The morning sun cast a warm, reddish-gold light over the ancient pine trees surrounding Pine Creek Town. Inside Medicine Harmony Hall, the air was thick and rich with the fragrant, earthy scent of boiling ginseng roots, dried orange peels, crushed camphor leaves, and roasting ginger.
Three full days had passed since the violent incident involving the Iron Tiger Gang.
To the great surprise of the surrounding shopkeepers, tea merchants, and street vendors, no bloodthirsty group of armed mercenaries had rushed down the cobblestone avenue seeking brutal revenge. Captain Hu and his menacing men seemed to have vanished completely into thin air, leaving Pine Creek Town in an unusual, tranquil quiet that felt almost surreal.
However, Li-Wen knew better than anyone that the quiet before a storm was always the most deceptive.
Sitting quietly near the open wooden window in his simple scholar's gown of coarse blue cotton, Li-Wen was calmly chopping thin slices of dried licorice roots using a small iron blade. His movements were rhythmic, light, and entirely fluid—resembling a gentle young scholar who had spent his entire life immersed in quiet libraries, rather than a formidable warrior who possessed two hundred and ten thousand jin of pure physical brute force.
Using a microscopic, nearly imperceptible thread of his ancient Divine Will, Li-Wen casually scanned the surrounding street. He could easily detect three faint, concealed breathing patterns standing silently on the high tiled roof of a two-story tea house directly across the street.
"Scouts from the Lin Merchant House," Li-Wen analyzed silently, his face remaining as smooth and serene as an ancient lake. "They are observing my every movement. They want to determine if 'Ah-Wen' is an undercover master from a grand martial sect or merely a lucky youth who happens to possess knowledge of obscure acupoint striking techniques."
Li-Wen smiled faintly in his heart, his iron blade continuing its steady rhythm against the wooden cutting board.
If he had used his terrifying earth-magnetic energy or shattered Captain Hu's chest bones with a single outward burst of his inner Ki three days ago, the Lin Merchant House would have been horrified. They would have instantly alerted their high-tier martial masters, or worse, reported the suspicious presence of an unknown, dangerous expert to the regional city authorities.
But because he had merely used a delicate, precise finger-strike against a nerve acupoint to make an attacker's arm temporarily go numb—a technique commonly practiced by senior physicians and itinerant doctors—the enemy's leadership was completely baffled.
In the eyes of the outside world, he was not a threat; he was merely a remarkably talented, clever physician's assistant who understood where the human body's physical vulnerabilities lay.
"In a world filled with predatory wolves, the most effective disguise is not that of a ferocious lion, but that of a harmless sheep that no one bothers to guard against," Li-Wen thought smoothly. "As long as I keep my true foundation hidden, I can cultivate my Void Sovereign Technique in absolute peace, far away from the storm brewing in Azure Mist City."
"Ah-Wen! Bring the boiled ginseng decoction to the front desk!" Doctor Song-Jiang's warm, slightly raspy voice echoed from the main hall.
"Coming right away, Doctor Song," Li-Wen replied respectfully.
He set his cutting iron down, picked up a small clay pot filled with dark, steaming medicinal tea, and walked out into the front reception area of the shop.
Standing before the polished oak counter was an elderly, bent-backed farmer wrapped in a frayed straw coat. The old man's face was deathly pale, his lips were a sickly shade of dark purple, and his entire body shivered rhythmically despite the warm, humid summer weather outside. His breath sounded ragged and shallow, as if heavy stones were resting on his lungs.
"Doctor Song... please help me," the old farmer rasped out in a trembling voice, leaning heavily against his wooden walking staff and coughing violently into his sleeve. "For the past five days, every single time I go down to work in the lower paddy fields near the Black Wood River, my chest feels as if an iron weight is slowly crushing my heart. The local village medicine men told me I simply caught a sudden cold mist, but their warming herbal teas haven't helped me at all... I'm getting weaker every hour..."
Doctor Song-Jiang sat across from the old man at the consultation table, his three fingers resting lightly on the farmer's weathered wrist to check his pulse. The old doctor's thick brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he felt the erratic rhythm beneath the old man's skin.
"His pulse is floating, chaotic, and icy cold," Doctor Song-Jiang murmured to himself, tapping his wooden desk in deep concentration. "It closely resembles severe winter-chill syndrome entering the inner organs. But we are in the middle of midsummer... how could such intense cold energy penetrate so deeply into his blood vessels without causing a fever?"
Doctor Song-Jiang turned his head toward the massive wall of wooden medicine drawers behind the counter. "Xiao-Lian, fetch two ounces of aged roasted ginger, warm cinnamon bark, and wild red ginseng. We must immediately boil a heavy thermal decoction to clear his internal cold!"
"Wait, Doctor Song," Li-Wen spoke up gently, stepping forward and placing the bamboo tray on the table.
Doctor Song-Jiang paused mid-motion, looking up at his young assistant with a curious expression. "Ah-Wen? Do you see something different about his condition?"
Young Xiao-Lian also leaned forward over the counter, his large eyes filled with bright curiosity and awe. Ever since Li-Wen had effortlessly handled the ruthless thugs three days ago, the twelve-year-old apprentice looked at Li-Wen as if he were an all-knowing, invincible immortal walking among common men.
Li-Wen didn't use any grand spiritual sense or flashy martial arts techniques. He simply walked over, reached out, and gently pressed his thumb against the old farmer's right palm, right beneath the thumb joint.
"Old master," Li-Wen asked in a gentle, soothing tone, "when you work down in the lower fields near the riverbank, do you often drink the raw spring water flowing out from the mouth of Black Wood Cave?"
The old farmer gasped slightly, his jaw dropping in utter shock. "Yes! Yes! How on earth did you know that, young man?! That spring water is crystal clear and ice-cold! It tastes sweeter than normal river water, so all of us field hands drink it when we get thirsty under the afternoon sun!"
Li-Wen turned back to Doctor Song-Jiang, speaking in a respectful, humble tone. "Doctor Song, this old man's illness is not a common winter-chill caused by cold winds. It is a classic case of Cold-Pith Parasite Poison."
"Cold-Pith Parasite Poison?!" Doctor Song-Jiang gasped, stepping back slightly in sheer shock, his hand trembling as he gripped the edge of his table. "You mean... the microscopic ice parasites that breed inside dark, subterranean spirit water veins?!"
"Precisely," Li-Wen explained smoothly, pointing to the dark purple discoloration around the farmer's fingernails. "Common warming herbs like roasted ginger and aged cinnamon will only heat up his stomach walls, creating a harsh, artificial internal fever. That heat will cause the cold parasites to panic and burrow deeper into his heart vessels to escape the warmth. Within seven days, his main blood vessels would freeze solid from the inside out."
Hearing those terrifying words, the old farmer collapsed to his knees on the wooden floor in absolute terror, tears of panic welling in his eyes as he clutched Doctor Song-Jiang's green robes. "Doctor! Save me! Please save my life! I have two young orphaned grandchildren who rely on me for their daily grain!"
Doctor Song-Jiang looked completely flustered, cold beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Cold-Pith Poison is notoriously difficult to eradicate without a professional alchemist's Tier-Two Heat-Nourishing Pill! But our small shop does not possess such expensive, high-tier pills... Ah-Wen, can your grandfather's southern methods treat a subterranean parasite poison like this?"
"It does not require expensive pills or rare spiritual treasures," Li-Wen reassured calmly, reaching down to gently help the terrified old farmer back onto his wooden stool. "We only need three copper coins' worth of common, everyday herbs, combined with a simple silver needle heat stimulation."
Li-Wen walked over to the medicine cabinet, pulling out three simple, low-cost ingredients that could be found anywhere: dried mint leaves, bitter gourd rind, and fresh river garlic.
He quickly ground them into a smooth, pungent paste using the stone mortar and mixed it with a cup of warm well water, handing the wooden bowl to the trembling farmer. "Drink this first. The bitter garlic essence will force the cold parasites to abandon the heart vessels and gather inside your upper stomach cavity."
While the farmer gulped down the bitter green mixture, Li-Wen reached into his cotton pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch containing three long, thin silver acupuncture needles.
He didn't use a single thread of visible cultivation Ki or reveal his Fourth-Stage energy. To any hidden observer watching from the tea house across the street, Li-Wen was merely a skillful young physician applying standard medical acupuncture.
However, deep inside the microscopic shaft of the silver needle held between Li-Wen's slender fingers, a microscopic, invisible trace of the Ignis-Frost Astral Rune's volcanic heat energy was carefully injected into the metal tip!
SWISH!
Li-Wen's hand moved like a gentle, swift breeze, sliding the silver needle precisely three inches deep into the farmer's chest acupoint.
The instant the needle tip touched the acupoint, the microscopic trace of volcanic heat radiated smoothly along the farmer's internal meridian lines, instantly neutralizing the cold energy without causing the slightest pain or tissue damage.
"GUH!"
The old farmer suddenly bent forward over a wooden washbasin, his pale face flushing bright red. He vomited a small pool of dark blue, slushy liquid containing dozens of tiny, frozen black threads that instantly dissolved into harmless steam upon touching the warm summer air!
Immediately, the sickly purple shade on the farmer's lips completely vanished. His pale, sunken cheeks regained a healthy, warm pink color, and his ragged, painful breathing became deep, smooth, and completely relaxed!
"My... my chest!" The old farmer touched his ribcage in utter disbelief, taking a deep, huge breath of fresh air. "The crushing weight is gone! I feel warmer and lighter than I've felt in months!"
Doctor Song-Jiang rushed forward, his hands trembling as he checked the farmer's wrist pulse once more. His eyes turned wide with pure, unadulterated awe and astonishment. "The cold energy is completely purged! The meridian flow is as smooth as a running river! Ah-Wen... your acupuncture technique is nothing short of miraculous!"
"It was merely good fortune and proper timing, Doctor Song," Li-Wen bowed modestly, his face as humble and calm as ever. "The old master's physical constitution was strong enough to withstand the clearing process."
The old farmer wept tears of boundless joy and relief, pulling out his small cloth pouch of copper coins to offer everything he had. But Li-Wen firmly refused the extra money, accepting only five humble copper coins to cover the exact cost of the mint, garlic, and bitter gourd.
Within less than two hours, news of the "Miraculous Young Assistant of Medicine Harmony Hall" spread like wildfire through the lower farming districts and tea villages surrounding Pine Creek Town!
Meanwhile, on the luxurious second floor of the quiet tea house directly across the street.
Inside a private room decorated with expensive silk screens and sandalwood incense, a young man in an opulent, gold-embroidered silk robe sat comfortably by the window, slowly sipping high-grade green tea from a delicate white porcelain cup.
This was Young Master Lin-Tian—the arrogant, extremely cunning scion of the influential Lin Merchant House, which secretly controlled the black markets and trade routes of the Green River Region.
Standing nervously beside him was Captain Hu of the Iron Tiger Gang, his right arm bound tightly in thick white bandages, his scar-faced visage pale and covered in cold sweat.
"Young Master Lin..." Captain Hu whispered in a trembling voice, bowing low with his head down. "You saw it with your own eyes just now. That boy... he didn't use any spiritual armor, nor did he release any sword Ki. He cured a lethal subterranean poison using basic river garlic and three silver needles!"
Lin-Tian set his white porcelain teacup down on the mahogany table with a soft, distinct clack. His sharp, narrow eyes remained fixed on the blue-robed youth who was now calmly sweeping the front wooden porch of the medical shop across the street.
"Fascinating," Lin-Tian murmured, a cold, calculating smile slowly playing on his lips. "Captain Hu, you truly are a useless, brainless fool. You actually thought he was a hidden martial grandmaster simply because he broke your club with a nerve-striking technique three days ago. But my hidden scout on the roof just confirmed it with a spirit-seeking compass—there is not a single trace of high-stage martial Ki vibrating inside that boy's body."
"Then... he really is just an ordinary traveling scholar with exceptional medical skills?" Captain Hu asked, looking completely baffled and confused.
"He is infinitely more valuable to us than a mere martial thug who only knows how to swing an axe!" Lin-Tian's narrow eyes burned with intense, unbridled greed. "An eighteen-year-old youth who can diagnose Cold-Pith Poison at a single glance and cure it with three copper coins' worth of common herbs? If I force him to sign a lifelong servant contract with the Lin Merchant House, he can mass-produce low-cost medical salves and detox pills for our trade caravans! He could make our family tens of thousands of gold pieces every single year!"
Lin-Tian raised his hand and snapped his fingers sharply.
From the dark shadow behind the silk screen, a tall, impossibly thin man wearing dark leather armor stepped forward silently. His breathing was non-existent, and a razor-sharp, poison-dripping dagger hung at his waist. This was Shadow-Blade, a ruthless assassin at the formidable Fifth Stage of Ki-Refine, who served as Lin-Tian's personal elite bodyguard.
"Young Master," Shadow-Blade spoke in a raspy, metallic voice that sounded like grinding stones. "Should I break the boy's legs tonight and drag him to our family dungeon?"
"No, do not use crude brute force in broad daylight," Lin-Tian instructed smoothly, his voice filled with sinister arrogance and corporate greed. "If we kidnap him openly in the middle of town, old Doctor Song will cause a massive fuss with the town elders and the regional guild. Instead, we will use the legal route to completely crush them."
Lin-Tian grinned wickedly, swirling the tea leaves in his porcelain cup. "Tomorrow morning is the annual Herbal Trade Assessment held by the Town Medical Council. Old Doctor Song owes our Lin Merchant House an accumulated debt of eighty silver coins for back taxes on his shop. I will force Medicine Harmony Hall into a formal medical refinement challenge tomorrow. When they inevitably fail and cannot pay their debt, I will legally seize their shop, take their land, and demand that the boy sign a servant contract to work off their debt for the next thirty years!"
Shadow-Blade bowed deeply in the shadows. "Understood, Young Master. I will prepare the legal documents and notify the Medical Council judges."
Down in the peaceful street below, inside Medicine Harmony Hall, Li-Wen slowly placed his wooden broom against the wall.
Without turning his head toward the tea house across the street, a cold, almost imperceptible golden glint flashed deep within his dark pupils.
To his supreme God Emperor consciousness, every single word spoken by Lin-Tian, Captain Hu, and the assassin inside that private room had been overheard with crystal clarity, as if they were whispering directly into his ear.
"A medical refinement challenge? Seizing the shop? A thirty-year servant contract?" Li-Wen thought, his expression remaining completely tranquil, like a clear spring lake reflecting the sky.
"You wish to compete in medical lore and herbal refinement against an entity who has lived for ten thousand years and mastered the supreme divine alchemy of the Void Sovereign?"
Li-Wen picked up a clean cloth and gently wiped the light dust from the oak counter, his heart completely unruffled and serene.
He had promised himself to live a low-key, peaceful life in this quiet town to avoid drawing the grand martial clans of Azure Mist City before he was ready. But if a small, greedy local rat insisted on crawling beneath his feet, he didn't mind using the gentlest, most invisible method to grind its bones into absolute dust.
See you in next chapter.....