Just as the wonton stall owner had said.

A border town in Liaolong would never have any doctor with exceptional skill.

Chen Yan pushed the small cart and brought Su Hongzhen to the “clinic” beside that two-story building.

No, calling it a clinic was generous; it was more like part of a residential house.

The room was filled with the smell of medicinal residue.

“What happened?”

A trembling, hunched, thin old man stepped out from the house, his gaze falling on Su Hongzhen.

“Broken ribs.”

Chen Yan said flatly.

“Oh…”

The old man sighed, then stepped forward and gently placed his hand on Little Su’s chest.

Then he pressed.

“Ah!!!!!”

A scream rang out.

The old doctor just looked at Little Su without hurry, then slowly asked:

“Does it hurt?”

Little Su’s scream cut off abruptly. He stared at the old man in disbelief, then turned to Chen Yan:

“Brother, maybe we should go to a different clinic?”

“Go elsewhere?”

At these words the old man chuckled:

“In this town, counting myself, there are only three people who practice medicine. The other two trained under me—where else would you go?”

“Perhaps they’ll outshine their master, the new wave washing the old away… ah!!!”

The old man increased the pressure with his hand, and Little Su screamed again.

…

Although Su Hongzhen had thirteen fractured ribs in total, fortunately none were extremely severe.

They used wooden splints and cloth straps to stabilize the thorax, administered decoctions to promote bone healing, and applied topical herbs to reduce inflammation and bruising.

Besides that, the old man prescribed a pain-relieving, sedative decoction so he could sleep better.

After dressing his wounds, Su Hongzhen sat quietly to the side and watched Chen Yan hand over the broken silver to the old man.

Only after they left the “clinic” did he finally speak:

“Brother, why did you help me?”

“You save someone all the way through; you can’t just leave them be.”

Chen Yan said indifferently.

Facing Chen Yan’s answer, Su Hongzhen said nothing.

He was thirteen this year. Since he escaped from his uncle’s home, he had been drifting in Liaolong for nearly four years.

He had met many people.

Some were very kind, some very cruel.

But most were indifferent bystanders, numb to anything that didn’t concern them.

To be alive, in itself, was already a remarkable thing.

That was Su Hongzhen’s view of the world.

Chen Yan took Su Hongzhen to an inn in the town.

The inn was old, reeked of mildew, and the price was not cheap.

In a remote border town like this there were few alternatives for lodging.

But for Chen Yan, it was affordable.

He had carried a fair amount of silver when he left Hezhou.

He rented two rooms: one for Su Hongzhen to stay in temporarily, the other for himself to cultivate.

Since escaping Hezhou, Chen Yan had not been idle.

Aside from travel and necessary rest, he spent all his time cultivating.

Recovering his cultivation level was always the top priority.

Chen Yan understood well that this town was no place to linger. With the chaos in Great Yu, it was likely only a matter of time before Liaolong was affected.

To cultivate without distractions, he needed to find a secure place.

Among the countries surrounding Great Yu, the most stable one should be —

…

Yunxi Country, Jiangdu Prefecture.

This city, located at the confluence of Yunxi Country’s two main rivers, was the most important waterway hub connecting the nation in all directions.

Relying on this advantage, it had become the largest and most prosperous city in Yunxi, culturally and economically.

Even Wangxi, the capital, could not compare in scale or population.

At the center of Jiangdu Prefecture stood a magnificent residence.

A traveling peddler carrying a shoulder pole passed in front of the mansion. When he walked by the two imposing stone lions at the gate, he looked up at the plaque above the sturdy dark ironwood door.

On the ebony plaque with its gilded frame, two large, bold characters were written with vigorous strokes —

“Kang Mansion.”

This plaque had quite a history; it was said to have been inscribed by the Yun Emperor Taizong himself and gifted to the Kang Family.

The Kang Mansion itself was constructed while Yun Taizong was still on the throne, overseen personally by Yun Gaozong when he was still crown prince.

That had been more than two hundred years ago, yet the mansion still stood unchanged.

If nothing else happened, it would likely still stand two hundred years from now.

Would there still be people like me walking by then, thinking idle thoughts?

The peddler thought briefly, shook his head, and kept walking.

None of his concern.

At this moment, inside the Kang Mansion.

An elderly man with white hair sat upright in the main hall’s central seat—

The current head of the Kang Family, Kang Zongdan.

This contemporary head was ninety-one years old but remained robust.

Although his frame was thin with age, the brightness in his eyes and the rhythm of his breathing spoke of his deep reserves of experience and strength.

There was no doubt that an ordinary young man might not be more agile than him.

Seated beside him was his eldest son, Kang Keye.

He was seventy-two and had long been chosen as the Kang Family’s next head.

Kang Keye was more robust than his father. Though ancient in age and nearly white-haired, his complexion was ruddy and his breath steady and deep.

Below these two stood the core members of the Kang family’s direct lineage.

Kang Zongdan’s gaze swept over his descendants gathered in the hall. His thin, withered fingers lightly rubbed a lustrous iron amulet; he had toyed with this piece his entire life.

Suddenly his hand stopped, and his aged voice broke the silence.

“Where is Keyang?”

Kang Zongdan asked.

The Keyang he spoke of was Kang Keyang.

Kang Zongdan’s sixth son was forty-eight this year, and the age gap between him and his eldest brother was even larger than the gap between that eldest brother and their father.

“Father, Sixth Brother has gone to the Yu Kingdom.”

A sixty-something man stepped forward. He was Kang Kexi, the third among Kang Zongdan’s many sons.

“The Yu Kingdom?”

At this, Kang Zongdan frowned.

“Great Yu is at war right now. Why would Sixth Brother go there to poke into trouble?”