I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

He had just stepped out of the courtyard when he saw He Chunli wiping the doors and windows of the shop.

The young apprentice was overjoyed to see Xie An looking so energetic. "Master, you look much more spirited."

Xie An was in a good mood, and his words carried a hint of a smile. "I've been in good spirits lately, so I'm a bit more energetic. By the way, where's Zhang Bing?"

Before his stroke, Xie An didn't look old, after all, being an appraiser wasn't strenuous work, and he had taken good care of himself. Although his appearance is a bit younger than it was then, there's no need to hide anything.

But if his appearance continues to get younger, and he really starts to revert to his youth... then he'll really need to find an excuse.

He Chunli's expression dimmed. "Brother Zhang is still sleeping; he won't be up until Chen time (7-9 am)."

Xie An glanced at He Chunli's hands, chapped and covered in frostbite, and immediately understood.

His disciple, Han Li, had taken a few months' leave because of a family matter, so there was nothing to say about that.

But Zhang Bing was really treating himself like the master appraiser, freely bossing around and bullying He Chunli.

In the past half-month, Zhang Bing had only symbolically visited Xie An twice, each time perfunctorily.

Xie An even keenly sensed that every time Zhang Bing came to see him, he paid particular attention to his complexion.

Rather than visiting, it was more like he was afraid Xie An would recover, hoping he would die sooner.

Xie An encouraged He Chunli, "Xiao He, work hard, and you will surely make a name for yourself in the future."

He Chunli was confused, but he still scratched his head. "Yes, Master."

Xie An didn't say more and turned to leave.

With Xie An's current physical condition, he was more than capable of going back to the shop and working. But since Master Li had given him three months, he might as well make good use of them.

Moreover, although cultivating the health regimen was tedious and arduous, he enjoyed seeing his body grow stronger and his lifespan increase each time.

In comparison, he didn't have much interest in the appraisal work anymore.

...

The most prominent master in the town was naturally Chen Lei, the master of the Chen Clan Martial Arts School. He had learned extraordinary martial arts skills, roamed the pugilistic world, and after returning home in glory, he opened a martial arts school to cultivate martial artists for the town, truly a big shot in Black Crane Town who could not be contradicted.

In this chaotic world, practicing martial arts is always the most respected profession.

Although the Li family was wealthy, they were nothing compared to the Chen family. When Master Li saw Master Chen, he had to lower his head and act subservient.

And to purchase medicinal supplements for practicing martial arts, there was no better place in the entire Black Crane Town than the Chen Clan Martial Arts School.

Next to the Chen Clan Martial Arts School was the Chen Clan Pharmacy.

The medicinal supplements they prepared were given priority to the martial arts school's apprentices and martial artists, and the excess would be sold to outsiders.

Chen He, the manager of the Chen Clan Pharmacy, was a distant cousin of Chen Lei, forty-nine years old, and well-maintained because he had practiced martial arts. He had privately sought Xie An to appraise many antiques, so they were acquainted.

Martial arts practitioners are mostly bold and unrestrained, without so many rules and formalities. Chen He didn't dislike Xie An for being a slave, but was instead amazed by his extraordinary appraisal skills.

"Old Xie, why are you out so early in the morning? Aren't you afraid of catching a chill... Hey, why do you look so energetic?"

Chen He, sitting behind the pharmacy counter, sized up Xie An, very surprised.

Xie An laughed and said, "I recently found a health regimen to invigorate my muscles and bones, perhaps that's the reason. By the way, do you have any medicinal supplements that match the Five Animal Frolics?"

Chen He withdrew his gaze and began to introduce them as if listing family treasures, "Of course, we have them. For general effects, there's Strengthening Bone Soup, three silver coins a dose, three doses a day. For someone like you, Old Xie, who's just practicing for fun, Strengthening Bone Soup is enough."

Knowing that Xie An was a slave, his introduction was still fair.

The problem is, Xie An wasn't just practicing for fun...

Xie An wasn't satisfied and said, "Do you have anything better?"

Chen He was slightly surprised, "Better ones include Nourishing Blood Soup, eight silver coins a dose, taken morning and night. And there's Nourishing Yuan Soup..."

"What's the best one?"

Chen He was even more astonished, "The best medicinal supplement here to complement the health regimen is Vitality Soup, which includes ginseng, angelica... and deer blood. Two taels of silver a dose, one dose every two days."

Two taels a dose, one dose every two days. Which means it costs one tael of silver per day.

Truly outrageously expensive...

Although Xie An felt a pang of pain, he was determined to get this medicine, but he still showed a troubled expression, "I want to buy five doses; can Manager Chen give me a discount?"

But recently, he had tasted the sweetness of the health regimen and was determined, "Thank you for your kindness, Manager Chen, but I can't practice martial arts at my age; I just want to focus on the health regimen."

Chen He didn't dissuade him any further, "Five doses of Vitality Soup, I'll give it to you for eight taels of silver, is that okay?"

Xie An knew that this was already quite generous, so he agreed, "Okay."

Chen He skillfully prepared the medicine, wrapped five doses in mulberry paper, and was about to collect the money when he suddenly said, "Old Xie, I have an item here; can you take a look at it for me?"

The wealthy families in this world have a habit of collecting antiques and paintings.

Xie An gladly agreed, taking the item and examining it.

The newest and most complete novels are first published on 6 9 Shu Ba!

It was a jade ruyi, with good color and pure transparency, crystal clear.

Taking advantage of the gap while Xie An was examining the item, Chen He spoke about the origin of the item, "I spent ten taels of silver to buy it at the antique market in the county town a while ago; they said it was a jade ruyi from a former dynasty's princess. But when I went to the pawnshop, they said it was a fake, damn it..."

Xie An looked at it for a long time, pointing to the sailfish carving on the jade pendant, "Sailfish carvings, although they originated in the late Former Dynasty, there were few imitators at that time, and they were mostly popular among the nobility in the capital. It wasn't until after the twentieth year of the Jingtai era of this dynasty that they became widely popular. Later, because of changes in fashion, sailfish carvings became rare."

Chen He nervously rubbed his hands, "Is it valuable?"

Xie An said, "Sailfish carvings are inherently unique, and coupled with the short period of popularity, they have a certain scarcity. But calling it a Former Dynasty princess's is an exaggeration; it should be from some noblewoman of the Jingtai era of this dynasty, about thirty years old. If you encounter someone who knows their stuff, selling it for twenty taels wouldn't be a problem."

Chen He couldn't believe it, "Really?"

Xie An was very confident in his skills, "If you can hold onto it for another ten years before selling it, you can double the price. If you don't believe me, you can go to Li's Pawnshop today, and I'll buy it for twenty taels. But you'll be at a loss."

"Hahaha, I naturally believe what Brother Xie says."

Chen He was in a great mood and unconsciously changed his address to "Brother".

When collecting the money, he only agreed to accept three taels of silver from Xie An, saying it was the cost price.

Xie An naturally accepted this favor.

He didn't have much savings to begin with, so saving a little was saving a little.

"By the way, a health regimen master will come to the martial arts school to teach in a month; it only costs two taels of silver to audit. Old Xie, would you like to come?"

"I'll see."

Back in the small hut in the backyard of the pawnshop, it was already broad daylight.

Xie An closed the door, moved a stove from the corner, lit a fire, and decocted the medicine.

Taking advantage of the gap while the medicine was boiling, Xie An began to practice the health regimen.

He couldn't help but recall Chen He's last words.

"Recently, the progress of the health regimen has slowed down significantly. Besides the lack of medicinal supplements, could it also be that I'm practicing it incorrectly?"

The health regimen seems simple, but it's not easy to cultivate it to perfection.

Although one can slowly improve the progress by burning the midnight oil, if the way of burning the midnight oil is incorrect, it would be too slow, and it's easy to take many detours.

If there was a health regimen master to give some guidance, burning the midnight oil would undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort.

Just like the skill of appraisal, an ordinary apprentice would probably not succeed in ten years if they tried to explore it on their own. If they could get some guidance from me, they would make great progress in two or three years.

"It seems that the two taels of silver for auditing must be spent."

As he spoke, the medicine was ready.

Xie An dragged his exhausted body, drank three large bowls of Vitality Soup, and was immediately dumbfounded.

Buzz!

The warm current in the lower abdomen was as if it had been injected with a stimulant, expanding wildly...