Chapter 174

Chapter 174 Leaving and Reluctance

“Young Doctor Lu, Old Doctor Chen, are you really leaving?”

At the Wei Mansion, Wei Zi’an heard Lu Qing and the others were preparing to leave and immediately ran to the Youzhu Courtyard.

He then saw his father and mother were also there.

“Indeed, we’ve been disturbing your residence long enough. It’s time to return, or the villagers will be worried,” Lu Qing nodded.

They had spent nearly two weeks in the county town this time.

Although they had previously asked the Wei Mansion to send someone back to Jiuli Village with a message, the villagers were inevitably worried after such a long absence.

Now that matters in the county town had been resolved, there was no need for them to remain there.

While the county town was a good place, it also came with its many restrictions, making many things difficult.

Lu Qing had to be extremely careful even when practicing, fearing to disturb others.

So, home was better, hidden in the mountains, where no matter how much trouble he caused, he wouldn’t disturb anyone.

Even the old doctor was quite interested in returning.

Back in Jiuli Village, he still had several patients whose ailments hadn’t been fully cured.

He’d gotten them some medicine before leaving, but they were probably almost finished by now, so he had to return for a follow-up visit.

“What are you talking about, Young Master Lu? It’s an honor for the Wei Mansion to have you and the old doctor staying here. How could we bother you?” Wei Xinghe said quickly.

He wished Lu Qing and the others would stay in the mansion forever.

“Yes, Young Master Lu, you can stay as long as you like. How could we bother you?” Madam Wei said.

She didn’t want Lu Qing and the others to leave, and she especially missed Xiaoyan.

She’d been teaching Xiaoyan how to read and write these days, and after spending so much time with her, she’d almost treated her like her own daughter.

“Thank you all for your kindness, but we’ve been away from home for so long, it’s time to go back and see them.”

In the end, no matter how Wei Xinghe and the others tried to persuade them to stay, Lu Qing and the old doctor announced their intention to leave.

Wei Xinghe had no choice but to have preparations made.

As for Wei Shanhai, he hadn’t appeared, and it was unclear whether he was away from the mansion or simply didn’t care about Lu Qing and the others’ departure.

Not long after, Wei Xinghe and the others escorted Lu Qing and his companions to the city gate.

“You, you’re living a good life,”

Lu Qing scoffed, looking at the noticeably plumper oxen in front of the cart pulled by the Wei family’s servants.

“Moo!”

The oxen seemed delighted to see Lu Qing and his companions, purring softly and nuzzling Lu Qing’s hand with its head.

Lu Qing began accepting several boxes from the Wei family’s servants and placing them on the cart.

They contained mostly local specialties he had bought for the villagers.

As for the generous thank-you gifts prepared by the Wei family, they only took a token portion and declined the rest.

At Lu Qing and the old doctor’s current level, their need for gold and silver was no longer significant. They

still had boxes and boxes of gold and silver at home, but they hadn’t figured out what to do with them yet.

“Xiaoyan, let’s go!”

Lu Qing called out after everything was put away.

“Goodbye, Auntie. Xiaoyan’s going home!”

Xiaoyan, holding Xiaoli, said a reluctant farewell to Madam Wei.

She had spent every day with Madam Wei these days, and they had already developed a deep bond.

Madam Wei was even more reluctant to leave, tears on the verge of falling: “Xiaoyan, sweetheart, when Auntie is free, I’ll come to Jiuli Village to see you.”

“Really? Then Xiaoyan will wait for Auntie at home!” Xiaoyan’s eyes lit up.

Madam Wei’s heart ached at hearing this, and she almost wanted to follow Lu Qing and the others.

Fortunately, she still had her wits about her, and nodded tearfully: “Of course it’s true.”

The little one instantly cheered up, bounding towards Lu Qing, and was carried onto the ox cart.

The old doctor, still wearing his conical hat, sat in the front.

Because he lived a secluded life, deliberately keeping a low profile, no one in the county, save those in the Wei Mansion, knew that this mysterious Xiantian realm master who had suddenly appeared was actually the renowned Doctor Chen.

“Master Wei, there’s no need to see you off. After a thousand miles, we must finally say goodbye. Let’s say goodbye now,”

Lu Qing said politely, bowing.

“Brother Lu, when I’m done with family matters, I’ll go back to the market and have a meal and drinks with you!”

Ma Gu, who had just arrived at the city gate, said cheerfully.

“Haha, that’s great! I’ll make you some delicious food then,” Lu Qing laughed as well.

Amidst the laughter, the old doctor cracked his whip, and with a crisp sound, the oxcart slowly started and drove out.

It was just as it had that day, slowly approaching from the distance.

Only, there were two or three fewer people on board.

Madam Wei and Wei Zi’an watched the oxcart slowly depart, their eyes slightly reddened.

They had returned home filled with immense fear.

Now, the oxcart that had escorted them all the way was about to depart.

A multitude of emotions surged within them, a tangle of emotions.

“Goodbye, Auntie!”

When the oxcart had sailed far out, barely visible, Xiaoyan stood up and waved vigorously.

Hearing that childish voice from afar,

Madam Wei could no longer hold back her tears.

When Lu Qing and others left the city, they did so openly and without trying to hide their whereabouts.

So, it didn’t take long for the news of their departure to spread throughout the city’s various factions.

“Are they really gone?”

Inside the county magistrate’s residence, Yan Canghai looked at his confidant who had come to report, his face solemn.

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Young Master Lu left in an ox cart, and the young lady was also on the cart. It seemed that the driver was an old man, and many people in the city saw it,” the confidant confirmed.

“Did you see the old man’s face?” Yan Canghai asked hurriedly.

“No,” the confidant replied. “The old man was wearing a bamboo hat, which obscured his face. But his voice sounded quite old, so I couldn’t see his features clearly.” “

He’s still hiding his identity.” Yan Canghai was disappointed and waved his hand. “Alright, you can go down.”

After the confidant left, Yan Canghai sat there, thinking for a while, then suddenly stood up and went to the small building where the young man in plain clothes lived.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard a faint voice from the side: “What’s the matter?”

Turning around, he saw his friend standing in a pavilion not far away, holding a scroll in his hand.

Yan Canghai smiled and walked over. “I just received news that Mr. Lu and his master have left the county.”

“Yes,” the young man in plain clothes nodded, his face unfazed.

“Zhirui, since they’re gone, you can tell me who Mr. Lu’s master, the mysterious Xiantian realm master, is, right?”

Ever since the young man in plain clothes revealed that the Xiantian realm master who had suddenly appeared was someone he knew, Yan Canghai immediately began investigating.

However, after checking every martial arts expert he knew, he still had no clue.

No one’s identity matched the mysterious Xiantian.

He then tried to investigate Lu Qing, but was equally at a loss.

This person was even more mysterious.

No one knew Lu Qing’s origins.

He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Before his arrival in the county, there had been no mention of this young man.

Yan Canghai was extremely curious about the identities of these two people.

The commoner-clothed youth remained silent, merely staring at him.

Yan Canghai’s heart faltered, but he forced himself to calm down. “You’ve described the events of the past ten thousand years as so terrifying. I can’t ask about them, but I know the identity of this mysterious Xiantian. Didn’t you say I knew him?”

The commoner-clothed youth stared at Yan Canghai for a moment, knowing he wouldn’t give up until he got to the bottom of this matter.

So, he sighed and said helplessly, “It’s okay to tell you. You do know that Xiantian Realm master. He’s the old doctor Chen Songqing whom you once hosted.”

“What?!”

Yan Canghai’s eyes widened, completely stunned by the answer.

It took him a long moment to recover.

“Zhirui, are you sure that Xiantian Realm master is old doctor Chen Songqing?” Yan Canghai asked with some difficulty.

The commoner-clothed youth glanced at him, seemingly disdainful of the question.

“But how is that possible?” Yan Canghai swallowed, still in disbelief.

“That old Doctor Chen may have considerable martial arts skills, having reached the Great Perfection of the Internal Organs Realm.

However, at his age, he’s long past the peak of his Qi and Blood, and maintaining his realm without regression is already a significant achievement.

How could he have achieved such a series of breakthroughs in such a short period of time, reaching the Xiantian realm?”

Furthermore, he was so powerful that even Wang Cang, a veteran Xiantian Realm cultivator, dared not cross paths with him. The

more Yan Canghai thought about it, the more he found himself in disbelief.

“I’m surprised,” the young man in plain clothes sighed.

“This old doctor Chen is truly an extraordinary person. According to the information I’ve found, he has spent his entire life doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, curing illnesses and saving lives. He can be called a truly compassionate doctor and a kind person.

Years of doing good deeds and accumulating virtue have allowed him to condense the light of merit.

If I’m not mistaken, it was precisely because of that light of merit that

he was able to forge ahead even when his energy and blood were declining in his later years, constantly breaking through and entering the innate realm that countless warriors dream of.

It can be said that all of this is the result of his accumulation of strength, but the way he accumulated it is quite different from the ordinary path of martial arts.” “

The light of merit gained through doing good deeds and accumulating virtue?”

Yan Canghai was completely stunned.

Because he didn’t understand what that meant at all.

Unfortunately, this time, the young man in plain clothes didn’t explain it to him again.

He brushed his clothes and placed the scroll in his hand on the stone table in the pavilion.

“Well, now that Lu Xiaolangjun and the others have left, it’s time for me to leave too. Canghai, thank you for your hospitality these days.”

“You’re leaving too?” Yan Canghai was caught off guard and shocked.

“Indeed, I’ve stayed in Cang County long enough, and it’s time to leave. However, before I go, I have a few words to say to you.”

The young man in plain clothes had a serious expression.

Yan Canghai’s words of persuasion were suddenly speechless, and he could only listen quietly.

“Canghai, to be honest, I’m disappointed with my visit to Cang County this time.

I thought you’d been hiding your talents, lying low, honing your skills, and sharpening your skills over the years in Cang County.

But what I’ve seen is that not only are you wasting your time, but you’ve also regressed, even falling far short of your former self.

To be frank, you’re no longer qualified to compete with your brothers.

So, I advise you to give up those little dreams in your heart and just be a good county lord here.

As long as you behave yourself, I think the capital won’t notice us.

That way, your mother won’t have to worry about you every day, afraid that you’ll take the wrong path.”

The words of the commoner youth silenced Yan Canghai, and he remained silent for a long time.

“Alright, think about it yourself, I’m leaving.”

The commoner youth ignored him. After saying what he wanted to say, his figure flashed and disappeared into the pavilion.

“Zhi Rui…” Yan Canghai was startled.

“Finally, one more thing. Remember, don’t mess with that young Master Lu.”

The voice faded, leaving Yan Canghai alone in the pavilion, feeling lost.

…

“Brother, brother, that flower is so beautiful, and the one over there is beautiful too!”

The oxcart rolled on, its surrounding scenery changing.

Xiaoyan, initially melancholy about parting with Madam Wei, suddenly put that worry behind her.

Pointing at the wildflowers and weeds along the path, she kept calling out to Lu Qing.

Although she had already seen them once on the way here, seeing them again was still fresh to the little girl.

“Yes, they are very beautiful.”

Seeing her cheerfulness, Lu Qing felt relieved.

After all, they were children; worries came and went quickly.

As for Xiaoli, she was already jumping around the oxcart with joy, appearing and disappearing, constantly darting through the air, brimming with joy.

Throughout her time at the Wei Mansion, Xiaoli had always heeded Lu Qing’s instructions not to display her talents and skills.

So, aside from displaying a strong spirituality, it had never behaved in any other unusual ways.

Every day, it was harmless, held by Xiaoyan.

She would read, write, eat, and play with it.

Aside from its heightened spirituality, the people of the Wei Mansion saw it as just an ordinary pet.

Even Madam Wei, while she suspected Xiaoli’s unusual qualities, had never witnessed its true abilities.

Because of this, Xiao Li was feeling a bit pent up.

Now that they had finally left the Wei Mansion, they couldn’t wait to have some fun.

Since they’d left early and hadn’t been delayed along the way

, Lu Qing and the others didn’t stay overnight. Instead, they

hurried as fast as they could, arriving back in Jiuli Village before dusk.

“We’re almost home!”

Xiao Yan beamed excitedly, taking in the increasingly familiar scenery.

After being away for so long, she missed everyone back home.

Xiao Li, too, perched on Lu Qing’s shoulders, gazed towards Jiuli Village, her eyes sparkling.

Everything was good in the Wei Mansion, and the fish were plentiful every day.

But somehow, she still loved Jiuli Village the most.

“We’re finally back,”

the old doctor, already untying his bamboo hat, sighed as he gazed ahead.

After living in Jiuli Village for so many years, he had developed a fondness for it.

“Master, I’ll go get the red string first.”

Lu Qing jumped off the ox cart as it reached the village entrance. He

waited until Lu Qing had taken the red string off the tree and placed it back under the stone slab.

The villagers finally noticed the oxcart.

Soon, the whole village was in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)