Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

w.a.n.g Yao didn't say anything.

A patient like her wouldn't get better if she continued to take prescriptions while disregarding instructions.

It would be a waste of time to treat someone who wouldn't take a doctor's advice seriously.

“Well, I have to go now.” The middle-aged woman sat for a moment. Then she stood up as w.a.n.g Yao kept silent.

“I'm so sorry, bye for now.” Zhang Xiuying walked the woman out of the house. w.a.n.g Yao just shook his head.

“Hey, what's wrong with you?” said Zhang Xiuying after the woman had left. “She's much older than you, and from the same village. Why do you have to be so rude!”

“I was telling her the truth, Mom. I've given her herbs which definitely works. But she has to stop eating fish. She didn't take my words seriously. Why should I waste my herbs?” said w.a.n.g Yao calmly.

“We are all from the same village and we b.u.mp into one another all the time. I don't want to jeopardize our relations.h.i.+p with any of the other villagers here,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“I see, Mom. It won't happen again,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

He would try to stay away from people like that middle-aged woman.

“What? He refused to prescribe more herbs? Why?” asked the middle-aged woman's daughter after her mother had told her what had happened.

“He said I didn't take his advice seriously, so there is no point to continue to take any medication,” said the middle-aged woman.

“Have you promised him not to eat any fish from now on?” asked her daughter.

“No, never mind. Who cares.” That middle-aged woman shook her hand. She was still upset about w.a.n.g Yao.

In her opinion, they were all from the same village, and she was much older than w.a.n.g Yao. She didn't expect w.a.n.g Yao to show no respect to her.

“He thinks he's so capable. You didn't see how bad-tempered he was!” She was apparently not happy with w.a.n.g Yao.

When having dinner, w.a.n.g Yao mentioned the property sales in the village.

“Dad, do you know if anyone in the village wants to sell his or her house?” asked w.a.n.g Yao.

“Hmmm, why do you ask this?” asked w.a.n.g Fenghua.

“Oh, one of my friends said our village is a nice place. The air is so fresh here. He asked me if anyone in the village wants to sell their house. He wants to buy a holiday house,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

“I'm not sure. I'll ask for you,” said w.a.n.g Fenghua.

“Okay, thanks,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

He didn't need to get an immediate response anyway. He didn't know whether Wei Hai and his other friends were serious about buying a house in his village.

After dinner, w.a.n.g Yao spent some time with his family watching TV and chatting.

“I haven't seen Tong Wei for some time,” Zhang Xiuying said, mentioning her future daughter-in-law.

“Yes, she's been really busy lately,” said w.a.n.g Yao. He just talked to Tong Wei on the phone yesterday.

“Do you have any plans for your wedding?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“Well, I haven't gotten a response from Tong Wei yet,” said w.a.n.g Yao. Actually, it was him hesitating.

“Hey, are you having second thoughts?” asked Zhang Xiuying.

“Of course not,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

“She's a nice girl. You shouldn't be hesitating,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“I know,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

After successfully changing the topic, w.a.n.g Yao gave each of his parents a ma.s.sage before going back to Nanshan Hill.

It was cold and windy outside.

w.a.n.g Yao exhaled a breath.

His breath became foggy.

“Ah! Ew!”

Suddenly w.a.n.g Yao heard a noise. Looking towards the noise, he found a person vomiting under a big tree opposite the river. w.a.n.g Yao could even smell the alcohol from the other side of the river.

Someone's drank too much!

He took another look, then continued to walk towards Nanshan Hill. That person was still vomiting.

After he had gone back to Nanshan Hill, he double checked the herbs he prepared during the day. He was going to brew the decoction the next day, so he needed to make sure everything was fine. He thought about the decoction for a while before going to sleep.

It was a quiet and peaceful night.

The sun came out as usual the next morning.

w.a.n.g Yao went to get some firewood, ancient spring water, and his multifunctional herb pot.

He had all the licorice roots ready and started to brew the decoction.

He chose to brew the decoction in the morning because it was the most vibrant time of the day. The sun had just come out, and the Spirit Gathering Battle Array was full of aura.

Timing was important when brewing a decoction.

Crackle! The wood was on fire.

Cizhan, ganoderma, pear gra.s.s…

w.a.n.g Yao put the herbs into the pot one by one. A majority of the herbs were licorice roots.

At the moment, w.a.n.g Yao was like an artist, carefully working on his masterpiece. He took his time. He was in no hurry.

The sun slowly moved to the middle of the sky.

The Yang energy became stronger.

“Done!”

He moved the multifunctional herb pot away from the fire to allow it to cool down. He filtered out the dregs, then poured the decoction into a white porcelain bottle.

Hoa!

w.a.n.g Yao breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky.

It was noon.

w.a.n.g Yao packed things up and then went home for lunch.

“What? Someone just died?!”

He got the news from Zhang Xiuying as soon as he stepped into the house.

“Yes. It was w.a.n.g Congming from the west side of the village. He drank too much last night. After going to the toilet, he collapsed in the courtyard. He never got up again. I heard he had a heart attack,” said Zhang Xiuying.

Last night, drunk.

w.a.n.g Yao thought about the vomiting man who held onto a tree he saw on his way to Nanshan Hill.

I hope it was not him!

Unexpected things were happening all the time. A person could be fine one second but pa.s.sed away the next second.

“What a shame! He was a nice person. He just really liked drinking,” said Zhang Xiuying.

“It is such a shame!” said w.a.n.g Yao.

If he had gone to check the person, the person would have probably survived.

It was his destiny.

Meanwhile, the doctor from Lianshan town hospital was talking to Li Maoshuang's uncle and his family.

“I've told you, given his current condition, there is no point to continue to stay in the hospital. I suggest you to take him home. Let him go peacefully at home,” said the doctor.

He was trying to convince the family members.

Li Maoshuang's uncle had late stage cancer. No doctor from any hospital could save him. The only difference a doctor could make was to prolong his life.

“Thank you, doctor. Could you give us some time to think about it?” asked Li Maoshuang's cousin.

“Okay, but don't take too long. There is a waiting list for hospital beds,” said the doctor.

Then he left the room.

The doctors didn't want their patients to die in the hospital, because it would seem like they hadn't tried their best to save the patients. Even though they were exempted from the responsibility when a patient died, their reputation would be affected.

“Maybe we should take your dad home,” said another cousin.

“Shall we wait for one more day. I think our dad looks better today,” said Li Maoshuang's eldest cousin.

w.a.n.g Yao drove to Li Maoshuang's place in town after lunch.

“These are the herbs you asked me to get. What do you think of the decoction I brewed?” asked Li Maoshuang.

As soon as he saw w.a.n.g Yao, he took out an herb jar for w.a.n.g Yao to check the content inside.

“Not bad,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

Actually, he didn't think the decoction was well-brewed. However, not everyone had extraordinary skills to brew decoctions like him.

“I've also brewed a decoction for your uncle. Shall we go to the hospital?” suggested w.a.n.g Yao.

“Now?” Li Maoshuang was hesitated.

It was past 1 pm.

“Yes, we could wait, but your uncle probably can't,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

“Okay, let's go,” said Li Maoshuang.

w.a.n.g Yao drove Li Maoshuang to the town hospital. Li Maoshuang's uncle's children were talking about whether their father should be discharged.

“Hi, Maoshuang, why did you come this time of the day?” asked Li Maoshuang's eldest cousin.

“Dr. w.a.n.g has brewed a decoction for Uncle,” said Li Maoshuang.

“Oh.” His cousin didn't sound too keen on the idea.

After all, no medication could cure cancer, let alone some herbal decoction.

“Shall we give it Uncle to try?” asked Li Maoshuang.

“Okay,” said his cousin, who didn't think anything worse could happen to his father.

w.a.n.g Yao poured the decoction he brewed in the morning into a small cup for the old man to take. Then he gave the old man part of the decoction Li Maoshuang brewed.

After the old man had taken the decoctions, w.a.n.g Yao sat next to him for nearly one hour to keep an eye on him.

According to the old man's pulse, w.a.n.g Yao believed he was on the right track. The decoctions he and Li Maoshuang brewed both worked.

“Good, he's stable now. Let's call it a day. I will come back tomorrow,” said w.a.n.g Yao.

w.a.n.g Yao left first. Li Maoshuang was asked to stay.

“What's going on?” asked Li Maoshuang.

“Is that doctor reliable?” asked Li Maoshuang's eldest cousin.

“Yes, of course. As far as I know, he has cured many people with difficult-to-treat conditions. He also went to treat those prestigious people in Beijing. I was cured by him,” said Li Maoshuang.

“I see. I just think he's too young,” said his eldest cousin.

“He's a really good doctor,” said Li Maoshuang.

He could tell that his eldest cousin had doubts about w.a.n.g Yao. He didn't know what he could do to make his cousin believe in w.a.n.g Yao. Since his uncle was dying, it only mattered how long he would last. So, they had nothing to lose. At least they've tried their best to save the old man's life. Even w.a.n.g Yao could just make the old man feel better.

“I have to go now. Let me know if you need me,” said Li Maoshuang.

“Okay,” said his eldest cousin.

After Li Maoshuang had left, only his uncle's children were in the room.

“Is that young doctor reliable?” asked one of Li Maoshuang's cousins.

“Let him try,” said Li Maoshuang's eldest cousin.

He and his siblings sat next to the hospital bed. They were scared that their dad would die anytime.

The atmosphere in the room was depressing.

“Water…”

The old man opened his eyes and spoke softly. His voice was weak and hoa.r.s.e.

“Dad, you are awake!” His daughter startled and came to the bed immediately.

“Water,” repeated the old man.

“Okay, I'll fetch you some water,” said his daughter.

She went to fetch some warm water for her father.

“How do you feel?” asked the old man's daughter.

“Aye!” The old man sighed.

She only asked for her peace of mind. She knew it was impossible for her father to feel well.

“I feel a little bit better,” said the old man.

He did feel better. It seemed that he had gained some of his strength back.

“That's good,” said his daughter.

At this stage, all his children could only try to satisfy all their father's needs. There were not much they could do.

Meanwhile, w.a.n.g Yao had returned to his village.

He went right back to his clinic and doc.u.mented the treatment session he had for the old man. These were valuable first-hand experiences, which could be used as a reference in the future.

How long will he last? How much change can I make?

The next day, a group of building contractors came to the village to demolish the two old houses. They removed the construction waste out of the village at the end of the day.

Sun Zhengrong and his son also came to the village.

Sun Yunsheng was getting better. The majority of the heat toxin had been removed, thanks to w.a.n.g Yao's herbs and the Qi therapy.