A Valiant Life

“The last medicinal herb, purple lingzhi, I’m begging you. Please come to me.”

Lin Fan settled his heart as he fished. Through this period of hard work, he had managed to gather most of the herbs he needed and he was left with the last one. It hadn’t appeared the whole time and it left him helpless.

Initially, he had wanted to substitute it with other herbs but he realized that there was no other herb that could replace the purple lingzhi. In other words, this purple lingzhi was the key component of the pill.

If he used a substitute, he wouldn’t be able to produce a perfect medicinal pill.

*Ding ding*

Message notification sound.

Perhaps they already knew that calling wouldn’t get through to Lin Fan, so they sent a message instead.

Lin Fan took out his phone and took a look. Then, he started to become anxious.

Zhao Zhong Yang: “Brother Lin, Director Zhao isn’t going to last much longer…”

Just these few words made Lin Fan feel a tremendous amount to stress.

“Ming Qing, you have to hold on for a while more.” Even if he were to go back now, he would be helpless. He wouldn’t be able to help Zhao Ming Qing at all.

Right now, Zhao Ming Qing wasn’t suffering from any illness but rather, his bodily functions had reached their limits. Without a nature-defying procedure, he couldn’t be saved.

They could only rely on the medicinal pill now.

Relax the mind. Release all anxiety and worry. There were countless godly techniques in the Wuxia major class of knowledge. And the number of techniques that could be used to calm the heart was many.

The hospital.

Zhao Ming Qing had many good friends. At that moment, they had all rushed over.

Amongst them, Elder Mu wasn’t involved in Chinese medicine but he had a very good relationship with Zhao Ming Qing. When Lin Fan and Zhao Ming Qing had first met, Elder Mu had been there and he could be considered a witness.

And when Zhao Ming Qing officially became Lin Fan’s disciple, Elder Mu had been the host of the ceremony as well.

“Li Xing, tell me the truth. How long more does your dad have?” Elder Mu asked in a serious tone.

Zhao Li Xing replied, “Uncle Mu, I’m not sure either. The doctor says it’s three days at most but looking at the situation, it seems like he can sustain himself for a while more.”

Elder Mu felt that this had been too sudden. He hadn’t been prepared at all when he suddenly received the call. He didn’t even know what to say.

The professor cum deputy director of Shanghai People’s Hospital, Sun Zong Yun, came over in a hurry. “Li Xing, what happened to your father exactly? How did he suddenly come into this state?”

“Uncle Sun, I don’t know either. The doctor says his organs have aged too much.” Zhao Li Xing was already out of his wits. After all, this situation had caught them completely unprepared. Their father had been perfectly fine a while ago but he had suddenly gone into this state.

“What about Master Lin? Why didn’t Master Lin come?” Elder Mu asked in a panicked tone.

Elder Zhao is Master Lin’s student. If Master Lin comes to treat him, he will definitely be fine.

Zhao Li Xing sighed. “I’m afraid Master Lin has no confidence as well. Previously, my dad had a flu and Master Lin came to see him. He treated his flu but didn’t say much after. He probably knows that my dad’s situation can’t be helped.”

“And the news has reported too that Master Lin has disappeared for a few days. He hasn’t appeared at Cloud Street.”

When Elder Mu heard this, his expression went blank as he mumbled, “Could there really be no way left?”

At that moment, Zhao Shi came out of the ward and saw the people outside. “Elder Zhao is awake. You guys can go in to see him.”

When the crowd heard this, they quickly entered. Their friendship was one that had lasted decades.

In the ward.

Zhao Ming Qing was lying on the bed, wearing an oxygen mask. His eyes looked unfocused. When he saw his old friends enter, he took out his oxygen mask and mustered a thin smile. He spoke weakly.

“Why are you all here?”

Elder Mu grabbed Elder Zhao’s hand. “We’re here to see you.”

Zhao Ming Qing smiled. “What’s there to see? There’s nothing to see here.”

“It’s okay. You’ll be fine.” Elder Mu appeared upset. And Sun Zong Yun’s eyes started to well up as well. They had known each other since they were ten. In the blink of an eye, several decades had passed. Those kids full of vigor and energy had turned into old men. Time had really flown by.

Zhao Ming Qing said, “I’ll definitely be fine. My teacher has promised me that he’ll teach me powerful Chinese medicine techniques in the future. And he’ll even develop new prescriptions with me. How could anything happen to me?”

“Right, right. You’ll definitely be fine.” Elder Mu nodded.

Zhao Ming Qing swept the room with his gaze but he didn’t see who he wanted to see. “Where’s my teacher?”

Elder Mu didn’t know what to say. “Master Lin, he…”

Before he could finish, Zhao Ming Qing interrupted with a wave of his hand. “It’s a little too fast. I didn’t expect it to happen so fast. I haven’t even studied until the end. I haven’t even thanked Teacher for his guidance…”

Elder Mu patted Zhao Ming Qing’s hand as he lowered his head. He had no words. He didn’t know what to say.

“Master Lin knows it in his heart. He definitely knows it,” said Sun Zong Yun.

Zhao Ming Qing said, “I’m a little tired. I’m going to rest for a bit. I have to wait for Teacher to come and see me before I go. Otherwise, I can’t go yet.”

His four children stood at the back. Their eyes had turned red and Zhao Shi was wiping her tears.

Everyone left the room.

“Where exactly is Master Lin?” asked Elder Mu.

Zhao Li Xing replied, “I don’t know where he went. I called Master Lin but he didn’t pick up.”

Sun Zong Yun said, “It’s good if he doesn’t come for now. I’m afraid that if Elder Zhao sees Master Lin, he…”

He didn’t finish his sentence but everyone understood. If Zhao Ming Qing got what he wanted, there would be nothing keeping him here anymore.

“I think that Master Lin won’t just sit idly by. There must be a reason he has disappeared for a few days. He must be doing something,” said Elder Mu.

Elder Zhao and Master Lin had a great teacher-disciple relationship. Judging by Master Lin’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t just ignore the situation. He definitely would have a plan.

However, this was just Elder Mu’s hope. He had no idea at all about what would happen in the end. Looking at Elder Zhao’s current situation, how could he possibly be saved?

The next day!

The doctors were astonished. They realized that Elder Zhao was still holding on. His fuel had completely depleted but his heart was still beating. To them, most people wouldn’t be able to persevere until such a stage.

Most people would just allow themselves to quietly leave the world in a painless way.

Zhao Li Xing had been in contact with the doctors the whole time.

The doctor said, “Mister Zhao, your father has been holding on the whole time but we’re not sure how much longer he can hold on. Perhaps he has something that he can’t let go of.”

When Zhao Li Xing heard that, he understood what it was. “My dad is waiting for his teacher to come. He wants to see his teacher once more.”

The doctor nodded. The human body is a mysterious thing. At times, willpower can sustain oneself and allow one to accomplish the impossible.

Right now, Zhao Ming Qing only had one thought in his mind. That was to see his teacher once more.

Perhaps that was what kept him going.

By the river.

Lin Fan was very calm but his expression was becoming more and more grave.

“I’m begging you, come out quickly. Stop hiding.”

The fishing line moved.

He eagerly lifted his fishing rod. At that instant, a herb dangled from the fishing line.

When Lin Fan saw that, he was instantly delighted. But suddenly, he realized that something wasn’t right.

The medicinal herb that was hanging from the fishing line was removing itself from the hook as if it was struggling to escape.

“Don’t you dare…” Without hesitation, Lin Fan tossed the fishing rod to the side. As his body turned into a flash of light, he dashed forward and jumped into midair. Then, he grasped the herb with his hand.

“Purple lingzhi, you’ve finally come.”

…