Chapter 2

A young man with yellow-dyed hair, carrying a shovel on his shoulder, held the secret letter his mother had given him, his left hand in his pocket, and sized up the girl's frail and delicate body, grinning and said, "Little girl, we're just doing our job. Someone wants to buy your family's land, but you stubbornly refuse to sell. So, we have to help you demolish this shabby house first. Don't get in the way, or if your clothes get torn, it won't be good."

As he spoke, his gaze became even more audacious.

"Rogue! Shameless, despicable, and vulgar! Get out of here, or I won't be nice!" Du Yuhe waved the broom in her hand and shouted angrily.

"Hey! I'd like to see how you won't be nice!" Another young man with a ring in his ear sneered and kicked a nearby broken bucket away with his foot.

Du Yuhe's body stiffened, and she subconsciously gripped the broom tighter, warning, "I've already called the police! When they come, you'll be in for it!"

The five ruffians looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Ha ha... Little beauty, are you naive or stupid? We wouldn't dare come here to demolish your house if we were afraid of the police. Let me tell you, the developer has everything arranged. If the police really come, they might arrest you instead."

"You..."

Du Yuhe was on the verge of tears, like a delicate flower in a storm, so fragile and pitiable.

Du Zhong couldn't bear to watch any longer.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he strode forward, his face expressionless as he looked at the five ruffians and said in a cold voice, "Get out!"

"Another one? Who are you, kid? I advise you not to meddle, or we'll take care of you too!" The yellow-haired ruffian glared at Du Zhong threateningly.

"Second... Second Brother? Is it really you, Second Brother?"

Du Yuhe's whole body trembled, looking at the side profile of the person she had missed for seven years, hardly believing her eyes.

The sound of "Second Brother" made Du Zhong, who had never flinched even in the face of gunfire, tremble slightly. He turned to look at his little sister, a long-lost smile appearing on his face as he said softly, "Little Sister."

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, and Du Yuhe's heart was filled with joy.

"Second Brother, run!"

Du Yuhe suddenly remembered how her Second Brother used to fight for her when she was little, but he always lost. This time, she couldn't let him get hurt again.

Saying this, she rushed over, holding the broom firmly in both hands and standing resolutely in front of Du Zhong.

Then, a strong but gentle hand grasped her wrist.

"Second Brother?" Du Yuhe looked at Du Zhong.

Du Zhong smiled and shook his head, his eyes full of tenderness as he said, "From now on, Second Brother will continue to protect you from the wind and rain."

As he spoke, his luggage bag fell to the ground, and Du Zhong disappeared from his little sister's side, reappearing almost instantly in front of the ruffian with the ear ring. He lifted his foot, and the ruffian screamed as he flew out.

"Bang!"

Du Yuhe's broom fell to the ground, her eyes wide with shock as she watched the scene unfold.

Second Brother...

So amazing!

A warm current flowed through Du Yuhe's heart. After seven years, her Second Brother was protecting her again, and this time, no one could bully them!

Du Zhong's speed and ferocity terrified the remaining four ruffians.

But they weren't afraid. With four of them and weapons, could they not handle a young man in his early twenties?

"Looking for death!"

The yellow-haired ruffian's face turned cold as he raised his shovel and swung it viciously at Du Zhong's head.

"Ah! Second Brother, be careful!"

Faster than Du Yuhe's exclamation, Du Zhong reacted with lightning speed, grabbing the yellow-haired ruffian's wrist and pulling hard, causing him to lose balance. Then, he punched the ruffian's face with great force.

His strength was immense. Even with only forty to fifty percent of his strength, the yellow-haired ruffian was sent flying and landed heavily on the muddy ground several meters away.

Du Zhong didn't stop. Without any hesitation, he appeared in front of the two other ruffians and delivered a clean and swift kick to one of their faces, sending him flying and crashing into the other.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The remaining two ruffians who rushed over were also easily taken down by Du Zhong in one move each.

In less than ten seconds, all five ruffians were on the ground.

"Get out! Come back, and I'll break your legs!"

Du Zhong's expression was cold, his words filled with a chilling and deadly intent, making the air around him seem to drop in temperature.

The five ruffians were thoroughly terrified by Du Zhong and fled in a panic, only daring to shout a threat from a distance.

"Kid, you wait! A large group will come, and we'll see how many you can handle!"

Du Zhong sneered, turned around, and met his little sister's curious gaze.

Six years in the military, facing any powerful enemy, had never made his heart waver, but today, facing his little sister's gaze, he felt a bit uneasy.

"Wow! Second Brother, you're so amazing!"

Du Yuhe exclaimed and rushed over.

Du Zhong opened his arms to catch Du Yuhe, a smile of unprecedented happiness on his face, a smile that had disappeared for six years.

"Little Sister, what was that about those ruffians?" Du Zhong asked, puzzled.

Du Yuhe released her embrace, her face full of anger as she said, "A developer has his eye on this land and wants to build apartments. They're forcing people to sell if they don't want to move. How can we sell our ancestral shrine? I've been dealing with them for a month, and today they got physical. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't arrived, Second Brother."

"Second Brother, they have a large family and influence. What can we do?"

"I'm back, and now it's their turn to think about what to do!"

A cold glint flashed in Du Zhong's eyes, showing his strong confidence.

Du Yuhe looked at her familiar yet unfamiliar Second Brother, feeling a strong sense of reliance, even though she didn't understand why he said that.

It seemed that nothing was a problem for Second Brother.

"Second Brother, what did you do for the past six years? Why didn't you come home for the New Year?" Du Yuhe asked, puzzled.

"I joined the military. The story is long, I'll tell you later. I need to pay respects to our ancestors first," Du Zhong said with a smile.

Du Yuhe's body trembled with surprise, looking at Du Zhong with joy and asked, "Second Brother, are you going to study medicine? To inherit our family's medical skills?"

"Exactly," Du Zhong nodded.

"Great! Grandpa always said you were the most talented in our family, but I don't know why you weren't allowed to study the medical books when you were little. We planned to have you pay respects to the ancestors when you turned sixteen, but you ran off to join the military! Ha ha, now you're back, you'll have to start learning again. I'm a student at Hebei University of Chinese Medicine and have also studied our family's medical skills. Second Brother, you can't catch up to me!" Du Yuhe said playfully and proudly.

Du Zhong affectionately patted Du Yuhe's head, saying nothing.

Apart from the most orthodox heir of the Du family, even the Du family didn't know that their thousands of years of medical heritage was not the surface-level medical skills and family secrets, but ancient medical techniques.

The medical skills Du Yuhe had learned were just ordinary Chinese medicine, like what was taught in the market. Du Zhong didn't need to learn these unless he couldn't inherit the ancient medical techniques.

The ancient medical techniques included a variety of methods, such as talismans, incantations, hand seals, and herbs.

The zhu yu technique recorded in Chinese medicine was a branch of ancient medical techniques, as were Daoist alchemy and Mount Maoshan techniques.

The Du family was the only remaining heir of ancient medical techniques. To inherit these techniques, one must possess a spiritual root. Before Du Zhong, the Du family hadn't had a spiritual root heir for five hundred years. Du Zhong was born with a spiritual root, and it was a rare and superior one.

He was the only hope for the ancient medical techniques to reappear in the world and the only hope for the true medical skills of the Du family to be passed down.

It's easy to imagine the immense pressure he faced from the entire clan, and he had to threaten to die to get their permission to join the military. But after six years, he returned, determined to carry on and promote the ancient medical techniques as a member of the Du family.

"Little Sister, wait at the door. I'll go pay respects to the ancestors."

"Go ahead! Go ahead!" Du Yuhe seemed even more eager than Du Zhong, pushing him into the ancestral hall.

Standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, Du Zhong took a deep breath.

The Du family's patriarch had always said that the secret to inheriting the ancient medical techniques was in the ancestral hall!

Stepping into the room, Du Zhong saw rows of ancestral tablets on the shelves, the place spotlessly clean, no doubt due to Du Yuhe's frequent cleaning.

He walked quietly to the tablets, reached out, and took a few incense sticks from the table, lit them with a match, and held them in both hands, bowing three times with utmost respect.

Straightening up, he inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner. At that moment, a strong electric current shot through his body from the bottom of the incense burner, traveling up the incense sticks like a snake.

A golden light suddenly burst from the incense burner!

Du Zhong's body stiffened, his eyes filled with shock.

"What?"

As the golden light intensified, Du Zhong felt a sharp pain in his head, as if needles were pricking it. Strange characters appeared in his mind, and he was certain he didn't recognize them.

However, he was shocked to find that he could understand the meaning of these characters, a mysterious feeling enveloping his heart. The content that appeared in his mind kept coming, and he kept accepting and understanding it.

"The inheritance of ancient medical techniques?"

Du Zhong's lips trembled slightly, a faint sound escaping from between them, his eyes reflecting an unusual light.

First, the inheritance that had been broken for five hundred years was finally being passed down through him!

Second, he saw hope for treating his best friend, who had become a vegetative state while saving him!