【Please recommend and collect】
It could be said that the Liu family established its Foundation through gambling. Its various forces were intricate and complex. Even the County Magistrate had to be extremely cautious when dealing with the Liu family, given their status and strength. It was not easy to act against such a powerful Family, otherwise, it would cause turmoil in the city.
“Quick, quickly invite Doctor Jiang in, Liu Old Lord is waiting inside.”
A butler stood at the doorway, seeing four house servants carrying a sedan chair in the distance, quickly entering the mansion. Inside the sedan chair was Jiang Jiu Zhen, a famous doctor from Qingyun City. It was said that he was skilled in acupuncture; even the most severe illness, with nine needles, even if it couldn't be cured, could at least keep the patient alive. With this unique skill, Jiang Jiu Zhen’s name was renowned far and wide, and he was a frequent guest in the homes of the city’s wealthy.
In this world, no one can guarantee that they will not get sick.
This time, it was Liu Old Lord, the Liu family’s pillar, who was gravely ill, and Jiang Jiu Zhen was invited overnight.
“Lifespan is nearing its end, what’s the use of futile efforts?”
Zhuang Buzhou shook his head slightly. Liu Old Lord was already eighty-nine, just one or two months away from his ninetieth birthday, but his Lifespan only had three days left. No matter how much was done to remedy it, it was beyond salvation, unless a Heaven And Earth Treasure that could increase Lifespan was found. Otherwise, the end of his Lifespan meant death.
According to a normal person’s Lifespan, living to eighty-nine was definitely considered a long life. Even if he died, it would be a joyous funeral.
But for truly wealthy families, no matter how long they lived, they would never feel satisfied.
Liu Old Lord was no exception; the older he got, the more he feared death.
If he could breathe one more breath, he would absolutely not wish for one less.
Such a situation, where Lifespan had reached its limit, even inviting Jiang Jiu Zhen was in vain.
Zhuang Buzhou did not enter the Liu family mansion, instead remaining quietly in the shadows, observing the situation inside the Liu manor. Inside the manor, even at night, it was brightly lit. Maidservants and servants hurried with anxious expressions; everyone could vaguely sense something.
This was a catastrophic event for the Liu family.
Inside Liu manor, in the master bedroom where Liu Old Lord resided.
Jiang Jiu Zhen was taking his pulse, his brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the unconscious Liu Old Lord and said, “Old Lord Liu, the Old Lord is advanced in years, eighty-nine. He had some old injuries when he was young. Now, I’m afraid he has reached the point where his natural Lifespan is near its end. Medicine is useless; preparations for his funeral must be made.”
Inside the room, Liu Youde, the current head of the Liu family, along with his wife, Lady Liu, and the direct descendants of the Liu family, were all present. Upon hearing these words, their faces showed sorrow and fear.
The Foundation of the Liu family was built by the Old Lord himself back in the day. His prestige was immense; as long as he lived, he was the Family’s pillar. If he were to pass away, some of the Liu family’s connections would inevitably be weakened, and various tangible and intangible impacts would be hard to estimate. He was a towering tree.
In fact, they had all guessed it, after all, he was already so old and could pass away at any moment. However, they still held a glimmer of hope, wanting to see if Jiang Jiu Zhen could extend the Old Lord’s Lifespan.
“Doctor Jiang, is there any way to extend the Old Lord’s Lifespan? Please rest assured, any precious medicinal materials in the mansion can be used freely. To be frank, Doctor, the mansion also has a five-hundred-year-old ginseng. I wonder if it can extend my father’s Lifespan?”
Liu Youde took a deep breath and asked.
A five-hundred-year-old ginseng, in this world, was already considered a precious medicine. In the mundane world, those that could be seen were few and far between, all cherished and kept hidden from others, lest they invite disaster.
“It’s useless. Although ginseng is a precious medicine, medicine cannot save those whose time has come. This is the end of his Lifespan; there is no way. I can only keep him alive for a short while. I will perform acupuncture to allow the Old Lord to regain consciousness so that he will not suffer when he passes. He only has three days.”
Jiang Jiu Zhen shook his head and said.
In this situation, no amount of precious medicine would help. Keeping him alive for a short while was already the best outcome.
The Liu family members all looked downcast, but there was nothing that could be done about this matter.
“It’s good if he can regain consciousness. Then I’ll trouble Doctor Jiang.”
Liu Youde said with a sorrowful expression.
“Very well, then I, Jiang, will now perform acupuncture on the Old Lord.”
Jiang Jiu Zhen nodded and said.
Jiang Jiu Zhen’s medical skills were indeed superb. After nine needles, the Old Lord, who had been unconscious, slowly opened his eyes and regained consciousness.
“I, Jiang, can only do this much. I am powerless to do anything further. I, Jiang, shall take my leave.”
Jiang Jiu Zhen sighed.
“Ah Fu, escort Doctor Jiang back. Withdraw three hundred taels of silver from the accounts and send it along with him. Do not neglect him along the way,” Liu Youde ordered.
Butler Ah Fu respectfully agreed and escorted Jiang Jiu Zhen out.
“Father, how do you feel?”
Liu Youde looked at the Old Lord, who had regained consciousness, and immediately knelt by the bed, asking with concern.
“Birth, old age, sickness, and death—no one can escape them. Although I wasn’t awake just now, I heard what Doctor Jiang said. Living to eighty-nine is not a short life. Go, make preparations, and let me leave peacefully.”
The Old Lord said calmly.
Having lived to his age, many things had long been prepared.
His coffin had long been prepared, made of golden nanmu wood, and the chosen resting place was a top-tier feng shui auspicious land. He had enjoyed delicacies, experienced various beautiful women, played with rare treasures, and lacked neither wealth nor power. His life had been worthwhile.
“Go, let me be quiet for a while.”
After a series of instructions, Liu Youde and the others left one after another.
Watching everyone leave, the calmness on the Old Lord’s face began to dissipate. Logically speaking, living to eighty-nine was already considered a long life, but the problem was, for a wealthy Family like the Liu family, who lacked no money, who would dislike living too long? If one could live, who would want to die?
He didn’t want to, either.
It was just fate, what could he do?
Wealth, power, all the myriad things of the human world, how could he let go of them so easily?
“Sigh, I really wish I could live another hundred years.”
The Old Lord lay on the bed, and after a long while, he finally let out a sigh.
Unfortunately, he knew very well that all of these were just extravagant hopes, unless he became a Cultivator, or a Spirit Master. But even Spirit Masters do not live forever, and there are various hidden dangers.
After a period of silence, he suddenly sat up, then got out of bed, and with shuffling steps, walked to a flowerpot. Holding the flowerpot, he turned it three times to the left, three times to the right, and then tapped it a few times in a pattern of three long and two short.
Crack!!
Immediately, the ground beneath his feet split open, revealing a path leading underground.
Liu Old Lord leaned on his walking stick and walked down step by step. When he had completely entered, the cracked floor closed, returning to its original state.
This was a secret underground vault he had built. Without knowing the method, one could not enter. Even if one forcibly opened the passage, it would trigger various hidden mechanisms, or even cause the vault to self-destruct. Only he knew the method of entry and exit; even Liu Youde did not know.
Having become wealthy through gambling, he always had the habit of keeping a trick up his sleeve.
This secret vault contained the precious secret treasures he had collected throughout his life. Each item was invaluable, some even priceless, and some he could not discern the origin of.
It could be said that the value of this secret vault was crucial to the Liu family.
Walking down the stairs, braziers on both sides of the staircase lit up on their own, illuminating the entire passage as if it were daylight.
The path was not long, yet Liu Old Lord walked for over fifteen minutes before arriving at the secret vault. He again used a hidden technique to open the vault door. Once the door opened, one could clearly see that it was filled with glittering jewels and treasures.
Inside exquisite boxes, there were gold bars and silver coins. But these were ordinary. What was truly stunning were the treasures displayed on the shelves. There were nine shelves, each with twelve compartments, almost all of which were full.
Some were top-tier folk treasures.
Liu Old Lord opened a silver treasure box. Inside, he could clearly see a lifelike ginseng, shaped like a human, perfectly preserved. Its roots were flawless. If Jiang Jiu Zhen were here, he would also be shocked. This was a precious ginseng whose medicinal properties had reached a thousand years, priceless. If word got out, countless people would flock to their door.
Compared to it, the five-hundred-year-old ginseng was completely insignificant.
Not only ginseng, but also a thousand-year-old ganoderma.
Famous painters' calligraphy and paintings.
One of them depicted a swordsman standing in a bamboo forest, wielding his sword, Sword Qi overflowing, like a Sword Immortal. Even standing in front of the painting, one could feel a bone-chillingly sharp Sword Qi rushing towards them, as if they would be cut into countless pieces by the Sword Qi in the next second.
This was from the hand of a painter. This painting, “Bamboo Forest Swordsman,” was not merely aesthetically pleasing; it possessed a miraculous ability. Once it encountered something eerie, activating it could directly manifest a peerless swordsman to attack enemies.
According to appraisal, it was sufficient to kill ordinary Innate Realm eerie entities and enemies.
This was one of the Liu family’s trump cards. With it, it was enough to deter Innate Realm Cultivators.
Besides this, there were also Talisman stored in jade boxes, no less than ten of them, including evil-warding Talisman, exorcism Talisman, Vajra Talisman, weapon Talisman, flame Talisman, ice Talisman, and so on. These were all real and effective Talisman made by Talisman masters. To collect so many was also the accumulation of decades for the Liu family, and the money spent was considerable.
Then, one could see that in this secret vault, there were also Cultivation Technique, not ordinary martial arts Cultivation Technique, but Cultivation methods related to Cultivators. The books showed signs of age, indicating they had existed for a considerable time and had been frequently read.
“Spiritual Root, ah, Spiritual Root, why can’t my Liu family give birth to a descendant with a Spiritual Root?”
Liu Old Lord looked at the ancient books before him, his face filled with regret and unwillingness.
Although theoretically everyone has a Spiritual Root within them, whether or not it can reach the point of Awakening cannot be determined. The number of those who can Awaken is extremely rare; there may not even be one in ten thousand people. This number will only be more exaggerated, not lower.