Laughing and joking, they finished packing everything up. Zhao Yuan and Xian Hong helped carry the items downstairs and load them into the trunk of the Jetta.
The four of them then got into the car. Xian Hong started the engine and drove away from the hospital. They first made a trip to the market to buy plenty of ingredients before finally heading to Lu Qing's ho.
Lu Qing's ho was in a typical residential complex in the Rongcheng West Area. It was a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartnt of about a hundred square ters, where her family of three lived in blissful harmony.
Just as Mrs. Lu was taking out her key to open the door, it swung open from the inside.
A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, sitting in a wheelchair, appeared in their line of sight. He smiled and said, "Qingqing, you're back?"
"Dad, I'm back." Lu Qing nodded and stepped forward to give her father a hug.
"Good girl. Dad is so proud of you!" Father Lu said, hugging Lu Qing and patting her gently on the back.
With tears in her eyes, Lu Qing said, "I was always proud of you, Dad. And now, I'm so proud that I can make you proud of ."
Mrs. Lu was moved as well, but she quickly composed herself and said, "Alright, alright, you two. That's enough of a sentintal scene. Aren't you being a little sappy? Don't forget, we have guests."
"Guests? Who?"
Only then did Father Lu notice that besides his wife and daughter, there were two other people at the door. He quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "Oh, it's Xiaoxian. You brought Old Wu and Qingqing back? We really appreciate you going to the trouble."
"Oh, Chief, please don't say that. It was a small thing, no trouble at all!" Xian Hong said, waving his hands dismissively.
Father Lu was the previous police station chief, and back then, Xian Hong had been one of the officers under his command.
Known for his courage and sharp analytical skills, Father Lu had cracked nurous major cases and earned many comndations. Then, during an operation to arrest drug traffickers, his leg was injured, confining him to a wheelchair ever since. After that, Father Lu took dical retirent, and Xian Hong took over his position as chief.
But retirent was retirent; Father Lu couldn't stay idle. He beca a guest lecturer at the police academy, passing on the experience he'd gained on the front lines to future officers to help them better combat criminals. In fact, it was his influence that had inspired Lu Qing to beco a police officer—and a narcotics detective at that.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Xian Hong, Father Lu's gaze landed on Zhao Yuan. Puzzled, he asked, "And this is?"
Mrs. Lu introduced him, "This is Zhao Yuan, the young man who helped Qingqing arrest the drug traffickers and saved her life."
"Ah, so it's you." Father Lu extended his hand, and Zhao Yuan quickly stepped forward to shake it.
"I've been wanting to thank you for a long ti. I'm glad I finally have the chance," Father Lu said, gripping Zhao Yuan's hand and shaking it firmly.
Mrs. Lu chuckled and said, "You all chat for a while. I'm going to the kitchen to start dinner. Qingqing, look after Xiaozhao."
With that, she picked up the bags of ingredients and headed into the kitchen.
Lu Qing hesitated. 'It's so awkward staying in the living room,' she thought. 'I have no idea what to talk about with Zhao Yuan.' So she followed her mother into the kitchen to help.
Zhao Yuan and Xian Hong stayed in the living room to keep Father Lu company and chat.
People tend to brag about their glory days as they get older, and Father Lu was no exception. Finding a rare, willing audience in Zhao Yuan, he imdiately launched into a recital of his greatest accomplishnts.
Finally, Father Lu patted his legs and sighed, "I may be old, but if it weren't for these legs, I could still crack cases and catch criminals. I wouldn't be any worse than young people like Xiaoxian or Qingqing!"
"Even with your legs, Chief, you're as impressive as ever!" Xian Hong said with a smile. "I heard your classes at the academy are extrely popular. So many students sign up for them as electives." Despite his simple and honest appearance, he laid on the flattery thick.
The comnt was casual, but it struck a chord with Zhao Yuan. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he activated his Qi Observation Technique to examine Father Lu's legs.
A mass of black Evil Qi had accumulated over Father Lu's legs. At the sa ti, there was a clear problem with the green Wood Qi.
'Wood governs free flow and regulation. A problem with the Wood Qi ans that phlegm-dampness or blood stasis is stagnating in his legs, obstructing the body's Qi chanism. This is hindering the circulation of Qi and blood, depriving his legs of nourishnt. That's why they're too weak to support him. The longer this goes on, the worse his legs will get. Eventually, they'll be completely useless.'
Having understood these key points, Zhao Yuan asked, "Uncle Lu, about your legs—were they like this imdiately after the injury, or did they get this way after so ti had passed?"
Father Lu was taken aback, not expecting such a question, but he answered, "After the injury, my legs were weak, but I could at least stand. If I held onto sothing, I could walk. But for so reason, after a while, they just got worse and worse, more and more useless. Eventually, I couldn't even stand, let alone walk with support. So now I'm stuck in this thing all day."
He patted his wheelchair, his voice full of resignation.
Zhao Yuan asked another question, "Uncle Lu, after you were injured, did you make sure to rest and recover properly?"
"Xiaozhao, you hit the nail right on the head."
Xian Hong had ward up to Zhao Yuan by now. He stopped calling him "Student Zhao Yuan," which was too formal, and instead started calling him 'Xiaozhao,' just like Mrs. Lu.
"Back in the day, the Chief was a notorious workaholic! After he got hurt, he didn't take any ti to recover. Instead, he dragged his injured self back to work to participate in another investigation..."
"Just as I thought." Zhao Yuan nodded.
'I'm sure of it now,' Zhao Yuan thought. 'While Father Lu's condition is related to his initial injury, it's mostly because of improper rest and recovery afterward. That allowed blood stasis to build up internally, leading to atrophy!'
"What do you an, 'just as you thought'?" Xian Hong stopped mid-sentence, startled. Father Lu also looked at Zhao Yuan in confusion.
Zhao Yuan explained, "The root cause of Uncle Lu's leg problem is that he never recovered properly after he was first injured!"
Mrs. Lu ca out with a platter of fruit just in ti to hear Zhao Yuan's words. She imdiately flared up and began to lecture her husband, "Did you hear that, Old Lu? I told you to rest properly after you were injured, but no, you wouldn't listen! You just had to play the hero! And look where that got you! Stuck in a wheelchair for years! Now you're going to spend the rest of your life in it!"
Being scolded in front of a younger man and his own forr subordinate was a blow to Father Lu's pride. His face darkened. "What's the use of bringing this up now? What's done is done. It's not like we can go back in ti and change things, can we?"
Lu Qing ca out of the kitchen as well. A sudden thought struck her as she looked at Zhao Yuan, and she asked excitedly, "Zhao Yuan, my dad's legs... is there sothing you can do?"
Zhao Yuan smiled and nodded. "I can't help Uncle Lu go back in ti to change the past, but I do have a way to help him stand on his own two feet again!"
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