Chapter 8: Father and Son

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Two weeks have passed since Liu Jin was saved by Xiao Fang.

Two weeks have passed since Liu Jin and Xiao Fang last exchanged words.

No, perhaps even saying they exchanged words two weeks ago is an exaggeration. After all, Xiao Fang had done his best to ignore Liu Jin’s presence, only deigning to direct one sentence to him at the end and only to affirm saving Liu Jin from Yun Han changed nothing between them. Since then, Liu Jin has seen Xiao Fang once or twice around the Xiao Sect’s compound but had been unsure of how to approach him.

As the Xiao Sect’s young master, Xiao Fang is a distant existence to him at the best of times. With this incident hanging between them, Liu Jin can only feel their relationship has become more complicated.

As far as Liu Jin can remember, Xiao Fang has been an annoyance. The older boy never made a secret what he thought of him and his father. Even after Liu Jin started training with the Xiao Sect, Xiao Fang plainly told him he would never see him as a real disciple of the Sect.

Yet Xiao Fang had saved him from a situation that could have ended badly for him. At worst, he could have died back there.

Xiao Fang had gone as far as to proclaim him a member of the Xiao Sect in front of everyone.

Liu Jin does not understand what motivated Xiao Fang to do so, but he cannot deny that it happened. Even if he does not like it–and he really does not like it–he owes Xiao Fang a debt. To think someone so unpleasant had to save him… it is nothing short of humi-

“Focus!”

A single word from his father is all it takes to shake him out of his thoughts and back to his lessons.

Floating in front of Liu Jin are five different herbs that he is refining with his Qi. It is a simple exercise that Liu Jin has been doing for as long as his father has been teaching him. Refining ingredients is an important skill for a doctor to have. Once ingredients have been properly refined, they will show improved properties. Two doctors can use the same ingredients to make a medicine, but a medicine made with ingredients that have been refined will show better results than one made with ingredients that have not been refined at all.

Each ingredient was unique and required focus and concentration to properly refine. Liu Jin started learning by refining one ingredient at a time. The first time, it took him over an hour. He has, of course, gotten much better since then. Two years ago, Liu Jin first managed to refine two ingredients at the same time. Currently, five was his limit.

According to his father, a true master could refine any number of ingredients in a single breath, but Liu Jin is still far from that level.

On average, Liu Jin can refine five ingredients in sixty breaths. His personal best is only forty breaths. For someone his age, it is more than impressive. It is astounding. Liu Jin, however, does not know this. He can only outrageously compare himself to the standards of the great masters his father sometimes mentions.

Still, it is because he is not a great master that Liu Jin cannot allow his mind to wander during the exercise. Had his father not called out to him, he would have most likely lost control of the process, and the ingredients would have been ruined. Such an outcome cannot be allowed to happen.

Using Qi is not necessary to refine ingredients. Indeed, his father was able to refine ingredients without Qi for quite a few years before he taught Liu Jin how to do it. However, those other methods cannot compare with Qi when it comes to results and speed. That is why ever since he has been capable of it, Liu Jin has taken it upon himself to make sure the clinic is properly stocked with refined ingredients, one breath at a time.

“I am sorry, father,” Liu Jin says once he has gotten the process back under control. “My mind will not wander anymore.”

He does not say anything after that for he still hasn’t finished refining the ingredients. A breath becomes five and five become twenty. By his fiftieth breath, Liu Jin has finished refining the ingredients and starts on the next set. Liu Jin repeats this process a total of ninety-nine times. The whole thing passes by in silence with him focusing under his father’s watchful gaze. By the time Liu Jin finishes, his body is covered in a light sheen of sweat, and the sky has turned dark.

The fastest he managed to finish a set this time was forty-eight breaths.

Liu Jin frowns. His personal best of forty breaths is something he achieved at the beginning of the month. Since then, he only managed to replicate it once and has never once surpassed it.

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“Father,” Liu Jin speaks at last. “What am I doing wrong?”

“Your question is poorly phrased,” Liu Jianguo replies. “If you were doing anything wrong, the process would not work, and the ingredients would be ruined. What you wish for is greater speed, and with that, I cannot help you.”

His father does not say why he cannot help. It is obvious to the both of them. His father’s ability to use Qi is ruined. For him, sensing the way Liu Jin manipulates Qi is impossible. Without that skill, there is no way for him to tell Liu Jin how to further improve his technique. That Liu Jianguo managed to teach his son how to refine ingredients in the first place is a testament to both his knowledge and his son’s talent.

“As you accumulate experience, your speed and control should increase naturally,” his father adds. “In fact, your improvement since the beginning of the month has been noticeable.”

“I cannot claim credit for that, father. It was the venerable elder who cleared my meridians. Since then, I have had an easier time refining.” It pains Liu Jin to admit it but without Old Jiang’s help, he would probably still be stuck at sixty breaths, his previous record.

His father looks at him sharply the moment the words leave his mouth, and Liu Jin finds himself rooted to the spot for reasons completely unrelated to Qi. It strikes him, not for the first time, that the red eyes he and his father share can be quite intimidating.