“My parents…”
Old Man Liu blinked. “My parents… it seems they disappeared when I was very young… I have no memory of them…”
“That is quite normal!” Liu Qingyan said. “You previously mentioned that you were saved by Physician Liu, and only later gradually awakened your spiritual intelligence and took human form. It is perfectly reasonable that you have no memories from your early childhood, is it not?”
Old Man Liu nodded. “Yes, that is right!”
Liu Qingyan turned to Lu Zheng. “Could they have made a mistake?”
“Not necessarily!” Lu Zheng said, stroking his chin. “Perhaps something unexpected happened to your branch of the family.”
“Ah?”
“Otherwise, why would your branch have separated from the main clan?” Lu Zheng continued. “Besides, according to what Uncle Liu said, Physician Liu was merely an ordinary doctor who only possessed a rather unremarkable health-preserving technique.”
Liu Qingyan nodded. “That is correct.”
“Could an ordinary white fox awaken its spiritual intelligence so easily?” Lu Zheng asked.
Old Man Liu and Liu Qingyan exchanged flickering glances and fell silent.
Du Yueyao blinked. “I cannot resist the urge to go and ask those two… ladies…”
Lu Zheng shook his head, glanced at the mirror in his hand, then nodded and looked at Liu Qingyan. “Those two seem to want to make contact with you first without revealing themselves. You should handle it as you see fit.”
Liu Qingyan nodded. “I understand. There is no need to pretend ignorance. I will find an opportunity tomorrow to speak plainly.”
Du Yueyao could not help hugging Liu Qingyan and laughing. “Who would have thought that Sister Liu comes from a great family? Just the two young ladies who came to find their kin already possess such profound cultivation.”
Those two young ladies had considerable dao attainment; the leader was not even inferior to Lu Zheng.
Liu Qingyan shook her head with a smile. “No matter how impressive they are, what does it have to do with us? We have lived well these many years. We do not need the backing of some great family.”
Old Man Liu also shook his head. Compared to Liu Qingyan, he had no memories even of his own childhood, so he felt even less curiosity. At that moment his ears twitched; he heard another patient arriving outside Renxin Hall, so he turned and went out.
Liu Qingyan paid no further attention to the recent matter and instead asked Lu Zheng, “Will Lu Lang be dining at home this evening?”
“Yes, that sounds good!” Lu Zheng nodded. “Do not dwell on it too much. The clinic is quiet today. Why not go to Yuling Garden to relax a little?”
Liu Qingyan smiled. “Very well!”
So the two of them took along their little third wheel, bid farewell to Old Man Liu, and headed to Yuling Garden to listen to opera.
…
The next day, Lu Zheng accompanied Liu Qingyan to Renxin Hall to see patients, ready to wait for the two women and find a chance to speak openly.
It was not long before a young couple supporting each other entered the door, followed closely by two or three familiar patients.
“Doctor!” The husband called out with a worried frown. “My wife suddenly suffered unbearable abdominal pain yesterday. Please examine her quickly!”
When the pair entered, Old Man Liu’s brows lifted. Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao could not help exchanging smiles.
That morning, when Lu Zheng had arrived with them to open the clinic, he had used the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror to take a look. He saw that the two women had transformed into this young couple: the lively one as the wife, the gentle one as the husband.
Logically, the lively one had the best acting skills and would have been more suitable as the husband. It seemed the gentle one had slightly weaker cultivation and feared she might not be able to fool Liu Qingyan.
The couple entered: the husband supporting the wife with a face full of concern, while the wife leaned on her husband and softly comforted him. “It is all right, it is only stomach pain. Doctor Liu is a renowned physician far and wide. I will certainly be fine.”
The husband nodded repeatedly, carefully helping his wife sit in front of Liu Qingyan. He looked up at her and forced a faint smile.
The wife’s face was pale. She pressed both hands to her lower abdomen, her brows twitching as though she were enduring great pain. With effort she extended one hand, apparently for Liu Qingyan to take her pulse.
Old Man Liu shook his head helplessly. Du Yueyao watched in admiration. Even Liu Qingyan had to marvel at the acting skills of these two, for when she placed her fingers on the wife’s pulse, she felt it tight and rapid: a genuine case of qi deficiency and cold in the palace.
Had she not personally seen through the mirror the two women transform into this couple and leave an abandoned temple outside the city, she might already have written a prescription and dispensed medicine.
“Doctor, doctor, how is she?” the husband asked anxiously.
Liu Qingyan smiled faintly. “Do not worry. It is qi deficiency and cold in the palace. She probably caught a chill in her early years and has not taken proper care in recent times, so it has suddenly flared up this year. It is nothing serious. I will prescribe a medicine for you to take for seven days consecutively. That should bring considerable relief. Come back then for a follow-up, and I will check again.”
“Good, good, good! Thank you, Doctor Liu!” the husband nodded repeatedly.
Liu Qingyan nodded. “Before I write the prescription, I will first massage your wife’s abdomen to ease the symptoms a little.”
She turned to the pair. “Please follow me to the back room. There will be no disturbances there.”
“Ah?” The husband was startled and did not know how to respond.
The wife quickly interjected. “Will that not trouble Doctor Liu too much?”
“It is no trouble. There are few patients today anyway.” Liu Qingyan gave a light laugh, then rose and helped the wife to her feet before slowly walking toward the back room.
The husband hurriedly supported her from the other side. Then he saw Lu Zheng also stand from his nearby seat and follow them.
“This young sir… you…”
For the elder sister to receive a massage from Liu Qingyan, she would probably need to remove some clothing. How could they allow a man to enter and watch?
Lu Zheng shook his head and said gently, “Brother, do not misunderstand. I am only going in to light some incense for you and prepare a charcoal basin with moxa herbs. This will help alleviate your wife’s symptoms. Once Doctor Liu begins the massage, I will leave.”
“Oh, oh…” The husband nodded as though he half-understood. Then he watched Lu Zheng follow them into the back room.
Lu Zheng lit a stick of incense made from calming and heart-stabilising herbs, prepared the charcoal basin and moxa, gave Liu Qingyan a meaningful glance, then drew the curtain and withdrew.
Only when Lu Zheng had left did the husband breathe a sigh of relief. He turned and saw that Liu Qingyan had already helped the wife lie on the treatment bed, lifted her clothing, and was gently pressing and kneading her lower abdomen with a pair of jade-like hands.
“Mm…” The wife could not help letting out a soft moan.
Liu Qingyan smiled faintly. “Is the pain here? Does it feel any better?”
The wife nodded. “Yes.”
As Liu Qingyan continued the massage, she asked, “How should I address the two of you?”
“Our surname is Wu,” the husband replied.
“Both of you are surnamed Wu?” Liu Qingyan laughed. “What a coincidence. Are you locals? Your accents sound a little foreign.”
The wife nodded repeatedly. “We just moved here from Yuzhou.”
“Is that so?” Liu Qingyan smiled. “I thought you might have come from even farther away.”
