The middle-aged man looked at Fourth Master with slight surprise. He had only said a few words, yet this man had heard them so clearly, which meant he was a discerning person.

He glanced at the people present and the patients waiting for his treatment outside, then said to Fourth Master, "This gentleman, please come inside with me. The rest of you can stay here. Xiuzhu, go and check on the people waiting outside. If none of them are in a particular hurry, they can come back in a few days. See if anyone is just here to change their dressings; change theirs for them. Only keep those who absolutely need to be seen today." The middle-aged man in the Taoist robe said.

“Yes, Master!” Xiuzhu replied.

Fourth Master followed him into the inner room, which was actually where he practiced medicine. Behind a simple desk hung several strange pictures. Fourth Master had never seen such pictures before and could hardly understand them.

"Is the Taoist priest a Taoist practitioner from Wudang Mountain?" Fourth Master asked.

“That’s right. If you want to save that lady outside, you’ll have to offer the resources.” He said, clearly not wanting to discuss his identity further with the Fourth Master.

This was the first time Fourth Master had ever seen a Taoist priest so obsessed with money. He had always thought that those Taoist priests, who lived in seclusion in the mountains, drinking only dew and living like immortals, regarded money as dirt! But this one? He was openly demanding money before he would save anyone…

"I wonder what you want? How much?" Fourth Master asked directly, seeing how direct the other party was.

"The Four-Horned Monster is a snake-like animal unique to Wudang Mountain. The herbs that can cure its poison grow in very dangerous places. Besides, even if you get the herbs, not every doctor knows how to detoxify it. Even if they do, they don't have the long-term self-cultivation methods of us Taoists," the middle-aged man said.

"I wonder what his name is?" Fourth Master interrupted him.

“Zhou Zhenghao, from the Xiaodao Zhengzi School,” the middle-aged man said.

The Fourth Prince's eyelids twitched, and he immediately thought of "Zhou Zhenggang," the Taoist priest who served Emperor Kangxi. The name was only one character different from this person's.

"Master Zhou, there's no need for further words. Just tell me directly, how much will it cost to save this person?" Fourth Master said, concealing his disgust.

“Ten thousand taels. And you’ll need to collect the herb yourself. It’s difficult for me to collect it alone; I’ll need someone with me,” Zhou Tianhao said.

Fourth Master thought he would make an exorbitant demand, asking for a sum that he couldn't immediately agree to.

"Deal, but Master Zhou must guarantee he can revive her. Otherwise, I will truly burn this place down," Fourth Master said coldly.

"There's no time to lose. I'll first use silver needles to seal your wife's six meridians; her life is at stake. Then, come with me immediately to gather herbs on the mountain." Seeing that Fourth Master answered readily, Zhou Tianhao naturally didn't delay any longer.

"Master, please allow me to go out and explain to them. They will have to stay here with you for the next few days," Fourth Master said.

“Of course, I’ll also tell Xiuzhu that he will only take care of everyone,” Zhou Tianhao said.

After Fourth Master came out, he instructed Su Peisheng and Gesang to take good care of Lanqin and to have Sihua and Shuiling stay by her side at all times. Meanwhile, Zhou Tianhao had already begun to apply silver needles to Lanqin.

After finishing these tasks, Zhou Tianhao instructed Xiuzhu to settle them in before leaving with Fourth Master and Ling Feng.

They went into the mountains to collect herbs from behind this makeshift clinic.

Meanwhile, Lanqin was carried into another room by Su Peisheng and Gesang, with Sihua and Shuiling by her side. Su Peisheng and Gesang stood guard outside, while Xiuzhu had already seen off all the patients for the day, mostly local residents. Whenever they had any minor ailments, they would come to this clinic to get some herbal medicine from Zhou Tianhao.

Su Peisheng had already learned from Fourth Master that this Taoist priest Zhou had actually asked him for 10,000 taels of silver for treatment, and he immediately felt extremely disgusted with the master and apprentice. This wasn't running a pharmacy; it was blatant robbery.

After seeing the last old man out for his appointment and medicine, Xiuzhu turned to walk inside, only to see Su Peisheng and Gesang standing in front of the herbs in the courtyard.

"What are you doing?" Xiuzhu asked immediately when she saw Su Peisheng reaching out from the herbs drying in the winnowing basket.

"It's nothing!" Su Peisheng said.

"These are medicinal herbs made by my master, so you can't touch them." Xiu Zhu looked to be only thirteen years old, but his tone was very mature.

"What precious medicinal herbs? I'm just picking them up to take a look." Su Peisheng felt uncomfortable that a half-grown child was talking to him, so he put on a disdainful expression.

“These things are for saving lives and helping the world. They may not mean much to you, but for people who need medical treatment, they are life-saving medicines,” Xiuzhu said.

"You portray your master as so noble, yet such a noble person asks our master for ten thousand taels!" Su Peisheng said angrily.

Xiuzhu's eyes widened. He hadn't expected his master to ask that person for so much money. He was speechless for a moment, but then he thought for a moment and said, "Who said that? Our master treats many people without charging them."

"You're lying, saying it's free. Why are you asking our master for ten thousand taels? Where do you get such expensive medical fees?" Su Peisheng said.

“Master has his reasons. If Master wants ten thousand taels, it must be because your lady’s illness is very serious and requires my master to expend a great deal of his power to save her,” Xiuzhu said.

"I think it's just that your master is greedy for money. What's this talk about cultivating immortality? It's all just a charade!" Su Peisheng said.

"You, you're not allowed to speak ill of my master like that. Master has already gone to gather herbs with your master. If you speak ill of him like that, don't you want him to save your lady?" Xiuzhu's childish temper flared up when she saw Su Peisheng speaking ill of her master.

"Eunuch Su, something terrible has happened! Why is Master starting to tremble!" Suddenly, Shui Ling ran out of the room where Lan Qin was kept and said to Su Peisheng in the courtyard.

Upon hearing this, Su Peisheng immediately glared at Xiuzhu, then ran into the house with Gesang to check on Lanqin.

With the Fourth Prince absent, Su Peisheng, being the Fourth Prince's personal eunuch, held the highest position among the group and thus had no choice but to seek his advice on any matters.

Su Peisheng and Gesang hurriedly entered the woodshed where Lanqin was lying. They saw that Lanqin's hands and feet were trembling, and her complexion was worse than before.

"What exactly happened?" Su Peisheng asked.

"I don't know, everything was fine just now, and then suddenly it turned out like this!" Si Hua said anxiously.

"What should we do? The Taoist priest isn't here, only a half-grown child is. We don't know anything about medicine," Shui Ling said anxiously.