172 The Flashes and Shadows of Swords Created Jianghu

"It's getting late. I'm an old man, so I need to go back to rest. Maybe you should rest early as well," said Dr. Sang.

"Sure, I'll see you out," said Wang Yao.

Wang Yao walked Dr. Sang to the door where Zhou Xiong's family had arranged people to pick Mr. Sang up. They walked him to the car then drove off.

Zhou Xiong's family had also arranged accommodation for Wang Yao inside their house. It was not because there were no other accommodations elsewhere in the village. Zhou Xiong's family wanted Wang Yao to stay close to Zhou Ying's father who was still unconscious. They could ask Wang Yao for help immediately if anything happened to Zhou Ying's father. 

"This is not the best accommodation in the village. Please bear with it," said Zhou Xiong.

"That's fine. I think the room is quite nice," said Wang Yao.

The room was actually nice and cozy. Although the room was not as luxurious as hotel suites, it made Wang Yao feel at home.

"Have a good night's rest. Good night," said Zhou Xiong.

"Good night," said Wang Yao.

It was 3 am when Wang Yao went to sleep, only a few hours before daylight.

Dr. Sang was also taken back to rest. All the guests had gone to sleep, but Zhou Xiong's family didn't.

"I've spoken to Dr. Sang when I was driving him back. He said my dad was temporarily out of danger," said Zhou Ying, "but it will up to Dr. Wang to stabilize him."

When Zhou Ying was driving Wang Yao and Zhou Xiong from Lianshan to Cangzhou, he didn't speak much because he was not a talkative person. He also had doubts about Wang Yao who was too young. Even if Wang Yao started to study medicine since childhood, he only had a maximum of 20 years' experience. What could such a young doctor do for his father? He didn't expect Wang Yao to be such an expert in medicine. He was shocked.

Although Wang Yao didn't bring a dead person back to life, what he did was almost like stealing a life from the Grim Reaper. Even the famous Dr. Sang couldn't achieve it.

"We should all rest now. Everyone's been so tired these last few days," said Zhou Xiong's father.

"I want to stay with Dad for a bit longer," said Zhou Ying. "My sister will arrive soon. I'll go to sleep when she gets here."

"Okay, we'll rest for a while, let us know if you need us," said Zhou Xiong's father.

Zhou Xiong's family just lived next to Zhou Ying's family; they were less than 100 meters apart. If anything happened, Zhou Ying could just yell out, and Zhou Xiong and his dad would hear him.

...

The next morning, the sun rose from the east and lit up the earth. The whole village could be seen clearly under the sunshine.

Most of the houses near where Zhou Ying lived were modern buildings with back or front yards. A few houses had two stories. Looking a bit further to the northwest of the village, there were some old houses that looked quite antique.

Although Wang Yao had been on the road for nearly six hours and slept for only three hours, he didn't feel too tired. He was much fitter than average people, so it was nothing to him.

When Wang Yao entered the room, he didn't see Zhou Xiong and his father, neither did he see Zhou Ying. Instead, he saw a young woman in her 20's who was standing next to the bed and looking at Zhou Ying's father. Wang Yao couldn't see the face of the young woman; he could only tell the woman was thin and tall.

The young woman turned around as soon as she heard someone enter the room.

Wang Yao's eyes lit up.

The young woman was very pretty, although her facial features were not very impressive separately. She was quite good-looking overall. And the longer Wang Yao looked at her, the prettier he thought she was. She also had some sort of heroic spirit on her.

"Hello, you are..." The young woman was surprised to see Wang Yao.

"Hello, my name is Wang Yao," said Wang Yao.

"Wang Yao?" The young woman looked confused. Her brother didn't tell her what happened last night. She only knew her father had gotten better and she thought it was because of Dr. Sang. She had no idea that her two brothers traveled thousands of miles away last night to invite an extraordinary doctor to save their father's life.

Zhou Ying deliberately kept it a secret as he had promised Wang Yao he wouldn't tell anyone about Wang Yao. He didn't even tell his sister. Fortunately, Zhou Ying came in after hearing their sound. Zhou Ying introduced Wang Yao to his sister but didn't mention that Wang Yao was a doctor.

"Hello, my name is Zhou Qingyu," said Zhou Qingyu.

Zhou Ying has such a pretty sister, thought Wang Yao.

Zhou Ying knew why Wang Yao came to see his father, so he used an excuse to ask his sister to leave the room.

"Let me have a look at your father." Wang Yao pointed at the patient lying on the bed.

"Please," said Zhou Ying who gave way to Wang Yao.

Wang Yao sat down then started to check Zhou Ying's father's pulse.

According to the pulse, Zhou Ying's father was better than the time after he had just taken the Prolongation pills. The life extension pills should have taken effect on him continuously.

"He's better than last night. He should be stable at the moment," said Wang Yao after standing up.

"Great, thank you!" Zhou Ying was relieved.

When Wang Yao was speaking to Zhou Ying, Dr. Sang came in.

"Good morning, you are so early," said Dr. Sang.

"Good morning, Dr. Sang," said Zhou Ying immediately.

"Good morning," said Dr. Sang with a smile.

"Have you seen Mr. Zhou?" asked Dr. Sang.

"Yes, he is better than last night," said Wang Yao.

"That's great," said Dr. Sang.

"Could you please also have a look at him?" asked Wang Yao.

"Okay." Sang Guzi didn't decline. He sat down straight away. After checking Mr. Zhou's pulse, he also checked his eyes and tongue.

"Your herbal decoction is amazing!" sighed Dr. Sang after checking Zhou Ying's father.

Wang Yao had used a number of precious wild herbs and rare licorice roots. If such a combination was not amazing, Wang Yao would fail the system.

After confirming that Zhou Ying's father was fine, Zhou Ying's family invited Wang Yao to have breakfast with them. Wang Yao wanted to go out after breakfast. He asked Zhou Xiong to accompany him.

The village was located between two hills. The eastern side was lower than the western side. Walking towards the northwest, Wang Yao saw a group of ancient buildings which looked like an ancestral family hall.

"This is the ancestral hall of Zhou Village," said Zhou Xiong.

Wang Yao now knew the name of the village was called Zhou. Nine out of ten families in the village had Zhou as their surname. The village had a history of several hundreds of years. It existed in the Qing Dynasty.

When they passed some places in the village, they found a large open space in the village covered by trees. It seemed someone was practicing Kung Fu there.

"Kung Fu was very popular in Zhou Village. There were a few Kung Fu masters in our village during the late Qing Dynasty and the period of the Republic of China," Zhou Xiong explained to Wang Yao while walking.

"Do you mind if I ask how did your uncle become so ill?" asked Wang Yao. He actually wanted to ask Zhou Xiong last night because the illness was very unusual for an elderly man in his 70's. He presumed that the cause should be external.

"He was trapped during a Kung Fu contest," said Zhou Xiong.

"Kung Fu contest? Being trapped?!" Wang Yao was surprised.

He was surprised that such a thing could happen in modern days.

"Does it surprise you?" Zhou Xiong could guess what Wang Yao was thinking.

"Yes," admitted Wang Yao.

"Martial arts and jianghu still exist nowadays," said Zhou Xiong.

Wang Yao thought phrases like "martial arts,""Kung Fu," and "jianghu" only existed in ancient Chinese movies and novels. He didn't expect they could exist in real life, too.

"Isn't it wonderful?" said Wang Yao after keeping silent for a moment.

"What is wonderful?" asked Zhou Xiong.

"Martial arts and jianghu," said Wang Yao.

"Haha," laughed Zhou Xiong.

"They have nothing to do with being wonderful. On the contrary, martial arts and jianghu often involve a lot of blood," said Zhou Xiong.

"Can you tell me about it?" asked Wang Yao.

"Of course," said Zhou Xiong.

Zhou Xiong explained to Wang Yao a completely different modern form of jianghu from what Wang Yao had imagined.

Modern martial arts and jianghu were very different from what Wang Yao had imagined. They existed in a different world, out of the rule of law. There were flashes and shadows of swords, and love and hatred in that world. The martial arts masters hid inside busy cities. Those indecent martial arts practitioners could do something really bad such as hide weapons and noxious agents produced by various parasites.

Common people wouldn't have access to those kinds of stuff. In fact, where there was jianghu, there was love and hatred, killing and death. What happened to Zhou Ying's father was not uncommon in their world. It was just covered up by certain methods.

"Malpractice of martial arts is forbidden. The government still allows the existence of jianghu?" asked Wang Yao.

"I think so. But all the martial arts practitioners are under the supervision of relevant government department," said Zhou Xiong. "Practicing martial arts not only makes people fitter but also improves one's ability to fight against bad people. Without fighting and contesting, how could any martial arts practitioners improve their skills?" Zhou Xiong suddenly changed into a different person when talking about martial arts. He had a special aura. 

"Kung Fu masters—how good are they?" asked Wang Yao.

"How good? Are you talking about Kung Fu skills?" said Zhou Xiong. He could feel that the young man in front of him seemed to be very interested in Kung Fu.

"Yes, can they split stone monuments open, stand on duckweeds, walk on water, or turn iron into mud?" asked Wang Yao.

"I believe Kung Fu masters can split stone monuments open. As for standing on duckweeds, walking on water, and turning iron into mud, I'm not sure because I've never seen anyone do those before. But there are a lot of Kung Fu masters and my experience is limited. Maybe some masters can achieve that level," said Zhou Xiong.

As they were talking, they arrived at the ancestral hall which was the oldest building in the village and legacy of the village. It had witnessed the hundreds of years of history of the village.

The ancestral hall had an architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Overall, it looked quite simple and concise with a detailed finish at the beams and rafters. The beams were carved, and the rafters were painted. It looked extraordinary.

"Extraordinary!" said Wang Yao.

It was surprising to see such a splendid building in such a small village.

"Thank you," said Zhou Xiong.

Zhou Xiong felt honored to hear Wang Yao's praise for his village.

After they had arrived at Zhou Ying's house after walking around the village, they saw something amazing. Zhou Ying's father, who had been lying in bed was awake and regained his consciousness. Zhou Ying and his family members looked at Wang Yao like he was a stranger. They were surprised, full of admiration, and confused at the same time.

"Excellent work!" said Dr. Sang with a smile.

"I'm flattered," said Wang Yao.

The Prolongation pill is so wonderful, thought Wang Yao.

The treatment would go on after Mr. Zhou had woken up. Wang Yao was not going to do it by himself. Instead, he discussed the treatment plan with Dr. Sang, and eventually, they had achieved an agreement on how to treat Mr. Zhou. They were going to resolve the toxins in Mr. Zhou's body first, then start to repair the damaged meridians and internal organs. They would leave the fractures for last.