"So?" Han Xing asked.
"Can you give the King Pharmacist the three decoctions and ask him to treat our little brother?" Han Zhigao asked.
Han Xing stared at his brother but didn't say anything.
"Brother?" Han Zhigao gently asked.
"You think we don't need Dr. w.a.n.g anymore?" Han Xing asked.
"Who needs him if we have the King Pharmacist?" Han Zhigao asked.
"And, we won't need Dr. Sang anymore?" Han Xing asked.
"Well, Dr. Sang is a fantastic doctor, but no one is better than the King Pharmacist," Han Zhigao said.
In Yunnan, King Pharmacist had a really good reputation. To people in Yundan, he was capable of anything.
"Fine!" Han Xing nodded. He then stared at his brother. "Have you ever considered that the King Pharmacist might not be able to cure our little brother?"
"How could that be possible?" Han Zhigao asked. "That w.a.n.g Yao is so young. How good could he be? How could he possibly be a better doctor than the King Pharmacist?"
"Yes, brother, I don't think he could be a better doctor than the King Pharmacist," Han Zhiyu said.
"I don't agree with you," Han Xing said. "We Han's family always keep its word. Additionally, you should get a better idea of the King Pharmacist's rule. That old man is very weird."
Han Xing left the room. He didn't want to discuss this topic anymore with his brothers.
"What does our big brother mean?" Han Zhigao asked.
"You can't see it? He didn't agree with our proposal," Han Zhiyu said.
"I think it is a good idea," Han Zhigao said. "Our big brother is a nice guy, but he's sometimes too stubborn. What do you think, bro?"
"I agree with you." Han Zhiyu nodded. He thought Han Zhigao's idea was practical. "Look, we need to know exactly what the King Pharmacist's rule is. Then, we can come up with a plan."
"We want to keep our promise, but we really don't know if that young doctor can cure our brother," Han Zhigao said. "Besides, who will know if we keep our mouths shut. Both w.a.n.g Yao and Sang Guzi have left."
"OK. For now, we keep this to ourselves. Let's stop talking about it," Han Zhiyu said.
w.a.n.g Yao took a direct flight to Dao. It was dark by the time he had arrived. The Han brothers had booked the best hotel for him in the city. He had a nice sleep in the hotel. A car came to pick him up in the morning to take him to Lianshan.
Several patients were already waiting outside w.a.n.g Yao's clinic.
"He's away? When will he come back?" one of the patients asked.
"It's hard to say," a different patient said.
"Isn't he from the village? May we should go to his house to ask," a patient said.
"No, you can't go to this house. He hates people disturbing his parents," another patient said. "I heard that from one of the villagers. Can't you read the sign on the door?"
"Then, what can we do? We came all the way here," one of the patients said.
"Let's wait for another hour. If he still doesn't show up, we'll come back tomorrow," another patient said.
They waited for one hour, but w.a.n.g Yao didn't show up.
"Let's go," one of the patients said.
"What sort of clinic is this?" a middle-aged man complained.
"Stop complaining. I'm the one you should blame. I brought you guys here," another man said.
It was normal for these men to be unhappy. After all, they had come all the way to the clinic but didn't get to see the doctor. It was a waste of time.
Thirty minutes after they left, w.a.n.g Yao arrived home.
"Dad! Mom! I'm back," w.a.n.g Yao said. Zhang Xiuying was busy cooking lunch.
"Have you had lunch?" Zhang Xiuying asked.
"Not yet," w.a.n.g Yao said.
"Drink some water and take a rest. Lunch will be ready soon," Zhang Xiuying said.
Since her son was home, Zhang Xiuying cooked two more dishes. Before long, she finished cooking. "Lunch is ready."
"Where is Dad?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
"Someone invited him for lunch. It's just us," Zhang Xiuying said. "How is everything going in Dali?"
"Not bad," w.a.n.g Yao said.
"Have you cured the patient?" Zhang Xiuying asked.
"No. I only stayed for three days. It will take some time to treat the patient. By the way, has anyone come to our house in the last few days?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
"No, and no one went to Nanshan Hill either," Zhang Xiuying said.
"Good," w.a.n.g Yao said.
w.a.n.g Yao went to Nanshan Hill right after lunch. San Xian came down to welcome him. He wagged his tail happily.
"Hi, San Xian, you put on weight again," w.a.n.g Yao said.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
"Haha! Is everything alright here?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
Woof!
"No? What's wrong?" w.a.n.g Yao could tell something was abnormal by the way San Xian barked.
w.a.n.g Yao sped up and rushed to his herbal field. He came to San Xian's dog house. "This is what you are barking about?"
There was a small wild rabbit inside the dog house.
"Where did you find it?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
San Xian barked toward the back of the hill.
"What? You want to eat rabbit with soy sauce?" w.a.n.g Yao asked with a smile. "Hey, why do you look at me like that? You want me to raise it up?"
Woof!
"Wow! You are such a nice dog!" w.a.n.g Yao patted San Xian's head. "Does Da Xia know about it?"
Dogs didn't like eating rabbits, but rabbits were eagles' favorite food.
"Fine, I'll take it home. We can't have a rabbit here," w.a.n.g Yao said. "Animals like rabbits will eat up all my herbs."
Woof!
w.a.n.g Yao put the rabbit aside and walked around the herbal field. Before long, he had walked around the entire hill.
"Hmm?" After w.a.n.g Yao had reached the top of the hill, he found a number of trees at the foot of hill down south had been cut. He followed the path down to take a close look. He found a number of old jujube trees had been removed.
The south end of Nanshan Hill was very steep. It was irregular and shaped like an arc. Further up was a small hill. People rarely went there because it was so isolated.
w.a.n.g Yao had stayed on Nanshan Hill for several years. He knew that even the shepherds didn't come there because it was too steep. One time, a person fell off the hill and broke his leg.
Who came here? Someone from the village? w.a.n.g Yao wondered.
According to the original contract, this place also belonged to him.
If someone comes here, they will probably be able to reach the north side of the hill.
w.a.n.g Yao was a bit worried. "San Xian!" His voice flew to the top of the hill and went down into the herbal field.
A moment later, San Xian, who was as big as a calf, ran from the top of the hill. San Xian was several feet closer with one jump. He really looked like a small lion from distance.
"Has anyone been here before?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
San Xian sniffed around and barked.
"From which direction?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
The dog sniffed around and led the way. w.a.n.g Yao followed him. There was no footpath on this side of the hill. Initially, there had been a few small paths. Since no one came around, those small paths had disappeared. w.a.n.g Yao really didn't understand why anyone would come there for a couple of jujube trees.
San Xian stopped in front of a cliff. There were some marks on the ground.
"What is this? Honeycomb?" w.a.n.g Yao asked.
He looked up at the cliff and found what was left of a honeycomb about 20 feet high. He looked back at the location where the jujube trees were. It was not hard to spot the honeycomb from that location.
Someone came to grab the honeycomb, found the jujube trees by accident, and then cut the trees?
"Go on, San Xian," w.a.n.g Yao said.
San Xian continued to lead the way. They quickly reached the west side of the hill. They continued to walk north for about an hour. They eventually went back to w.a.n.g Yao's village. San Xian stopped at the door of a house.
The person is from our village? w.a.n.g Yao was surprised.
"Hi, Yao." A villager pa.s.sed by and greeted w.a.n.g Yao. The way the villager looked at San Xian was strange. "Is that a dog? It looks like a small lion!"
"Hi, Uncle," w.a.n.g Yao said.
"Is this the place?" w.a.n.g Yao asked San Xian.
Woof! San Xian barked.
"Good, let's go." w.a.n.g Yao walked away.
Creak! The door of the house suddenly opened and a man came out of the house. He was in his 40s and had beard.
"h.e.l.lo, Yao. Are you looking for me?" the man asked.
"h.e.l.lo, Uncle," w.a.n.g Yao said.