Chapter 7: Parents

The long street was quiet, with gray-tiled buildings rising and falling in height. The curved eaves, like waves in the black ocean of night, were frozen in time.

Old Yao walked slowly with his hands behind his back, and Chen Ji followed silently behind. He had many questions he wanted to ask, such as where Beijulu Zhou was, whether Old Yao knew a young man named Li Qingniao, and what the forty-nine layers of heaven were.

But he knew he couldn't ask, so he buried those questions deep in his heart.

Old Yao asked suspiciously, "You usually chatter like a piece of old cloth, why are you so quiet today?"

Chen Ji's heart tightened, "It's still because of what happened at the Zhou residence, you don't want me to mention it."

Old Yao suddenly asked, "Did you kill someone?"

Chen Ji remained silent for a long time, "No."

Old Yao lightly chuckled and didn't ask any more questions.

On the way, the old man really didn't inquire about what happened tonight, as if nothing had happened at all.

After about an hour, Chen Ji finally saw the wide red gate of Jing Wang's mansion in the distance. The guards stood with spears, clad in iron armor, and the stone lions on either side of the gate were imposing.

Under the gray eaves, two white lanterns hung, with the words "Jing Wang's Mansion" written on them. Above the gate, a plaque read "Righteous and Bright" in gold paint.

Doctor Yao didn't enter through the main gate but led Chen Ji to the side of the mansion, where a medical clinic named "Taiping" was attached to the mansion.

The plaque above the door read "No Credit."

Old Yao pushed open the clinic door, stepped over the high threshold, and inside, a kerosene lamp was lit on a long counter.

Outside was the dark street and night, while inside was warm orange light, as if the world was in black and white, and only the clinic had color.

It seemed as if Chen Ji could find shelter and peace as soon as he stepped inside.

Old Yao stood inside the door and glanced back at Chen Ji, "Throw away what you're holding, the clinic doesn't need that kind of thing."

Chen Ji was startled and threw away the broken ceramic piece in his hand, which was still stained with blood.

He looked at the high threshold of the clinic and the hunched back of Old Yao, and finally stepped inside, closing the door and blocking out the night.

...

...

The clinic was a small quadrangle, separated from the mansion by only a wall, with a gnarled apricot tree in the center of the yard.

A majestic crow perched on the top of the tree and flew away when it saw someone come.

Old Yao seemed tired and waved his hand, "Go to sleep."

But Chen Ji stood still... where should he sleep? There were three rooms in the back of the quadrangle, and he didn't know which one was the right choice. If he went to the wrong place, it might raise suspicion.

Seeing that he didn't move, Old Yao turned back suspiciously, "Why aren't you going to sleep?"

As he spoke, a tall, thin youth in a long robe emerged from the west room, looking at Chen Ji with disdain, "Chen Ji, you were gone for so long just to deliver some medicine, and even made Master come looking for you... Master, are you tired? I'll boil some water for you to soak your feet and rest."

Chen Ji silently looked at this... senior brother.

How could someone be so specific in their flattery?

Old Yao said, "Both of you go to sleep, don't delay tomorrow's morning class."

"Alright," the tall, thin youth quickly returned to the west room.

Chen Ji followed him inside, and the room was a large dormitory. A burly figure was snoring loudly at the far end, completely unaware of what had just happened. The tall, thin senior brother slept in the middle, and his bed was by the door.

The apprentice dormitory had old wooden windows and no other furniture except for some pots and jars.

In the dim room, the tall, thin senior brother sat on the bed, his eyes gleaming, and asked in a low voice, "What happened? Why did it take so long?"

"Nothing happened," Chen Ji shook his head, feeling tired as he climbed into bed, quietly looking at the wooden beams and the spider webs on the ceiling.

The tall, thin senior brother turned over and lay down, muttering, "Fine, I won't ask!"

The room fell silent again, with only the sound of breathing.

Only at this moment could Chen Ji stop and think about his situation: would Jiaotu and Yunyang let him off? They certainly wouldn't.

The abilities he displayed tonight were not those of a clinic apprentice, and he had appeared in the home of a Jing dynasty spy. How could those two not be suspicious?

But why did they let him go? Was it because of his master's identity, or did they have other plans?

Regardless of the reason, Chen Ji's best choice now was to stay in the clinic. The clinic was next to the mansion, and the other party would likely have reservations about doing anything.

As he was thinking, Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.

A cold aura was spreading from his dantian, devouring the warmth in his muscles, bones, and blood.

That was... the cold stream that entered his body when Zhou Chengyi died. At the time, it felt cold, like an illusion, but now it was like a fierce beast trapped inside Chen Ji's body, angrily seeking an exit but unable to break free.

Bang.

Chen Ji heard the sound of his blood flowing like an avalanche, as if his veins were filled with ice sand.

His thin body felt like it was hiding a sword or a dragon that had existed for thousands of years. Chen Ji felt as if he was in a dark, deep pond, being dragged to the bottom by a hand.

It was bone-chillingly cold.

Chen Ji struggled to turn his head and look at the others in the room, but they were sleeping soundly, unaware of anything. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, but the cold was coming from inside, and even covering himself completely was no help.

Was he being haunted by Zhou Chengyi's vengeful spirit?

Gradually, before he could figure it out, he curled up and fell into a daze.

After an unknown amount of time, a loud rooster crow came from the distant horizon, as if breaking through layers of mist.

Chen Ji sat up from his bed, as if he had just been pulled out of water, greedily breathing.

His hands and feet were icy cold, and what had just happened was not a dream. The cold stream was still raging.

...

...

Outside the window, the weak sunlight was blocked by the white paper, making the room dim.

The two senior brothers were still sleeping soundly, snoring loudly, seemingly unaffected by the rooster's crow.

Just as Chen Ji was in a daze, the door creaked open.

His master, "Old Yao," stood at the door with a bamboo stick, his face full of disdain, "You don't get up when the rooster crows. People who know you know you're apprentices, but those who don't think you're the eldest sons of some noble family."

As he spoke, he swung the bamboo stick.

Chen Ji struggled to get up and put on his clothes, moving to the side, "Master, I'm already up!"

Old Yao then went to hit the others, and a chorus of wails rose as the two senior brothers were hit and fled, "Master, stop! We're up, we're up!"

No matter how the two senior brothers tried to avoid it, the bamboo stick always hit them accurately. The hunched old man, who was ninety-two years old, was surprisingly agile.

Old Yao swung the bamboo stick, driving the three of them to the yard, and coldly said, "Stance practice!"

Chen Ji thought the clinic's morning class would be reciting medical books, but it turned out to be stance practice?

He turned to look and saw the two senior brothers assume strange postures, not a horse stance, but more like a posture of carrying a heavy stone and climbing a mountain ridge.

Before he could try to copy them, the bamboo stick landed on him with a crisp sound. The moment the bamboo stick touched his body, it felt like pain exploded from his bones.

The piercing pain, accompanied by a feeling of cold and weakness, almost made Chen Ji faint. He tried to mimic the postures of the two senior brothers, and Old Yao sneered, "Don't pretend to be weak here, it won't work. And don't think that flattery will stop me from hitting you."

As he spoke, the bamboo stick landed on the tall, thin senior brother, "Liu Quxing, are you not listening? What are you doing with that stance?"

Liu Quxing, with a sob, "Master, we're here to learn medicine, why do we have to do this every day?"

Old Yao sneered and hit him again, "You dare to talk back? Heaven has three treasures: sun, moon, and stars. Humans have three treasures: essence, energy, and spirit! Without essence, energy, and spirit, you can't learn anything!"

In a short moment, the three apprentices were hit so hard they were wailing. Chen Ji was experiencing corporal punishment for the first time and was hit the most, as he was the least familiar with the posture.

However, at one point during the stance practice, a warm current surged from Chen Ji's lower back, gradually dispelling the cold from the night before.

This warm current came and went... or rather, when the posture was correct, it would arise, and when it was incorrect, it would disappear.

Chen Ji adjusted his posture according to the feeling, maintaining it when the warm current surged. It was as if someone had given him the answer, and he just had to follow it.

Old Yao walked over to him, intending to hit him with the bamboo stick, but seeing that Chen Ji's posture was completely correct, he had no reason to hit him...

Later, Old Yao simply ignored him and only hit the other two senior brothers.

Chen Ji didn't know what was special about this posture that could dispel the cold stream. He quietly observed the other senior brothers, who didn't seem to find any benefit in the stance practice.

Could it be that only he could feel this warm current?

After half an hour, the cold stream in Chen Ji's body was suppressed and returned to the dantian, motionless. He sighed in relief, knowing that if the cold stream continued to rage, he might not survive the day.

Old Yao sneered, "Alright, today's morning class is over. Chen Ji has made progress."

The three apprentices rubbed their injuries, wincing. If they took off their clothes, they would surely be covered in bruises.

"Go to the main hall and wait for your families. Today is the day to pay the tuition. If I don't see the money, you'll pack your bags and go home!" Old Yao said coldly, "Chen Ji, remember to ask your family for money when they come. The medicine you lost last night cost 320 coins, not a single coin less."

Chen Ji was taken aback.

Family...

Does he have a family in this world?

(End of Chapter)