Apprentice Ceremony

"Grandpa Chen, I've gathered all the herbs."

In the Half-Mountain Courtyard, Lu Qing, slightly out of breath, showed the Medicine Basket to Old Doctor Chen.

After digging up the Cow Bone Grass, he had raced all the way back up, afraid he would not make it in time.

The Old Doctor glanced at the herbs in the Medicine Basket and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. It wasn't easy for you to truly gather all these herbs."

"Grandpa Chen, what do you mean by that?" Lu Qing asked, somewhat puzzled.

The Old Doctor seemed to have something more in his words.

"Do you know why I set the scope of the test around the village?" the Old Doctor asked.

"I don't." Lu Qing shook his head.

"That is because there actually aren't many medicinal herbs growing near the village. Counting them all up, there are only around a dozen varieties." The Old Doctor stroked his beard. "For you to dig them all up intact and bring them here within one shichen, it is clear that you have paid close attention to these herbs in your daily life."

Hearing that, Lu Qing could not help feeling ashamed.

In truth, he had never deliberately paid attention to what medicinal herbs grew around the village.

Perhaps subconsciously, he had assumed that there would be no precious medicinal ingredients near a village bustling with people coming and going.

So unless he happened across them while out and about, he would only use his ability to take a look.

But he had never truly made the effort to find out exactly how many kinds of medicinal herbs grew near the village.

It seemed his attitude had still been far too lax.

Even the Old Doctor knew what herbs grew near the village, yet he possessed an ability and still had not managed even that much. It truly should not have been so.

Lu Qing could not help reflecting on himself.

Seeing Lu Qing remain silent, Old Doctor Chen assumed that he had tacitly admitted it.

He smiled. "All right. You have passed this test. Now go invite the Village Elders up here."

"Invite the Village Elders up?" Lu Qing was stunned.

"That's right. I am formally taking you as my disciple. There should at least be some witnesses present, otherwise it would be far too frivolous."

"Yes, I'll go right away!"

Overjoyed, Lu Qing ran down toward the Foot of the Mountain once more.

The villagers had known that Lu Qing was undergoing Old Doctor Chen's test today, so they had been watching closely all along.

When they saw Lu Qing run down from the mountain and learned that the Old Doctor had invited the Village Elders up to witness the ceremony of formally accepting Lu Qing into his school, every one of them was delighted.

"Good, good, good! Our village is finally going to produce a doctor!"

"Well done, A Qing! As expected of the cleverest child in our village—you really passed the test!"

"A Qing, go tell Old Doctor Chen that we'll be up there soon!"

The villagers had seen Lu Qing go to Old Doctor Chen's place every day to learn, and for a time they had assumed that he was already the Old Doctor's disciple.

But Lu Qing later told them that he could at most be considered Old Doctor Chen's apprentice for now, and that he was not yet qualified to formally enter the Old Doctor's school.

Now that they heard Lu Qing had finally passed the test and was about to be formally accepted as the Old Doctor's disciple, how could they not be excited?

Lu Qing returned to the Half-Mountain Courtyard. Before long, the Village Elders arrived at the mountain one after another, all dressed neatly.

Some of the Village Elders had even deliberately worn clothes they would normally only be willing to put on during the New Year.

Besides the Village Elders, other villagers who were at home also came up to watch the excitement.

Some villagers even brought rice, flour, eggs, meat, and other things with them.

Old Doctor Chen had long been waiting at the entrance to the small courtyard.

When he saw everyone arrive, he stepped forward and bowed.

"Thank you, fellow villagers, for honoring this old man by coming to attend my disciple-acceptance ceremony."

"Old Doctor, you are truly embarrassing us," Grandpa Zhang hurriedly said from the front. "We are the ones who should be thanking you."

"Ever since you came to Nine Li Village, you have cured who knows how many of our illnesses and pains. We have always kept your kindness in our hearts."

"Old Zhang, you praise me too highly. I merely did what a doctor ought to do. I cannot bear the weight of such gratitude." The Old Doctor smiled faintly.

"Whether it is a kindness or not, we know it in our hearts."

Grandpa Zhang took a basket from the hands of a young man behind him.

"Old Doctor Chen, the countryside is poor, and we have nothing precious to offer. There are a few eggs and some cured meat in here, along with a little rice and flour behind us. Consider them the Apprentice Ceremony gifts we have gathered for A Qing. We hope you will not disdain them."

As he spoke, two more young men carried up two sacks of rice and flour.

This scene left not only Lu Qing staring blankly, but even Old Doctor Chen was taken aback.

Grandpa Zhang continued, "To speak of it is shameful, but most of us in Nine Li Village fled here from elsewhere during the famine and chaos of those years."

"Those were hard times. Back on the road, if not for A Qing's grandfather supporting and leading us, I fear none of us would have escaped that calamity, endured all the way through, and found this place where we could settle down and put down roots."

"One could say that without A Qing's grandfather leading us back then, there might not be a Nine Li Village today."

"Unfortunately, A Qing's grandfather took ill during the flight from disaster. He never received proper treatment and passed away early."

"And we also failed to protect his son and daughter-in-law. They were deceived by others and met with misfortune, leaving behind only A Qing and Xiao Yan, two lonely, helpless children."

"Now that A Qing has been fortunate enough to earn your favor and take you as his master, it is a blessing greater than the heavens for him. We only hope, Old Doctor, that you will take pity on his lonely background. Even if he is careless and makes mistakes in the future, please be more forgiving and give him a few more chances."

After saying that, Grandpa Zhang gave Old Doctor Chen a deep bow.

The other Village Elders and villagers followed suit, bowing to the Old Doctor as well.

Seeing the entire crowd of villagers bowing in unison before him, even with Old Doctor Chen's decades of composure, his heart could not help but tremble.

As for Lu Qing, he had long since been deeply shaken.

For one thing, some of what Grandpa Zhang had said did not exist in the original owner's memories.

For another, he had never imagined that the villagers would go this far for him.

Old Doctor Chen was stunned for a moment, then hurried forward to help Grandpa Zhang up.

"Please rise first, everyone. If you act like this, you will truly shame this old man to death."

Then he said to Grandpa Zhang, "Old Zhang, Lu Qing is an exceptionally clever child. Being able to accept him as my disciple is also a fortunate thing for me. So rest assured, I will certainly teach him well."

Grandpa Zhang's face immediately filled with excitement. "Then, on behalf of his grandfather and parents, I thank you, Old Doctor!"

As he spoke, he handed over the basket in his hands.

"Please do not disdain these humble gifts and accept them."

"Old Zhang, you must not. I know that life is not easy for all of you, so there is no need for such ceremony."

"Rites must not be discarded. Since this is an apprenticeship, how can there be no Apprentice Ceremony gifts?"

After several rounds of refusal, Old Doctor Chen ultimately took a few eggs and a strip of cured meat from the basket as the Apprentice Ceremony gifts the villagers had prepared for Lu Qing. As for the rest, he refused to accept another thing.

Watching this, Lu Qing silently remembered it all, intending to make up the money after he returned.

To be honest, he had never even thought about the matter of Apprentice Ceremony gifts.

He had assumed that, with everyone as witnesses, all he needed to do was kowtow a few times to the Old Doctor.

Yet he had overlooked the fact that this was an Otherworld much like ancient times. A formal apprenticeship ceremony was far more complicated than he had imagined.

After that interruption, the Old Doctor finally invited the villagers into the courtyard.

Then, before everyone's eyes, Lu Qing began the formal apprenticeship ceremony.