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

Chunlan sized up Xie An, who was lying on the bed, feeling a pang of pity.

"Master Xie, you know that the young master is studying at the Martial Arts Academy in the county town, preparing for the martial arts examination. Practicing martial arts is very expensive… So, the master's idea is to save wherever possible. You'll have to spend your own money to buy medicine from now on. Is that acceptable?"

"Okay, I'll buy my own medicine from now on."

Xie An didn't argue, nor could he.

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

A single dose of good medicinal ingredients can easily cost ten or dozens of taels of silver, and they must be taken regularly.

There are also some good elixirs that cost dozens or even hundreds of taels each.

Seeing Xie An agree so readily, Chunlan felt even more distressed. "Master Xie is so understanding… It's just that…"

Xie An saw that Chunlan had something difficult to say, and feared there was even worse news. "Miss Chunlan, speak plainly. This old man can take it."

Alas.

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

Hearing this, Xie An's heart sank.

Although he had been mentally prepared, he still felt a sense of indescribable desolation and discomfort when faced with it.

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

In another two or three days, he would be able to return to his pre-stroke state. At that time, he could work normally.

But the Li family seemed unable to wait…

Finding someone to replace him meant losing his job in old age, and it also meant that Xie An would no longer be able to live in the small house in the backyard of the pawnshop.

Not only would he lose his income, but he would also need to rent a place outside and buy many daily necessities… All of this together would be a considerable expense.

For Xie An, who only had fifty taels of savings, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Xie An had also considered that now was a good opportunity to redeem himself, and the master would definitely let him leave due to his illness. But Xie An was even clearer that what he needed most now was a stable environment to develop. When he became strong enough in the future and became a martial artist, redeeming himself would be much easier. Not only would it be easier to make a living, but would the Li family dare to stop him? And why would he need to 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 in such a hurry. Recently, your disciple has often gone to the Li family to give gifts to the son-in-law, and also showed off his appraising skills. Master Li listened to the son-in-law's words, so… he's only willing to give you three months of rest. This is the result of Madam Li helping you to fight for it, otherwise Master Li would probably drive you away immediately."

Generally speaking, stroke recovery takes at least a year and a half. Three months is obviously too short…

All of this… Zhang Bing!

Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly. "Okay. Then three months it is. During this time, I'll buy my own medicine. If I'm still unable to work by the deadline, I'll move out myself."

Chunlan hesitated several times, and finally took out a few pieces of silver and put them in Xie An's hand. "Take these two taels of silver, either to buy medicine, or… to prepare for your funeral. It's up to you. By the way, Zhang Bing has been acting dishonestly recently, be careful."

Leaving a word, Chunlan walked away without looking back.

Not even giving Xie An a chance to refuse.

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

He and Chunlan had no special relationship. It was just that once Chunlan made a mistake and was scolded and punished to kneel for three days by Master Li. Xie An happened to pass by, and seeing that she was dizzy with hunger, he gave her a baked cake he had.

The matter had passed five years ago, but he didn't expect Chunlan to still remember it.

Accepting the silver, Xie An began to calculate.

"Three months… that's completely enough."

In fact, even if Xie An went to work now, his body could handle it.

To recuperate for another three months… would undoubtedly be much better.

As for paying for his own medicine…

That was completely unnecessary.

Xie An no longer needed to take medicine.

"My disciple… you're too impatient."

Even without this cheat, Xie An was confident that as long as he showed off his unique skill in front of Master Li, and passed this unique skill to a disciple… he could designate his own successor.

Xie An had studied the unique skill of appraisal for thirty years, and was confident that he had few rivals in the entire Qingwu County. Naturally, it was impossible to take this unique skill into the coffin. The reason for delaying teaching it was to see human nature revealed when he was seriously ill and dying, to see which disciple would be willing to care for him in his old age and bury him.

What's more, now that he had the golden finger, Xie An's vision and pattern had also begun to change.

"Since Master Li has given me three months, then I'll make full use of it. As for Zhang Bing… let the bullets fly for a while."

Xie An's days became peaceful again. He rarely went out, and spent most of his time hiding in his room practicing the Five Animal Frolics. Besides He Chunli bringing him three meals a day, only the shopkeeper Chen Yuan occasionally came to chat.

As for Zhang Bing, he still hadn't stepped into the backyard to visit Xie An, but occasionally the sound of Zhang Bing issuing orders in the pawnshop became louder and louder.

As the intensity of his practice increased, his appetite also increased a lot. Without some meat, he couldn't sustain himself. Xie An would secretly give He Chunli some silver to secretly buy some meat to eat.

Each time he bought two portions, and cooked them simply in the old stove in the room, stir-frying them and eating them with He Chunli, and occasionally telling this disciple some knowledge about appraisal.

He Chunli was an apprentice, and usually had a hard time eating meat even once a month. Now that he was enjoying good fortune with his master, he was naturally grateful in his heart, and assumed that Xie An was about to pass away, so he served and accompanied him even more diligently.

He didn't know that this master had even greater ambitions.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

In the early morning, before dawn, Xie An got up early and practiced the Five Animal Frolics in his room, wearing a thin undershirt. Sometimes he pounced like a tiger, sometimes he stretched his neck and looked back like a giraffe, and the sound of "crackling" could be heard between his hand and foot movements.

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

This was a sign of the great success of stance training.

To this day, he had long since gotten rid of the bed warmer. His shriveled skin had become much fuller, many of the wrinkles on his body had disappeared, and a few strands of black hair had grown out of his all-white hair.

Huff huff huff.

After completing a set of Five Animal Frolics, Xie An clearly felt his muscles and bones heating up, and the warm current staying in the lower abdomen was several times stronger than it had been half a month ago. Even in the late autumn season, he didn't feel cold wearing a thin undershirt.

After finishing his practice, Xie An moved his hands and feet, and immediately felt energetic and vigorous, without the soreness and fatigue of an old man. His limbs were filled with solid strength, and his arms already had a strength of one or two hundred catties when he swung them at will.

He walked to the stone lock next to him, rubbing his fists and palms.

"This stone lock that I got weighs two hundred catties, let me try…"

Stepping out with both legs, holding the handle of the stone lock.

Both feet stepped on the ground, the strength came from the earth's energy, transmitted to the waist, and then swung the waist to transmit the strength to the arm, and lifted it up vigorously.

"Crack!"

The two-hundred-catties stone lock was suddenly lifted over Xie An's head.

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

The minimum standard for Chen's Martial Arts Hall to recruit apprentices had two requirements: to lift a hundred catties, and to be no more than 20 years old.

Xie An was over fifty years old, had not taken medicine, and had no famous teacher to guide him, but he lifted two hundred catties. Even if he encountered a strong adult man, he would not be afraid at all.

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

【Five Animal Frolics: Glimpse of the Doorway (67/100)】

【Remaining Years: Four】

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

This meant that under normal circumstances, he could live for at least four more years.

Although the time was short, compared to the state of being about to die more than a month ago, there had been a fundamental improvement.

The fear brought by old age and death was slowly receding. The heart that had been tense all the time was also slowly relaxing. There was an unspeakable comfort in his heart.

"Although health cultivation is not as good as ordinary martial arts for killing, it also belongs to the category of martial arts. And it has greatly increased my strength, speed… If I continue to persevere, I may not have the ability to fight."

"However, the progress in the past few days has obviously slowed down a lot. If I can find suitable medicinal supplements, it will definitely be twice the result with half the effort."

Having lived in this world for thirty years, Xie An was very clear that relying solely on practicing martial arts had limited effects. It must be combined with corresponding medicinal supplements to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

With this in mind, Xie An took out a brocade pouch from under his pillow, and went out with his life savings.

This little money was Xie An's lifeline. He had been reluctant to invest in medicinal supplements because he had been considering funeral arrangements.

But now…

What funeral arrangements were there to consider?

Investing in himself was the most profitable.