Chapter 140: with translation of chapter title

"Okay, I'll wait!" Yan Jiu said expressionlessly, and then he never looked at Madam Feng again.

Although Madam Feng was furious inside, she still had a trace of rationality, worried about her daughter's condition, fearing what might happen if they delayed further.

So she swallowed all her words, had the driver hold Feng Xiran and go straight to the hospital.

After Madam Feng left, the scene immediately became lively again, as if what had just happened had never occurred.

Yan Jiu gathered his qi and focused, endured until the ceremony ended, and after seeing everyone off, he immediately pulled Su Ruo into a secret chamber.

After entering, Yan Jiu knelt and bowed before a portrait.

Su Ruo looked at the woman in the portrait and felt she resembled her by seventy or eighty percent, except the woman's appearance was more gorgeous and her gaze sharper.

Yan Jiu had Su Ruo kneel before the portrait, then said: "The person in this portrait is our Founder Ancestor, and she single-handedly founded Jishi Hall."

Only then did Yan Jiu realize why he felt an immediate fondness for Su Ruo upon first seeing her—because her face resembled the Founder Ancestor too closely.

Everyone still criticized Yan Jiu for passing Jishi Hall to a woman, unaware that Jishi Hall itself was founded by a woman.

Looking at Su Ruo, Yan Jiu felt that in the dark, the Founder Ancestor's guidance had led him to meet her, or perhaps his Founder Ancestor had returned…

Upon thinking of this possibility, Yan Jiu involuntarily became excited, his whole body trembling, but he knew these words could not be spoken now, or he would immediately be labeled a feudal superstition.

Yan Jiu struggled to calm his emotions, and after Su Ruo finished kowtowing, he handed her a brocade box; the bright yellow box bore an imperial character.

Although Su Ruo didn't know what was inside, just looking at the box told her the contents must be valuable.

Yan Jiu said: "Keep this box; what's inside can save your life at a critical moment."

Su Ruo felt even more shocked; she immediately pushed the box back: "Master, this is too precious—I cannot accept it."

Yan Jiu would not accept her refusal, directly shoved the box back into her hands: "Take it! This is what your Master Ancestor left behind; there are only six left in this world, and each of your senior brothers has one."

Su Ruo looked at Wen Xiuyuan and the two others; seeing them all nod at her, she then accepted the brocade box, knelt on the ground, and solemnly kowtowed to Yan Jiu.

In this life and past lives, Su Ruo had never before felt such elder affection; it was completely different from her feelings toward Li Zhaodi and Bai Xinya, deep and weighty.

Having received Su Ruo's salute, Yan Jiu could see that she had surely endured much hardship, which is why she had built high walls in her heart to protect herself.

However, Yan Jiu was not in a hurry; he had plenty of time to gradually dispel the estrangement in Su Ruo's heart.

Yan Jiu said: "Get up! I'll take you to see your mistress‑teacher."

Su Ruo was somewhat surprised; she had always thought her master was single, never expecting him to have a mistress‑teacher. Since the mistress‑teacher was still alive, why didn't she appear at such an important occasion as today's initiation ceremony? Although Su Ruo harbored doubts, she said nothing.

Following Yan Jiu into the inner chamber, Su Ruo saw an elderly‑looking woman lying on the bed, her demeanor peaceful as if asleep.

Yan Jiu gazed at the woman on the bed, his eyes filled with deep affection.

"Your mistress‑teacher has been unconscious since falling ill ten years ago; I've tried many methods, but none could cure her…"

Yan Jiu steadied his mind and continued: "Your mistress‑teacher had long wished for a daughter; if she could see you, she would surely be delighted."

Yan Jiu's gaze grew dim; as the saying goes, doctors cannot heal themselves. As a divine physician, he could not cure the person he loved most, which must be agonizing.

Su Ruo immediately had 001 scan the mistress‑teacher's entire body; 001 found a five‑millimeter tumor at the trifurcation of the mistress‑teacher's brain nerves, and it was this tumor compressing the nerves that caused her coma.

Logically, as long as surgery is performed to remove the tumor, the mistress‑teacher would wake up and live like a normal person.

Although the mistress‑teacher had been unconscious for ten years, the master had cared for her well; her muscles showed no atrophy, and her bodily functions were no different from a normal person's.

However, the tumor's location is extremely special, entwined with numerous blood vessels; even the slightest deviation could endanger the mistress‑teacher's life.

Su Ruo felt this might be why the master had not performed surgery on the mistress‑teacher: first, the country still lacks sufficiently advanced medical equipment to scan the tumor's precise location; second, the surgical risk is too great.

Without any assistance, the success rate is virtually zero.

Even with Su Ruo's system, given her current abilities, the surgery's success rate would not exceed twenty percent.

Su Ruo looked at the kind‑faced woman on the bed, opened her mouth several times, but did not know how to persuade the master.

Or Yan Jiu patted her shoulder and said: "You don't need to bear too much psychological pressure; I brought you here today simply to let you see your mistress‑teacher."

"Even I, as your master, cannot cure this illness; you need not shoulder the blame yourself. Perhaps this is fate, heaven's way of showing me my shortcomings, testing me."

Feeling the master's sorrow, Su Ruo suddenly felt a pang of pity, and at the same time her gaze grew firm: "Master, I know how to cure the mistress‑teacher's illness."

Su Ruo, fearing Yan Jiu might not believe her, immediately pointed with her hand at the tumor's location on the mistress‑teacher's head, saying: "The reason the mistress‑teacher remains unconscious is that a tumor here is compressing the nerves."

"If a craniotomy is performed to remove the tumor, the mistress‑teacher should regain consciousness."

"However, the surgical risk is too great; there are many blood vessels here, and a slight mistake could endanger the mistress‑teacher's life."

"With my current abilities, I am still insufficient to perform the surgery on the mistress‑teacher, but Master, rest assured—I will train diligently and strive to help her undergo the operation as soon as possible. I believe the mistress‑teacher will surely have a day of recovery."

Su Ruo's tone was firm; she hates most being indebted to others, and since the master has treated her well, she wants to repay him double.

After Su Ruo finished speaking, even Wen Xiuyuan's face showed an excited expression, for the junior sister's words were exactly right.

He too had studied for a long time before figuring out the mistress‑teacher's cause of illness; he never expected the junior sister, upon first seeing her, to spot it at a glance.

At this moment, the three of them looked at Su Ruo with eyes flashing with light; they almost immediately believed she could cure the mistress‑teacher's illness.

Unlike the excitement of Ji Linye and the three others, Yan Jiu reached out, ruffled Su Ruo's hair, and said: "Master knows you mean well, but your mistress‑teacher has been ill for many years; I have let go of many things, perhaps fate has its own numbers, and many things cannot be forced."

"So you need not push yourself, nor burden yourself with great pressure; your mistress‑teacher lived a life of kindness, and if she knew, she would not want you to be sad because of her."

Su Ruo's eyes grew moist, yet at the same time she became more resolute; she was determined to cure the mistress‑teacher.