Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 696

Chapter 696: Chapter 696

The old master eventually capitulated.

Whether he was willing or resentful, anyway, Yang Fan seemed to have found a way to counteract the old master.

The problem was also smoothly resolved.

Taking advantage of the old master’s breakfast time, Yang Fan made a call to another mentor of his, Huang Baoming.

When he heard Yang Fan inquire about the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, Huang Baoming’s temper instantly flared up, and he launched into a furious rant at Yang Fan, almost letting loose a torrent of swear words.

Yang Fan silently moved the phone a little further away, waiting until Mr. Huang had almost finished his tirade before explaining, "Mr. Huang, hear me out for a bit of sophistry, I’ve come across a rather tricky issue."

"A woman has been insane for many years, occasionally delirious, spouting nonsense. My other mentor deduced that her mind is injured by evil Qi and requires talisman water combined with the first three needles of the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles. It’s just that his own expertise is not very profound, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, so I need to consult you, sir."

"It’s not that I’m overambitious and thinking of flying without having learned how to climb; it’s that the situation I’m dealing with now happens to require the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles for a resolution."

"You got involved in that business too?" Huang Baoming asked after a moment of silence.

"...Yes."

"Have you developed your Inner Qi yet?"

"I have a trace," said Yang Fan.

It seems that there are many similarities between these two practices.

Mr. Fan knows about the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, and Mr. Huang is also clear about the foundation of cultivation, the Inner Qi.

"How long have you been practicing?" Mr. Huang continued to ask, with a hint of scrutiny.

"Less than a month."

"Not bad, you do have a talent in this aspect. However, I want to tell you that biting off more than you can chew is not good. Don’t look at other mountains while standing on one; curing ghosts is nowhere as worthy as curing humans—that’s the real merit," Mr. Huang said earnestly.

His meaning was obvious, advising against learning the art of ghost hunting and instead to diligently study medicine.

With a wry smile, Yang Fan said, "Mr. Huang, I got involved in this before studying medicine, and I have already taken a master for it, so how can I stop halfway? I will strive to balance both. This time, it was just a bit of an accident; I should have plenty of time in the future."

That’s all Yang Fan could say.

Both of these old men were extremely confident in their own abilities, and they both had rather bad tempers. To put it bluntly, Mr. Huang would definitely get infuriated.

"I’m just giving you a heads-up, I don’t care about the rest, but you must make sure you have ample time to study medicine," Huang Baoming said, "That thing you just mentioned doesn’t need any talisman water. Don’t use that stuff, I have a simpler method."

"The first six needles of the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, combined with the first three needles of the Nine Yang Needle can surely cure her, without the need for that useless talisman water. But the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles and Nine Yang Needle are acupuncture techniques that are very demanding of one’s skills. I’ll send you a set of instructions on how to execute the needling and channel the Qi, especially paying attention to the depth of the needles — not a tad bit can go wrong. Study it thoroughly before you proceed to administer the needles."

"Mr. Huang, am I okay to go ahead and do it directly?" Yang Fan asked.

He had always been somewhat apprehensive about acupuncture.

As a child, he was sick and had needles inserted into his hand, leaving him with some psychological trauma related to the practice.

Huang Baoming said, "I’ll tell you the acupoints, the needling techniques, depth, and how to guide the Qi, what more do you want? All you need to do is locate the right acupoints, and then just needle them."

"If you can’t even be confident about such a small matter, you might as well not study Traditional Chinese Medicine and just honestly become a monk to explore the ways of ghost hunting. I’m practically feeding you the food mouth-to-mouth here, and you’re still asking me if it’s okay to swallow it directly? The problem is you shouldn’t even be asking this question."

Yang Fan: ...

"It’s just that I’ve only been on the receiving end of needles and have never needled someone else, so I’m naturally a bit apprehensive."

"With me backing you up, what’s there to be afraid of? Go ahead and do it with confidence." Huang Baoming said, "That’s it, I’m very busy over here, don’t have time for psychological counseling. If you’re feeling timid, come back another day and I’ll give you a few needles to bolster your courage."

"Forget it, I’m more scared of being needled than needling others. Those few needles on my finger from when I was a kid, I still remember them vividly," Yang Fan said with a shake of his head and a smile.

"The doctor must have had a grudge against you, right?" Huang Baoming asked.

"Not at all, what kind of grudge could a kid like me have with him?" Yang Fan said.

Huang Baoming sneered, "If there was no grudge, then that doctor was a quack. Who would needle the Jing Xue like that? You nourish the Jing when tonifying and drain the Jing when purging. He didn’t even understand these simple principles, how could he be a doctor?"

"I don’t know about that, maybe there really was a grudge." Yang Fan was completely confused by what Huang Baoming was saying. His finger had been pricked several times, not at just one acupuncture point; was this what he meant by Jing Xue?

"You figure it out slowly, I’m hanging up," Huang Baoming said.

As Yang Fan hung up the phone, Mr. Fan and Fan Sisi had just finished their breakfast and were strolling in the yard.

He hadn’t even noticed when Sisi had come over.

Looking at the grandfather and granddaughter chatting and laughing, it seemed as if the thorny issues had been resolved.

"Fanzi, my grandfather said we should check out that tomb issue first later. If it gets resolved quickly, we’ll help Boss Chen with his mother-in-law in the afternoon. If it’s more complicated, we’ll play it by ear," Fan Sisi said and stealthily winked at Yang Fan.

But actually, Yang Fan didn’t understand the meaning behind her wink.

After carefully observing for a moment, Yang Fan still couldn’t figure it out and gave up, saying directly: "Alright, I’ll let Boss Chen know, and then we can pack up and get ready to leave."

He also needed to remind Wang Daqiang.

He absolutely, absolutely must not slip up.

Mr. Fan was already looking at him with ten thousand kinds of disdain, and if another issue like this cropped up, he’d surely be dragged by Mr. Fan to dig a hole in the mountain to be buried in.

"Also, give a heads up to the lady boss, we’ll set out in half an hour," Mr. Fan called out.

"Okay!"

With a smile tugging at the corners of her lips, Fan Sisi watched Yang Fan’s retreating back and quietly said to Mr. Fan, "Grandpa, you’d better be careful. It’s not easy for me to find a partner at my age. You’re not in a hurry to find a companion, but I am. If you trip us up again, I’ll really lose my temper with you."

"Silly girl, have you lost your mind spouting nonsense like that? I’ve said it, I won’t interfere. And stop bringing up finding companions for me. I’m already so old, and you’re still urging me to find a companion, have you lost your mind or have I?" Mr. Fan cursed not too pleased, "I definitely won’t say another word about you two."

"And be nicer to Fanzi," Fan Sisi said.

That completely tied Mr. Fan up in knots.

After struggling to find words for a good while, he said exasperatedly, "Okay, nicer, is that good enough now?"

"I’ll judge based on your performance, grandpa, otherwise, I’ll go find you a companion myself to keep things fair," Fan Sisi said with a mischievous smile.