“After a good fight, the whole body feels relaxed.”
He visited the full-armour fighting club to “guide” those idle rich second-generation lads who had nothing better to do than lift weights. He earned a chorus of “admiring” looks, shared a meal with them, and only then headed home.
The weekend brought another day strolling the streets with Lin Wan. Then he crossed back to the ancient world for tea and storytelling.
…
The following days were quiet. After Si Lingxi heard the ancient Chinese qin pieces Lu Zheng had brought, such as High Mountains and Flowing Water, Parting at Yangguan Thrice, Evening Song of the Drunken Fisherman, and Wild Geese Descending on the Sandbank, and discovered his considerable talent in music, she began chatting with him about it from time to time.
One day, after a game of weiqi where Lu Zheng won by two points, he brewed a pot of Qingqi spiritual tea. The three of them, including Shen Ying, lay in rocking chairs beneath the old peach tree, swaying gently, utterly at ease.
Truth be told, in her three thousand years, Si Lingxi had never tried a rocking chair. The gentle sway, sunlight filtering through the dappled gaps in the ancient peach tree, warm on the skin, combined with the soft breeze, created a drowsy comfort.
She had already napped like this several times. It truly was delightful.
“Not going out today?” Lu Zheng asked.
In recent days, Si Lingxi and Shen Ying had often gone out together, visiting Rongzhou, Yuzhou, even neighbouring Zhiyang Circuit and Yinan Circuit, enjoying scenery, plays, and sights. They had even circled Phoenix Mountain in Huangli County, Yaozhou.
“Not today. The new plays from recent years are nothing worth hearing.” Si Lingxi shook her head. “And I cannot be bothered to travel farther.”
In his years in the ancient world, beyond these stories, Lu Zheng had not idled. Even for entertainment, enjoyment, and leisure, he had brought many things.
Mahjong, Chinese checkers, playing cards…
Milk tea, crisps, chocolate…
Even for someone who had lived three thousand years like Si Lingxi, everything she encountered these days was new. Though she did not become addicted and only sampled lightly, that did not mean she found them uninteresting or novel.
Lu Zheng nodded. If they stayed, so be it. It merely meant playing a few more games of weiqi with her.
…
After lunch at Peach Blossom Flat, Lu Zheng did not linger at the villa. He returned to Tonglin County.
As soon as he reached the main street, still far from Benevolent Heart Hall, he spotted a stooped old woman, supported by a plainly dressed young woman, slowly emerging from a side alley.
Both wore ordinary clothes, simple and unadorned. Their appearances were unremarkable. They looked like perfectly average mortals.
“Hm?” Lu Zheng’s eyes flickered.
The old woman and the young woman glanced at him, their expressions unchanged. They simply turned and joined the main street.
Lu Zheng blinked, a smile touching his lips. He stopped, waited until they had gone some distance, then casually followed.
“Interesting…” Lu Zheng thought with amusement as he trailed them. “Here on business, or just sightseeing?”
As for how he knew something was off…
They had just come from Tongyi Alley. Lu Zheng lived there. Even if he did not know every neighbour personally, he had seen them all. How could he not know who lived in the alley?
These two were clearly extraordinary beings. Seeing no one in Tongyi Alley for the moment, they had materialised at the entrance and blended into the main street.
Unfortunately, they had run straight into Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng blinked. With nothing else to do, he decided to see which immortals these two were and what they wanted in Tonglin County.
He had followed only a couple of steps when the old woman and the young woman paused, turned their heads slightly.
Lu Zheng’s pupils contracted.
They were looking at a signboard bearing three clear characters: Benevolent Heart Hall.
The old woman thumped her back, coughed twice, then, supported by the young woman and leaning on her cane, shakily climbed the few steps and entered the hall.
“Again?” Lu Zheng pressed a hand to his forehead, momentarily speechless.
How many strange visitors had Benevolent Heart Hall attracted?
From the tomb robbers at the start, to the Yuan Sheng Sect sorcerer later, the East Sea Dragon Empress last year, and now these two. Who were they?
Lu Zheng shook his head, quickened his pace, and entered the hall.
There were no patients inside. Old Liu was resting on a recliner. Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao were studying medical texts together, discussing how to prescribe for different constitutions.
Seeing the old woman cough as she entered, Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao rose together, approached from either side, each supporting one arm while placing fingers on her wrists.
A glance revealed her internal condition.
“Wind-warmth lung heat.” Du Yueyao said quietly.
Liu Qingyan nodded and added, “With coughing, wheezing, and cold qi. And it is…”
Du Yueyao frowned. “An old chronic ailment, deep in the lungs. Hard to cure completely.”
They had just helped the old woman sit when Liu Qingyan looked up and saw Lu Zheng entering behind.
“Lu Lang?”
Meeting the probing gazes of the old woman and the young woman, Lu Zheng nodded with a smile. “Just back from Peach Blossom Flat. Thought I would drop by. Looks like the clinic is quiet.”
Liu Qingyan smiled and nodded. “It is quiet, but we cannot leave it unattended. And here comes an elderly lady.”
The old woman bent and coughed twice, sounding apologetic. “Sorry to trouble Doctor Liu.”
“No trouble at all.” Liu Qingyan smiled. “And your illness is not urgent. I will prescribe two sets of medicine first. Take the first for seven days. You should see improvement in three, relief in seven. Then take the second for another seven days to calm the wheezing and nourish the lungs. Come back then, and I will check again.”
“Good, good. Thank you, thank you.” The old woman nodded quickly. “It is an old complaint. Relief is enough.”
Lu Zheng blinked. Had the Dragon Empress said something similar last year?
Liu Qingyan, however, was unconcerned. She had seen many such patients. She smiled again. “Rest assured. Your constitution is still sound. Though the illness is deep in the lungs, with the right medicine and careful care, it can be fully cured in a year or two.”
“It can be fully cured?”
“Naturally.” Liu Qingyan replied with a smile, returned to her seat, took the old woman’s pulse once more, then wrote two prescriptions.
The prescriptions were similar, but she changed a few herbs and adjusted dosages.
“Thank you, Doctor Liu.” The old woman bowed in gratitude, then rose with support from Du Yueyao and the young woman beside her.
The plainly dressed woman curtsied to Liu Qingyan, then helped the old woman turn and leave slowly.
“Take care, madam. Mind the steps.” Du Yueyao accompanied them out.
Lu Zheng watched the old woman shakily cross the threshold and depart slowly. He nodded inwardly.
The disguise was convincing, far better than the Dragon Empress’s. Had he not seen them emerge from Tongyi Alley with his own eyes, he would have spotted no flaws.
Letting Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao examine her without issue showed considerable skill.
Yet…
A smile curved Lu Zheng’s lips as he pocketed two of the copper coins the young woman had just left behind.
