When Professor Wei tried to take a few steps, with Liu Fengying's consent, she was left utterly speechless; not only could she walk completely normally, but she no longer felt the slightest discomfort. What was more, all the fatigue accumulated in her legs from the first half of her workday seemed to have evaporated.
"Where did you learn such a procedure?", Professor Wei asked, unable to contain her curiosity. Considering both the sensation of relief she had experienced and its astonishing effectiveness in healing her, the massage Liu Fengying had given her challenged everything she knew about medicine.
Liu Fengying was not particularly surprised by Professor Wei's question; for someone who had dedicated her life to science, the more inexplicable something seemed, the more it piqued their interest.
"Well, I can give you a few details, but I'm not sure you'll believe me..." Liu Fengying replied. Now that Professor Wei wanted more information about the technique she had used, she couldn't lead her on; if things between her and Professor Wei were to progress further, she would only be digging her own grave for later.
Of course, she couldn't tell her about recovering her memories from a past life; since such a thing was far too difficult to believe without substantial evidence, Professor Wei would most likely start worrying about her mental health. However, she could come up with a censored version of the truth.
"Let's hear it first...", Professor Wei said, with an attitude that seemed to say she feared no tigers.
Given her rather complex background, Professor Wei believed she had an extremely broad outlook on life; she was by no means like a frog at the bottom of a well.
Yet, the explanation Liu Fengying came up with managed to catch her off guard. This was not because it involved things that were hard to understand, but simply because it sounded incredibly cliché.
"I learned this massage technique, as well as other more or less spectacular ones, from an old woman who dedicated her entire life to the practice of traditional medicine. To be precise, the field she focused on the most was acupuncture, but in order to perfect her technique, she had to gain the broadest possible understanding of how the human body functions, so she studied all branches of medicine.
The reason I met her was that, having heard of her reputation, I sought her out to use her services. Anyway, it was a real surprise when she insisted that I become her disciple, saying she was extremely impressed by my skills. Though, honestly, I think she just didn't want her life's work to die with her..."
When Liu Fengying finished speaking, Professor Wei was left staring at her with a strange expression.
'Doesn't her story bear a striking resemblance to the plot of that popular TV show from three years ago? What was it called? "The Miraculous Doctor's Disciple" or "The Successor of the God of Medicine"...' Professor Wei thought to herself.
Honestly, Professor Wei would have been much more willing to believe a far more far-fetched explanation involving secret research or corporate espionage, rather than the version Liu Fengying offered. Although the girl's story seemed mundane at first glance, it felt more like the kind of smokescreen someone would use as an excuse to hide something else.
"And where is this person now?" she finally asked. Did she want to give Liu Fengying a chance to convince her? Or, rather, did she want to catch her in a lie? Well, not even Professor Wei was sure of her own motive.
"Unfortunately, she is no longer here..." Liu Fengying replied with a hint of melancholy in her voice; it was clear enough that she wanted to imply the old woman had passed away, not that she had moved to another city.
"...", Professor Wei stared at Liu Fengying once again, but this time she was even more suspicious. Although she felt a bit bad speculating about someone's death, she couldn't help but think that Liu Fengying's answer was far too convenient; after all, the dead can no longer be found, so there was no risk of anyone discovering a flaw in her story.
Furthermore, as someone with a much stronger scientific worldview than most, she viewed traditional therapies with quite a bit of skepticism. It wasn't that she believed they were all a scam and utterly useless, but she didn't expect miracles from them. After all, if they were so good, why had they been marginalized by modern medicine? Professor Wei was well aware of the less-than-honest practices of pharmaceutical companies, but she believed it would have been impossible for them to suppress the truth in the long run, had traditional remedies truly proven to be that effective.
"It seems you were right..." Professor Wei said, in the tone of someone who had given up.
Liu Fengying did not understand what she meant.
"Huh? About what?", she asked for an explanation.
The words Professor Wei had just uttered were meant more for herself, but hearing Liu Fengying's question, she decided to be honest and openly express her opinion.
"I really do find it hard to believe you..." Professor Wei added.
"...", Liu Fengying remained silent for a moment, feeling a bit aggrieved; even though she had omitted many details, what she had said was the truth.
To be precise, the old woman she had referred to was a female cultivator she had met in her previous life. Unwilling to be limited by her rather unfavorable cultivation aptitudes, this woman had dedicated her life to finding solutions to improve the flow of spiritual energy through the body and to evolving one's constitution.
Her work had not been in vain; someone with her aptitudes rarely managed to even enter the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet she had reached all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm. Still, hard work could not entirely replace innate talent, so no matter what she did, she had been unable to advance any further than that.
When Liu Fengying had sought her out to get help for one of her subordinates, the medical cultivator was in her final years and had already resigned herself to the fact that her path to immortality had come to an end. After they interacted for a while and exchanged a few ideas regarding cultivation—specifically about constitutions—the female cultivator proposed teaching her for a time the things she had discovered and the techniques she had developed, arguing that she was bored and wanted to experience what it was like to have a disciple for once.
Of course, Liu Fengying understood where Professor Wei's skepticism was coming from; precisely, the reason was that her explanation was not quite compatible with the world she now lived in. Here, the notion of a "hidden master" was used more in memes than to illustrate something real. Sure, in this wide world, perhaps a few could still be found, but were they really that easy to come across? At least, she had not heard of even a single one until that moment, despite being part of high society.
However, she considered what she had said to be enough to keep her conscience clear; not only had she not lied to Professor Wei, but she had also expressed her gratitude toward her temporary master.
"Other than giving you my word that I've told the truth, there is nothing I can do to convince you," Liu Fengying said with resignation, as if she were perfectly fine with whatever conclusion Professor Wei might draw.
Yet, she had barely finished speaking when an idea suddenly struck her to increase her persuasiveness, so she added:
"If you wish, I can also promise that if it is proven in the future that I lied to you, I will let you punish me however you see fit..."
When drawing a conclusion, Professor Wei tried to be as objective as possible, so no matter what guarantees or oaths Liu Fengying came up with, they could not sway her; just like before a judge, the suspect's words carried no weight.
However, just as there was no evidence to support Liu Fengying's words, there was none to disprove them either, so Professor Wei told herself that until proven otherwise, it was only fair to give her the benefit of the doubt.
'Besides, the massage technique Liu Fengying used is truly exceptional, so wouldn't it make sense for its origin to be just as exceptional?' Professor Wei added in her mind. It was far more logical for such an effective method of healing and relaxation to remain a secret if it had been developed by some hermit living deep in the mountains, rather than by doctors or physiotherapists who would constantly advertise it to attract as many clients as possible.
"Let's say I believe you for now..." Professor Wei said after analyzing the facts for a few moments. It had been a purely rational process; her desire to make Liu Fengying happy or the temptation brought by the girl's proposal had carried no weight in her conclusion. Well, at least that was what Professor Wei tried to convince herself of.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that you were truly amazing. What's more, you might actually be a real genius in the field of rehabilitation..." Professor Wei continued.
She hadn't just factored in the healing of her own leg when drawing this conclusion, but also Liu Fengying's excellent physical condition right now; it was quite obvious she had only witnessed the tip of the iceberg regarding the girl's knowledge of physiotherapy.
Thinking about the major shift Liu Fengying could bring to medicine and how many people she would be able to help, Professor Wei sighed:
"Honestly, I think instead of continuing to encourage you to pursue a career in physics, I would do the world a greater favor by encouraging you to practice physiotherapy..."
Professor Wei believed that this way, Liu Fengying would also have the most to gain; it was by no means a sacrifice for the greater good of the world. Not only would she gain a stellar reputation and the admiration of many, but she could also make a fortune out of it; elite athletes or actors would be willing to pay millions of ruans to heal as quickly as possible in case of an injury.
Liu Fengying understood what Professor Wei was getting at; honestly, if her skills acquired in her past life had been limited to just physiotherapy, she would probably have found a future plan centered around them highly tempting as well. However, she had far better options at her disposal.
"Well, you don't have to worry. Truth be told, my plan for the future is even better than that..." Liu Fengying said, partly wanting to reassure Professor Wei, and partly out of a desire to show off a little.
It wasn't that she found Professor Wei's deep concern for her future tedious; after all, it was a sign that she truly cared about her. Yet, since the professor didn't have all the facts regarding her situation, her efforts were in vain.
"Besides, I don't want to be forced to touch just anyone's legs..." Liu Fengying added, pouting slightly as she imagined a scenario where all sorts of people she'd rather not have any contact with came looking for treatment; she couldn't announce that the only patients she accepted were very beautiful women.
Perhaps Liu Fengying was being serious with this comment, but Professor Wei perceived it more as a flirtation; since Liu Fengying had just massaged both of her legs—one of which was completely healthy—wasn't the girl implying that she was someone special to her?
"Umm, in that case, I guess I should be glad that I qualify to be your patient..." Professor Wei said, trying to mask her fluster over the fact that Liu Fengying had managed to catch her off guard.
After all, she had barely managed to reclaim the upper hand in their teasing interactions, so she couldn't just let Liu Fengying dominate her again, could she?