Chapter 43: Never Having Seen It Does Not Mean It Does Not Exist

"Walk right in, and you will see him very soon."

In the snow, the youth with a pig-head mask pointed at the pitch-black crack before him and said to Chuxue.

Hearing this, Chuxue nodded and then walked toward the crack.

Before entering the fissure, she turned around and could not help asking, "What is your relationship with Wang Chu?"

The pig-headed youth smiled and replied, "Hahaha, he is my older brother."

Chuxue took a deep breath. "I see."

With that, she slipped into the crack.

Looking at the vanishing fissure, the pig-headed youth muttered to himself, "I killed a few more pigs tonight, so I should be able to eat one more piece of candy."

***

After stepping into the black fissure, Chuxue only felt streaks of black light flashing past her eyes.

A moment later, as the black light dissipated, she found herself back in that familiar, cozy, and cramped little room.

Wang Chu was still sitting in front of the wooden table, with a tea tray placed before him.

Holding a teacup in his hand, he slowly rubbed its rim, raised his eyes, and looked at her quietly. "You're back."

Chuxue smiled faintly, leaned forward, and sat down opposite Wang Chu. "Yes, I'd like to trouble you for one more day."

She did not ask about the identity of the pig-headed youth or the secrets of Wang Chu.

None of those things mattered.

Wang Chu pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea toward Chuxue. "Where would you like to go tomorrow?"

Chuxue thought for a moment and said, "A place surrounded by mountains and rivers, preferably somewhere that blooms with flowers all over in the spring. Would that be possible?"

Wang Chu quickly understood Chuxue's intention. "Oh? You've picked quite a nice location for your graveyard."

Chuxue smiled sweetly, showing no sign of anger at the mention of the word "graveyard" by Wang Chu. "There is a line of poetry in a book that I really like, and I chose the location based on it."

Curious, Wang Chu brought the teacup to his lips. "What poetry?"

With that, he took a sip of tea.

Chuxue picked up the teacup in front of her and blew gently on the rising steam. "I only wish to face the sea, with spring flowers blossoming."

"Puff!"

Hearing these words, Wang Chu, who had just taken a gulp of tea, almost spat it right out.

Chuxue tilted her head, her eyes filled with confusion. "Is there something wrong?"

Wang Chu placed one hand under his mouth to prevent any spilled tea from dripping onto the table, while waving his other hand dismissively.

"No, it's just that I've read this poem before."

Kidding aside, wasn't this poem something he had brought over from his previous life?

During a certain period when he had nothing better to do, Wang Chu had imported quite a few things into the bookstore he ran...

"Oh?" Chuxue looked somewhat delighted. "So you've read this poem too?"

Wang Chu nodded with a trace of embarrassment. "Mm, I've read it. I like this poem very much."

Chuxue immediately felt a sense of regret for not having met him sooner. "Really? I like it a lot too!"

She puckered her lips. "However, I saw in another book that because this poem is written in such colloquial language, it isn't very popular."

"That just means they don't understand," Wang Chu muttered somewhat unconvincedly.

Chuxue agreed wholeheartedly. "Yes, exactly! They just don't understand! While poems like 'Raising my head to look at the bright moon, lowering my head to think of my hometown' are also very good, I think 'facing the sea, with spring flowers blossoming' is wonderful too. What matters is the emotion and content contained within, not the form."

Wang Chu gave her a thumbs-up. "Your insight is profound, at least five hundred years ahead of this era."

Chuxue lowered her head, slightly embarrassed, took a sip of tea, then put down the cup and wiped her mouth. "It's not as great as you say, just my own foolish opinion."

Wang Chu picked up the teapot, added some water to his nearly empty teacup, and then looked at Chuxue's cup. "Would you like a refill?"

Chuxue waved her hand. "Thank you, no need."

Wang Chu put down the teapot and swirled his teacup. "Since it's about facing the sea and spring flowers blossoming, there ought to be an ocean, shouldn't there?"

Chuxue rubbed the rim of her teacup. "Within the borders of Lingcheng, where would you find an ocean? The sea is far too distant from me."

Wang Chu took another sip of tea. "I can help bring you closer to it."

Chuxue's heart trembled fiercely, as if a current of electricity surged up from the soles of her feet. "Can you actually do that?"

Wang Chu snapped his fingers, and a fissure instantly materialized beside him. "Of course I can. My moniker as the Immortal Realm's Doraemon is not undeserved."

"The Immortal Realm's Doraemon?" Chuxue looked bewildered. "What does Doraemon mean?"

Wang Chu touched his chin, pondered for a moment, and then explained, "It's a cat spirit with boundless magical powers."

Chuxue looked utterly astonished. "There are monsters like that?"

Wang Chu felt a bit guilty. "Hahaha, the world is vast and full of wonders; there are plenty of marvelous things."

Chuxue nodded in a daze. "Oh, is that so... Well, knowledgeable and well-traveled must refer to you."

Wang Chu shook his leg smugly. "Hahaha, exactly, that's none other than yours truly!"

The two chatted happily until evening, when the arrival of an old man forced their conversation to a halt.

Sitting before the wooden table, Chuxue looked at the hunched, raggedly dressed, and stubbly old man standing in front of her, finding it very difficult to associate him with a physician.

"Didn't I say, even if the divine doctor Hua Tuo were here, it would still be difficult to neutralize this poison of mine? There's no need for you to waste your efforts."

Hearing this, the old man couldn't help but smile, boasting boastfully, "Young lady, you are speaking much too soon. Under the heavens, there is no ailment that the Immortal Physician Hua Tuo cannot cure."

Chuxue quickly stood up and bowed to the old man with a hint of embarrassment. "Please do not take offense, Sir. I do not look down upon your medical skills; rather, the poison I have contracted is one of the six greatest bizarre poisons in the present world. The book says that this poison remains incurable to this day, and even if a cultivator at the Mahayana stage were here, they could not help me."

The old man stroked his beard, remaining supremely confident. "What is learned from books is ultimately superficial; one must personally practice what they preach to truly understand it. Young lady, books are important, but you must not believe them blindly."

These very words had been spoken to him by Wang Chu back when the old man was first studying medicine.

Now, he repeated those exact words to Chuxue without changing a single syllable.

"One must personally practice what they preach to truly understand it..."

Chuxue murmured the line of poetry, suddenly enlightened. "I understand. Then please examine me, Sir."

The old man nodded slightly. "Very well, this old man shall take your pulse for you right now."

The old man immediately closed his eyes, yet he did not ask Chuxue to extend her wrist.

Standing before the old man, Chuxue wore a blank expression.

Weren't we supposed to be taking a pulse? Why does your old self look like your soul has wandered off beyond the heavens?

Filled with utter perplexity, Chuxue turned her gaze toward Wang Chu, who was sitting nearby.

Wang Chu smiled and explained, "Don't find it strange. When this gentleman takes someone's pulse, he never relies on physical contact, but rather on divine sense."

To be more precise, it should be a full-body scan...

Wang Chu muttered inwardly to himself.

Chuxue opened her mouth, her horizons completely broadened. "It can be done like that?"

Wang Chu put on a profound air. "Didn't I tell you? The world is vast and full of wonders. Just because you don't know or haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Chuxue nodded heavily. "That's true. It seems this gentleman is truly an extraordinary master!"