The hours flew by, and soon it was evening.
Yang Feilong sat in the dining room, eating, with Yang Pingtian opposite him.
"Tired?" Yang Pingtian asked, looking at his son with concern.
"Not too bad," Yang Feilong replied with a light smile as he ate, "just a bit mentally drained."
Of course, his qi was also depleted, but there was no need to mention that.
"You could have spread it out over a few days," Yang Pingtian sighed.
"It's almost New Year's," Yang Feilong said, "I want them to have a good one. Oh, Dad, I'm going to the Luo family tomorrow."
"To the Luo family? To help old Mr. Luo with his treatment?" Yang Pingtian asked.
"Mhm, I promised Xiangning, and I can't go back on my word," Yang Feilong said. He had initially planned to stay at the Yang family for another day, but then thought it better to leave some extra time.
"And after treating old Mr. Luo?" Yang Pingtian asked, his eyes filled with hope. New Year was approaching, and he desperately wanted to spend it with his son, just like Yang Feilong himself.
"I promised my adoptive parents first," Yang Feilong said with a wry smile.
"Is that so? You've spent so many years with your adoptive parents; can't you spend one Spring Festival with your father?" Yang Pingtian pleaded. "If not, I can go with you."
"I haven't spent it with them together in over ten years," Yang Feilong sighed.
"Oh?" Yang Pingtian was taken aback.
"For the past ten years, I've always spent it with my master," Yang Feilong said, shaking his head.
"Master?" Yang Pingtian was surprised. "Can you tell me about how you've spent your years?"
Yang Feilong glanced at Yang Pingtian, appearing conflicted.
"What is it? Is there something you can't tell your father?" Yang Pingtian sighed.
"It's not that I can't say, it's just that if I do, I fear you'll be sad," Yang Feilong said with a bitter smile.
"Then I must hear it. At least, I wasn't by your side all these years because I didn't know of your existence. Now that I do, I want to understand how my son has lived. Isn't that natural?" Yang Pingtian said sternly.
He looked at Yang Feilong, his face filled with guilt.
At the time, when Li Xiuzhu wanted to break up with him, he should have investigated further instead of blindly accepting whatever she said. Thinking back, their abrupt breakup was highly unusual, as they had been very loving before that.
"Since you want to hear, I'll tell you," Yang Feilong said. Seeing his father's sadness, he thought about it. Whether he spoke or not, it would lead to sadness. Since his father wanted to know about his past, he would tell him.
Thus, Yang Feilong began to narrate from the time he could remember.
Upon hearing that Yang Feilong had been frail and sickly since childhood, Yang Pingtian's heart ached. When he heard about his adoptive parents taking him everywhere to seek medical help, his guilt and self-reproach intensified. He knew this was likely due to Li Xiuzhu miscarrying when she was pregnant with him. Indeed, they had broken up then, and while he was heartbroken and in pain, how could Li Xiuzhu, who had suppressed all her sorrow and grief, have been alright?
If he had suffered for so many years, wouldn't she have, too?
When he heard Yang Feilong recount how his adoptive parents brought him to Baiyun Mountain and, after months of searching, found Yang Feilong's master to seek treatment, Yang Pingtian felt both sadness and joy.
"Your master is the legendary, elusive Divine Doctor Bai?" Yang Pingtian asked in shock.
Even he had heard of Divine Doctor Bai, but her whereabouts were incredibly difficult to track. She might treat ordinary or poor people without payment, but for the scions of influential families, unless she needed something, she wouldn't offer her medical services.
Moreover, although some people knew she resided on Baiyun Mountain, many who went searching for her never found her.
Yang Feilong knew this best, as the Taoist temple was shrouded in a grand formation. Even with his considerable cultivation, once the formation was activated, the temple would become invisible, and he couldn't see it at all.
In reality, both vision and space were distorted. One's cultivation or divine sense had to reach a certain level to perceive it.
Yang Feilong nodded and said to his father, "Please help me keep this a secret. My master values peace and quiet."
"I understand," Yang Pingtian nodded.
At this point, he finally understood why Yang Feilong possessed such formidable medical and martial arts skills.
How powerful was Divine Doctor Bai? Those at the Ba Wu realm felt she was at the Zun Wu realm; those at the Zun Wu realm felt she was at the Innate realm. In short, she was one major realm stronger than himself.
Just as Yang Feilong had once asked if his master was at the Foundation Establishment realm, his master had answered ambiguously. In any case, she was at least at the Foundation Establishment realm. Even if she were at the Golden Core realm, Yang Feilong wouldn't be surprised. He felt his master seemed to hide great secrets, but for some unknown reason, she had never revealed them. Only on holidays would she sit alone on the back of the mountain, offering fruits, wine, and various sacrifices, gazing at the moon in remembrance.
Yang Feilong had thought at the time that she might be reminiscing about a loved one, who was likely no longer alive.
Yang Feilong recounted his past, not in exhaustive detail, but generally, glossing over some parts. Otherwise, it would take three days and three nights to finish.
He would say that the most frequent days were those after his master drove him down the mountain. This period could be described as epic. Why had he been able to improve so rapidly in more than half a year? It was simply because his master had laid an excellent foundation for him since childhood, with various medicinal baths and teachings, as well as his own diligent learning, which his master had cultivated.
His master required him to spend at least four hours every day reading and studying.
The rest of his time was spent learning medicine, practicing martial arts, or studying while taking medicinal baths, and so on. In short, his schedule was packed. She often took him out for practical application of what he learned.
Therefore, he both admired and loved his master.
After all, his master was so beautiful, incredibly beautiful. The reason he rarely actively pursued a girl was that being with his master for so long had made his aesthetic standards exceptionally high.
When Yang Feilong had roughly finished his story, although not elaborating on every detail, Yang Pingtian felt as if he had walked through his son's past twenty years alongside him.
His son's current excellence was not accidental but inevitable. His master was outstanding, he had good innate talent, and he was diligent; it would be strange if he weren't outstanding.
"My child, you've suffered," Yang Pingtian said. Hearing his son speak with a smile about the agonizing pain he endured during each illness, Yang Pingtian felt it deeply. Perhaps his son could face suffering with a smile because he had experienced so much of it.
"It's all in the past now," Yang Feilong shook his head and smiled lightly. "After all, during the most painful moments, my master was with me, healing me, smiling at me, and comforting my heart."
Yang Pingtian fell silent. At this moment, he also understood that Yang Feilong's relationship with his master was something he couldn't compare to. Let alone compare to his master, he couldn't even compare to his adoptive parents. As adoptive parents, they had abandoned their own child and taken Yang Feilong everywhere to seek medical treatment, nearly exhausting their family fortune. It was incredibly difficult to do something like that.
Although his wife owed them a debt of gratitude, they had repaid it long ago. Furthermore, they had done more than just repay their debt; now, he was indebted to Yang Feilong's adoptive parents for raising him.