Ball of Nothing

Chapter 480 Filial Piety

When Hua Tuo came into his disciple’s room after the important guests left, he could smell the dessert from Belles and Begonia in the air. Zero still hadn’t cleaned his face and there were crumbs all over.

He sighed heavily, feeling slightly wronged. As a teacher, he didn’t ask for a lot. However, couldn’t Zero spare a thought for him? Ever since the start of his hospital, Hua Tuo did not have a lot of time for breaks and luxuries. Not to mention, he rushed over to see Zero the moment he heard his disciple returned severely hurt after his adventures to Derby Desert. Hua Tuo spent many sleepless nights just watching over Zero while others came and went. He stayed by Zero’s side the whole time until Zero regained consciousness and never asked for a single thing in return. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel neglected as a teacher when he saw how Zero thoroughly enjoyed his food, not leaving a single portion for Hua Tuo. Would it kill to leave even just one bite of the heavenly cake for him?

Zero didn’t know what was going through Hua Tuo’s mind but he noticed the blue expression on his shifu’s face. Hua Tuo quickly adjusted his expression and maintained a neutral poker face as he told Zero to tidy up and get onto the bed.

Zero did as he was told and simply absorbed all the garbage, turning them into energy. He did leave the nice packaged box that Amaraline brought at the side. This was for his shifu and Zero was careful not to mix it up.

Hua Tuo didn’t notice the box that Zero left behind and quickly got to business. After a quick check, he gave Zero the green light to do whatever he wanted. The soak in the Spring of Vitality worked well and Zero had obviously been alternating with the Trigression Falls because his qi and mana were at healthy levels. There was nothing wrong with his meridian or chakra networks now and his legs looked perfectly fine as if the accident didn’t happen.

Just as Hua Tuo was about to leave, Zero stopped his shifu.

The disappointed Sage God of Medicine turned around only to see a white box shoved in his face.

"This is for you," Zero told him. "Thank you for rushing to see me when I was injured. I heard from everyone how you left the hospital in a rush just to stay with me, repairing my meridian and chakra channels while I was unconscious. I know a simple cake from Belles and Begonia isn’t enough so feel free to let me know if there is anything else you want. I’m no longer Zero without a home or name, I’m now Zero the leader of a powerful village and I will continue to work harder."

It was just a gift, a very simple gift but Hua Tuo couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by emotions. Tears sprang to his eyes but Hua Tuo tried not to let them fall. Zero saw it anyway but for the sake of his teacher’s reputation, he pretended not to notice.

"Good disciple," Hua Tuo said and accepted the gift. "Come, sit down with me. If you’re not in a rush I still want to hear about how you became so badly hurt. Have you recovered your mana reserves?"

Zero obliged and shared with Hua Tuo the tales of his desert adventures. Initially, Hua Tuo was concerned about Zero’s acceptance of six gnomes who tried to kill him and Truen but after Zero explained that the gnomes had been punished by Hades and had been manipulated by an unknown person who taught them God-killing technology from the old world, Hua Tuo’s face turned black.

"I see," he said. "The gnomes aren’t to blame then, they didn’t know. It’s safer to keep them in the village and lookout for those who wish to harm the peace of this world. The only people who still remember about the God-killing weapons are those from the old world. Not many of us are left even among Gods."

Zero agreed. "The Great Gods agreed and Hades was put in charge of further investigations although I don’t think we will be hearing from him anytime soon."

Hua Tuo sighed, a dark cloud over his head. He had spent too much time in the hospital that he neglected his duties as a Sage God. There were more than just demons who needed his help. He couldn’t possibly be staying here while more people fell prey to the schemes of evil.

"It’s good that you survived that. Truen did well getting both of you out of that sticky situation but I still worry. Please take more precaution in the future, we don’t know who the mastermind is and what else they are capable of. It’s about time that your shifu started getting serious too."

Zero promised that he would remain vigilant. After getting such a scare, he wasn’t going to be so careless in future. That damage to his vessel actually took his confidence down a few pegs and while Zero remained bright and cheerful externally, he was rather hesitant and unsure on the inside. So far, nobody realised it yet and Zero hoped that he could continue keeping up the strong front for a little longer.

The master and student discussed a little more about the unique medical cases they came across in their time apart and theorised possible cures for them. Zero wanted to also know if medical plants could be cross-bred for a better effect than the original plant and Hua Tuo wasn’t against the idea even if he cautioned Zero about creating a chimaera plant.

"I will be leaving this hospital to my disciples once they are able to manage the situation on their own," Hua Tuo informed Zero. "I need to return to my domain to manage some of my actual duties in the House of Gods."

Zero was slightly surprised by his teacher’s decision but was still supportive of it.

"Does that mean you would be too busy for me to contact in future?" Zero asked in a small voice and Hua Tuo’s eyes softened.

"You can contact me anytime, Zero. I’m not going to disappear just because I’m busy although I wish you would contact me more frequently. What good is having the i-communicator if you don’t use it?"

Sheepishly, Zero made excuses and Hua Tuo humphed as he finished the last of his dessert. They bantered for a little longer until someone else knocked at the door. Hua Tuo quickly excused himself to give Zero his privacy with the next visitor and told Zero to contact him more often before he left, warming Zero’s heart.