“That’s right. When you’re not on vacation, you can focus on your career as you please. Now that you’re back from vacation, you should also devote more attention to your studies,” Guo Ziming advised.

Su Yan felt a little embarrassed to face her master.

Looking back, her grades didn't drop last year, but she didn't really put much effort into her studies.

Last year, she frequently took leave, often for three to five days or a week. She would be called in for talks by Director Zhong twice a month, but her mentor showed no sign of blaming her.

Seeing the guilty look in her eyes, Jue Lao immediately said, "Your progress is faster than I expected. Of course, I won't blame you, but if you fall behind later, things might not be so easy."

Guo Ziming was extremely jealous. "Oh my, Master, when did you become so understanding? I hardly recognize you anymore."

"Alright, stop your nonsense." Old Jue said impatiently, "Don't loiter around here if you have nothing to do. Learn from the second brother and focus on medicine, that's the real business."

"It's strange, but my second senior brother has been spacing out a lot lately. Last night, he made three mistakes on the simplest D-level experiment. When I asked him what was wrong, he ignored me and went straight back to his dorm."

Hearing this, Elder Jue was somewhat surprised.

In his mind, if the machine used for the experiment malfunctioned, Ye Feixu could not possibly have made a mistake either; it was indeed suspicious.

Su Yan asked, "Is Second Senior Brother overworked and that's why he's like this?"

Guo Ziming replied without hesitation, "How could someone who can stay up for three days and three nights without showing any expression while doing experiments know what fatigue is?"

Su Yan hesitated and said, "Perhaps...maybe it's because I'm getting old?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Ziming clapped his hands excitedly as if he had heard something new, "You know what, it's really possible. I'll go back and observe it carefully."

Old Master Jue simply couldn't be bothered with him; how could he believe such an absurd reason?

"Alright, I'm going back now. Junior sister, can you see me off?"

Guo Ziming said he would go ahead first.

Su Yan didn't understand why he wanted to take her home himself; he would never have made such a request before. However, she still obediently followed him out.

I walked to the door.

Guo Ziming glanced back at what was behind her before pulling her to the corner of the door.

"Senior brother, what are you doing? Why are you being so mysterious?" Su Yan asked, puzzled.

Guo Ziming said in a low voice, "Master's health has not been good since he came back. He won't admit it. Now that you have free time, don't go out and run around. Spend more time with him. He may not listen to what I say, but he will definitely listen to what you say."

Su Yan hadn't taken Jue Lao's pulse and didn't know his physical condition. Besides, the old man seemed quite healthy, so she didn't think too much about it.

Now, listening to her third senior brother's words, she couldn't quite process what he was saying. "W-what do you mean? What do you mean by 'not good'? Explain yourself clearly."

Guo Ziming took a cigarette out of his pocket and put it in his mouth. Considering that Su Yan hadn't fallen, he said with some melancholy, "When Master came back, he didn't let me and my second senior brother take his pulse, saying that he was fine. But I was worried, so I secretly took his pulse while he was watching TV and dozing off in the living room. It turned out that his body was severely depleted. No wonder he didn't let us take his pulse. He just didn't want us to worry."

He just woke up, so I questioned him. He said he knew what he was doing and had prescribed medicine to regulate his body. With the medicinal food you prepared, he would gradually get better. His complexion had indeed improved a lot during this time, but I felt he was being a bit too sleepy. Anyway, Junior Sister, please keep a close eye on Master and call me anytime if anything happens.

Su Yan responded somewhat listlessly.

Of the three senior brothers, the one who was most worried about Elder Jue was probably the third senior brother.

Guo Ziming often came to the courtyard house, mostly to keep his master company. Since his master returned, he has been coming even more frequently, without finding it troublesome.

She raised her hand and slapped him, complaining, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? You kept such a big thing from us."

"Ouch!" Guo Ziming cried out as she hit him, dodging as he said, "Master strongly instructed me not to tell anyone. If my eldest brother finds out, he will definitely drag him to get checked out until the deficiency is cured. He just doesn't want to be restricted, so he told me not to say anything."

"Then why are you telling me this now?" Su Yan slapped him one last time, glaring at him fiercely.

Guo Ziming rubbed his numb arm. "Now that you're back, Master likes living here. I might not be able to come every day, so I'm telling you this so you'll pay more attention. But you have to keep this a secret from me, and don't tell our eldest and second eldest brothers yet."

Su Yan was flustered and asked, "Tell me the truth, how serious is Master's deficit?"

"It's not particularly serious, but as you know, Master is getting on in years and his body is very fragile. It will be a slow process for him to fully recover, not to mention he's a worrier, so you'll have to keep an eye on him during the winter break."

Su Yan absentmindedly replied, "I understand."

"I'm leaving now. I really have something to do. We'll talk later."

After saying that, Guo Ziming hurriedly drove away.

Su Yan stood there for a long time, still feeling uneasy, so she went straight to the living room and said as soon as she entered, "Master, I want to take your pulse."

The old man, who had been drowsy, suddenly perked up upon hearing this and asked suspiciously, "Why are you taking my pulse all of a sudden?"

Su Yan sat down beside him and reached out to check his pulse.

Master Jue quickly stepped aside and refused, saying, "I am in very good health and do not need your number. You should go and study when you have time."

"Don't hide anymore, my third senior brother has told me everything."

Old Jue froze instantly.

Su Yan seized the opportunity to grab his hand.

Old Jue struggled for a moment to no avail, and couldn't help but curse, "That damned third brother, he's a complete traitor! I told him not to say it, but he just can't keep his mouth shut."

Su Yan said calmly, "Don't blame him. He's only thinking of you. You're so old, and you've always been in good health. Going out like this will deplete your energy. Who wouldn't worry?"

Seeing how seriously she was crying, Master Jue sighed and said, "I'm just exhausted, having trouble sleeping, and feeling weak from too much meditation. It's nothing serious, I'll get better soon."

About a minute later, Su Yan released his hand and said, "You're feeling a bit better. It must be because of the medicinal diet. Third Senior Brother said you've been a bit sleepy lately. I suppose the nourishing medicinal diet has been working. While you're being sleepy, you're also replenishing your energy."

"Right?" Old Master Jue said smugly, "I know what I'm doing, you don't need to worry about it. Third Brother just makes a mountain out of a molehill."

Su Yan mustered her courage and retorted, "If my third senior brother heard this, he would probably be heartbroken. He is worried about your health day and night. Before he left, he told me to take good care of you. I have never seen him so serious before."

As expected, Elder Jue stopped talking and compromised, saying, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything about him."