Thinking of this, Emily Thompson suddenly jumped off the bed. You have to know that Emily Thompson was sitting cross-legged, yet with this jump he actually soared over a meter high, his forehead hitting the center of the ceiling.

"Forgot again, that's the fifth time already." Emily Thompson glanced at the five dents of varying depth left on the ceiling and muttered to himself. Ever since cleansing his marrow and transforming his muscles, Emily Thompson found that not only had his mind become clearer and sharper, but he also gained a photographic memory. His movements were astonishingly agile—any set of martial arts forms he used to practice at the martial arts school now felt powerful and full of vigor, as if he had endless strength throughout his body. In the past, he could do at most three hundred push-ups in one go before giving out, but now, doing three hundred one-handed push-ups only left him slightly out of breath.

"With my current skills, maybe I could even bring glory to the nation's sports scene." After indulging in a bout of self-admiration, Emily Thompson pressed the bedside phone's answering machine. A few days ago, in order to focus on cultivating the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Manual, Emily Thompson had cut the phone's audio line. As for his cell phone, it had already been sacrificed during his brave battle with the monster snake in the "Haunted House."

He checked and found a total of eight messages. Six were from his close buddy David Brooks, one was from the bank urging him to pay his mortgage, and another was from the finance department at Hongda notifying him to settle his salary.

Listening to David Brooks's message from the day before yesterday, Emily Thompson felt both annoyed and amused. The original words were: "Young Master Li, whether you've vanished from the face of the earth or turned into an evil spirit, if you don't show up at the opening ceremony of my old man's new Tongqing Shoutang at 4 p.m. on March 5th, I'll give your home address to the 'Three Dinosaurs' at the martial arts academy. This is no joke. The address is as follows..."

Speaking of David Brooks, he was Emily Thompson's only close friend in Shanghai. David Brooks was a graduate with a master's degree from the Second Military Medical University of Shanghai, specializing in traditional Chinese medicine. He and Emily Thompson had met six years ago at the First Martial Arts Academy of Henan. Back then, Emily Thompson was just scraping by at the academy, while David Brooks took advantage of the summer break to join as a transfer student and pick up some skills. The two hit it off immediately and became as close as brothers. When Emily Thompson first came to Shanghai, David Brooks helped him a lot. For the first half year, Emily Thompson lived at David Brooks's home. Later, after settling down at Hongda Real Estate and gaining some financial stability, he finally moved out.

With David Brooks's father's new shop opening, Emily Thompson naturally had to show his support. Checking the time, he saw he could still make it, so after changing into casual clothes, Emily Thompson headed out.

On the way, he withdrew the last of his funds from his bank card—fifteen thousand yuan. Emily Thompson first went to Chow Tai Fook Gold Shop and picked out a small gold Buddha priced at 8,888 yuan. Even though times were tough for Emily Thompson now, for the sake of the half-year that David Brooks's family had taken care of him, even if buying the gift meant he couldn't afford to eat, he was determined to give it.

Having bought a gift worth 8,888 yuan, Emily Thompson naturally didn't mind spending a bit more on a taxi. At 3:30 p.m., Emily Thompson appeared on the bustling North Sichuan Road. When he found the address left by David Brooks, Emily Thompson was stunned by the impressive shop before him. Goodness, could this guy's old man have robbed a bank? As far as he remembered, David Brooks's father was just a well-known traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Shanghai! Sure, doctors make good money, especially famous ones, but this traditional Chinese medicine shop, nearly twenty meters wide, three stories high, and designed in a classic style, was just too grand. Not to mention, in such a prime location on North Sichuan Road, the rent alone must be at least six figures a month.

"Yueling!" A familiar voice reached his ears—who else could it be but David Brooks.

David Brooks, who was greeting guests at the door, rushed over to Emily Thompson in a few quick steps and punched him on the shoulder. "You rascal, you've been missing for over two months! Your cell phone's been disconnected, and no one answers your home phone. I was going to come find you myself, but I've been swamped preparing for the opening of Tongqing Shoutang. At least you have a conscience and finally showed up today."

At David Brooks's playful scolding, Emily Thompson shrugged helplessly and said, "Let's not talk about that. I'm here now, aren't I? By the way, what made Uncle decide to open a traditional Chinese medicine shop?" At the moment, Emily Thompson had no intention of revealing his acquisition of the Shenghan Ring, so he deliberately changed the subject.

"You just don't get it. My old man wanted to do this for a while. After all, being a department head at the hospital all day doesn't make much money. Rather than working for others, it's more worthwhile to start a family business. With my dad's connections, pulling in a few investors and setting up a traditional Chinese medicine shop is a piece of cake. I'm planning to quit my hospital job and help out here too."

After hearing David Brooks's explanation, Emily Thompson understood—most likely, this shop had other shareholders, all investing out of respect for David Brooks's father.

Following David Brooks into the shop, Emily Thompson first greeted Uncle and Aunt, offered his congratulations, and presented his gift. Then he was pulled aside by David Brooks for a chat.