Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 102 - 96: Insect Repellent Ointment

In the end, Hong Yuan didn’t ride in his shabby old carriage.

The Martial Artist Institute had its own carriages—a set of three, no less.

So, Lu Chang’sheng’s little carriage looked a bit out of place and drew plenty of attention.

They left by the East Gate, heading eastward. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

With the Passage Document clearing the way, the three carriages passed smoothly without the slightest trouble at the checkpoints.

Half a month later, the carriages veered off the main road, turning northeast, and after a few more days, they stopped at an inn in a small town under Fufeng County’s jurisdiction.

"Senior Brother Yu Hai!"

A short while later, Lu Chang’sheng saw Yu Hai and his father, Guan Hongxiu.

The two had also arrived in a three-horse carriage.

Only, the coachman didn’t look too happy, and muttered under his breath as he got off.

"Sigh~ Tell me this isn’t suffering? We barely have much silver at home, but just to save face, we went and rented this three-horse carriage anyway."

The ’three-horse carriage’ wasn’t three carriages, but rather one carriage pulled by three horses.

Lu Chang’sheng was a bit surprised, thinking, "Maybe the seniors have their own reasons!"

He remembered his teacher once said that in the True Qi Realm, your senses are sharp, so it’s better to be careful—walls have ears out here.

"Reasons? It’s all about face! I heard that back in the day, my teacher and his friends had to compete over everything—tell me, isn’t that just being thickheaded? We’re all out here Seeking Immortality, it’d be much easier if everyone just relaxed a little, instead of—"

"Ahem, Yu Hai, come in here and lend me a hand!" Guan Hongxiu’s calm voice came from inside.

Yu Hai slapped himself across the mouth, then turned and went in.

Lu Chang’sheng thought: As expected of a true elder—he doesn’t even bother giving reasons anymore. Not like last time, when he was Alchemizing—what help does he need now?

Sure enough, when Yu Hai came back out, his left cheek was a bit swollen.

Lu Chang’sheng suspected Guan Hongxiu had used some clever force, just enough to injure the flesh but not break the skin—maybe because he knew too many people around here. That way, Yu Hai’s face just looked a little off, but no big deal at a glance.

"Elder Guan really is something!" he sighed.

Yu Hai spat to the side, missing the sarcasm in Lu Chang’sheng’s words, and felt like talking back for a moment.

What kind of ’guru’ bullshit is this?

But the burning pain on his face reminded him to keep quiet.

He was smart enough for that, at least.

"By the way, Junior Brother Lu, how much longer till you break through in your True Qi Realm Martial Arts?" Yu Hai changed the topic out of nowhere.

Lu Chang’sheng had the feeling this was what he actually wanted to ask all along.

Before Lu Chang’sheng could answer, Yu Hai shook his head and said, "It’s only been half a year, so you must still have a ways to go. Not to brag, but I’ve edged ahead of you this time!"

Looking at how pleased he was, Lu Chang’sheng found it a little doubtful.

This guy’s here to Seek Immortality like this?

Isn’t that a bit unreliable?

That night, he found a chance to ask Hong Yuan about it.

Hong Yuan just smiled and said, "Remember this: in a team, you don’t need everyone to be the strongest in everything. It’s about complementing one another—that’s the real trick."

"Yu Hai’s grown up learning Alchemy from Guan Hongxiu. That makes him super useful when it comes to exploring wild lands and finding strange items. So what if he’s not the brightest bulb? It’s not that important."

Lu Chang’sheng thought that actually made a lot of sense.

"I wonder, what exactly is ’Alchemy’?"

"It’s an offshoot of the Qihuang Skill—a kind of Abnormal Technique. Unless you’re born with the talent, you can’t learn it."

"Uh... Teacher, do you have any Alchemy for me to learn?"

Lu Chang’sheng was genuinely interested, wondering if his Golden Finger could pick up Alchemy.

Hong Yuan frowned slightly and said, "Alchemy is useless to most people anyway, and besides, your Martial Dao still has a long way to go. Why get greedy for something else?"

Hong Yuan was serious about it, so Lu Chang’sheng could only drop it for now.

······

They were staying here to wait for someone.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t stop his cultivation.

Even on the road these past two weeks, he practiced Pile Skill in the carriage, getting closer and closer to Minor Achievement in Divine Power Stake.

"Right now, my True Qi is solid, but to truly connect with Five Treasures True Skill, I still need to reach Great Success in Divine Power Stake."

Then, when Divine Power Stake and Five Treasures True Skill really merge, it’ll cut down the time I need for Five Treasures True Skill by a lot.

Suddenly, Lu Chang’sheng heard a commotion outside.

He opened the window and saw an old monk outside with kind eyes, dressed in a rough cloth robe.

"Lotus brings peace!"

He vaguely saw the old monk handing a leaf to the innkeeper who’d rushed out to meet him, calling it bodhi for good, blessing the world, and dipping it in water from a porcelain bowl to sprinkle over the innkeeper. When the innkeeper put a handful of copper coins in the monk’s bowl, the old monk finally turned and left.

"Innkeeper, where’s that monk from?" a diner asked.

The innkeeper sighed, "Who knows? Recently, monks like that show up all the time, calling themselves Lotus Monks. If you don’t give them money, bad luck follows. So I’m just paying a little to avoid disaster!"

"Why not report him to the authorities?"

As soon as the words fell, everyone glanced over, some amusement on their faces.

"The officials are all swamped right now. As long as nobody messes with their interests, who wants to wade into this kind of mess?"

"Besides, anyone with a little skill is dragging their whole family to hide out in the county town by now. The soldiers left here are a handful at best—they can’t keep order anymore!"

"Whether in the prefecture city or the county town, if real trouble breaks out, those bigwigs just want everyone back to protect them. No one’s got time to care if we live or die!"