The simple villagers had never seen a cultivator before, and now they stood dumbfounded, shocked by Ye Qiu’s display.
“My goodness, he sent an excavator flying with one punch!”
“Is he even human?”
“This young man is a god! Absolutely a god!”
“A heavenly deity has descended! A deity has come!”
Someone shouted hoarsely, and suddenly, many villagers dropped to their knees, worshipping Ye Qiu.
Master Longbrow, seeing this, was green with envy.
“Blast it, when it comes to showing off, I’m still outdone by this little rascal.”
“If I’d known, I’d have acted first.”
“Now the chance to shine has been stolen by him again.”
Ye Qiu hadn’t expected the villagers to see him as a god. He smiled and said, “Everyone, please get up. I’m not a god, just a doctor.”
The villagers didn’t believe him. “How could a doctor punch an excavator away? Don’t trick us, you must be a god.”
Ye Qiu gave a wry smile and explained, “I really am a doctor. If you don’t believe me, ask Old Xiang.”
All eyes turned to Old Xiang.
“Folks, Director Ye is the head of the Chinese Medicine Department at our Jiangzhou Hospital, and my superior. As for why he could punch an excavator away, that’s because…”
Old Xiang paused, then raised his voice. “It’s because Doctor Ye knows internal martial arts.”
“You all know about internal martial arts, right?”
The villagers nodded.
“Of course, like in *The Eightfold Path of the Dragon*, Qiao Feng and Xu Zhu had strong internal martial arts.”
“Actually, Duan Yu’s internal martial arts were stronger.”
“Nonsense, Duan Yu’s nothing compared to Qiao Feng or Xu Zhu.”
“Qiao Feng knows the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and Xu Zhu is the master of Lingjiu Palace. Duan Yu’s just a pretty boy.”
“You don’t get it. Duan Yu knows Lingbo Microsteps and the Six Meridians Divine Sword.”
“Six Meridians Divine Sword? Ha, the kind that works only sometimes?”
Ye Qiu was stunned.
He hadn’t expected the villagers to argue so heatedly over fictional characters.
But on reflection, it made sense.
With better living conditions, people’s material lives had improved rapidly, and their cultural awareness was rising too.
Decades ago, villagers wouldn’t have known about Qiao Feng or Duan Yu, and even if they did, they’d have been too busy working to feed their families to discuss them.
All this, in a way, was thanks to poverty alleviation efforts.
“Director, thank you so much. You came all this way for my family’s troubles. I feel so guilty,” Old Xiang said gratefully.
“Old Xiang, don’t say that. With our relationship, even if I hadn’t come, Director Bai would have,” Ye Qiu said, then added with a hint of reproach, “But why didn’t you tell me about this trouble at home?”
“If I hadn’t arrived today, who knows what might have happened.”
Thinking of the buzz-cut man’s actions, Ye Qiu felt lingering fear. If he’d arrived later, Old Xiang might have been crippled.
Old Xiang said, “I’m away most of the year and rarely come back home. I never imagined these thugs would be so lawless. Thank goodness you came, Director.”
“How are your injuries?” Ye Qiu asked with concern.
“No big deal, just some superficial wounds,” Old Xiang said with a grin.
Ye Qiu glanced over and noticed Old Xiang’s left arm hanging limp, clearly a sign of a broken bone.
“Even now, you’re not honest with me,” Ye Qiu said, grabbing Old Xiang’s left arm. With two quick snaps, he set the broken bone.
Then he drew a blood-stopping talisman to heal the wound on Old Xiang’s head.
In moments, Old Xiang’s injuries were fully healed.
“Alright, take care of things here,” Ye Qiu said, turning to Master Longbrow. “Old man, don’t just stand there. Help with the rites.”
“Got it,” Master Longbrow nodded.
Ye Qiu then introduced Master Longbrow to Old Xiang. “This is Master Longbrow, the head of Longhu Mountain. If you need anything, ask him for help.”
Old Xiang immediately thanked them. “Thank you, Director. Thank you, Master.”
With that, Old Xiang called a few villagers to help place the coffin back in the grave and cover it with earth.
Master Longbrow sat cross-legged nearby, softly chanting the *Supreme Mysterious Treasure Heavenly Lord’s Sutra of Salvation and Redemption* to perform rites for Old Xiang’s father.
Ye Qiu’s gaze fell on Huzi.
“Didn’t expect a kid your age to have such strength. Born with it?” Ye Qiu asked with a smile.
The boy nodded, looking at Ye Qiu with admiration, clearly awed by his earlier punch.
Soon, the grave was filled in, and the wreaths were placed back on it. Old Xiang thanked the villagers again before leading Ye Qiu and the others away.
As they left, Ye Qiu glanced at the unconscious buzz-cut man and his lackeys, feeling uneasy. He took out his phone and sent a text message.
“Huzi, come home with me for dinner,” Old Xiang said to the boy.
The boy shook his head and walked off without looking back.
“You kid, ugh!” Old Xiang sighed deeply.
Back at the house, Master Longbrow asked, “Old Xiang, what’s the deal with that boy? He’s got some strength.”
“You don’t know, Master, but Huzi was raised by a tiger,” Old Xiang said.
“Oh?” Master Longbrow’s interest was piqued. “Tell me more.”
Old Xiang explained, “Our village is surrounded by mountains full of wild beasts.”
“About eleven or twelve years ago, a tiger appeared in our village, scaring everyone.”
“But it didn’t harm anyone, not even livestock, and then it left.”
“Half a year later, the tiger came back.”
“This time, it carried a swaddled infant in its mouth.”
Master Longbrow asked, “That infant was Huzi?”
“Yes,” Old Xiang nodded. “After that, the tiger often brought Huzi to the village. Sometimes it stayed a few days before returning to the mountains, sometimes half a month.”
“Over time, the villagers got used to it and stopped fearing the tiger. They even fed it occasionally.”
“When the authorities heard about the tiger, they planned to take it to a zoo. But an animal expert from the province came, saw the tiger wasn’t harmful, and said this environment suited it better, so they left it alone.”
“Six years ago, the tiger died of old age. Before it died, it left Huzi at a villager’s doorstep.”
“That villager, in his sixties and alone, took Huzi in.”
“Huzi’s had a hard life. Two years later, his foster father died.”
“The villagers pitied him and often gave him food and clothes. Huzi helps with village work, and everyone likes him.”
“But this kid…”
Just then, a villager ran up, panting. “Old Xiang, Huzi, he… Huzi…”
“Oh no!” Old Xiang’s face changed, and he bolted off.
