Guo Tianren, the Reclusive Master

A little over an hour later, Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei appeared in Su Ziyang's living room.

"Come, come, let me see." Mr. Mengfei took Fairy Li's phone and scrolled through her chat history with Zhang Guozhou.

"It's like searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly. Is this what they call fate?"

Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei huddled together, staring at Fairy Li's screen for a long time.

"Hey Xiao Li, could you send this message to this kid and tell him you're willing to buy private lessons, but we need to meet in person and have a trial lesson, okay?"

Mr. Mengfei and Daoist Jin discussed it and decided to first test whether this Guo Tianren was indeed the Guo Tianren they were looking for.

Fairy Li took out her phone and sent the message to Zhang Guozhou.

Upon seeing the message, Zhang Guozhou excitedly jumped up from the sofa. "Master, Master! It's done! The girl's taken the bait! Now it's up to you to take over!"

"Okay." Zhang Guozhou's master sat to the side and nodded calmly.

"Master, don't be angry with me. Hehe. Although I didn't make a big profit this time, I didn't lose out, right?" Zhang Guozhou said to his master with a grin.

I'll let you off this time. Just mind your own business from now on, don't let a small thing cause you to lose more!

After saying this, Zhang Guozhou's master took out the rhinoceros horn hairpin from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Guozhou. Zhang Guozhou accepted it with a fawning expression and then tied up his loose hair with the hairpin.

Fairy Li still arranged to meet Zhang Guozhou at the same place as before in Little Jiangnan. However, this time Su Ziyang couldn't easily show himself, so he hid in an empty private room on the side, while Daoist Jin, Mr. Mengfei, Daoist Master Xiao Yang accompanied Fairy Li.

At 8:30, Zhang Guozhou Zhang Guozhou his master arrived at the private room on time.

When the master and apprentice pushed open the door and entered, they were taken aback to see two middle-aged men in the room.

"Master Zhang, you've arrived." Fairy Li quickly stood up to greet Zhang Guozhou as he entered.

"These are two good friends of mine. They're also interested in the secret recipe you mentioned, so they came along to take a look. Sorry they didn't discuss it with you beforehand."

Fairy Li's voice was sweet and gentle. Upon hearing it, Zhang Guozhou's master's puzzled expression vanished instantly, replaced by an air of detached sagehood. He then said, "No problem, no problem. Meeting is fate. It's a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other!"

Thank you!

After Zhang Guozhou entered, he closed the door, looked around the room, and sat down next to Fairy Li in the same position as last time. "Zijun, last time was a huge misunderstanding. Your suitor almost beat me up; I was even ready to call the police. But for your sake, I thought I'd let it go! After all, we're friends."

Fairy Li covered her mouth and chuckled, then said, "Look at what you're saying! I was actually planning to introduce you to that person last time, so you two could get to know each other. But he was so rude that my friend misunderstood. Honestly!"

"That's good, that's good. I don't want to have such a huge 'turd' stuck on my head, right!"

As soon as Zhang Guozhou entered, he started chatting with Fairy Li, while Zhang Guozhou's master sat silently to the side, his face gradually darkening.

"Cough cough..."

Zhang Guozhou's master coughed lightly twice. Zhang Guozhou immediately understood, stood up to pour tea for his master, and then said to Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei, "How should I address you? Let me introduce you. This is my master. You can call him Master Guo."

"My surname is Jin, and they all call me Lao Jin," Daoist Jin chuckled as he introduced himself.

"My surname is Meng." Mr. Mengfei stood up and nodded politely to the master and apprentice.

"Mr. Jin, Mr. Meng! It's fate that we meet. Hello to both of you." Zhang Guozhou also greeted them very politely.

"Let's order!" Fairy Li urged, seeing that everyone had arrived.

The focus of this meal wasn't on the food itself, so the group ordered five dishes, all of which were very simple and inexpensive.

"Zijun, it's like this. My master's medical skills were passed down from ancient sorcerers. The skills we pass down, and the secret formulas we use, are based on three words: simple, effective, and inexpensive."

Zhang Guozhou Zhang Guozhou stopped trying to get close to Fairy Li and started talking seriously about business, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Simplicity means ease of use; all the secret formulas and preparation methods are simple and easy to learn. Effectiveness means immediate results; true skill lies in learning it quickly and using it effectively! Inexpensiveness is even simpler; the methods and medicines we use do not contain expensive or rare ingredients, allowing everyone to better practice medicine and help the world."

Everyone looked at Zhang Guozhou, but Zhang Guozhou was not intimidated at all, and his speech was as melodious and rhythmic as a public address.

"But we heard from Zijun that your teaching and secret recipe fees are by no means cheap!" After Zhang Guozhou, Mr. Mengfei continued Zhang Guozhou's words with a question.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Guozhou remained completely calm, looking at Mr. Mengfei with a slight smile, "Mr. Meng, you jest. The Dao is not easily passed on, and the Dharma is not cheaply sold. When Tang Sanzang endured eighty hardships to reach the Great Thunderclap Monastery to obtain the true scriptures, he still had to pay the two scripture guardians before they would give him the Tang Sanzang. It's the same principle. The so-called simplicity, effectiveness, and affordability refer to the composition of our secret formula, not to the process of inventing and summarizing it."

"These secret recipes, passed down through eighteen generations of our family lineage, can't just be given away casually, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! This young man makes a very good point! That's exactly how it should be done, that's exactly how it should be done!"

After listening to Zhang Guozhou's ramblings, Daoist Jin immediately echoed his praise, and a smug smile appeared on Daoist Jin Zhang Guozhou's face.

Seeing the admiring look in Daoist Jin's eyes, Zhang Guozhou thought smugly, "So many people have asked this question before, how could I not be able to deal with you!"

"Yes, I support you too." Fairy Li smiled, her eyes narrowed. "Master Guo, could you briefly explain it to us so we can try it out? If the three of us think it's acceptable, we'll make a deal immediately. It would be best if you could give us the secret recipe tonight."

Guo Tianren nodded with a cool and aloof air, then touched his beardless chin. "The medicines used in traditional Chinese medicine don't follow medical principles; they are direct and straightforward, striking the root of the problem. Those who study medicine only know about sweating, vomiting, purging, harmonizing, clearing, warming, eliminating, and tonifying. They don't know that medicine has its limits, its pathways, and its interceptions. This is the secret of ancient Chinese medicine, never to be passed on."

These words sounded very profound, but Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei exchanged a knowing smile.

Guo Tianren's words might fool laymen, but to Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei, they sounded like a joke. Moreover, Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei used Guo Tianren's words to basically confirm his identity; he was most likely the disciple of the old man Yang Jinguang.

The terms Guo Tianren used to describe "top," "string," and "intercept" were...

Actually, these are the slang terms used by itinerant doctors when they travel the streets and alleys. To put it bluntly, "deng yao" is the Vomiting Method in traditional medicine. "Chuan yao" is the purgative method in traditional medicine, which causes diarrhea after taking it. "Jie yao" are all diaphoretics and dispersing agents.

After Guo Tianren finished speaking, he saw that everyone in the room was staring at him intently, with the same expressions as those of the people he had deceived before. He immediately felt a sense of superiority.

So Guo Tianren stopped talking, picked up his teacup, took a small sip of tea, and cleared his throat. His actions exuded the air of a reclusive sage.

Just as Guo Tianren was making these showing-off moves, the Daoist Master Xiao Yang, who was sitting next to Mr. Mengfei, gently nudged Mr. Mengfei. Mr. Mengfei and then handed him his phone under the table.

The phone screen showed a message from Su Ziyang. Just now, while Daoist Master Xiao Yang was pretending to play on his phone, he secretly took a picture of Guo Tianren and sent it to Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang replied: It's him.

After reading Su Ziyang's message, Mr. Mengfei smiled.

After Guo Tianren had put on a good physical performance, he cleared his throat and prepared to continue his speech, "Therefore, the medicines of esoteric arts are different from the medicines of the secular world..."

"Master Guo, may I interrupt for a moment to ask a question?" Mr. Mengfei asked Guo Tianren with a smile.

"Please speak freely!" Seeing that Mr. Mengfei was about to ask a question, Guo Tianren picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.

"Since you've mentioned the methods of 'top-level medicine,' 'intercepting medicine,' and 'intercepting medicine,' I wonder if your 'Wuqie Bag' contains any elixir-stealing medicine, alchemical elixir, river-blocking net, or eight-sided sharp blade?"

Upon hearing Su Ziyang's words, Guo Tianren swallowed the tea he had just put in his mouth with a gulp, choking Guo Tianren lowered his head and frantically patted his chest.

"Master, what's wrong!" Zhang Guozhou had never seen his master so distraught, after all, the two of them always presented themselves as reclusive masters in front of outsiders.

Zhang Guozhou quickly stood up, patted Guo Tianren on the back, and then pointed at Mr. Mengfei, saying, "Don't ask random questions. In spreading the teachings, faith is paramount; faith brings efficacy. How could you ask such random questions, and what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Zhang Guozhou continued to berate Mr. Mengfei with an arrogant attitude.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Guozhou was pulled behind Guo Tianren, who had recovered, and then bowed to Mr. Mengfei, saying, "I wonder which river you belong to? It seems we should keep to ourselves!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Daoist Jin's temper is much more volatile than Mr. Mengfei's.

Do you recognize this one?

As he spoke, he tossed the black cloth bag that Yang Jinguang had given him from his backpack to Guo Tianren.

Guo Tianren nimbly caught the bag that Daoist Jin threw to him, and then untied the rope.

Upon seeing the contents of the pocket, Guo Tianren's face immediately darkened, and he stared sharply at Daoist Jin: "Did the old man send you? How did you find me?"

"Senior Yang asked me to pass on a message to you. He said that your family has been thinking about you all these years and wants you to go back and visit whenever you have time. He misses you very much!" Daoist Jin said calmly, sitting in his chair, ignoring Guo Tianren's gloomy expression.

"Remember me? Bah! If I hadn't run away fast back then, that old geezer would probably have lost all his skills. Would he remember me?!"

Guo Tianren's expression changed instantly, completely abandoning his previous air of superiority, and he began to hurl insults.

"There's no way you could find me. Did you set them up?"

Unexpectedly, Guo Tianren turned around and grabbed Zhang Guozhou by the neck, pinning him firmly against the wall. In a second, Zhang Guozhou's tongue lolled out, his face turned blue, and he was about to die.

"It has nothing to do with him, you just made a fool of yourself!" A voice came from the doorway; it was Su Ziyang, who had been squatting in the next private room.

"It's you!!!"

Upon seeing Su Ziyang appear, Guo Tianren immediately released Zhang Guozhou Zhang Guozhou, who collapsed to the ground, his crotch slightly damp.

"Get up!" Guo Tianren turned around and glared at Zhang Guozhou, then shouted sternly.

Whether from being pinched or frightened, Zhang Guozhou struggled a couple of times, but his legs were as weak as noodles, and he couldn't stand up.

"Useless piece of trash." Guo Tianren cursed, reaching out to pull Zhang Guozhou up from the ground. But as soon as Guo Tianren let go, Zhang Guozhou collapsed back onto the ground like a lump of mud, staring at Guo Tianren with fear in his eyes.

Guo Tianren glared at Zhang Guozhou, reached out and pulled the rhinoceros horn hairpin off his head, then turned and tried to run away by himself.

"Where are you going!"

Su Ziyang let out a low shout and delivered a palm strike directly in his face.

Guo Tianren had no intention of continuing the fight. He ducked to avoid Su Ziyang's palm strike and continued running quickly toward the door.

Seeing Guo Tianren continue running, Su Ziyang turned around, grabbed Guo Tianren's shirt from behind, twisted his body, and shouted with all his might, "Come back!"

Despite having no will to fight, Guo Tianren, who weighed over 150 pounds, was actually pulled off the ground by Su Ziyang and sent flying back into the house.

When Zhang Guozhou tried to run away again, he found that Daoist Jin was already standing at the door. He was already struggling to deal with Su Ziyang, let alone an old bearded man whose strength he didn't know. Zhang Guozhou immediately gave up the idea of running away.

What do you want?!

Zhang Guozhou steadied himself, looked around at the people in the room, and asked.

"Nothing much. I just want justice and to ask why someone was injured innocently." Mr. Mengfei also stood up, placed his hands on the table, and looked calmly at Guo Tianren.

"You win with more than you have, but you don't win with force. You don't count as Jianghu people!" Guo Tianren saw that he couldn't leave, so he started talking about Jianghu.

"Do you even consider yourself a member of the Jianghu? You kill complete strangers, poison innocent people and then steal their money. You don't even spare livestock, and you still dare to call yourself a member of the Jianghu? What are you anyway!"

Mr. Mengfei's rapid-fire retort left Guo Tianren speechless.

"Damn it, what do you want to do about it? You can't just kill me in broad daylight, in the middle of the day! This is a society governed by law."

Seeing that he couldn't win a fight or run away, Guo Tianren actually squatted on the ground and started acting like a rogue.

Zhang Guozhou, who was lying on the ground to the side, looked at his master, who was acting like a scoundrel, and his eyes darted around, seemingly lost in thought.