13: Medicine Bodhisattva

[Year 10,]

[Over these years, you have cultivated good cultivation habits and finally reached the Late Stage of the Acquired Realm.]

[Vice Commissioner Duan and your colleagues have long since treated you as one of their own.]

[Following Duan Kun all these years, you have become accustomed to the fickleness of the world—]

[Those with money and power can pay to be released after committing a crime, while those without money might be sold to the Slave Market just for stealing a bun.]

[No wonder everyone says the Arrest Division is the most lucrative department.]

[You also noticed that the Qin Family has remained safe and sound all these years.]

[You are very curious why the Qin Family is fine this time.]

Qin Chen stared at the simulation and suddenly slapped his thigh:

'Wait! Could it be that I offended someone in the simulation, which caused the Qin Family to be wiped out?'

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense:

'The Qin Family was fine during the second simulation, which means I must have done something during the first...'

'Who on earth did I provoke the first time?'

Qin Chen scratched his head and ears while recalling, then suddenly stiffened:

'Holy crap! Could it be... the Liu Family Medicinal Materials Firm? Liu Caiping?!'

The more he thought, the more alarmed he became:

'Just because I teased her, she wants to wipe out my whole family? That’s too ruthless!'

'After all that... the clown was actually me?'

Although Qin Chen in reality was curious, he dared not actually investigate the Liu Family Medicinal Materials Firm.

He could only silently pray that his simulation self would figure it out soon.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned...

The 'self' in the simulation seemed to have not thought about this at all.

[Year 15,]

[You finally reached the Perfection of the Acquired Realm.]

[You immediately wrote a letter to your parents, asking for silver to purchase Breakthrough supplies.]

[Three months later, you received ten thousand taels from your parents.]

[With the ten thousand taels, you purchased 'True Qi Condensation Powder' and 'Meridian Clearing Pill' at the Hundred Herb Hall.]

[For someone with your Aptitude, the demand for these two types of Medicinal Pills is quite high.]

[One month later, you successfully reached the Xiantian Realm.]

[After the Breakthrough, your Internal Energy gradually transformed into Innate True Qi, and the power of your Cultivation Technique greatly increased.]

[Although you broke through to the Xiantian Realm, you have nothing to be happy about—]

[An Xiantian Realm expert in their thirties can only be considered mediocre; most Martial Artists reach it in their twenties, and those Geniuses reach it in their teens.]

[However, there is a benefit to breaking through: Cultivation Technique practice has become easier.]

[Six months later, both your 'Mizong Step' and 'Void-Piercing Sword Technique' reached the stage of Major Achievement.]

[You excitedly looked for colleagues to spar with, only to find—you couldn't defeat people at the same Realm.]

[It seems everyone is working very hard.]

[You curled your lips: It's still too early to act cool.]

[Year 16,]

[Vice Commissioner Duan brought news: Your younger sister has gone missing.]

[You felt a secret palpitation; missing again?]

[You gritted your teeth secretly, determined to get to the bottom of this once your strength is sufficient.]

[Year 17,]

[Vice Commissioner Duan's supervision of you has relaxed a bit. You proposed moving out of the Imperial City Guard, and he readily agreed.]

[You set up a small courtyard in the East District. When you first moved in, your neighbors all came to visit, and you got to know them well within a few days.]

[Your days were uneventful—following Vice Commissioner Duan to handle business during the day, and returning to the courtyard to Cultivate at night.]

[The Imperial City Guard's green steel sword could no longer withstand your Innate True Qi, so you went to the Tianji Pavilion and picked out a Seven-Star Sword.]

[When testing the sword, you poured Innate True Qi into the blade, a cold light flashed, and with a 'clang', it severed the green steel sword.]

['Yo, Little Chen has gained some skills.' An old man swayed into the courtyard.]

[This old man had white hair and beard, and a red mole between his eyebrows; everyone called him Uncle Cheng.]

[Uncle Cheng is your neighbor; he often comes over for free meals and always drags you to the Wangyou Pavilion—of course, you pay every time.]

['Uncle Cheng!' You greeted him with a smile.]

[Although the old man likes to take advantage of others, you don't mind.]

[Looking at him, you feel as if you are seeing yourself decades later—living alone in a small courtyard, solitary and lonely.]

[You feel that kindness is not a duty, but a choice.]

['Hurry up and cook; this old man is hungry.' Uncle Cheng slumped onto the grand master's chair, 'Want to go have a couple of drinks at the Wangyou Pavilion after eating?']

['Let's go next month; my salary is all spent.' You smiled helplessly.]

[Although the girls at the Wangyou Pavilion are nice, the expenses are much higher than at the Tianxiang Pavilion.]

[Moreover, after you advanced to the Xiantian Realm, the 'True Qi Condensation Powder' used for Cultivation is frighteningly expensive; one hundred taels of silver a month is simply not enough.]

[Thinking of this, you feel a bit guilty. At thirty-four years old, you still have to rely on family support.]

[As for starting a family? Those with good conditions don't fancy you, and you don't fancy those with poor ones.]

['Kid, it's time to start a family.' Uncle Cheng squinted, 'Don't be like me; once you miss it, it's for a lifetime.']

['If I get married, who will accompany you to the Wangyou Pavilion?' You smiled self-deprecatingly.]

[Sometimes you also feel that you are both lonely and vulgar.]

[You walked into the kitchen and made three small dishes—scrambled eggs with tomatoes, poached eggs, and tomato egg soup.]

[Uncle Cheng eats these three dishes you make every day, yet always eats with great relish.]

[Year 18,]

[One evening, a dirty little girl came to beg for food.]

[Seeing that she was pitiful, you specially made her your signature three dishes—scrambled eggs with tomatoes, poached eggs, and tomato egg soup.]

[Watching the way she ate, you thought of your younger sister from when you were little, and your nose felt sore.]

['What is your name?']

['I don't have a name... I am an abandoned baby, and I have been wandering in the Imperial Capital for three years.' The little girl's eyes were bright.]

[You have seen many such situations in the Imperial Capital.]

[Your heart softened: 'How about... you stay?']

['Thank you, Uncle!' The little girl's tears fell down.]

[This 'Uncle' made you stunned—so you are already a middle-aged man.]

['From now on, you will be called Qing'er.']

['Qing'er will listen to Uncle!']

[In the following days, you found this girl so sensible that it made your heart ache; she fought to do everything, from washing clothes to cooking.]

[You often stared at her in a daze: She is much more diligent than your own younger sister...]

[But you still miss that sharp-tongued younger sister of yours dearly.]

[Year 19,]

[When returning home in the evening, you found a blood-stained old man in a remote alley, lying in a pool of blood, dying.]

[You squatted down to check his pulse; his breath was so weak it was almost imperceptible.]

[Without thinking much, you carried the man back home.]

[Seeing that you brought back a wounded person, Qing'er sensibly didn't ask much and silently closed the courtyard door tightly.]

[You fed the old man 'Muscle and Bone Pill' for external injuries and 'Heart-Protecting Pill' for internal injuries.]

[Of course, this medicine cannot bring the dead back to life; if the five internal organs were shattered, this Medicinal Pill could only prolong his breath for a moment.]

[After the Medicinal Pill was swallowed, the old man barely opened his eyes. Seeing that you were a stranger, his lips trembled as he squeezed out a few words.]

[You leaned in to listen and only caught fragmented words: '...want to rebel... Grand Secretary... Your Majesty...']

[As soon as he finished speaking, the old man stopped breathing.]

[Your heart tightened. Putting these words together, it was clearly a major case of regicide and treason! Could it be that the Grand Secretary wants to rebel?]

[Now you are in trouble. You didn't save the person, but instead, you got yourself into trouble.]

['Uncle Chen, what should we do?' Qing'er covered her mouth, her legs shaking like a sieve.]

['Bury him in the backyard; don't tell anyone.' You said in a deep voice.]

[That night, you dug a deep pit in the backyard, carefully buried the body, and cleaned up the bloodstains thoroughly.]

[Three days later, you saw the old man's portrait on the bounty board of the Vermilion Bird Tower, and only then did you realize—the old man you buried was actually the Chief of the Imperial Medical Academy, the 'Medicine Bodhisattva'!]