Tang Xiu stroked his small head and smilingly said, "I told you I can heal you, so I naturally can restore your condition. No worries, Kid. You'll be a young man brimming with energy in the future."
The boy's eyes lit up, but he calmly observed Tang Xiu for a few seconds before he thoughtfully said, "Uncle, if my father works for you, then I'll work for you in the future too."
"Ah, hahaha!" Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing. "Do you feel so honored working for me, though?"
"I trust Dad's vision, and I also feel that you're a very powerful man." The boy said, "I can tell that the others are very afraid of you."
Tang Xiu was at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh and asked again, "You can tell they're very afraid of me? Where did you get that?"
"There were five people in the room when I was brought here," explained the boy. "You're one of them, with another one whose age is similar to yours. There's something questionable in his eyes when he looked at you—something only people would show when they face a terrifying person or grave problems. And Dad likely fears you too since he sometimes wanted to say something but didn't say it. The other two people were looking at you with respect, but more like that it was respect out of fear."
"Closely reasoned and well-argued. Never thought you could have such a good analysis, Kid." Tang Xiu smilingly said, "Anyhow, did you observe all these?"
The boy nodded.
Tang Xiu was a bit shocked inwardly. He didn't expect that a child could have such a keen and powerful observation skill. It must be noted that he was in great pain now. Normal children would have screamed painfully already, and there was no way they would have any spare thoughts to observe everyone in the room, right?
"Can you answer another question?" asked Tang Xiu slowly after a while.
The boy nodded again.
"You should be only eight years old now, right? And with your age, you should be in the second grade of primary school," said Tang Xiu. "Mind telling me about your academic scores?"
A look of pride appeared on the boy's face and he answered with a trace of pained expression, "I've always been the number one in the exam and ranked first among the 680 fourth graders in the schools."
"Fourth grade?" Tang Xiu looked surprised.
"Yeah, I skipped two grades," replied the boy.
Tang Xiu gave a thumbs up and praised him. "Never thought that you're a genius, kid. But that's a given since a very capable Dad won't have a good-for-nothing son. Your Dad is a very capable man, so you as his son won't be that bad either."
"Well, I want to be a Field Marshall in the future, so I have to work hard," said the boy.
His reply made Tang Xiu at a loss whether he had to cry or laugh. He smiled at him and said, "There's no such position as Field Marshall today, though. But nevermind that. Unless you can become the most powerful great man in our country."
The boy's expression turned slightly grim after hearing that.
Quickly after, a bowl of warm water and a few clean towels and medical supplies such as gauze and gypsum board were sent to the room. As Xue Zengmei closed the room from the outside, Tang Xiu took a sharp dagger from the interspatial ring and cut the boy's trousers. Then, he spoke, "It will be quite painful. Can you bear it?"
The boy trembled a bit and then said, "Can you give me a towel?"
Tang Xiu's expression shifted and asked, "You want to stuff your mouth with it?"
"Yeah!" The boy nodded.
Tang Xiu handed him a white towel and watched him stuff it into this mouth and couldn't help but praise him inwardly. Afterward, he washed and wiped the broken bones on his knee while using his Primal Chaos energy and slowly mended the broken bones to their original positions. He could clearly sense the pain the boy felt since big beads of sweat rolled down while his frail body shivered.
"Please bear it for a while more."
Tang Xiu took the Body Tempering Liquid from the interspatial ring and slowly dripped a drop of it on his knees. As the boy let out muffled screams, Tang Xiu used his palm to press against his knees.
Time passed by and half an hour later, Tang Xiu removed his hands from the boy's knees. He watched the profusely sweating boy and felt rather surprised. His treatment was simple and direct, yet hardly any adult could withstand the pain and would have fainted already. However, he didn't expect that his boy could go through it sober.
His willpower is much higher than the average adult. Even some ordinary cultivators have weaker willpower than him. It's rather unfortunate that his physique is very ordinary, or he'd become a genius in cultivation worthy of training. However, given his tender age and if he is well-trained, as long as his willpower keeps firm and sharp, he'll be likely able to create great achievements in the future.
The thought flashed in Tang Xiu's mind as he immediately wrapped his knees with gauze and then fixed it with the gypsum board. Then, he smilingly said, "In the next seven days starting from today, you can only stay still here and are not allowed to walk. You'll need others to serve anything you need during this time, but you can fully recover a week later."
The boy's body trembled and he asked, "C-can I… rest for a while?"
"Alright, go have some sleep!" replied Tang Xiu smilingly.
In the corridor outside the room.
Li Yuquan was hugging his wife with a face full of worries and anxiousness. Although he knew that Tang Xiu was a Divine Doctor from Chang Zhao's remarks, he didn't dare to fully believe that Tang Xiu could completely heal his son's legs. He was afraid… that Tang Xiu couldn't heal his son and the boy would become disabled in the future. Regret and guilty would very likely fill him for the rest of his life should this happen.
When the office's door was opened, he immediately released his wife, dashed over and asked, "How was it, Mr. Tang?"
"Don't let your son walk for the next 7 days," answered Tang Xiu with a smile. "Ah, forget it. You'll be occupied by something else, so nevermind it. Chang Zhao, I'll give you a chance to redeem your sin! You must guard and take care of this child, as well as provide everything he needs in every possible way, be it his drinks, meals, or carry him on your back. Consider your issue over if you can do it, else you'll pay with your life!"
"I'll do as you say, Young Master Tang!" replied Chang Zhao without hesitation. "I'll be sure to take care of him."
Tang Xiu nodded in response and slowly said, "Li Yuquan, I know you want to be with your wife and kid, so I'm giving you half an hour. Then you must take a trip with me to completely solve your problems."
"Thank you, Mr. Tang!" replied Li Yuquan gratefully.
"No need for that." Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "You haven't forgotten what you promised before, right?"
Li Yuquan blankly stared for a moment before he immediately nodded and replied with all seriousness, "I haven't forgotten about that."
At the viewing hall of the teahouse.
A curious look on his face, Wolf Head stood in front of Tang Xiu and asked, "Do you really want to take Li Yuquan as your subordinate, Sect Master? You also know that just for his family he did this, so…"
Tang Xiu raised his hand to interrupt him and lightly said, "He'd never have done such a thing had he not been abandoned by the army. Let me ask you in other words. What would you do if you were in his shoes?"
Wolf Head quietly pondered for a while and bitterly said, "I would probably do the same thing, I think."
"That's right." Tang Xiu nodded and said, "There are two sides to everything. You can play the role if the situation is under your control. He can take risks for his wife and kid. He wasn't afraid to stake his life for them, which means he's not afraid of death, is full of conviction, faith, and affection. If he becomes our brother in the future, he will likely treat us as family members as long as you treat him as the closest brother. To be honest, I really appreciate this kind of person, more so that he's also a soldier who can and is willing to go through the fire and water and die for his country."
Wolf Head firmly nodded and replied, "Being loyal to the country and to its people is a necessary condition for every soldier—the very bottom line. But still, we've separated ways from the army already and we've given our loyalty to you."
"In actuality, I'm also loyal to this country," replied Tang Xiu with a slight smile. Suddenly, his expression suddenly shifted and smilingly said, "Well, it seems Jin Shi has rushed over without stopping after receiving my order. He's already outside now. Bring him over here!"
A few minutes later, Wolf Head brought Jin Shi to the viewing hall. After the former stood before Tang Xiu, he respectfully asked, "Do you have any instructions for me, Sect Master?"
Tang Xiu smiled in response and waved his hand, gesturing him to sit down. "Wolf Head gave me an idea, and I think it's a good one. That's why I called you directly since I want to discuss it with you."
Jin Shi glanced at Wolf Head and then respectfully said, "I'll carry out any order you give me with all seriousness, Sect Master."
"Jin Shi, I have a question I want to ask you first before discussing it. What do you think of Awu and the rest becoming Tang Sect Elders before you?"
Jin Shi fell into silence for a while, before he forced a bitter smile and said, "I'd like to be honest with you, Sect Master. I feel very unwilling about that, indeed. But you've personally set the rules, while I hadn't reached the Golden Core Stage then, which proved that my efforts are not enough. That's why I can't become the Sect's Elder."
"I'm glad you can have this kind of understanding." Tang Xiu lightly nodded and went on, "But I'm now giving you a chance. If you can set up a huge intelligence network that covers every corner of the world within 2 years, I'll make you the latest elder of Tang Sect."
Jin Shi's eyes lit up and he replied in a deep voice, "I'll definitely go all out and do my best, Sect Master."
"Let's head to the next topic. Let me tell you something about the establishment of the intelligence network and the expansion of the sect's outer disciples," said Tang Xiu
"You're going to expand the number of the sect's outer disciples, Sect Master?" affirmed Jin Shi with a curious expression.
"I deemed the rapid and vigorous development as necessary, so we naturally require a large number of outer disciples." Tang Xiu nodded and continued, "Further, these outer disciples may not necessarily have very formidable cultivation, but they will certainly be able to provide tremendous help which will be very beneficial to the sect in its entirety."
Jin Shi's expression shifted. He looked as Tang Xiu took out a cigarette and he hurriedly lit it up and asked, "Could you elaborate more?"