Chapter 2: The Mystery of His Background
Qin Yongping stepped lightly into his home. After carefully putting away the precious medicinal herbs he had foraged, he walked into the living room, beaming with joy, eager to share the wonderful news of his successful apprenticeship at Guo Clinic with his parents.
When he told them the news, their faces instantly broke into ecstatic smiles. His mother, Shi Yimei, trembled slightly with excitement, while his father, Qin Haiming, had a proud gleam in his eyes. To be able to study medicine under Elder Guo was an extraordinarily rare opportunity indeed!
"Child, this is simply wonderful!" His mother took Qin Yongping's hand, her voice slightly choked with joy. "Elder Guo is one of the top physicians around here, and his medical skills are nothing short of miraculous. Having this chance to study under him will give you an extra, powerful guarantee for your employment after you graduate from university!"
His father nodded repeatedly in agreement. "That's right, son. You must truly cherish this opportunity, master the essence of Elder Guo's medical skills, and strive to become a respected doctor just like him in the future!"
Qin Yongping nodded heavily, his heart filled with yearning and expectation for the future. He knew well that he carried his parents' expectations and understood how hard-won this opportunity was. He secretly swore to himself that he would diligently study medical knowledge, so as not to fail the high hopes of his family or the appreciation of Elder Guo.
After dinner, Qin Yongping returned to his room alone and gently closed the door. He sat at his desk as usual, opened his phone, and began to immerse himself in the ocean of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge. The screen flickered with various medical classics, treatises by renowned masters, and clinical cases, every piece of information captivating him deeply.
Time slipped away quietly, and before he knew it, it was past 11 o'clock. Qin Yongping felt a wave of fatigue wash over him, but his love for traditional Chinese medicine made him reluctant to put down his phone. Finally, he slowly stood up, stretched, and dragged his somewhat heavy footsteps toward the bed.
Lying in bed, Qin Yongping quickly drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he found himself in a vast, boundless forest shrouded in thick fog, making it hard to see the path ahead. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance, standing tall and straight like an unwavering mountain peak. His left arm tightly cradled an unknown object, while his right hand gripped a gleaming, sharp long sword, fiercely fighting a group of hideous-looking enemies.
Although this man was formidable in martial arts, facing the siege of so many enemies, he ultimately found it too much to handle. Gradually, he began to retreat while fighting, and many wounds accumulated on his body, fresh blood staining his clothes. Yet his gaze remained unwaveringly firm, without the slightest hint of shrinking back.
At that moment, the figure abruptly turned around, preparing to leap off the cliff behind him to shake off his pursuers' pursuit. In that split second, Qin Yongping clearly saw the face of that upright back—it was a face both unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar! Even more shocking to him was that the object held in the figure's left arm was actually an infant still in swaddling clothes. And when his gaze shifted to the baby's neck, he unexpectedly discovered a jade pendant hanging there, its shape and luster strikingly similar to the one he had worn since childhood! It was as if some mysterious connection existed between them...
Qin Yongping woke up abruptly from his dream, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Subconsciously, he touched the jade pendant at his neck, his heart shrouded in suspicion. To his utter astonishment, Qin Yongping was not actually the biological child of Qin Haiming and Shi Yimei. As it turned out, his blood type was completely different from his parents'. When he was 12 years old, after asking questions, the truth finally came to light. Even though Qin Yongping was not their biological son, the couple treasured him like a precious pearl, treating him as their own, and their love and care for him were not the slightest bit inferior to that for their younger daughter, Qin Yue.
Qin Yongping felt a swirl of mixed emotions inside. On one hand, he was grateful to his adoptive parents for raising him, while on the other, he was filled with curiosity about his own origins. He decided that once he attained a certain level of strength, he would use the clues from his dream to search for the whereabouts of his biological parents.
For now, the absolute priority was to master medicine and enrich himself. Early the next morning, Qin Yongping hurriedly finished breakfast and darted toward Guo Clinic like an arrow released from a bow. Upon arriving at the clinic, he paid his respects to his master, who then led him to the back courtyard. At that moment, he caught sight of his Junior Sister in morning practice. Guo Yufu was dressed in a casual athletic outfit, moving like a fairy dancing gracefully, throwing punches with light and rhythmic motions. Elder Guo said, "Disciple, go practice boxing alongside your Junior Sister."
Though Qin Yongping didn't know why, he figured it might be like the morning broadcast calisthenics at school—helpful for boosting energy and aiding study after morning exercise—so he respectfully replied, "Understood, Master."
At first, he awkwardly imitated Guo Yufu's movements. When it was over, Qin Yongping had merely memorized the motions; trying to execute the boxing felt like trying to imitate the people of Handan walking, entirely lacking Guo Yufu's fluid grace. He couldn't help asking out of curiosity, "Junior Sister, what is the name of this boxing style? Why is it so hard for me to flow as smoothly as you?"
"This is the introductory cultivation method of our Guo family—the Meteor Fist. If you concentrate on practicing it for a year or eight months, you should be able to achieve some small success," Guo Yufu replied casually.
"What? Cultivation method? Could this be some secret manual from martial arts novels? Do such divine skills truly exist in this world?" Qin Yongping asked in astonishment.
"Whether they truly exist, I cannot say for certain, but after practicing this boxing, my physical condition is indeed much better than before. Today is your first official day of learning; you can go to the study and find my grandfather, and he will explain everything in detail to you..." With that, Guo Yufu turned and floated away gracefully.
Arriving at the door of the study, Qin Yongping softly knocked on the panel, and only after receiving permission did he carefully step inside.
"Yongping, our Guo Clinic has a long history, yet passed down to today, it has fallen into immense decline. Think back to the old days; we were one of the top ten prominent sects in the Divine Land—the Ancient Medical Apricot Forest! What I am about to tell you may make you feel doubtful, but you needn't question it, for all of this truly once existed. Back in the day, the heaven and earth were filled with abundant spiritual qi like a boundless smoky sea, and immortal cultivators were as numerous as the stars, dotting the land. It's just a pity that human activities, frequent like a plague of locusts, led to environmental pollution, making the spiritual qi thin as a thread. Nowadays, trying to transcend mortality and attain immortality is harder than ascending to the heavens. These things may seem too distant to you, but you need only to know them. The cultivation method of our Guo lineage is passed down from that ancient medical dao of the Apricot Forest. However, times have changed, spiritual qi is scarce, and nowadays wanting to reach Foundation Establishment is as difficult as ascending to the heavens... Coupled with the loss of the cultivation methods, it adds frost to snow. Even with a cultivation method, if one's cultivation stagnates, success remains out of reach. Most cultivators in today's world are merely at the Qi Refining stage, which is further divided from the first to the ninth layers, followed by the Foundation Establishment stage, Golden Core stage, Deity Transformation stage, Tribulation Transcending stage, and so on," Elder Guo explained with a solemn expression.
"Master, though I am full of doubts, I believe everything you say," Qin Yongping said deferentially. "Why would we, people who study medicine, become entangled with martial arts?"
"This is so you can better learn and apply medical skills. Many medical techniques require the guidance of spiritual qi to unleash their true efficacy; in time, you will understand. Now, let us begin your systematic study of medicine," Elder Guo said earnestly.