Chapter 45

Xu Chunliang shook his head. He had never thought, not even once, about becoming a doctor who heals the sick. The reason he agreed to follow his grandfather to learn medicine was mainly to better conceal his past.

"Didn't your grandfather plan for you to inherit Huichuntang?"

"He did think about it, but I have little interest in medicine."

Gu Houyi misunderstood Xu Chunliang's meaning: "If you like administrative work, that's fine too. All roads lead to Rome."

Xu Chunliang did not deny it. Currently, he was adapting and exploring this era. He had not yet decided on his next move. His current life and work were satisfactory, and in the short term, he needed to lie low.

Although Xu Chunliang said he could drink, Gu Houyi did not dare to drink much, as the sudden illness today still left him with lingering fear.

It was Xu Chunliang's first visit, and with fine wine in front of him, it was not appropriate to drink to his heart's content.

After all, there was a difference in status between him and Gu Houyi, and both were reserved. After staying at Gu Houyi's house for over an hour, Xu Chunliang bid farewell and left.

Before leaving, Gu Houyi took the initiative to add his contact information. According to the usual practice, it should have been the junior or subordinate who added his contact information, but Xu Chunliang did not make such a request, and Gu Houyi became the one to take the initiative. This young man gave him a special feeling.

As soon as Xu Chunliang returned home, he received a video call from his grandfather. The old man was worried about him being alone and called to check if he was at home.

Xu Chunliang told his grandfather that he was reading at home and asked about the old man's situation. Xu Changshan told him everything was going smoothly and that he would be back the day after tomorrow.

After hanging up, he found the oracle bone inscriptions his grandfather had made and studied them under the lamp. He was almost certain that these inscriptions should be the "Tianyang" chapter from the "Huangdi Neijing."

According to his grandfather, these oracle bones should now be in the Dongzhou Museum. It just so happened that he had a day off tomorrow, so he could go and take a look.

As for the ancient text expert Bai Mushan, he probably had not successfully deciphered the inscriptions. If he had deciphered and discovered the secrets, this academic achievement would have caused a sensation worldwide.

The internet is a great tool, and it was easy to find Bai Mushan's main academic achievements over the years, none of which mentioned anything related to the "Huangdi Neijing."

Before going to bed each night, Xu Chunliang would sit in meditation and practice the "Tongtian Baojian." Although he had practiced for over a month, his progress was minimal. After his穿越, his body had changed, and his meridians and acupoints were different from before. Moreover, the environment and climate of the present world had changed significantly, and the air was far less pure, which was a significant negative factor for cultivation.

Everything had to start from scratch. Although the "Tongtian Baojian" was a supreme secret manual, it did not provide much help in the basics of physical cultivation. Recognizing the reality, Xu Chunliang began to adopt a more natural attitude, but he never missed a day of cultivation to build his foundation.

With all the lights off, Xu Chunliang sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly breathing and sensing the world around him, gradually adapting to his surroundings. The first step in cultivation was to integrate his mind and body with the world.

As he entered a state of self-forgetfulness, he suddenly smelled a pungent odor and immediately determined that a five-step snake was nearby.

His senses followed the pungent odor, forming an invisible thread that quickly helped him lock onto the target. A five-step snake was quietly moving along the wall, approaching the bed, and climbing up the bedpost, silently making its way onto the bed.

The five-step snake was getting closer and was already in an attack position.

Although Xu Chunliang's eyes were closed, he could clearly sense its location. He was puzzled; how could such a highly venomous creature infiltrate Huichuntang?

Dongzhou was north of the river, and snakes and insects were not common. For such a highly venomous creature to infiltrate Huichuntang was not a coincidence. Before moving in, Xu Chunliang had specifically observed the surrounding environment and found no signs of venomous snakes nearby.

Xu Chunliang opened his eyes and, in the darkness, saw a black and yellow striped snake rise from the bed, its tongue flicking out in a bright red flame-like motion.

The five-step snake had locked onto its target but hesitated to attack. It felt an invisible pressure, a powerful aura emanating from Xu Chunliang, who was just a few feet away. It immediately abandoned its attack and wanted to submit to him.

Xu Chunliang looked at the five-step snake, also known as the Chinese moccasin or Deinagkistrodon acutus, one of the most common venomous snakes in China.

The five-step snake in front of him was about three feet long. Xu Chunliang had seen larger ones, up to seven feet long, with a triangular head and a pair of elliptical pits between the nostrils and eyes, which could sense heat, acting like thermal detectors.

Xu Chunliang extended his right hand. The five-step snake's triangular head retreated, then lowered, and approached Xu Chunliang's hand, its red tongue gently licking his fingertips, making it look as if a flame was dancing on his fingertips.

Suddenly, Xu Chunliang's body went limp and began to convulse.

A black shadow leaped through the open window, the moonlight illuminating the face of the person, who was wearing a black stocking over his head. The person moved with incredible agility, leaping from the windowsill to the ground like a falling leaf.

Looking at the convulsing Xu Chunliang on the bed, the black-clad person shook his head in satisfaction and lightly tapped the ground twice with a thin bamboo stick.

The five-step snake slithered away from Xu Chunliang, silently sliding to the ground and approaching the black-clad person, climbing up his arm along the bamboo stick.

The black-clad person was clearly a snake handler. He glanced at the still struggling Xu Chunliang, showing no intention of helping, and looked around the room to ensure there were no cameras before planning to leave.

Just as he turned to leave, the obedient five-step snake on his shoulder suddenly attacked, biting his face.

The black-clad person screamed in pain, shouting, "Xiaohua, let go..." in a panic, forgetting to lower his voice.

Xiaohua was the name he had given his pet snake. Xiaohua refused to let go, biting his right cheek with a death grip. The thin stocking could not stop Xiaohua's fangs, which pierced his facial skin, injecting venom.

The venom of the Chinese moccasin is a protein-based hemotoxin with strong hemorrhagic properties.

Victims usually experience immediate pain and bleeding at the wound site, followed by swelling, blistering, tissue necrosis, and ulcers.

The black-clad person felt dizzy and his heart rate increased. He realized the situation was dire and hurriedly took out the antivenom serum he carried. If he did not inject it in time, he would likely die there.

Just as he took out the vial, a figure rushed forward and kicked his hand holding the vial, causing it to fly out and roll far away on the floor.

The black-clad person was terrified. Looking up, he saw Xu Chunliang standing in front of him, who had just been struggling on the bed.

The black-clad person, ignoring Xu Chunliang, crawled forward on all fours, determined to retrieve the serum, as his life depended on it.

The five-step snake wrapped around the black-clad person's neck, losing control and determined to eliminate its owner.

Xu Chunliang picked up the bamboo stick the black-clad person used to control the snake and struck the ninth thoracic vertebra on his back with great force.

This was the Jinsuo acupoint, belonging to the Governor Vessel. The Jinsuo point is where the damp wind qi of the Governor Vessel's heavenly part scatters and condenses. Striking this point with a heavy hand can cause the entire body's muscles and fascia to stiffen, as if casting a spell.

The black-clad person, first poisoned by the snake and then struck at the acupoint, became as stiff as a stone.

The lights came on, and Xu Chunliang, wearing slippers, walked past him, picked up the vial of antivenom, and examined it. He then looked at the man's face, which was obscured by the black stocking, making it impossible to see his expression.

The five-step snake wrapped around the black-clad person's neck, tightening its grip. At this rate, the black-clad person would be strangled to death before the venom took his life.

Xu Chunliang lightly tapped the ground with the bamboo stick, and the five-step snake abandoned its attack on its former owner, climbing up the stick.

The black-clad person could hardly believe his eyes. This five-step snake, which he had raised from hatching, had required a lot of effort to tame, and now it was controlled by Xu Chunliang with ease.

He now understood that Xu Chunliang's poisoning was just an act to make him believe it.

Xu Chunliang removed the black stocking from the black-clad person's face. By now, the right cheek of the black-clad person was swollen and blistered, with blood oozing from the two puncture wounds, a gruesome sight.

The black-clad person looked at the vial of antivenom in Xu Chunliang's hand and trembled, saying, "Quick... quick... give it to me... give it to me..."

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Did you think about your own fate when you tried to harm me?" He did not recognize the black-clad person and did not know why he had tried to kill him. Given his methods, the black-clad person deserved his fate.

"Kid, if you know what's good for you, give me the antivenom... If anything happens to me, no one in Huichuntang will be spared..."

Xu Chunliang sighed and said, "Even at the brink of death, you still dare to threaten me." He raised the vial as if to throw it on the ground.

The black-clad person screamed, "No... I... I was wrong... I didn't recognize your greatness... Spare me, spare me this time, I swear I will never oppose you again."

Xu Chunliang stroked the snake's head on the bamboo stick. The five-step snake was as gentle as a lamb in front of him, its red tongue licking Xu Chunliang's fingers in response. The black-clad person realized he had encountered a master snake handler, whose skills far surpassed his own.

"What's your name? Why did you try to harm me?"

The black-clad person, bitten by the five-step snake and nearing the onset of the venom, dared not delay and answered, "My name is Han Tianchi."

Xu Chunliang immediately remembered that when he had exposed Lin Yeju, Han Tianchi was the mastermind behind the theft of his phone. It seemed this was the reason Han Tianchi had come to seek revenge.

Han Tianchi pleaded, "Mr. Xu, spare my life. It was all my fault. Give me the antivenom, or it will be too late..." He felt cold all over, his face numb and itchy.

Although a bite from a five-step snake was not as exaggerated as dying within five steps, the risk of death was high if not treated promptly.

From the reaction of Han Tianchi's wound, Xu Chunliang judged that the snake's venom was not extremely potent, and Han Tianchi should be fine for an hour.

This was not the era where people were killed on a whim. Xu Chunliang decided to adapt to the times and hand the man over to the police. He called Lu Qi and told him he had caught Han Tianchi.

Han Tianchi knew Xu Chunliang had called the police but was helpless. In his current state, being caught by the police was better than dying from the venom.

While waiting for the police, Xu Chunliang got a disposable syringe and injected the antivenom into Han Tianchi. Although his life was not important to Xu Chunliang, dying in Huichuntang was inauspicious.

When the police arrived at Huichuntang, Han Tianchi's condition had stabilized. Lu Qi handcuffed him and asked a few questions. Xu Chunliang said he thought a burglar had entered his home and caught him, only to find out it was Han Tianchi, the mastermind behind the theft using a five-step snake.

Han Tianchi, with a swollen face, hung his head in silence. He had been in the criminal world for half his life, and today he had been defeated by a young man and nearly lost his life.

Xu Chunliang did not mention Han Tianchi's attempt to kill him with the five-step snake, and Han Tianchi certainly would not say anything. If he did, it would be attempted murder, a more serious crime. He also did not know where his pet snake had gone, having raised it for three years, and the feeling of betrayal by the snake was not pleasant.

After the police left, Xu Chunliang found the bamboo stick Han Tianchi used to control the snake. The stick was old, and upon closer inspection, he saw the character "poor" (窮) carved in small seal script at the top.

Xu Chunliang looked at the character and frowned. Could Han Tianchi be from the Poor Sect?

The Poor Sect, also known as the Beggar Gang, was called the number one gang in the world. Even at the height of the Five Poison Sect, he would not have provoked the Beggar Gang, as it had many members and many skilled practitioners. Offending the Beggar Gang would bring endless trouble.

In the current era, beggars were rare, and Xu Chunliang thought the Poor Sect had disappeared with the times. However, he had unexpectedly found traces of a Poor Sect member here.

The bamboo stick was a typical Poor Sect dog-beating stick. Poor Sect members carried it to beat dogs and control snakes. In the past, almost every beggar had one, but in the modern era, they were rare, more symbolic than practical.

Recalling Han Tianchi's threat, if he had the backing of the Poor Sect, he indeed had some confidence. It seemed that even in this peaceful era, the world of martial arts still existed, and he needed to be more cautious.

Xu Chunliang went to bed late. The next morning, he found the snake still curled up under the bed. After the events of the previous night, the five-step snake had recognized Xu Chunliang as its new master and silently guarded him.

Xu Chunliang had planned to let it go, but it refused to leave. After some thought, he found a temporary home for it in the backyard. Fortunately, his grandfather was not at home; otherwise, he would not know how to explain the presence of the five-step snake. All living things have a spirit, and the five-step snake had its own way of hiding and would not cause any trouble for Xu Chunliang.