Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1323 – Three Days time, Old man Puyang, Heavenly Meridians Wielders

Qing Shui’s attitude also stunned Pang De. He knew that people who were more capable than normal were usually very arrogant. When he looked at Qing Shui’s expression, he smiled. To be arrogant, you needed to have the assets to do so. Otherwise, the only thing you could do would be to behave more obediently.

“Let’s put it this way then. My Pang Clan really looks up to you. We are really eager to work together with you. This should be a good news for you. Why don’t you come visit Pang Clan with me? We will discuss the details together and we will definitely not mistreat you,” Pang De smiled and said confidently.

Pang Clan was an aristocratic clan. If a person got looked up by Pang Clan, that person was extremely lucky. Countless people had scratched their heads until they bled trying to work with Pang Clan. Hence, Pang De thought to himself that Qing Shui would definitely agree to the conditions he suggested.

Across this entire street, if Pang Clan wanted to work with a certain person, it was like saying that the person was really lucky. It was the person’s good fortune to be able to be looked up upon by Pang Clan. Unfortunately, Qing Shui was no ordinary person.

“I am sorry but I am not interested in working with you,” Qing Shui rejected formally.

Pang De has imagined a lot of scenarios, yet he never imagined that Qing Shui would reject his offer. Prior to this, he never mentioned letting Qing Shui work for Pang Clan. Instead, he suggested for them to work together. But in actuality, both of those had the same nature hidden within them.

Qing Shui had lived as a human for two lifetimes. Naturally, he would be able to see through the true motive lying behind matters like this. Hence, towards this kind of stuff, he would not hesitate to reject it. Pang Clan might have been powerful but it was impossible for the clan to send out their most powerful force regarding matters like this. Hence, he would slowly try to hold them back while conveniently trying to develop himself.

Strength. Only with strength would one not be bullied by others.

“You refuse to work with Pang Clan?” Pang De was still smiling very casually. But the eyes he used to look at Qing Shui had gotten sharp.

Qing Shui smiled. He looked at Pang De, “I have made myself really clear. I don’t like working with others. Do you still have other things you want to say? I am in a hurry.”

“Do you believe that I can make the Imperial Cuisine Hall disappear?” Pang De smiled and asked.

“The things inside the Imperial Cuisine Hall aren’t that valuable. Heck, there isn’t even much stuff in it. It will be truly disappointing if Pang Clan does something like that.” Originally, Qing Shui was supposed to have turned his body around. He turned his head back and smiled at Pang De.

Seeing that smile, Pang De was stunned. He saw the confident smile from the young man. That confidence of his actually made him panic. That was a kind of smile which indicated that he has had everything planned in advance, a kind of smile which showed that he feared nothing.

At the moment when Qing Shui finished speaking, he immediately made his way towards Imperial Cuisine Hall.

“It’s best for you to reconsider my offer. I will give you three days. Come look for me in Pang Clan once you have made up your mind.” Pang De left after he finished speaking.

Quite a lot of people had crowded around this area. For a moment, there were many discussions going on about what had happened.

“Disaster is definitely going to befall Imperial Cuisine Hall this time.”

“Why would he turn down such a good opportunity? I have always wanted to work with the Pang Clan. It’s just that they don’t fancy me.”

“From the way the Imperial Cuisine Hall has been developing these few days, added to the fact that they have a miracle-working doctor to help look after them, it’s only natural for them to be targeted by others. It’s just that the Pang Clan has decided to make their move first. I reckon that very soon, other clans will start looking for Imperial Cuisine Hall as well.”

“Well then, do you guys think the Imperial Cuisine Hall will work with Pang Clan?”

“Hard to say. But from the way Pang Clan has always done things, if they fail to work together, they will definitely destroy Imperial Cuisine Hall. There’s no way they would allow Imperial Cuisine Hall to work with other forces.

“But there is a miraculous divine doctor in it. If someone actually dares to lay hands on him, it will mean that they have also offended all other doctors. Hence, a person must be prepared for the consequence when he or she decides to kill a doctor.”

“That’s not necessarily the case. Things are also very competitive among the doctors. Hence, they might not necessarily be so united either.”

……

“Little brother, what do we do? Pang Clan is ruthless. It’s impossible that this matter will be solved peacefully,” Soulsearch asked. He seemed really concerned.

“Brother, don’t worry. Help me see how many clans from this generation are able to stand their own ground against Pang Clan. Help me see if there are any patients from each of their clans who need immediate aid. It doesn’t matter what kind of illness it is. Heck, it is fine even if they have no illness as long as they are clans that can stand their own ground against Pang Clan,” Qing Shui smiled and said.

Soulsearch’s eyes turned bright. With this word, he was also considered to have understood how terrifying Qing Shui’s medical expertise was. As soon as Qing Shui said it, he already knew what he was up to. He said in surprise, “This is easy to handle. I can tell you right now.”

“That’s good. Before everything is too late, let’s go and discuss it. Three days is enough,” Qing Shui smiled and said while walking up along with Soulsearch.

Many of the people who were supposed to be having their meals had already left. At least within these three days, there wouldn’t be anyone here to eat anything. There were even more people who returned their qualifications to be “customers” of Imperial Cuisine Hall. Everyone was scared of seeking trouble with Pang Clan.

This was especially so for the fourth floor, 99% of the people had returned their qualifications. There were only a very few people left and it had only been half a day. There were a few more people left on the third floor but only just a few more. The second and the first floor had less than even one third of the people left. The people with low status weren’t really that strong, so it was assumed that Pang Clan would be too lazy to even lay hands on them. Hence, more of the people of that caliber stayed behind.

Soulsearch was looking at the precious golden card in front of him. This was proof for them to enter each of the floors. All of these had finally come back now. Despite this, he still felt a bit grumpy deep down.

On the contrary, Qing Shui was really happy. It was better to take back these gold cards. They wouldn’t have been able to get it even if they wanted it next time. Even if they decided to offer ten times the price, the card would no longer exist. At least this card can help ensure their safety. Unfortunately, they are the ones who didn’t have good insight.

“Of this generation, there are quite a lot of clans that can resist the Pang Clan. Huang Clan, Kang Clan, Xu Clan, Sikong Clan and Yiwen Clan. These clans aren’t the slightest bit inferior in comparison. This place is the capital of the Phoenix Dance Continent and the powerful clans are still extremely united. There should still be some clans who have surpassed the Pang Clan in power but because my fame isn’t high enough, I don’t have complete info yet.”

At this moment, door knocking noises came through from outside. After that, Yuan Long came in, “Sir, there is an old man who is requesting to see you outside.”

Normally, only the people on the fourth floor had the special rights to come here to meet people. Hence, they let Yuan Long take the person up here.

The person who came in was an old man. As soon as Soulsearch saw the old man, he rushed to him quickly, “Old Man Puyang, what have you come for?”

The old man was really friendly. He was holding a little girl. She should be around three or four years old. At most five years old, she shouldn’t be any older than that. She had very pale skin. The tiny pigtail on her head made her look particularly pretty. The two bright black eyes of hers looked just like crystals. When Qing Shui saw the little girl, he immediately remembered his own daughters.

Soulsearch was upset. Since when had Old Man Puyang turned into a customer of Imperial Cuisine Hall.

“Oh, you know me. That’s great, I have a friend who came to see me. He brought two Jade Buns with him. I ate one of them. After that, I gave another one to my little great granddaughter. After that, things just went out of control.”

The old man didn’t really say anything but he was very clear with what he meant.

“Old man Puyang, this is my little brother. He is many times more skill than me in terms of his medical expertise. That bun was also made by him. It’s just that he can only make very few every day because he doesn’t have too many of the required ingredients.” Soulsearch quickly introduced Qing Shui to the old man.

Soulsearch might have not said anything about Old Man Puyang or Puyang Clan, Qing Shui was already able to sense it from Soulsearch’s attitude. He was a powerful doctor. He wouldn’t really show respect to others. Even if it had been a normal warrior more powerful than him, he wouldn’t see them as anything significant. He was a doctor, he controlled the life and death of others.

But Soulsearch respected this old man deep down. Besides that, Qing Shui was unable to sense the old man’s strength. It was as deep as a boundless sea.

“You are indeed a promising young man. Little miraculous divine doctor, for someone who has huge ambition like you, you are bound to work on big things in the future. I wonder if the buns are all sold out today,” the old man asked a bit concerned. He then looked down at the little lass.

Soulsearch was just about to talk but he was soon interrupted by Qing Shui, “Thank you for your compliment. We still have some left. But you may have to wait a little for them.”

“It’s fine. Take your time. Well then, I think I will head downstairs to wait then to avoid bothering you.” The old man bid his farewell to Qing Shui. He was holding the little girl’s hand and was about to walk down.

“Heavenly Veins Wielder!”

Qing Shui looked at the little girl’s back and said slowly.

The old man suddenly turned his head around and looked at Qing Shui in surprise, “You really deserve the title of miracle doctor.”

The old man smiled the moment he finished speaking. After that, he proceeded downwards with the little lass.

“Brother, can you tell me about the background of this old man?” Qing Shui asked curiously.

“Puyang Clan is an existence which is not in the least inferior to Yehuang Clan. However, Puyang Clan has always kept a low profile. To think that the old man actually came for the Jade Buns. If the old man had come earlier, Pang De wouldn’t have dared to be so rude.” Soulsearch seemed to be feeling a bit regretful.

“There are not many people on the fourth floor. Let’s make an exception today and give out more buns. Whoever we manage to make stay behind are all the best customers in Imperial Cuisine Hall,” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“Yes, oh yes, little brother, what is a Heavenly Meridians Wielder?” Soulsearch asked confused.

“Someone without meridians!” Qing Shui said with a smile.

Soulsearch immediately stopped talking. This was a kind of extremely rare illness. It couldn’t be cured. Even medicinal pills like Bones of the Living Dead were futile against this kind of illness. The reason being that the patient had no meridians throughout her entire body. Originally, the Heavenly Meridians Wielders weren’t supposed to be able to live but because the little girl possessed a kind of qi within her muscles and bones and organs, she was able to stay alive.

“Little brother, is it curable?” Soulsearch looked at Qing Shui curiously.

“I can’t say for sure.” If Qing Shui didn’t have the Life and Death Needles, he would say no right away. But now, he somehow still had a little confidence in it.

…..

Very quickly, the Jade Buns were ready. Qing Shui carried the buns and proceeded downwards. However, he only carried those for the old man and little girl. There seemed to be a few more buns than usual today.

The old man quickly stood up when he saw Qing Shui carrying the buns down himself. Since the beginning, Qing Shui already knew that the old man wasn’t an arrogant old man. He spoke in a very formal tone, unlike Pang De, who was already arrogant and bossy just because he possessed a bit of strength.

“Sorry for the trouble, little miraculous doctor.” The old man revealed a warm smile.

“It’s not a hassle. The little lass is really cute.” Qing Shui smiled as he put down two plates on the desk.

“Thank you uncle!”

The little lass said happily. Maybe it was not him that she was happy to see, she was happy because she saw the buns. Qing Shui was able to tell at least this bit.

“Old man, why don’t you try it? If you like it, I will give some to you every day. That way, you also will no longer have to take the little lass here everyday.”

“This place is quite noisy. Conveniently, I can get to relieve my boredom. I really want to try to satisfy the little lass with whatever she wants.” The old man looked at the little lass. He loved her dearly. Besides that, there also seemed to be a trace of reluctance in his eyes to part with her.

“How about this, old man, in a few days, I will try to see if I can help her, how’s that sound?” The reason why Qing Shui wanted to cure the little girl wasn’t because she was a member of Puyang Clan. Even if it was someone from a normal family background, he would also try to save them. Qing Shui would never set his motives on things like that.

“Little miraculous doctor, can you cure her?” Old Man Puyang’s body trembled as he looked towards Qing Shui.

“I can’t say that I am a 100% able to cure her. But at least I can guarantee keeping her alive.”

“This is great, this little lass’s father and mother have been gone ever since she was born. When I first saw her she was crying. Even though we were a few generations apart the moment I saw her I hugged her and she stopped. That only worked for me. She would still cry when others did it. I never expected her to even be a Heavenly Meridian Wielder. Hence, she is living by relying on my Origin Qi. Following her slowly growing up, it is becoming very difficult for me to continue on like this.” Old Man Puyang sounded very agitated.