Chapter 115 Daily Life in the Capital: Cultivators Hidden in the Mortal Realm...

The morning air was still cool, and children were already playing and laughing on the street outside the gate, with smoke rising from every household.

"The new family that moved in across the street hasn't been cooking, and we've never seen any smoke coming from their kitchen in days," the two servants sweeping the entrance gossiped as they worked.

"Not only did I not see any smoke coming from the kitchen, but I also didn't see any servants coming out to clean, and I didn't see anyone else coming out either. Logically speaking, although the residents on our street are not as wealthy as those on the street where officials live, those who can afford to live here are not short of money. Every household on this street, except for the newly moved-in residents, has several servants."

"We're here to get you to work, not to gossip behind your backs. If you do it again, you'll be fined a month's wages and sent back to where you came from," came the old man's voice from behind the servant.

Upon hearing the reprimand, the two servants quickly greeted him and admitted their mistake, saying, "Greetings, Master and Madam. We will work diligently and refrain from talking nonsense."

The old lady said, "It's not that you can't speak, but that you shouldn't talk about other people behind their backs."

"Yes! Yes! The old lady is right!"

The old lady said, "Alright, get to work. After you're done sweeping, come in for dinner. My husband and I are going out for a walk. If anyone invites us, we'll refuse them all."

The elderly couple, dressed simply, carried their fishing gear and went fishing early in the morning.

Before leaving, the two glanced at the tightly closed door across the street.

Once they were out of the street, the old lady said, "Sir, could it be that the two young people who recently moved in have fainted at home? Why haven't they come out for several days?"

Master: "You forbid the servants from talking about others behind their backs, so why are you talking about them yourself?"

"Tsk, I'm not letting them talk nonsense, naturally for their own good. There are powerful and influential people everywhere in the capital. What if they offend someone by not keeping their mouths shut, or expose our family affairs?"

The master said, "Alright, alright, you're right. We can't interfere in other people's business. Let's go fishing. We'll start early today and try to beat Old Man Du..."

The two gradually drifted apart.

The family across the street, whose gate was tightly shut, hadn't left their house or cooked for several days, yet they were still doing just fine.

The house was neither too big nor too small, and Song Yin could hear all the conversations outside the gate.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. You've been living here and you don't even know how to go outside or start a fire to cook."

Shi Heming was drawing talismans on paper, thinking of collecting more talismans, when he heard this he stopped writing. "If you want to eat, I can make it."

He had the idea of ​​feeding the person in front of him when he was a child, but unfortunately the person in front of him did not have a strong appetite.

Song Yin: "No, I was just saying." Before joining the sect, she must have loved eating. After joining the sect, she never went hungry again, and besides, there were fasting pills, so naturally she wouldn't eat every day.

Suddenly, she twitched her nose. "I smell something fragrant."

Shi Heming: ?

Song Yin: "It's not the smell of rice, it's the smell of herbs, and they're even spiritual herbs."

How strange! How could there be a fragrance emanating from spiritual herbs in the mortal realm? What's even stranger is that this scent only appears when refining pills. Could it be that there are pill cultivators living nearby? She got up and followed the scent out.

Shi Heming stored the tools he used for drawing talismans into his spatial storage and then went outside.

The servant across the street finished sweeping the front gate and was about to carry a broom and bucket into the house.

One of the servants saw the gate across the street open and his eyes widened immediately. He patted the other servants next to him.

"Hey, look! The gate across the street is open!"

"Huh? Why did they stop in front of Doctor Yan's house? Are they here for a medical checkup?"

The two servants chirped softly, not in a hurry to enter the house. Instead, they pretended to clean with cleaning tools, but were actually looking at gossip.

Song Yin rested her chin on her hand, "The smell is coming from this house."

Just then, the door to Dr. Yan's house opened, and a thin, but upright, gaunt old man walked out. The old man had a long white beard, his hair was also completely white, and his skin was like the bark of an old tree. He was carrying a medicine box in his hand.

As Dr. Yan stepped out, he bumped into two handsome young men. He stopped and said, “Are you two here for medical treatment? I never see patients at home. If you want to see a doctor, come with me to the Yan Family Clinic.”

The old man's tone was neither good nor bad.

Song Yin took a breath of air; the fragrance of the spiritual herbs used in alchemy had not yet dissipated. She released her divine sense to probe inside, but found no trace of alchemy.

Should we follow them or not?

After thinking it over, Song Yin decided to go and see what was going on. Since she was just killing time anyway, she might as well join in the fun.

Dr. Yan carried his medicine box and walked ahead. Sensing the two young men following behind, he didn't say anything but went straight to Yan's Medical Clinic.

It was still early, but a long queue had already formed outside Yan's Medical Clinic.

Strangely, next to the entrance of the clinic, a fortune-telling stall had been set up. The fortune teller was dressed in rags, sitting casually at the stall, and taking big bites of a meat bun.

"Dr. Yan! Dr. Yan has arrived!"

"Good morning, Dr. Yan. Have you had breakfast yet?"

Dr. Yan: "Line up one by one, no cutting in line. I will not treat anyone who cuts in line, and I will not treat anyone who causes trouble."

"Don't worry, Dr. Yan, we will always remember your rules."

Song Yin was considering whether to join the queue, because the line was really too long.

Doctor Yan suddenly said to the two of them, "You two come in with me."

Song Yin and Shi Heming were the first to enter Yan's Medical Clinic.

"What's going on? Were those two also here for treatment? Why did Doctor Yan let them in first?"

"I don't know, maybe it's not about seeing a doctor?"

"Judging from their clothes and demeanor, they are not ordinary people. It is normal for Doctor Yan to let them go in first."

"You don't understand. Even princes have to wait in line. Doctor Yan is not the kind of person you're talking about."

"Even princes are lining up to see Doctor Yan?!"

"You're so ignorant. They once wanted Doctor Yan to become a royal physician, but he didn't go."

The people in the group were talking amongst themselves, guessing and speculating, but none of them could guess the real reason.

In fact, the two people who went in first didn't know the reason either.

After Dr. Yan called them in, he left them to their own devices while he put down his medicine box and opened a drawer to check each herb.

Inside Yan's Medical Clinic, there was also an accountant, two apprentices, and two general laborers.

One of the apprentices stepped forward, intending to lead Song Yin and the others to the pulse diagnosis area, saying, "You two, come here for your medical appointments."

At this moment, Doctor Yan spoke up, "Xiao Cha, they are not here to see a doctor. You and Xiao Song go and receive the people who are coming for consultation today."

"Yes, Elder Yan."

Xiaocha and Xiaosong are two apprentices at Yan's Medical Clinic. Xiaocha is a 21-year-old girl, and Xiaosong is a 19-year-old boy.

Doctor Yan looked down and dug at the herbs he was about to prepare for the patient. "How did you two end up coming to me?"

Xiao Cha and Xiao Song heard Doctor Yan speak and turned around to look, but soon they could no longer hear Doctor Yan speaking.

Unfortunately, no matter how curious they were about the two newcomers, they had to calm down and start taking their pulses seriously. If they encountered any difficult or complicated cases, they would call on Doctor Yan for help.

Song Yin answered truthfully: "I smelled the fragrance in my house, and then I followed the fragrance to your door."

This Doctor Yan is unfathomable; I always feel like I can't see through him, it's really strange...

"Not a rogue cultivator here seeking elixirs?" Doctor Yan uttered these shocking words in a calm and collected manner.

"You're a cultivator too?" Song Yin was genuinely surprised, because Doctor Yan had no spiritual energy fluctuations around him, and she couldn't tell his cultivation level at all; he was just like an ordinary person.

After examining the medicinal herbs, Doctor Yan finally looked at the two of them: "You two didn't even know how to hide your spiritual energy fluctuations. It seems you never intended to conceal your cultivation levels."

Song Yin: "So the fragrance of the spiritual herbs back then was from when you were refining pills?"

“You’re so familiar with the scent of spiritual herbs, you must be a pill cultivator too. Perfect.” Doctor Yan offered his seat. “You can come and get the medicine later. I’ll sit down and rest my old bones today.”

Song Yin: ?

...

Song Yin kept grabbing medicine from the prescription, her eyes never leaving her face as she opened them to grab more medicine.

Why did she agree to help get the medicine without even realizing it?

Dr. Yan was hailed as a miracle doctor by the public, and along with this title came long lines of people seeking his treatment.

Doctor Yan handed over the task of dispensing medicine to Song Yin, saying he was going to rest, but he was actually busy taking patients' pulses with his two apprentices.

Three people took Song Yin's pulse, and one person prepared the medicine. Song Yin was numb.

Shi Heming couldn't help with getting the medicine, so he could only help by wrapping the medicine and handing it to the patient.

Before leaving the clinic, patients would chat with Dr. Yan for a few minutes.

"Dr. Yan, are those two people inside fetching medicine your newly taken-in apprentices?"

The true apprentices, Xiao Cha and Xiao Song, pricked up their ears, wondering what kind of newcomer he was, being assigned by Elder Yan to fetch medicine so soon after arriving. Keep in mind, when they first arrived, they were doing all sorts of menial tasks.

Dr. Yan: "They are not my apprentices, but helpers I called here."

Upon hearing this, Xiaocha and Xiaosong simultaneously turned to look at the two people fetching the medicine.

To be precise, only that girl was dispensing the medicine. With so many prescriptions, she didn't make a single mistake, completing each one quickly and accurately. With such strong abilities, it's no wonder Old Master Yan called her in to help with dispensing the medicine.

As the day went by, the number of people coming to Yan's Medical Clinic for treatment was not small.

When Song Yin was getting the medicine, some herbs were used up quickly, so she had to replenish them many times. The accountant's abacus beads clicked loudly, and the two handymen quickly tidied up any mess they saw, while also making sure that their cleaning didn't disturb anyone in the clinic.

At lunchtime, only the accountant, the servants, and the apprentices took a short break to eat, while Doctor Yan and Song Yin did not rest at all.

The busy day finally came to a complete end when Yan's Medical Clinic closed today.

Song Yin patted her shoulder and said to Shi Heming, "Let's go back."

"Wait a minute." Doctor Yan called out to the two men, tossing them a purse. "This is your wages for today."

Song Yin opened her purse; inside were not spirit stones, but silver used in the mortal realm.

After a hard day's work, all she got was a few pieces of silver. Looking at Shi Heming, she realized he had even less silver than him. Song Yin couldn't help but laugh.

"If you perform even better tomorrow, I'll give you a raise." Old Yan picked up his medicine box again and headed home.

Song Yin decisively replied, "I won't be coming tomorrow."

I thought it would be interesting, but I never expected it to be so busy.

Besides, she came along because she was curious about how there could be the fragrance of spiritual herbs in the mortal world. Now that her curiosity has been satisfied, she doesn't want to stay in the clinic any longer.

Dr. Yan: "If you want to learn any skills from me, you have to start by doing manual labor."

Xiao Cha and Xiao Song gasped. They were here to learn?! The clinic was getting new apprentices—would they still have a place?!

Song Yin walked out without looking back: "I didn't mean to learn medicine from you. I just came along out of curiosity, but I ended up working for you all day."

Dr. Yan left with his medicine box, leaving the rest of the clinic's affairs to his apprentices.

On the way back, Doctor Yan said, "If you don't want to learn medicine, then you want to learn my alchemy?"

No wonder the old man asked her for help so naturally; he must have thought she was someone who wanted to learn alchemy.

"No, I don't want to." I have the best alchemy skills passed down to me, so I don't need to learn yours.

Doctor Yan: "So what do you want to do?"

At this moment, the elderly couple, who were Song Yin's neighbors across the street, were carrying buckets of water back home, and the three families met at the intersection.

"Oh, Dr. Yan is done with his work."

Doctor Yan: "Are you done with your work? How many fish did you catch today?"

"Sigh, after a whole day of work, I only caught three fish, each weighing less than a pound."

Song Yin looked at the bucket and fishing gear, and suddenly said, "Didn't you ask me what I'm doing tomorrow? I'm going fishing tomorrow."

"Fishing?" Doctor Yan was somewhat surprised. "You young people don't learn some real skills, instead you go fishing?"

Song Yin: "If I could, I would also like to be an old person like you."

This means that, according to the lifespan of ordinary people, she is not young anymore.

To the elderly couple next door, it sounded like a joke.

"The young lady is also interested in fishing. What are your names? Would you like to come with us tomorrow morning?" the old lady warmly invited.

"My surname is Song, and my given name is a single syllable."

"Shi Heming".

The old lady said, “My surname is Qin. Miss Song and Master Shi, you can call me Grandma Qin. He is my husband, and his surname is Cai.”

Dr. Yan chuckled to himself, "These two young people are much older than you two, yet they call themselves grandmas."

Song Yin: "Okay, you can just call me by my name. Grandma Qin, where can I buy fishing gear? I need to buy the gear before I can go fishing with you."

Madam Qin: "No need to buy, no need to buy, I have plenty at home, I'll give you a set."

"You two seem to be getting along quite well." Doctor Yan looked at Song Yin with a complicated expression. "This old woman, who has lived for who knows how many years, still has the nerve to call someone else 'Grandma'."

The five people chatted as they walked.

When they reached the gate of the house, Song Yin and the others, along with Madam Qin and the others, stopped. Only Doctor Yan had to walk a little further before he got home.

Madam Qin was surprised, "You two are the neighbors who moved in across the hall a few days ago?"

Shi Heming: "We did move in a few days ago and plan to stay in Beijing for a while."

Madam Qin smiled, her eyes crinkling with wrinkles. "That's good. We'll knock on your door when we set off tomorrow."

After Madam Qin and Mr. Cai entered their house, Mr. Cai finally spoke.

"Why did you ask two young men to go fishing? We can't catch many fish to begin with, and if they come along, it will be even harder for us to catch any."

Madam Qin: "Old Du invited some young people to go fishing with him today, and that's how he beat us. We can't possibly send our children fishing too, can we? They still have to go to court. Besides, they came here to invite us back. Do you want to go back to the Cai family and deal with such a large family?"

Grandpa Cai put his hands behind his back and said, "I can't argue with you. If those two don't catch any fish tomorrow, then they can get lost and never come near us again."

The next day.

Old Madam Qin waited for Song Yin and the others to come out at the door.

When the gate opened, Song Yin was seen but Shi Heming was nowhere to be seen.

Old Madam Qin looked into the gate: "Where's the other person?"

Song Yin: "If he's not going fishing today, I will."

Shi Heming wasn't interested in fishing; he wanted to collect more talismans, so he stayed home drawing talismans.

"So that's how it is." Old Madam Qin pointed to the extra items at the door. "These are the fishing tools prepared for you. Since Shi Heming isn't coming, you can choose first. Have the servants put away the extra set."

The three men, each carrying their own fishing gear, walked towards the riverbank outside the city gate.

"We didn't use a horse-drawn carriage; we thought we'd walk more to get some exercise. Are you getting used to it?" Old Madam Qin asked in a friendly manner.

Song Yin: "It's alright."

When I passed by Yan's Medical Clinic, there was still a long queue at the entrance today.

Xiao Cha and Xiao Song were wondering why Song Yin and the others hadn't arrived yet, but then they saw her carrying a fishing rod and a bucket, going fishing with two old people.

Xiaocha and Xiaosong stared wide-eyed. How could she just say she wasn't coming and then suddenly not come?

They were both studying under Dr. Yan, so why were they always busy while he still had time to fish?

Xiaocha and Xiaosong silently broke down.

As Song Yin passed by the clinic, she glanced at the fortune-telling stall next to the entrance. The stall owner was still dressed in rags and didn't bother to tidy himself up, and a middle-aged man was sitting in front of him.

When the ragged stall owner shook the tortoise shell, Song Yin sensed his spiritual energy fluctuations.

It turned out to be a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

Inside the clinic, Doctor Yan was a cultivator, and so was the fortune teller at the entrance.

Cultivators disliked the sparse spiritual energy in the mortal realm and were unwilling to stay there for long, but she ended up encountering two of them at once.

When Song Yin followed the elderly couple to their fishing spot, there were already two people sitting nearby.

Old Du: "Old Cai, you guys are quite late today. And what's this unfamiliar girl all about?"

Grandpa Cai put down his tools. "Never mind him. This is a helper my wife invited. Just wait and see if you lose to us today."

Old Du called to the young man behind him, "Ding Yechuan, you have to beat them today too, understand?"

The young man named Ding Yechuan, dressed in dark-colored close-fitting clothes, replied, "Grandpa Du, don't worry, I will definitely beat them."

Once everyone was ready, they cast their lines and sat quietly by the river.

The air by the river is fresh, and watching the people on the other side bustling about, sitting by the river all day is very peaceful, like stealing half a day of leisure and tranquility.

Song Yin sat on the stool, waiting for the fish to bite, but she sensed fluctuations in spiritual energy.

Seriously? There are cultivators here??

Song Yin turned her head and fell silent.

The person that Old Man Du brought was also a cultivator, and judging from his spiritual energy fluctuations, he was also at the Foundation Establishment stage.

With the blessing of spiritual energy, all the fish in the river went to bite their hooks.

Old Du grinned: "Hey, what luck! They took the bait!"

Both Madam Qin and Mr. Cai looked displeased.

Since she was still using the fishing gear that the other person had given her, Song Yin reminded the Foundation Establishment stage youth, "Your name is Ding Yechuan, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" At this moment, Ding Yechuan also had a fish take the bait.

Song Yin: "Young Master Ding, since it's a fishing competition, be honest and don't cheat."

Ding Yechuan froze, and the fish that had been hooked broke free and fell back into the river.

"Cheating?!" The elderly couple exclaimed in surprise, pointing at Old Man Du in unison. "You old man Du, you actually made someone cheat!"

Old Du argued, "What cheating? Did you see us cheat? Besides, how can you cheat while fishing?"

Song Yin: "Then we'll have to ask Young Master Ding, who's by your side."

Doctor Yan, the fortune teller, and this Ding Yechuan—there are already three cultivators in the capital. The fortune teller and Ding Yechuan are both at the Foundation Establishment stage, but the cultivation level of Doctor Yan is unknown.

Doctor Yan deliberately concealed his cultivation level, so it's normal that it's difficult to detect.

Song Yin was puzzled. Why were these cultivators flocking to the capital? Did the capital have some special charm that attracted them to stay in the mortal world with its scarce spiritual energy, rather than go to the immortal world with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate?

Ding Yechuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Could it be that this young lady comes from the same place as me?"

Song Yin: "I don't know where you're from. Since this is a fishing competition, you'd better follow the rules and not cheat."

Strangely enough, after Song Yin reminded them, the elderly couple next door who were unaware of the situation also started catching fish, while Old Man Du and his family reduced the number of times they caught fish.

Old Man Du discovered that Ding Yechuan had cheated, so he couldn't cheat again and instead started chatting.

"Did you know? A couple in the Jiang family had their names removed from the family genealogy by Prime Minister Jiang. Their son was originally kept in the Jiang family, but somehow he angered Prime Minister Jiang, and then Prime Minister Jiang also removed the couple's son from the genealogy. I heard that the son is a bit crazy, and he keeps saying that he has no obsessions and that he is more magnanimous than Prime Minister Jiang. Hehe, it's quite funny."

Song Yin immediately understood who Old Man Cai was referring to.

It seems that Jiang Chengde has also been expelled from the Jiang family by Jiang Dashan. As an outsider, she doesn't have much of a reaction. But from Jiang Dashan's perspective, it's good to remove the whole family from the family, since keeping them around would only cause trouble. Given Jiang Chengde's temperament, he would cause even bigger problems sooner or later.

Old Man Du: "And another thing, the Jiang family children who were taken back to their hometown have returned to the capital, and the most favored junior of Prime Minister Jiang has also returned. However, what is quite surprising is that the palace actually intends to marry the youngest daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Youyi, to a prince."

Old Master Cai raised an eyebrow. "The Jiang family agreed?"

Old Man Du: "The Jiang family lives right next door to me. I keep an eye on them. I heard they refused."

Grandpa Cai: "Let's not talk about others. How is your granddaughter's condition? Has she woken up?"

Old Du has a granddaughter who is about the same age as Song Yin. She has been in a coma and many doctors have come to see her but have been unable to cure her.

Old Du sighed, "Alas, not yet."

Grandpa Cai said, “I told you you should take your unconscious granddaughter to Yan’s Medical Clinic. Doctor Yan’s medical skills are really good.” He looked around and then whispered, “Doctor Yan is no ordinary person. He looked like this when he came to the capital twenty years ago, and he still looks like this now. I found out that Doctor Yan has been practicing medicine in other places for decades, and he has never changed his appearance.”

“But even with the best medicine, we couldn’t revive him.” Old Man Du looked at Ding Yechuan. He knew that Ding Yechuan was a cultivator, and the pills he brought back from the cultivation world were useless. How could a doctor from the mortal world cure him?

While listening to their conversation, Song Yin's mind wandered.

So many cultivators are hidden in the mortal realm. As long as one deliberately conceals their cultivation level, it is difficult for even fellow cultivators to detect that the other is a cultivator.

Her two days in Beijing gave her a lot of inspiration.

Her grandmaster had given her a long-term mission: to find the patriarch of Danque Peak.

It was also said that none of the peak masters in the past had been able to find their ancestor in the cultivation world.

so……

Could it be that the patriarch deliberately concealed his cultivation level and hid in the mortal realm?

-----------------------

Author's Note: The Grandmaster: Simply playing hide-and-seek with his disciples.

Successive Danque Peak Masters: Ancestor, this is not fun (bursts into tears)

Ugh, I'm such an idiot, I completely forgot to set the timer!!!

[20 red envelopes dropped!]

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[Empty bowl]