"Why don’t you jump? I’ve been watching in this heavy rain for a long ti, why aren’t you jumping..."
Lu Qi glared at the instigator, whose gaze was intimidated by the righteous look.
Xu Chunliang took a deep breath; he tried to circulate his internal energy just now but found his ridians empty. The once proud, profound inner strength had vanished into thin air.
Without his divine skills and having lost a following of a hundred thousand disciples, in this unfamiliar world, he had beco utterly isolated. If an enemy were to attack, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Xu Cong!"
The call interrupted his thoughts. Xu Chunliang looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lu Qi, dressed in a sharp uniform, walking towards him. Although he had never t him before, when Lu Qi appeared, mories of Lu Qi naturally ca to mind, his senior from the sa school, especially good at basketball, with a high athletic talent.
Lu Qi smiled at Xu Chunliang, "What? Don’t you recognize ? I graduated from the sa high school as you; we played basketball together, rember?"
Xu Chunliang calmly looked at Lu Qi, his expression unperturbed.
Lu Qi interpreted his expression as despair at life. He stopped about three ters from Xu Chunliang, held onto the railing, and glanced below the bridge. "The current is strong; no matter how good a swimr you are, you won’t survive if you fall in."
Xu Chunliang looked at Lu Qi with interest, "You think I’m going to jump off the bridge?"
Lu Qi smiled and shook his head, "You wouldn’t, you’re still young, even if not for yourself, think of your elders. Isn’t your grandfather seventy this year? How’s his health?"
The rain gradually stopped. Lu Qi took out a pack of cigarettes and waved it in front of Xu Chunliang, "Smoke?"
Xu Chunliang blinked; he had never tried it before.
"Have one!" Lu Qi took the opportunity to approach, and when the distance closed to about a ter, Lu Qi pounced like a hungry tiger. At such a distance, he was confident he could control Xu Chunliang.
A flash of white light appeared before his eyes; Lu Qi was sure of his success but ended up grasping at air, failing even to touch the hem of his target’s clothing, losing his balance and crashing heavily to the ground.
Xu Chunliang rely shifted his steps to the left. Although his inner strength had vanished, his agility remained. Using the technique of the "Eight Transformations of the Agile Snake," he easily evaded Lu Qi, fully aware that Lu Qi was trying to save him, so he didn’t counterattack.
At that mont, police officers who had hurried to the scene surged in from all directions. Xu Chunliang’s vigilance spiked, about to take action when a white-haired elder rushed out of a police car. So anxious, he stumbled when getting off, and a police officer beside him hurriedly steadied him.
The old man anxiously shouted, "Chunliang! Don’t do anything foolish!"
Upon receiving news about the attempted suicide on Peace Bridge, Xu Changshan had rushed over imdiately. The elderly man, though still robust for seventy-three, was breathless from the hurried journey.
Seeing his beloved grandson standing at the bridge’s edge in nothing but shorts, Xu Changshan’s heart leapt into his throat. Today was the day college entrance exam results were released, and once again, Xu Chunliang had failed. Three attempts, each result worse than the last; this ti, he didn’t even et the minimum undergraduate admission score.
In Xu Changshan’s view, rather than waste ti at a dubious college, it would be better to study dicine with him. Now that the country’s policy was encouraging traditional Chinese dicine apprenticeships, and his age required him to find a successor.
Though Western dicine dominates nowadays and traditional Chinese dicine is in decline, inheritance of his mantle, managing the family clinic, would ensure a peaceful life, albeit not wealthy.
Xu Changshan had ntioned this to his grandson more than once, but the kid had no interest in dicine. Besides, his introverted nature made him silent and withdrawn, seldom talking to others, especially since the third attempt at repeating his exams. He had spoken fewer than ten sentences all year, widening the generational gap between them.
Despite his exceptional dical skills, Xu Changshan found himself helpless with his grandson’s situation. Heart ailnts require heart redies; acupuncture and herbs can only help Xu Chunliang fortify his constitution and unblock his ridians.
"Don’t co closer!" Xu Chunliang shouted thunderously, like rolling thunder.
More than a dozen police officers halted abruptly. Lu Qi, who had just fallen, climbed up with a tearful face, indicating he was fine, it was his own misstep, and had nothing to do with Xu Chunliang.
Xu Changshan approached, his voice trembling, "Chunliang, if anything happens to you, I won’t live either."
Heart connected to kin, especially since this precious grandson was raised by him. They had only each other since his wife passed eighteen years ago. If anything happened to his grandson, Xu Changshan would lose his will to live.
Xu Chunliang gazed at the teary-eyed Xu Changshan, and mories gradually resurfaced in his mind.
"Grandpa?"
"Yes!" Xu Changshan responded loudly.
"Chunliang, Grandpa promises not to force you to study dicine. You can do whatever you want from now on. Co ho with , okay?"
Xu Chunliang looked around; the crowd was growing, and armored vehicles with flashing red and blue lights were approaching. Better to go with the flow, leave here before the sect discovers him, and plan later. He nodded and said, "Okay!"
Huichun Hall, located on Shunti Road, is a long-established clinic in Dongzhou. According to Xu Changshan, the plaque was an imperial gift from Yong Zheng, as the Xu Family ancestors once served as Imperial Physicians.
However, Old Feng from the Lumber Factory had a different story about the plaque, claiming his father crafted it. He rembers it vividly because he learned to read from the Huichun Hall sign as a kid in split pants, having witnessed the plaque’s entire creation process himself.
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