The Fortune of Going Against His or Her Destiny

Jing Yunzhao was confused. Could this man be her grandfather or even great-grandfather? Why was he in the form of a hologram? Did he say that she was in the space within the jade bottle? Could a magical place like this really exist? 

"My name is Jing Yunzhao." Jing Yunzhao answered obediently despite her many questions

"I am your ancestor, Yunzhao. My name is Jing He, and I was an outstanding doctor from another land. I came to this land by chance a thousand years ago and spent my whole life researching medical skills and curing people. I lived for three hundred years, and would have undergone reincarnation, but I couldn't bear to see my medical skills thrown away just like that. So with the skills that I brought from that foreign land, I sealed my soul in the space within this jade bottle and waited for a destined heir to inherit my skills," the old man explained, then sighed. 

"But this jade bottle won't allow just anyone to enter the space within. It has to be someone who has the fortune of going against his or her destiny, and I have been waiting for such a person for hundreds of years," the old man continued. 

Fear, surprise, and other emotions whirled in Jing Yunzhao when she heard those words. 

The fortune of going against his or her destiny?

She should be an extremely unfortunate girl considering that she died pathetically in her previous life, but could being reborn be what the old man called 'fortune of going against his or her destiny'? 

"Sir, are you saying that I am the one that you have been waiting for?" Jing Yunzhao asked doubtfully. She did not call the old man 'grandfather' although he claimed to be her ancestor. 

"You are correct. I can tell that you are an upright person; you would have had a very promising future in the land I came from, but not here. Would you like to inherit my medical skills even if that is the case, Yunzhao?" The old man asked, eyes twinkling. 

Jing Yunzhao would love to grasp the opportunity. 

But… 

"I have to be honest with you, sir, I have never studied anything related to medicine at all…" Jing Yunzhao knew that real medical practitioners normally started picking up medical knowledge as early as childhood, and she had never studied medicine at all. What if this old man insisted on teaching her only to find out that she was not as smart or talented as he had expected? 

"Don't worry. I will know what to do as long as you are willing to learn," said the old man who was overwhelmed with joy when he heard Jing Yunzhao's concern. 

Although still doubtful, Jing Yunzhao nodded and agreed to learn from the old man. 

She could tell that the old man had great skills, and learning from him would be beneficial to her. 

The old man reached out to spin the wheel after Jing Yunzhao nodded. The wheel spun and started to rise from the stone table, revealing a hidden compartment under it. In the hidden compartment were jade slips that emitted a bright greenish glow.

"These are…" The luminous green made the jade slips look both mysterious and magical. 

"These slips contain everything I have learned throughout my whole life. You would be wrong to think that these jade slips are too small to contain that much information; these jade slips are made from Naling Jade, a material that I brought from the foreign land. There are ninety-nine jade slips altogether. You will start with the first one, and you will get access to the next jade slip by putting a drop of your blood on it. The content on the jade slips will automatically be in your head after the jade absorbs your blood, and you will digest every single bit of the information before moving on to the other jade slips," the old man explained. 

Jing Yunzhao had slowly calmed down. 

She had been reborn, after all. Nothing surprised her at this point. 

"Thank you," said Jing Yunzhao gratefully. 

"Why thank me when you are an heir of mine? But bear in mind – never reach for what is beyond your grasp and study the jade slips one at a time. Being greedy would only drive you crazy as the information that you try to absorb will exceed your brain's capacity. Apart from that, you can use the space here to grow some herbs. The spring water over there helps boost the growth of the herbs, but they may not be stored or be brought out of this space. As for the speed of the growth, it depends on the amount of spring water used. Last but not least, humans change their mind a lot. You should let no one know about the existence of this jade bottle and bring no one else into this space. You can only pass this jade bottle down after a hundred years when you meet another heir of the Jing Family who has the fortune of going against his or her destiny…"