186 First meeting in Beijing

"He's here?"

"Yes."

"Xue's life is saved?"

"For now."

"That's good, that's good."

An old man released a long sigh.

"Grandpa, how about I invite him over to see you tomorrow?"

"That's fine. Speaking of it, even my life was saved by him. I ought to thank him properly. You should greet your Uncle Su first; don't steal his guest away from him," the elderly man said, smiling.

"Okay, I will speak to Uncle Su first."

Beijing's night view was rather beautiful.

After packing for a little while, Wang Yao went to find Ying.

"What requests do you have?"

"Could I trouble you to bring me around? This is my first time in Beijing," Wang Yao said, smiling.

"Sure," Ying responded.

The two of them slowly drove out in one car.

They first went to see the famous ten-kilometer street, Beijing's central street connecting the east and west, and the number one street in China. Many famous buildings were situated around it. The car was moving slowly, and Wang Yao wound down the car window to look outside. The lights were bright, making it seem almost like daytime. Meanwhile, the cars were all lined up, and the street was bustling.

The number one street—it was an eye-opening sight.

Following that, the young lady named Chen Ying brought Wang Yao for a tour around the rest of Beijing.

Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, the Great Hall of the People—all these things that frequently came up on television, he went to visit.

"Right, tomorrow, I should go and visit Second Aunt."

Wang Yao felt that since it was rare for him to come to Beijing, he ought to visit his second aunt whom he hadn't seen in years.

"Where else would you like to go, Mr. Wang?"

"Anywhere is fine."

"Then how about I bring you to a street around Houhai?"

"That's fine. The host leads while the guest follows, after all."

Thus, Chen Ying brought him to the famous Houhai Bar street to look at the various bars and inns.

"Should we go in to take a look?"

"Sure," Wang Yao replied, smiling.

Following Chen Ying's lead, the two of them entered one of the more famous bars.

One single door separated the silence from the loud excitement. In the bar, the excitement was unusual.

"One more song!" They could hear people shouting the moment they entered the bar.

Over here, most of the people were youths. Although it was still in April and the weather could barely be considered warm, those who came were wearing relatively little clothing. In fact, the clothing could even be said to be revealing. Some girls sat on the stage at the bar covered in heavy make-up.

"Handsome man, would you like a drink?"

A lady with dyed yellow hair and could barely be considered beautiful saw Wang Yao and offered him a drink. She plastered herself onto him. Wang Yao quickly retreated.

"My apologies, thank you."

"Oh, how shy!"

"This way please." Chen Ying saw the scene and laughed. She gestured for Wang Yao to follow her to the side where there were tables with less people around. The lady did not follow them.

"Welcome, would you like a drink?" The moment they sat down, a waiter came up to take their orders.

"Water please," Chen Ying said.

"Me too."

"Sure, wait a moment please," the waiter replied, stunned. "How interesting, coming to a bar to drink plain water."

Those who drank water in a bar were uncommon because naturally, even water was not free.

Wang Yao sat there observing the people around them. Some were vigorously shaking their bodies while others were doing bar dances. There were also those drinking morosely in a corner. Here was a place to vent and let loose, and Wang Yao felt truly out of place in here, like a crane amidst chickens.

"Let's go."

After the water was served, Wang Yao smiled at Chen Ying and said. He did not take even a sip.

"Sure."

Chen Ying got up to settle the bill.

"Would you look at that. The lady beside that young man. Beautiful."

"Coming to the bar and letting the girl pay. He has some methods."

"I'll go hit them up."

A man, thick with the smell of alcohol, swaggered in front of Wang Yao.

"Hey man, you're quite capable!"

"Please excuse us," Chen Ying said. There was a faint smile on her face, and it revealed her two dimples.

"Hey lady, your smile is really beautiful. It's just like a classmate I once knew. Let me try to recall, hmm…" Even as the man was speaking, he suddenly fell onto the floor with a loud thump, landing on his buttocks. The alcohol in his cup had spilled out, splashing onto his face.

"Who?!" As he got up, looking around, he found that everyone was looking at him, and the girl and guy had long left. He was left standing there like an idiot.

"Okay, they're gone, let's continue drinking."

"Right, drinking."

At this moment, Chen Ying and Wang Yao had already got in the car.

"I never expected that you were also a martial arts expert, Ms. Chen," Wang Yao praised. In the relatively dark environment in the bar earlier, Wang Yao had seen Chen Ying attack. Her motions were very fast, and with a sweep of the leg and a hook, the man who obstructed their way had already fallen to the floor.

"You praise me too much. If I'm not wrong, you have also trained in martial arts, haven't you, Mr. Wang?" Chen Ying replied, laughing.

"A little."

"Where do we go?"

"Let's go back."

The car drove back to the little side home. Wang Yao was in no hurry to go back and sleep, so he sat in the small house gazing at the Beijing sky.

"Let's hope that tomorrow will be a bright and sunny day."

The next day, it was indeed bright and sunny.

Early in the morning, Wang Yao was up practicing his martial arts routine in the small courtyard. He did a little bit of Tai Chi, and also some fist arts from the book he had just gotten.

As he was practicing, Chen Ying, who was preparing breakfast, stopped what she was doing and stared at him. She observed very carefully and seriously, and it was only until Wang Yao had finished his routine that she regained her wits.

"It seems I've been mistaken. Mr. Wang knows way more than a little. You're truly an expert!"

"Nonsense, this is just for show."

"If yours is just for show, then in this world, there aren't many who know true martial arts," Chen Ying said this as she continued to prepare his breakfast.

"So much?" Wang Yao looked at the food and said. "I can't finish all of this. Have you eaten? If you haven't would you like to eat with me?"

"I won't, please go ahead." This young lady named Chen Ying still maintained a respectful air while dealing with Wang Yao.

After breakfast, Wang Yao took out the ingredients he had prepared the day before and got ready to make the Regather Soup.

The water was the ancient spring water he had prepared the night before, and the firewood was good quality wood from the hill. As for the herbs, it was also good quality herbs purchased by Chen Boyuan. There was no doubt about the quantity or the age of the herbs. Only the pot used to boil the medicine was a bit inferior, but over here, Wang Yao simply could not take out his multifunctional pot for herbs from the system.

Crackle. The firewood from the hill started burning.

The pot, which was hung above the flames, also started to heat up.

Wang Yao thus began to put in the herbs that he had prepared into the pot. This pot was not as high quality as his multifunctional pot, and so naturally he had to be much more careful.

The spiritual herbs from the hill were also added in from the start.

A very unique medicinal fragrance then filled up the yard.

"You're brewing medicine now?" Chen Ying, who had come out of the room to look, asked. This was her first time seeing people make Chinese medicine in this manner, and furthermore, it was a young man. Watching that focused expression on his face, it was just like watching an expert.

"Yes."

The boiling was growing extremely intense, and the fire had grown bigger. Wang Yao temporarily took out a few pieces of firewood, only to put them back in a while later.

Time passed quickly. The color of the medicinal soup had visibly changed.

"And now for the final medicine."

Guiyuan was also added in. The herbs were truly mysterious. Without even looking at its own medicinal strength, it was able to combine the effects of various other herbs, preventing them from countering each other in the process.

"Oh, you're brewing medicine now, Doctor Wang?"

At this moment when the medicine was almost done, a slim and beautiful lady entered the small yard. This lady had naturally curly hair, a pretty face, and a graceful, willowy waist. She also had a heroic air around her. This person was Guo Sirou.

"Please wait a moment." Wang Yao smiled, as he looked at her.

"Don't rush, take your time," Guo Sirou responded. Saying this, she grabbed a stool and sat down beside Wang Yao, showing great interest in watching him brew medicine.

"Having known you for so long, this is the first time I've seen you brew medicine."

"Ms. Guo, please have some tea." Chen Ying had brought over a cup of tea.

"Thank you."

As the medicinal soup was boiling in the pot, Wang Yao stared at the soup, observing the color, smelling the scent and other minute changes. Even those trained in traditional Chinese medicine might not even understand these various changes, because Chinese medicine today had also begun to use modern technology such as the decocting machines.

"It's done!"

Wang Yao suddenly reached out his hand and quickly retrieved the pot from the fire.

"What medicine is this?" Guo Sirou asked, smiling.

"Regather soup."

"Regather soup, the one you made for me the previous time?" Regarding this medicine, Guo Sirou could not be more familiar with it. It was precisely this medicine that had brought her grandfather back to life from the brink of death. Right now, he had lived for a few months since then, and it looked like he would continue living healthily for another year or more.

"Yup," Wang Yao replied.

"It's for Xiaoxue?"

"Yeah, her constitution is far too weak now. Even if I use the pills to temporarily protect her life, she won't hold on for long. We must find some way to improve her body's strength."

"Do you have time in the afternoon?"

"What's up?"

"My grandpa would like to see you to thank you for your help the previous time."

"There's no need; you bought those two doses of medicine previously using your own money," Wang Yao responded.

"There's no harm in going to visit. My grandpa isn't a tiger; he won't eat people," Guo Sirou laughed. As she said this, this charming lady leaned in closer to Wang Yao, where he could clearly smell her fragrance.

"Then, help me thank your grandfather on my behalf. There's really no need for this," Wang Yao said.

"Someone's here?" Wang Yao raised his head after hearing a noise.

"Why refuse to see me so badly?"

The person who had entered was an elderly man who looked to be almost 80 years old. In his hand was a walking stick, and his back was slightly bent. His face was filled with the lines of old age, and his head was completely bald. Looking at his body, it was evident that he was weakening, and the only thing that still looked lively was his pair of eyes. Behind him followed three people—two men who looked around thirty and were clearly still fit, as well as a fifty-year-old man who was somewhat fat but had smiling eyes and looked to be very amiable.

"Grandpa, why did you come out?" Guo Sirou immediately went up to him and asked.

"Can't I come out to see the person who saved my life?" Guo Sirou's grandfather said.

"Greetings, elder!" When she saw this elderly man, Chen Ying was very surprised, and she immediately brought out a chair for him.