Chapter 14: Secret Art of the Wei
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Meanwhile, Chen Fan was already on his way to the Wei residence.
Xiao Qi did not drive the Range Rover this time, but an old Audi A6 which was much cheaper than the Rover.
However, from the old but carefully dusted license plate to the original interior decorations that were still in pristine condition, Chen Fan could tell that this car was much closer to Mr. Wei’s heart than the Range Rover.
Xiao Qi pulled down the rearview mirror to look at Chen Fan and then said:
“I assume you have already guessed who my boss is?”
Chen Fan nodded.
He had finally remembered who the elderly man was.
“Wei Fu!”
He was one of the most famous people in the Chu Zhou City who had later become a household name across China. No wonder that Chen Fan felt the name sounded so familiar when he first heard it.
Chu Zhou City was located in the northern part of Hudong Province. The economy was mediocre at best. Wei Fu was the only famous person that came from this city in the recent century.
Rumor had it that he was from a mysterious family that no one knew a lot about. When he was young, he started a business from scratch and had become the richest man in the city in the late seventies.
In the 1980s, his business really started to take off, and before long, he had accumulated so much wealth that no one knew how rich he was.
No wonder Zhou Tianhao was scared shitless when he saw Brother Qiao. On the other hand, the incident also seemed to suggest that Zhou Tianhao had a very special connection with House Wei as well.
Mr. Wei was a household name, if not a local hero. How come he would meddle with thugs such as Zhou Tianhao? Chen Fan furrowed his brows. Xiao Qi noticed Chen Fan’s concern, so he explained:
“Old man has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son turned out to be successful, and the second son is not so bad either.
“But the third son is a tool, lazy and spoiled. He had opened his own company that deals with the most unsavory characters in the city. So far, he had been doing well thanks to his familial connections. Zhou Tianhao works for that prick.”
Even an outsider such as Xiao Qi could not stand Wei Lao’s third son. It was evident that the youngest son was not at all like by his father.
Chen Fan nodded to acknowledge that he had caught Xiao Qi’s drift.
Once the car hit the highway that surrounded the lake, it headed deep into the misty mountain. After a while, Xiao Qi pulled the car over in front of a large brick building with green metal roof tiles.
“Mr. Wei has many health complications. Therefore he mostly stayed inside of this wellness treatment center.” Xiao Qi parked the car and led Chen Fan into the building.
The path that led to the entrance of the main hall was quiet, and Chen Fan saw many old men and women accompanied by nurses in white scrubs. Most of the seniors he saw were well into their seventies or eighties and had chosen this peaceful place to spend the rest of their lives.
“The environment here is superb! Perfect for recovery.” Chen Fan exclaimed as he marveled at the grand vision and artistic style of the designer of this facility.
When he finally saw Mr. Wei, he found out that the elderly man was practicing calligraphy. Zi Qing stood beside her grandpa and was producing ink by gently grinding the ink stick on the ink box
Chen Fan studied Mr. Wei’s calligraphy work and was amazed by its fine quality. It was evident that Mr. Wei had been practicing the art for at least a few decades.
“Mr. Chen seems to be well versed in the art of calligraphy as well?” Mr. Wei set his brush aside and asked with a welcoming smile.
The elderly man wore a set of loose shirt and pants that were often worn by seniors who practice Tai Chi. The flowy suit had made Mr. Wei look much more relaxed than when he was in the transitional suit. Chen Fan wagered that there was no harm in loosening up a bit when he was home.
“I’m not really good at it.”
Chen Fan said, and he was telling the truth. Let it be calligraphy, painting, or music; he had no talent nor interest in any of them in his past life.
“I thought you are supposed to treat my grandpa today, where are your instruments such as acupuncture needles and what not?” Wei Ziqing put in abruptly. Something about Chen Fan was getting on her nerves, but she couldn’t put the finger on it.
Chen Fan found out that she was wearing a set of casual-looking outfit. She was in a white slim-fit t-shirt with and wore a pair of hot pants that revealed two long and slender thighs. Compared to her morning exercise outfit; this drastically different style had brought a gorgeous woman out of her.
“My healing method does not require acupuncture nor massage.” Chen Fan shook his head.
“Here, look.” Chen Fan handed Mr. Wei a booklet. On the cover, it read, “Secret Art of the Wei.”
This secret art was an internal force technique that Chen Fan had created by improving Wei Fu’s existing technique. Chen Fan had given it a name that he thought was the most appropriate.
“What is this?” Wei Fu accepted the booklet perplexedly. However, as soon as he started reading it, the confused expression on his face changed into disbelief.
“What’s wrong, grandpa?” Ziqing asked.
After Wei Fu was done reading the last page, he closed the booklet as well as his eyes and fell into deep thoughts. After a while, he finally heaved a sigh and opened his eyes.
He turned to Chen Fan and bowed deeply to him, “Thank you, Mr. Chen. I will never forget what you have done for me.”
“It’s nothing. Fate had brought you and me together, and so I can’t sit around and watch you suffer.” Chen Fan accepted the elderly man’s bow and replied.
“Grandpa, why did you bow to him? What has he done for you?”
Ziqiong quickly helped Wei Fu straighten his back from the deep bow. She managed to shoot Chen Fan a hot glance, blaming him for shamelessly, letting an old man bow to him.
Chen Fan cracked a smile as he lamented the girl’s hardheadedness. Not long ago, when she was pleading with Chen Fan to save her grandfather, her face was all smiles; but as soon as she found out that things were not what she expected, the smile on her face evaporated in a blink.
“Mr. Chen, why don’t you explain it to Ziqing for me.” Mr. Wei said with a smile.
Chen Fan said slowly, “Your grandfather’s injury is mainly caused by two things. One is the injury he had sustained when he was young. Since he had let the injury slide when it first happened, the condition of his lungs had deteriorated beyond help.
“The second factor was his technique in drawing internal forces. Every time he channeled his internal force out of his system, he risked, damaging his lung by a small degree. Over time, he had caused great harm to his already weakened lungs.”
“If that’s the case, are my lungs damaged as well?” Wei Ziqing asked.
“In theory, yes. But I don’t think you are powerful enough to cause any real harm to your lungs yet.” Chen Fan shrugged.
Wei Ziqing rolled her eyes at Chen Fan as she was told that her incompetence was a blessing in disguise.
Mr. Wei nodded. “My parents had warned me of the danger in following the family art of channeling internal force. But I had no choice, it was either use it or die. It was also because of that reason that I had never taught any of my children the family technique. If Ziqing weren’t so insistent, I was ready to take the family art with me to my grave.” The elderly man said.
“What is that booklet?” Wei Ziqing asked curiously.
“This booklet contained the revised version of your family’s art. It should be harmless now.” Chen Fan said.
“Not only was it harmless, but it was also much more powerful than our original version. I truly admire your impressive knowledge of martial arts! ” Wei Fu said emotionally.
The Wei family had been refining the art for over hundreds of years, yet they had failed even to make it safe for practice. However, this boy had spent only a few days and had completely overhauled the art, making it better, safer, and stronger than it ever was.
“I don’t remember you ever tell him anything about our art? How did he change anything without even knowing it?” Wei Ziqing was very confused.
“That’s what the difference is between you and a grandmaster. ” Wei Fu shook his head and said admiringly. “Only a grand master was able to understand one art by simply looking at it once. They are martial arts geniuses who were able to establish their own schools and create new arts.”
Chen Fan waved a reply, “As I said, I am just a monk, not a master.”
“If you can do what a master could, then what difference does a title make?” Wei Fu laughed.
“I didn’t expect you to be so powerful.” Having been convinced by her grandpa, Wei Ziqing, who thought she had never liked Chen Fan finally felt a measure of respect for the boy.
Chen Fan smiled and said, “Ah, by the way, this is the less Essence Enhancing Pill, there are ten of them.” Chen Fan fished out a glass bottle from his pocket and handed it to Wei Ziqing. “Make sure you take this pill once every couple days. With the help of the new art, you should recover very quickly.
“If I have more money, I would be able to create a more powerful version of the Essence Enhancing Pill. Those pills are so powerful that they could bring the dead back to life, much less curing your ailment.”
“Really?” Wei Ziqing held on to the glass bottle like the greatest treasure in the world. However, she still managed to fire back at Chen Fan:” Are you selling us snake oil? ”
“Whatever.” Chen Fan gave her a shrug while Wei Ziqing pouted in reply.
“This little prick is so annoying.” Wei Ziqing cursed in her mind. “Why does he always have to be right? Did he know anything about how to talk to a lady? ”
“I don’t think this is snake oil. Why don’t you tell us what kind of ingredients is required to make those pills, perhaps we could help each other” Mr. Wei put in.
“Sure, I can give you the recipe. But, except for me, no one on this planet knows how to make these pills.” Chen Fan said readily.
He then grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the list of ingredients.
Creating the Essence Enhancing Pill required special Dharmic arts known only to high-level cultivators; without it, the expensive ingredients would be wasted.
Mr. Wei scanned the recipe and found out that the pill not only required some of the rarest herbs, but these herbs also needed to be over a few hundred years old. He reckoned that it would take even the Wei Family a while to gather these herbs, much less a poor teenage boy. Mr. Wei nodded and then handed the list to Xiao Qi. He ordered Xiao Qi to start working on acquiring those herbs.
“I have done my part; now I have some questions for you about the world of martial arts and how it works. ” Chen Fan said.
Wei Lao nodded and said, “I knew you would ask me this. ”