Reading a class schedule and reading a book were two entirely different things.
Although he could clearly see the schedule upstairs through the walls, when his perception entered the book inside the desk, it kept going wrong. A schedule was just a single sheet of paper, but a book was thick, made up of many pages. As a result, the content from one page often mixed with another: sometimes the material from this page overlapped with that page, sometimes the front and back content wasn't even on the same page at all.
Zhu Siqi grew so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead. His deskmate, Zhu Aiguo, noticed something was off and quietly asked if he was sick. The interruption snapped Zhu Siqi back to his senses. He realized he had been too impatient, letting his anxiety show so clearly that others noticed something wrong. He quickly withdrew his perception and put on an act of listening attentively in class, while secretly thinking of a solution.
After a while, he couldn't resist the temptation to read again. This time, he divided his perceptive force into three streams and slowly approached the book. When he reached the first page, he placed two streams in front of and behind that page, blocking interference from other pages. The remaining stream focused solely on sensing the content of that page. Now it was just like reading a schedule—clear and precise.
Zhu Siqi finally found something meaningful to do. On the surface, he looked like he was listening to the teacher, but in reality, most of his attention was devoted to sensing the history book inside his desk. Although it was slower and more tiring than reading with his own eyes, it was far better than having nothing to do.
By the end of the morning, he had basically finished reading the first volume of the second-year history textbook. As he continued, his control over his perceptive ability improved, and his reading speed increased. By the end of the three afternoon classes, he had already finished the second volume as well.
At one point, Zhu Siqi even thought about buying all the middle school textbooks and taking them back to the mountain—he figured he could finish them all in less than a week. He mentioned this idea to his master, but Lefan didn't agree. Lefan hoped his disciple would integrate more into society, believing that the school experience was indispensable for everyone. So the idea was rejected.
Soon it was time for school to end. Since the next day was a market day, Zhu Siqi followed his homeroom teacher to the office after class.
"Teacher Tan, tomorrow is market day, so I won't be able to come to school. I'm asking for leave in advance."
Teacher Tan turned around and saw Zhu Siqi, who had only joined recently.
"Teacher Liu and Principal Du already told me about your situation. You don't need to come tomorrow. The day after tomorrow is Sunday, so no classes either. Just make sure you're back on time the day after that."
"Got it, Teacher Tan. I'll head home then."
"Alright, go back early. Don't make your family worry."
"Goodbye, Teacher Tan."
"Mm."
Back on the mountain, Zhu Siqi didn't rush to read. He had plenty of time to read at school anyway. Instead, he focused on the fact that over the past two days, his frequent use of true qi and perceptive ability had greatly improved his control over both. With that thought, he immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating the Yijin Yiyuan Art. Normally, he would circulate his qi for thirty-six cycles, but this time he completed a full one hundred and eight cycles. He could faintly sense that his true qi was on the verge of breaking through from the fifth layer to the sixth.
Early the next morning, Zhu Siqi arrived at Santang Market and set up his stall early.
By now, he had gained a bit of fame for treating illnesses at the market. People who had bought his medicine last time found it extremely effective after using it for a few days. Some even gave it to neighbors suffering from colds or fevers, and after just two doses, they recovered. Soon, word spread that there was a young miracle doctor with excellent pills.
Even when the morning crowd was still thin, people began coming for treatment. Even more came to buy medicine—after all, who didn't catch a cold or fever now and then? And since he only came once every five days, what if someone got sick between market days? So many people bought some just in case.
By late morning, business reached its peak. Even people he had treated before returned.
"Little brother, give me three doses each for colds, fever, and diarrhea."
"Brother, five doses of everything for me."
"Young man, give me ten doses of your health-preserving pills," an elderly man said.
Zhu Siqi fulfilled each request one by one. By noon, almost all his pills were sold out, except for the health-preserving ones, which didn't sell as well since they weren't for treating illness.
That day's income totaled 223 yuan. After a quick calculation, Zhu Siqi felt satisfied with the results.
Feeling hungry, he was about to head to a snack shop when he saw Teacher Liu Xuanwen approaching, with Principal Du beside him. He immediately stood up to greet them.
"Teacher Liu, Principal Du, you're here!"
"I heard from Teacher Liu that your medical skills are quite good," Principal Du said with a smile. "School just let out for lunch, so I came to take a look as well."
"Please, have a seat," Zhu Siqi said, quickly offering his chair.
"No need," Principal Du replied. "You can't treat patients properly without sitting down. Teacher Liu, you sit. You're the patient. I'll stand."
Teacher Liu, knowing Principal Du was easygoing, sat down first and said to Zhu Siqi, "You sit too. If you don't sit, how are you going to check my pulse?"
Zhu Siqi had no choice but to sit down as well.
He placed his fingers on Teacher Liu's pulse. In truth, pulse-taking was no longer essential for him. After practicing perception for days, he had begun using it in diagnosis. Often, he only touched the pulse as a formality, relying on perception to truly assess the condition, then comparing the two. The results were even more accurate than pulse-taking alone.
With a single scan, he saw that Teacher Liu's condition had improved slightly since last time, but not as much as expected. Sending a strand of true qi into his body, Zhu Siqi saw that the old dust in his lungs had mostly been cleared, but new accumulation had appeared. Clearly, Teacher Liu hadn't reduced his teaching load—he'd increased it.
"Teacher Liu, have you been teaching even more than before lately?" Zhu Siqi asked.
"Yes," Teacher Liu replied. "The graduation classes are under a lot of pressure. If we don't solidify their foundations this semester, their results in next semester's entrance exams won't be good."
"Teacher Liu's teaching results are excellent," Principal Du added. "He teaches math to all three graduating classes, and now the third-year students even have an extra class every day. After your last treatment, his health improved noticeably, so he's been teaching even more."
Zhu Siqi felt deeply moved. He knew Teacher Liu was devoted to his students, pouring all his energy into them without caring for his own health.
"In that case," Zhu Siqi said, "Teacher Liu, I'll give you one more acupuncture session. After that, acupuncture won't be necessary. Your main issue is recuperation. I'll prescribe a formula to help expel the dust. Since you teach so much, take it more often. And eat more pig's blood—it helps clear lung dust."
This session focused mainly on routine lung cleansing, which Zhu Siqi knew wouldn't last long given Teacher Liu's workload. He put more effort into treating the bone overgrowth in Teacher Liu's leg, completely crushing the newly formed bone into fine particles that would be expelled naturally. What usually took five minutes took half an hour this time.
After the needles were removed, Teacher Liu felt his knee much lighter. Stretching his leg, there was no pain at all. He stood up with a steadiness he hadn't felt in years.
"Zhu Siqi, thank you so much. My leg feels completely healed."
"You're welcome, Teacher Liu. It's what I should do."
Teacher Liu tried to give him two yuan again, but Zhu Siqi firmly refused.
"Teacher Liu, you helped me last time. Consider this a student repaying his teacher. If you insist on paying, I won't even write you the prescription."
Seeing his determination, Principal Du spoke up. "Xuanwen, he's right. A student honoring his teacher is only natural. Don't push it."
"Alright then," Teacher Liu said. "But I'm treating you to lunch today. You can't refuse that."
"That's fine," Zhu Siqi replied, "but I'll pay. Otherwise, I'm not going."
Teacher Liu could only laugh helplessly.
"By the way," Teacher Liu added, "Principal Du isn't in great health either. Why don't you take a look at him?"
Principal Du had lingering internal injuries from years past. Despite exercising regularly, long work hours often left him weak and unable to move properly. He sat down and joked, "Looks like your skills are impressive. I'll entrust my hundred-plus pounds to you."
Zhu Siqi had already scanned him with perception and knew the problem lay in his liver and stomach—large portions were necrotic. After taking his pulse, he said seriously, "Principal Du, your condition is quite severe. It's the worst I've seen so far."
"Oh? How severe?" Principal Du asked casually, knowing his situation was grim already.
"Parts of your stomach and liver have necrotized. Reviving them won't be easy."
"Do you have any solution?" Principal Du asked offhandedly.
"There is a way—acupuncture—but it will take time," Zhu Siqi said cautiously, estimating it might take over ten sessions.
"Really?" Principal Du's interest was piqued. Since Zhu Siqi had diagnosed his condition accurately, he couldn't help but feel a spark of hope.
"Zhu Siqi, please do your best," Teacher Liu urged. "Principal Du has worked himself to exhaustion for the school."
"I will," Zhu Siqi said firmly. "Principal Du gives me the impression of a good teacher and a good principal. I'll do everything I can."
They decided to eat first and do the treatment later in a quiet place. After lunch, Zhu Siqi paid the bill, packed up his stall, and followed them to Teacher Liu's home, which was peaceful and secluded.
The acupuncture session lasted nearly two hours. Zhu Siqi carefully removed the necrotic tissue and used true qi to nurture and reactivate healthy cells. Principal Du only felt warmth and comfort in his abdomen, unaware of the deeper changes.
"This treatment went fairly well," Zhu Siqi said afterward. "From now on, I'll give you acupuncture at school after classes. Each session will only take a few minutes. You should gradually improve."
He also gave both Teacher Liu and Principal Du a packet of his health-preserving pills, advising dietary precautions.
Back on the mountain, Zhu Siqi spent the remaining days studying. By the end of the week, he had mastered all middle school subjects. In just one short week, he had completed the entire middle school curriculum.
Now, he found himself wondering—what on earth was he supposed to do next at school?