Mo Qian saw that Yang Zhen was genuinely annoyed, so he crossed his arms and said with a grin: "Alright, alright. I'll be more careful next time. I was only joking with you, wasn't I?""How can you joke like that?""I was wrong, I was wrong." Mo Qian apologized quickly.Yang Zhen was angry because the knife he had swung just then might truly have hurt Mo Qian. But Mo Qian knew perfectly well that Yang Zhen was nowhere near capable of hurting him now. Still, he did not want to make his current level of strength clear to this childhood friend — that would be too disheartening for him.Mo Qian knew that Yang Zhen was actually quite proud. Moreover, Yang Zhen had always been the stronger one since they were children and had looked out for Mo Qian as a weaker younger brother. If he were to discover that Mo Qian was now far stronger than him, the shock of that contrast would undoubtedly be very hard to bear.Yang Zhen watched Mo Qian keep apologizing with a smile and finally let his anger g

After that, Ximen Kan and Mo Qian ate ice-veined melon, played chess, and chatted at leisure. Before long it was noon, and Ximen Kan and Mo Qian walked together to the flower hall in the front courtyard.On the way over, they saw a few servants carrying trays toward the flower hall. Ximen Kan grabbed one of them and asked, "Who prepared lunch?""Master Xu.""Master Xu?" Ximen Kan's eyes immediately lit up and he said, "Is there Eight Treasure Gourd Duck?""Yes."The moment Ximen Kan heard those words, his mouth began to water. He pushed Mo Qian along and walked quickly toward the flower hall.The two reached the entrance of the flower hall, and Mei Qin, who was waiting there, suddenly stepped in front of Ximen Kan and said: "The master invited only escort Mo Qian.""What about me?" Ximen Kan asked, looking genuinely wronged. "Was it not supposed to be a family meal?""Please forgive Mei Qin for not knowing the details." Mei Qin said, dipping in a small bow, and then led Mo Qian inside

Some time back, when Ma Chunmin had invited Mo Qian to a banquet, Shen Yanliu had already taken note of something unusual. A bodyguard escort with a genuine talent for painting — able to sketch on the street and sell the pieces on the spot — was not ordinary.But now it seemed clear that Mo Qian was likely a child of a once-prominent family that had fallen on hard times. Whether in painting or in antiques, his knowledge had been handed down from his family.Mo Qian walked out of Gu Yuezhai, and his expression sobered the moment he was outside. He took a few quick steps and then crouched at a stall near the entrance of Gu Yuezhai, pretending to browse the items on display. But the moment he crouched down, Mo Qian released his spiritual sense again.With Mo Qian at the center, the area within a hundred meters was fully covered.Mo Qian focused his spiritual sense on the back hall of Gu Yuezhai and clearly perceived Shen Yanliu and Tang Wanhong sitting there in conversation.Shen Yanliu'

Mo Qian filled three doses at the medicine shop — one according to Gu Suxiu's prescription, and two according to his own.Mo Qian returned to Liulu and began decocting the dose prepared from Gu Suxiu's prescription. The kitchen at Liulu had a ready-made stove and medicine pot. Mo Qian found them, washed them, and set the medicine to boil.Once it was ready, he poured it out and brought a bowl of the decoction inside.He found Gu Suxiu using a piece of bamboo to scoop black ointment from a porcelain bottle, applying it to the most severely festered of Shen Ping's wounds.When Gu Suxiu finished, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and straightened his back. He took the bowl of medicine Mo Qian held out, raised it to his nose, and sniffed. A faint look of approval crossed his face.Gu Suxiu set down the empty bowl, his expression still grave. He picked up the porcelain bottle from the side table and placed it in Mo Qian's hand. "Apply this ointment to his wounds twice daily. As for whet

Mo Qian had been up the entire night and was deep in fatigue, but the bed was occupied by Shen Ping. He could only spread out his bedding and sleep on the floor.Mo Qian managed no more than two or three hours of rest before he was up again early. He folded the bedding and set it aside, then checked on Shen Ping. Shen Ping's face was visibly improved compared to the night before.His body temperature was still slightly elevated, but much lower than it had been. Mo Qian took his pulse — it was quite weak, but Mo Qian understood that this was a temporary effect caused by the strong medicine from the night before.Mo Qian noticed that the bowl of old ginseng soup Hu Huanhuan had brought the previous day was still sitting on the side table. He diluted it with warm water and gently poured it down for Shen Ping.Yesterday, it had not been the right time for a tonic — Shen Ping's body had been full of trapped heat and the internal fire had not yet been dispersed. But last night's strong medi