Troubled by love, his liver qi became stagnated and constrained.

Chen Jue chatted extensively with Wang Biao in the car, especially about the peculiar fragrance emanating from Chen. Wang Biao initially thought Chen had sprayed some cologne or men’s perfume. The scent grew increasingly pleasant with each breath, so much so that Wang Biao momentarily forgot his usual habit of smoking while driving.

When they arrived at the high-speed rail station in Baoshan City, Wang Biao made a point to remind him to visit Cheng Wei, who was currently starting his own business in Beidu. Cheng Wei, known as the fifth roommate, had seemed a bit off in recent years, often posting updates from the hospital on social media. No one knew whether it was the toll of entrepreneurship wearing down his health or other troubles.

“I’ll talk to Wei Dog. You take care of yourself too, Ah Biao. Don’t forget your Baduanjin exercises! And I wish you success with your new shop—may you become a boss soon!” Chen nodded in response, and before stepping out, he said goodbye to Wang Biao.

“Ha! With you as my strategist, Old Cat, business will surely flourish! I’ll practice that Baduanjin you mentioned again. Seeing your good spirits makes me tempted,” Wang Biao replied cheerfully. After all, parting ways after a long journey always brings a touch of melancholy, but Wang Biao was eager to return home to his wife and children.

Before driving off, Wang Biao rolled down the window and called out, “Old Cat! Don’t worry about the shop. I’ll pay back the fifty thousand yuan I owe you by the end of the year, guaranteed!” The debt weighed on his mind, pushing him to work late into the night preparing his business plan. On this farewell, he finally voiced his earnest intentions.

Friendships forged in college dormitories often seem plain but are deeply caring. None wishes to owe the other, fearing it might sour their bond.

“Is just repaying enough? When Ruan Ping gets married in November, you better bring plenty of your shop’s specialties as interest!” Chen joked with a slight smile, slinging his bag over his shoulder and waving goodbye as he headed into the station.

Baoshan had no direct train to Beidu, so Chen first purchased a ticket to Kun City, stayed there overnight, and early the next morning transferred to a northbound high-speed train. The journey covered over two thousand kilometers. Flying would have been faster, but after a previous flight left him anxious about radiation exposure, and with his recent alchemical refinement requiring a stable environment, Chen preferred the ten-plus-hour train ride. For a cultivator, being detached from the earth midair was unsettling.

To pass the time, Chen either pored over downloaded materials in his group chat, continuing to study classics on Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, medicine, and martial arts, or chatted casually with Yun Xiaomei and a few dormmates on WeChat. Occasionally, he lifted his gaze to admire the changing scenery outside.

Around 7:30 p.m., the train finally pulled into Beidu station. Before exiting, Chen’s phone rang. Seeing it was Cheng Wei, he answered promptly.

A hoarse voice came through: “Old Cat! I’m still in a meeting now, can’t come to pick you up. Take the subway here, stay at my place tonight. We’ll have some late-night snacks and celebrate!”

“Sounds good! You focus on your meeting,” Chen replied. He detected some background noise, knowing Cheng was busy, so he didn’t prolong the call.

After exiting the station and taking two subway rides totaling over twenty minutes, Chen arrived at Taoting Station in Beidu’s West City. September had brought autumn colors; the street trees bore golden leaves, and the bustling roads and crowds reflected a vibrant city—far from the sparsely populated outskirts where Chen had lived before.

“It must have been over five years since I last came here,” Chen mused, strolling along the street. He watched hurried white-collar workers finishing their shifts, and heard the clamor from familiar old eateries. The air was thick with the long-missed aroma of food: beef noodle soup, hot pot, grilled lamb skewers, pancake stalls, and the busy Taoting Park nearby—all evoked memories of his tough early days in Beidu after graduation.

After graduating from Wenshi University, the six dorm mates had scattered across the country. Only Chen and Cheng Wei had ventured north together, spending nearly two years navigating the workplace in this unfamiliar city.

Following the GPS coordinates Cheng sent, Chen arrived after about ten minutes at a large indoor shopping mall near an upscale residential area. Taking the escalator to the top floor, he found the brand-name early childhood education center—Cheng’s entrepreneurial project.

Though it was already 8 p.m., the teachers had left, but the lights remained on. A few local members were still inside, playing with their children.

As Chen entered, the receptionist—a young woman—looked curiously at him, his unfamiliar face standing out among the usual members. Since it was almost closing time and he had no child with him, his presence attracted attention.

Once she recognized Chen’s face and build, she blushed and asked, “Sir, who are you looking for?”

“Is Cheng Wei inside? I’m a classmate of your boss,” Chen smiled subtly, noticing the receptionist’s quickened heartbeat.

With Chen’s current demeanor and appearance, he could easily be a celebrity, effortlessly stirring the heart of a young woman.

“Boss is in a meeting. Would you like to wait inside?” The receptionist’s attitude warmed, offering him shoe covers and guiding him further.

In the shoe-changing area, Chen swapped his shoes for the bright, soft covers and walked to the innermost office area.

From the conference room, the light spilled out, and Chen could faintly hear Cheng Wei reprimanding staff. Chen smiled slightly, knowing Cheng had always been fiery—back in college, he was notorious for viciously trash-talking opponents in LOL, leaving them speechless. Now, that same intensity had carried into his work.

Led to Cheng Wei’s office, Chen took in the playful decor and glanced at scattered documents on the desk before settling into a soft sofa.

After about half an hour, the meeting ended. Dressed sharply in a suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a slick hairstyle, Cheng Wei entered with the air of a successful man.

Seeing Chen, he immediately dropped his stern expression and teased, “Old Cat!”

“Old Dog!” Chen replied.

But upon seeing Chen’s transformed appearance, Cheng’s eyes widened in shock. “Damn! Old Cat, did you eat an immortal pill or something? How did you change so much?”

“All normal progress. You work out for a while, you’ll look like me. No need to be shocked,” Chen waved off the astonishment.

“Hell! That’s even more shocking!”

“You’re like a different person—taller, no glasses. Did you get plastic surgery abroad?” Cheng was amazed.

Now somewhat successful in his venture, Cheng mingled with wealthy members, minor celebrities, and athletes nearby, but none matched Chen’s looks and aura.

“Enough about me. How’s business?”

“When you started your first early education center, it wasn’t nearly this big, was it?” Chen changed the subject deliberately, reluctant to explain his personal transformation after cultivation to friends.

“You’ve been away from Beidu for five years! The old shop is ancient history.”

“This new place has over thirty million yuan invested, with thousands of members. Definitely a new level compared to the old one,” Cheng reported.

Back when they came north, Cheng’s first job was in early education. Chen returned to Hangzhou to continue the grind of a regular job, while Cheng stayed, spotting the booming newborn market and persuading his family to invest savings, securing additional investors, and taking on hefty loans to build his business. Now, with assets topping ten million yuan, he was the most successful of their dorm mates.

They exchanged a few words before hunger got the best of them. They decided to find a place for late-night snacks and a long chat.

Passing the front desk, the receptionist greeted Chen, likely hoping to get his contact info. But seeing her boss present, she didn’t press further and lamented in the staff group chat, “Boss went out with his handsome classmate! Didn’t get the number, such a pity! (feeling wronged)”

“Qianqian, that’s on you! Saw a handsome guy but didn’t jump on him? And your boss’s classmate, too—should’ve had home advantage! (smirk)”

“No photo, no proof. Qianqian, snap a pic! I want to see the boss’s handsome friend! (heart eyes)”

The group chat buzzed with playful teasing. Meanwhile, Chen and Cheng left the mall, heading to a nearby hotpot restaurant where they ate late-night lamb hotpot as dinner.

Beidu’s hotpot spots mostly used traditional copper pots, unlike the induction cookers elsewhere. The raised central chimney held charcoal, allowing meat to be cooked by boiling on the rim or grilled on the pot’s wall—a unique flavor.

When Chen first arrived in Beidu, he and Cheng treated themselves to hotpot, roasted meats, and dumplings every payday—their favorite local flavors.

Several plates of beef and lamb later, and two bottles of beer opened, they discussed mutual acquaintances.

Chen knew Cheng had dated a local girl, often meeting for meals when they were together. Curious about marriage plans—given their age—he asked.

“That’s old news! We broke up the year after you left!” Cheng sighed deeply, eyes tinged with regret.

Chen sensed the heartbreak beneath Cheng’s confident exterior. After forming his Golden Core and refining his insight, Chen could read a person’s inner turmoil through their appearance and aura—an ability known as “Heaven-Man Resonance” in Daoist alchemy, accessible only to those with deep cultivation.

Ancient Daoist masters often visited nobles’ homes for fortune-telling and physiognomy, always accurate due to this insight.

“Wei Dog, you’ve made it big—the ultimate underdog success story! And you still broke up? That woman must’ve been blind, letting go of a diamond like you!” Chen comforted him.

“So what if I made it?” Cheng retorted bitterly.

“Old Cat, you know the local housing prices? Over a hundred thousand yuan per square meter! To afford a place, I’m stuck with a thirty-year mortgage!”

Cheng poured another drink, recounting the hardships of entrepreneurship and failed love. The story was a typical clash between an outsider and a wealthy local beauty with a background in property redevelopment—melodramatic yet painfully real.

With his current net worth, Cheng could only afford one apartment in Beidu’s inner third ring.

As a fledgling entrepreneur drowning in debt, he was hardly the type to impress families from demolition compensation backgrounds.

Entrepreneurship is risky; if his early education center ever failed, he’d be left with nothing. Being dumped was understandable.

With several drinks down, Cheng’s pent-up worries spilled out—the pressures of business, lost love, the ups and downs of recent years. Chen’s arrival provided a much-needed confidant.

This was the friendship they had nurtured over the years and the habit of sharing their hearts since starting out together in the north.

After their meal and lengthy conversation, both slightly intoxicated, they walked back to Cheng’s newly purchased high-end apartment complex nearby.

Truly a mansion worth tens of millions, with attentive security guards standing at attention and a shuttle cart ferrying them directly to the building’s entrance.

The complex’s elegant environment included a back gate leading straight into Taoting Park—a rare luxury in this precious urban space.

Inside, Cheng carried a comforter to the spare bedroom. Being single and with his parents still in their northeastern hometown, the four-bedroom apartment had only one bed.

Chen made himself at home, unpacked his toiletries, and took a hot shower.

When he returned to the living room, Cheng had opened a bottle of foreign liquor, smoking and watching a cheesy comedy on TV. Despite the laughter on screen, Cheng’s mood was somber, clearly weighed down by heartbreak.

“Wei Dog, cut back on the booze and get some rest,” Chen advised.

“No wonder you’ve been visiting hospitals so often these past two years—smoking and drinking like Biao Ge,” Chen said, sitting beside him. Then, employing his martial arts knowledge and self-taught Chinese medical massage techniques, he pressed on Cheng’s waist and abdomen, prompting a grimace.

“Damn, Old Cat! What are you doing?” Cheng nearly jumped off the sofa.

Chen explained that he was massaging the liver area to relieve stagnant qi caused by emotional distress and alcohol.

“Feeling any better?”

“Wow! Actually, yeah, a lot better!”

“Nice! Where’d you learn that? Haven’t seen you in years.” Cheng was amazed by Chen’s transformation and insisted on more massages before bed.

Chen didn’t refuse, using the soft yet firm force from his Taijiquan training to help smooth the qi in Cheng’s liver.

By midnight, they retired to their rooms.

Thanks to the liver qi adjustment, Cheng slept soundly, and Chen had a dreamless rest.

Early the next morning, Chen awoke before six, hearing Cheng’s even breathing in the master bedroom—still deeply asleep.

Satisfied with the massage’s effectiveness, Chen donned casual sportswear, exited, and strolled through the complex’s back gate into adjacent Taoting Park.

In their early days in Beidu, they had rented a small room nearby, sharing a bunk bed for two thousand yuan a month. On weekends, they loved wandering this park together.

Time had moved on. Cheng had found entrepreneurial success and bought a luxurious apartment but lost love along the way. Chen had embarked on a completely different path of cultivation.

Truly, different people, different fates.

With no early risers yet in the park, Chen leisurely began practicing Taijiquan postures by a small lake shaded by tall willow trees.

During his retreat in Gongshan, Chen had focused mainly on Daoist hard skills, neglecting Taijiquan for some time.

Now, revisiting old haunts, he decided to revive his Taijiquan practice, inspired by last night’s massage session. He also wanted to master the subtle power of hidden soft strikes.

An hour passed unnoticed as he refined his movements, increasing his proficiency by over a hundred points.

As he prepared to finish, he noticed a middle-aged man with a square face, tall and sturdy, watching him intently.

Chen called out, “Uncle, you’ve been watching me for a while. Did you learn anything from my forms?”

The man blushed and stepped forward, clasping his fists in an old-fashioned martial arts salute.

“Sorry, young man! Your Taijiquan postures are very impressive—I couldn’t help but be captivated. No intention of stealing your style!”

“My surname is Yao. People call me Yao San—I practice Sanhuang Paochui nearby.”

This chapter ended here, longer than usual, serving as a transitional segment but aiming to flesh out the characters with more depth. Initially planned as two separate chapters, it was ultimately combined into one continuous piece of over five thousand characters as a special update for surpassing ten thousand pre-orders. Thank you all for waiting!

(End of chapter)