In the main hall of Xiao Fang’s ho.
An Eight Immortals table was set, laden with delicious dishes, including chicken, duck, braised pork, and an assortnt of wild ga. Village Chief Cheng Youtian, Xu Quezi, Zhang Bin, along with Hu Erye, Elder Dai, and several others were gathered around, drinking. Many other villagers also crowded into the hall, listening intently to their conversation.
Mother Cheng was like a completely different person. She treated Zhang Bin with exceptional warmth, attending to his every need. Xiao Fang was also at the side, listening with a joyful grin as Liu Xin occasionally teased her.
"Xiao Bin, what exactly is this Bright Eye Liquid all about?" Cheng Youtian, still a bit dazed, asked in surprise.
"My master is a remarkable man. He developed so special redies that can cure certain unusual diseases," Zhang Bin answered flawlessly.
"Then shouldn’t the money you earned belong to your master?" Mother Cheng asked with a hint of concern.
This greedy and materialistic mother-in-law... I really have to hand it to her. Zhang Bin thought. Outwardly, however, he said with a smile, "My master only has as his disciple. He’s getting on in years and doesn’t have much ti left. He asked to go out into the world to make his redies well-known and alleviate the suffering of the sick. He doesn’t care about money. What would an old Daoist hermit from the deep mountains need money for?"
"That’s right! Isn’t a master’s money a disciple’s money?" Xu Quezi slapped his thigh. He then looked at Zhang Bin expectantly and asked, "Xiao Bin, your master is an extraordinary man, and so are you. Tell , is there any hope for my leg to be restored? If it can be, I’d like to marry a wife and live a good life, too."
Hearing this, tears nearly welled up in Zhang Bin’s eyes. Xu Quezi was already fifty years old. When he was just a child, he fell off an ox and broke his leg, leaving him a cripple. Consequently, earning a living was very difficult for him. No woman had ever been willing to marry him, so he lived alone. He loved playing with children and enjoyed it when they all called him "Second Brother." As a child, Zhang Bin had also played with Xu Quezi. They shared many happy mories that he could never forget.
He certainly didn’t want Xu Quezi to remain so unfortunate. He said sincerely, "Second Brother, I promise that within a year, your leg will be as good as new."
He had now read almost all of the alien dical data Gao Si had given him. He was one hundred percent confident he could heal Xu Quezi’s leg, but the prerequisite was reaching the Rushing Pulse Realm in his cultivation. That was why he said it would take a year.
"Really? You’re not lying to ?" Xu Quezi’s hands trembled with excitent, and two streams of murky tears ran down his face.
"Second Brother, let tell you, your leg isn’t hard to treat at all," Zhang Bin explained. "We just need to break the misaligned bone, set it correctly, and use special dicine. It will heal very quickly. Even a more advanced hospital could have treated it, but you didn’t have the money for the fees, which is why it’s been put off until now."
"But I don’t have any money now," Xu Quezi said, his face falling.
"I’ll treat you. I don’t need any money; just buy a round of drinks. I use True Qi and herbs, so there are no material costs," Zhang Bin said. "It’s just that my current cultivation level is still too low. I’ll need so ti before I have the ability to heal you."
"Second Brother, congratulations! You’ll be a normal man soon," Cheng Youtian said, raising his wine cup in a toast.
"I... I still can’t quite believe it." Xu Quezi raised his cup, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
"Do you still doubt Xiao Bin’s abilities? Since Xiao Bin has given his word, it’s as good as done," said the highly respected Elder Dai, stroking his magnificent white beard.
At that, Xu Quezi grew excited and began toasting Zhang Bin, cup after cup.
Zhang Bin was now a master of the martial world, so holding his liquor was a simple matter. He easily drank everyone else under the table. Then, he got drunk as well, collapsing onto the table without moving.
Chuckling, the crowd carried Zhang Bin to Xiao Fang’s room and laid him on her bed, as if setting the stage for their wedding night. Surprisingly, Mother Cheng didn’t object and even wore a look of joyful expectation.
Xiao Fang was so embarrassed her neck flushed red.
Unfortunately, Mother Zhang arrived and sternly ordered a few young n to carry Zhang Bin back ho.
After everyone had left, Zhang Bin rolled over and sat up, his face gloomy.
Mother Zhang, however, was still scolding him. "You big fool," she chided. "If you had really spent the night at Xiao Fang’s, the villagers would assu the worst, even if nothing happened. Then, if sothing were to ever go wrong between you and her in the future, they wouldn’t say a single good thing about you. They’d call you a Chen Shii. The Zhang family can’t afford that kind of sha."
"Mom, why would anything go wrong between and Xiao Fang?" Zhang Bin asked, still sullen.
"Who can say what the future holds? You need to understand, you’re not an ordinary farr anymore. A lot of won are going to like you. Look at Ruolan and Bingbing—I see how beautiful they are. If they actively pursued you, could you honestly say you’d be able to resist?" his mother retorted.
Zhang Bin was speechless. He thought of the two enchanting beauties, Liu Ruolan and Tian Bingbing. He opened his mouth, but no rebuttal ca out. After all, what man could refuse if such gorgeous won threw themselves at him?
I’m not that charming. Zhang Bin thought, pushing aside the wild thoughts in his mind and beginning his cultivation.
The next morning, Zhang Bin was fully equipped. With a bulging backpack on his back, he headed into Great Green Mountain.
He first found a spot in the forest to perform his Qi gathering, completing his daily cultivation. Only then did he go look for the Little Fox guarding the ginseng. He said to her, "Xiao Qian, let’s go to the place we visited last ti."
The Little Fox imdiately perked up, leaping into Zhang Bin’s arms and snuggling coquettishly. Zhang Bin knew, of course, that she was asking for Spiritual Energy. He wasn’t stingy and used his Qi gathering to let her eat her fill. His ability to gather Qi was much stronger now, so he had no lack of Spiritual Energy.
Content after absorbing so much Spiritual Energy, the Little Fox hopped out of Zhang Bin’s embrace and dashed ahead, leading the way.
Even though Zhang Bin had been there once and had a photographic mory, it would still have been very difficult to find his way back without the Little Fox leading. After all, the dense forest blotted out the sun, making it hard to get one’s bearings.
By afternoon, they had finally arrived at the magical valley once more.
Zhang Bin grabbed onto the vines and began his rapid descent. The lazy Little Fox simply perched on Zhang Bin’s shoulder, its paws wrapped around his neck. A strange, enticing fragrance enveloped Zhang Bin, giving him the illusion that he was carrying a beautiful woman on his back.
Finally, Zhang Bin arrived before the Single-log Bridge.
Beneath it lay a deep, bottomless abyss from which the dull roars of beasts occasionally echoed. A faint white mist drifted up, carrying with it a trace of thin Spiritual Energy. Across the Single-log Bridge was a world shrouded in hazy white fog, where only the silhouettes of imnse trees could be seen. The cave entrance was still pitch-black, exuding an air of mystery, waiting for Zhang Bin to explore.
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