[Hu Zhongxuan told you that when Bai Chen was captured]

[He immediately ratted you out]

[Bai Chen wailed dramatically that your medical skills were better than his]

[Claiming you were like Hua Tuo reborn]

[Though he didn't actually know who Hua Tuo was]

[Bai Chen begged the army to arrest you instead of him]

[Bai Chen said he knew nothing]

[Admitted he'd accidentally killed patients before]

[Throwing all kinds of dirt at himself]

[But none of it worked]

[The army had even drafted veterinarians - clearly unfazed by Bai Chen's track record]

[The next day]

[Bai Chen was indeed assigned to the medical corps]

[Seeing you, he acted like meeting a long-lost relative]

[Passionately describing how much he'd missed you these past two years]

[Bai Chen claimed he'd never betrayed you when captured]

[Never imagined you'd been conscripted earlier]

[You asked: "Then how come I heard someone compared me to Hua Tuo reborn?"]

[Bai Chen's expression stiffened: "Senior brother, who has such good taste?"]

[You kicked him directly: "Get to work."]

[Bai Chen was placed under your supervision]

[You put him in charge of pill refining]

[Bai Chen actually had decent talent for pill refining]

[Even though he fooled around constantly, frequenting brothels]

[He could produce six second-grade pills per batch, reaching minor mastery]

[Not quite a second-grade pill refiner yet, but close]

[As the war intensified]

[The medical corps' workload grew heavier]

[Sometimes you even treated Jin Yue Nation's wounded]

[After treatment, senior officers like Hu Zhongxuan would interrogate them]

[You noticed they used a third-grade pill called Confusion Heart Pill during interrogations]

[The Confusion Heart Pill muddled the mind]

[Paired with specific martial techniques, it could force information disclosure]

[Though the effects weren't very stable]

[You obtained the Confusion Heart Pill recipe from Hu Zhongxuan]

[And began researching it]

[After six months, you improved the formula]

[The enhanced version stabilized the effects]

[No longer requiring supporting martial techniques]

[Just administering the new pill]

[Would make interrogated subjects answer any question truthfully]

[With remarkably effective results]

[You named the improved version Truth-Seeking Pill]

[Upgraded from third-grade to fourth-grade]

[This breakthrough inspired you]

[You immediately gathered materials for internal spirit pills and started refining]

[Two hours later, opening the furnace]

[Eight gleaming internal spirit pills shone brilliantly]

[You officially became a fourth-grade pill refiner]

[You presented the Truth-Seeking Pill to Hu Zhongxuan]

[After verification, he was thrilled]

[Rushing over excitedly with endless praise]

[He said your Truth-Seeking Pill would be adopted army-wide]

[Then took you to meet Commander-in-Chief Ding Hanfei]

[Ding Hanfei, an Ultimate Grandmaster, commanded all forces at Yajiangkou]

[Ding Hanfei was equally pleased]

[Patting your shoulder: "Zhao Tiezhu, right? Excellent, excellent."]

[Then turning to Hu Zhongxuan with a chuckle: "Your Danxia Sect truly produces talent!"]

[You froze, hesitating: "Commander Hu is also from Danxia Sect?"]

[Ding Hanfei looked surprised: "Tiezhu, you didn't know?"]

[You wanted to say you knew jackshit - Hu Zhongxuan had never mentioned it]

["Tiezhu, I am indeed from Danxia Sect," Hu Zhongxuan admitted]

[Before you could inquire further, Ding Hanfei interrupted]

["Tiezhu, save the family reunion for later. You improved the Confusion Heart Pill - what reward do you want?"]

[You considered: "Martial techniques?"]

["Granted!"]

["Combat skills?"]

["Those too!"]

["Can I return to Danxia Sect?"]

["That's a no."]

[You rolled your eyes - what was the point then?]

[Ultimately you requested large quantities of internal spirit pill materials]

[All resulting pills would belong to you]

[Returning to the medical corps with Hu Zhongxuan]

[The two of you sat facing each other]

[You asked: "Commander Hu... you're my martial uncle?"]

[Hu Zhongxuan nodded: "Yes."]

[Everything suddenly made sense]

[No wonder Hu Zhongxuan had treated you favorably]

[Providing internal spirit pill materials]

[Allowing you to focus on pill refining]

[There had been this connection all along]

[You asked: "Martial uncle, what's the full story? Why are you in the army?"]

[Hu Zhongxuan hesitated, then explained]

[It turned out Hu Zhongxuan and Xie Huide were martial brothers]

[Both trained at Danxia Sect in their youth]

[They had a junior martial sister]

[Predictably, both fell for her]

[Predictably, she loved them both]

[Then came an accident during a training excursion - they encountered a master]

[Who severely wounded all three]

[They barely escaped]

[But the junior sister never regained consciousness]

[Not dead - just completely paralyzed]

[Like Snow White after the poisoned apple]

[Though Hu and Xie eventually avenged her]

[She never woke up]

[Countless pills and treatments failed]

[Even the previous Danxia Sect leader couldn't help]

[Gradually Hu Zhongxuan and Xie Huide diverged]

[Hu Zhongxuan believed medicine couldn't save... well... couldn't save her]

[So he left Danxia Sect]

[Dedicated himself wholly to martial arts, aiming for the pinnacle]

[To awaken her with ultimate martial power]

[While Xie Huide kept faith in medical solutions]

[Remaining at Danxia Sect, obsessively researching theories]

[Studying human anatomy, especially female physiology...]

[You suddenly recalled catching Xie Huide leaving a brothel]

[You sighed: "Misjudged shifu - he really was conducting academic research!"]

["I also go for academic research," Bai Chen chimed in]

[You turned: "When the fuck did you get here?"]

["Right after 'both fell for her'," Bai Chen recalled]

[You nodded: "Then I don't need to recap."]

[Hu Zhongxuan: "Could you show some respect?"]

[Bai Chen asked: "Martial uncle, how exactly are you planning to wake her?"]

[You answered passionately: "Martial uncle aims for martial arts' summit! To surpass Ultimate Grandmaster! To reach uncharted realms where life and death can be reversed!!"]

[Bai Chen turned to Hu Zhongxuan: "So... succeeded yet?"]

[Veins bulged on Hu Zhongxuan's forehead]

[Still just a Grandmaster - not even Ultimate Grandmaster - of course he hadn't]

[Seeing Hu Zhongxuan's distress, you smacked Bai Chen's head: "Stop face-to-face provoking!"]

[Bai Chen shut up sulkily]

[You soothed Hu Zhongxuan: "Martial uncle, Bai Chen's just a forty-something brothel-haunting child - ignore him."]

[Hu Zhongxuan waved dismissively]

[You asked the key question: "Martial uncle, how's my martial aunt... who's also my martial uncle's wife?"]

[Before Hu Zhongxuan could respond]

[BOOM—]

[A massive explosion rocked the medical corps]

[Screams and shouts erupted outside]

["Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"]

["Assemble! Defensive positions!!"]

[Hu Zhongxuan shot out instantly]

[You teleported outside using movement techniques to assess the situation]