Chapter 557: Secrecy

Time passed slowly, and Zhang Jie’s treatment neared completion.

The green light that had originally covered Xu Xiang’s entire body gradually retracted, converging at his heart before vanishing entirely.

Xu Xiang, who had cooperated fully with Zhang Jie’s treatment, turned his inner vision inward and saw, at his heart,

a green glow the size of a pea, expanding and contracting in rhythm with his heartbeat.

Tiny specks of light scattered with each expansion and contraction, merging into his blood and true qi.

Somehow, Xu Xiang understood: when this green glow was fully consumed, it would be the moment of his death.

Judging by its rate of dissipation, it would last about three months.

In other words, Zhang Jie’s estimated three-month lifespan was precisely accurate.

After a while, Zhang Jie, who had been closing his eyes to guide and stimulate Xu Xiang’s vitality, opened his eyes.

“A Jie, how is it?”

Xu Si and the others immediately crowded around.

Zhang Jie’s lips curled slightly: “Mission accomplished!”

At that moment, Xu Xiang also opened his eyes and struggled to sit up.

“Father, how are you feeling?”

Xu San and Xu Si hurried forward to support him.

But Xu Xiang waved them off, his expression relaxed:

“I’ve never felt this good in my life.”

Huh!

As he spoke, he let out a long, deep breath, as if expelling all the stagnation from his chest at once.

“A Jie, thank you for saving this old man’s life—I can’t express my gratitude enough!”

Xu Xiang bent over on his hospital bed and bowed deeply to Zhang Jie.

“Uncle Xu, you’re overdoing it—I merely did what was my duty.”

For this old man, old enough to be his grandfather and who had once helped the Zhang family,

Zhang Jie dared not accept such a profound bow with casual indifference—he quickly helped him back up.

“No one is to speak of today’s events. Understood?”

After bowing to Zhang Jie, Xu Xiang scanned the group and gave a stern order.

“Understood.”

Xu San and Xu Si nodded eagerly.

Helping someone extend their life—Zhang Jie’s method was simply too shocking to believe.

If word got out to the wrong people, it could trigger a seismic upheaval.

No, it was inevitable.

After all, who, except those utterly despairing of life, wouldn’t want to live a few more years?

Didn’t the popular TV drama “The Kangxi Dynasty” have a theme song called “I Really Want to Live Another Five Hundred Years”?

The desire to survive, to live, is humanity’s foremost instinct.

Like Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, who faced death with such detachment, dismissing the imperial physician sent to treat him,

he not only drove the man away but rewarded him with gold, saying, “I rose from commoner status,

wielding a three-foot sword to seize the empire—isn’t this fate? Fate lies in heaven; even Bian Que cannot change it!”—such men are exceedingly rare.

Even Tang Taizong, hailed as the model emperor of all ages, took elixirs in his later years, showing clear signs of folly.

As for Zhang Jie’s life-extension method requiring rare herbs of considerable age?

Even Xu Xiang had, by chance, collected a centuries-old ginseng from Mount Zhangbai; others certainly had no shortage.

After all, in terms of actual status, Xu Xiang, head of the North China region for the Nandatong Corporation,

was merely a hired hand to the true powers above.

Zhang Chulan raised a hand to his lips, miming a zipper, vowing to keep silent.

Feng Baobao’s immortality was distant and elusive, but Zhang Jie’s use of rare herbs to extend life was right before their eyes.

Zhang Jie himself wasn’t particularly concerned. First of all, given his strength,

even the greatest violent apparatus on this land couldn’t force him to do anything he disliked.

As long as those above weren’t fools, they’d never resort to coercion—they’d choose to court him instead.

After all, during life extension, the patient’s very life was truly in Zhang Jie’s hands.

If Zhang Jie had any ill intent, bending or breaking the patient was merely a thought away.

This was precisely why Zhang Jie chose to reveal part of his method:

A highly skilled “physician” could effortlessly attain lofty status,

gain considerable influence, and make his life far more convenient.

Even if someone coveted this “life-extension secret” and sought to seize it by deceit or force,

Zhang Jie didn’t hold the elites of this world in high regard—without the power of the Gomu Gomu no Mi,

without centuries of pure true qi and the immense mental force of a planetary-level mentalist to guide it,

learning this secret was no less than the dream of a madman.

If such a prodigy truly existed, and their character was sound, Zhang Jie wouldn’t hesitate to teach them—they could advance together.

Still, Xu Xiang and the others were looking out for him, so Zhang Jie said nothing.

Moreover, he trusted the secrecy of the Xu family.

From the patriarch Xu Xiang down to his two sons, Xu San and Xu Si,

they had kept Feng Baobao’s secret of immortality and unchanged appearance for decades without a single leak.

Zhang Chulan was undoubtedly a clever man—he knew what could be said and what must remain silent.

As for Baobao?

Hmm… she was a natural airhead—completely irrelevant.

……

“Let’s go home.”

With their minds unified, Xu Xiang rose enthusiastically and moved toward the door.

“Father, I think you should stay hospitalized for a few more days.”

Xu San held back his father, urging him.

“Yeah, Dad, staying a few more days won’t hurt.”

Xu Si chimed in.

“I know my own body best!”

Xu Xiang was stubborn, unwilling to linger any longer in this place of suffering.

“A Jie?”

Seeing his father act like a mule and refuse to listen, Xu San turned to Zhang Jie with a questioning look,

seeking the opinion of the man who had treated Xu Xiang.

“Hmm.”

Zhang Jie gave a slight nod.

As the creator and practitioner of the life-extension method, no one understood Xu Xiang’s condition better than he did.

Three months meant three months.

For these three months, Xu Xiang’s body would be indistinguishable from that of a healthy young man—he could eat, drink,

sleep, jump, run, and even indulge in thrilling activities like dancing or skydiving.

Of course, all this vitality was a false splendor fueled by the rare herb’s life essence; once the time came,

when the life essence was fully depleted, he would return to his original state—he would still die.

“Good.”

With Zhang Jie’s approval, Xu San finally relaxed.

Freed from Xu San’s resistance, refreshed and invigorated, Xu Xiang strode boldly out,

eager to leave the prison that had held him for so long and breathe the fresh air of the outside world.

“Jie Ge, your method is truly astonishing.”

Watching Xu Xiang transform in an instant from a gasping, bedridden man into a vigorous, striding figure,

Zhang Chulan couldn’t help but give Zhang Jie a thumbs-up.

He had never seen anyone bring the dead back to life or restore flesh to bones, but Zhang Jie had truly snatched a man from the jaws of Yama.

How could such a feat not leave him awestruck?