After familiarizing himself with the "Divine Doctor System" and his unfamiliar new body, Wang Cheng walked out to inspect his herbal shop. The sight made him sigh even more deeply.
The Wang Prai Herbal Shop was a small, single-fronted store. The wooden shelves were covered in thick dust, and most of the herbal jars were empty. What little remained were common, cheap herbs. The shop was as silent as a graveyard, without a single customer in sight.
"Sigh... Drowning in debt, the shop is failing, and I'm stuck in an old man's body," Wang Cheng muttered to himself as he dusted the counter.
Suddenly, the door slammed "Bang!" as two burly men in black robes embroidered with silver auspicious clouds appeared. They looked at Wang Cheng with disdain. One of them threw an account book onto the table with a loud thud.
"Old Man Wang! It's due! Your debt of fifty gold taels, when will you pay it?!"
Wang Cheng glanced at the emblem on their chests... 'Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce,' the main creditor of this body.
"Young lads, calm down. This old man is trying to find a way..." Wang Cheng tried to smile kindly.
"Find a way, huh?!" The other man sneered. "One more week! If you don't have the money to pay, we'll seize this shop according to the agreement!" He said, sweeping his gaze around before smiling sinisterly. "I heard you have some ancient family medical recipes, don't you? By then... we'll have to trouble you to sell them off at auction!"
With that, both of them flicked their robes and walked away, leaving Wang Cheng clenching his fists tightly in indignation.
One week and fifty gold taels... It was almost impossible!
While he was deep in thought, looking for a solution, a slender, delicate figure quietly entered the shop.
She was a young maiden, in the bloom of youth, wearing a faded, light blue martial arts uniform. Her beautiful face was as pale as paper, and her large, pretty eyes clearly showed worry and despair. In her hand, she clutched a few cheap herbal scraps.
"Sir... Uncle Wang," she stammered, "C-can I buy a tub of 'Muscle Relaxing Ointment,' please?"
Wang Cheng glanced at her, before a system window appeared in his mind's eye.
[Detected interesting target: Liu Yuexin]
[Status: Severe meridian blockage, spiritual energy is rebounding with a risk of qi deviation within 3 days]
[Solution: Requires at least a mid-grade "Heaven-Piercing Elixir"]
Wang Cheng secretly smiled to himself... His first "patient" arrived sooner than expected!
He pretended to examine the herbs in her hand, then slowly shook his head with a worried expression.
"Oh, child... Your condition can't be cured with just muscle relaxing ointment. This is like trying to put out a forest fire with a single cup of tea."
Liu Yuexin flinched slightly. "How... how did Uncle know..."
"Oh... This old man has been a doctor his whole life. A single glance is enough," he said with a warm tone, then beckoned her over. "Come, come closer. Let this old man check your pulse. No charge, don't worry."
With his kind and harmless demeanor, Liu Yuexin obediently walked closer. She extended her fair, slightly trembling wrist. Wang Cheng gently placed his wrinkled fingers on it, immediately activating the [Divine Touch] skill in "Diagnostic Mode."
A clear image of her body structure and meridians appeared in his mind, like an X-ray. He saw the points where spiritual energy was blocked, turning a dark red, and saw that it was about to burst.
Wang Cheng's expression suddenly turned grim.
"This is bad!" He exclaimed loudly, making Liu Yuexin's face turn ashen in shock. "The Yin energy in your body is clashing with the Yang energy. Your main meridians are blocked, causing your energy to rebound... Oh, child, if you insist on continuing your martial arts training, your meridians will surely shatter, and you'll be crippled for life!"
His words were like a thunderbolt striking the young girl's heart. Large tears began to well up in her beautiful eyes. "I-is there no cure, Uncle?"
Wang Cheng feigned a heavy sigh, pretending to ponder deeply.
"There is a cure... This old man has a secret elixir, brewed by myself, called 'White Jade Meridian Unblocking Elixir.' It can effectively treat your condition."
"Really?! I... I'll buy it!" She said hopefully, then her face fell. "How much... how much does it cost, Uncle?"
Wang Cheng looked at her with "sympathetic" eyes, then replied in the most trustworthy tone.
"Oh, child, to see a promising young girl like you face such a fate... This old man's heart aches. Money is not important... But..."
He deliberately paused, making her heart skip a beat.
"This elixir is imbued with pure Yang energy. If you take it directly, your body, which is fundamentally Yin, will not be able to withstand it. The results will be even worse."
"Then... then what should I do?" She asked, her voice trembling.
Wang Cheng leaned closer, whispering in a serious tone, as if revealing a top-secret.
"There is only one way... It's an ancient secret technique of this old man's family, called 'Elixir Transmission through the Meridian Bridge.' This old man must use his body as a 'bridge,' slowly guiding the intense Yang energy of the elixir into your body, while using this old man's gentle spiritual energy to help your body absorb it... But... this process requires skin-to-skin contact, so that the spiritual energy can be transferred without any obstruction."
He gazed deeply into her tear-filled eyes, then asked in the most sincere tone.
"Tell this old man, child... will you despise this old man... and will you... trust this old man to save your life?"
Liu Yuexin stood motionless, her face blushing from ear to ear. She was facing a choice between becoming crippled for life and trusting this seemingly harmless "kind old man"...