Playing the male antagonist in a melodramatic novel is fine for a bit of fun.

The next morning, Li Ming was taken by Tong Xiao to buy clothes that matched his identity, while Chen Mu went to investigate Li... Chen Ming's adoptive father.

Therefore, apart from the servants, only Chen Zhou, Chen Ya, and Chen Xin remained in the huge villa.

At this moment, at the dining table.

Seeing Chen Zhou leisurely drinking his porridge, Chen Ya finally couldn't hold back and spoke up.

"Zhou, aren't you worried?"

Chen Zhou stopped drinking his porridge, looked at Chen Ya, and asked with some confusion, "What are you worried about?"

Chen Xin naturally knew what her older sister wanted to say, and said directly, "I'm worried that my older brother is taking away Mom and Dad's love and care."

"Oh," Chen Zhouming said, "That's only right."

Chen Ming is his parents' biological son, and after being lost for 22 years, it's normal for them to want to make up for the love and care he lacked in his childhood.

Seeing Chen Zhou's lukewarm response, Chen Ya continued, "Aren't you afraid that Li Ming might not want to see you and have your parents kick you out?"

Chen Zhou shook his head: "I'm not worried. It's not like I can't survive without the Chen family."

Then, Chen Zhou changed the subject: "Rather than worrying about that, I'm more concerned about whether you've memorized the cultivation techniques I gave you."

Chen Ya's eyes flickered, and without needing to say anything, Chen Zhou already knew that he hadn't remembered it yet.

Chen Xin, however, looked excited: "Brother, I've got it."

Chen Zhou nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, I'll take you through it after we finish eating."

"Once you're familiar with the technique, you'll be able to use the old ginseng."

Chen Xin tilted her head: "Can't we just use it directly?"

Chen Zhou nodded: "That's possible, but it's best to familiarize yourself with the cultivation method first. If you're not familiar with it, you won't be able to retain the medicinal effects after they enter your body, which would be a waste. There's even a risk of overdoing it and harming your body."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xin was immediately disappointed: "I thought I could suddenly become an expert."

Chen Zhou rolled his eyes at Chen Xin: "You should be content. Many people practice their whole lives and still don't even reach the Ming Jin level. As long as you are familiar with the techniques, your brother can make you a Ming Jin martial artist directly."

Upon hearing Chen Zhou's words, Chen Xin chuckled and felt much better.

……

The Chen family's old house.

At this moment, Chen Zhen is drinking tea and playing chess with Ji Xia.

As they chatted, Ji Xia steered the conversation toward the 500-year-old ginseng.

"Old Chen, did your grandson give you the ginseng?"

"With this, I can let you live a few more years."

Of course, that's a lie.

I prepared this ginseng for my own use during the summer.

He has practiced martial arts his whole life, but he still hasn't reached the level of internal strength.

This was also the fundamental reason why his master was unwilling to accept him as a disciple in the first place; his martial arts aptitude was too poor, and he was unable to learn the true inheritance.

To truly master the skills passed down from one's master, one must at least possess internal strength to utilize even a fraction of them.

Even with his current martial arts prowess at the Transformation Realm, his junior brother cannot fully unleash its potential.

As for that legacy, Ji Xia thought about it her whole life.

Now, the opportunity to break through to the Dark Force realm is right in front of him, which means that he can also learn some real inheritance from his junior brother. Of course, he can't give up so easily.

Even if, even if Chen Zhou is stronger than a martial artist with the Transformation Realm.

Chen Zhen, who had been feeling quite pleased with himself, suddenly turned pale.

Although the medicinal diet recipes Chen Zhou gave him had been proven to be effective by his private doctors, he still felt angry when he thought about Chen Zhou's attitude towards him.

If only my grandson were here, he definitely wouldn't be so angry with me.

Chen Zhen looked at Ji Xia and said irritably, "I don't want it."

Ji Xia immediately panicked, stopping her game of chess: "Didn't you promise to teach Chen Zhou a lesson for me?"

"Teach them a lesson?" Chen Zhen sneered. "You expect me to teach a martial artist stronger than a Transformation Realm expert a lesson?"

Ji Xia: "But aren't you his grandfather?"

Chen Zhen said self-deprecatingly, "People will call me grandpa if they want to, but what am I to them if they don't?"

Chen Zhen believed he understood Chen Zhou quite well.

In Chen Zhou's eyes, the wealth possessed by the Chen family was nothing special.

It's fine to give it to them or not.

That attitude was nothing like that of a child who grew up in the secular world; it was more like that of a reclusive hermit.

They may seem to remain in the mundane world, but in reality, they have already transcended it.

If Chen Zhou were an old man or even a middle-aged man, Chen Zhen would think it was normal. But Chen Zhou has been like this since he was a child, and his temperament has never changed.

Time and experience did not have any effect on him, as if everything was just a passing thing.

Therefore, Chen Zhen had absolutely no way to control Chen Zhou.

Ji Xia: "But didn't you say you would help me?"

"And also, don't you want to get to know Zhang Ling?"

"Although he is my junior brother, his medical skills are better than mine."

"With his abilities, he could easily help you live longer."

Ji Xia knew that Chen Zhen's true desire was simply to live longer.

Therefore, he was confident that his words would move Chen Zhen.

In fact, Chen Zhen was indeed tempted.

But considering Chen Zhou's personality, Chen Zhen was certain that Chen Zhou would not give him any face.

Therefore, I cannot take that old ginseng root with me.

Having figured this out, Chen Zhen looked at Ji Xia and said, "If you're so capable, go yourself. I'm not going."

Going there would only bring unnecessary trouble; it's better to stay at the old house, drink tea, play chess, and listen to music.

There's also the recipe Chen Zhou gave me, which is effective and tastes great, much better than Ji Xia's. There's no need to offend him again.

Faced with Chen Zhen's stubbornness, Ji Xia angrily said, "Chen Zhen, do you really want to offend me? I'm a miracle doctor!"

Chen Zhen wasn't annoyed. He just looked at Ji Xia calmly and said, "There are other miracle doctors in the country besides you. You're just closer to me."

Ultimately, having money and power means you can do whatever you want, and Ji Xia wasn't essential to Chen Zhen.

If needed, Chen Zhen could find other renowned doctors instead of being trapped by Ji Xia.

……

The sun was high in the sky, inside a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in late summer.

In front of Zhang Ling was a bowl of mutton soup prepared by Gu Wanwan's chef, which looked and smelled delicious.

But Zhang Ling had no appetite at the moment, because Ji Xia had not returned yet.

It wasn't that he was worried about Ji Xia, but rather that Ji Xia had rushed out in the morning and said she would bring Chen Zhou over to apologize before noon.

It's already lunchtime, why hasn't Chen Zhou come to apologize yet?

He really wanted to see Chen Zhou upset but forced to apologize to him, but why hadn't it happened yet?

For this reason, Zhang Ling really couldn't muster any appetite.

Gu Wanwan thought Zhang Ling didn't like mutton soup, so she apologized, "Brother Zhang Ling, I'm sorry."

Zhang Ling: ?

Before he could ask, Gu Wanwan continued, "It's all my fault for forgetting to ask Brother Zhang Ling what he likes, which is why he's hungry now. I'll have the chef make a new one and send it over right now."