Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Yao was about to leave after having a chat with Song Ruiping and her husband, but Song Ruiping stopped him.
âJust a moment, Dr. Wang,â said Song Ruiping.
âWhat is it?â asked Wang Yao.
âCould you treat Xiaoxueâs ulcers on her face next time?â asked Song Ruiping anxiously.
âFace?â Wang Yao was surprised, but he immediately got what Song Ruiping meant.
What did a young person care about most? Not his or her career or jobâit was their image, or face, to be precise. A young girl would care about her looks even more. That was why most girls would spend hours dressing themselves up or putting on makeup.
The girl lying in the bed was no exception. She had hoped to see her beautiful face in the mirror again many times. She would be happy if she could see that image just once.
âSure, Iâll try,â said Wang Yao.
He had tried the decoction on Su Xiaoxueâs palm, and it proved to be effective. Therefore, it should be fine to apply the decoction on her face.
âThank you,â said Song Ruiping.
She and her husband walked Wang Yao out of the house. Dr. Chen and Dr. Li also left afterwards.
âDid you see the decoction?â asked Dr. Chen.
âYes, itâs magical!â said Dr. Li.
âIâve tasted that decoction and applied some on my skin,â said Dr. Chen.
âReally? What does it consist of?â asked Dr. Li eagerly.
âI could only figure out a few herbs in it. I still canât tell what the main ones are, and canât think of what herbs would have such a magical effect,â said Dr. Chen.
âWhere on earth did that young man learn medicine to become such an extraordinary doctor?â wondered Dr. Li.
âIâve asked him, but he wonât tell me,â said Dr. Chen.
âI would be surprised if he had told you,â said Dr. Li.
âWhat a shame it is to allow such a good doctor to hide in such a small town,â said Dr. Chen.
âWhy not? I think it is pretty good to have a quiet life in a small town. Havenât you had enough in recent years?â said Dr. Li.
âThe young doctorâs knowledge of herbs is probably what had failed to be handed down through the generations,â said Dr. Chen.
âSo what? You want everyone to know about it? Your own knowledge would probably be failed to pass to the next generation!â said Dr. Li.
The two of them were arguing while walking, then went back to their homes.
Wang Yao and Chen Ying found someone waiting at the door of the cottage when they arrived at the front of the cottage. It was an elegant girl standing under the bright light.
The girl was as pretty as a flower or a picture.
âHow come you didnât tell me you were visiting Beijing,â said the girl who had a beautiful smile.
âI didnât want to disrupt you,â said Wang Yao.
The visitor was Miss Guo, Guo Sirou.
âPlease come in.â Wang Yao invited Guo Sirou into the cottage.
The three of them went into the front yard then entered the living room.
âDid you go to Xiaoxueâs house just now?â asked Guo Sirou.
âYes, I just went to see her,â said Wang Yao.
âHas she gotten better?â asked Guo Sirou.
âYes,â replied Wang Yao.
âHow long are you going to stay in Beijing this time?â asked Guo Sirou.
âIt depends on Xiaoxueâs condition. I want to improve her condition significantly,â said Wang Yao.
âWhen are you available to come to my house?â asked Guo Sirou.
âHow about tomorrow?â replied Wang Yao after thinking for a while. He really couldnât turn Guo Sirou down.
âOkay,â said Guo Sirou.
The purpose of her visit was to establish a good working relationship with Wang Yao as she wanted Wang Yao to see her grandpa.
âCall me if you need me whenever you are in Beijing,â said Guo Sirou.
âSure, thank you,â said Wang Yao.
Guo Sirou left after staying for more than ten minutes.
After she had left, Wang Yao returned to his room. He documented the treatment process and Su Xiaoxueâs progress in his notebook. He also analyzed areas he could improve. Although Muscle Revitalizing powder had worked on Su Xiaoxueâit had healed some of the ulcers and made new muscles growâit wouldnât solve all of Su Xiaoxueâs problems. Su Xiaoxue had other issues requiring attention. He needed to address them as well.
Wang Yao didnât go to sleep until it was past 10 pm.
He got up early in the morning the next day and started to practice Chinese boxing in the front yard. While he was practicing, he felt the Qi inside him running like a dragon, and he had only one meridian left in his body to unblock.
As soon as the last meridian was unblocked, his internal Qi could run throughout his body. It was the so-called large circle of vital energy which would go on and on and never stop.
He almost unblocked the meridian.
Wang Yao didnât exert himself to unblock the meridians. He stopped practicing and went to have breakfast.
While he was having breakfast, he had a distinguished guest, a young man with a shiny smile. It was Guo Sirouâs brother, Guo Zhenghe, who was saved by Wang Yao once.
âHello, Mr. Guo,â greeted Chen Ying with a smile.
âHello. Iâve told you many times, just call me Zhenghe. Iâm not gonna be happy if you keep calling me Mr. Guo, Ying,â said Guo Zhenghe with a smile.
As he was speaking, he entered the living room where Wang Yao was having breakfast.
âWhen did you come to Beijing, Dr. Wang?â asked Guo Zhenghe.
âTwo days ago,â replied Wang Yao.
âWhy didnât you tell me you were here? I wouldnât have known you were here if I hadnât had bumped into my sister,â said Guo Zhenghe with a smile.
âI didnât want to disrupt you,â said Wang Yao honestly.
âYou arenât disrupting at all! You traveled thousands of miles to Beijing. You are our distinguished guest. We should welcome you. How long are you going to stay here this time?â asked Guo Zhenghe.
âIt will depend on Su Xiaoxueâs condition,â said Wang Yao.
âSince you are already here, why not stay longer so that I can show you around,â said Guo Zhenghe.
âIâm fine. You donât need to worry about me,â said Wang Yao.
âDo you have any arrangements today?â asked Guo Zhenghe.
âYes,â said Wang Yao.
âThatâs fine. Letâs catch up on another day,â said Guo Zhenghe.
âThank you, but you really donât need to take the time to show me around.â Wang Yao shook his head with a smile.
âAnyway, Iâll wait for you to call me.â Guo Zhenghe didnât insist. He stood up and left the cottage. He only took one sip of the cup of tea on the table.
âMr. Guo rarely gets turned down by people,â said Chen Ying after Guo Zhenghe had left.
âThen he should start to learn to accept no as an answer,â said Wang Yao.
âI donât think Mr. Guo was happy, although he had the biggest smile on his face...â Chen Ying didnât continue, but what she meant was obvious.
It was a kind prompt from Chen Ying.
âI see, thank you,â said Wang Yao.
Guo Sirou came back after a short while. She and Wang Yao went to her grandpaâs house.
âYour brother just came,â said Wang Yao.
âReally? What did he come to you for? Heâs going to show you around?â said Guo Sirou.
âI think so. But I declined,â said Wang Yao.
âWhy? I think he means well,â said Guo Sirou.
âAs I have told you, I donât want to bother people,â said Wang Yao.
While they were chatting, they had arrived at Guo Sirouâs grandpaâs house which was not too far from the cottage Wang Yao stayed at. But, Wang Yao had to go through a number of security checks before getting into the house, which indicated that Guo Sirouâs grandpaâs social status was very special.
The car stopped outside a small courtyard.
âAm I at the imperial place?â joked Wang Yao as he got out of the car.
âHaha,â laughed Guo Sirou.
After Wang Yao had entered the courtyard, he saw Guo Sirouâs grandpa again, an elderly man, lying in a chair staring blankly at the trees in the courtyard.
âHi, Grandpa,â said Guo Sirou.
âOh, hi, Dr. Wang, welcome!â The old man was very glad to see Wang Yao. He got up with the assistance of a middle-aged man.
âHello, Head Elder,â said Wang Yao.
Guo Sirouâs grandpa had shallow breath, and his look was bleak. He was like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any time.
This was how Wang Yao felt about the old man.
Someone made Wang Yao a cup of tea after he had sat down. The tea smelled nice.
Guo Sirouâs grandpa had a brief chat with Wang Yao. He asked Wang Yao a few questions about Wang Yaoâs family. He was very nice. If he were not in Beijing and not of high social status, Wang Yao would think that he was just an elder from the neighborhood.
Wang Yao checked Guo Sirouâs grandpaâs pulse. It was not in good condition. He was aging naturally. No one could resist aging except for God.
âYou are fine,â said Wang Yao after thinking for a moment.
Guo Sirouâs grandpa smiled.
âIâve told them Iâm just getting old. Nothing could stop it,â said Guo Sirouâs grandpa with a smile. He was taking it better than his family.
âYou canât do anything for my grandpa?â asked Guo Sirou anxiously.
âIâm sorry,â said Wang Yao.
If time was a long river, human life would be the ship traveling in the river which would not stop.
Regather soup could consolidate oneâs corporeity and delay aging. That was all its effect. Prolongation pill was wonderful, but Wang Yao didnât want to give it to people of high social status yet.
âNothing to apologize for. No one can live forever!â said Guo Sirouâs grandpa with a smile.
He chatted with Wang Yao for some time but soon became tired as his energy was fading.
âGrandpa, you should rest now. Iâll take Dr. Wang back,â said Guo Sirou.
âOkay, thank you for spending time talking with me,â said Guo Sirouâs grandpa.
âYou are welcome. Bye for now,â said Wang Yao.
âBye,â said Guo Sirouâs grandpa.
Wang Yao turned around and took a last look at the courtyard after he had gotten out.
Iâm afraid this elderly man wonât live for more than three months, he will pass away anytime now, thought Wang Yao.
âDr. Wang, can I have a word?â asked Guo Sirou before they got into the car.
âSure,â said Wang Yao.
The car took them to a building that looked like a private club. The owner of the club was a middle-aged woman in her 30âs. She looked younger than her age. As soon as she saw Guo Sirou, she went ahead to welcome them. It was obvious she had known Guo Sirou for a long time. She guided Guo Sirou and Wang Yao to a private room on the second floor. She took a few more glances at Wang Yao while they were walking upstairs.
âCoffee?â The middle-aged woman asked Wang Yao.
âNo, thanks, Iâll just have green tea,â said Wang Yao.
Soon, tea was served, and the middle-aged woman left the room right way, leaving Wang Yao and Guo Sirou in the room.
âDr. Wang, Iâll cut the crap and talk straight,â said Guo Sirou.
âSure,â said Wang Yao.
âIs Regather soup helpful to my grandpaâs health?â asked Guo Sirou.
âIt is helpful but with limited effect,â said Wang Yao.
It was the power of time, the biggest power in this world. Regather soup was wonderful, but it wouldnât do much for Guo Sirouâs grandpa.
âI heard that Dr. Wang has a wonderful pill that can almost bring a dead person back to life!â said Guo Sirou, who was staring at Wang Yao.
âWell...â Wang Yao smiled. âWhere could I get such wonderful pills?â
âCan you give some to my grandpa?â asked Guo Sirou.
âSorry, I donât think thatâs a good idea.â Wang Yao shook his head.
âWhy not?â asked Guo Sirou.
âItâs not suitable to your grandpaâs condition,â said Wang Yao.
Guo Sirou kept silent. She couldnât do anything since Wang Yao said no.
âMiss Guo, no one can resist natural aging. Your grandpa is in his 90âs. He has had a long and rich life and doesnât worry about death anymore,â said Wang Yao.
âMy grandpa has always treated me very well since I was a child. Iâm his favorite grandchild,â said Guo Sirou softly while watching through the window. âI wish he could live forever.â
Wang Yao didnât know what to say.
Is it possible for someone to live forever? Wang Yao wasnât sure.
Those first-class licorice roots documented in the Catalogue of Magic Herbs could possibly make people immortal.