Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 52: Three Years

"Thin body, and a girl, too. Her Root Bone can’t be anything special!"

Master Gao sat up straight behind the pearwood table, pinching Li Nangua’s wrist at three points and then feeling for the dragon bone at the back of her neck.

"Master Gao, could you be mistaken?"

Lu Chang’sheng frowned slightly.

"I’ve been checking Root Bone for people here more times than I can count. You think I’d make a mistake?" For a moment, Master Gao looked a bit annoyed.

Lu Chang’sheng knew that if he kept pushing, the man was sure to lose his temper. Then even his status as This Year’s Child Scholar might not shield him, so he held himself back and let the others get checked in turn.

Thankfully, their talents were all decent enough.

Especially Niu Dazhuang—he seemed truly gifted. Even Master Gao glanced his way several extra times.

"Master Gao, when you check our Root Bone, can you really tell how talented someone might be?"

Lu Chang’sheng asked.

"Well, not everything can be seen. But if someone’s gifted, it’ll show in certain ways. Like your friend there—strong tendons and bones, round dragon bone—prime material for a fighter. Just a pity—" He hesitated a moment, then stood up: "I’ll ask Lu Tongsheng to wait here for a bit!"

"Sorry for the trouble, Master Gao!"

"Don’t mention it! Rare to see such a good seedling!"

He turned and left, and before long arrived at the inner yard, seeking out Bai Hesong, the hall master.

Bai Hesong was forty-nine this year, his figure upright and steady.

"Master!"

"Old Gao? What brings you here?" Bai Hesong asked, surprised.

The inner yard had strict rules; you couldn’t enter without special cause.

"That Child Scholar Lu Chang’sheng brought a fine seedling, with an excellent Root Bone. I think we should nurture him!"

"If even you think he’s worth it, it can’t be bad. Our White Crane Martial Arts Hall may not be a major force, but taking in another young talent is doable—wait, hold on. Who do you mean?" Suddenly, Bai Hesong frowned.

"This Year’s Child Scholar, Lu Chang’sheng!"

Master Gao repeated.

Bai Hesong’s brows furrowed tighter, and after a moment, he changed his tune: "Find some excuse to send them away. Tell them our martial arts hall isn’t accepting new students for now!"

"Why’s that?" Master Gao asked, surprised.

Bai Hesong replied, "Times have changed—the world is in turmoil, our hall can’t stay untouched. Now that we’re allied with the Xun Family, we can’t just bring in outsiders freely anymore!"

"Understood! A shame about that seedling..."

"From what you say, is he even better than Wei Xing?"

"Maybe about the same. You know how it is—when checking Root Bone, we only get a rough idea, hard to be precise!"

"Then don’t dwell on it. Few people have excellent Root Bone, but we can always find another one or two!"

At this, Master Gao let out a silent sigh, accepting there wasn’t any hope left. He could only turn and leave.

The White Crane Martial Arts Hall already had Wei Xing; Bai Hesong put all his effort into that disciple, and right now, there was no room for a newcomer.

"Better this way—at least we won’t waste the good seedling’s time!"

Soon enough, Master Gao brought word back out.

Lu Chang’sheng sensed there was something going on under the surface, but didn’t press further. He led the others away from White Crane Martial Arts Hall, seeking out other halls instead.

With Zhao Hu and Wang Heihou griping all the way, they visited the best martial arts halls in town, but got nowhere each time.

Lu Chang’sheng soon guessed what was really going on.

"To break through this invisible barrier, I guess only scholarly success will do!"

He decided not to let anyone try alone.

Those elite martial arts halls are sharp—news travels fast. Even if we keep things quiet, if it’s discovered later, it’ll be double the trouble.

Fortunately, they finally found a hall that wasn’t bothered by the issue, called "Feiyu Martial Arts Hall." Word was, it used to be a top-tier hall, but ever since the master passed away, its fortunes declined sharply, and now only a few disciples kept the place going.

The current master—Li Fei—was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, who actually feared trouble with the Xun Family, knowing their grudge against Lu Chang’sheng. But when he saw Niu Dazhuang, he drew several sharp breaths and immediately agreed to take him in, gritting his teeth.

He let the others join, too.

Of course, apart from Niu Dazhuang, everyone else could only train as regular students here.

······

Lu Chang’sheng’s days returned to that familiar, bustling routine.

Daily trips between Jixia Academy, the martial arts hall, and the medical clinic.

As his Medical Technique improved, he gradually started treating patients on his own—to Wu Ji Yong’s delight and astonishment.

He exclaimed, "A genius doctor! Truly a genius in medicine!"

Lu Chang’sheng struggled to keep his mouth shut, only for the gossip outside—about the "young doctor with incredible skills"—to become a new headache.

He knew it wasn’t the time to stand out, so each time he went to the clinic, he’d use simple disguises and avoided showing his true face.

And after a while, sure enough, all that "medical genius" talk died down.

The clinic’s business boomed, bringing in four to five taels of silver coins every month—after deductions for expenses.

The archery practice profits came to more than ten taels a month—of course, that was split among everyone, so each person really got just a tael or two.

Altogether, his monthly income now was close to seven taels.

"My finances have improved a good deal!"

After balancing the books, Lu Chang’sheng allowed himself a faint smile.

The annual gift for studies required fifty taels of silver coins, lunch at Jixia Academy cost one tael per month, ordinary expenses weren’t light, but with help from the Three Red Gang, he had more than enough to last six years.

Everything was looking up, save for one worry gnawing at Lu Chang’sheng.

Since that heavy rain a few months back, it’s rained every few days.

Many buildings were damp and moldy now.

"We just came out of a drought—what if there’s flooding next?"

Lu Chang’sheng sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, Zhao Family Village wasn’t close to water, so even in flood season, nothing would happen there.

"But that southern Nanming Prefecture might not be so lucky."

"These are troubled, unlucky times!"

Even so, he had to keep working his way up.

Lu Chang’sheng decided to cut back on Four-Sided Blade Technique practice for now, focusing more on reading.

Before he knew it, it was late in Year 736 of Great Yuan.

Less than a year remained till the next round of Imperial examinations.

Early morning, the little five-courtyard complex was already coming to life with people arriving.

Lu Chang’sheng had just stepped out when he saw a graceful figure busily moving about.

On instinct, he sat off to the side, poring over a medical book.

After a moment, he snapped out of his reverie and chuckled quietly at himself. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Two years ago, he’d still try to help. Sadly, every attempt failed, so by this year he’d developed a kind of automatic habit instead.

Not far off, a young woman wore plain cloth clothes, looking a bit bulky, but in truth her figure was well-proportioned—not plump, not thin.

Lu Chang’sheng considered things for a moment, made a quiet decision, but it was still too early, so for now he held back.

Niu Dazhuang lugged a bulging sack of fruit inside, with Wang Heihou trailing behind.

"Why’d you buy so much again?" Li Nangua turned her head and shot an annoyed look at the two strapping young men.

In two years, Niu Dazhuang and Wang Heihou had entered early adulthood. And with no shortage of change these last two years, their bodies had filled out, and now they cut imposing figures.

Especially Niu Dazhuang, built solid as a young bull—enough to make most folks stand aside at the sight of him.