The incessant beeping of the vital signs monitor was as annoying as a mosquito buzzing in his ear.
Dr. Chen's eyelids felt heavy as if weighted with lead. Every part of his body screamed in agony from seventy-two straight hours of work. He vaguely remembered about to begin the tenth surgery of the day, before everything blurred and the world plunged into darkness.
'Acute heart failure from overwork... classic,' was his last thought as a promising twenty-eight-year-old young doctor.
...
The darkness didn't last forever. Faint light slowly seeped through his eyelids, accompanied by the pungent smell of various herbs that filled the air to the point of dizziness.
Chen slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an old, dilapidated wooden ceiling with cobwebs in the corners. He frowned... his hospital was much more modern than this.
He tried to push himself up, but cried out in pain that shot through his back and joints. It was the kind of aching pain that only the elderly would understand.
"Ouch..."
The sound that came out was hoarse and deep, not his youthful voice at all.
Chen was so startled that he sprang up, looking around. This was a small, run-down wooden bedroom with only a hard bed and a dressing table with a tarnished bronze mirror on it. He stumbled to the mirror with a pounding heart, then his eyes widened in shock, almost losing consciousness.
The reflection staring back was no longer the face of a promising young doctor...
But an old man, about 50 years old!
The face of the man in the mirror, though still retaining some handsome features, was full of wrinkles of time. His salt-and-pepper hair was loosely tied, a sparse beard adorned his chin. His once bright eyes now looked tired and had a simple kindness typical of old people.
"What in the... hell is this?!" Chen exclaimed in a modern language no one in this world understood.
Suddenly, a severe pain surged into his brain. Memories that weren't his own flooded in like a broken dam...
This man was named "Wang Cheng," owner of the "Wang Phrai Herb Shop" passed down from his ancestors. His skill in preparing medicine was mediocre, causing this small shop to be on the verge of bankruptcy. Moreover, he had a large debt borrowed from the Chamber of Commerce...
In short, he had transmigrated into the body of an "old man" who was old, poor, and about to lose everything!
"Heavens... dying from overwork wasn't enough, now you send me to suffer in an old man's body too?!" Wang Cheng (or Chen's soul) collapsed to the floor in despair.
And in that very moment of his deepest despair...
[Ding!]
A clear, bell-like sound echoed in his head, along with a translucent light blue window appearing before him.
[Connection to soul detected... "Divine Physician System" activating!]
[Congratulations! You have received "Newbie Welcome Gift Pack"... Would you like to open it?]
Wang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then mumbled in his mind uncertainly, "...Open."
[You have received 2 innate skills:]
[Alchemy Hand (Max Level)]: Grants the ability to perfectly refine all types of elixirs into "perfect, non-toxic" form. 100% success rate.
[Divine Touch (Beginner Level)]: Grants the ability to diagnose and heal by touch. Can clearly see the body structure, meridians, and "vulnerable points" of the target.
Wang Cheng's eyes widened again, but this time not in shock, but in excitement! As a doctor, he understood better than anyone how extraordinary these two skills were. Especially... Divine Touch?
[System is assigning initial quests...]
[Main Quest: Revive the Wang Phrai Herb Shop]
Objective: Pay off all debts within one month.
Reward: 100 Skill Points, Unlock "Basic Elixir Formulas"
[Hidden Quest: Prologue to Rejuvenation]
Objective: Perform "Dual Cultivation" with a woman of pure Yin energy to absorb vital essence and restore youth to this body.
Reward: Body becomes 1 year younger, Unlock skill [Oceanic Surge]
Wang Cheng gasped when he read the last quest. The mind of the modern young doctor was in chaos. But then... a sly smile slowly appeared on the kind face of the 50-year-old old man.
In his previous life, he worked himself to death for others...
In his previous life, he didn't even have time to look for a lover...
"Since Heaven has given me another chance..." Wang Cheng looked at his own slightly wrinkled hands, then clenched them tightly until veins bulged. The eyes that once looked simple now shone with determination and... hunger.
"...This life, I shall live fully for myself!"
He stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked out of the room to face the new world, with the smile of a kind old man who no one knew harbored the soul of a dangerous serpent beneath his warm demeanor.
"Well then... let's see if there are any 'patients' around here worth 'treating'."