Chapter 7: Parents

The long street was silent. Grey-eaved buildings stood scattered, some tall, some short, their upturned eaves frozen in time like waves on the black ocean of the night.

Old Man Yao walked slowly ahead with his hands clasped behind his back. Chen Ji followed in silence, many questions swirling in his mind: Where was Beijuluzhou? Did the old man know a young man named Li Qingniao? What exactly were the Forty-Nine Heavens?

But he knew he couldn't ask, so he buried those questions deep within him.

"You're usually as chatty as a worn-out rag," Old Man Yao remarked, puzzled. "Why are you so quiet today?"

Chen Ji's heart tightened. "It's still about what happened at the Zhou residence. You told me not to mention it."

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

Chen Ji was silent for a long time. "No."

Old Man Yao let out a soft chuckle and asked no further questions.

Throughout the rest of the journey, the old man truly didn't ask about the night's events again, as if nothing had happened.

After walking for about an hour, Chen Ji finally saw the wide, vermilion-lacquered gate of Prince Jing's Estate in the distance. Guards stood at attention by the entrance, holding halberds and clad in iron armor, while mighty, imposing stone lions flanked the gate.

Two white lanterns hung under the grey tiled eaves, bearing the characters "Prince Jing's Estate." Above the gate was a plaque, inscribed with "Integrity and Brilliance" in gold lacquer.

Imperial Physician Yao did not enter through the main gate. Instead, he led Chen Ji around to the side of the estate, where a medical clinic named 'Taiping' (Peace) was nestled right against the wall of the prince's residence.

A plaque above its door declared, "No Credit."

Old Man Yao pushed open the clinic door and stepped over the high threshold. Inside, a kerosene lamp flickered on the long counter.

Outside, the long street was shrouded in darkness and night, but inside, a warm, orange-red glow permeated the air. It was as if the world outside was black and white, and only this clinic possessed color.

It felt as though if Chen Ji were to step inside, he would find shelter from the wind and rain, and gain tranquility.

Old Man Yao stood inside the doorway, glancing back at Chen Ji. "Throw away whatever you're holding. We don't need that sort of thing in the clinic."

Chen Ji paused, then dropped the broken porcelain shard he was still clenching in his palm. Blood still stained the piece.

He looked at the clinic's high threshold and Old Man Yao's hunched back, then finally stepped inside, closing the door and shutting out the night.

The clinic was a small courtyard house, separated from the princely estate by only a single wall. In the center of the courtyard stood a gnarled apricot tree.

A robust crow perched at the top of a branch. Seeing someone approach, it flew away.

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

Chen Ji, however, remained rooted to the spot... Where should he sleep? The back wing of this courtyard house had three rooms, and he didn't know which one was the correct choice. Entering the wrong room might arouse suspicion.

Seeing him motionless, Old Man Yao turned back, looking puzzled. "Why aren't you going to sleep?"

As he spoke, a tall, thin young man in a long gown emerged from the west wing. He looked at Chen Ji with disdain. "Chen Ji, you took so long just delivering medicine. You even troubled our master to go look for you... Master, you must be tired from walking. Let me boil some water for you to soak your feet before you rest."

Chen Ji silently watched this... senior apprentice brother.

How could someone flatter so precisely?

Old Man Yao said, "All of you, go to bed. Don't be late for tomorrow's morning lesson."

"Alright!" the tall, thin young man replied briskly, scurrying back into the west wing.

Chen Ji followed him in. The room contained a large communal bed. The innermost part held a bulky figure sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to what had just happened outside. The tall, thin senior apprentice brother slept in the middle of the communal bed, while Chen Ji's spot was by the door.

The apprentices' dormitory had old wooden windows and no furniture other than some pots and jars.

In the dim room, the tall, thin senior apprentice brother sat on the communal bed, wrapped in a blanket, his eyes gleaming as he stared at Chen Ji. He lowered his voice and asked, "What happened? Why did you take so long?"

"Nothing happened," Chen Ji shook his head, then wearily climbed into his bedding, quietly observing the wooden beams on the ceiling and the old cobwebs.

The tall, thin senior apprentice brother turned over and lay down, muttering, "Suit yourself, then!"

The room fell silent again, save for the sound of breathing.

Only then could Chen Ji finally pause to reflect on his situation: Would Jiao Tu and Yun Yang let him go? Certainly not.

The abilities he had displayed tonight were far beyond what an ordinary clinic apprentice should possess, and he had coincidentally appeared in the home of Jing Dynasty spies. How could those two venomous individuals not be suspicious?

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

Whatever the reason, Chen Ji's best option now was to stay in the clinic. It was adjacent to the princely estate, so his adversaries would likely have reservations about making a move there.

As he pondered, Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted.

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

It was... a stream of ice that had entered his body when Zhou Chengyi died. At the time, it had merely felt cold, like an illusion, but now it was like a trapped beast inside Chen Ji's body, furiously searching for an exit but unable to break free.

Chen Ji heard the sound of his blood flowing like an avalanche, as if ice shards, not blood, coursed through his veins.

It was as if a sword or a dragon that had existed for thousands of years was hidden within his thin body. Chen Ji felt as though he was in a dark, secluded pool, desperately being dragged to the bottom by an unseen hand.

The cold was bone-piercing.

Chen Ji struggled to turn his head to look at the others in the room, but found them sleeping soundly, completely unaware. He pulled his blanket tighter, but the coldness originated from within, so covering himself completely did nothing.

Was he haunted by Zhou Chengyi's vengeful spirit?

Gradually, before he could figure it out, he curled into a ball and drifted into a daze.

He didn't know how long passed, but then a clear rooster's crow echoed from the distant horizon, as if piercing through layers of mist and tearing them apart.

Chen Ji startled awake and sat up in bed, gasping for air as if he had just been pulled from water.

His hands and feet were icy cold; what had just happened was not a dream. The icy current was still raging within him.

Outside the window, faint sunlight was blocked by the paper panes, leaving the room dim.

Beside him, two other apprentice brothers were sleeping soundly, heads covered. The rooster's crow seemed not to have affected them, as they continued to snore.

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

There stood his master, Old Man Yao, holding a bamboo stick, his face full of disdain. "The rooster's crowing and you're still not up. People who know will think you're apprentices; those who don't will think you're the legitimate eldest sons of some noble family."

As he spoke, he swung the bamboo stick at them.

Chen Ji scrambled up, threw on his clothes, and dodged to the side. "Master, I'm already up!"

Seeing this, Old Man Yao turned to hit the others. A chorus of wails erupted as the two apprentice brothers scrambled, clutching their heads, trying to escape the bamboo stick. "Master, stop! We're up, we're up!"

But no matter how the two apprentice brothers tried to dodge, the bamboo stick always landed precisely on them. The hunched little old man, despite being ninety-two, was remarkably agile.

Old Man Yao, wielding the bamboo stick, herded the three of them into the courtyard and said coldly, "Stand in your stances!"

Chen Ji had expected the morning lesson at the imperial medical clinic to involve memorizing medical texts. He was surprised it was stance training.

He turned to look and saw his two apprentice brothers simultaneously adopting strange postures. It wasn't a horse stance, but more like a pose of shouldering a giant rock while climbing a mountain ridge.

Before he could secretly learn, *smack*, the bamboo stick landed crisply on him. The moment it connected, a searing pain exploded from his bones.

The piercing pain, combined with a sensation of cold weakness, instantly made Chen Ji feel faint. He imitated his two apprentice brothers and adopted the stance, while Old Man Yao sneered, "Don't pretend to be weak in front of me; it won't work. And don't think flattering me will keep you from getting a beating."

As he spoke, the bamboo stick landed on the tall, thin apprentice brother again. "Liu Quxing, wasn't I talking about you? What in the world is that stance?"

Liu Quxing whined, "Master, aren't we studying medicine? Why do we have to learn this every day?"

Old Man Yao sneered and delivered another strike with the bamboo stick. "Still talking back? Heaven has three treasures: the sun, moon, and stars. Humans have three treasures: essence, *qi*, and spirit! Without essence, *qi*, and spirit, you won't learn anything successfully!"

In just fifteen minutes, the three apprentice brothers were wailing from the bamboo stick beatings. It was Chen Ji's first time being physically disciplined, and he received the most blows among the three because he was the least familiar with the stance.

However.

At one point during the stance training, a warm current surged from Chen Ji's lower back, gradually counteracting the cold sensation from the previous night.

This warm current was intermittent... or rather, it appeared when his stance was correct and disappeared when it was wrong.

Chen Ji adjusted his posture according to the sensation, maintaining it whenever a warm current surged from his lower back. It was as if someone had prepared the answer for him, and all he had to do was trace it.

Old Man Yao walked over to him at this moment, intending to casually strike him with the bamboo stick, but found Chen Ji's posture perfectly correct. His raised hand had no reason to descend...

After that, Old Man Yao simply ignored him, only striking the other two apprentice brothers.

Chen Ji didn't know what was special about this posture that allowed it to counteract the icy current. He quietly observed his other apprentice brothers, who seemed not to perceive any benefit from the stance training.

Was he the only one who could feel this warm current?

Half an hour passed, and the icy current within Chen Ji was suppressed, receding motionlessly back into his dantian. He let out a sigh of relief. If that icy current had continued to rage, it was uncertain whether he would have survived the day.

Old Man Yao sneered, "Alright, morning lesson is over. Chen Ji has made progress."

The three apprentice brothers grimaced as they rubbed their injuries. If they took off their clothes now, they'd surely be covered in bruises.

"Now, hurry up and get to the main hall entrance to wait for your families. Today is tuition payment day. If I don't see the tuition money, you can pack your bags and go home immediately!" Old Man Yao said coldly. "Chen Ji, when your family arrives later, remember to ask for money. The medicinal expenses lost last night were three hundred and twenty *wen*. Not a single *wen* less."

Chen Ji was startled.

Family...

Did he still have a family in this world?