Chapter 684 - Torment Half to Death First
Chapter 684: Torment Half to Death First
Early in the morning, Xia Fei went out into the wilderness to cultivate as he always did. His clinic was only open for business from afternoon onward, not because he was lazy, but because he needed to train and cultivate. This was the most important task of a warrior, and Xia Fei had never once slacked off.
It was fine to leave the ordinary patients for Lu Qian to treat. All Xia Fei needed to do was handle the cases that were difficult for Lu Qian, for which one or two hours a day sufficed.
If someone discovered that an apothecary was cultivating law force, it would certainly set off a stir. A person’s energy was limited, and very few people could be like Xia Fei and advance in many different aspects at the same time.
Although Xia Fei wanted to create a big show while here, Quinn would undoubtedly be suspicious if the latter were to discover the former’s strength. Thus, he could only secretly cultivate out in the wilderness. With his speed ability, distance did not present a problem to Xia Fei, nor was finding a quiet place suitable for cultivation difficult. Besides that, he had a Precision Edition 100 series spatial compass from the Fig Corporation. He could easily make a trip off the planet and head elsewhere to cultivate if needed.
*Whoosh~*
A spatial passage opened outside the Flame Imps camp and Divine Doctor Chen Ziqiang silently appeared in this desolate place. He was accompanied by a man and a woman. These two were both disciples that Chen Ziqiang was proud of. Though they were not yet twenty, they had obtained excellent grades in pharmacology and would have a limitless future. Chen Ziqiang took them wherever he went so that they could be observed and nurtured. Lu Qian certainly could not enjoy such treatment.
It was early in the morning, but it was already fifty degrees. The sun was like a giant furnace, roasting the earth so that it was difficult to breathe.
Chen Ziqiang was getting on in years. He wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and looked around.
“Greetings, my master. Greetings, my juniors.” The waiting Lu Qian hurriedly stepped forward and deeply bowed to his master.
Chen Ziqiang nodded and looked out of the corner of his eye at his incompetent disciple before coldly asking, “Lu Qian, is it always this hot here?”
Lu Qian bitterly smiled. “Master, this is early in the morning, so the temperature isn’t that high. At noon, the temperature will rise over sixty degree Celsius (140 Fahrenheit). Please follow me into the tent to wait a while. I have prepared iced sour plum juice to alleviate the heat for the master and my juniors.”
‘Over Sixty degrees?!’
Chen Ziqiang almost fainted on the spot. He normally kept his old bones in good health, and he had consumed many precious and valuable medicines, so his body was quite robust, but if the temperature really reached past sixty degrees, even the best body might be unable to last.
“What an absurd place! Master, why did you bring us here?” one of the disciples scowled as they curiously asked.
These disciples both had the surname Ke. The woman was slightly older and was called Ke Lin and the man was called Ke Lei. They were cousins; their Ke Clan controlled an illustrious mercenary group in the Exiled Grounds, ‘Swift Wind’. These two had been raised in wealth and had never before suffered such hardships. The moment they arrived, they began complaining.
Chen Ziqiang did not tell them about Xia Fei. This was considered a test of sorts. He would have them observe and then point out the mistakes in Xia Fei’s prescriptions. After which, they would refute and denounce everything Xia Fei did.
After all, Divine Doctor Chen was a grandmaster. Though he wanted to see what sort of tricks Xia Fei was playing in his prescriptions, he did not plan to do so personally. He could leave minor matters like this to his disciples.
“Hmph!” Chen Ziqiang snorted. “Only a little hardship and you’re already complaining! When your master first arrived at the Exiled Grounds, he stayed at places that were one thousand times worse than this. Young people these days truly have less and less endurance.”
Ke Lin and Ke Lei were both very talented; alas, their excellent upbringing meant that they were lacking in tenacity. This was one of the areas that Chen Ziqiang was dissatisfied with.
Chen Ziqiang followed Lu Qian to the Flame Imps camp, determined to show his disciples how their master could confidently stride through the torrid heat.
Lu Qian cautiously led the three to his tent. Lu Qian’s tent was connected to where he did his consultations. Chen Ziqiang and his disciples were naturally going to stay inside his tent. After all, there were too many spectators outside.
“Senior Brother Lu, don’t you even have an air conditioner here?” Ke Lin still felt uncomfortable even after drinking two large bowls of iced sour plum juice. She tilted her head and questioned Lu Qian as if he were a servant, her attitude very impolite.
“Junior sister, the air conditioner is already turned on; the temperature in this place just exceeds the working limits of the air conditioner, so it’s not doing very much.” Although Lu Qian was unhappy with Ke Lin’s attitude, he still did not dare to offend his junior sister, replying with a smile.
An air conditioner could only operate within certain conditions, and the territory of Flame Imps was simply too hot. The temperature in the tent exceeded fifty degrees, while the temperature outside was so high that it could almost cook meat. Thus, even an air conditioner could only barely drop the temperature.
Ke Lei angrily glared at Lu Qian. “You’re such an idiot. Don’t you know to just get more air conditioners? If one isn’t enough, get two. If two isn’t enough, get four! I don’t believe that one hundred air conditioners can’t bring down the temperature!”
Ke Lin held a fan in her delicate hands as she grumbled, “That’s right. Master has brought his venerable self here. Is this how you treat your master?”
Lu Qian found it difficult to describe his troubles. Air conditioners required money, and in the desolate Exiled Grounds, they were extremely expensive. Moreover, the Law Realm’s air conditioners did not use electricity but rather Origin Crystals. One hundred air conditioners? This was an enormous expense, and the stingy Lu Qian had never even thought about doing so. Deep down, he developed an even greater hatred for his two arrogant juniors.
*Bang!*
Chen Ziqiang finished a bowl of iced sour plum juice and threw the empty bowl onto the table. He sternly asked, “Don’t use the name of your master to make things difficult for your senior brother. Your master doesn’t think it’s hot. If you can’t take the heat, just go back!”
Actually, the Divine Doctor Chen was feeling so hot that was on the verge of going mad, but he was even more dissatisfied by the attitude of Ke Lin and Ke Lei. Therefore, he was determined to use this opportunity to get rid of their pampered personality.
Ke Lin stuck out her tongue, but she did not dare to say anything more.
After a pause, Chen Ziqiang said to Lu Qian, “Let’s get down to business. Where is that apothecary, Ah Fei? I brought the two of them here to take a look at him.”
Lu Qian was startled. He nervously said, “Master, you’ve come too early. Ah Fei only opens his clinic next door in the afternoon. Even I don’t know where he is right now.”
Chen Ziqiang secretly groaned. Ever since he saw Xia Fei’s bizarre prescription, he had not gotten a good rest in the last four days. He simply could not understand how Xia Fei had managed to turn poison into a divine medicine that could cure illnesses!
This was why Divine Doctor Chen had come first thing in the morning with his disciples, but it turned out that the person he wanted to see would only start working in the afternoon.
It was only 7:30 in the morning. The thought of enduring several hours in this unbearable heat had Chen Ziqiang’s mind buzzing.
Ke Lin and Ke Lei had even nastier expressions. Their master had just rebuked them, so they did not dare to be unreasonable. They could only say to Lu Qian in a begging tone, “Senior brother, the two of us are fine, but the master’s time is precious. Why don’t you go out and find him?”
Lu Qian felt that it also was not right to keep his master waiting, so he agreed. “Master, please wait a while. I will go and find Ah Fei.”
In this little while, Divine Doctor Chen’s back was already soaked in sweat. Waiting several hours would truly be an excruciating trial. He helplessly nodded. “Go and look for him then.”
…
It was 8:30 in the morning and Xia Fei was nowhere to be found. Lu Qian went to the front to check his patients for the day, while Chen Ziqiang stayed in the tent and listened. At times, he would call over Lu Qian and personally instruct him on areas where he was lacking.
Lu Qian felt delighted that his master was finally willing to instruct him. At the same time, he discovered that the elder had already taken off his outer clothes and was only wearing a thin shirt.
9:30. Xia Fei still did not appear. Inside the tent, Chen Ziqiang narrowed his eyes. His sweat was constantly dripping to the ground; alas, in this heat, water could not last for long. In a little while, a thin layer of white salt had formed.
10:30. Xia Fei was still a no-show. Divine Doctor Chen’s eyes were red as he stared in a daze at the ground. His long eyebrows listlessly drooped to the side.
11:30. Lu Qian no longer dared to look his master in the eye, for he had never seen Divine Doctor Chen in such a sorry state. He was constantly drinking a bowl of iced sour plum juice while he panted for breath with his tongue out. Sweat was coming out from every pore in his body!
It must be understood that the temperature inside was more than sixty degrees. Divine Doctor Chen was more than two hundred years old. How could he possibly still endure such a heat? Each passing second was a trial!
As for Ke Lin and Ke Lei, they were looking at Lu Qian as if they wanted to eat him alive. How many times had they endured this kind of suffering given their privileged background?
Divine Doctor Chen was actually quite unfortunate. In his youth, he was a solid man who had left his mark on the Exiled Grounds. Extreme weather and challenging obstacles had never been able to stop him.
However, that was all in the past. To exhibit the endurance of his youth at this age? Was this clearly not just seeking personal suffering?
His disciples did not feel the same. They had already secretly cursed their master and their senior brother one thousand times.
1:30 in the afternoon. Normally, Xia Fei would have been back at this time, but for some reason, there was still no sign of him today.
The air conditioner completely lost effect, and the temperature soared to seventy!
The situation in the tent was truly miserable to behold. Chen Ziqiang had such a nasty expression that it looked like he had lost someone in his family. He clenched his teeth and pinched his leg as he pushed his body to endure.
Ke Lin no longer cared that she was from a wealthy family or that she was a woman. She had taken off her clothes until she was only wearing a light layer of gauze. With the translucent gauze completely soaked in sweat, it outlined her well-endowed figure, a sight that was certain to trigger numerous fantasies. That hair that had been so beautifully done-up in the morning was now completely undone and her starry eyes were now dim. She looked a lot like a crazy old lady.
3:30 in the afternoon. Chen Ziqiang and his disciples had utterly crumbled. Xia Fei was nowhere to be seen, but they had already been tormented half to death by the heat.
Lu Qian cautiously came up and whispered, “Master, Ah Fei seems to have gone off somewhere. He’s not a person who follows the rules. Why not go back and come another day?”
Come again?!
Chen Ziqiang was so furious that his nose almost twisted from the pure rage being unleashed.
However, he did not have the strength to speak. With a listless grunt, he started to put on his clothes so he could leave.
Just as he went out, someone shouted, “Master Ah Fei has returned!”
Chen Ziqiang’s belly was full of anger that he had nowhere to vent. In this age, there were only people who begged in front of his doorstep for his services. He had never heard of someone who dared to stand him up!
When he got a look at the flashy sign outside Xia Fei’s tent, his eyes erupted with fire!
“Good, good, good! No wonder he’s so arrogant. It turns out he’s the ‘Divine Doctor of the Universe’!” Chen Ziqiang coldly said, his anger and resentment soaring to the heavens.