Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

His hearing was considerably good, and it was only a few walls anyway. If it was one wall, as long as he tried, he would be able to hear everything clearly. Even if he didn’t try, he would still overhear a few sentences now and then.

He had not practiced to the point that he could shut out the world around him yet.

Big families have more problems…Wang Yao thought.

Through the conversation that he overheard, he could guess some of the conflicts happening within the Zhou family.

Regardless, he continued preparing the herbs that Zhou Ying had bought, weighing and preparing them for decoction the next day.

Just as he was busying himself, there came a sound of a woman crying outside which started abruptly and stopped just as suddenly. Then, there were sounds of footsteps going further away.

…

Later that night.

Wang Yao sat cross-legged on his bed in meditation.

Creak. There came an odd sound from the ceiling, as though something was walking around on the ceiling.

Hmmm?

Wang Yao looked up.

It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it?

Outside, someone shouted, “Who’s that?!”

Creak creak. The sounds from the roof became more and more frequent. It sounded like someone else had climbed onto the roof. Then, there was the sound of someone snorting.

Wang Yao sat calmly in his room.

A moment later, there was a knock on his door.

“Dr. Wang?” It was Zhou Xiong.

“What is it?”

“Are you alright?”

Wang Yao got up and turned on the lights. He opened the door.

“I’m fine. What’s going on?”

“There was an intruder earlier. It’s good as long as you’re fine. Apologies for disturbing you,” Zhou Xiong said. Regarding the disturbances that arose because of his family, Zhou Xiong was still rather apologetic. The previous time, Wang Yao and Sang Guzi were assaulted and placed in a dangerous situation. They were thus more cautious this time. However, they never thought a similar incident would happen again today.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Wang Yao laughed before returning into his room to rest.

Is this what they call the jianghu? A place where fighting is common, and violence is used to resolve disputes?

That night, the village was bustling. There was an intruder who trespassed with ill intentions. This was challenging their authority.

That person had been injured by Zhou Xiong’s father and would not have been able to escape far.

At about 1 am, he was discovered hiding in a deserted corner in the village.

The Zhou family did not immediately call the police. Instead, they used their own methods of interrogation to get information out of the man. Only after they were done did they hand him to the police.

In another house in the village, there were a few elders gathered together. One of them was Zhou Xiong’s father.

“These men are getting out of hand!”

“We’ve been too soft on them.”

“It’s time we get serious and teach them a painful lesson.”

“Agreed.”

…

The next morning, the sun was bright.

After breakfast, Wang Yao first visited Zhou Wuyi to check on his condition. After confirming that his condition had somewhat stabilized and that the Blood Deblocking Powder had been effective, he went back to the courtyard to decoct medicine for Zhou Wuyi.

Master Sang Guzi also woke early and had come to the courtyard. When he saw Wang Yao decocting medicine, he smiled and walked over.

“Good morning, young fellow.”

“Good morning, sir.”

“What are you decocting?”

“It’s some medicine to revitalize the body.”

Sang Guzi nodded his head and stood there, watching Wang Yao with interest.

“Sir, a stool for you,” a servant said.

“Thank you.”

Young and old, one decocting medicine and one watching—they were deeply engrossed in what they were doing.

“Young fellow, who taught you this method of decocting medicine?” Sang Guzi asked curiously after watching for a while. He had not seen anyone use this method for a long time.

Wang Yao smiled enigmatically and pointed to the sky.

“What?” The old master was stunned.

“The gods and deities gave me the method,” Wang Yao replied.

“Hahaha.” Sang Guzi laughed when he heard this. He didn’t ask any more about the matter.

As the sun rose higher, the decoction was completed. Wang Yao removed the mixture from the heat and placed it aside, letting the medicine cool down.

“I’ll go in to take a look,” Sang Guzi said.

“Go on ahead,” Wang Yao replied.

Sang Guzi got up and walked into the room, where he stood by Zhou Wuyi’s bedside to take his pulse.

Hmm… As he was taking Zhou Wuyi’s pulse, he noticed something different.

Compared to the last time he came, his old friend’s condition was clearly better now. This was undoubtedly the handiwork of Dr. Wang.

What kind of medicine could do this?

He was more and more surprised and curious.

Wang Yao had brought back someone who was clearly on the brink of death. It was not an exaggeration to use “godly medicinal skills” to describe Wang Yao’s skills.

“How is he, Brother Sang?” Zhou Xiong’s father asked, walking into the room.

“He’s doing fine. His condition has improved. This Dr. Wang is impressive!” To be able to impress a famous doctor with decades of experience like Sang Guzi was definitely not an easy feat.

To quote an old saying, “Gods are called gods because they can do things that normal people can’t do.”

“Perhaps that young fellow can really treat his disease,” Sang Guzi said, laughing.

“The medicine is done,” Wang Yao said, entering with the warm medicinal mixture.

“Let him drink this.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Ying received the mixture from Wang Yao and fed it to Zhou Wuyi according to Wang Yao’s instructions.

“Please move aside,” Wang Yao instructed.

The people around the bedside got up and made way for Wang Yao. After taking Zhou Wuyi’s pulse, Wang Yao rolled up his sleeves. Then, tracing the meridians, Wang Yao began to massage gently. At various points, he would pause, then push or press down lightly.

“This…?” As he watched Wang Yao, Sang Guzi frowned.

“It looks like Tuina, but yet not,” Sang Guzi murmured. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as though he thought of something. Qibo Classics? That’s impossible; no one has a record of that method anymore!

From the chest to the back, the treatment process took nearly two hours. Wang Yao was very meticulous. Not only was Tuina massage a treatment, but it was also a way for Wang Yao to understand the patient’s body’s condition better.

He needed to understand the problems that could be treated by Guasha, those that could be treated with Tuina massage, and those that were too serious and could not be treated at the moment.

As the treatment proceeded, Wang Yao drew out a map of Zhou Wuyi’s meridian channels in his mind. Some of these channels were messed up, others were broken, and yet others were obstructed.

He needed to prioritize the more serious problems before treating the less serious ones.

First, enable the Qi to flow, then correct the flow before supplementing it.

Wang Yao slowly formed a treatment method in his mind.

The obstructed channels could be treated with Guasha as well as with the Blood Deblocking Powder. The meridian channels in which the flow was chaotic could be treated with Tuina massage. However, this was only part of the treatment. He would also need a long period of recovery. Finally, the broken channels were something that he had no way of treating yet.

After the treatment was done, Wang Yao returned to his room to record the method he had come up with. After considering it a little more, he explained his method to the members of the Zhou family.

“We’ll depend on you then, Dr. Wang,” Zhou Xiong’s father said. His words represented the rest of the Zhou family.

“I’ll do my best,” Wang Yao replied.

…

Later, Wang Yao met Zhou Xiong.

“I don’t think your father understood me properly,” Wang Yao said.

“What do you mean?” Zhou Xiong asked, stunned.

“Your uncle’s illness is not something that can be treated in one or two days. Furthermore, I will not be able to stay here for long,” Wang Yao said straightforwardly.

“Okay, I will talk to my father about this,” Zhou Xiong replied.

That afternoon, Master Sang Guzi had to leave to settle some other matters in the nearby Cangzhou city.

His disciple had informed him that he had a guest waiting for him at his medical clinic.

“What guest?!”

He initially wanted to stay with the Zhou family for a little longer and get to know the young doctor from Qi province. Wang Yao seemed to have many secrets that made even him curious, despite his plentiful experience.

In Cangzhou city, there was a well-renowned medicinal practice. This clinic was originally run by Master Sang when he was younger. As he grew older, he had handed the clinic down to his disciple. Although his children also practiced medicine, they chose not to stay in Cangzhou City, instead moving elsewhere.