Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The decoction was amazing.
âDad!â Wang Zecheng yelled.
It was a sunny day. The old man was sitting in the courtyard leaning on the wall.
âWhere is Haoyuan?â his father asked. He thought his son went to pick up his grandson.
âI didnât go to pick up Haoyuan. I went out for something else,â Wang Zecheng said. âHow do you feel?â
âI feel good and comfortable,â the old man said.
âGood, Iâll pick up Haoyuan soon,â Wang Zecheng said. âLet me grab something first.â
He went inside the house.
âWhat did the doctor say?â his wife asked.
âHe didnât give me a discount,â Wang Zecheng said.
âHow many more decoctions does your dad need?â his wife asked.
âNot many I guess,â Wang Zecheng said. He decided not to tell his wife the truth yet because he didnât want her to complain about spending too much money on his fatherâs treatment. He also didnât want his father to overhear the complaints.
âBy the way, I need to go and pick Haoyuan up,â Wang Zecheng said.
âOkay, drive safely,â his wife said.
Meanwhile, Wang Yao continued teaching Pan Jun massage techniques. During the lesson, the two chatted.
âThat guy is from your village?â Pan Jun asked.
âYes, his dad is sick,â Wang Yao said.
âWhat is wrong with his dad?â Pan Jun asked.
âLate-stage cancer,â Wang Yao said.
âWhat?â Pan Jun was surprised. âYou want to cure a late-stage cancer patient?â
âIâm trying to,â Wang Yao said.
âCan you cure him?â Pan Jun asked.
Wang Yao laughed. âDo you have doubts about my expertise? To be honest, I feel like Iâm stealing a person from the reaper.â
No one could guarantee that he could cure a late-stage cancer patient. Wang Yao possibly could in another year.
Pan Jun invited Wang Yao for lunch at the restaurant in the village next door.
âMaster, I think itâs a shame for someone like you to hide in this small village,â Pan Jun said. He had said this more than once.
Pan Jun hadnât realized how good Wang Yao exactly was until he started to learn massage from him. Wang Yao might not be able to bring a dead person back to life, but he was definitely a better doctor than most so-called medical specialists.
âIt makes no difference where I am,â Wang Yao said with a smile.
âMaster, what should I say if anyone asks me who I learn massage from?â Pan Jun asked.
Wang Yao suddenly heard a mission from the system.
Mission: Regain the name of traditional Chinese Pharmacist, which has long disappeared. This is a long-term mission. The reward of successful completion includes a medical book and three bags of herb seeds. The punishment of failure is to take back the system and your knowledge given by the system.
What the hell is this mission? Long-term? How long? Is there a due date?
âMaster? Is everything alright?â Pan Jun gently asked since Wang Yao seemed to be preoccupied.
âItâs nothing,â Wang Yao said. âTell people you learn from a traditional Chinese Pharmacist.â
âTraditional Chinese Pharmacist? I see. Youâve mentioned that before,â Pan Jun said. âSo if anyone asks me who teaches me massage, Iâll tell them I learn from a traditional Chinese Pharmacist. By the way, your surname is Wang. I learn from the King Pharmacist, Pharmacist Wang?â
âNonsense,â Wang Yao seriously said. He didnât think he deserved the title King.
âIâm just joking. Donât be mad, Master,â Pan Jun said.
âNever mind, letâs eat,â Wang Yao said.
He didnât expect a question from a new student during a meal would trigger such a long-term mission out of blue. He had to regain the name of traditional Chinese Pharmacist. The mission required great effort and time.
It made Wang Yao think of a poem, The strong pass of the enemy is like a wall of iron yet with firm strides; we are conquering its summit.
âWhen do you think Iâll be good enough to practice on my own?â Pan Jun asked.
âYou? Not anytime soon,â Wang Yao said with a smile.
âOK, Iâll work harder,â Pan Jun said.
They returned to the clinic after lunch.
âYou can take a nap here. Itâs good for your health,â Wang Yao said. He pointed to a spare room with a bed inside it.
âOK,â Pan Jun said.
Both Wang Yao and Pan Jun took a break after lunch. One had a nap while the other one did breathing exercises. Wang Yao continued to teach Pan Jun massage techniques in the afternoon.
A patient soon came to the clinic. He had come to see Wang Yao a few days ago because of diarrhea.
âIâm sorry, I canât treat you,â Wang Yao said after taking a glance at the middle-aged patient with a pale face.
âWhy?â the patient asked with surprise.
âI prescribed you a formula last time and asked you not to drink or smoke while you took the herbs. Did you take my advice?â Wang Yao said.
âI... I just drank a little bit,â the man said in low voice.
âA little bit? Really? Youâve been drinking the last three days and smoked regularly. You had a bad diarrhea. Am I right?â Wang Yao asked.
The man was shocked. âYou are right.â
âYou can leave now,â Wang Yao said as he shook his hand.
He didnât want to waste time on someone who didnât take advice from a doctor or care about his own health.
âPlease! I came all the way here!â The middle-aged man was desperate.
He had been drinking continuously at noon and in the evening, partly because of his work. The company he worked for reopened after Chinese New Year. After he had returned to work, many colleagues invited him to dinner. As a social person, he didnât turn anyone down. Everyone offered him a drink, so he just couldnât stop drinking.
At the beginning, he took Wang Yaoâs advice and didnât miss one dose of the decoction. He felt better after two days, and his diarrhea stopped. However, he started to drink again and often forgot to take the decoction. In the end, he had diarrhea again. He also found blood in his feces. He was really shocked and came to see Wang Yao right away.
âYou should leave now.â Wang Yao didnât want to waste his time talking to him. The patient didnât care about his health at all.
âHey, what kind of doctor are you?â The man became agitated.
âStop being rude!â Pan Jun stood up.
âItâs none of your business,â the patient said.
âGet out,â Wang Yao said.
The patientâs body shook. He almost fell to the ground.
What is going on? He had just heard a big bang and now felt dizzy.
The man looked at Wang Yao, who sat in front of him looking at him coldly. He then looked at Pan Jun, who was about 5-foot-9.
âHumph! Who do you think you are?â The patient left the clinic angrily.
âRidiculous,â Pan Jun said with contempt.
âHe is actually quite sick,â Wang Yao said.
He could sense decay in the patient. The man sounded like he lacked Qi and was short of breath. The smell of his breath was terrible. His body also had an odd odor. These were all signs of an unhealthy body.
âYes, he looks terrible, like has a deficiency of Qi and blood,â Pan Jun said.
âIf he doesnât stop drinking and smoking, his organs will be permanently damaged. Then, he will regret what he has done,â Wang Yao said.
There were always people who didnât take advice from doctors. Eventually, it would be too late for them to have regrets.
âShall we continue?â Pan Jun asked.
âOK,â Wang Yao said.
The patient who just left Wang Yaoâs clinic angrily was actually very worried. He drove to Lianshan Peopleâs Hospital and told the doctor there what had happened. Since it was late afternoon when he arrived, and he had drank water and had eaten, some of the exams couldnât be done. He had to return to the hospital the next day.
Pan Jun left Wang Yaoâs clinic when it was nearly 5 p.m. Wang Yao stayed in his clinic thinking about his mission.
To regain the name, how?
He tried to ask the system but didnât get an answer.
After thinking for a while, he reckoned he had to work on two aspects. On one hand, he needed to gain a good reputation. On the other hand, he needed to have advanced medical skills. He needed both.
He needed to make the name of traditional Chinese Pharmacist known to the world. He also needed to pass the name from generation to generation.
People like Dharma and Zhang Sanfeng were the best in their areas. They both developed their Kung Fu school, such as Shaolin and Wudang, to pass their knowledge from generation to generation.
Should I open my own school? Wang Yao kept thinking about it.
He went back to Nanshan Hill right after dinner.
âFenghua, I think Yaoâs got something on his mind,â Zhang Xiuying said.
âHmm, leave it to him. Donât ask questions,â Wang Fenghua said.
Wang Yao couldnât stop thinking about his mission on Nanshan Hill.
How am I going to complete the mission? How am I going to regain the name of traditional Chinese Pharmacist and pass my knowledge on?
Actually, he had already started his mission He had opened a clinic and gained recognition from the local government. These were all considered having a good reputation. He had also accepted a student to pass his knowledge on to.
I need to do both in the future.
...
It was windy in Dao. Two people were having a conversation.
âHow is the progress on the apartments?â one of them asked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âItâs going well,â the other man said.
âI heard youâve contracted the hills nearby,â the first man said.