The young man awoke to find every bone and essence in his body shattered. Once a revered War God, he was now a cripple.
He couldn't move, watching stray dogs lick and sniff him.
Soon, dark clouds gathered, and it began to pour. The young man's body was soaked by the rain.
Helpless, he lay like a vegetable, waiting to die, or perhaps for a miracle.
Fortune favored the persistent. A passing grandfather and granddaughter found him amidst the deadly stone rain and took him away.
The grandfather, holding a tattered umbrella, carried the young man on his back, while the granddaughter trotted along.
The young man drifted off to sleep. When he woke, it was evening. His entire body was wrapped in old bandages like a zongzi.
The granddaughter said he looked like a mummy. The kind grandfather asked, "Young man, what is your surname? And pray tell, what brought you to such a state? Did you offend an enemy and get harmed?"
The young man looked at the grandfather. "My name is Ming Zhi Tian. I suppose so."
The grandfather nodded meaningfully. Ming Zhi Tian knew his fate was sealed, his crippled body beyond recovery, so he feigned indifference.
The grandfather looked at his granddaughter. "Then I shall call you Xiao Tian. My name is Wang Tian Ci, and this is my granddaughter, Xiao Hong."
Xiao Hong blinked her big eyes and called out, "Hello, big brother."
Wang Tian Ci frowned. "Xiao Tian, your meridians are all broken. Even if the Great Luo Immortal were alive, he would find it hard to heal you."
Unable to move, Ming Zhi Tian could only turn his eyeballs. "So, Grandpa is a doctor."
Wang Tian Ci waved his hand. "No, no, no, what doctor? You flatter me. I am merely an unknown humble country doctor."
Ming Zhi Tian gave a forced smile. Wang Tian Ci stroked Xiao Hong's little head reluctantly. "I am old. Let me ask you, if you could run as fast as the wind, would you accept my request, this old man's request, and take good care of Xiao Hong in the future?"
Ming Zhi Tian wanted to shake his head but stopped. "I know it's impossible for me to get up. Are you joking with me, Grandpa?"
Wang Tian Ci shook his head, answering his own question, "I'm talking hypothetically. Do you agree?"
Ming Zhi Tian said helplessly, "Yes."
Then, a thought struck him, and he couldn't help but ask, "Grandpa, what do you mean by saying that?"
Wang Tian Ci ignored Ming Zhi Tian. He stood with his hands behind his back, facing away from him, and began to recount tales of the Qing dynasty's imperial court.
For three generations, their family had been fleeing the clutches of imperial power to avoid the struggles within the palace. They had passed down medical knowledge for generations, wishing only to live as humble healers, but fate had other plans.
It wasn't until his generation that they were hunted down, leaving only him and his granddaughter. Wang Tian Ci saw Ming Zhi Tian's plight as similar to his own, which is why he had taken pity on him and saved him from the pouring rain.
Ming Zhi Tian looked at him thoughtfully. Wang Tian Ci suddenly sighed, "Alas, I am eighty-nine this year. I know I may not live past ninety. I had a child late in life, and now only this granddaughter remains. I cannot rest easy."
Xiao Hong quickly tugged at the hem of Wang Tian Ci's clothes with her small hands. "Grandpa will definitely live to be a hundred!"
Wang Tian Ci smiled broadly and gently stroked Xiao Hong's cute little head. "Good girl, my Xiao Hong is so good."
Wang Tian Ci's expression suddenly turned serious. He looked at Ming Zhi Tian intently. "Xiao Tian, remember your words."
Then, he took out an antique wooden box from his embrace, opened it, and took out a pill.
Xiao Hong blinked her eyes. "What is this? This is?! Grandpa, this is Great-Grandpa's treasure."