Wine Beggar laughed, "Me? Let's not talk about it. There's nothing worth caring about in my family."
Seeing that the other party didn't want to talk about the past, Evan Yang didn't press further and instead said, "Senior, why don't I help you recover?"
"You know how?" Wine Beggar asked curiously.
"Well, I can't say for sure, but if we can get some precious herbs, combine them with my treatment, and you rest for a few hundred years, you should be able to return to your peak." Evan Yang guessed.
"Are you trained in medicine?" Wine Beggar asked, curious.
"Not exactly. I'm not formally trained, but I remember some tricky cases. That's something left over after I lost my memory," Evan Yang replied.
"Alright, since that's the case, I'll go find those precious herbs. You wait for me here," Wine Beggar said with a smile.
Evan Yang nodded and waited in the tavern, curious how Wine Beggar, penniless as he was, would get such valuable things. But seeing his confidence, Evan figured he must've been from a family before—he probably had friends or supporters. So Evan didn't think much more of it and simply treated it as helping someone out.
As for Wine Beggar, he hurried to a teleportation array and arrived at an abandoned planet. The place was desolate, but you could see broken walls, as if people once lived there but left long ago.
Wine Beggar walked through the deserted city for quite a while before reaching a spot piled with stones. Looking at the stones, he seemed to recall the past and sighed helplessly, "Second Brother, Third Brother is useless!"
It was like a frail beggar standing exposed in a barren wasteland, letting the wind blow freely.
At that moment, someone appeared behind him, walking unsteadily but deliberately making noise.
"Third Young Master," an elderly voice called out.
Wine Beggar turned around, reeking of alcohol, and said, "Why are you here?"
"I've been waiting for you, Third Young Master, for a long time. But this place has been abandoned, no one's come for ages, so I've stayed nearby. I didn't expect you to finally return," the elderly voice replied.
Looking at the old man before him, Wine Beggar didn't scold him. Instead, he said, "I need some precious herbs."
"Third Young Master, have you finally decided to restore your body?" The old man sounded excited, as if someone long asleep had suddenly awakened.
"Yeah, that's right," Wine Beggar said.
"But it's been so many years, it's very hard to recover. Why not ask a few elders to help? That way the odds are better," the old man said. "No need. I don't want his charity. Just give me what's mine, and don't worry about anything else," Wine Beggar replied.
"Third Young Master, why do this? Giving them to you like this is just a waste of materials," the old man sighed.
"Are you giving them to me or not?" Wine Beggar asked.
"Well..." The old man looked troubled.
"If not, forget it. I'll find them myself," Wine Beggar said.
The old man knew Wine Beggar had nothing now—no cultivation, nothing at all—so he sighed, "They're all here. They were prepared for you back then, never used."
He took out a box made of special materials, its surface covered in formations to keep the medicinal properties inside from fading.
Seeing the exquisite box, Wine Beggar took it and said, "Best not let the family head know about this, or you'll be collecting corpses."
With that, he left. Watching Wine Beggar go and recalling what he'd just said, the old man sighed, "Third Young Master, why must you be like this?"
Not long after Wine Beggar left, the old man slipped away as well. After a while, he arrived at a hidden chamber. There was nothing inside, but you could hear breathing, as if someone was hiding in a corner, just unseen. "What's the matter?" a voice asked as the old man entered.
"Family Head, he has returned," the old man said.
"Returned? What, has he regretted it? Is he here to beg for mercy? Or is he bringing up his brother again?" The voice was first surprised, then interrogative.
"It's not that. He just took those things," the old man replied.
"Oh? Took those things? Looks like he still wants to come back, pretending he doesn't want my charity. What nonsense," the voice said.
"Family Head, he just said he's taking back what's his. As for this matter, he told me not to inform you, or else we'd be collecting corpses," the old man said.
"What? Collecting corpses? He even threatened me? Damn it, that brat—how did he end up nearly beaten to death!" the voice said angrily.
The old man sighed helplessly, "Family Head, maybe just let it go."
"Let it go? How? Am I supposed to apologize to him? Impossible! He has to take responsibility for this himself. And since he doesn't want my help, don't come to me for anything in the future. Let's see how he manages to heal," the voice said angrily.
"He only took those things, but he really doesn't want support from the family," the old man said. "What? At this point, only with the help of a few elders in the family could he possibly recover. Otherwise, giving him those herbs is a waste—his body can't handle them, he'll just die!" the voice sounded shocked and angry. "But that's what he said," the old man replied helplessly.
"Damn it, damn it, go follow him. If anything happens, I'll come looking for you," the voice said angrily.
The old man nodded and hurried off, muttering to himself as he left, "Both sides are so stubborn—just now they were saying 'let him die,' and now I'm told to keep an eye on him."
The voice also muttered to itself, "How did I end up with two such troublesome sons... sigh."
As for Evan Yang, he had no idea what had happened. He just sat in the tavern until Wine Beggar said, "Come on, let's go for a walk outside."
Evan Yang paid the bill and followed Wine Beggar, then asked, "What's up?"
"I found those things," Wine Beggar said.
"So fast?" Evan Yang hadn't expected Wine Beggar to find the precious herbs so quickly. It was a bit beyond his imagination.
"What, you don't believe me?" Wine Beggar asked.
"It's not that, it's just that you went out and came back so quickly, it's a little..." Evan Yang laughed. He also noticed a detail: there were faint tear marks at the corner of Wine Beggar's eyes, as if he'd just been crying.
"They're just things I left for myself long ago—originally meant for my own use, just never used. Now that you say you can cure me, of course I went to get them. So it's not about being fast or slow," Wine Beggar said.
"I see. Then, Senior, find a quiet place and I'll treat you," Evan Yang said.
"Alright, follow me," Wine Beggar said. He then took Evan Yang to a teleportation array, and through it, to another planet. This planet was relatively small, but the scenery was beautiful—there was water, rocks, and birds and beasts.
Seeing such beautiful scenery, Evan Yang smiled and said, "Senior, what is this place? How is it so beautiful?"
"This is where I played with my brother when I was little. But it's been ages since anyone came here, so nobody knows about this place now," Wine Beggar sighed.
Evan Yang hadn't expected Wine Beggar to have such a past, but he comforted him, "It's alright, Senior. Once I heal you, everything will be fine."
"Then I'll trouble you," Wine Beggar said.
He then took out a box and handed it to Evan Yang. From the outside, you couldn't tell what was inside, but the decorative finish alone made Evan realize it wasn't ordinary. Carefully opening it, he found three herbs, each radiating potent medicinal energy—he'd never seen anything so strong.
But Evan Yang frowned, "These herbs are too potent. I'm afraid your body can't handle them."
"Don't worry. If I die, so be it—living isn't much fun anyway." Wine Beggar already knew the herbs were too strong for his body to absorb. He was just trying, wanting to see how Evan Yang would save him.
Evan Yang was stunned for a moment, then recovered and said, "Senior, you actually trust your life to me so easily—how could I let you die? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get healthy again."
After that, he asked Senior to wash in the water first. Once he was clean, Evan Yang checked his body and found four spots with severe injuries: the joints of his limbs. Those spots blocked the flow of Immortal Source.
Evan Yang had to repair each joint and clear out the corroded material.
"These corroded bits will have to be dug out," Evan Yang said.
"Dig them out? Is it the limbs?" Wine Beggar asked curiously.
"Yes, that's right," Evan Yang replied.
"Alright, let's do it," Wine Beggar said.
"Senior, you'll have to endure it. It'll hurt a lot," Evan Yang said to Wine Beggar.
"Don't worry, this kind of pain is nothing. Go ahead, start. Once I'm healed, I'll treat you to a feast," Wine Beggar said with a smile.
Evan Yang didn't expect him to still smile at this moment and was impressed. At the same time, he took out a needle and applied flame to it.
"You're a fire attribute cultivator too?" Wine Beggar asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Evan Yang replied.
"Nice, nice, go on," Wine Beggar said, repeating his praise. Evan Yang didn't quite get what he meant, but he started sealing other parts of Wine Beggar's body to prevent him from feeling too much pain.
Unable to move, Wine Beggar asked curiously, "What technique is this? It's so powerful!"
"It's nothing, just temporarily immobilizing a few spots so you won't move later," Evan Yang said.
"I see. Then hurry up and start," Wine Beggar said with a smile, all the while wondering how Evan Yang had such skills and could remove corroded material.
To minimize his pain, Evan Yang quickly inserted the needle. The moment it went in, Wine Beggar felt piercing agony, but he didn't cry out—he endured it, sweat pouring from his face, dripping onto the ground.
Evan Yang looked at Wine Beggar and said, "Senior, hang in there. I'll get the corroded material out right now."
"Just do it," Wine Beggar said through clenched teeth.
Evan Yang nodded and continued focusing on extracting the corroded material.