Despite the injuries, it was all due to his willpower that Liu Jianwei could still move normally. After a brief ma.s.sage, Su Tao prepared a prescription for internal injuries, and when Liu Jianwei drank it, he could instantly feel a soothing sensation to his five viscera and six bowels. At the same time, he had gained a deep understanding of Su Tao"s medical skills. Martial Artists were afraid of injuries the most. Back then, when he was still in the monastery, they had a monk that could treat their injuries. But in the underground arena, he didn"t have that luxury, so his injuries started to pile up when they couldn"t be adequately treated.
Although the effect of Su Tao"s treatment wasn"t instant, it was still higher than the monk they had in the monastery, giving Liu Jianwei a new view of Su Tao.
Liu Jianwei had his own thoughts regarding Su Tao"s invitation. As a prideful and untamed person, it"s impossible for him to willingly go under someone. The reason why he had promised Su Tao to work for him was only out of convenient planning. But right now, there was another thought circulating in his mind. If he followed Su Tao, he might be able to get all the injuries in his body treated.
This was also Su Tao"s motive for treating Liu Jianwei as well, he needed to keep the latter"s heart with him so that the latter could be loyal to him. However, that wasn"t something that could be accomplished in one day, so the first thing he had to do, right now, was to treat Liu Jianwei"s old injuries. In this manner, he might be able to make Liu Jianwei feel grat.i.tude for him in his heart.
When Liu Jianwei came out of Su Tao"s bedroom, Xia Yu was standing in the courtyard for quite a while, smoking. His gaze was on Liu Jianwei for a long time. Xia Yu wanted to see through the former. When Liu Jianwei noticed Xia Yu"s abnormal gaze, he also looked at the latter with sparks flying between their eyes.
A room was arranged for Liu Jianwei by Cai Yan. Although it wasn"t luxurious, it was still better than what he had been staying at in this period of time. Thus, he was satisfied with such arrangements. The bedding was all new and thick, it felt comfortably soft with the scent of suns.h.i.+ne. With his head over his arm, Liu Jianwei looked at the ceiling and he started to reminisce about the past. At this moment, it felt as if he had found a home.
Changing the tea leaves and brewing another pot, Su Tao asked with a smile upon seeing Xia Yu"s knitted brows, "What"s wrong?"
"The security was a little tight, and it"s impossible for me to get through them." Xia Yu sighed.
Nodding his head, Su Tao responded, "Have you given a copy of the information to the police?"
Rubbing his nose, Xia Yu answered, "I have given it to a close friend of mine. He"s doing much better than I am; he"s in the criminal police now. Judging from his tone, I can tell that he doesn"t really place much importance in this matter."
Su Tao a.n.a.lysed, "There are two possibilities. Firstly, Xu Jiangang and Qiao Dehao might have someone covering up for them through their connections. Secondly, our information isn"t detailed enough for the police to look at."
Rubbing his brows, Xia Yu sighed in exhaustion, "What should we do now?" He had spent quite a bit of time investigating this matter, so he felt a little anxious now that he had encountered a bottleneck.
After a brief silence, Su Tao replied, "How can we get more information without going deep? We just have to force our way in."
"Just the two of us?" Xia Yu widened his eyes.
"What? You"re scared?" Su Tao smiled.
"Says who, why don"t I dare?" Xia Yu rubbed the beard stubble on his chin as his eyes lit up. Deep in his bones, Xia Yu was also a hot-blooded person.
With a smile, Su Tao continued, "Strictly speaking; it should be three of us. Including Liu Jianwei, the one that you"ve just met."
Xia Yu sighed, "Is he trustworthy?"
Taking a sip of the tea, Su Tao replied, "As for that, we"ll naturally know after fighting together. I can guarantee that he isn"t the kind of person that will betray his companions."
Xia Yu grinned. "He suits me, then!"
Glancing at the time after Xia Yu left, it wasn"t even 10 p.m. Su Tao stood up and strolled towards a fruit store by the roadside. With a basket of fruits, Su Tao walked in the direction of Yan Wujin"s home. It was all thanks to Yan Wujin"s guidance that he could win against Liu Jianwei. As a smart person, he could tell that Yan Wujin had the intentions of teaching him martial arts. Even if all of his attention was focused on improving his medical skills, it"s still good to learn more stuff.
The lights of the Yan Family were still lit up. Yan Sha was standing on the balcony on the second floor. When she saw a familiar silhouette walking over, she smiled and swiftly went down to look for Yan Wujin. "Grandfather, Su Tao really came, as you had predicted! He even brought some stuff along with him."
Nodding his head with a smile, Yan Wujin replied, "What are you waiting for? Go open the door, then."
Taking two steps forth, Yan Sha stopped and asked in puzzlement, "How did you know that he would come?"
Yan Wujin waved his hand to dismiss Yan Sha. She was too young and inexperienced to decipher the meaning through words. If Su Tao didn"t have that bit of intelligence, then he also wouldn"t deserve Yan Wujin"s guidance.
Su Tao looked at Yan Sha, who was standing by the door. Her exquisite face still had some baby fat on it. She had full glistening black hair, and because of a background as a martial artist, her figure was much taller than anyone at her age. Although Su Tao wasn"t against women using cosmetics to beautify themselves, Yan Sha was a girl blessed by the heavens with a natural beauty that cannot be replicated.
Following Yan Sha in, Su Tao was walking behind and was looking at her ponytail as it fluttered in the air with an urge to give it a pull. Although her back was facing Su Tao, she seemed to be able to sense his thoughts, so she abruptly turned and glared at him. "What are you thinking?"
Su Tao would naturally not admit his thoughts, so he s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the painting hung on the wall, "Nothing."
"Liar! You"re not a block of wood, so how can you not have any thoughts!" Yan Sha pouted.
Knitting his brows, Su Tao coughed, since this girl"s tone was a little overbearing. "Alright, then. Truth be told, I was just admiring your body being so well-developed, curvy in the right places. I bet there are many boys in the school wooing you as well, along with those secret love letters, right?"
Yan Sha never expected Su Tao to speak so straightforwardly, so her face turned red. She immediately threw a kick towards Su Tao"s shank. However, with a quick reaction time and also being prepared for it, Su Tao easily dodge it. However, Yan Sha"s leg continued to pursue him, and shortly after, a cough resounded as Yan Wujin came out with his brows knitted. "Shasha, what are you doing?"
Yan Sha"s face was red, but she couldn"t say the words that Su Tao had previously spoke, since he was right. There were many boys in her cla.s.s after her. Thus, she could only bite on her lips and gave Su Tao a deep glare before walking away.
With a helpless sigh, Yan Wujin apologised, "I"ve pampered Yan Sha too much. Please pardon her rudeness."
Feeling a little guilty in his heart, Su Tao smiled. "I was just playing a small joke with Yan Sha, which made her angry."
When Yan Sha heard how earnest Su Tao was while talking to Yan Sujin, she gritted her teeth and felt that Su Tao knew how to act well. Su Tao wasn"t too old in her view, how far apart was a 15- and 20-year-old? However, her grandfather had treated them differently. In short, her grandfather treated Su Tao like a proper adult, while she"s just a kid.
Calling out to Yan Sha, Yan Wujin pointed at the tea set, "Brew tea for us!"
With a glance at Su Tao, Yan Wujin said, "Let Yan Sha do it, her skill is pretty good."
With her slim hands on the teapot, Yan Sha"s expression turned sincere. Water splashed as she rinsed the tea leaves in water. When she was done, she poured the boiling hot water in an empty cup for it to cool down. She had to wait for the temperature drop to around 70°C before she could brew tea with it. A water in that temperature could bring out the flavour of the tea a little more. If it was too hot, it would just ruin the taste of the tea leaves.
Roughly five minutes later, the tea was finally prepared. Although the tea leaves that were used weren"t particularly famous, they had a good texture to them and the water used for the tea should be from the well.
Taking a sip, Su Tao said, "Senior Yan, the reason why I"m here is that I wish to take you as my Master. Please impart your martial arts to me."
It was already within Yan Wujin"s expectations, so he wasn"t surprised by Su Tao"s sudden request. Rubbing his beard gently, he smiled. "Everyone has a motive in everything, and I wish to know why you want to learn martial arts."
It was a question that was given by Yan Wujin, which Su Tao replied with a smile. "It was under the request of my Seniors that I picked up medical studies. As humans are lazy in nature, I didn"t like it in the beginning. While my medical skills progressed, I suddenly realised that I had the ability to change myself and others. It gave me an unspeakable sense of achievement, so the reason why I want to learn Martial Arts is to increase that sense of achievement in one way or another."
Knitting his brows, Yan Wujin asked after a brief ponder, "You mean that you want to learn martial arts to help more people?"
Faintly smiling, Su Tao replied, "I"m not that n.o.ble. I want to protect myself, that"s the reason why I wish to learn martial arts. If I want to help others, my medical skills are sufficient for that purpose."
Yan Sha suddenly interrupted from the side with disdain. "Grandfather, don"t teach him. He thinks that martial arts are lower than medical skills, and it cannot be used to help more people."
Her words were pretty sharp, but Su Tao sighed as he explained without panicking, "Everyone has their own view. It"s the same as asking if your right or left hand is more important. Some people are left-handed, while some of them are right-handed."
With a faint smile, Yan Wujin said, "I"m gratified that you"re willing to tell me the truth without any intentions to get on my good side with your words and place more importance on martial arts. The influence of martial arts isn"t as good as TCM as they"re being continually weakening. The fundamentals of martial arts is to strengthen our body, and since you have chosen me, I will take you as a disciple on behalf of Yan Sha"s mother."
However, his words left Su Tao and Yan Sha stunned.