The Eccentric Doctor
"This damn compass! Useless! I'll smash it sooner or later!"
A streak of blue light swiftly descended into the depths of the forest, revealing Ao Ming's figure. He carefully placed the unconscious Qian Jinping in his arms onto the ground covered with soft moss. Looking at her pale face and the glaring bloodstains on her lips, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed, the pain almost suffocating him.
He trembled as he checked her breath; it was barely a whisper, and her mental state was chaotic and weak. Clearly, the residual force of the demonic dragon's attack had severely damaged her heart meridian.
"Qian Jin... Qian Jin!" Ao Ming's voice was hoarse, overwhelmed by unprecedented panic. He tried to channel his dragon essence into her body to heal her, but as soon as the domineering power entered Qian Jin's body, it was rejected by her own fragile and disordered spiritual energy, causing her to frown in pain and spit out another small mouthful of blood.
What to do? What to do?!
Ao Ming was frantic and his mind was in complete chaos. Just at this moment of despair, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly remembered something!
"Ginseng whiskers! Yes! Ginseng Elder's ginseng whiskers!" He frantically searched through his own storage magic treasure and Qian Jin's storage bag, finally finding the ginseng whiskers that Qian Jin had hidden away like a treasure and carefully preserved in a jade box.
He didn't care about how the medicine would work. He carefully took out a small piece, pried open Qian Jin's mouth, used his spiritual power to dissolve it, and fed it into her mouth.
The ginseng root, brimming with vitality, slowly spread its medicinal power. The terrifying deathly gray on Qian Jin's face seemed to fade a little, and her breathing became slightly more even, but she remained deep in a coma, showing no signs of waking up.
Although this ginseng root is good, it can only keep the patient alive and cannot cure the demonic dragon's death energy that has invaded the heart meridian.
We must see a doctor!
Ao Ming forced himself to calm down and quickly searched his memory. In the Three Realms, if we talk about those with unparalleled medical skills who can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, then it must be the eccentric and unpredictable "Number One Eccentric Doctor of the Three Realms"—Qihuang Sou.
This man's medical skills are unparalleled, but his treatments are entirely dependent on his mood; he is capricious and unpredictable. It is said that if he dislikes someone, he won't even glance at them, even if they are offered celestial crystals; but if someone catches his eye, a cup of coarse tea might be enough to earn his help.
Even more coincidentally, Ao Ming vaguely remembered that his father had mentioned that the herbal medicine shop of this old doctor seemed to be hidden in a remote place in this mountain range.
We'll just have to try our luck!
Ao Ming dared not delay. He carefully picked up Qian Jin again and, following his vague memories and a faint sense of the medicinal herbs, searched deeper into the mountains.
......
Meanwhile, deep in the mountains, in a valley concealed by a natural formation, several elegant thatched cottages dot the landscape, with countless medicinal gardens outside, where exotic flowers and rare herbs flourish and spiritual energy abounds.
This is the herbal medicine hut of the old man Qihuang.
However, the atmosphere inside the medicine hut was far from pleasant at this moment.
An old man with white hair and beard, dressed in a faded linen robe, was so angry that he glared and threw himself into a bamboo recliner, sighing and complaining.
"I lost! I lost again! I saved up three months' worth of money for wine! It was all swindled away by those little monkeys!" He pounded his chest, heartbroken. "I shouldn't have gambled with those mountain monkeys! Their claws are so fast, they must have cheated!"
A young boy, about seven or eight years old, with his hair in two buns, was carefully sweeping up the mess on the ground. It was clear that the old man had just lost his temper.
Upon hearing this, the child muttered softly, "Master, you always say that when you lose... but the next time they call out, you go again..."
"Huh?!" The old man suddenly sat up, glaring at the child. "Fuling! What did you say? Speak up! Are you secretly gossiping about your master again?!"
The little boy named Fuling shrank back in fright and quickly shook his head: "No, no! I said, Master, you'll definitely win next time!"
"Win? What win! I'm not going! Never again!" The old man, Qihuang, angrily lay back down, grabbed a shiny red gourd, uncorked it, and took a big gulp. He choked and coughed violently. "Cough cough... Nothing's going right today! No consultations! No alchemy! No going out! This old man is going to lie down today! Daydream! Drink! I won't see anyone!"
It was as if they were deliberately trying to oppose him.
As soon as he finished speaking, a ripple emanated from the thin mist array outside the medicine hut, followed by an extremely anxious voice carrying the distinctive, crisp aura of the dragon race:
"Senior Qihuang! I am Ao Ming from the East Sea. My friend is critically injured and on the verge of death. I beg your mercy and help him!"
The old man's nascent good mood instantly plummeted, and he became even more upset. He rolled over, turning his back to the outside, covered his face with a palm-leaf fan, and roared in a gruff voice, "You've got the wrong person! There's no one here! What old man? Never heard of him! Get out of here! Don't disturb my peace!"
Ao Ming, standing outside, was taken aback upon hearing this, but the dragon's keen senses allowed him to clearly perceive the dense, almost impenetrable aura of spiritual herbs within the courtyard, as well as the faint yet unfathomable medicinal spiritual power emanating from the old man. He immediately became certain that this was the person he was looking for, only the other party was unwilling to admit it.
"Senior! You are Senior Qihuang! My senses are absolutely correct! Please have mercy! My friend is really dying! If she dies, I...I..." Ao Ming's voice choked with sobs, and he pleaded almost incoherently.
"So annoying! I said no, and that's final! Why are you so persistent, you little dragon!" The old man was annoyed by the noise and sat up abruptly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His eyes darted around, and he came up with an idea: to scare away this peace-disturbing fellow with an exorbitant price.
He cleared his throat, deliberately speaking in a lazy yet critical tone, "Tsk, this is really giving me a headache. Fine, I guess I am! You want me to save someone? The consultation fee is ten thousand high-grade spirit stones, payable in cash! Not a single one less, no way! If you have them, give them to me; if not, get out of here!"
After saying that, he shook his head smugly, expecting to hear the other party back down.
There was a moment of silence outside.
Just when the old man thought the other party had been scared away, he heard a rustling sound.
The dragon boy first emptied his storage magic treasure, pouring out a small pile of glittering spirit stones and jewels. Then, with remarkable ease, he took the unconscious girl's storage bag from her waist and emptied that bag as well. Inside were even a few copper coins and some half-eaten dry rations.
Ao Ming frowned as he looked at all the valuables on the ground. He quickly counted them, then finally looked up, his face pleading and embarrassed: "Senior... there are a total of 8,372 high-grade spirit stones here, and some jewelry that might be worth around 9,000... We're still a little short... Could I owe you for now? I promise to repay you double in the future!"
The old man was somewhat surprised.
He peeked through the gaps in the formation and saw that the young dragon looked anxious and it didn't seem fake. Moreover... he even managed to take the girl's money pouch so easily? Their relationship must be unusual.
He originally just wanted to make things difficult for them, but he didn't expect that they could actually put together 90% of the money.
This lessened his impatience somewhat and even sparked a subtle curiosity within him. Besides, the dragon boy's reddened eyes were rather amusing.
He stroked his chin, his tone softening slightly, but still maintaining his haughty demeanor: "On credit? Humph, I never buy on credit! Seeing how sincere you are... Fine, fine, you're lucky today, my mood has improved a little! Bring it in!"
Ao Ming was overjoyed and quickly picked up Qian Jin, walking briskly through the mist and into the small courtyard of the medicine hut.
The old man casually glanced at Qian Jin in his arms, his gaze sweeping over the bloodstains on her cheeks and clothes. He was about to habitually criticize her injuries when his eyes suddenly fixed on Qian Jin's lips and the lingering smell of medicine.
He twitched his nose twice, then suddenly lunged forward, almost bringing his face close to Qian Jin's mouth, sniffing carefully. He then abruptly looked up, his eyes wide, pointing at Qian Jin and asking Ao Ming, "What did this girl eat before? This medicinal smell… do you know that stingy old man, Ginseng Elder?!"
Ao Ming was stunned by this sudden turn of events and nodded subconsciously: "Yes... How did you know, Senior? Before we came, we fed her the ginseng rootlets given to us by Elder Shen to keep her alive..."
"Oh dear!!!" The old man slapped his thigh suddenly, his voice rising abruptly, filled with almost exasperated annoyance. "Why didn't you say so earlier! You've delayed things! You've really delayed something big! Can you just eat that old man's ginseng rootlets like that? The medicinal properties are too strong; you have to use a special method to dissolve them! Quick! Quickly bring them inside!"
Their attitude made a complete 180-degree turn instantly!
He hurriedly led the way, muttering to himself, "That old ginseng fellow is my card-playing buddy! Although he always cheats, our friendship is unbreakable! His little friend is my little friend! If you had just revealed this relationship earlier, you wouldn't have wasted so much time on this! Fuling! Don't just stand there! Quickly go and prepare the west wing, light some calming incense! And bring me all my golden needles, jade dew bottle, and that jar of 'Hundred Herbs Rejuvenating Paste' soaked in ten-thousand-year-old warm jade! Hurry up!"
Little Tong Fuling was taken aback by her master's sudden change, but she quickly recovered and replied crisply, "Yes, Master!" She dropped the broom and ran away quickly with her short legs.
The old man personally pushed open the door to a quiet room. The furnishings were simple yet exceptionally clean, and a faint scent of medicine filled the air. "Place it gently on the couch, be careful! Yes, just like that! You young people are so careless..."
Ao Ming carefully laid Qian Jinping on the soft couch covered with clean plain satin as instructed. He watched as the old man Qi Huang immediately stepped forward, placed his fingers on Qian Jin's wrist, and became extremely focused, sometimes frowning and sometimes pondering.
At that moment, Xiao Fuling ran in carrying a large tray.
Ao Ming stood aside, watching the old man and the young man instantly get into the zone and busy themselves around the unconscious Qian Jin, and he seemed a little at a loss.
"What are you standing there for! You're getting in my way!" With that, she had Fuling push him out the door.
This eccentric doctor's temper... is indeed well-deserved.
And now, it seems all he can do is wait...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
