My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Lu Qingshan's reason was screaming frantically: Don't move! It's fake! It's a test!

But the increasingly faint, almost inaudible groans in his ears were like a heavy little hammer, striking his heart and his conscience with tremendous force, again and again.

In his past life, he had witnessed countless deaths and his heart had been hardened to the point of being as tough as steel.

But in this life, he has family to protect, a weakness, and his heart has warmed again.

Although he had only spent seven days with this eccentric old man, he witnessed a long-lost sense of craftsmanship and tradition that belonged to the purest mountains and forests.

Four words flashed uncontrollably through his mind.

The doctor is kind.

"To hell with the test!"

A furious roar erupted from Lu Qingshan's heart.

The next second, all his hesitation, all his struggle, all his weighing of the pros and cons vanished in an instant!

He kicked hard with both legs against the rough bottom of the tank!

"Splash—!"

Water sprayed skyward, bursting into a dazzling mist in the morning sunlight. He shot out of the small water tank like a black dragon breaking through the water, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Cough...cough cough!"

Before he could even catch his breath, the burning pain in his lungs made him cough violently.

But he didn't care about any of that, and staggered and scrambled to Zou Yuan's side.

The old man lay on the ground, his face ashen, his eyes closed, his complexion ashen, and a trace of glaring, sticky "blood" still clinging to the corner of his mouth.

Beside him was a shattered earthenware pot, with dark red liquid and broken herbs spilled all over the ground.

Lu Qingshan's heart sank to the bottom of an icy abyss.

"Grandpa! Zou Yuan! Wake up!"

He called out anxiously, his fingers flashing as he placed them on Zou Yuan's withered wrist, examining it intently.

The pulse... was weak, intermittent, as if it might stop at any moment!

"not good!"

Lu Qingshan was shocked and immediately reached out to pull out the emergency pill made with century-old ginseng and a unique secret method—the "Life-Sustaining Pill"—from his inner pocket.

But just as his fingers were about to touch Zou Yuan's chapped lips...

A sudden change has occurred!

That withered, seemingly powerless hand, however, rose up with lightning speed like an iron clamp and grabbed his wrist!

That force was steady and powerful, showing no trace of the weakness of a dying person!

Lu Qingshan froze completely, as if he had been frozen in place; all his movements and expressions were frozen on his face.

He slowly and incredulously raised his head, meeting Zou Yuan's suddenly opened eyes.

In those cloudy eyes, there was no trace of pain or weakness, only a full, undisguised mockery and cunning, and deep within, an intense, unyielding smile and approval.

"puff--"

Zou Yuan suddenly sat up and spat out what he was holding in his mouth, spraying it all over Lu Qingshan's face.

A sweet and sour aroma of red berries instantly filled the air.

"Hahaha! Cough cough... I choked..."

Zou Yuanzhong burst into loud laughter, but then choked on the "blood" and coughed violently. He pushed Lu Qingshan's hand away, pounded his chest, and slowly stood up. He even wiped the "blood" from the corner of his mouth and smelled it under his nose.

"Hmm, the red berries taste good this year, they're sweet enough."

Lu Qingshan stared blankly at him, the icy spring water dripping down his hair and cheeks, making him look like a drowned rat.

He got it.

It was all fake from beginning to end.

Falling down, groaning, vomiting blood... it was all a grand show directed and acted by this old guy himself!

"You...you old bastard!"

Lu Qingshan trembled with rage, a surge of fury at being fooled rising to his head. He pointed at Zou Yuan, his lips quivering, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time, "You tricked me?!"

"Playing you for fools? Kid, you can't say that."

Seeing his exasperated expression, Zou Yuan laughed even harder, his face crinkling into wrinkles.

"At my age, this old man has been putting on this show for you for so long, it's exhausting! You should be thanking me!"

"Thank you? I'll thank you for almost making me think you were dead!" Lu Qingshan was both angry and amused, his emotions extremely complex. "Just a quarter of an hour! Just a quarter of an hour and I would have passed! Do you even know that?!"

"I know."

The smile on Zou Yuan's face gradually faded, and his eyes became more serious and bright than ever before. He walked up to Lu Qingshan and said, word by word.

"Of course I know. But kid, now you can ask yourself honestly, if you had to choose ten thousand times, if my life and your 'fifteen-minute' victory were placed side by side, wouldn't you choose to jump out of the water like you just did ten thousand times?"

Lu Qingshan was taken aback by his question, and the anger in his chest seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing most of it.

can you?

He was silent.

The answer is yes.

Zou Yuan watched the changes in his expression and nodded with satisfaction; his sharp eyes seemed to see right through people.

"Very good. This is my final hurdle!"

"Identifying herbs, processing them, tracking them, physical strength, eyesight, courage... these are all just 'techniques,' the superficial skills of a herb gatherer."

"A person with a wicked heart, even if they master these skills to the extreme, is nothing more than a slightly more skilled bandit. They know far more poisonous herbs than life-saving medicines."

Zou Yuan's voice became deep and powerful, echoing through the empty valley.

"But 'benevolence' is the 'way'! It's the foundation! It's the subconscious choice you make when all your interests, all your hardships, all your desires are placed on the scales of a human life!"

He pointed to Lu Qingshan's chest.

"Boy, you've failed my test."

Lu Qingshan's heart sank.

"But," Zou Yuan changed the subject, a genuine, heartfelt smile appearing on his face. He reached out and patted Lu Qingshan's wet shoulder heavily, "you have won my inheritance."

"Congratulations, you've passed."

These five simple words carry more weight and significance than any previous praise.

A warm current surged from the depths of Lu Qingshan's heart, dispelling all the chill and anger, leaving only a sense of relief. He lost the game, but he won something more important than the game itself.

Just as he was about to say something, Zou Yuan suddenly changed the subject, his eyes sharpening like an eagle's.

"However..." He looked Lu Qingshan up and down, clicked his tongue twice, "Your kung fu skills are truly awful."

Lu Qingshan was taken aback: "What?"

"I'm telling you, you've practiced your boxing technique backwards!" Zou Yuan commented bluntly.

"You have an exceptionally good physique, but it's a pity that you've incorporated the ferocity of tigers and leopards into your boxing style, while concealing the most fundamental human qualities of compassion and protection."

"This is like..."

Zou Yuan came up with a simple and easy-to-understand analogy.

"Your fist is like a landslide, a crack in the earth, the iron hoof of a beast that only knows how to charge forward and destroy everything. It can flatten a forest, but it doesn't know how to avoid an innocent blade of grass."

"They only know how to punch and kill, but don't know how to pull back their fists to save lives."

"Such a fist is like a tree without roots, or water without a source. The deeper you practice it, the stronger the killing intent becomes, and the further you are from the true 'Tao'. In the end, the fist will control you, instead of you controlling the fist."

Zou Yuan looked at Lu Qingshan, who was in shock, with a hint of regret in his eyes, but more so with the expectation of discovering a hidden gem.

He waved his hand, turned around and walked back to the thatched cottage, leaving Lu Qingshan with an unfathomable back view.

"Alright, I've explained the reasoning. You're covered in dampness, so hurry down the mountain, find a place to dry off, and rest. Don't let it become a chronic illness."

"Five days later, when the moon is at its zenith, come find me at the top of the highest cliff in the back mountain."

"I'll teach you what real 'living fist' is."