Chapter 82: [The He Family]

Chen Yan thought about it... there was absolutely no way the Old Grandma would teach her the cultivation method.

Still, considering that yesterday she had come to visit and brought gifts, and had even brought him such a big piece of business...

Chen Yan jotted down the most obvious and biggest errors in the circulation of vital energy that he had just heard and memorized from this set of cultivation methods, asked the woman to bring paper and a pen, and on the spot helped her revise a few lines of the incantation and wrote them on the paper.

"After I finished listening to your cultivation method, these few errors were the biggest. I helped you correct them."

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's eyes lit up. She clutched the paper Chen Yan had written in her hand, as if she had obtained a priceless treasure!

"Many thanks, Senior!" Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing took a deep breath and glanced down at the paper.

Uh... this senior's handwriting isn't very good.

The brush calligraphy on that prescription earlier was elegant and flowing.

Why is the writing on this paper so sloppy?

Mm, presumably this senior is a man of great skill, adept at brush and not particularly fond of writing with a hard pen.

But once she clearly read the words on it and silently recited them a few times, her eyes grew brighter and brighter!

Originally, after twenty years of cultivation, she had long memorized her sect's cultivation method by heart. After years of bitter cultivation of vital energy, she had always felt that certain bottlenecks she could never pass, certain problems in the circulation of vital energy, she had been unable to figure out for years.

Now these few corrected lines made Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's heart jolt the moment she read them! Every word, every line, seemed to strike precisely at the stuck, critical points in her cultivation over all these years!!

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's hands trembled slightly: "Senior's great kindness, the entire Cloud Sect is grateful! From now on, I, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, am at your disposal, Senior, without a single word of complaint!"

If she weren't sitting in the car, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing would have wanted to drop to her knees on the spot and kowtow to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan's guidance this time was truly no small favor to Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing!

The completion of the cultivation method was equivalent to allowing Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's future cultivation to be far smoother; many errors that had blocked her for years were entirely swept away.

And looking further ahead, once the Cloud Sect obtained a set of cultivation methods with errors corrected, its inheritance would also grow stronger!

Just these few lines Chen Yan had written—if Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing were asked to trade her entire fortune for them, she would probably be willing.

(Such a great kindness—after returning, I must properly thank Senior Chen Yan again!) Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing silently noted this in her heart!

Chen Yan's expression didn't change: "Mm, the cultivation method is done. Now recite the 'Art Scripture' for me."

"Yes! Yes!" Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing was overjoyed inside, and carefully put this paper away—then thought about it, still not at ease, took out her phone, first photographed the words on this paper and saved them properly, then folded the paper neatly and tucked it into her bag.

After sitting properly again, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing made an effort to steady her mind and began reciting the sect's 'Art Scripture.'

The first line was indeed, "The cycles of fate, karmic retribution"...

Chen Yan had prepared himself in his heart. While Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing recited, he pretended to lower his head with half-closed eyes and listen, not letting this woman look at his face.

Sure enough, after Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing recited a few lines, Chen Yan's face remained impassive, but in his heart an even greater cloud of doubt arose!

This...

Isn't this damn thing exactly the 'Qi Fortune Cycle' that I learned? Though... it seems to have been altered into a complete mess.

After hearing the whole thing recited, the content of this Cloud Sect 'Art Scripture'—every three lines, one line was similar to a line in the 'Qi Fortune Cycle' that Chen Yan had learned.

Listening to it, it sounded as though someone had read the 'Qi Fortune Cycle,' failed to memorize it completely, only remembered one-third of the content, and then, based on one's own thoughts, had personally re-created and deduced the other two-thirds.

After Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing finished reciting, she looked at Chen Yan with a face full of anticipation.

Chen Yan quietly thought for a moment, then slowly asked: "Who was the creator of this 'Art Scripture'?"

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing said cautiously: "It was created by the founding ancestor of our Cloud Sect."

This guy definitely read the 'Qi Fortune Cycle'!

Chen Yan made this judgment with great certainty.

The only question was whether this had any connection to the Old Grandma.

However, this time, Chen Yan did not help Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing further correct or revise this 'Art Scripture.'

The cultivation method earlier could be helped with corrections—anyway, it didn't involve what he himself had learned.

But this 'Art Scripture' was clearly derived from the 'Qi Fortune Cycle.' If he helped her correct it, it would be equivalent to revising it into an authentic version of the 'Qi Fortune Cycle' for her.

Since it involved a secret manual passed down by the Old Grandma, Chen Yan would not casually do such a thing.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "Your Art Scripture involves a great deal. I can't think it through clearly at the moment. Let me study it properly before we discuss further."

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing was a little disappointed, but then pulled the disappointed expression back in—being able to get this Senior Chen Yan to help correct the errors in her sect's cultivation method was already an enormous kindness and gain.

One must not be too greedy. The sect's inheritance also said: The cycles of fate, karmic retribution!

Having received such a great kindness from Senior Chen Yan was already tremendous fortune—one must not demand more!

·

The two people in the car exchanged and discussed cultivation methods, and in the blink of an eye more than three hours had passed.

The commercial vehicle exited the highway via an off-ramp, slowed down, passed through the toll station, and stopped.

In front of the toll station, a sedan was parked by the roadside, and a man stood by the road waving in this direction.

The female assistant pulled the car over to the side as well, and the man walked over quickly.

This man wore a full suit, looked to be only around thirty years old, of medium build, with regular features—just nothing particularly distinctive about him, though his bearing was very steady.

The female assistant rolled down the car window. Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing glanced at the man and nodded: "Assistant Zhao."

"Elder Zi!" Assistant Zhao nodded politely: "He Dong sent me here to pick you up. He's waiting for you at his old residence in the countryside."

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing nodded: "Good, you drive ahead and lead the way."

After the car window was closed, Assistant Zhao went to sit in the car ahead. A moment later, the two vehicles started one after another and drove off along the provincial road...

That Boss He Jianbo's old family home was in the countryside.

After getting off the highway, they still had to take the provincial road, then down to even lower-grade roads.

Passing through the county town, then to the town below, and then into the countryside.

After another hour or so, it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, and the car slowly drove into a rural area.

Beside the road was a small stream, with a cement bridge spanning it that was only a little over ten meters long, and just barely wide enough for one car to pass at a time.

On the other side of the bridge was a village.

The village didn't look particularly large in scale; along both sides of the road were the typical self-built houses common in the countryside, some new and some old, but the village roads themselves were quite smooth and level — though not very wide, still wide enough for two cars to drive side by side, and the roadside was pressed flat and even.

"This here is He Village, Chairman He's old family home. More than half of the villagers share the surname He, and most of the remaining few are also related to the He family by blood or marriage." In the car, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing explained to Chen Yan; "After Boss He made his fortune, he did give back to his hometown — the village roads were paid for and built by Boss He."

"Mm." Chen Yan squinted his eyes, looking out the window.

The self-built rural houses right within arm's reach, the local dogs and chickens wandering lazily along the roadside.

And the green onions, garlic, and chives that farm households had planted around their own courtyards…

This scene stirred up a familiar sense of closeness in Chen Yan's heart — hadn't he spent all those years living with the Old Grandma in exactly this kind of environment?

Boss He's home was the largest estate in the village, set against the hillside at the back. At a glance it stood clearly apart from the other houses in the village.

A grand two-story house built in the grey-brick, black-tile Huizhou architectural style, but with a large courtyard attached.

It must have occupied at least three or four mu of land.

The house looked quite different from the typical self-built rural houses — rural self-built houses tend to have thin walls.

The He family residence, by contrast, looked solidly built.

Two sedans were already parked in the courtyard, both a uniform row of black big Benzes.

When Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing's group's car drove in, four cars parked in the courtyard without the slightest crowding; in the vast courtyard there was also a row of side rooms, probably used as storage or a warehouse.

The courtyard had a built pool, a pavilion, and a grape trellis as well; two Scottish Shepherds, clearly of good pedigree, were sprawled in the yard, yawning lazily. They only got up and ambled over nearby when the cars drove in.

The main hall's doors were thrown wide open, revealing a perfectly square and tidy room inside.

After the car stopped, Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing and Chen Yan got out and immediately saw a man standing at the main hall entrance, his expression solemn as he looked toward them.

Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing gave Chen Yan a quiet signal, then walked briskly over.

"Chairman He, hello."

The man's expression was solemn; between his brows lingered a faint trace of sorrow and anxiety. He drew a deep breath, extended his hand and shook hands with Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing: "Teacher Chu, sorry to trouble you this time!"

The fact that this man addressed Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing not as "Purple Elder" but by another name subtly revealed his own status.

Chen Yan stood behind Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing, studying this Chairman He carefully.

Medium build, looking quite sturdy and fit, without the bulk and fat of middle age — he clearly hadn't neglected his exercise. Though his face looked a touch haggard, his overall complexion was still good and his bearing steady; he probably did regular aerobic exercise.

By rights he should have been nearly fifty, but his hair was jet black and the wrinkles on his face weren't too many — probably the nourishment of a wealthy life made him look about ten years younger than his actual age.

Between his brows, his glances carried considerable presence — clearly someone accustomed to giving orders day in and day out.

At a single glance Chen Yan noticed that this Chairman He had a jade pendant hanging around his neck, carved with what appeared to be a Guanyin figure.

As the saying goes, men wear Guanyin, women wear Buddha.

The jade pendant looked a deep emerald green — it should be top-grade emerald material. And what surprised Chen Yan somewhat was that he could faintly sense a thin wisp of vital energy flowing within it; though faint, it was undeniably there.

Chairman He only greeted Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing; as for Chen Yan following behind, he merely glanced at him and gave a slight nod.

When Seeing Chu Seeing Chu Keqing introduced Chen Yan, she only said he was a young disciple from her own sect — this cover story had been agreed upon by the two of them in the car on the way.

Chen Yan's face was too young; if she were to call him something like "Senior," it would be too shocking, and would require far too much explaining — too much trouble.

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