. It was almost the end of March now, so the manor was full of blossoming plum blossom trees. They looked brilliant and radiant, like the clouds during dusk.

Cao Guiqi wore a dark-green shirt while playing the zither under a plum blossom tree.

Chen Chuan stopped and stayed outside the backyard to listen. The piece was lyrical and ethereal. It made him feel like he was walking up a hill and staring at the clouds, but when he turned around to look, he found himself filled with nostalgia.

Once the piece ended, Chen Chuan walked over.

Cao Guiqi pressed down the strings to silence the notes before sighing with emotion. “This is the Wanderer’s Song. It’s supposed to be about an ambitious young scholar leaving for a journey. I should play it with vigor, but the mental block in my head makes it hard for me to resonate with the piece. I end up playing it with an air of listlessness. It’s truly regrettable.”

Chen Chuan reached him and said, “The sun rises and falls, just as the tides come and go. If you play the piece like something is about to come to an end of its life today, you might just play it like a new life is about to be born tomorrow.”

Cao Guiqi smiled at that and said, “You’re right. My regrets of yesterday are the foundation for my frustrations today, but my longing for tomorrow will be the cure for my worries of the day. Have a seat.”

Once Chen Chuan sat down, he said, “I asked you here because I got some medicine that goes along with the Skyhigh Jade’s jade cores.”

He took a box and a scroll from Mr. Ding and set them on the table.

“It contains the way to make the medicine. It’s not difficult, but you need to prepare some tools and set up a ritual. I remember you knowing how to do them, yes?”

“I know a bit. If it’s a simple ritual, I can set it up,” Chen Chuan answered honestly.

“Take a look, then.”

Chen Chuan checked the scroll and found that the ritual wasn’t complicated, so he nodded. “This is fine.”

“Take it with you. You’ll need it in the future. The medicine will just take up space for me,” Cao Guiqi said.

“Thank you, Senior Cao,” Chen Chuan said earnestly.

Cao Guiqi just smiled.

Mr. Ding then served them tea. The moment he set the cups down, the wind blew, and petals fell. Some of them landed on the sandalwood table. After taking a glance at them, Cao Guiqi said, “April is around the corner. You should be careful.”

When he offered no elaboration, Chen Chuan felt a stir in his heart and nodded. “Thanks for the warning. I will.”

“I called you here today because I’m going to lock down the manor in a few days and won’t be seeing any guests. This might last until May, or perhaps even longer. If you need my help, call Mr. Ding,” Cao Guiqi said and cast a glance at Mr. Ding. The man nodded and tapped at his Realm Pass.

Chen Chuan then received access to a contact channel, and Mr. Ding said, “If you need to contact the young master, please use this channel. If you can’t get through, you can come to the foot of Motie Mountain.”

Chen Chuan nodded in understanding. They said nothing else and just admired the flowers while drinking. Chen Chuan left in the afternoon.

When he stepped out of the manor, he looked into the distance. Wind blew, causing the trees in Motie Mountain to sway. A thought struck him then. Could it be that Cao Guiqi was speaking about the same thing that Advisor Pei was going to tell him about tomorrow?

If so, he would know it soon.

Chen Chuan got into his car and headed back to the downtown area.