Life had to go on.

After studying the matter for quite some time, Chen Jue still could not make out what this unknown seal meant.

Even the attribute panel was at a loss before this suddenly appeared mysterious condition; it simply lacked the relevant data to interpret it.

Besides that, Chen Jue also discovered that at seventy-two percent health, he still could not add points to his physique attribute. He had originally hoped to raise his physique to speed recovery, but it seemed he would have to wait until the slight internal injury status was truly cleared before the red exclamation mark behind physique would unlock.

As for skill proficiency, that could indeed be raised now. But with Chen Jue’s current internal injury, recovery itself was already consuming nourishment and bodily energy; if he rashly added points, it would instead create a siphoning effect and harm himself.

So Chen Jue for the time being put aside the thought of continuing to allocate points. As for this unknown seal status, since he could not understand it for now, there was no point worrying over it.

He would study it when the panel could one day analyze and explain this unknown seal.

...

After practicing finger techniques all night, Chen Jue had not sweated much. He ate some of the fruit he had bought, then went to the bathroom to wipe down his body with hot water.

Before sleeping, he rubbed the prescribed nameless ointment over his chest and abdomen. Threads of medicinal force seeped into his skin, and Chen Jue slept soundly and comfortably.

When he got up the next morning, his health had recovered to seventy-five percent. It seemed yesterday’s external application, internal medicine, and the intake of meals and fruit had been highly effective for his recovery.

As for his various attributes, all except intelligence had risen slightly. Clearly, as his injuries gradually healed, the strength, agility, and constitution he could bring to bear were slowly returning.

“Back when my health was at its highest, it was one hundred and five percent. I’m still thirty percent short. The road ahead is long indeed,” Chen Jue murmured as he glanced at the panel, then got up and drew back the curtains.

Outside, the sea and sky were a brilliant blue, calm and windless. The typhoon’s influence had completely passed. Sunlight shimmered brightly across the ocean, and the windows of the inn let in the morning light as well, falling warmly over Chen Jue and feeling exceedingly pleasant.

He brushed his teeth, washed his face, went downstairs, then ran over to Uncle Yu’s place and mooched a breakfast there.

Hearing that Yu Yue would be setting off that afternoon to head out into the open sea for a fishing run, Chen Jue also said a few words of care and caution to him.

After staying at this inn for more than a week, Chen Jue had come to know the temperament of Uncle Yu’s family very well.

The family of three were all ordinary people. Though they were well-off, they did not have the haughty airs of those who had suddenly become wealthy. All three were easygoing and gentle, and they treated Chen Jue with remarkable attentiveness.

Once his stay was over, Chen Jue thought he would absolutely leave this inn a five-star review.

By the way, those two floor tiles he had shattered while practicing had not cost Chen Jue a cent. Uncle Yu said there were already several spare bundles of tiles left over from the renovation, specifically for handling such emergencies. When he had time, he would call a village mason to chip out the damaged tiles and lay down new ones.

...

After breakfast, Chen Jue first went down to the beach for a stroll. The sun did not feel scorching, and the sea breeze was pleasant, so he found a clean spot and sat down.

While watching the ceaseless wash of the tides, he used the sand to practice the Golden Needle Finger skill.

This finger technique required striking hard objects during practice. On the beach, the top layer of sand was soft, but beneath it lay damp, compacted hard sand. For an ordinary person, poking it with a finger would hurt sharply.

But Chen Jue had practiced several hardening arts, and with his bodily strength gradually recovering, stabbing at the sand to train bore a certain resemblance to iron palm practice.

In fact, this Golden Needle Finger technique even came with a medicinal solution for rubbing on the hands to prevent training injuries. But Chen Jue now counted as a rather formidable martial expert and did not fear such flesh-and-blood wounds.

With the added buffs of Shield of the Templar and Enlightenment Beneath the Patriarch, he sat there and trained for just over an hour before this new skill, learned only one day ago, was farmed all the way to level one.

The siphoning effect caused by the breakthrough was not especially strong, perhaps because it was merely a finger technique. It only accelerated the digestion of the breakfast he had eaten that morning and did not leave him physically depleted.

After reaching level one, Chen Jue felt that all ten fingers had become a little harder and thicker, and his fingernails had grown much tougher as well. He found a pebble and thrust a finger into it with force, leaving behind a not-too-small fingertip indentation.

“So even without generating hidden force, it already has this kind of power?”

“If I train it to completion...” Chen Jue was somewhat astonished by the force of that single thrust.

What he did not know was that, under the blessing of those various buffs, any ordinary-looking martial art would become exceptional and extraordinary in his hands.

...

He spent the whole morning sitting in the beach sunlight. Sunbathing helped the human body produce vitamin D and promoted the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Seeing his health rise to seventy-six percent, Chen Jue stood up, patted the sand off his butt, and went to Uncle Yu’s place to mooch another lunch.

Perhaps because Yu Yue was leaving in the afternoon, lunch was made especially lavish.

Crabs, mantis shrimp, and both large and small yellow croakers were all steamed or braised with wine. Ribbonfish were dry-fried, and there was also a whole big platter of blood cockles blanched in broth, a New Year delicacy usually eaten by the people of Wencheng. It was said to be highly nourishing. Once cracked open, the flesh inside was still half-raw and carried cockle blood, with a texture like eating jelly. Out-of-towners would certainly not be used to it.

But Chen Jue happened to be injured and in need of replenishment, so he tore through half a platter without the slightest politeness. He had already paid two thousand for food, enough to freeload meals for half a month.

Besides that, Auntie also fried a few meat dishes and seasonal vegetables, and Uncle Yu, in a rare show of extravagance, opened a bottle of Wuliangye to see his son off.

Chen Jue took the opportunity to eat his fill. As for the liquor, he did not dare drink any, since his internal injury had yet to recover.

They ate and chatted until after one in the afternoon before finally finishing this farewell meal.

Back in his room, he rubbed the nameless ointment in evenly, then took the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Only then did Chen Jue go upstairs to nap and rest.

When he woke in the afternoon, it was already past four. Chen Jue found that after he had been injured, he had become increasingly sleepy. Perhaps it was because his body was gradually healing and required long hours of rest.

He checked his health and saw it had risen by several more points, reaching seventy-eight percent. It seemed likely that after tonight, he would recover to the eighty-percent mark of a normal person.

He went downstairs and practiced the Golden Needle Finger for a while. Hearing movement in the yard, he pushed the door open to look and saw that the few friends of Yu Yue from before had arrived to gather.

They all worked on Yu Yue’s boat, so if they were leaving, they would depart together.

He had eaten grilled fish with these people before and made friends with them, so Chen Jue deliberately joined the farewell group and followed Uncle Yu and the others to the village pier, where they saw the whole party off as they boarded the fishing boat and set out.

Watching the innkeeper’s wife repeatedly remind her son over and over again, her parting reluctance plain to see, Chen Jue thought to himself: if my parents were still alive, would I also be able to receive this kind of care and warmth?

Sadly, the dead cannot return to life. Chen Jue could only occasionally indulge such fanciful imaginings and remember his own loved ones.

In the face of such a scene, his heart was filled with complexity and envy. In the end, those feelings and that flavor could not be described in words.