I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 4 Rapid Progress
Chunlan looked at Xie An lying on the bed and felt a little sorry for him.

"Master Xie, as you know, the eldest young master is studying at the county military academy, preparing for the military examination. Practicing martial arts is very expensive... so, the master suggests that we save as much as possible. You'll have to buy the remaining medicine yourself. Is that feasible?"

"Okay, I'll buy the medicine myself later."

Xie An did not refute, nor could he refute.

In this world, the cost of practicing martial arts is a bottomless pit.

A high-quality medicinal supplement can cost tens or even dozens of taels of silver, and it must be taken regularly.

There are also some high-quality pills, each one of which costs dozens or even hundreds of taels.

Even a wealthy family in town like the Li family would find it difficult to withstand it.

You can imagine how difficult it is for ordinary people to learn martial arts.

Seeing Xie An agree without hesitation, Chunlan felt even more sad. "Master Xie is a reasonable person...but..."

Xie An saw that Chunlan had something to hide and was afraid that there would be worse news. "Miss Chunlan, please speak frankly. I, an old man, can bear it."

Eh.

Chunlan sighed, lowered her head, and said, "Master Li said... if your health doesn't improve, he'll have to find another chef to take charge of the shop."

Hearing this, Xie An's heart sank.

Although I was mentally prepared, when I really faced it, I still felt an indescribable desolation and discomfort.

Judging from the improvements over the past seven days, Xie An clearly felt that his body was recovering rapidly and his strength was increasing.

In two or three days, he will be back to his pre-stroke condition and will be able to work normally.

But the Li family seemed unable to wait...

Finding someone to replace him meant unemployment in old age, and also meant that Xie An could no longer live in the hut in the backyard of the pawnshop.

Not only did he lose his harvest, but he also had to rent a place to live and buy a lot of daily necessities... All these things added up, it was a considerable expense.

For Xie An, who had only fifty taels of silver in his savings, this was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Xie An considered that now was a good opportunity to redeem himself, and that his master would surely let him go despite his illness. But Xie An knew better, what he needed most now was a safe and stable environment. He would have a much easier time redeeming himself once he had grown stronger and established himself as a formidable warrior. Not only would it be easier to make a living, but who would the Li family dare to stop him? So why should he care about the Li family's attitude?

Seeing Xie An's distressed expression, Chunlan couldn't bear it and said, "Originally, Master Li wasn't that anxious. Recently, your apprentice has been frequently visiting the Li Mansion to present gifts to his eldest brother-in-law, and even showing off his skills in appraising objects. Master Li listened to his brother-in-law, so... he's only willing to give you three months of rest. This is thanks to Madam Li's efforts on your behalf, otherwise Master Li would have kicked you out immediately."

Generally speaking, it takes at least a year and a half to recover from a stroke. Three months is clearly too little...

All this...Zhang Bing!
Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly, "Okay. Then it will be three months. During this period, I will buy medicine myself. If I am still unable to work by the end of the period, I will move out by myself."

Chunlan hesitated several times before finally taking out a few pieces of silver and stuffing them into Xie An's hand. "Take these two taels of silver and use them to buy medicine or... prepare for your funeral. It's up to you. By the way, Zhang Bing has been acting in a bad way lately, so be careful."

After leaving a word, Chunlan left without looking back.

They didn't even give Xie An a chance to refuse.

Looking at the receding figure, Xie An felt a little warm in his heart.

He and Chunlan had no close relationship. It was just that once Chunlan did something wrong and was scolded by Master Li and punished to kneel for three days. Xie An happened to pass by and saw that she was starving, so he gave a pancake in his hand to Chunlan.

It has been five years since the incident, but Chunlan is still thinking about it.

After receiving the change, Xie An began to think about it.

"Three months... is more than enough."

In fact, if Xie Rang'an were to go to work now, his body would be able to hold on.

Another three months of nursing...it would undoubtedly be much better.

As for paying for the medicine out of your own pocket...

That's completely redundant.

Xie An no longer needs to take medicine.

"My disciple...you are too anxious."

Even without this cheat, Xie An was confident that as long as he showed his unique skills in front of Master Li and passed them on to a certain disciple... he could designate his successor.

Xie An had practiced the art of appraising objects for thirty years, confident that few in Qingwu County could rival him. Naturally, he couldn't carry this skill with him to his grave. He had delayed teaching because he wanted to see human nature emerge when he was seriously ill and near death, and to see which disciple would be willing to provide for him in his old age.

Moreover, now that he had the golden finger, Xie An's vision and perspective had also changed. "Since Master Li has given us three months, let's make full use of it. As for Zhang Bing... let the bullets fly for a while."

Xie An's life became peaceful again. He rarely went out and spent most of his time in his room practicing the Five Animal Exercises. Apart from He Chunli who brought him three meals a day, only the shopkeeper Chen Yuan would come to chat occasionally.

As for Zhang Bing, he still hadn't stepped into the backyard to visit Xie An, but occasionally one could hear Zhang Bing's voice getting louder and louder as he gave orders in the pawnshop.

As the intensity of his training increased, his appetite also increased significantly. He couldn't survive without some meat, so Xie An would secretly give He Chunli some change so that He Chunli could secretly buy some meat to eat.

He would buy two servings every time, cook and stir-fry them on the old stove in the room, and eat them with He Chunli. Occasionally, he would also teach this disciple some knowledge about identifying things.

He Chunli was an apprentice who could barely eat meat once a month. Now that he was enjoying the good life with his master, he was grateful. He thought Xie An was about to die, and he served and accompanied him even more wholeheartedly.

Little did he know that this master had greater ambitions.

In the blink of an eye, it was a month later.

In the early morning, before daybreak, Xie An got up early, wearing a thin inner lining, and practiced the Five Animal Exercises in his room. Sometimes he pounced like a tiger, sometimes he stretched his neck and looked back like a giraffe, and the movement of his hands and feet made a crackling sound.

Even while doing such intense exercise, Xie An's breathing was steady, his movements were coordinated, and his movements were extremely precise.

This is a sign of great success in the practice of standing meditation.

By now, he had long since gotten rid of the hot water bottle. His dry skin had become plumper, his wrinkles had vanished, and a few strands of black hair had sprouted among his completely white hair.

Hu Hu Hu.

After practicing the Five Animal Exercises, Xie An could clearly feel the warmth in his muscles and bones. The warmth in his lower abdomen had grown several times stronger than it had been two weeks ago. Even in late autumn, he no longer felt cold even wearing a thin undershirt.

After finishing the exercise, Xie An stretched his hands and feet, and suddenly felt as vigorous as a dragon and a tiger. He no longer felt the numbness and fatigue of an old man. Every part of his limbs was filled with a strong sense of power, and he could already exert a strength of one or two hundred pounds when he casually waved his arms.

He walked to the stone lock next to him and rubbed his hands together.

"This stone lock weighs two hundred pounds. Let me try it..."

Spread your legs and hold the handle of the stone lock.

With both feet on the ground, the power from the earth is transferred to the waist, and then the waist is swung to transfer the power to the arms, making a strong effort.

"Crack!"

Xie An suddenly lifted the 200-jin stone lock above his head.

Although it was a bit difficult, he lifted it steadily.

Chen's martial arts school has two minimum standards for recruiting apprentices: being able to lift 20 kilograms and being under years old.

Xie An was over fifty years old, had never taken medicine, and had no famous teacher to guide him, yet he could lift 200 kilograms. Even if he met a grown man, he would not be at all weak.

After putting down the stone lock, Xie An breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the panel in front of him.

[Five Animal Play: A First Look (67/100)]

[Remaining years: four years]

As progress increased, the number of remaining years appeared for the first time.

This means that under normal circumstances, he can live for at least four years.

Although the time was short, it was a fundamental improvement compared to the situation more than a month ago when he was about to die of old age.

The fear of old age and death slowly faded. My heart, which had been tense all the time, also gradually relaxed. I felt an indescribable sense of peace.

"Although health-preserving skills are not as good as ordinary killing martial arts, they still fall into the category of martial arts. Moreover, they have greatly increased my strength and speed... If I continue to persevere, I may not lose my fighting ability."

"However, the progress has obviously slowed down a lot in the past few days. If we can find the right auxiliary medicine, we will definitely get twice the result with half the effort."

After living in this world for thirty years, Xie An knew very well that martial arts training alone would have limited effectiveness and that it must be combined with corresponding medicinal supplements to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Thinking of this, Xie An took out a brocade bag from under his pillow and went out with his life savings.

This amount of money is Xie An's lifeblood. He had been reluctant to invest in pharmaceutical supplements before because he was considering his future.

but now……

What else are you thinking about after your death?
Investing in yourself is the most profitable.

(End of this chapter)