"He's an old general from the founding of the nation, Shen Zhenguo, whom I met recently. I helped him with a favor."

Jiang Chen explained to Gong Lin.

"No way, you actually know Elder Shen?" Gong Lin was startled, she too was aware of Elder Shen and immediately said with respectful intentions, "Since it's Elder Shen, then we must prepare a proper gift."

"This... I'll handle it, you don't need to worry!" Jiang Chen hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly.

Gong Lin glanced at Jiang Chen and nodded gently. She didn't know the old general and had no idea what gift to prepare. Since Jiang Chen knew him, the gift he would prepare should undoubtedly be more appropriate.

The two of them tidied up the dishes and utensils and returned to their respective rooms.

Lying in bed, Jiang Chen thought about Shen Zhenguo's birthday. Even though Shen had said there was no need for him to bring a gift, it definitely wouldn't be appropriate to arrive empty-handed. What should he do?

Right!

Suddenly, Jiang Chen had an idea. Since he had already gathered all the medicinal herbs, why not directly concoct the ancient elixir from his dream memory and use it as a gift?

But then again, just one elixir might not be enough, right?

Jiang Chen fell into thought once more!

"Got it!"

A slight smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face. Since Elder Shen didn't want him to bring a gift, then he would write a calligraphy piece for him, expressing his intentions.

From a young age, Jiang Chen had been influenced by his father and consequently had become quite proficient in brush calligraphy. However, he hadn't written for a long time. After finding ink and brush, he tried writing a few pieces.

"No, these won't do!" Jiang Chen frowned. Although his writing was quite good, he was still not satisfied!

Maybe this way... he could give it a try!

Suddenly, Jiang Chen thought about possibly seeing a different effect while writing when circulating his Cultivation Technique.

Without further ado, he circulated his Cultivation Technique, and a flash of Bloody Radiance passed by.

With a focused mind, he lifted the brush and wrote the four characters 'Wu Jiang Wan Shou' (Boundless Longevity)!

The brushstrokes were as if divinely inspired, the four characters completed in one go!

"Excellent!"

As soon as he finished writing these characters, even Jiang Chen couldn't help but praise his work.

This didn't stem from self-admiration; the writing genuinely possessed an indescribable charm that mesmerized even Jiang Chen.

After scrutinizing it for a long while, Jiang Chen finally nodded with a smile, extremely pleased with the result.

The next morning, Jiang Chen had the piece framed, and then he started crafting the medicine for Elder Shen.

What he intended to craft was not an ordinary medicine, but an ancient elixir from his mind's memories.

"No good! Still no good!"

As a day went by, Jiang Chen frowned at the ruined elixirs in his hand. The ancient elixir was extremely difficult to concoct. He had nearly exhausted his supply of medicinal herbs and yet had not succeeded in producing it.

"This is the last batch of herbs. I hope I can make it this time!" Jiang Chen glanced at the medicinal herbs beside him, his expression turning somewhat grave.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and he rose to open it.

"Jiang Chen, Elder Shen's birthday banquet is about to start, shall we go?" Gong Lin asked softly, her nose twitching as she frowned slightly, "Why does it still smell like medicine here? What have you been doing these past two days?"

Jiang Chen smiled lightly, "I've been preparing a medicine for Elder Shen. You go ahead, I'll be there shortly."

As he spoke, Jiang Chen handed the framed calligraphy to Gong Lin, "This is a gift I've prepared for Elder Shen. Take it with you."

"What is this?" Gong Lin looked at the exquisitely wrapped scroll, speaking with curiosity.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow, "It's a set of characters I wrote, 'Wan Shou Wu Jiang.'

"You wrote it?" Gong Lin looked at Jiang Chen in astonishment, "Isn't this..."

"You should go ahead, don't be late, and please explain to them on my behalf that I'll be there in a while." Jiang Chen knew what Gong Lin wanted to say, but without explanation, he simply cut her off and pushed her out the door. He still needed to refine the elixir one more time, and there might not be enough time, which was why he sent Gong Lin ahead to give an account.

"Well... okay!"

Gong Lin was pushed out the door, hesitated for a moment, looked at the scroll in her hand, and felt utterly uncertain. But time was almost up, and it was too late to find a new gift, so she had to go with it!

Driving alone towards the birthday celebration at Shenghua Hotel, Gong Lin glanced at the scroll on the passenger seat while driving. The scroll's packaging was disposable. Gong Lin couldn't open it to take a look, and she always felt Jiang Chen was a bit too hasty!

Upon arriving at the banquet hall on the third floor of Shenghua Hotel, Gong Lin approached the reception desk, signed her own name along with Jiang Chen's, and then scanned the crowd of other people who came to give their birthday wishes, suddenly freezing, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Because among the crowd celebrating the birthday, Gong Lin saw the haughty Wan Feng, and next to him stood an elderly person in his sixties whom Gong Lin recognized as a domestically renowned calligraphy master.

When she saw that person, Gong Lin's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the scroll in her hand and felt it was somewhat embarrassing to present, so she instinctively hid the scroll of calligraphy behind her back.

"The old master has arrived!"

A shout went up, and everyone turned to look as Wu Feng and Zhang Qiang escorted Shen Zhenguo from a side door.

"Happy birthday, Elder Shen!"

"May Elder Shen have this day to rejoice every year, and this morning every season!"

"Elder Shen..."

The crowd of well-wishers began to congratulate Elder Shen on his birthday.

"Haha, much appreciated!" Shen Zhenguo said with a smile on his face.

"These two must be disciples of Elder Shen—true paragons among men!" Wan Feng approached Shen Zhenguo with the elderly man, knowing that Shen Zhenguo was very fond of his two disciples and started the conversation with them as the subject.

Shen Zhenguo gave Wan Feng a glance and said with a light chuckle, "You're from the Wan Family, aren't you? How is your grandfather doing?"

"Thank you for asking, Elder Shen, my grandfather is doing very well! Initially, I thought you were celebrating at Jincheng, but I didn't expect you to come to Dingjing. Hence my grandfather couldn't make it today. Since I'm in Dingjing, I came in his stead."

Wan Feng answered with a smile, then turned towards Shen Zhenguo and gestured at the elderly man beside him, "I heard Elder Shen enjoys calligraphy, so I specially invited Mr. Pang Boyuan, a calligraphy master. I've asked him to write a set of characters on site for Elder Shen as a birthday gift!"

"Oh, Mr. Pang Boyuan?"

"He's a famous calligrapher in the country!"

"Young Master Wan can actually invite him to perform calligraphy for Elder Shen on site, quite a feat!"

"Truly worthy of being one of the Four Young Masters of Jincheng!"

The onlookers expressed their admiration, looking at Pang Boyuan with surprise.

Lin Bingrui and Lin Zhiyan also arrived, and hearing that Pang Boyuan was going to perform calligraphy live, they became interested and moved forward to say, "I've long heard of Mr. Pang's great reputation, and today we finally have the chance to witness Mr. Pang's calligraphy!"

"President Lin is here too!"

"Nonsense, didn't you hear? Elder Shen's youngest disciple is the one following President Lin!"

"Oh, no wonder then."

The onlookers started whispering among themselves as they noticed Lin Bingrui.

Shen Zhenguo nodded with a smile, then turned to look at Pang Boyuan and gave a bow, "I have long heard of the great Mr. Pang's work. It is a fortunate meeting indeed!"

Indeed, Shen Zhenguo had a fondness for calligraphy and was well-acquainted with Pang Boyuan's reputation, his excitement clearly visible.

"Haha, you flatter me, Elder Shen. I've long admired you, and today I must humbly present my work," said Pang Boyuan, returning the bow.

"Haha, Mr. Pang, please, don't be too modest," laughed Shen Zhenguo heartily.

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