Returning to Anding City, Beisitian resumed her calm and heartwarming daily life. On this day, she was off and planned to go to the market to buy some ingredients for a decent meal, when she ran into Li Shuzhen. Because Beisitian had work, she was closer to a few military spouses, and Li Shuzhen was one of them. Despite their age difference, Li Shuzhen was also someone fond of fashion, with a young mindset, and could easily chat with Beisitian. "Xiao Bei, going to buy groceries, huh? I’ll come along, we can go together," Li Shuzhen said with a smile. "Sure," Beisitian replied with a smile. The two walked out of the base together. Although the base had its own market, the vegetables there always felt less fresh, so many military wives preferred shopping outside. "How’s work at the health team? Is it tiring?" Li Shuzhen asked. "It’s alright, just an internship period now, so not much of a feeling yet," Beisitian replied honestly. "Xiao Bei really has skills. By the way, you haven’t got your military uniform yet?" Beisitian shook her head, "Not yet." She didn’t care when it came, not having a uniform wouldn’t stop her from working. Li Shuzhen pointed to a store ahead, "Hey, let’s check out that place. They have many new clothes and they’re not too expensive. Come on, come on." She insisted on dragging Beisitian over. They approached the store entrance, and although it was crowded inside, the clothes hanging were indeed beautiful. Li Shuzhen held up a woolen long dress against Beisitian, "This would look great on you, especially with a cultural shirt. Tsk, tsk, a person who looks good makes any outfit look good!" Beisitian saw that this dress was indeed pretty and quite thick, suitable for wearing as the weather got colder. She checked the price and found it acceptable, and after a quick comparison, bought it. Li Shuzhen saw her decisive nature and felt they were quite compatible. Now she had someone to shop with in the future. Both bought two pieces of clothing before leaving the apparel store, then wandered around the market to pick up fresh vegetables and meat, before heading back together. "Xiao Bei, can you sing?" Li Shuzhen asked with a smile. Beisitian shook her head, "No idea how at all!" "You better start practicing seriously then. Every year at the Spring Festival Gala, the military wives have to perform a program. But as you know, military wives’ proficiency is limited, usually just some large choruses. Not knowing how to sing won’t do." "Military wives have to perform too?" Beisitian asked, slightly surprised. "Yes, the main performances are by the art troupe, but to enliven the atmosphere, aside from the art troupe, military wives and female soldiers have to perform too. The military wives can do one collectively, while female soldiers perform by troop, needing at least three!" Li Shuzhen held up three fingers. Typically, before the Spring Festival Gala, a batch of military wives would be worried sick. Just singing was tricky enough, let alone competing with other teams, with military wives usually ranking at the bottom each time. Chapters fırst released on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 People understood, they’re accompanying military family members, who says they must have talents? Li Shuzhen was alright too; although not musically gifted, she could manage typical songs. It’s not a solo, singing quietly and off-tone wouldn’t be too obvious. Beisitian had never learned singing. Upon hearing this news, she was shocked. Seeing her expression, Li Shuzhen found it amusing; this young wife rarely seemed troubled, it was a rare sight. "It’s okay, come find me when you’re off, I’ll teach you to sing. After all, there aren’t too many songs, listening a few times will do it. But just to warn you before, I’m average too," Li Shuzhen said with a smile. Beisitian smiled wryly, thankfully Li Shuzhen informed her ahead of time; otherwise, waiting until the last minute would be embarrassing. Embarrassing oneself is one thing, but being on the base would mean embarrassing two people! Li Shuzhen offered to teach her, and she was naturally delighted. "Next time, invite Deputy Company Commander Luo over to our house for a meal," Li Shuzhen said with a smile, waving goodbye. Beisitian returned home to prepare for cooking. While life for Beisitian became peaceful again, Beijing was stirring up quite a storm. The day after Beisitian left, Tao Hailin arrived. On the road, he’d heard about someone impersonating his disciple. The issue was this impostor was very skilled and managed to make a detoxifying talisman powder. Tao Hailin entered the inner room, checked Wu Yuekai’s condition at a glance, and saw his situation was stable. Although toxins remained inside, the deadly danger was gone, and he’d wake up in a couple of days. "Can I see the medicine powder?" Tao Hailin asked Du Kai Bo. Du Kai Bo, long used to their manners, exchanged a glance with Ma Yuan and asked her to fetch it. Tao Hailin, nearly seventy, was in excellent health, not looking old, more like in his fifties, standing beside Zhu Guangqing; you’d believe they were brothers. Tao Hailin’s expression was cold, even more than Zhu Guangqing, no wonder they’re master and disciple; their arrogance was the same. Previously, without a comparison like Beisitian, people accepted this group’s special nature and their attitude. But now, having seen Beisitian’s calmness and skill, they felt some dissatisfaction with this group. Ma Yuan quickly brought the medicine, and Tao Hailin eagerly opened a package, revealing an amazed look at first sight. Talisman powder came in many varieties, and this paper-wrapped powder was exceptionally fine and uniform, with not a trace of black residue, just different in quality! Only a Mystic Doctor could discern such differences. To outsiders, it was merely one was burned thoroughly, and the other less so. Tao Hailin, like Zhu Guangqing, took a bit and tasted it carefully, soon his face changed dramatically. "This isn’t ordinary talisman powder!" Tao Hailin’s tone was filled with shock. Du Kai Bo and others watching were anxious; what did it mean by not ordinary talisman powder? Despite its effectiveness, they hoped there wouldn’t be a sudden change in medicine. Zhu Guangqing realized the situation was more complicated than he imagined, and asked, "Master, how is this talisman powder different?" Tao Hailin didn’t elaborate, instead re-wrapped the paper, then turned his gaze to the extracted toxin, his brows furrowing deeply upon seeing it. He gently touched a bit of toxin close to his nose, lightly pinched it, and finally shook his head saying, "If it were me, this poison probably couldn’t be cured." Everyone was astonished to hear Tao Hailin say that, their mouths agape. For Tao Hailin to say he couldn’t cure this poison meant he couldn’t save Wu Yuekai! Yet this poison was resolved by a girl in her early twenties! Tao Hailin listened carefully to Du Kai Bo’s recounting of the process, showing a pensive expression. It turned out to use this method, which he was not incapable of, but it required much spirit, and he feared he couldn’t sustain it even once. Thinking of this, he glanced at the dozen or so paper packages on the table.