Mr. Lin's Illness (Revised)
Shi Yanqing and the other two were unaware of the conversation between the women outside the door. They did not investigate the old man's identity before coming, and even if they knew it, they would not be afraid. After all, the ghost doctor is also a doctor.
After the old man entered the yard, he threw the fish in his hand into a wooden barrel full of water with such force that water splashed all over the floor.
"Sit down first."
The old man walked to the small stool in front of the door and sat down. The door was wide open next to him. He could see that the furnishings inside were very simple, with only a wooden bed and a set of square tables and chairs.
After Shi Yanqing came in, she quickly glanced around the yard. After hearing the old man's words, she walked to a medicine drying rack on the left, picked up the small wooden stool behind the rack, walked to a place one meter in front of the old man and sat down.
Danye and Qingjiu did not find a stool to sit on, but stood behind Shi Yanqing, staring at the old man with vigilance.
Although the person in front of them is an elderly person, it is better to remain vigilant in unfamiliar places.
"Girl, I won't keep you in suspense. Since the day you arrived in Yunshui County, I have been secretly observing you. I know who your master is, so I have no ill will towards you. The main reason I want to see you this time is to complete a task."
The old man took out a handful of peanuts from his pocket, lowered his head and peeled them while talking.
Shi Yanqing's fingers curled up, and he was surprised and alert at times. His emotions changed as much as clear water turned into a dye vat.
She exhaled lightly, letting the complicated thoughts in her mind dissipate one by one: "Grandpa, do you really know who my master is?"
The old man smiled, threw a peanut into his mouth, chewed it for a while before speaking.
"Your master is Shi Qingqing. She was betrayed by her own apprentice in her early years and had originally decided not to accept any more disciples. Unexpectedly, she later accepted you and kept you by her side, teaching you medical skills for over a decade."
The old man said these words with a smile.
But Shi Yanqing could no longer sit still and stood up. She stood up and took two steps forward, her eyes trembling slightly as she wanted to ask something, but when she saw the smile in the old man's eyes, she forced herself to hold it back.
She was silent for a few seconds and then asked, "Who are you and why do you know these things?"
These things happened more than ten years ago, and her master rarely mentioned them to her, but she knew some of the past events from her uncle who had heard them a few times.
This old man looked to be in his seventies, more than thirty years younger than Master. Could he be Master's elder?
Shi Yanqing was guessing in his heart.
"Girl, it doesn't matter who I am. Even if I told you, you wouldn't have heard of me. All you need to know is that your master is a medical immortal, but you are not. Although you have been with her for more than ten years, you haven't learned all of her medical skills."
"I have no intention of harming you. I just couldn't bear to see your master's inherited medical skills lost, so I wanted to help you."
The old man's voice became hoarse at some point, and sounded a bit sad.
Shi Yanqing's heart moved slightly. She turned around and said to the two people behind her, "You two should retreat to the door first. I want to talk to Grandpa alone next."
Dan Ye hesitated and glanced at Shi Yanqing worriedly. Seeing her nod slightly, she had no choice but to step back with Qingjiu.
After the two left, Shi Yanqing spoke.
"Grandpa, you mean you have my master's medical records."
The old man shook his head and sighed, "That's not the case. Your master originally studied Chinese medicine and witch medicine. She combined the two, taking the best of each to cure illnesses and save lives."
"It's a pity. Five years ago, the witch doctor made a terrible mistake. Your master was also implicated in this incident and passed away. Everyone only knew that the witch doctor died, but they didn't know that she died voluntarily for the sake of all the witch doctors in the world."
These words were like thunder, splitting the fog of confusion in Shi Yanqing's heart. Her fingers trembled slightly, and she looked at the old man with some disbelief: "What did you say? Master committed suicide?"
Her words were choked with sobs, but she still managed to control herself from losing her composure.
She came to live with her master when she was four years old, and returned to the Shi family when her master passed away at the age of seventeen.
For a full thirteen years, she would occasionally return to the Shi family for a month or two, and the rest of the time she stayed with her master.
She lost her father and mother when she was young. In her heart, her master was as gentle as her mother, who always met her inappropriate requests and patiently explained the pros and cons when she was naughty.
Now that she knew her master had committed suicide, she no longer cared whether it was true or not. She only felt extremely sad, and the tears she had tried so hard to control fell like beads.
"Girl, don't be too sad."
The old man panicked when he saw Shi Yanqing crying. He racked his brains to comfort her, "If your master hadn't met you, she would have passed away long ago. She was already planning to die. How do you know she lived happily all these years instead of suffering?"
"Don't say anymore," Shi Yanqing's voice was slightly hoarse. She took out a handkerchief and wiped away the tears on her cheeks, leaving only the corners of her eyes red. "I will ask my uncle about these things. You should tell me your purpose."
The old man said honestly, "Purpose? There is no purpose. I just want you to follow me to learn medicine."
Study medicine with him?
Shi Yanqing didn't say anything, she just looked at the old man quietly.
The old man seemed to realize something and said, "I'm not accepting you as my disciple."
"I'm old. I've been hiding my whole life, with no one to pass on my medical skills. I just want you to learn my skills so that you can prove that I really existed in this life."
As the old man spoke, his voice became low and his eyes became complicated as if he was recalling the past.
Shi Yanqing didn't know how to refuse, so she didn't agree.
"Grandpa, I can help you find an apprentice. But I..."
The old man shook his head. "I just want to teach you. If you refuse, forget it."
After he finished speaking, the old man stood up and was about to go back to his room. He waved his hand to signal Shi Yanqing to leave.
"When you are willing, come to me again."
Shi Yanqing naturally wouldn't agree. She turned around and walked away, but after taking two steps, she stopped and turned back to ask, "Grandpa, why are you selling bell peppers to us?"
The old man had already entered the room. His voice came from inside the room: "I'll tell you next time you come. You can go back today."
The old man was unwilling to say, and Shi Yanqing did not insist on asking.
She turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate, and Danye and Qingjiu immediately followed her out.
"Madam, did you ask anything?"
Dan Ye was a little far away and couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw Shi Yanqing wiping her tears and felt a little worried.
The carriage quickly left Xiaohe Village and there were few pedestrians on the road.
Shi Yanqing didn't want to tell Dan Ye about this for the time being. After all, it was her master's private matter.
She shook her head. "I didn't ask. I'll know next time I come."
Tan Ye nodded: "I will investigate the origins of this master."
After entering the county town, Danye asked Qingjiu to stop the car when passing by a tea shop, and then he got out of the car and went in to buy two cans of perilla fruit drink.
Shi Yanqing was thinking about something and leaned against the carriage with his eyes closed.
She was now very confused, with scenes of her parents' death and her master's death flashing through her mind.
In my memory, she always cried very sadly.
For some reason, she fell asleep as she was thinking, and fell into a dream woven by memories.
When she woke up again, the noisy voices in her ears had disappeared and all around her was quiet.
Shi Yanqing opened her eyes, and before she could react, she saw a handsome face very close to her.
"Why are you here?"
Shi Yanqing lowered his eyes uncomfortably, leaned back, raised his hand to rub his stiff neck and asked.
A smile flashed across Zhou Hanzhang's eyes, and he leaned back to create some distance between them.
"Didn't you ask Qingbai to give me a heads-up? After I finished my business, I was going to pick you up at Xiaohe Village, and I just happened to run into your carriage coming back."
When mentioning Xiaohe Village, Shi Yanqing remembered what the old man said and his mood became depressed.
Zhou Hanzhang had been watching her the entire time and noticed it almost instantly. He added, "Dan Ye didn't tell me what you talked about. She only said that you cried."
In fact, there was no need for Tan Ye to explain this. After Zhou Hanzhang entered the carriage, he knew Shi Yanqing had cried as soon as he saw her eyes.
When she was asleep, he kept staring at her, wondering why she was crying, but no matter how hard he thought, he still had no idea. He felt depressed and uncomfortable.
Shi Yanqing shook his head: "We can talk about this later when we have a chance. Let's go in first."
After she finished speaking, she stood up and got out of the carriage.
It’s not that she doesn’t trust Zhou Hanzhang, but this matter is her master’s private matter and it’s not appropriate for too many people to know about it.
As for whether I will tell you later, we’ll talk about it later.
At least not now.
After returning to the room, Shi Yanqing changed into comfortable clothes, removed the pearl hairpin in her hair, simply tied up her hair, and then prepared to lie on the recliner under the pear tree.
I wanted to be alone for a while, but Zhou Hanzhang followed me.
Two lounge chairs were placed side by side under the pear tree, and the wind blew slowly, bringing a hint of coolness.
The branches and leaves of the pear tree above my head were blown by the wind, making a "swish" sound, which sounded particularly quiet.
After lying there for a quarter of an hour, Shi Yanqing finally began to speak.
She turned her head and looked at Zhou Hanzhang beside her.
"Han Zhang, did you test Lu Tong?"
The meaning of the words was not very clear, but Zhou Hanzhang understood it.
He nodded.
"I asked him before I came back today, and his reaction was fine. It seems he didn't know."
"I met his wife today. She looked much worse than before." Shi Yanqing looked at the sky blocked by tree branches and felt calm in his heart.
"I plan to remove the childless worm from her body tomorrow."
Zhou Hanzhang moved his body, and the recliner made a leisurely sound, "Okay."
After that, the two of them gradually stopped talking.
Sometimes they closed their eyes, sometimes they looked at the sky.
The atmosphere became quiet and peaceful, just like a sad past event.
Lin Mansion.
Lin Mao lay weakly on the bed, his face pale, his originally fat body was now thin with only bones left, and his skin loosely hanging on his bones.
Lin Zhong stood at the head of the bed, lowering his head and bending over.
"Master, Doctor Xu is here."
Lin Mao, lying on the bed, drooped his eyelids. He forced himself to open them and looked at the many figures behind Lin Zhong. He moved his fingers slightly, and said in a voice so subtle that it was difficult to hear: "Okay."
Lin Zhong had been focusing all his attention on Lin Mao. Upon hearing this, he turned around and looked at many people and said, "Doctor Xu, my master asked you to come forward and treat him."
Seeing Lin Mao's current appearance, many people had a complex emotion in their eyes. He walked to the round stool beside the bed and sat down.
Reach out to feel Lin Mao's pulse.
As soon as his hand touched Lin Mao's wrist, he was shocked.
It feels like there is no flesh and blood left, only skin and bones.
Many people sighed in their hearts, but did not show it on their faces. They looked calm and seemed confident and sure of themselves.
Lin Zhong looked at him nervously, "Doctor Xu, is there any way to cure my master?"
Many people withdrew their hands, and their fingertips could not help but rub against the wide sleeves a few times, covering up the strange and terrifying touch.
He stood up and motioned Lin Zhong to follow him out.
"Butler Lin, Master Lin can't waste his energy right now. He needs to rest. Let's go out and talk."
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