Ji’an Hall, Cang City, Ji Province.
Zhang Chengguang had just seen off his last patient of the morning when he saw his grandson, Zhang Mingcheng, jogging in from next door with a grin on his face. "Grandpa, want to go grab some donkey burgers for lunch?"
Seeing his grandson’s sunny, cheerful smile, Zhang Chengguang couldn’t help but smile back. "Sounds good!"
The old man and the young man walked out of Ji’an Hall. Right next door was a donkey burger shop.
"Doctor Zhang! Doctor Xiao Zhang!" the owner greeted them familiarly.
"The usual!" Zhang Mingcheng replied cheerfully, leading his grandfather to a table.
They ordered two bowls of donkey offal soup, four donkey burgers, and a plate of assorted cold vegetables.
Zhang Mingcheng took a massive bite of his burger, then picked up his soup and drank with loud SLURP SLURP noises, completely unfazed by the heat. "Hits the spot! Yandu might be huge, but you can’t find a bite of a burger like this anywhere there."
Hearing this, the owner beamed with pride. "Dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth! Ours is authentic Bohai donkey, freshly braised in soy sauce. You really won’t find this in Yandu!"
Zhang Mingcheng nodded vigorously. "Exactly!"
Zhang Chengguang chuckled and shook his head. His grandson had graduated from the Yandu University of Chinese Medicine, yet he gave up an exemption from the graduate school entrance exam to return to his hometown.
This decision had sparked the very first conflict between Zhang Chengguang’s son and grandson.
His son, Zhang Zhixue, had not inherited his aspirations or medical expertise. Completely uninterested in medicine, he instead possessed a natural talent for business. Leveraging his father’s connections, he had built a thriving career in Cang City.
However, when Zhang Mingcheng demonstrated his own medical gifts, Zhang Zhixue was overjoyed. He desperately hoped his son would stay in Yandu after completing his studies. He had even bought a house in Yandu the moment Zhang Mingcheng was accepted into the university.
To his surprise, despite his outstanding grades, Zhang Mingcheng gave up both the graduate exam exemption and the direct-to-doctorate track, returning to Ji’an Hall immediately after finishing his undergraduate degree.
"What’s so good about a small place like Cang City? The social dynamics are complicated, and it doesn’t suit you at all!" Zhang Zhixue had argued. No one knew a son better than his father, so he knew exactly what kind of personality Zhang Mingcheng had. "You could graduate with a doctorate in Yandu, enter a top-tier hospital, and I’ll buy you a few apartments there. Wouldn’t it be great to just settle down in Yandu?"
Unfortunately, Zhang Mingcheng’s ambitions lay elsewhere. "Never mind a master’s—I’ve already learned everything they teach in the Chinese medicine doctoral program, and I don’t need the endorsement of those so-called grandmasters.
"Yandu is too busy, and the hospital politics are far too complex. I still prefer Cang City. I can treat patients and save lives while still having time for myself. The most important thing in life is to live comfortably on your own terms, not to chase the envy of others."
During that argument, old Mr. Zhang Chengguang stood firmly on his grandson’s side, completely suppressing Zhang Zhixue’s overbearing attitude.
Even so, the old man still put in a good word for his son today. "Your dad meant well. He just wants you to have a better future. After all, the conditions in Yandu are much better than in Cang City, and it would be easier to find a wife with a good background there."
Zhang Mingcheng took another massive bite of his burger. "I know, and I understand him. But he doesn’t understand us. He doesn’t know that I’ve also cultivated Inner Breath True Qi. I’m not after those worldly things."
Zhang Chengguang nodded, looking at his grandson with eyes full of gratification. "The Zhang Family finally has a worthy successor!"
Zhang Mingcheng chuckled. "Why don’t you say the Taiping Dao has a successor?"
Zhang Chengguang laughed heartily. "The Taiping Dao has been passed down for two thousand years. Our family is just one branch. How could we make such boastful claims?"
Zhang Mingcheng remained noncommittal, curiosity getting the better of him. "I wonder if there are any Taiping Dao successors among those Extraordinary Daoists? Do you think if we went looking for them, we could pull some strings and get to do some Cultivation in a Grotto Heaven Blessed Land too?"
Though Zhang Chengguang and Zhang Mingcheng were not Daoists and had no internal connections within the Taoist Sect, as individuals who had cultivated Inner Breath True Qi, they could deduce a rough outline of the truth from recent phenomena.
Given that there were no signs of a global Spiritual Qi Revival, the most logical guess was the existence of Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands.
Zhang Chengguang smiled. "Our main profession is being doctors, not Daoists. They might not have even saved as many people as we have."
"True." Zhang Mingcheng nodded, then added, "But if we could also cultivate to that kind of realm, we could save even more."
Zhang Chengguang was speechless.
"It’s a pity we aren’t Daoists." Zhang Chengguang pondered for a moment before continuing, "Fa Ben has also cultivated Inner Breath True Qi, but he doesn’t know those people either."
Zhang Mingcheng gave his grandfather a weird look. "How do you know that?"
Zhang Chengguang smacked his lips. "I called and asked him."
The old man and the young man looked at each other and shared a smile, then each took another bite of their burgers.
"If we can’t contact them, so be it. Everyone has their own destiny and Techniques," Zhang Mingcheng said with a laugh.
Zhang Chengguang nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Fa Ben promised me that if he gets recruited by those Daoists, he’ll put in a good word for us. Also, when the system previously took a census of the domestic True Dao, Fa Ben mentioned our situation as well."
Zhang Mingcheng’s eyes lit up, and he gave his grandfather a thumbs-up. "So, you’re saying we’re on the reserve list?"
"Don’t get your hopes up too high," Zhang Chengguang said, throwing a wet blanket over his grandson’s excitement. "After all, we aren’t Daoists, and the Taiping Dao isn’t part of the mainstream Taoist Sect these days."
In other words, their priority level was relatively low.
However, Zhang Mingcheng didn’t mind and simply continued eating his burger with a grin.
Right at that moment, three more people walked into the shop. Zhang Mingcheng glanced up, and his heart gave a sudden lurch.
A young man and two old Daoists!
Speak of the devil! The two old Daoists were dressed in plain blue robes and had graying hair. Though their faces showed signs of weathering the elements, their complexions were excellent—ruddy, glowing, and brimming with vitality.
The young man beside them looked about twenty-five or twenty-six. He was sunny and handsome—Zhang Mingcheng felt the guy was even a tiny bit better-looking than himself.
Of course, looks were secondary; what truly stood out was his aura. Zhang Mingcheng felt the young man shared a similar disposition to his own—free-spirited and natural.
This gave Zhang Mingcheng an immediate good impression of him.
"Sir, three bowls of donkey offal soup and three burgers," the young man said to the owner. "I hear your donkey burgers are quite authentic?"
The owner patted his chest in guarantee. "Authentic Bohai donkey, freshly braised in soy sauce! My family has been making these since my grandfather’s generation. You won’t find many places in all of Cang City more authentic than mine!"
"That’s good to hear. It’s rare for us to visit Cang City, so we definitely have to eat the most authentic burgers," the young man replied. He then led the two old Daoists to a table right next to Zhang Chengguang and his grandson.
"Hello," Gu Zhao said, nodding toward Zhang Mingcheng.
"Hello," Zhang Mingcheng replied.
"Is there anything fun to do in Cang City?" Gu Zhao asked. "This is our first time here."
"There really isn’t much to do in Cang City," Zhang Mingcheng answered honestly. "But the Grand Canal passes through the city, so you could visit the museum and the Hundred Lions Garden, or take a sightseeing boat. There’s also the Ming and Qing Architecture Complex that you can stroll around."
"Why did you come to Cangzhou for a trip anyway?" Zhang Mingcheng couldn’t help but ask.
Gu Zhao smiled faintly. "To look for you, of course!"