39 – The Ritual of Accepting a Master

“Grandpa Chen, I’ve brought back all the herbs.”

In the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, Lu Qing, panting slightly, presented the herb basket to Old Doctor Chen.

After digging up the Beef Bone Herb, he ran all the way up, fearing he would not make it in time.

The old doctor glanced at the herbs in the basket and nodded with satisfaction.

“Not bad, not bad… It’s commendable that you managed to gather all these herbs.”

“Grandpa Chen, what do you mean by that?” Lu Qing was a bit puzzled.

The old doctor seemed to imply something.

“Do you know why I set the assessment range around the village?” the old doctor asked.

“I don’t know.” Lu Qing shook his head.

“That’s because there aren’t many herbs growing near the village, maybe a dozen or so.” The old doctor stroked his beard and said, “For you to dig up these herbs intact within an hour, it shows that you have been paying attention to them regularly.”

Hearing this, Lu Qing couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

In daily life, he really hadn’t paid special attention to what herbs grew near the village.

Maybe it was subconscious, assuming that there wouldn’t be any valuable herbs near the frequented village.

So unless he encountered some while out, he wouldn’t use his abilities to check.

But to say he had diligently sought out how many types of herbs there were near the village… he hadn’t.

It seemed his mindset was still a bit too lax.

Even Old Doctor Chen knew what herbs were near the village, yet he, with his abilities, hadn’t achieved this… It was truly inexcusable.

Lu Qing couldn’t help but reflect on himself.

Seeing Lu Qing not speak, Old Doctor Chen thought he had acquiesced.

He smiled and said, “Alright, you’ve passed this assessment. Now go and invite the village elders up here.”

“Invite the village elders up here?” Lu Qing was a bit stunned.

“That’s right, I officially want to take you as my apprentice. There must be some witnesses, or it would be too casual.”

“Yes, I’ll go right now!”

Lu Qing, full of joy, ran down the mountain again.

The villagers, knowing that Lu Qing was to be assessed by Old Doctor Chen today, had been keeping an eye out.

Seeing Lu Qing running down the mountain, upon learning that the old doctor had invited the village elders up to witness his formal acceptance of Lu Qing as an apprentice, they were all overjoyed.

“Good, good, good… Finally, our village will have a doctor!”

“Well done, A-Qing! You’re truly the smartest kid in our village, you really passed the assessment.”

“A-Qing, tell Old Doctor Chen that we’ll be up there soon!”

The villagers had previously seen Lu Qing going to Old Doctor Chen’s place every day to learn things and thought he was already the old doctor’s apprentice.

But later, Lu Qing told them he could at best be considered Old Doctor Chen’s student, not yet formally accepted as an apprentice.

Now, hearing that Lu Qing had finally passed the assessment and would be formally accepted by the old doctor, how could they not be excited?

Lu Qing returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, and not long after, the village elders, dressed neatly, arrived at the mountain.

Some village elders even wore clothes they would only ruin during the New Year.

Apart from the village elders, other villagers at home also came along to see the excitement.

Some villagers even brought some rice, flour, eggs, and meat, among other things.

Old Doctor Chen was already waiting at the courtyard gate.

Upon seeing everyone come up, he stepped forward and greeted them.

“Thank you, fellow villagers, for honoring me with your presence at this apprentice ceremony of mine.”

“Old Doctor, you flatter us too much.” Old Zhang, the leader, hurriedly said, “We should be the ones thanking you.”
“Ever since you came to Jiuli Village, you’ve relieved many of our ailments. We always remember your kindness in our hearts.”

“Old Zhang, you’re exaggerating. I’m just fulfilling the duties of a doctor. It’s nothing to speak of as kindness.” replied Old Doctor Chen with a faint smile.

“Whether it’s kindness, we naturally know in our hearts.”

Old Zhang took a basket from a young man behind him.

“Old Doctor Chen, the village is poor and can’t offer anything valuable. These eggs and cured meat in the basket, along with the rice and flour behind us, are the apprenticeship gifts we’ve gathered for Ah Qing. We hope you won’t disdain them.”

After he finished speaking, two young men carried two bags of rice and flour forward.

This scene left Lu Qing bewildered, and even Old Doctor Chen was momentarily stunned.

Old Zhang continued, “To speak truth, it’s rather shameful. Most of us in Jiuli Village are refugees who fled from other places back then.”

“It was a difficult time. If it weren’t for Ah Qing’s grandfather’s support and leadership along the way, we wouldn’t have survived that disaster, and found a place to settle down and take root like this.”

“One could say that without the leadership of Ah Qing’s grandfather, there might not be a Jiuli Village today.”

“Unfortunately, Ah Qing’s grandfather fell ill during the escape and didn’t get proper treatment. He passed away prematurely.”

“And we didn’t manage to protect his son and daughter-in-law. They were deceived, met with mishaps, and left, leaving behind only Ah Qing and Xiao Yan as orphans.”

“Now that Ah Qing is fortunate enough to be chosen by you as an apprentice, it is his great blessing. We hope you will understand his difficult background, and even if he makes mistakes in the future, you can be more forgiving and give him a few more chances.”

Finishing his words, Old Zhang deeply bowed to Old Doctor Chen.

The other villagers followed suit, bowing to the old doctor.

Seeing a group of villagers bowing to him in unison, even with Old Doctor Chen’s decades of calm and composure, he couldn’t help but be moved.

As for Lu Qing, he was already deeply shocked.

On one hand, some of the matters Old Zhang spoke of were absent from his original memories.

On the other hand, he never imagined that the village would go to such lengths for him.

Old Doctor Chen, snapping out of his daze, quickly stepped forward to help Old Zhang up.

“Everyone, please rise. Your actions truly make me feel ashamed.”

He then said to Old Zhang, “Old Zhang, Lu Qing is a very smart child. Accepting him as a disciple is also a blessing for me, so please be assured. I will certainly teach him well.”

Old Zhang’s face immediately lit up with excitement, “Then on behalf of his grandfather and parents, I thank you, Old Doctor!”

He handed over the basket as he spoke.

“We hope you won’t disdain these modest gifts.”

“Old Zhang, please don’t. I know life is hard for you all, so there’s no need for such courtesy.”

“Etiquette must not be neglected. Since it’s an apprenticeship, how can we not present apprenticeship gifts?”

…

After several refusals, Old Doctor Chen finally took a few eggs and a piece of cured meat from the basket, accepting them as the villagers’ gifts for Lu Qing’s apprenticeship.

As for the rest, he refused to take anything else.

Lu Qing looked at the scene, secretly taking note, planning to repay the money later.

To be honest, he didn’t consider the apprenticeship gifts.

He thought he only needed to kowtow to the old doctor in front of everyone.

He overlooked the fact that this was a different world resembling ancient times.

A formal apprenticeship ceremony was much more complicated than he had imagined.

After this brief interlude, Old Doctor Chen invited the villagers into the courtyard.

Then, under everyone’s witness, Lu Qing began his formal apprenticeship.