39: Chapter 39 Physical Failure, Fountain of Life

Inside the City Martial Arts Hospital.

Inside a room filled with the smell of disinfectant, Fang Wu lay motionless on the hospital bed wearing blue-and-white striped patient scrubs, his lips pale and his face ashen.

"Mom!"

Fang Zhuo pushed open the door and entered. Looking at Li Ru sitting by the side, he asked anxiously, "What happened to Dad? Is his life in danger?"

Beside Li Ru, Fang Jing and Fang Hu were also gathered.

The old man, Fang Dawei, sat alone on the balcony, holding his head in his hands and staring up at the sky, lost in thought.

Li Ru stood up and pulled Fang Zhuo out of the room.

"Fang Zhuo."

"Your dad came home from work today and went to take a shower first, just like usual. I finished cooking and was about to call him, but he collapsed on the floor on his own."

Li Ru's eyes were red and swollen, and she looked thoroughly shaken. Clinging to her eldest son, she choked out:

"The doctor said your dad used his Martial Aspect too frequently. His body is severely overdrawn, and his internal organs are failing. His life is saved for now, but he might... might only have a few years left to live."

"Sob... Your dad is still so young. He's only forty-five. How could he only have a few years left?"

Li Ru couldn't help but cry a bit louder.

In the Blue Moon Federation, even ordinary people could easily live to eighty or ninety, and martial artists could live to a hundred and twenty.

"He came home?"

"Organ failure?"

Fang Zhuo furrowed his brows. Could it be that he was overthinking things?

From the sound of it, this really didn't seem like he was injured by someone.

After a moment of silence, Fang Zhuo said:

"Mom, as long as Dad's life isn't in danger, it's fine. Organ failure isn't irreversible. There are plenty of treasures on the martial path that can regrow flesh on bones."

Fang Zhuo took his mother's hand and comforted her, "Even severed limbs can regrow, so restoring vitality is not an impossible task."

Even though she knew her son was just comforting her, Li Ru stopped sobbing and pulled out a tissue to wipe the corners of her eyes.

Yes, as long as they had money, organ failure was not irreversible.

For example, a single drop of the 'life spring water' could allow an ordinary person to live to a hundred free of illness and die peacefully of old age.

It could regrow severed limbs and completely heal a martial artist's hidden injuries!

Thinking of this, Li Ru felt a bit better. The life spring water was incredibly precious, and not to mention it wasn't publicly sold on the Blue Moon Federation's official website.

Just the occasional private auction price, which easily reached tens of billions, was enough to drive one to despair.

Could a Transcendent Martial Artist make that much money?

Li Ru had no way of knowing.

Besides, her son and daughter-in-law both had Superior Martial Aspects. They were indeed geniuses, but whether they could become Transcendent Martial Artists was still up in the air.

In the Blue Moon Federation, it was not uncommon for those with Superior Martial Aspects to ultimately get stuck at Level 39 as Advanced Martial Artists.

The 'life spring water' was simply too far out of reach...!

"Fang Zhuo, Mom knows what you're thinking. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. To put it plainly, this is just your dad's fate. It's a calamity he was destined to face. He probably won't live to see the day you and Shi Wei grow strong and become Transcendent Martial Artists."

"Sigh, I've advised him so many times to quit his job as a sparring partner, but he just wouldn't listen. He kept saying he knew his own body best."

"He claimed his 'Black Tortoise' Martial Aspect was tough and could take a beating. Well, look at him now, he's beaten most of his life away!"

After grumbling for a bit, Li Ru comforted him again: "You and Shi Wei just focus on your cultivation as usual. Just do what you need to do, and don't worry about trying to do anything for your dad."

"I'm not overthinking it."

Fang Zhuo forced a smile. "Mom, don't worry too much either. Just stay at home and keep Dad company from now on."

"...Okay."

Li Ru nodded. With Fang Wu's condition and physical failure, once he was discharged in a while, his body would be weaker than an ordinary person's. Not only would he need someone to take care of him, but the key issue was that he only had a few years left to live.

She no longer had the heart to work and planned to spend more time with Fang Wu.

"Oh, right."

"This is what your dad prepared for you. He said it couldn't be less than what he gave Shi Wei. This time, he didn't break his promise. Originally, he said he wanted to wait another two days to round it up to a neat sum for you."

As Li Ru spoke, she picked up her phone and transferred a sum of money to Fang Zhuo. Once she finished, her tears couldn't help but fall again.

*Buzz~*

"Huaxia Bank card ending in 8114 received a deposit of 3,390,000, balance: 3,478,080."

"3.39 million?"

Fang Zhuo was stunned. Where did his parents get so much money?

Had his father taken on dangerous sparring jobs in private?

Li Ru, being sharp-eyed, noticed her son's off expression and quickly explained, "Out of this, three million was given by your grandfather. The remaining 390,000 was scraped together by your dad and me."

"390,000..."

Fang Zhuo calmed down slightly.

If it was 390,000, then it was hard to say. His parents' salaries weren't high, but they weren't low either, totaling over twenty thousand.

Perhaps it was their past savings?

Looking at the balance on his phone, Fang Zhuo only felt that this string of numbers was incredibly heavy, filled with the love of his parents and grandfather.

He fell silent. Although he had signed a job with the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall at the graduation job fair and urged his father to switch to an easier job as soon as possible, perhaps he had still done too little.

The two of them returned to the ward one after the other.

Fang Zhuo nodded in greeting to his younger brother and sister, then went out to the balcony alone.

"Grandfather."

"Fang Zhuo?"

Fang Dawei turned his head, his eyes bloodshot and his voice somewhat hoarse.

"...Yes. Are you alright?"

Fang Zhuo was somewhat worried.

"I'm fine."

Fang Dawei forced a smile and shrugged his shoulders:

"Your grandfather was just thinking about how that brat Fang Wu is going to leave in a few years. Having to bury my own son makes me a bit sad."

"Don't overthink it."

Fang Zhuo's expression was firm. "Okay. Grandfather, don't be too sad either. I will become a Transcendent Martial Artist as soon as possible, and I will definitely restore my father's vitality!"

"..."

Fang Dawei was stunned for a moment, then gently shook his head. Unclenching his tightly balled fists, he said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself either."

"To put it bluntly, your dad has a lousy Inferior Martial Aspect and is just a Primary Martial Artist. His life isn't worth much."

"Grandfather believes in you. You will definitely become a Transcendent Martial Artist."

"If you really make money in the future, don't think about buying any life spring water. Keep it for yourself. Martial artists can make money, but if you want to climb higher, the expenses are even more staggering."

"We'll worry about the future when the time comes,"

Fang Zhuo replied.

Just then, Bai Shiwei, Wang Meng, and Wang Lian finally arrived.

They stayed by his side until late at night.

Only then did Fang Wu wake up.

His first reaction was to call for Fang Zhuo: "I asked your mom to give you the money. Did you receive it?"

"Yes."

Fang Zhuo nodded heavily and asked, "Dad, are you hungry or thirsty?"

Fang Wu didn't know his own condition yet, so he laughed:

"Why is everyone looking so down? I'm not dead. Aren't I alive and well?"

Fang Hu, being blunt and outspoken, choked out, "Dad, the doctor said... said you only have a few years left to live."

Fang Wu was stunned for a moment, as if he had already sensed something. He laughed:

"It's fine. Everyone has to die eventually. Who can escape death? Even Cosmic Martial Artists have a day when they die!"

"This is just my fate. Physical failure, there's nothing that can be done. Perhaps over these years, I really did use my Martial Aspect too frequently and didn't pay attention to rest and recovery."

Fang Wu looked at Fang Zhuo, pretending to be relaxed.