Chapter 21: A Windfall

But Old Master Zeng immediately accepted what Zhang Pu had said. The technique Zhang Pu had used earlier—unless one experienced it personally, it was impossible to comprehend its marvel. Old Master Zeng truly believed that this child before him was sent by heaven to save his life. After all, he had devoted his entire life to his country and people; finally, he was reaping the rewards of his virtue.

Zhang Pu explained that he didn’t have any medicine on hand and would need to go back to make it, but he asked Old Master Zeng to pay a deposit first. He really didn’t have much money left to buy the necessary herbs. Even though he had just collected some protection fees from Gao Lixia and the others, that little bit of money was hardly enough for anything.

For this medicine to treat Old Master Zeng’s illness, Zhang Pu used a prescription from a master in the Star Realm of the Immortal Cultivation World. This formula was perfectly suited to Old Master Zeng’s condition. If he had the herbs from the Immortal Cultivation World, just one pill would be enough to completely cure Old Master Zeng’s illness.

Unfortunately, this was Earth, and many of the herbs from the Immortal Cultivation World simply did not exist here. Still, Zhang Pu knew that the brilliance of this formula lay in its flexibility—even if he couldn’t gather the exact herbs, he could substitute them with lesser, similar ones. The effect might not be as pronounced, but by increasing the dosage, he was confident it would still work.

The lesser herbs could be found on Earth, and he already knew the local pharmacies in the Qingwu district stocked them. In addition to increasing the dosage to compensate for the substitutions, Zhang Pu had another plan: he would teach Old Master Zeng a minor healing technique from the Immortal Cultivation World, specifically designed to help cure his illness, not to make him an immortal.

With this, Zhang Pu felt absolutely sure of success. Besides, he genuinely wanted to cure Old Master Zeng completely—not only was it his nature, but he could tell that Old Master Zeng was a prominent figure in the Qingwu district. Since Zhang Pu was still weak and establishing himself, having someone powerful to look out for him would be beneficial. Avoiding unnecessary conflict was always preferable.

Although Zhang Pu had once been a formidable force in the Immortal Cultivation World, now that he was back on Earth and young again, he truly didn’t wish to be bloodthirsty.

As for selling the medicine at a high price, Zhang Pu had noticed the fleeting expressions on the faces of the two burly middle-aged men. The medicine was indeed expensive, but even after buying the raw herbs from the pharmacy, Zhang Pu would still make a significant profit, not to mention some compensation for his efforts.

But such words couldn’t be said aloud. After all, how could a person’s life be measured in money? Especially someone as influential as Old Master Zeng—if he sought treatment everywhere, the expenses would only add up to an even greater sum.

Zhang Pu wanted to make money too; more importantly, he desperately needed funds. With the right herbs, his cultivation would progress much faster. Even if he collected protection money from Zheng Furen, Gao Lixia, and the other school bullies every month, it would still be a drop in the bucket for the kind of herbs required for cultivation. He needed a bigger windfall.

Now, Old Master Zeng seemed like that windfall, and Zhang Pu couldn’t help but feel delighted. He didn’t think he was being unreasonable—after all, he was saving a life!

Old Master Zeng immediately instructed the burly man surnamed Wang to give Zhang Pu some money. Zhang Pu said a few hundred thousand would suffice for now, and the rest could wait until the medicine and the handwritten rehabilitation technique were delivered; it could even be paid in installments.

Naturally, the three of them didn’t carry that much cash, but nowadays transfers via mobile apps were common. In the end, Old Master Zeng had Wang transfer several hundred thousand to Zhang Pu via WeChat.

Having witnessed Zhang Pu’s skills firsthand—especially Old Master Zeng, who had experienced them personally—they had no concerns about being swindled by handing over so much money.

Zhang Pu ended his morning with great cheer, even though the day’s events meant he hadn’t actually “exercised” at all. With the funds for his cultivation supplies secured, he practically hummed a tune on his way to school.

Once there, his desk mate Zheng Xiaoming had some news: recently, the school tyrant Zheng Furen and his Four Kings had been acting strangely. Over the past couple of days, their behavior was noticeably different, and the whole school was abuzz with rumors.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Zhang Pu responded, “Do you really enjoy having bullies throwing their weight around, looking for trouble with classmates?”

Who would want that? Even Zheng Xiaoming secretly wished for Zheng Furen, who shared his surname, to drop dead. In the past, when Zheng Furen bullied him, he even once perversely pulled down his pants, leaving him with lingering resentment to this day. But he had always been forced to swallow his anger, as the weak could not contend with the strong. For the sake of his three years of schooling, he had no choice but to endure humiliation.

Yet Zheng Xiaoming was an observant soul. In these last few days, ever since his new desk mate had arrived, the change in Zheng Furen and his cronies had become quite apparent.

Especially that morning when Zhang Pu told him about Zheng Furen’s invitation to tea. At the time, he hadn’t believed a word, but now, he found himself starting to believe it. There was definitely something extraordinary about his desk mate!

With a sly, fox-like glint in his eyes, Zheng Xiaoming hinted to Zhang Pu—almost like speaking in code—that he hoped Zhang Pu would keep looking out for him. He also warned Zhang Pu to be wary of hidden dangers, saying that someone like Zheng Furen, who always held a grudge, would surely play dirty tricks behind his back if he was forced to submit publicly.

Hearing about “dirty tricks,” Zhang Pu just laughed. In fact, he was a little curious to see what they would try.

“You really don’t believe me! It’s probably after school or at night—just keep your guard up,” Zheng Xiaoming persisted.

Zhang Pu laughed again. He had already encountered one such incident after school, though whether Gao Lixia and the others had intentionally kept it quiet afterward, he couldn’t say. Zheng Xiaoming, at least, seemed completely unaware.

Zhang Pu regarded Zheng Xiaoming as a friend. If things played out as they had in his previous life, without intervention, Zheng Xiaoming would meet a tragic end. But in this life, Zhang Pu was determined to prevent that disaster.

Nothing happened after school that day. Zhang Pu remembered Old Master Zeng’s matter and hurried off to procure the necessary herbs. He expected to spend the whole evening preparing the medicine, leaving no time for his own cultivation.

Even though he could use inferior substitutes, some of the Earth herbs required were still rare and not always available at every pharmacy. For instance, he had to visit several stores before finding the aged polygonum he needed.