Ailment

Without the significant changes brought about by a child's growth, the passage of time would have been imperceptible to Zhang Xuezhou.

He was in the most energetic and youngest stage of his life, and his spiritual practice made this stage very sustainable, so his body did not reach the point where he felt his energy waning and he began to age.

Looking back, Zhang Xuezhou realized that he had been in the entertainment industry for over ten years.

Not only has the new emperor, who is younger than him, entered the Divine Ability Realm, but Wei Shao'er's child can also run and talk, and is unusually bold and mischievous.

Many people in Zhang Household Village used to catch insects, toads, and snakes when they were young, but none of them did such things at the age of two. In fact, when they were two, their speech was still not very clear.

This surprised Zhang Xuezhou quite a bit about the child's boldness.

"Huo Qubing, where is your father?"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced around and saw that Wei Shao'er and Chen Zhang were nowhere to be seen, only Huo Qubing was crouching in the bushes, peeking.

"Living dead, you know my name?"

Only after Zhang Xuezhou pointed at him and mentioned his name did Huo Qubing, who was hiding in the bushes, cautiously peek out.

The other person's face was filthy, and their clothes were new but dirty.

Zhang Xuezhou only needed one glance to understand Huo Qubing's condition.

Is your mother sick?

Zhang Xuezhou paid no attention to the nickname Huo Qubing had given him. His gaze swept over a side hall of the Pingyang Marquis's residence, and he felt that Wei Shao'er was likely powerless to control Huo Qubing, while Chen Zhang would find it difficult to stay in the Pingyang Marquis's residence for long.

How did you know my mother was sick?

Huo Qubing scratched his head. His gaze had been fixed on Divine Lord Zhenyuan's sleeve with envy, but when Zhang Xuezhou mentioned Wei Shao'er's illness, his eyes suddenly fixed on Zhang Xuezhou.

"Where's your father?" Zhang Xuezhou asked again.

"My mother is sick and needs to take medicine every day. My godfather found my father a job in the palace to earn money to buy medicine!"

Huo Qubing rubbed his hands together and tilted his head to look at Zhang Xuezhou.

Very few people came and went from the Pingyang Marquis's residence. Apart from a few sanitation workers, Huo Qubing rarely saw anyone else.

Only a handful of people knew that Wei Shao'er was sick.

"My mom says you're capable, but why do I feel like that Daoist priest is even more capable than you?"

Children are simple-minded, and even Huo Qubing, who had physical abnormalities, was no exception.

After Zhang Xuezhou asked a few questions, Huo Qubing's thoughts had already turned to Divine Lord Zhenyuan, and he boldly asked a few more questions.

"It seems like he can take anything away with his sleeves. Little Wang, Little Mao, Little Guang, Little Tutu, Little Hong, Little Lü, Little Bai, and Little Maotou were all taken away," Huo Qubing asked.

"The Daoist priest is indeed more skilled than me," Zhang Xuezhou admitted, then looked towards the side hall and said, "Lead the way, I'm going to see your mother!"

Zhang Xuezhou had always believed that there was something wrong with the medicine made from the purple-gold gourd, but he didn't know exactly what the problem was.

Since Chunyu Tiying and Zheng Wukong had been missing for too long, Zhang Xuezhou suspected that the two were also suffering from the same illness and were unable to return to Chang'an City, or that they could only try to save themselves outside.

Wei Shao'er also took the medicine at that time. Zhang Xuezhou did not expect that after only a few months of not seeing her, Wei Shao'er would fall ill and even end up in a situation where Chen Zhang had to go to the palace to work and earn money to buy medicine.

He still clearly remembered that Wei Shao'er was able to fight Gongsun Gui just a few months ago, and his skills were incredibly agile. He never expected that the other party would fall ill so suddenly.

Although they weren't particularly close, they were still acquaintances, and Zhang Xuezhou didn't mind paying a visit when he came to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence.

"My godfather also said that you, Master, possess extraordinary skills. Master, can you teach me your skills?"

Huo Qubing did not lead the way; instead, he sought help from Divine Lord Zhenyuan, who was behind Zhang Xuezhou.

"Why do you want to learn skills?" Divine Lord Zhenyuan frowned.

"If I learn a skill, I can become a high-ranking official. If I become a high-ranking official, I will have money. With money, I can get medical treatment for my mother," Huo Qubing said.

"Your godfather is the Marquis of Pingyang, he has plenty of money. Getting money from your godfather to treat your illness is a faster way to make money than learning skills and becoming an official," said Divine Lord Zhenyuan.

"My godfather is my godfather, my mother is my mother, and my father is my father. My mother said that being able to stay in the Prince's mansion is already a great favor. We cannot accept rewards without merit. We must earn our own money and not ask our godfather for it for no reason," Huo Qubing said.

"Your mother has such thoughts?"

Wei Shao'er is no innocent girl; she has stolen treasures from the palace, attempted assassination, and taken advantage of Chen Zhang. None of her actions can be described as virtuous.

Zhang Xuezhou was slightly taken aback, feeling astonished by the magnitude of Wei Shao'er's change in thinking.

Seeing that Huo Qubing had his eye on Divine Lord Zhenyuan, Zhang Xuezhou didn't bother with the little brat and went directly to the side hall where Wei Shao'er was.

If he remembered correctly, if he walked a hundred meters from where he was and then turned a corner, he would be able to see where Wei Shao'er lived.

Zhang Xuezhou had not yet identified the area where Wei Shao'er was located when he saw a woman slowly walking from sitting to standing under the eaves of the side hall. Her familiar figure and face came into view.

Compared to Wei Shao'er's previous impulsive and energetic nature, she now seemed to have the demeanor of a well-bred young lady, and even the way she walked had changed.

"Are you sick or are you practicing some kind of 'ladylike walk'?"

Zhang Xuezhou was somewhat surprised when he saw it.

He looked at the handsome Wei Shao'er and couldn't find any signs of illness on her face, but Huo Qubing would never joke about being sick.

After greeting Wei Shao'er from afar, Zhang Xuezhou asked a question.

This made Wei Shao'er slowly raise her head, and then slowly stroll towards Zhang Xuezhou.

Are you really sick?

Zhang Xuezhou slid through the air, his body tilting to the side as he glided away.

With just a few steps, Zhang Xuezhou was already standing directly opposite Wei Shao'er.

I'm really sick!

Wei Shao'er looked at Zhang Xuezhou with envy, her tone extremely calm, her voice as gentle as an autumn chrysanthemum.

This made Zhang Xuezhou look at him with a suspicious expression.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, but it feels like my body is in shackles. I can't walk fast, I can't speak loudly, and my body cramps and convulses after exerting force for a while," Wei Shao'er said with a headache. "The Marquis has invited several imperial physicians to examine me, but they can't find the root of the problem. They can only give me qi-tonifying medicine from time to time!"

"Then you really have a disease of affluence!"

Looking at Wei Shao'er, Zhang Xuezhou felt that with this disease, Wei Shao'er would probably have to live a quiet life for the rest of his life.

If the illness is limited to this and does not worsen, it can at most be considered a disease of affluence, and will not have any other particularly bad effects.

"Dongfang Shuo, do you know the reason for my illness?" Wei Shao'er asked.

"No, don't take all the blame on me," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hands repeatedly, "You know your own situation best!"

Zhang Xuezhou's reminder brought a bitter look to Wei Shao'er's face.

The young man, Wei, had a ailment that baffled the imperial physicians.

Wei Shao'er couldn't recount what had happened to her body; the mere fact that she took dragon blood from the palace was enough to cost her her head.

Due to various factors, Wei Shao'er was unable to speak out, and the imperial physicians could only provide conservative treatment.

Today, Wei Shao'er has also fallen into a state of physical inconvenience, and she can't even keep up with Huo Qubing when he was just over two years old. She spends her days struggling with headaches such as chasing after her child, looking for her child, and educating her child.