Chapter 31: Awake

Jiu's anxious heart finally settled down a bit. She had been afraid that Su Tan would ignore her. It would be great if he accepted the meal, but it would be troublesome if he didn't.

Jiu carefully delivered the food to Su Tan's room. As she uncovered the dishes one by one, a mouth-watering aroma immediately wafted through the air.

"Please, Mr. Su," Jiu said. "We're away from home and our ingredients are limited, so I could only prepare some modest fare. I hope you won't mind!"

In reality, one could absolutely not find a second meal like this anywhere in Chen Family Village. It could easily be called a luxury feast.

"How could I mind? Thank you, Miss Jiu," Su Tan said.

He began to eat. Whether it was because the ingredients were excellent, Jiu's culinary skills were superb, or perhaps a bit of both—the food was phenomenal. Su Tan had never eaten anything so delicious.

"Mm, Miss Jiu's cooking is incredible. These dishes are excellently made!" Su Tan praised.

Receiving Su Tan's validation lifted Jiu's spirits. Like a kindergartener praised by their teacher, she jumped for joy. "Really? That's wonderful! Thank you for not turning up your nose at it, Master Su. I was so worried you wouldn't be satisfied!"

Su Tan shook his head and chuckled softly. Saying no more, he buried himself in his meal.

Seeing that Su Tan wasn't just being polite and was eating with genuine delight, Jiu felt even happier; his praise was sincere. Being acknowledged by an expert felt incredibly rewarding.

Whether it was because he was too hungry, because Jiu's cooking was just that delicious, or simply out of a distaste for wasting food, Su Tan actually finished every last bite.

"My apologies, I ate it all!" Su Tan said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He had been a little overeager, but it truly was delicious.

"Hahaha, it's fine! It's better that you finished it. It means my cooking suits your taste," Jiu said happily. "If you don't mind my humble skills, I can cook for you every day from now on!"

Su Tan knew the girl was likely just saying that to make him view the Xu Family more favorably.

The next day.

The Xu Family carried Grandmaster Xu out into the courtyard for Su Tan to continue his diagnosis.

"Not bad, not bad. His pulse is much more vigorous, and his breathing has become much steadier and healthier. His condition has stabilized. We'll brew some more medicine for Grandmaster Xu today!"

The Xu Family had been watching Grandmaster Xu's changes little by little, and they, too, noticed that he was improving. They saw it all with their own eyes. When Grandmaster Xu was first brought here, he had been hanging on by a single thread. Though he hadn't woken up yet, his condition was leaps and bounds better than before. It looked as if he were merely asleep, with his pulse and vitality gradually recovering.

Jiu continued to brew the medicine. The prescription was the exact same one as yesterday's.

Amusingly enough, the Xu Family had also hired other physicians. These physicians took Grandmaster Xu's pulse daily, observing the shifts in his condition. He was getting better every day.

What left them utterly baffled was that Su Tan seemingly just took his pulse casually each day and prescribed some obscure herbal soup—and somehow, the grandmaster was recovering? They had studied the medicinal residue and discovered that the herbs used were actually nothing special. In fact, they were incredibly ordinary. They were just everyday herbs that people used to boil in water. Yet... it worked. This was deeply intriguing.

The physicians even suggested to the Xu Family that since they practically had the soup recipe in hand, why let Su Tan continue the treatment? Why not take him back and treat him themselves?

The Xu Family had indeed discussed this. If they took over now, wouldn't they be able to avoid paying the massive price Su Tan had spoken of?

However, the very day after they took the grandmaster away, his condition abruptly plummeted. Forget herbal soup—not even Jade Dew could have saved him. They tried every method at their disposal, but nothing worked. In the end, they had no choice but to give up and hurriedly bring Grandmaster Xu back. They even fabricated a lie, claiming that assassins had come for Grandmaster Xu, forcing them to flee into the night.

Su Tan knew exactly what this group was thinking and what they had done. He merely smiled without a word, too lazy to expose them. He wanted them to realize that only he could save Grandmaster Xu. Only then could he demonstrate his true value.

"Sigh... it's a troubled time, so it's best to be careful. As long as he's safe, that's what matters!" Su Tan said with a look of sympathetic concern.

Su Tan couldn't have been clearer on what the Xu Family had been up to. By having the White Wolf acknowledge him as its master, he had gained far more than just the wolf itself. He had also acquired control over its elusive subordinates—including the venomous snake that had previously bitten Village Chief Chen. He could know every single movement near Chen Family Village, so long as he wished it.

But Su Tan acted as if he were completely ignorant. He saw through them but didn't point it out.

Sure enough, the subsequent treatments became much simpler. The Xu Family obediently stayed by Grandmaster Xu's side, becoming far more respectful toward Su Tan. They had finally realized that Grandmaster Xu could only survive in Su Tan's hands.

Indeed, Jiu's line of thinking had been right all along. Rather than trying to be opportunistic and clever, it was better to simply follow Su Tan's instructions. This time, they left Grandmaster Xu here with total peace of mind, no longer scheming any messy maneuvers.

The grandmaster's condition grew better and better.

Two or three days later, a maid discovered that Grandmaster Xu had finally awakened. His eyes were bleary with sleep, making him look just like an ordinary old man who had just woken up from a nap. He was incredibly weak, no longer possessing the imposing aura he had when they first met.

"He's awake! He's awake!" the maid's cries alerted everyone in the Xu Family.

Hearing the news, the Xu Family members rushed to Xu Xiuwu's bedside, packing the space tightly.

"He's awake, the grandmaster is really awake!"

"My god! Mr. Su is practically a miracle worker! The grandmaster was actually revived in such a short amount of time?"

Short? A certain Mr. Su could have done it even faster! If he hadn't wanted to play the long game, Su Tan could have made Xu Xiuwu wake up on the very first day.

"What an eccentric master!" They felt more and more that Su Tan was far from simple.

"Song'Er... Ning'Er... You're all here?" Grandmaster Xu looked at the foot of his bed. A crowd of Xu Family members stood there. Among them were those who had originally traveled with him—Xu Hao, little Jiu (Xu Youyou), and the others. There was also his son and current Patriarch of the Xu Family, Xu Qingsong, as well as his daughter, Xu Ning'Er. They had all come.

"Thank goodness! The fact that the grandmaster is lucid right after waking up proves there won't be any lingering aftereffects!"

"Grandmaster, we've been worried sick about you all this time," Xu Hao said, his eyes turning red as he fought back tears.

"I'm not dead? I survived! Wasn't I besieged by five supreme experts and ended up perishing alongside them? How am I... not dead?" Grandmaster Xu recalled his previous ordeal, finding it utterly unbelievable. "Could it be...?"

Grandmaster Xu's gaze sharpened. His eyes widened as a thought struck him. "Was it him? Su Tan!"

Did he have something to do with this?

"That's right! It was Master Su—the same Master Su you made a bet with that day!" Jiu immediately confirmed. "He was the one who pulled you back from the brink of death."

Xu Xiuwu looked around the room. Seeing that no one stepped forward to contradict her, he believed it.

"Take me to see him!" Xu Xiuwu demanded.

"Grandmaster, your body hasn't fully healed yet. You shouldn't be moving around needlessly. Why not rest a bit before going?"

"No, I will go now. I feel perfectly fine!" Xu Xiuwu insisted.

Unable to talk him out of it, the crowd had no choice but to carry Grandmaster Xu to see Su Tan.

"Master Su, Grandmaster Xu requests an audience!"