I Have Medicine

Chapter 609 - (Lei Pengfei) Large hot spring bath

…Of course, whether the host knew “how to play” wasn’t particularly important to the two of them; they were here as guests, and thus had to act the part.

Consequently, after a single glance, Gongyi Tianheng and Gu Zuo asked no further questions and followed the maidservant toward the banquet hall.

Indeed, those responsible for reception here were also beautiful young women. Almost every ten steps or so, a new maidservant would step forward to take over—either to lead away their mounts or to guide their path. At every single corner, there was a new face, ensuring that the distinguished guests would never feel a moment of weariness.

Seeing this, Gu Zuo could only once more silently praise Lei Pengfei in his heart for “knowing how to play”—this was the standard, ostentatious style of a young master from a great clan, through and through. On the other hand, his Big Brother, Gongyi Tianheng, had never played like this due to his past physical condition. In Gu Zuo’s heart, however, a slight sense of awkwardness began to sprout.

‘Surely, once we get inside…’

His internal suspicion soon became reality.

If one were to say Shen Wenhan played with elegance—using the “winding stream party” style for his banquet—then Lei Pengfei played with the “great clichés.” Yet, these clichés were the kind that many men particularly enjoyed.

The place Lei Pengfei used to host his guests was a vast hot spring pool. Inside the pool were many large, flat rocks resembling tables and stools. The taller rocks served as tables, laden with rare delicacies and fine foods; the shorter ones served as benches, sitting just a few inches below the water’s surface. If one sat down, their waist and legs would be submerged in the water. With the steam rising around them, it looked like a celestial landscape of rosy clouds.

After Gu Zuo arrived, another beauty stepped forward to offer long robes that looked like they were woven from gold thread and jade silk. They were quite sheer with a smooth texture; they would surely be extremely comfortable when worn.

Gu Zuo was naturally a bit uneasy, but since he had come, he followed the host’s arrangements. He and his Big Brother went to a stone chamber behind them to remove their outer clothing, leaving only their inner garments to be covered by the silk robes, before heading together deeper into the dense mist of the spring.

At this moment, many men and women were already soaking and enjoying themselves in the hot spring. Most were young—the men were handsome and the women beautiful. Amidst the rising steam, a hint of ambiguity seemed to flow through the air.

Gu Zuo could see clearly that those occupying a rock alone were likely students of the Longque Academy, while those sharing a seat with several people usually had one leader surrounded by several charming women snuggling against them and serving them. In those cases, the leader was a student attending the banquet.

Just then, a very tall and sturdy young man strode out. His body had been dripping wet from the spring water, but as he emerged, small streams of water fell from his silk robe. He appeared as though he hadn’t touched a single drop of water, leaving no trace of dampness on him at all.

He stepped forward quickly, cupped his hands, and laughed heartily: “Junior Brother Gu, Junior Brother Gongyi! I have admired you both for a long time, but it was so difficult to finally invite you here!”

There was a distinct tone of joking in his voice.

Gu Zuo returned the salute and smiled: “Senior Brother Lei is joking. Previously, Big Brother and I were tied down by busy affairs and couldn’t get away. If we were negligent, I hope Senior Brother Lei won’t mind.”

Lei Pengfei raised a thick eyebrow, his eyes full of deep meaning: “How could I take offense with Junior Brother Gu? My recent success in martial arts is all thanks to Junior Brother Gu’s assistance!”

Gu Zuo smiled again: “I wouldn’t call it assistance; we were simply helping each other out.”

After a few such pleasantries, Lei Pengfei led the two into the hot spring water.

Since the two of them had come together, there should have been two seats, but Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng occupied a single, larger rock that Lei Pengfei had specially reserved, situated near Lei Pengfei’s left and right.

Gu Zuo glanced around and saw that most of the students here were accompanied and served by beautiful maidens. These maidens’ clothes were even thinner; once soaked in the water, their graceful figures were highlighted, making the atmosphere very sensual.

This scene couldn’t help but give Gu Zuo a certain feeling… it was like those legendary private clubs in the modern world that provided “special services!”

This was clearly a special service. Gu Zuo couldn’t help but shrink back a little.

Although he was no longer a “virgin chicken,” he still didn’t know how to handle girls. He didn’t want to have any close contact with girls at all—he was a man with a family after all!

Of course, Gu Zuo also knew that with Lei Pengfei setting things up like this, most men wouldn’t dislike it. Even those who were solely focused on martial arts wouldn’t mind flirting with a few beauties in such a setting, provided they didn’t share his preference for men. One could even say that by doing this, Lei Pengfei clearly thought highly of him and wanted to host him well. It was just that this approach gave Gu Zuo immense pressure, making it hard to accept such kindness.

Therefore, when Lei Pengfei gave a signal and two even more beautiful women walked gracefully from the other side toward Gu Zuo, Gu Zuo glanced at his Big Brother and hurriedly declined with a wave of his hand.

‘Are you kidding?’ It was impossible for him to “climb over the wall” in front of his Big Brother. ’Wait!’ Even if it wasn’t in front of his Big Brother, he still wouldn’t do it!

Gongyi Tianheng also witnessed this scene, his gaze darkening slightly. Gu Zuo felt a chill run down his spine.

Seeing Gu Zuo refuse, Lei Pengfei—being a shrewd man—seemed to realize something was amiss. Following his intuition, he reached out his long arms and pulled both beautiful maidens to his own side, not forcing the issue with Gu Zuo.

Only then did Gu Zuo breathe a sigh of relief. He almost caused a massive disaster!

He knew very well that although his Big Brother appeared normal on the surface, at certain times, he could… break through the lower limits of behavior. He had no desire to trigger that side of his Big Brother.

Seeing Gu Zuo’s reaction, the slightly heavy aura around Gongyi Tianheng slowly dissipated.

Lei Pengfei’s actions were not wrong, it was simply that Gongyi Tianheng did not want his Ah Zuo to receive such attentiveness.

The fact that Gu Zuo did not accept and instead looked at him repeatedly, fearing he might be displeased, truly soothed the anger that had been slowly rising within Gongyi Tianheng.

His Ah Zuo was indeed the person who understood him best.

Next, seeing that everyone had arrived, Lei Pengfei introduced the surrounding people to Gu Zuo. Strangely enough, most people here were those who were close to Lei Pengfei and relied on him in some way. There were also some who had previously sent invitations to Gu Zuo only to be rejected.

Gu Zuo didn’t feel too embarrassed. Since they were here, they either had an existing relationship with Lei Pengfei or some exchange of interests. Since they wanted to meet him anyway, they wouldn’t say stupid things like, “You didn’t have time to see me but you have time to see Senior Brother Lei.” Everyone understood the situation implicitly, and the atmosphere remained pleasant.

The person who surprised Gu Zuo the most was Duan Yunbeng, ranked tenth on the Longque Ranking.

Gu Zuo had already agreed to attend Duan Yunbeng’s banquet, yet here he was… should Gu Zuo still attend Duan Yunbeng’s banquet later or not?

Before Gu Zuo could even show a confused expression, Duan Yunbeng spoke first: “I greatly admire Junior Brother Gu’s pharmacy, so I couldn’t wait and came to Senior Brother Lei’s place to catch a glimpse of you first.”

Gu Zuo was stunned. That… didn’t seem like a very sufficient reason.

Duan Yunbeng’s stature was quite tall, appearing only slightly shorter than Lei Pengfei, but he had a baby face and a very crisp voice. He spoke with a brisk and lively pace, revealing a personality Gu Zuo had never expected. Among the subsequent three invitations, Gu Zuo had met Lei Pengfei and Feng Xueqin before; only this Duan Yunbeng remained a stranger due to his unique constitution. Meeting him today, Gu Zuo finally learned of his appearance and temperament.

After Duan Yunbeng said this, although Gu Zuo found it a bit hard to believe, he had no intention of digging for the root of the matter. For him, banquets were things to be avoided if possible. Since Duan Yunbeng had come to see him alongside Lei Pengfei, it saved him from having to go another time, which was for the best.

So, Gu Zuo simply smiled at Duan Yunbeng, not feeling at all that Duan Yunbeng was being insufficiently formal.

Seeing Gu Zuo’s reaction, a light flashed in Duan Yunbeng’s eyes. ‘As expected, seeing him is better than hearing of him. This Pill Slaughterer Profound Shadow truly shouldn’t be listed on the List of Pill Sinners and Evildoers…’

Lei Pengfei, being the host, waited for Gu Zuo and Duan Yunbeng to finish their interaction before chiming in again: “Junior Brother Gu, it is a stroke of fate that we fellow disciples can meet at the Longque Academy. This meeting gift is a small token of my regard; I hope Junior Brother won’t look down on it.” He then turned to Gongyi Tianheng and said brightly, “The same goes for Junior Brother Gongyi.” He paused for a moment before adding, “In the past, I only heard of Junior Brother Gongyi’s name but never saw the man. Seeing you today, I realize the rumors do not capture even a fraction of your grace. No wonder Junior Brother Gu holds you in such high esteem and refuses to let you suffer even the slightest harm.”

Gongyi Tianheng gave him a slight smile.

Among these compliments, that last sentence completely erased the displeasure Lei Pengfei had caused him earlier. His heart felt significantly more comfortable.

Then, a box was tucked into Gu Zuo’s hand. Similarly, one appeared in Gongyi Tianheng’s hand.

The two opened their boxes.

The contents of Gu Zuo’s box were exactly as he expected: medicinal herbs with high spirituality—reaching as high as sixty percent. Although not quite as high as the seventy-percent spirituality herbs gifted by Shen Wenhan, there were three of them, and their spirituality exceeded ordinary sixty-percent herbs, nearing seventy percent. It was a very generous gesture. Gu Zuo could never have too many of such herbs, so he naturally liked them.

What Gongyi Tianheng received was a large piece of Wan Jun Stone.

This Wan Jun Stone was as large as a human head, and the weight of every inch was terrifyingly immense. If ground into powder and added to a spiritual weapon, it would make that weapon incredibly heavy.

Gongyi Tianheng smiled, accepted the gift, and expressed his thanks. This piece of Wan Jun Stone actually gave him a spark of inspiration.

Next, Gu Zuo prepared to give Lei Pengfei a return gift.

However, at that moment, Duan Yunbeng unexpectedly produced two boxes as well, presenting them to the pair while explaining that these were what he originally intended to give at his own banquet.

Gu Zuo had thought he might save a set of Five Element Pills, but now it seemed… he still had to give them away.

But once he opened the box Duan Yunbeng had given him, before he could even see the contents clearly, he felt a sudden wave of scorching heat rushing toward his face!