Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

In the backyard of the Azurewood Pharmacy, a secluded side room.

Inside the room, guest seats were arranged, and on the desk in the main seat, a small stove simmered tea, its fragrance permeating the air.

Behind the main seat, concealed by a landscape screen, was placed a daybed, complete with a washstand, bronze mirror, and all other necessities.

This was Kang Zhuangyuan's usual place for work and rest, named "Zhuangyuan Residence," a homophone for "Top Scholar's Residence," to console his unfulfilled childhood aspirations.

"Uncle, what's the background of that Apothecary An? Manager Liu is so polite to him."

After Kang Yaoming, a pharmacy apprentice, spoke, he hesitated slightly, glanced outside the room, and only spoke after seeing no movement:

"Even the manager seems to be playing second fiddle."

"Heh heh~ This is a big shot."

Kang Zhuangyuan looked at his nephew, a member of his own clan, and explained calmly:

"Apothecary An is powerful and highly skilled in medicine. He holds a considerable position within the Medicine King Valley, but he is indifferent to fame and fortune, engrossed in elixirs and medical books, disliking power and not seeking lucrative positions. Otherwise, when we meet Apothecary An, we would have to address him as Elder!"

"Elder!"

Kang Yaoming exclaimed in surprise, greatly shocked.

Even with his limited perspective, he knew what "Medicine King Valley Elder" meant.

A true high-level figure in the Medicine King Valley, a prominent and influential person even in the entire Changle Prefecture.

"No wonder!"

Kang Yaoming suddenly understood, and then, he thought of something, a hint of excitement in his heart:

"Uncle, you recommended me to work alongside Apothecary An. I wonder what the manager said about it?"

"This matter is settled. Apothecary An will be staying in town for a while and needs four apprentices to assist him. You are one of them."

After Kang Zhuangyuan finished speaking, he instructed again:

"When you get there, be quick-witted, do more work, and always use your brain, observe carefully, and don't be like a blockhead. If you can gain Apothecary An's appreciation, even learning a little something will benefit you immensely for the rest of your life."

"Thank you for your cultivation, Uncle. I will never forget your kindness to me."

"Mm~"

Kang Zhuangyuan nodded in satisfaction. For a time, the uncle and nephew chatted happily.

However, amidst the joy, Kang Yaoming hesitated again and asked:

"Uncle, I wonder if Qiu Zhen will be going? He's a good person. If he goes too, I can ask him for advice if anything comes up, and I won't feel so uneasy."

"He's not going."

Kang Zhuangyuan waved his hand, interrupting his nephew's words.

He was over fifty years old, his vitality declining, and his achievements in martial arts were basically set.

Without the support of martial arts cultivation, the Medicine King Valley would not entrust him with important tasks, so he had long lost his ambition and only wanted to live out his life freely and unrestrained.

That was precisely why, even with the arrival of such a big shot like Apothecary An at the pharmacy, he did not develop any thoughts of currying favor.

He wouldn't send Qiu Zhen over to curry favor with Apothecary An.

If Qiu Zhen were to be favored by Apothecary An, then he would lose a useful assistant.

Most importantly, even if Qiu Zhen were to truly turn the tables, he wouldn't necessarily be grateful to him.

At that time, he would suffer a great loss.

"Yaoming, my nephew, Qiu Zhen is exceptionally clever and highly skilled in herbal processing. If you were to go with him, he would steal the spotlight, and what would be left for you?"

"This..."

Kang Yaoming was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized and nodded repeatedly:

"I'm foolish, I forgot about that. Yes, yes, yes, he absolutely cannot go."

The sun set in the west.

Perhaps to appease people, Qiu Zhen hadn't come to the pharmacy for two days, and the tasks arranged for him were even less than usual. He finished processing the herbs before the weishi period in the afternoon, and it was very easy.

"A life with trump cards and reliance is the true life."

Qiu Zhen stretched his back, bid farewell to Shen Liang and Zhao Dou, and headed to the Sunny Courtyard alone.

In fact, he was very interested in the new big shot at the Azurewood Pharmacy, "Apothecary An."

Awakening the "Primordial Spirit Dharmakaya" didn't delay his martial arts cultivation. If he couldn't find a suitable immortal cultivation technique, martial arts secrets were also excellent.

And currently, the most suitable was the martial arts lineage of the Medicine King Valley.

It was just a pity that he was currently a low-ranking pharmacy apprentice, and he had no chance to meet this big shot from the Medicine King Valley for the time being.

"Forget it, let's see what fate has in store. It's said that this Apothecary An will be staying in Azurewood Town for some time, there will always be a chance to meet him."

Qiu Zhen calmed his heart and quickened his pace.

Sunny Courtyard.

"Creak!"

The sound of the door opening rang out.

Just as he was about to push the door open and enter, a small head with pigtails sticking up emerged from beside the wall, looking at Qiu Zhen with a terrified expression:

"Brother Zhen, be careful, don't go in."

Qiu Zhen stopped, walked closer to the wall, and was somewhat surprised:

"Xing'er, what's wrong?"

Li Xing'er's face was a little pale, and she said timidly:

"Brother Zhen, your house is haunted."

As she spoke, Li Xing'er lowered her voice and explained softly:

"In the afternoon, I was resting in the courtyard when I suddenly heard noises inside your house. I thought you had returned, so I climbed over the wall to find you, but I saw a ball of black shadow flying in the sky inside the house, it scared me to death."

Haunted?

Qiu Zhen was somewhat surprised as he listened to Xing'er's vivid description.

If it were in the past, before he had stepped into the world of immortal cultivation, he would have always held a bit of skepticism towards matters of ghosts and gods.

After all, he had never personally seen a "ghost" before.

But now, even if he hadn't seen a ghost, he believed it.

"Xing'er, go home first, I'll go in and take a look."

Qiu Zhen comforted Xing'er, told her to hide at home and not come out, and then returned to the courtyard.

Immediately, he didn't go inside to investigate, but went straight to the woodshed to bring a wood-chopping knife for self-defense.

A farmer's wood-chopping knife is an all-purpose knife, capable of chopping firewood and killing snakes, insects, wolves, and leopards. Having seen blood, it naturally carries a fierce aura, and since it was still early, the sun hadn't set yet, it was the best time to investigate the truth.

Dragging it until night would be unfavorable.

"Squeak squeak~"

Just as Qiu Zhen was about to push the door open, at that moment, the Primordial Spirit Dharmakaya sitting in his mind suddenly emitted a faint golden light, and the third eye between his eyebrows manifested again.

Others couldn't see the third eye between his eyebrows, but Qiu Zhen truly "saw" a blurry silhouette of light and shadow lying on the wood and grass in the woodshed.

It wasn't large, about the size of a village field dog.

Qiu Zhen was slightly stunned, feeling alert, and immediately his pair of eyes looked through the door, towards the place "seen" by the third eye.

He saw a ball of white fluff snuggling tightly against the wood-chopping knife, curled up on the grass and sleeping.

"This is..."

Qiu Zhen was stunned. In this life, he was naturally intelligent and had a photographic memory. Moreover, he had awakened his Primordial Spirit, making him keenly aware. At the sight of the snowball on the grass, he immediately recognized the thing before him.

It was that Azurewood Wind Fox!

Why had it come to his door?

Just as Qiu Zhen was astonished, the white fox in the woodshed seemed to have noticed the movement, immediately woke up, raised its head, pricked up its ears, very alert.

Their eyes met.

The next moment, the white fox stood upright in human form, cupped its hands, bowed to Qiu Zhen again and again, appearing extremely excited.

In fact, Qiu Zhen saw tears in the white fox's round eyes.

"What is happening?"

Thank you to book friend "A Few Random Moves" for the reward of 500 starting coins.