Monkey-Man Peter

Saturday morning, sunlight filtered through the antique window lattice of the clinic, casting warm patches of light.

Although they had agreed to gather at noon, before eleven o'clock, Gwen, Peter, and Harry began arriving one after another in the backyard of the Chen-Style Chinese Medicine Clinic.

They were not the sort to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor. They could not bring themselves to let their friends and Lin Hai's elder work while they simply showed up at mealtime to eat.

Especially after last night's breathtaking battle, they cherished even more this ordinary warmth of gathering together and working toward the same thing. So, without discussing it, they all came early to help.

The backyard was already bustling with preparations.

Lin Hai had naturally arrived early in the morning. He had first practiced martial arts with his master, then tended to the flowers and plants at the Herbal Plant Shop, and helped his master handle a few miscellaneous matters for the patients who had come in that morning.

At the moment, he wore an apron and sorted through various Chinese medicinal herbs at a large square table: goji berries, astragalus root, angelica root, red dates, and more. They were all the stars of the medicinal hot pot broth they would be making later.

"Hey! We're here!" Peter was the first to charge in noisily, carrying a bag of fresh fruit he had bought along the way, with Gwen and Harry close behind.

Lin Hai was not at all surprised to see his friends arriving early. Smiling, he called out, "Perfect timing! Come help out—we've got plenty to do!"

"Absolutely!" Peter rolled up his sleeves and rushed over, bursting with energy, as though he had not been a limp puddle of exhaustion last night.

"Just tell me what