Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One
Chapter 60: The Buck Has Yet to Stop
Zhang Zhiyi was reluctant to believe that Xu Xingguang was Medicine Farmer Star.
But last night, the old master and the old lady specifically called her for a chat that lasted more than two hours, during which they kept probing about her connection with Medicine Farmer Star.
Heaven and earth can attest, she had never met Medicine Farmer Star, so how could there be any connection?
It wasn’t until the old master told Zhang Zhiyi that Medicine Farmer Star voluntarily gave up all his benefits and clearly stated he wanted to gift one-tenth of the Xiahou Family’s estate to Zhang Zhiyi, and even requested to have Zhang Zhiyi’s name inscribed in the Xiahou Family’s genealogy, that Zhang Zhiyi began to suspect Xu Xingguang.
The reason she suspected Xu Xingguang was because, as an orphan, Zhang Zhiyi only had Xu Xingguang as a relative in this world.
Recalling that the night before last, Xu Xingguang had arranged to meet her at the Xiahou Family home, her suspicions grew deeper.
After returning from the old master, Zhang Zhiyi was sleepless all night. To verify her suspicions, Zhang Zhiyi went to University City early in the morning, wanting to confront Xu Xingguang face to face.
Xu Xingguang heard Zhang Zhiyi’s murmurs and realized Zhang Zhiyi had already started to suspect her.
Moreover, she had deliberately invited Zhang Zhiyi to meet at the Xiahou Family the night before last to guide Zhang Zhiyi into discovering her identity.
Xu Xingguang regarded Zhang Zhiyi as her closest family member and did not want to hide the truth from her.
"Senior Sister." Xu Xingguang sat up straight, turned her phone, and with starry eyes gazing deeply at Zhang Zhiyi, solemnly said, "I am Medicine Farmer Star."
Even hearing the truth from Xu Xingguang herself, Zhang Zhiyi still found it unbelievable.
"How could it be?" Zhang Zhiyi shook her head, instinctively searching for evidence to refute Xu Xingguang: "Xingguang, do you know what you’re saying? You’re only 21 this year, and you were in a coma for three years before due to an injury, so you only have 18 years of life experience. You say you’re Medicine Farmer Star, who would believe you?"
At least Zhang Zhiyi could hardly convince herself.
Seeing Zhang Zhiyi’s strong reaction, Xu Xingguang felt that even if she told the truth, Zhang Zhiyi wouldn’t believe it; she would only think she had some mental illness.
"You know, I actually have a grandfather."
Suddenly hearing Xu Xingguang mention her grandfather, Zhang Zhiyi’s agitated mood calmed a bit. "I heard the teacher mention it once, saying that his elderly relationship with the teacher wasn’t harmonious, refusing to see the teacher even until death."
As for the deep-seated hatred between them, Zhang Zhiyi was unaware.
"That’s right." Xu Xingguang nodded and told Zhang Zhiyi, "My grandfather was born into a hidden family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Their family practiced medicine for generations and were also very skilled in cultivating medicinal herbs. My grandfather violated family rules, was removed from the genealogy, and expelled from the household."
"After that, my grandfather lived in seclusion, growing medicinal herbs all his life. My grandfather and my mother did not get along, living as strangers to each other, but my mother still cared about my grandfather. When I was thirteen, my mother learned that my grandfather was seriously ill and secretly sent me to his house."
"I lived with my grandfather for more than a year, and he treated me as his successor, always teaching me the knowledge of cultivating herbs, and even wrote a book of his lifelong experience in herb cultivation and gave it to me."
These things Xu Xingguang mentioned, Zhang Zhiyi had heard before. "Are you saying all your skills were taught by your grandfather?"
"Yes." Xu Xingguang blinked and said without any blush, "Actually, Ice Crystal Grass hasn’t truly gone extinct; my grandfather has been cultivating it all along."
"What about An Shen Wood?" Unable to sleep last night, Zhang Zhiyi researched An Shen Wood and learned it was a legendary herb.
Could her grandfather’s extraordinary skills cultivate An Shen Wood?
Xu Xingguang replied, "I don’t know where An Shen Wood came from. According to my grandfather, he once saved an old man in his early years, and the old man gave him a sapling as a thank-you gift. He thought it was just an ordinary sapling, so he casually planted it in front of his house. It wasn’t until the tree matured and secreted sap like fresh blood that he suspected it was An Shen Wood."
"So that’s how it is."
Actually, it was a lie.
Xu Xingguang did have a grandfather, but he was an eccentric and stubborn old man, obsessed with gardening, fishing, and gold panning, with a shallow desire for familial affection.
For some unknown reason, the old man and his daughter Mo Yinshu had a rigid relationship, to the extent of lifelong estrangement.