The next morning, Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan back to the ancient era to continue her consultations at Renxin Hall.
“Lu Lang, once I have mastered all of modern medicine, could I work in a hospital on Blue Star?” Liu Qingyan asked softly.
“You want to work in a hospital on Blue Star?”
Liu Qingyan nodded, then quickly added, “If it is inconvenient, then never mind.”
“No, no, it is not inconvenient at all,” Lu Zheng said, shaking his head. “It is just a matter of getting a medical qualification certificate. You could sit the exam, or I could simply add it to the system for you.”
After a pause, Lu Zheng continued, “Public hospitals are strict with checks, though. You would probably only be able to work in a private one.”
“What does that matter?” Liu Qingyan smiled. “Anywhere would be fine. I just want to see real Blue Star patients, use those technological instruments, and encounter more rare and complicated cases.”
Lu Zheng shrugged. “In truth, none of that is as effective as giving them a couple of your acupuncture needles.”
Though Lu Zheng’s medical skills were not as refined as Liu Qingyan’s, he had read many medical texts, bolstered his foundation with the light of fortune, and discussed cases with her extensively.
His medical knowledge was actually far from weak.
With the addition of mana, he could cure conditions that modern medical technology could not, such as motor neurone disease, late-stage cancer, AIDS, and more.
“But this kind of treatment still relies on combining mana with medicine,” Liu Qingyan said, shaking her head. “I want to study all sorts of illnesses in greater depth, and find ways to treat them using only herbs, so that people in both worlds can benefit.”
“Alright, I will sort something out,” Lu Zheng said, patting her hand.
They had just reached Renxin Hall when Du Yueyao came out from the clinic to greet them.
“Sister Liu! Brother Lu!”
“Yueyao!”
Liu Qingyan smiled, released Lu Zheng’s arm, stepped forward to take Du Yueyao’s, then turned to her and asked softly, “Yueyao, is something troubling you?”
Du Yueyao was startled. “Sister, your eyes are truly sharp. It is not exactly a worry. This year for the New Year, I must return to my hometown with Mother to pay respects to our ancestors.”
“Return to your hometown? Yuezhou in Pingdong Dao?” Liu Qingyan asked, glancing back.
Du Yueyao nodded. “The journey is long. Father holds an official post and cannot leave without permission, so Mother and I will go to attend the family ancestral worship that takes place once every ten years.”
“Pingdong Dao lies north of Sanjiang Dao. The distance must be over ten thousand li. Even with the official roads, it would take two months,” Liu Qingyan said with a frown.
Du Yueyao nodded. “That is why Mother and I must set off in a few days…”
Lu Zheng suddenly asked, “Why not let me fly you there?”
Du Yueyao blinked, then said weakly, “This is, after all, a Du family matter…”
Liu Qingyan’s brows drew together lightly. She looked at Du Yueyao seriously. “Yueyao, why do you still see yourself as an outsider?”
“I do not…” Du Yueyao replied feebly.
Yet under the scrutinising gazes of Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan, Du Yueyao soon gave in. She said pitifully, “I just feel that I am not yet familiar with Palace Master Si or Miss Lin, so I cannot trouble Brother Lu over my affairs and spoil everyone’s New Year…”
Liu Qingyan gave Lu Zheng a sidelong glance. He shrugged helplessly.
Liu Qingyan then put an arm around Du Yueyao and led her into Renxin Hall. “At New Year, I will take you and Aunt back. If Uncle Du is willing, we can bring him along too.”
Du Yueyao nodded eagerly. She glanced back at Lu Zheng and saw him smile and nod at her.
Her spirits lifted at once. Pulling Liu Qingyan along, she began chattering about a difficult case she had encountered the day before.
Lu Zheng scratched his head, made his escape, and at the street corner spotted Yue Honghai carrying a bag of wine. The man was living comfortably, his belly visibly rounder.
Damn it, people without a care in the world really do have it easy…
“Old Yue!”
“Ah! Young Master!” Yue Honghai hurried over with a fawning smile. “What instructions does Young Master have?”
Yue Honghai now admired Lu Zheng to the point of complete prostration.
Previously he had merely been acquainted with Si Lingxi, yet now Lu Zheng had actually won her over!
On any night Si Lingxi entered Lu Zheng’s bedroom, Yue Honghai could not help trembling. He sealed his senses and dared not move, terrified that he might accidentally anger her and end up eaten.
Seeing Si Lingxi absent and only Lu Zheng present, Yue Honghai quickly stepped forward to demonstrate his loyalty and prove he was still useful.
Crocodile meat really was sour. Same general type, but truly not as tasty as snake meat!
Lu Zheng pushed Yue Honghai’s big face away and asked, “Any incidents in the county lately?”
“None! Everything is peaceful!” Yue Honghai nodded. “General Xin’s cultivation is advancing steadily. He has kept the Netherworld ghosts confined to the underworld. When strange entities entered the city to cause trouble a few times, Miss Du exorcised one, and Miss Wang and Miss Yi dealt with the other two together. Old Yue never even needed to lift a finger.”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “You lot have taken all the business in the city. Baiyun Temple is not struggling to put food on the table, is it?”
“Of course not!” Yue Honghai shook his head vigorously. “Rituals and blessings in the city are still handled by Daoist Mingjun and Daoist Yuanjing. And I heard that for the funeral of the old master Zhao up in the north of the city, they even invited Real Person Mingzhang.”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and drew in a breath. “That would not come cheap!”
“Who says it would?” Yue Honghai nodded repeatedly. “I heard it cost a thousand guan. Enough for me to tip at Yuling Garden for a whole month.”
Lu Zheng was stunned. “You can spend a thousand guan in a month at Yuling Garden?”
Yue Honghai waved a hand dismissively. “A trifle. I still have plenty of pearls and coral. If I run short of money, I can just go back to the sea and fetch more.”
“Fine, fine, I understand. Off you go to your Yuling Garden,” Lu Zheng said, waving him away. He tidied himself, took a bottle of fire spirit wine, and headed up Shaotong Mountain.
…
“Hiss…”
Real Person Mingzhang was at Baiyun Temple when he received the spirit wine from Lu Zheng. He opened it on the spot, and a strand of fire spiritual energy instantly formed a small burning cloud at the mouth of the bottle. Mingzhang drew in a sharp breath.
“Such rich spiritual energy. The fire essence in this, one sip would equal a month of my hard cultivation, would it not?” Mingzhang exclaimed in admiration. “Where did you obtain this spirit wine? You did not raid the millennium cellar of Fire Dragon Temple, surely?”
“No,” Lu Zheng shook his head. “My wife knows I enjoy a drink now and then, so she took some from her family’s collection and thoughtfully sent a bottle for you as well.”
Mingzhang was momentarily dazed. “Your wife has spirit wine like this at home? Is it the young lady from the Liu family, or the Peach Blossom Fairy?”
Lu Zheng shook his head. “Neither. It is a new wife I have taken. Her family lives on Phoenix Mountain in the Southern Border, surname Si. Master, do you know of her?”
Real Person Mingzhang: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
