Xu Su and Zhan Yue, upon seeing the two senior disciples' sudden change of heart, naturally couldn't object. They could only accept in silence and follow the old man into the forest.
Physician Wu led the two of them down a small path that meandered through the forest. The path turned left and right before suddenly stopping in front of an entrance leading to a luscious green valley.
On the left side of the valley was a large field used for farming medicinal herbs that emitted a fragrant smell into the air. Gazing at the field, Xu Su spotted many herbs that he couldn't recognize. At the same time, on the right side of the valley were lines of houses of varying sizes. Xu Su looked around, but apart from the gateway they entered through, there didn't seem to be any other exits in the valley.
"This valley is called Green Eye Valley. Other disciples will not dare enter this valley unless they are sick or injured." The old man stood in the middle of the line of houses and pointed to a smaller house. "For now, this will be your home. Rest and replenish your energy. When night falls, look for me in my house so I can inform you about some things."
"The two of you can call me Old Wu." The old man huffed and considered for a moment before saying:
"Physician Wu is also acceptable."
After speaking, Physician Wu ignored the two of them and slowly walked towards a lavish-looking house, coughing with each step.
Completely exhausted, Xu Su did not bother to check with Zhan Yue before entering the smaller house and finding a bed to fall asleep on. He was satisfied, because, at this moment, he was halfway to becoming an Inner Disciple of the Seven Clouds Sect.
****
The night passed away in silence as the sun started rising on the distant horizon.
"Get up, hey, get up!"
A barely audible sound came from above Xu Su, rousing him from his deep slumber. As soon as he opened his eyes, a huge face appeared in front of him. In shock, Xu Su quickly scrambled backward, and only then was he able to see that the owner of the face that had frightened him to death was the boy named Zhan Yue.
"Hurry up and eat this. After you've finished, we need to see Old Wu." Zhan Yue said, passing a couple of steaming white buns over to Xu Su.
"Where did you find this food?" Xu Su stared blankly for a moment before accepting the buns.
"At a big kitchen near the valley, I saw a ton of people eating there, so I also grabbed a portion. After I had finished, I realized that you hadn't eaten yet, so I grabbed two buns for you." Zhan Yue smiled sincerely at Xu Su.
"Thank you very much, Brother Zhan." Xu Su was somewhat touched. Seeing that Zhan Yue looked quite a bit older than himself, he couldn't help but blurt out the words "Brother Zhan ."
"N-no problem. I'm too used to labor. If I'm idle even for just a moment, I always feel a bit…. uncomfortable. If you ever need any help in the future, don't hesitate to tell me. I have nothing else but strength." Zhan Yue seemed to be somewhat embarrassed, as he began to stammer.
Xu Su hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and was somewhat starved. In just a few bites, he devoured one bun, and a few moments later, both of the large buns completely disappeared into his stomach.
"It's getting late, we should go see Old Wu." Xu Su burped a few times and looked out the window towards the setting sun. After mentally calculating the time, he decided that it was probably about time to go see Physician Wu.
Zhan Yue didn't object, following Xu Su to Physician Wu's house.
There were rows of bookshelves along all four walls of Physician Wu's residence. These shelves were densely packed with various books.
"Old Wu!"
"Old Wu!"
...
Physician Wu's back was tightly pressed against his chair as he was currently engrossed in reading the book in his hands. He didn't seem to have noticed the arrival of the two, nor had he heard their greetings. The two of them were still children after all, so when they saw Physician Wu ignore them, they were at a loss on what to do, unsure of what would be the best course of action. Thus, they could only stand to one side and wait.
Finally, by the time Xu Su's feet had begun to turn numb, Physician Wu slowly placed his book down onto the table beside him. He coldly looked over at the two children and picked up his teacup to drink a few sips before slowly saying:
"From this day on, you two will be accepted as my Unofficial Disciples. I will teach you some general knowledge on picking medicinal plants and refining medicines. I may also teach you two some life-saving healing techniques. But I will absolutely not teach you any martial arts." Physician Wu expressionlessly said, as he put down his teacup again.
"I will teach you two a cultivation chant to nurture your mind and body. Although it won't allow you to directly subdue your enemies, it will still help strengthen you. If you guys really want to learn some martial arts, you can go learn them from some other instructors. If you do so, I won't object, but I'll check your progression on this cultivation chant in half a year. If you don't meet the standard, I'll force you out to become an outer disciple. Do you two understand?" Physician Wu's tone suddenly became much more serious. It looked like he attached a great deal of importance to this chant.
"We understand." Xu Su and Zhan Yue replied in unison.
"You two should leave now. Come back tomorrow morning." Physician Wu waved his hands at the two of them, gesturing for them to leave. He then picked up his book and began reading it again.
Before Xu Su left, he couldn't help but glance back at the book in Physician Wu's hands. It was a pity that he didn't know how to read; he could only tell that the title was made up of three large, black characters. Unfortunately, Xu Su didn't recognize them.
As soon as Xu Su walked out of Physician Wu's residence, Xu Su couldn't help but let out the breath he had been holding. He didn't know why, but just now, he hadn't even dared to breathe in Physician Wu's presence. His mind had also been incredibly tensed. Now that he had left, he immediately loosened up, returning to his normal state.
During the following few days, Xu Su's excitement never faded. He'd finally become a disciple of the Seven Clouds Sect.
Although he was still just an Unofficial Disciple, it was still better than the children that had been sent home. Even if he didn't pass the test in half a year, he could still become an Outer Disciple like Third Uncle. In Xu Su's opinion, Third Uncle was a person of great status and position, so he didn't concern himself over the examination in half a year. He even secretly hoped from the bottom of his heart that he wouldn't pass. That way, he could leave the mountain earlier to see his parents and his most beloved younger sister again.
During the following few days, Physician Wu would teach them some medicinal knowledge in the mornings. In the afternoons, he would make them go to the library to learn how to read, and have them study the body's twelve main meridians, energy channels, and acupoint locations. As for the little, he taught them of martial arts, he made them maintain the horse stance and hit straw dummies.
A month later, the two of them were completely isolated from the other children. They no longer spent time learning anything else besides the chant. Ever since Physician Wu had begun teaching them, they spent most of their time practicing the nameless chant. Physician Wu strictly ordered them to not tell the chants to anyone else. If even a small segment was leaked, Physician Wu would harshly punish them and kick them out of his apprenticeship.
During this period of time, Xu Su began to have a better understanding of the Seven Clouds Sect and Physician Wu. The Seven Clouds Sect had someone named Ming Lu, who possessed the teachings handed down by the Sovereign Seven Overlord. Ming Lu became the Sect Leader of the Seven Clouds Sect, and he split the sect with the help of the three other Vice Sect Leaders. They divided the sect into two segments – the Inner Branch and the Outer Branch.
The Outer Branch had a total of four divisions, namely the Flying Bird Division, Treasure Gathering Division, Four Seas Division, and External Blade Division.
The Inner Branch also had four divisions, namely the Hundred Forge Division, Seven Supreme Division, Consecrated Division, and Blood Blade Division. In addition to the Inner and Outer Branch, there was also a Council of Elders that reported to the Vice Sect Leaders and the Sect Leader.
As for Physician Wu, he was not originally a disciple of the Seven Clouds Sect. A few years ago, Sect Leader Ming carelessly fell into an enemy's trap while outside of the Celestial White Mountain and was heavily injured from the enemy party's attacks. As he wavered on the brink of death, his allies were helpless to do anything to save him.
Just then, they happened to encounter Physician Wu whose brilliant healing and effective medicines saved Sect Leader Ming's life. As a result, Sect Leader Ming naturally couldn't help but feel extremely grateful toward Physician Wu. He later found out that in addition to his profound medical expertise, Physician Wu was also a strong martial arts practitioner, which led Sect Leader Ming to invite Physician Wu to join his sect.
The elders carefully picked a small valley in the mountains to erect a residence specifically for Physician Wu's use in order to make the shift as comfortable as possible. Thanks to him, the valley soon became a venerated place within the Seven Clouds Sect.
Although none of the disciples had ever witnessed his skills, nor did they know how strong his martial arts were, Physician Wu had used his brilliant medical expertise to save quite a few of the disciples' lives. Thus, although he was normally expressionless and was a man of few words, he received a great amount of respect.