The sun hung high up in the sky. Despite this time of year being the beginning of autumn, the heat from the sun was scorching hot.
Physician Wu was in his room, fidgeting. Although he was confident in his methods of dealing with Xu Su, he could not be completely at ease.
Suddenly, sounds of footsteps could be heard, slowly approaching his residence.
When he heard the sounds of the familiar footsteps, Physician Wu was filled with joy. He rushed hurriedly and opened the door.
As expected, standing outside the door was his long-awaited target – Xu Su.
Looking at him as Xu Su walked towards him, Physician Wu fiercely suppressed the glee in his heart before allowing a trace of a smile on his face.
"Not bad, you are indeed punctual. Seeing that you have made no attempts to escape, I'm truly happy. This means that you are intelligent. Let us enter the house before we have a good discussion."
The expression on Physician Wu's face was like that of a kindly elderly neighbor. The smile on his face was akin to a blooming flower.
"You can relax, I didn't set any traps in the house," Physician Wu quickly explained to him, seeing the alertness in Xu Su's eyes.
"Hmph! Since I've dared to come, why would I be afraid to enter your residence?" Xu Su immediately replied, as if he couldn't stand the slightest provocation.
After he replied, Xu Su took a step to enter the residence.
Physician Wu immediately shifted his body to the side, allowing Xu Su to enter. After Xu Su entered, he extended his hands, attempting to close the door, but before he could do so, Xu Su interjected without turning back his head:
"if you dare to close the door, I will assume that you have some tricks up your sleeves. There's no way I would still discuss anything with you."
After hearing Xu Su's words, Physician Wu panicked. However, he swiftly recovered and left the door open. Unsatisfied, he exclaimed:
"I truly want to have a discussion with you. I mean no harm towards you. Since you are not willing to let the door be closed, we will just leave it open then."
After saying this, Physician Wu reclined on his chair. The two of them silently stared at each other. They have not met for half a year, and thus, they were considering and gauging each other carefully.
In Xu Su's eyes, Physician Wu had clearly declined a lot. He looked even more aged and withered now, no different from a 70-year-old grandfather. Involuntarily, he murmured in his heart, "Could it be that what he said was true? All he wanted to do was to recover his vital energy? Was there truly no other sinister plan?. Did I overthink things? "
As Xu Su studied his surroundings, his pupils swiftly contracted. That muscularly built, mysterious figure was standing silently at one corner, like some sort of corpse. If Xu Su had not meticulously scanned every corner, he would surely have missed him.
After his prior inspection of Xu Su, Physician Wu was extremely satisfied with his condition. As such, he warmly stated, "Looking at the current you and comparing it to the person who had just entered the sect back when he was only ten years old, you have already grown so much."
The sudden shift in conversational topic and the change in atmosphere caught Xu Su off-guard, making him wary of Physician Wu's intentions. However, in his heart, Xu Su raised his alertness to its maximum level. This sly old fox, the salt he had eaten was much more compared to the rice Xu Su had consumed*. If Xu Su was the slightest bit careless, he would undoubtedly fall into a trap.
(*Chinese idiom meaning that the Physician Wu's experience was far greater than Xu Su's)
"Old Wu, I will forever engrave your care towards me in my heart, never forgetting it. Whatever request you have, I will try to fulfill it." Xu Su's expression warmed, as if he had turned back to the obedient disciple he had been ages ago.
"Excellent! Excellent! Your words prove that I have not wasted my time and efforts on you. Come, let me see how much your progress with the Eternal Spring Arts has improved." At that moment, Physician Wu seemed to assume the role of the kindly teacher. Standing up, he directly attempted to take Xu Su's pulse.
"Sly old fox, how cunning and thick-skinned." Xu Su cursed in his heart as he swiftly side-stepped, avoiding Physician Wu's hand.
"Old Wu, don't be in such a hurry, I can truthfully tell you that my Eternal Spring Arts have reached the fourth layer. However, I want you to give me the antidote to the Insect Coffin Pill first. After I'm cured, I will let you inspect my progress." Xu Su smiled as he used a sincere tone while talking to Physician Wu.
"Oh! Oh my, my mind must have become muddled. My memory is no longer as good as before. Initially, I intended to give you the antidote the moment you stepped in." Shock adorned his features as Physician Wu seemed to have recalled something.
He withdrew a silver flask from inside his robes and took out a black-colored, ordinary-looking pill, which he tossed towards Xu Su.
Xu Su acted clumsily and "barely" managed to catch the pill that was tossed over to him. Bringing it to his nose, he sniffed it. Waves of spiciness were released from the pill. He inclined his head to look at Physician Wu, only to find Physician Wu smiling at him.
He hesitated, suspecting the authenticity of this antidote.
Yet, there was no way for him to avoid ingesting it because the Insect Coffin Pill would soon activate. If he did not ingest the antidote now, it was equivalent to committing suicide. Xu Su believed that Physician Wu would continue acting cautiously and refrain from giving Xu Su a fake antidote. Xu Su's expression turned heavy as he chose to swallow the antidote, waiting for its medicinal effect to take place.
At this moment, Physician Wu was extremely relaxed. He began to chat nonchalantly with Xu Su, as if he had forgotten what his real purpose was.
Not long after, Xu Su could feel a surging wave of immense pain originating from his stomach, but the pain swiftly subsided. He quickly began to inspect his own body and realized that the Insect Coffin Pill had disappeared without a trace. Joy filled his heart, and his face broke out with traces of a smile.
Naturally, the changes had not escaped from Physician Wu's notice. He waited for Xu Su, who was completing his inspection. With a huge smile on his face, he said:
"Ah, Xu Su, when I gave you the Insect Coffin Pill to ingest, it was merely to give you extra motivation. If not for that, I think you might not have broken through to the fourth layers of the Eternal Spring Arts so easily!"
"Thank you for Physician Wu's beautiful intentions. However, I hope that such intentions will not be needed in the future." After recovering, Xu Su's state of mind improved, and he began to slightly believe Physician Wu's sincerity. He was not as directly opposed to Physician Wu as before.
"Now, will you allow this old man to take your pulse?"?
Physician Wu's words caused Xu Su's expression to grow unsightly. To think that Physician Wu would still request to examine his cultivation. Who knew whether Physician Wu would decide to grab this opportunity to further control and harm him?