Chapter 351: Flies Are Very Toxic (1/2)

After noticing Flanders’ look for help, Cillin coughed as if he was trying to change the subject and improve the awkward atmosphere.

“Your house layout looks familiar, Elder Xun. It is similar to Rikulab’s place.”

Cillin used the name “Rikulab” instead of “Shi Huajing” because it brought back good memories of the past and avoided the bad ones.

The old doctor shot his own house a glance and looked less gloomy, but he didn’t respond to Cillin’s comment.

Not taking offense with Jiu Xun’s silence, Cillin continued, “His was so much messier than yours though. I can still remember it as clear as yesterday.”

Cillin was watching both Jiu Xun and Flanders’ faces closely when he said this, and he noticed a very obvious twitch when he said the word “messy”.

From the moment he entered the courtyard, the biggest impression he received besides the familiarity of its layout and furnishings was its orderliness and cleanliness. Jiu Xun was a strict man, and it was obvious that he applied the same standards he applied to others to himself. He wasn’t mysophobic, but he certainly wouldn’t allow his place to become dirty and disorderly.

That was why Cillin purposely mentioned that Rikulab’s place was very dirty. It triggered Jiu Xun’s urge to scold his student even though he wasn’t present.

Flanders figured out Cillin’s method of persuasion immediately. After sneaking a glance at his teacher’s face, he asked, “Was Rikulab’s place that messy?” and stressed the last word.

“Oh yes, it was. The first time I met the guy, he was hung over and wearing a nightgown that hasn’t been washed for god knows how many days. His hair was a mess, his face was unshaved, and the smell… I would’ve believed that he was a despondent middle-aged man if he hadn’t told me his age…”

Back then, Rikulab was like a dropped fruit who allowed himself to fall into the darkness and rot. What Cillin was doing right now was to bring all the details of that dark history—his alcoholism, his uncleanliness, his night club trips, his indulgence and more—to light. Although Cillin made sure to add a copious amount of “maybe”, “possibly” and “I think” to his account, it was obvious that Jiu Xun’s ears had automatically filtered out these words.

The more Cillin talked, the uglier Jiu Xun’s expression became. Near the end of it, Flanders was positively frightened at the size and quantity of blue veins that were popping on his teacher’s forehead. Knowing his teacher, he must be brewing a mighty storm in his mind right now.

I’m not the one who slandered you, so don’t come looking for me when teacher throttles you, okay junior brother? It’s all Cillin’s fault!

BANG!

Jiu Xun abruptly slapped his table and interrupted Cillin’s account.

“That boy!” The old doctor grew so angry that he was gasping for air. Jiu Xun had taught many students in the past, and most of them he didn’t really care for after they graduated and left. Rikulab was different, however. He was a boy he ran into after he was kicked out of the school, and the student he cared the most out of everyone he had ever taught.

Judging from Jiu Xun’s high expectations of Rikulab alone, it was clear that the latter possessed incredible talent. It was why Jiu Xun had taken the boy under his tutelage at the beginning, and why he ultimately decided to leave him later on. His name had already been besmirched by his enemies, he didn’t want his circumstances to destroy the boy’s future as well. Unfortunately, because he never revealed the truth of his circumstances to Rikulab, Rikulab didn’t reveal the truth of his identity to him either. It was why his emotions were complicated to say the least when he learned that Rikulab was really the young master of a great family.

Despite everything though, he truly missed the boy from the bottom of his heart, and after everything he heard from Cillin his earlier considerations and worries seemed so trivial compared to the need to seize his disciple by the collar and straighten him out this instant. What the hell happened to him, and how did he end up the way he did? Ah, I’m so angry!

Unfortunately—or fortunately for a certain someone—Rikulab wasn’t present right now.

“Was… was there no one at all to keep him on the straight and narrow?!” Jiu Xun fumed while still breathing heavily.

Cillin shrugged. “What can you do? He was a boy who ran away from his home, and after you were gone he was left to his own devices for several years straight. Today, he’s even the high and mighty ‘prince’ of the Shi Family. Who would dare to point fingers at him and teach him how to be a better person? Sigh. Why hadn’t you kept him by your side? He may have been able to dodge that preposterous part of his life then. Now, it may already be too late.”

In fact, Jiu Xun had never been certain if he had done the right thing. The Rikulab he remembered was a lonely and helpless child up until the point he left him after all. Now that he heard of the “truth” from Cillin, the guilt and regret that were already lodged in his heart in the first place had grown to the size of a giant rock.

Sensing an opportunity, Flanders hurriedly said, “Junior brother has never forgotten about you, teacher. He never stopped looking for you even after he returned to his family. When I found you and rushed over to meet you, he wouldn’t stop advising me again and again on the to-dos and whatnots…”

Flanders held onto Jiu Xun’s regret and guilt toward Rikulab and refused to let go. It was working. The more time passed, the less certain the old doctor became of his initial decision.

Of course Jiu Xun missed his disciple dearly. After everything he heard, he couldn’t help but worry for the pitiful but extraordinarily talented young boy he once took into his care as well. It was true that his professional reputation was an utter mess back then, and he still didn’t think that his decision to leave Rikulab back then was entirely wrong. However, those days were long in the past, and considering the current situation of the galaxy, his enemies probably had better things to concern themselves with than little old Jiu Xun right now. Surely a short visit wouldn’t cause the boy any trouble, right?

“Elder Xun, Rikulab just wants to see you. He himself knew that you would be less-than-happy with his current identity, which is why he had asked senior brother Flanders to come visit you instead. Otherwise, he would’ve shown up in person even if every man and woman in the Shi Family were to object to this,” Cillin persuaded.

“He’s completely right, teacher. Rikulab will be very happy if you visit him, and oh, you can tell us both about the researches you’ve done for the past couple of years! Personally, I have a lot of questions that I could absolutely use your help to solve. I’m sure that Rikulab is the same as me as well. You can always return here after everything is settled, right?” Flanders added. To a person who was well-versed to the art of socializing, they would easily be able to point out a million flaws with Flanders’ logic. To Jiu Xun though, it was an unrelenting pick that kept chipping away at the defenses of his already wavering heart.

Jiu Xun was the type of person who wished to teach his chosen disciples everything he knew. Therefore, he couldn’t find it in himself to reject Flanders and Rikulab’s desire for him to teach them once more. It’s okay, right? I can teach them again just like in the academy, right?

Jiu Xun sank into his seat and stared at the medicinal bottles on a nearby desk for a moment. He was reminiscing the days he taught a pitiful young boy about pharmacology. Back then, his life was even harsher than what it was now, and so he wasn’t able to impart much of his knowledge onto Rikulab. More accurately, he taught him a lot of theoretical knowledge, but he had lacked the means to put them into practice, and he wasn’t able to explain certain problems in a more concise manner. He wondered Rikulab had misunderstood some of his teachings, and if there was then it was imperative that he was corrected as soon as possible. There were few things harder to correct than bad habit after all.

In the end though, it all boiled down to just one fact: he really missed his disciple.

At his age, anyone or anything he still remembered was someone or something he invested a lot of emotions in.

In the end, Jiu Xun agreed to visit Rikulab and return to his home later. Would Rikulab really let him go though? At the very least, Cillin’s anwer was an immediate no. Shi Huajing was the fourth young master of the Shi Family, and yet he was able to navigate his way to his current position like a fish in water. He might get scolded by Jiu Xun for his trickery later, but there was no chance he wouldn’t be able to wrangle Jiu Xun into staying with him permanently. Also, he was currently experiencing a manpower shortage, and a trusted person like Jiu Xun was exactly who he needed right now, not to mention that the old doctor was more than capable enough to earn Shi Huajing more support and speaking right within the Shi Family.

Flanders was overjoyed when Jiu Xun finally agreed to come with him. His mission here was to bring Jiu Xun to the fourth young master after all. After that, well, it was up to the latter to handle their teacher.