Ritan Park, located in the south of Beijing's Chaoyang District, is not a very large park. However, it is surrounded by foreign embassies, and within its grounds, there is the Huaxia Clubhouse, a free fitness area, and various pavilions.
Inside the park, at the Qinghui Pavilion, a short man named Sima Boyong, clad in a thick black cotton coat, was seated. Accompanied by Sima Wentang and Zhu Yangyu, he sat in the Qinghui Pavilion. On the circular stone table, Sima Wentang's assistant, Zhuo Wenwei, was seated on a stone stool, tending to a stove and brewing tea with melted snow...
Sima Boyong sat on a chair specially brought from his home, with a screen erected behind him to block the wind. His hands were tucked inside his sleeves, and he reclined on the chair. Sima Wentang sat beside him, while Zhuo Yangyu stood to the side.
Sima Wentang glanced at his watch; it was half-past twelve noon. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Dad, do you think Wan Yunting will dare to come?"
Sima Boyong narrowed his small eyes and shook his head slightly. "No, that kid is quite bold. Besides, he's been wanting to meet me for a long time!"
Sima Wentang nodded. Zhuo Yangyu, standing nearby, said, "He's here."
Indeed, in the distance, Wei Ping was leading Wan Yunting towards them. This caused a sharp glint in Sima Boyong's narrowed eyes...
Before Wan Yunting had even arrived, his gaze met Sima Boyong's. He followed Wei Ping into the Qinghui Pavilion and approached them. Sima Wentang, seated beside them, and Zhuo Yangyu, standing, stared at Wan Yunting with fierce eyes, recalling their past encounter at the Wuliang Taoist temple and wishing they could have a rematch.
"Temple Master Wan."
Sima Boyong sat up, raising a hand slightly and smiling, "Please, sit."
Wan Yunting was not one for pleasantries and sat on the stone stool. Zhuo Wenwei, who had finished brewing the tea, first poured a cup and respectfully handed it to Sima Boyong before coming over to pour a cup for Wan Yunting. After all, if the guest was invited, it would be impolite not to offer a cup of hot tea.
"Wuyi Mountain Mother Tree Da Hong Pao, a rare tea. Try it," Sima Boyong said with a smile, looking at him.
Wan Yunting turned his head to look at the cup Zhuo Wenwei had placed before him. He did not reach for it, but he could already smell the aroma of the tea. Sima Boyong chuckled, "What, Temple Master Wan, are you afraid I'll poison you? Afraid?"
A smile played on Wan Yunting's lips. He picked up the cup, brought it to his nose to smell it, took a small sip, found the taste pleasing, and then drank it in one gulp. Setting down the teacup, he turned back to Sima Boyong and said, "Speak. What did you want to talk about?"
Sima Boyong also took a sip of tea, handing the cup to Zhuo Yangyu to hold. He looked up at Wan Yunting and said with a smile, "Temple Master Wan, shouldn't you be thanking me? If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't be the Temple Master."
Wan Yunting placed his large hand on the circular stone table, meeting Sima Boyong's small-eyed gaze. He remained silent.
"Never mind."
Sima Boyong waved his hand and smiled. "I called you here today because I don't want to discuss those matters anymore. I just want to ask about your master!"
Upon mentioning his master, Wan Yunting's expression shifted slightly, and his heart fluttered. Could it be that he knew who his master was?
"What, you still don't intend to admit that you are the personal disciple of Gongsun Xiuliang, the Ghost Hand Doctor?" Sima Boyong said with a smile.
Sima Wentang and Zhuo Yangyu, Wei Ping standing beside them, and Zhuo Wenwei all looked at Wan Yunting. His gaze was sharp as he stared directly at Sima Boyong, asking curiously, "How did you know?"
Sima Boyong smiled and said, "It's not difficult to guess, is it?"
Wan Yunting fell silent. He certainly didn't believe anyone had told Sima Boyong, as few people knew that his master was the Ghost Hand Doctor.
He was right. He and Gu Yuanbai had founded the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. Moreover, when he and Chang Wude went to the Wuliang Taoist temple, Sima Boyong could guess the general situation with careful consideration.
"That's a good thing."
Sima Boyong suddenly said with emotion, looking at Wan Yunting with a smile, "It's good that Senior Brother Gongsun has a successor, preventing his skills from being buried with him."
Wan Yunting, looking up, his eyes sharp, stared at him coldly and said, "But it's not a good thing for you, is it!"
Sima Boyong's old face stiffened slightly. His small eyes looked at Wan Yunting, and he nodded with a smile. "Since you are Senior Brother Gongsun's successor, he must have told you about what happened back then, otherwise you and Gu Yuanbai wouldn't have caused such a stir, and you wouldn't have been constantly opposed to our Sima family."
"So."
Wan Yunting looked at him coldly and said, "You admit that you framed my master back then, causing him to be disgraced overnight, right?"
Sima Boyong smiled and said, "You didn't experience what happened back then, so you wouldn't understand."
*Slap!*
Wan Yunting slammed his large hand onto the stone table, which was fifteen centimeters thick, causing it to shatter. He stood up in anger. Sima Wentang, Zhuo Yangyu, and Wei Ping quickly stepped forward to shield Sima Boyong, looking nervously at Wan Yunting.
Sima Boyong waved his hand, and Sima Wentang and Zhuo Yangyu stepped aside. Wan Yunting glared at him and said, "Sima Boyong, you framed my master back then. One day, I will seek justice for him and make you pay."
After speaking, Wan Yunting turned to leave. Sima Boyong called out, "Wait!"
Wan Yunting, who had stepped out of the Qinghui Pavilion, stopped and said without turning his head, "What else do you want to say?"
Sima Boyong stood up and looked at him. "I presume you've inherited my Senior Brother Gongsun's Thirteen Ghost Needles, haven't you?"
Wan Yunting turned back, his eyes cold as he looked at him. Sima Boyong smiled at him and waved his hand, saying, "You can go back."
Wan Yunting frowned, unsure of Sima Boyong's intentions. However, he didn't waste any more words, let out a cold snort, and continued to leave.
Sima Boyong sat back down. Sima Wentang looked at the stone table that Wan Yunting had shattered and turned to say, "Dad, how did you confirm that he is the successor of the Ghost Hand Doctor?"
It turned out that Sima Wentang, Zhuo Yangyu, and Wei Ping had no idea how Sima Boyong knew that Wan Yunting's master was Gongsun Xiuliang!
A cunning glint flashed in Sima Boyong's small eyes. He smiled and did not answer the question, saying, "The most important thing now is to get the Thirteen Ghost Needles!"
Sima Wentang and Zhuo Yangyu exchanged confused glances and asked, "Dad, why do you insist on getting the Thirteen Ghost Needles? Is there any secret to this acupuncture technique?"
Sima Boyong nodded, his small eyes widening. "Perhaps outsiders only know that the Thirteen Ghost Needles are specifically for treating epilepsy and mental illnesses. But even Gongsun Xiuliang doesn't know that the Thirteen Ghost Needles can actually open the Heavenly Eye!"
"Open the Heavenly Eye?"
These words stunned Sima Wentang, Zhuo Yangyu, and Wei Ping. They looked at Sima Boyong, completely clueless as to what he meant.
"Let's go back."
Sima Boyong stood up, his hands tucked into his sleeves, unwilling to explain further. He walked out of the Qinghui Pavilion directly. Sima Wentang and Zhuo Yangyu, who had recovered from their shock, quickly followed...
"Hey, you're back."
Along a corridor in the Qu Chi Sheng Chun Garden of Ritan Park, below which was a small natural pond, now frozen over, many citizens were ice skating and playing with their children, creating a lively scene.
Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinuo, wearing the long white down jacket from the previous day, were sitting and chatting in the corridor. Seeing Wan Yunting return with a somewhat somber expression, Fan Shuyuan asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Wan Yunting glanced at them, shook his head, and said, "Nothing. Let's go back."
"Go back now?"
Fan Shuyuan looked at him in surprise. "We haven't even shown you around the park yet."
Gu Sinuo also looked at him strangely. Although Wan Yunting didn't say anything, his expression indicated that something had indeed happened.
"I have something to discuss with Elder Gu and the others. If you don't want to go back, you can stay and explore. I have to leave."
With that, Wan Yunting turned and left. He had to go back and discuss countermeasures with Gu Yuanbai and Gu Shiren, especially since Sima Boyong now knew he was the disciple of the Ghost Hand Doctor.
"Help! Save my son..."
Suddenly, a woman's panicked cry for help echoed from the ice surface of the pond. In the middle of the pond, the ice had cracked, and a little boy had fallen into the water. The surrounding adults, frightened, quickly led their children away, leaving only a woman in a red down jacket, her neck wrapped in a white scarf, her face pale with terror, desperately calling for help from those around her.
Wan Yunting, who was about to leave, saw this scene and naturally could not stand by. He immediately leaped out of the corridor and ran towards the icy surface of the pond. Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinuo, who had reacted, also hurried after him...
"Please, save my son..."
The woman, her face filled with panic and fear, grabbed Wan Yunting as he approached. She pointed at her son struggling in the icy water. The woman then fell to her knees with a thud, her exquisite face looking pitiful and pleading sincerely, "Please, save my son..."
"Okay, okay..."
Wan Yunting, too preoccupied to look at the woman, scanned his surroundings. There was nothing else to help the boy who had fallen into the water. So, without a second thought, Wan Yunting stepped onto the cracked ice and plunged into the bone-chilling water...
"Hey, what are you doing down there? You'll die..."
Fan Shuyuan, who had followed, stared with wide, almond-shaped eyes at Wan Yunting, who had gone into the icy water to save the little boy. She also shouted nervously, "Be careful..."
In the icy water, Wan Yunting pushed aside the frozen ice blocks with his hands and reached out to grab the collar of the shivering little boy, pulling him up. With a mighty heave, he tossed the boy out of the icy water onto the thicker ice surface...
"Son..."
The distraught woman nearby immediately rushed over, tightly holding the little boy in her arms, crying uncontrollably, "I'm sorry, it's my fault..."
Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinuo averted their gaze from the mother and son and looked at Wan Yunting, who was still in the icy water. They shouted, "Come up quickly..."
The icy water was biting. Wan Yunting quickly swam to the thicker ice and climbed out. Even his extraordinary physique shivered from the cold. He immediately circulated the inner energy in his dantian, and his powerful qi coursed through his entire body, causing his body to gradually warm up. He felt a comfortable warmth, and the steam rising from his soaked clothes amazed the onlookers...
At the same time, passersby began filming the scene of him saving the boy from the icy water.
"Let me see..."
Wan Yunting, not minding himself, went over and crouched down to examine the little boy in the woman's arms. He saw that the child's face and arms were red from the cold, and his body was trembling continuously. Fan Shuyuan and Gu Sinuo also came over and said, "Quickly take off his clothes and rub him with snow..."
"Okay, okay..."
The woman, sitting on the ice, did as she was told, flustered, and began to undress the little boy...
Meanwhile, Fan Shuyuan also took off her down jacket and spread it on the ice. Wan Yunting took the little boy from the woman's arms and placed him on her down jacket. Fan Shuyuan intended to rub the boy with snow...
However, she saw Wan Yunting's hand directly placed on the little boy's chest. Powerful inner energy was injected into the boy's body, like a warm current flowing through his meridians. Soon, a wisp of white steam was seen rising from the child's body...
This caused Fan Shuyuan's almond-shaped eyes to widen, and she couldn't help but exclaim, "How magical!"