On the bus, Baili Qingfeng carefully studied the Nourishing Essence Soup prescription in the box.
The ingredients required for this prescription were extremely expensive, conservatively estimated at over one hundred thousand.
The average salary in Wuhe City was currently around four hundred. Xia City was a little higher, at about five hundred. A decent, hundred-square-meter apartment in Wuhe City cost forty to fifty thousand, while a worse one cost thirty thousand. Ten thousand for medicinal ingredients...
Could buy three houses.
"No wonder Second Grandfather guarded this Nourishing Essence Soup prescription so closely and didn't want Uncle Baili Huang or anyone else to know. One serving costs one hundred thousand... and it's being used on me and Little Uncle Baili Tianxing. If they found out, they'd inevitably feel resentful, and it might even damage the family's relationships."
Baili Qingfeng understood this clearly.
The bus soon arrived at the hospital.
When he reached the third floor of the Inpatient Department, Baili Qingfeng entered the ward. At that moment, Little Uncle Baili Tianxing was massaging and kneading Second Grandfather Baili Changkong.
Seeing Baili Qingfeng and Baili Ruoshui arrive, Baili Changkong looked extremely pleased. "My precious grandson is here."
"Second Grandfather, why didn't you tell me you'd been hospitalized?"
"It's nothing, nothing. I'll be fine in a few days. You're a university student—you have to study and practice martial arts. You should go take care of your own affairs."
Baili Qingfeng looked at Baili Changkong.
Perhaps once he cultivated the Thunder Sovereign Spirit Refinement Visualization Method to the Seventh Level Divine Might and gained the ability to influence reality with his spirit, he could try to alleviate Baili Changkong's suffering. But now...
There was nothing he could do.
Healing injuries and treating illness had to be left to the doctors.
Baili Qingfeng chatted with Baili Changkong for a while. Just then, a white-haired, youthful-looking old white man walked in from outside, accompanied by a young man of twenty-five or twenty-six.
"Old Brother Changkong, are you feeling better today?"
"Hmph. Even if you died, I wouldn't."
Baili Changkong glanced at the old man, clearly not fond of him. "If there's nothing else, put the things down and leave."
"Don't be angry, Old Brother. Don't let your anger harm your health."
As the old man spoke, he set down the things he had bought one by one. At the same time, he glanced at Baili Qingfeng. "This must be that proud junior of yours, Baili Qingfeng, right? Truly masculine and handsome, with an extraordinary bearing. At such a young age, he already has the air of a grandmaster. Given time, he'll certainly become a powerful expert."
"Et, I'm warning you—don't get any ideas about my grandson!"
"What do people practice martial arts for? To rise above the masses and establish great deeds, nothing more. Since ancient times, they've said that once one masters the arts of letters and war, one should offer them to the imperial family. We..."
"Go, go, go. Looking at you makes me angry."
Before the old man could finish, Baili Changkong had already begun driving him away.
Seeing that Baili Changkong was genuinely angry, the old man could say no more and could only offer, "Then... I'll come again after you're discharged."
"Don't come again."
Baili Changkong was completely unceremonious.
The old man smiled, nodded at Baili Qingfeng and Baili Tianxing, and left with the young man.
"Second Grandfather, that was..."
Baili Qingfeng asked in confusion.
Baili Changkong said nothing. His eyes were somewhat vacant, as if he were lost in thought.
Baili Qingfeng exchanged a glance with Baili Tianxing, and neither spoke.
After quite a while, Baili Changkong finally let out a sigh.
"Xia..."
After sighing, he spoke again only after a long moment. "All right, Tianxing. You two go out first. I want to sleep for a while."
"Then, Dad, get some good rest."
As Baili Tianxing spoke, he signaled to Baili Qingfeng and Baili Ruoshui, then withdrew.
After leaving the ward, he turned to Baili Ruoshui and said, "Ruoshui, stew some kelp and pork-rib soup. Bring it over this afternoon."
"All right, Uncle."
Baili Ruoshui answered and left first.
"Did Grandpa really strain his lower back?"
"Yes... and no."
"Hm?"
"Xia was in chaos last month, wasn't it?"
"It was very chaotic."
Baili Qingfeng nodded.
"The Royal Family sent people to form a Stability Maintenance Group, with Royal Grandson Morun as its leader and three deputy leaders beneath him. That Eddie just now was one of the three deputy leaders. When the deputy leaders came to Xia, the first thing they did was visit the local martial artists. Back then, your grandfather was General Melbourne's personal guard and disciple, while Allen was General Melbourne's communications soldier. Because of this connection, he came to find your grandfather, hoping your grandfather would join the Stability Maintenance Group."
"You mean Grandpa deliberately strained his back to avoid this matter?"
"Yes."
Baili Tianxing nodded. "General Melbourne was a Xia Person and had tremendous influence locally. Your grandfather stayed constantly by General Melbourne's side back then, practically becoming the heir to his legacy. They want to use your grandfather's banner to rally the people of General Melbourne's faction and make up for their lack of strength."
Baili Qingfeng had heard Second Grandfather speak of his relationship with General Melbourne, so he wasn't surprised.
"Xia... its vortex runs deep. Hill of Light, the imperial capital, lies in the north, while Xia is a core coastal city in the south. Before Xia was even established, it was already Xia's largest trade center, controlling the Red Sun Strait, a major route through the East Divine Continent. Redflame, the Aurora Empire, the Never Setting Sun, Kalan, Ode, and even the Golden Eagle Empire far across the ocean all have their own tentacles of influence in Xia. Right now, Xia is being dragged down by the northern border with the Aurora Empire, leaving it no attention to spare for Xia. Sending over a small group like this—one misstep, and they'll fall into eternal ruin."
At this point, his tone paused slightly. "It may even implicate their families."
"Redflame is secretly supporting them, trying to split Xia apart, right?"
"Redflame isn't the only one that wants to split Xia apart."
Baili Tianxing sighed at this point. "In truth, we can't say whether Xia splitting apart would be good or bad. The Royal Family's various actions have indeed been too disappointing. Fourteen years ago, when Xia became independent, we thought the Royal Family would lead Xia toward glory. We never expected those people in the Royal Family to become just like the people they had overthrown, quickly degenerating into depravity, greed, indulgence, and insatiable demands. Countless meritorious officials were persecuted, including General Melbourne. Your grandfather left Hill of Light and returned to his hometown of Wuhe back then for this very reason."
"Some in the Xia Royal Family may be greedy, some corrupt, and some insatiable, but not everyone is like that."
At that moment, a voice came from the side.
It was the old man and young man who had left earlier: Eddie, deputy leader of the Stability Maintenance Group, and his youngest son, Et.
"The clear-sighted people within the Royal Family have already realized where the Royal Family's shortcomings lie. They're doing everything in their power to reform it, hoping to save this nation as it gradually slides toward the abyss. At this time, we need to unite every force that can be united. Only then can we lead Xia out of darkness and toward the dawn."
Eddie spoke.
"Then, Mr. Eddie, whom do you represent? The First Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, or the Sixth Prince?"
Baili Tianxing asked expressionlessly.
"I don't represent any particular prince. I represent the conviction to save Xia's future."
"But what I see is that Xia itself is already beset by internal and external troubles. Yet instead of thinking about joining forces to resolve the problems Xia faces, the four princes keep fighting for power and influence, needlessly wasting their own strength. It isn't one or two of them—the four princes are all like this!"
"If we in Xia want to change, some growing pains along the way are unavoidable. The rise of any nation requires countless nameless people behind the scenes to sacrifice their lives and shed their blood... There may be some mistaken sacrifices, but I believe that as long as we can give Xia a better future, all of this will be worth it."
"So you want to drag my father in, make him raise General Melbourne's banner, and have him cheerlead for you?"
"We can guarantee that General Melbourne's name will certainly be cleared afterward!"
"I'll say the same thing again: the Baili Family will not get involved in this matter any further."
After Baili Tianxing finished speaking, he said to Baili Qingfeng, "Let's go."
Eddie and Et watched the two leave, their eyes narrowing slightly.
"Dad... If we can't rally the people from General Melbourne's faction and have them charge into battle for us, it'll be difficult for us to accomplish anything in Xia City. We went to such lengths to secure this precious opportunity before the Third Prince. If we can't get this done... I'm afraid we'll never have a chance to rise again..."
"Don't rush. Take it slowly. We have time. The key is to handle this matter beautifully."
Eddie's tone was calm. "He wants to keep himself out of it, but has he asked whether I agree?"
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