After leaving the company, Xiao Chen suddenly remembered something. Turning his head, he asked, "Dahan, you still haven't told me what's wrong with your mother."
Li Hanhou's expression darkened, and his massive frame trembled slightly. "Lung cancer… late stage."
"Late-stage lung cancer?"
Xiao Chen's grip on the steering wheel shook. He had assumed it was a common illness, something he could try to treat—but lung cancer? That was beyond his abilities. It was a terminal disease, with no guaranteed cure anywhere in the world.
"When we first went to the hospital, the doctor said there was hope if she cooperated with treatment… but later they told us there was no hope and advised us to bring her home."
Pain crossed Li Hanhou's face. His fists clenched, veins bulging on his thick arms.
"Dahan, life and death are things no one can control," Xiao Chen said gently.
"But they said at first there was hope! Why tell us later that it can't be cured? I don't want my mother to leave me—she's the only family I have left!"
Li Hanhou's emotions boiled over, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
Xiao Chen's heart ached for him. He wanted to comfort him but didn't know what to say. Should he tell him the harsh truth—that as long as there was money, hospitals would offer hope, but once the money ran out, they told families to prepare for death? It might be true, but it was far too cruel to say aloud.
"I don't want my mother to die…"
The towering man wept like a child.
Xiao Chen slowed the car, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't cry, Dahan. Maybe there's still a chance, maybe a miracle will happen. Your mother might not leave you after all."
"Really?" Li Hanhou sniffled, raising his head.
"Really. Brother Chen would never lie to you."
Li Hanhou nodded firmly, wiping away his tears. "My mother is a good person. I don't think heaven will let her die."
"Yes, good people are blessed with long life."
Seeing his tear-streaked face, Xiao Chen smiled faintly but silently made a firm decision in his heart.
On the way, Xiao Chen stopped at a shopping mall, bought nutritional supplements, then went to a medicinal food shop to prepare a restorative stew.
"Hello, sir. What kind of supplements do you need?" the staff greeted him warmly.
"Do you carry all medicinal ingredients?"
"Yes, this is the largest herbal food shop in Longhai. We stock a wide variety of Chinese herbs and ingredients, and we also have professional dietitians and TCM doctors available for consultation—"
"No need. Just give me pen and paper, I'll write the prescription myself."
The staff blinked in surprise but handed him what he asked for. "Sir, if you're providing your own prescription, please understand we can't take responsibility. A dietitian will still need to review it…"
"That's fine."
Xiao Chen quickly jotted down a prescription.
"Brother Chen… you know how to do this?" Li Hanhou asked nervously, worried since it was for his mother.
"Do you trust me?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
Without hesitation, Li Hanhou nodded. Though simple-minded, he wasn't foolish—he could tell Xiao Chen genuinely cared for him.
"Then leave it to me," Xiao Chen said, handing the paper to the staff.
Just then, an elderly man in a Tang suit spoke up. "Let me see that prescription."
The staff immediately bowed respectfully. "Yes, Yao Lao!" They offered the paper to him with both hands.
Xiao Chen studied the man. His bearing and presence made it clear he wasn't ordinary. Could he be the owner?
The old man smiled kindly. "Young man, I'm half the master of this shop. Allow me to review your prescription."
"Please," Xiao Chen said with an easy nod.
The old man examined the paper carefully, his expression growing more astonished. Finally, he looked up. "May I ask—who is this prescription intended for?"
"What do you think?" Xiao Chen replied with a faint smile.
The old man muttered, "Houttuynia… ginseng… Ophiopogon… these all direct toward the lungs. Is the illness lung-related?"
"That's correct."
"And with Hedyotis diffusa included… could it be lung cancer?"
"Yes. Advanced stage."
The old man frowned. "But then why include these other herbs—this looks contradictory…"
Xiao Chen chuckled. "Most doctors would have accused me of mixing herbs at random. But you noticed there was a purpose behind it. You must have seen something."
The old man paused, then smiled broadly. "Interesting! Why don't we discuss this further inside?"
After instructing staff to prepare the medicated stew, he led Xiao Chen and Li Hanhou into a private room. There, the two launched into a deep medical discussion, quoting from classical texts. At one point, Xiao Chen even recited passages from the Yin-Yang Medical Code, astonishing the old man, who only possessed fragments of the lost book.
Overwhelmed, the elder praised him. "Remarkable! Speaking with you today has been more enlightening than ten years of reading."
Finally, he handed Xiao Chen his business card: Yao Qihuang.
Xiao Chen was stunned. This wasn't just any elder—this was Yao Qihuang, one of China's three most renowned doctors, an honorary president of the Huaxia Medical Association, a living legend of traditional medicine.
Li Hanhou, wide-eyed, blurted out, "Brother Chen, is this old man really that skilled? Then can he save my mother?"
Yao Qihuang asked gently what the illness was. When he heard "advanced lung cancer," he froze. Even for a doctor of his caliber, curing such a disease was beyond certain hope.