Xiao Feng lazily sat in the recliner, with a wooden table beside him. On the table was a pot of hot tea. Squinting at the just-risen sun, he sighed, "Another beautiful day begins!"

In front, Qingyue and the little girl secretly rolled their eyes, thinking, "It might be a beautiful day for you, but we can't quite say the same."

Of course, while everyone was sweating away, Xiao Feng wasn't just sitting there drinking tea and sunbathing; he also took some time to research information about ninjas.

After all, knowing that there's a group of people targeting you, you must know yourself and your enemy to be invincible. At the very least, you should have a rough idea of what tricks the others have. Last night,

However, the more Xiao Feng learned, the more he found the ninja profession to be quite fascinating. For instance, when it comes to diet, different schools have different foods, and some even eat only one type of food for life, mainly grain-based.

Foods like scallion, ginger, garlic, and leek lamb, which enhance body odor, are absolute taboos.

In short, becoming a ninja means having no fate with gourmet food.

Moreover, the ninja's techniques are numerous and varied, like the "Golden Escape Technique" that Iwakami Shigehiro used last night to blind people instantly, which is just one of them.

But Xiao Feng viewed these like plots in a fiction novel, only taking what he found credible and filtering out the exaggerated parts.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Ding dong!"

Qingyue and the others glanced toward the door, only to see a young man standing outside, holding a food box, with a friendly smile on his face.

"You all carry on." Xiao Feng put down the tablet in his hand, walked toward the door, and sized up the other man while doing so.

The man was wearing a gray overcoat, with a scarf of the same color around his neck. His features were extremely defined, giving an impression of robustness, and his eyes were particularly sharp, making him seem unusual, much like an overseas returnee from the Republic of China era dramas.

"And you are?" Xiao Feng asked while opening the door.

"I'm Zhao Guo'an. I live next door to you. When I went out for a run this morning, I saw so many people in your yard, so I specially made some breakfast to bring over." Zhao Guo'an's posture was very humble, lifting the food box in his hand while speaking, his eyes constantly meeting Xiao Feng's gaze, looking extremely sincere.

"Please come in." Xiao Feng invited Zhao Guo'an inside.

The two sat facing each other at opposite ends of the wooden table. Zhao Guo'an smiled and said, "When I passed by before, I noticed their warm-up movements were quite sophisticated. Some moves resemble those from the Yi Jin Jing, like the Star-Plucking and Dipper-Changing Stance and the Horizontal Demon-Slaying Pestle. If I may ask, do you run a martial arts school?"

"Something like that." Xiao Feng replied ambiguously. He hadn't practiced the Yi Jin Jing; this set of movements was summarized based on experience. Warm-ups are about efficiency, not focusing on form.

Just like the little girl and the others, who initially thought it was a radio calisthenics, immediately understood its intricacies once they tried it.

Thinking about this, Xiao Feng evaluated Zhao Guo'an again. An outsider watches for excitement, while an insider sees the profundity. This person could see the nuances in this set of movements at a glance; his insight was quite remarkable!

Zhao Guo'an appeared very calm and continued to say, "My family's ancestors were imperial physicians. Over the generations, they have handed down the craft. We barely qualify as a family of medicine. Since childhood, I did practice some martial arts, but only for health purposes. To actually fight, I would be useless."

"Interesting." Xiao Feng nodded with a smile. Ever since Zhao Guo'an came in, he had been continuously releasing goodwill while revealing personal information, yet not asking about Xiao Feng at all. To say he has no purpose for doing this would be impossible.

Of course, simply wanting to make friends is also a purpose.

"I forgot to ask, what is your surname?" Zhao Guo'an asked.

While pouring a cup of tea, Xiao Feng replied, "It's Xiao, and my first name is just one character, Feng."

Finishing his words, he felt that this conversation was rather amusing, like shooting a drama.

"Mr. Xiao, to be able to buy a house here, you must be quite accomplished!" Zhao Guo'an praised unassumingly. When flattering, he felt truly genuine, making one not feel it was flattery at all, but as if he genuinely believed it.

Simply put, he was a natural flatterer.

"Aren't you living here too? We look about the same age." Xiao Feng replied calmly.

"Not the same." Zhao Guo'an shook his head and said, "I live here thanks to my ancestors' blessings. Besides, this house isn't mine; I'm merely staying here temporarily."

"Staying temporarily?" Xiao Feng was a bit puzzled, as he hadn't heard about any rental business when he was at the sales office.

Zhao Guo'an explained, "I don't have a clinic. I usually just help some prominent figures with their health-conditioning, and some, out of gratitude, let me temporarily live in their unoccupied houses."

"Not bad, it seems traditional medicine is still quite popular." Xiao Feng did not hide his envy. From Zhao Guo'an's words, he seemed to genuinely possess some real skills, unlike those who rely solely on bluffing.

Zhao Guo'an didn't feign modesty, directly saying: "The profession of a doctor, regardless of age, has always been the same. People eat five grains daily; who doesn't suffer from illnesses big or small?"

After speaking, he smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly: "Nowadays, traditional medicine has somewhat deviated, with cupping therapy, foot massages, and even ineffective medicinal wines bearing the name of traditional health care. Over time, the term 'Chinese medicine' has become synonymous with scams."

"Are you a scammer?" Xiao Feng half-jokingly asked.

"Half of me is." Zhao Guo'an replied seriously: "In ancient times, traditional Chinese doctors also doubled as fortune-tellers. Besides, the theory of Chinese medicine expands on the foundation of national studies, and one needs a lot of this knowledge when prescribing and making medicine."

Intrigued, Xiao Feng extended his hand and said, "Mind taking my pulse?"

Zhao Guo'an chuckled and said, "Diagnosis or not, it's the same. Mr. Xiao, your complexion is rosy, and your vitality is excellent; though there are no blood vessels in your eyes, the corners are slightly dark, indicating you haven't had good rest or adequate sleep lately."

"That's quite accurate. However, your words do sound somewhat like a scam." Xiao Feng said while sipping his tea.

"Can't help it." Zhao Guo'an shrugged helplessly: "I learned this as a child, and old habits die hard."

Saying so, he pulled out a delicate leather cigarette case from his pocket, offering a cigarette to Xiao Feng.

"Not a habit of mine." Xiao Feng declined with a shake of his head.

"I grow the tobacco myself. You could try it, it soothes the lungs and relieves cough. The flavor can be adjusted to your liking. I prefer a mild taste, so this one is mint-flavored." Zhao Guo'an said.

Seeing the insistence, Xiao Feng accepted, sniffing it near his nose. It indeed had a different scent from regular cigarettes and didn't seem to contain anything toxic.

"Snap!"

Just as the cigarette was lit, the little girl came over with hands on her hips: "Xiao Feng brother, you've gone bad!"

Even Qingyue frowned slightly; picking up smoking was not something good to learn, and this also caused her to look at Zhao Guo'an with distaste.

"Uh..." Zhao Guo'an was a bit embarrassed, feeling like he had been mistaken for someone leading others astray, quickly explaining: "Don't misunderstand, this cigarette is homemade by me, with no toxic substances and it's non-addictive. You can try it if you don't believe it."

"Is that so?" The little girl seemed skeptical but didn't take the cigarette Zhao Guo'an offered.

In fact, Zhao Guo'an felt very awkward inside. Giving a cigarette to a minor, especially a young girl, aroused an unspeakable sense of guilt, heavily burdening his conscience.

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