Chapter 178
“Hmm, I’ve condensed the Taiyi talisman; it should be useful.”
The Taiyi talisman is considered the most famous healing talisman in the Xuanwei realm—it's quite complex, and even a typical Xuanpin talisman master would find it challenging to draw.
Even Zheng Fa had to fail once before successfully condensing this talisman in his dantian.
But the effects of the Taiyi talisman are unparalleled—saying it can cure all ailments wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
That’s why this talisman sells for a high price in the market.
The old man Bai fell silent, as if suppressing some emotion.
“Teacher Bai, should I and Tang Lingwu go to Teacher Tian’s house to find you?”
“Sure,” the old man Bai replied softly.
Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu took a ride-share and arrived at Teacher Tian’s house after more than half an hour.
As soon as they entered, they understood why the old man Bai’s mood seemed a bit off.
Teacher Tian could no longer get out of bed.
She lay there, her eyes still bright, but her face had taken on a withered hue.
She looked considerably worse than she had a month ago.
Seeing the two of them enter, Teacher Tian smiled, her gaze carrying an inexplicable meaning.
It seemed both anxious and doubtful.
Zheng Fa was taken aback and glanced at the old man Bai.
The old man Bai nodded at him, signaling to step outside to talk.
“Did you tell her everything?” As they stepped out, Zheng Fa hadn’t even opened his mouth when Tang Lingwu asked.
This girl was quite perceptive.
“I did…” the old man Bai replied, looking a bit dejected. “She wouldn’t believe anything I said, so I had no choice but to tell her everything.”
“…”
Zheng Fa didn’t mind too much; after all, at this point, he had some self-protection—though the old man Bai was a bit too unreliable.
Even Tang Lingwu managed to keep it from her mother.
“I thought… if I couldn’t cure her, she’d just think it was a joke, nothing serious… and when she… when she’s gone, it wouldn’t matter anymore.”
The old man Bai explained his reasoning.
Zheng Fa nodded.
“If I can cure her, she’ll be my partner, and she’ll need to know everything… whether I tell her or not, it makes no difference.”
Zheng Fa shook his head.
That was a bit of a fallacy.
The old man Bai grew anxious: “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you use the Da Meng talisman on her!”
“...Will Teacher Tian agree?” Zheng Fa replied, a bit speechless. “I just want to cure her first; whether she joins the nursing home can be discussed later…”
To be honest, the Da Meng talisman was meant to guard against malicious people.
Not for use on those close to him.
That felt a bit like invading privacy.
“That’s not it; if I don’t clarify, she won’t let you treat her!” The old man Bai was also helpless. “I’ve seen enough of researchers like this; they need everything to be clear. They can accept death, but they can’t live in uncertainty.”
“…”
After a few exchanges, they walked back into the room.
Teacher Tian seemed to know what they were discussing. In a weak voice, but still smiling, she said, “Don’t blame Old Bai; it’s me who should be asking.”
“I’m not blaming Teacher Bai,” Zheng Fa replied sincerely. He glanced at the old man Bai, who looked a bit awkward, then turned to Teacher Tian and asked, “Do you believe it now?”
“I do.”
“Ah?”
“When you came in, didn’t you notice something was missing from the yard?”
Zheng Fa turned around and realized the stone table that used to be there was gone.
Not just gone; it had shattered into pieces, pitifully stacked in a corner of the yard.
Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu exchanged glances, both thinking of a possibility…
“You’re right; it was Old Bai’s doing,” Teacher Tian said, looking exasperated. “He smashed the table with a punch; luckily, my mom had gone out to buy groceries…”
“…”
“I still haven’t figured out how to explain this to my mom.”
The old man Bai, hearing this, also looked aggrieved: “If you don’t believe me, I had to prove I’m not… that table was just in the perfect spot!”
But now, you’re the oldest in this yard…
Why are you acting like this?
Zheng Fa thought for a moment; since that was the case, it wasn’t just about curing her anymore.
“So… Teacher Tian, would you be willing to join our nursing home?” he asked.
“I would.”
Teacher Tian answered decisively.
“Ah?”
Zheng Fa didn’t expect her to agree so quickly.
“Because it means I can live!” Teacher Tian smiled. “I heard from Old Bai that the previous herb was transformed by some spiritual energy? I’m a bit interested.”
“And besides… there’s a saying, ‘When you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, follow the dog.’”
“Eh?”
Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu were taken aback, not expecting to be suddenly hit with a face full of dog food.
What’s going on with these two?
Meanwhile, the old man Bai chuckled proudly and said, “We just got our marriage certificate a few days ago.”
“Teacher Tian, you’re… so decisive,” Tang Lingwu said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Didn’t you say you’d only agree after being cured?”
“Well, he keeps coming every day, and my mom was moved,” Teacher Tian replied helplessly. “Besides, how can someone on the brink of death not act a little faster?” She glanced at the old man Bai.
The old man Bai smiled back.
Zheng Fa heard Teacher Tian softly say, “Fortunately, I didn’t know you were cultivating immortality before… I didn’t want Old Bai to think I was marrying him just because he cured me.”
Old Bai’s eyes lit up.
“…”
Zheng Fa glanced at the two old folks, feeling a bit touched.
After saying that, Teacher Tian seemed a bit shy and said, “I heard from Old Bai that you have some kind of test to join the nursing home? You knew you were cultivating immortality?”
Zheng Fa nodded. “Let’s treat your illness first.”
“The rules can’t be broken,” Teacher Tian insisted. “Knowing in advance is inappropriate; the test still needs to be done.”
Zheng Fa looked at the old man Bai, who nodded slightly and whispered, “That’s just her nature.”
Zheng Fa sighed, then shot out a Da Meng talisman, which entered Teacher Tian’s forehead.
Teacher Tian fell into a deep sleep.
The black gas above her head slowly formed a vortex.
Zheng Fa didn’t want to leave a bad impression on Teacher Tian, so he focused on her deepest wish.
The vortex revealed a laboratory.
Teacher Tian, wearing a white lab coat, stood in front of a piece of equipment Zheng Fa didn’t quite recognize, surrounded by a few younger men and women.
They seemed to be her students.
The words they spoke were somewhat incomprehensible to Zheng Fa.
After all, he had only studied high school biology and had little interest in this area; understanding what Teacher Tian was doing was quite challenging—yet he could see that her face was filled with focus and excitement.
She operated the equipment in front of her, continuously chatting with her students.
“This… is Teacher Tian’s deepest wish?”
Tang Lingwu also didn’t quite understand.
She asked, somewhat confused.
“Hey…” the old man Bai shook his head. “This girl has loved hiding in the lab since she was young, saying it felt comfortable; otherwise, she wouldn’t have delayed getting married.”
Zheng Fa nodded slightly, gaining more insight into Teacher Tian.
“She’s more pure than I am.”
Indeed, the old man Bai at least had some award-winning ambitions, while Teacher Tian dreamed of being in the lab.
Just when they thought that was the entirety of Teacher Tian’s wish, suddenly, someone knocked on the door outside the lab: “Professor Tian, your partner is here to pick you up from work!”
Partner?
Zheng Fa and the others were taken aback; wasn’t Teacher Tian unmarried?
But in the dream, Teacher Tian murmured, “Old Bai is here?”
Upon hearing this, the old man Bai couldn’t help but beam with pride.
“See! See! This is what it means to have me in her heart!” The old man Bai said to Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu. “Even in her dreams, I’m the one picking her up from work!”
Tang Lingwu thought for a moment and suddenly said, “Living a life doing what you love, with a partner to pick you up from work, sounds wonderful.”
Her tone was filled with envy.
The three of them watched as Teacher Tian walked out of the lab, changed her clothes, and went downstairs.
Someone was waiting there…
“Grandpa Bai…” Tang Lingwu stared at the person waiting for Teacher Tian, a bit dumbfounded. “Who is this? Why does he look familiar?”
The person waiting for Teacher Tian was the same height as the old man Bai, dressed like him, even sporting his curly hair and expression—
Except, he didn’t have the old man Bai’s face.
This was a face Zheng Fa also found familiar, but it was probably the kind of face that, placed on the old man Bai, made it hard for him to recognize it at first.
“...Your ancestor.”
“Ah?” Tang Lingwu recognized it: “Isn’t this…”
“Right, you’d recognize him if he had a feather fan.” The old man Bai sighed. “Decades ago, he was quite the sensation, a famous pretty boy.”
In the scene, Teacher Tian smiled as she approached, saying, “Old Bai, didn’t I tell you not to come pick me up?”
“…”
The three outside the scene fell into silence.
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