Chapter 22: Enlightenment.

"This place looks nice, I have to admit." I said as we made our way into the banquet hall, and the attention that was given to the two of us had somehow multiplied compared to when we were outside.

"Thank you for the compliment. Come, there is someone I would like you to meet," She replied, guiding me to a nearby table where an older gentleman was sitting. "This is Elder Sikong of the New Moon Profound Palace."

"Elder Sikong, this is the doctor I've told you about, Doctor Paracelsus." She continued.

It was nice that she didn't change her way of talking about me even after finding out my original name from the big guy earlier.

Xiao Che wasn't exactly a name I liked, but it didn't seem like the people here used normal names, at least normal for me, except Jasmine...

Oh well, Jasmine also comes from a different world, even if her original world is somewhat similar to this one, so it's not really an important difference.

"Nice to meet you, Elder; I've heard a lot about you." I greeted the man, lying as naturally as I breathed. I had never heard of him in my life. "Many good things, I assure you."

But it was what important people in movies did, and who am I to not use citations when I can?

Or maybe it was just a Mandela Effect and I just dreamt that kind of introduction, but it wasn't important.

"Is that so?" Replied the old man with a weird beard, "Miss Xueruo has told me much about you; you're an incredibly skilled and talented doctor, correct?"

I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea what the average doctor could do in this world, especially with magical mumbo jumbo and everything, but showing a bit of humility could never go wrong. "That might be an exaggeration; I just do what I can to reduce the people's suffering."

"Well, rumors reached everywhere about the doctor that could reattach limbs and mend profound veins, each accomplishment more impressive than the latter, but I hadn't heard anything about your cultivation talent; you can't be older than eighteen, and reaching the seventh level of the Nascent Profound realm is an incredible achievement." He complimented.

This old man surely did his homework on me; this meeting was programmed, maybe even arranged by him, and they were just making it look like it was Lan Xueruo's initiative.

But who cares?

I don't let the stray thoughts cloud my mind and reply; I just replied with a chuckle, "I believe I'm sixteen; actually, cultivation isn't my priority in life, but it is useful in many things, I have to admit."

"Not your priority?" The old man furrowed his eyebrows, and I saw my young guide do the same at my comment: Did I step on a landmine?

Lan Xueruo demonstrated her curiosity immediately, joining the conversation and asking, "If I may ask, what is your priority, if not cultivation?"

"Helping people where I can is my path." I replied, not completely understanding what path meant to cultivators, but it's a word that Jasmine had once used to describe me, so it was rather fitting.

"That is very interesting," replied the old man, his eyes becoming sharper. "I hope we could talk about your path at our next meeting. I could offer you some guidance if you'd allow me."

The furrowed brows of both people shot up, but I ignored it. "I would like to see around the place some more; maybe join the banquet as well, Elder, if you don't mind."

I didn't know how things worked among these people, but I did know that they basically worshipped old people for the virtue of being born earlier, so I tried to be as courteous as possible.

And it seemed to have worked, I think, as the old man started to chuckle and replied, "Oh yes, you young people should go to mingle among each other."

"May we meet again then, Elder?" I replied with a smile as my thirsty eagle eyes zeroed in on the bottles around the tables. I really hoped that they had the good stuff. I didn't have the money to splurge on alcohol, but these rich people were bound to have the good stuff.

If they didn't have anything, then I would have to create beer on my own; maybe I could start a beer company as well.

I chuckled to myself; this had to be the first time I was glad I had followed a biotechnology course at university.

"You did a good impression on Elder Sikong." Stated the girl as we left the elder's table.

I looked at her and said, "Is that so?"

"Yes, I'm certain." She replied with a smile, not explaining further as she led me to another table, clearly not interested in revealing why she was so sure.

All of this world's people liked being as cryptic as they could possibly be; even the old ladies that kept coming to my clinic were like this. Damned cultural differences

We sat down at the table, and she took the chance to change the topic: "So, what do you think of our sect? Do you want to join us yet?"

"This place looks good, but I'm not really the type to join a sect; I'd rather help common people." I replied with a smirk, hoping that she took the hint and dropped the subject, "Can we drink these?"

I pointed at the bottles on the table, clearly inviting the guests to drink them, but it was always polite to ask, "Go ahead, and can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what do you need?" I replied as I popped the bottle open, pouring both me and her a glass of this... wine?

It looks wine-y enough.

"Why do you sell your services for so little?" Surely someone of your skills can acquire a lot of resources; should you sell them for more, the people we sent you testify as much."

They had sent me some people, and when their doctors couldn't find out what was going on, they sent the worst cases to me. Apparently, while they were very good at healing physical injuries, things like poisons and more general illnesses weren't their forte.

To be fair, I wasn't good with poisons either, but at least I had the Poison Ball in my hand, which, contrary to its name, was actually a Cure Poison Ball, and many other things on the side.

"Well, rich people can afford to go to anyone else; poor people cannot; everyone deserves to be healthy, but in this world it seems to be very difficult to understand." I replied with a wry smile, then I took a sip of the wine.

It wasn't wine.

It was sake or rice wine; I never understood if they were different things, but sake sounded cooler.

Alcoholic enough either way.

I shot down the glass and poured another, uncaring for the weird gaze that those who were still staring at us had just given me.

"Is that so? So you help them because nobody else would?" She continued, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Kinda, I really don't have anything else; I help people, research anything I find interesting, and increase my cultivation because I need to," I replied with a smile on my face as I downed a second glass; it tasted great, "but I have to say, I do more research than healing these days; profound energy opened an enormous door of unlimited possibilities in my field."

At the mention of my research, her eyes sparkled with unbridled curiosity. "Yes, I have to thank you for that gift you gave me; its importance is invaluable for my cultivation."

"Gift?" I raised an eyebrow in genuine confusion and asked, "Which gift?"

"That mapping of my profound veins—being too humble isn't a virtue, Doctor—that gift cleared my way to further my cultivation more than I ever hoped for; my path is clear to me now, and for that, I will have to repay you no matter what."

I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea that the little thing I could make in a second was a big deal, and I wondered why Jasmine never said that it was.

The one I gave her was even an old version; I was already on version 2.5 of the ERI machine. Now it was more detailed than ever, and it had highlighted many holes in my previous theories.

I had to dig deeper; I was onto something bigger than I had ever imagined, and the thrill of discovery has kept me fully awake many nights lately.

The more I found out, the more questions arose, and the more I found out, the more I realized I didn't know, just like in every field of science.

"Don't worry about it; it's a small thing." I replied, and it really was, at least to me.

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice, making sure that nobody listened in. "Doctor, both me and the princess are incredibly grateful for your actions."

"Then I hope we can have a long and fruitful collaboration." I chuckled as I downed another glass.

It was too light after the third glass; I definitely had to find some spirits in this world that were just nicer tasting than water.

I only knew how to make beer; I had no clue about heavier drinks.

Maybe I could try distilling the alcohol from wines and putting it in tasty drinks; that should do something.

I was ninety percent sure that distillation was part of the process to make the really heavy stuff; unfortunately, anything beyond that was beyond me as well.

I took out a notebook from my realm and noted down the idea before it disappeared forever, like many other things that I tended to forget.

At least a few billion-dollar ideas were forgotten because I didn't jot them down.

"Sister Xueruo, I finally found you. I've been searching for you for a while." I heard from behind me.

I turned in curiosity to the man, as the mere voice caused all expressions to evaporate from the face of my guide; literally, her face became akin to a doll's, devoid of visible emotions.

It was unsettling; she turned in his direction and asked, "Brother Ye, long time no see; is there anything you need?"

Holy sh*t, this man was basically leering at her right in the face.

He gave me bad vibes. I could almost see the desire this dude had for my guide friend; no wonder she started hiding her emotions as soon as he appeared. I better do the same, lest my pity show.

I sipped on my drink, looking elsewhere, hoping that he went away so that we could return to our business.

"Indeed it has, and who might this fellow Daoist be? He doesn't look like anyone I've seen before." The creepy man continued.

Wasn't Daoism a Chinese religion? Or was it Taoism?

Oh no.

Not religions here either! I thought I had escaped them by going to a different world, but humans love their religions, it seems, no matter the world.

As I felt a sense of existential dread flood my mind, Lan Xueruo replied, "This is Doctor Paracelsus; he is a good partner to the Profound Palace."

If there was Taoism, then there could also be other religions like those on Earth. I hoped that it was only the eastern ones. If I found any dude in armor screaming "Deus Vult!" I swore that I would kill myself because this world had to be a hallucination.

'Think brain, think!' I screamed to myself.

What were the other Chinese religions? Maybe Confucianism; I heard about it from a history video.

Something about obeying the law as well?

"Oh, a doctor you say..." muttered this Brother Ye under his breath while looking at me with distrusting eyes, "if he's as talented as a doctor as he is a cultivator, then he must be pretty good."

Now that I think about it, if Jasmine's poison was the God Killing something, does that mean that there were actual Gods here?

Or was it just what really powerful cultivators called themselves?

Because if the power kept growing in realms as it had done until this point, and there were like five different realms beyond the Nascent thing, then they had to grow really, really powerful.

"The Doctor's abilities are indeed exceptional, which is why I was sent as a sect representative to invite him to join us." I replied to the girl with the man's words, but I was in the middle of an internal crisis, so I didn't care.

If there were cultivators powerful enough to call themselves gods, then was it one of them that brought me here?

Maybe, yes.

A vortex of profound energy started getting into my body; it alerted many people at the banquet hall, showcasing my new level for all to see. The energy in my profound veins got thicker by a level, ushering me into the eighth level of the Nascent Profound realm. It felt nice, but I didn't care.

Because I had reached enlightenment, as the inhabitants of this world would call it.

There may be Gods in this world; one of them may have brought me here for some forsaken reason, destroying my life in the process.

If there were gods in this world, they are assholes.