Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 117 - 23 Sick

Chapter 117: Chapter 23 Sick

At Old Man Bai’s home.

The light was faintly white, with Zheng Fa and two others sitting in the living room.

The atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

"Your mother doesn’t let you come here anymore?" Old Man Bai asked softly.

Tang Lingwu nodded gently, then shook her head.

She sniffled, as if not wanting to worry the others, and forced a natural smile: "My mom’s condition has been a bit worse lately, so I want to spend more time with her."

Zheng Fa stared intently into Tang Lingwu’s eyes.

Tang Lingwu, seemingly reluctant to meet Zheng Fa’s gaze, bowed her head. The strands of hair on the side of her face fell, casting a shadow over her face, concealing the exhaustion and helplessness she felt.

"What exactly is the reason?" Zheng Fa asked.

"It’s because of me." It was only after a long silence that Tang Lingwu softly replied: "I stayed here too late before, and my mom got a little angry..."

Zheng Fa remembered that this was due to the excitement of searching for the Five Elements Child Talisman, when they had returned home later than usual those days.

Tang Lingwu’s phone had rung several times then.

"Later, my mom found out I was staying up late. She suffered from insomnia, unable to sleep at all through the night."

Images of that notebook filled with talismanic diagrams flashed through Zheng Fa’s mind — the Gold Element Child Talisman was something Tang Lingwu had discovered while staying up late.

It all seemed related to him.

"This isn’t enough reason to stop you from coming here, right?" Old Man Bai lightly furrowed his brows: "Did your mother’s illness worsen?"

"No... It’s just that I had an argument with her these past few days. She couldn’t take it and forbade me from coming over." Tang Lingwu’s voice carried a hint of regret.

"Why did you argue?"

"I told her... I’m not planning to minor in management studies in college anymore, I’m planning to minor in computer science, and she felt that I was disobeying her, so she wouldn’t let me go out."

Old Man Bai glanced at Zheng Fa, then turned to Tang Lingwu with a puzzled look: "Wait, why were you minoring in management before?"

Tang Lingwu explained to the two: "That’s what my mom said, she was thinking that after I graduate from undergrad, I could go abroad for business studies... then come back to take over my dad’s company."

"And computer science..."

Zheng Fa saw Tang Lingwu’s head tilting slightly towards him, as if she wanted to look at him, but then she stopped herself.

"I recently discovered that I really like computer science!"

Zheng Fa heard Tang Lingwu say a bit louder than necessary, as if speaking louder would convince them.

His feelings were complex.

This girl, probably realizing that computer science was very useful for researching talismanic diagrams and knowing that Zheng Fa was not confident about letting outsiders know the cultivation affairs, thus came up with the idea of a minor in computer science.

Tang Lingwu lifted her head, noticing that the two didn’t seem to believe her, and added: "Actually, even if I don’t study computer science, I don’t want to study business. I just never told my mom before!"

"Why don’t you want to?"

"Since I was young, my mom wouldn’t let boys get close to me, which didn’t matter, but her constant presence meant that I never had a single close girlfriend growing up, absolutely no social skills."

"I’m comfortable with just two or three acquaintances like this."

"But with more people, I start to dislike it, and I just can’t be bothered to talk. I’m just not suited for business, even less for managing a company."

Tang Lingwu’s expression was also helpless as she explained to them: "I originally planned to study math and do research in the future. If I really don’t have the talent, learning from Luo Bida would still allow me to get by in the mathematical community."

Old Man Bai was stunned, and the sympathy that filled his face suddenly disappeared.

Zheng Fa understood him — with someone comparing themselves to the historically renowned scholar Luo Bida, what’s there to sympathize with!

Seeing the two with speechless expressions, Tang Lingwu’s face showed a sly smile, and she stood up: "Now that my mom disagrees, I can only go back and inherit my dad’s fortune! You don’t have to worry, my mom is waiting for me, I have to go."

"I learned a spell before."

Zheng Fa suddenly spoke behind her.

"Hmm?"

Tang Lingwu stopped in her tracks, slowly turning her head.

"It’s called the Nourishing Spirit Talisman."

"Nourishing... Spirit... Talisman?"

Tang Lingwu mulled over these three words, her voice trembling slightly as she asked:

"Do you mean?"

"... I can’t be sure if it will work." Zheng Fa cautiously said: "I can only say that it strengthens a person’s spirit, nourishes the Divine Soul, and the effect is gentle — even if it’s not very useful, it won’t cause harm."

This was a major reason he chose the Nourishing Spirit Talisman — although this Spirit Talisman wasn’t the best at treating the Divine Soul, it was the safest one.

Although the Xuanwei Realm’s research on the soul far exceeded the modern world, the two worlds are, after all, different, and Zheng Fa still made a relatively conservative choice.

Tang Lingwu nodded slowly, the unnatural smile on her face had vanished, but her eyes brightened a lot.

"If you’re not reassured, we can try it first." Zheng Fa said.

"Try?" Old Man Bai was startled and asked: "On whom?"

Zheng Fa looked at him.

"Definitely not me!" Old Man Bai quickly waved his hands: "My mind is very healthy, not a single problem!"

"I’ll do it." Tang Lingwu said, biting her lip.

Zheng Fa pointed with a finger, and the Nourishing Spirit Talisman in his Dantian trembled lightly.

A surge of Spiritual Power burst from the tip of his finger, forming a golden rune in the air, and flew to Tang Lingwu’s forehead.

Tang Lingwu seemed a bit nervous, subconsciously closing her eyes with her eyelashes trembling, the Spirit Talisman penetrated from her forehead, and her body softened and collapsed towards the floor. Zheng Fa quickly supported her, placing her on the couch.

"What happened!"

Old Man Bai was also startled, thinking something had really happened to Tang Lingwu.

But upon closer inspection, both of them were relieved.

The girl was sleeping soundly — even making slight snoring sounds due to a stuffy nose.

Tang Lingwu didn’t sleep for long; she awoke after about a quarter of an hour.

Her change was very obvious.

When she arrived at Old Man Bai’s house, Tang Lingwu looked tired, listless, with dark circles under her eyes, one could tell at a glance that she wasn’t well.

She seemed like a completely different person now—her complexion rosy, her gaze clear, and her spirit vibrant.

Old Man Bai leaned in with his head, curiously looking around, while asking Tang Lingwu, "Such a big change? How does it feel?"

"Feeling?" Tang Lingwu smiled with her lips parted.

Zheng Fa felt that this girl was emanating bubbles of happiness and silliness.

He heard Tang Lingwu say in a dreamy voice, "It feels like my head is soaking in a hot spring, and my soul is basking in the sunlight..."

"I want to try! I want to try!"

Old Man Bai, having listened to this, seemed genuinely enticed, and started clamoring at Zheng Fa.

"Aren’t you sane?"

"...Who in the math department isn’t crazy?" Old Man Bai replied proudly: "Let me have a go at it!"

...

"My mom doesn’t believe in it."

After putting down her phone, Tang Lingwu said helplessly to the two of them.

Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised.

He was just a classmate of Tang Lingwu; it was normal for her mother not to believe him.

"I’ll do it!"

Old Man Bai reached out, and Tang Lingwu, somewhat skeptical, placed the phone in his hand.

"Hello? Ah, it’s me, it’s me."

Old Man Bai greeted the person on the line as if they were old acquaintances.

"Yes, yes, yes, I’m just telling you about this kid."

"He really has the capability, so amazing!"

"Don’t doubt it! I have tried it!" Old Man Bai swore wholeheartedly: "Ah, right! I have illnesses too! Been taking medication!"

The person on the other end seemed to truly believe him, listening to Old Man Bai’s bluff.

"Think about it, I charged you for tutoring Tang, and I never charged this kid any money!"

"Yes! That’s right!"

"Is today okay?"

Old Man Bai looked at Zheng Fa, who shook his head slightly.

Today, he had already tried twice on Tang Lingwu and Old Man Bai.

One more time, and the Nourishing Spirit Talisman in his Dantian would dissipate.

"Tomorrow! How about after school tomorrow, at your place? That works, that works!"

After hanging up, Old Man Bai gave the two of them a look as if everything was settled.

"...Teacher, how did you..."

Tang Lingwu showed a hint of admiration.

"Sick people think everyone else is sick." Old Man Bai shook his head: "You really think I was joking when I said mathematics departments produce crazies?"

"..."

"I’ve seen a lot, I have experience!"

Old Man Bai spoke with a tone of weary wisdom.

...

As soon as the school bell rang for dismissal the next day, Tang Lingwu jauntily trotted to Zheng Fa’s desk, looking at him intently, as if afraid he would back out.

Zheng Fa helplessly shook his head, standing up to follow her out without even having time to pack his pen and paper.

"My mom sent a driver to pick us up, the school is just twenty minutes away from my house," Tang Lingwu said cheerfully, "Later, I’ll have my mom drive you back."

The two walked out of the classroom side by side.

Wang Chen, sitting behind Zheng Fa, watched their backs as they left the classroom together, then turned dazedly to his deskmate, with a hint of inexplicable lack of confidence in his voice, as if doubting his own ears: "Did you hear that?"

"I heard it."

His deskmate looked as if he was questioning whether he was dreaming.

"If I heard it right, Zheng Fa is going to Tang Lingwu’s house?"

"Uh-huh..."

"And Tang Lingwu’s mom sent someone to pick him up?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Is this meeting the parents?"

"...I think so."

"I can’t understand!" Wang Chen’s voice had a tinge of grief and indignation: "Why?!"

His deskmate nodded slowly, pointing to the door and said, "Look at Mr. Chen, he seems to understand it even less than you do."

Wang Chen turned his head and saw Mr. Chen standing in the corridor, looking downstairs while smoking and frantically scratching his bald scalp.

His face had a puzzled expression as if he had seen an alien.

...

Zheng Fa wasn’t alone on his way to Tang Lingwu’s house.

As his referrer and guarantor, Old Man Bai was already waiting in the back seat of the car.

The family driver of the Tang family dressed quite simply, in big shorts and a T-shirt, far from the suited and booted drivers seen in TV dramas of wealthy households.

This driver was silent all the way, but Zheng Fa keenly felt him glancing over from time to time through the rearview mirror, clearly full of curiosity about him.

A twenty-minute car ride wasn’t short in this prefecture-level city. Zheng Fa watched the sedan slowly enter a villa complex.

The place wasn’t as extravagantly luxurious as on TV, without manors or big iron gates.

Just a cluster of three-story small villas, quite far apart from each other and looking fairly old, perhaps a decade or so.

Probably because it was developed early, this place was actually right in the city center, with a prime location, and even had a small hill not too far behind.