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Translator: Silavin
The big yellow dog ran ahead joyfully. Soon, his frantic barking could be heard at the front door, as if something was amiss.
Hansheng entered the house. The food on the table was still neatly arranged, but there was no sign of his Father.
[Could he have gone out due to an emergency? The sun had set, and even when the moon reached its peak, he still hadn’t returned.]
The next morning, Hansheng got up groggily and walked to the east room to check. His Father still had not come back. Hansheng sighed. He heated up the leftover food from yesterday and ate it.
Today, the market was still ongoing in Wuyuan County Town. He had to fulfil his promise to Lan’er and treat her Crying Blood Disease to restore her original appearance.
Hansheng sat in front of the stove and carefully scraped off all the usable black ash from the top of the stove with a bamboo strip. He wrapped it in paper, along with the sanitary belt, and tucked them into his shirt.
With no one at home, he should take the chance to hide the Classic of the Black Satchel in a secret location. However, there was no ideal spot. Finally, his gaze fell on the dog kennel. The wooden roof was covered with thick thatch, so he tucked the wooden box under the thatch.
[Most people wouldn’t notice it there.]
After everything was prepared, he instructed Dummy to watch over the house. He soon walked to town with his wooden stick and took the bus to the county town.
By noon, most people had already left the market. Lan’er and her Mother had been waiting since early morning, at where they had met the young miracle doctor previously.
“Lan’er, will he really come?” Lan’er’s Mother’s illness had been cured, but she was still very weak and breathless whenever she spoke.
Lan’er silently lowered her head. She could not remember how long it had been since she last looked at a mirror. With such an ugly appearance, most people avoided her like the plague. When that young man said he could cure her, the image of her original beautiful self reappeared in her mind.
She was a Posthumous Daughter. Her Mother said her Father was from Beijing. He was not only a good man but also highly educated. That year, when the Wei River Basin was flooded, her Mother was swept downstream by the torrent. She was later found and rescued.
She was ill for nearly half a year. After giving birth to Lan’er, she took the child back to their old home, but the whole village was gone. There was nothing left, only thick yellow silt. In fact, her Mother was the only survivor.
With no choice, the Mother and Daughter had to flee the famine, begging their way and tasting the bitterness of life. Finally, they settled in a small village in Wuyuan. For over ten years, her Mother raised her Daughter on whatever was available, be it grain bran or wild vegetable. Unfortunately, she unexpectedly fell ill with a strange disease. Her hands and feet gradually stiffened, and finally, her whole body curled up like a Frozen Person.
“Where is my Father?” She had asked her Mother.
Her Mother just shook her head, tears flowing.
Helplessly watching her Mother suffer day by day, waiting for death, Lan’er worried day and night. Her appearance gradually changed, becoming uglier and uglier…
Just then, a person appeared in Lan’er’s field of vision, limping towards her with a wooden stick.
※※※
“You finally came.” Lan’er’s nose tingled, and pale red tears seeped from her sunken eye sockets.
“Miss, I’ve found the medicine to cure you,” Hansheng said hurriedly, his forehead covered in sweat.
“Buddha,” Lan’er’s Mother trembled and knelt down.
Hansheng quickly went forward to help her up, his wooden stick falling to the ground.
“Are you the one who cured this old woman’s illness?” Two crew-cut men wearing green polyester shirts appeared.
Hansheng nodded.
“Alright, please come with us.” The two strong men grabbed Hansheng’s arms without waiting.
“Who are you? Where are you taking me?” Hansheng cried out in surprise.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Lan’er helplessly clutched at Hansheng’s clothes.
“Ugly monster! Get lost!” One of the men shoved her hard, pushing Lan’er to the ground.
The Mother and Daughter watched helplessly as the two men bundled Hansheng into a Jeep that sped away in a cloud of dust.
“Mother…” Lan’er cried out in anguish, her tears now bright red.
※※※
In the deep courtyard of an ancient mansion, Huang Qiansui was leisurely savouring Lushan Yunwu Tea while listening to his Brother-in-law, Meng Zhuqi’s report.
“That old fox is very cunning. He flatly denies everything and refuses to reveal where that Earth Spawn came from,” Meng Zhuqi said resentfully.
“We need to repeatedly ideologically persuade him. Also, send someone to search his house. There might be some clues,” Huang Qiansui said.
“I’ll take our men there right away.”
“Master Wu, what’s your opinion on this matter?” Huang Qiansui turned to ask Wu Daoming, who was sitting nearby.
Wu Daoming put down his teacup, cleared his throat, and unhurriedly said, “Based on my continuous survey over the past few days, the two Dragon Veins originating from Huangshan come from the centre folds of Kunlun Mountains. It is historically known as the ‘Middle Dragon’. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Yang Halo of the northwest Yang Dragon was already used by Zhu Yuanzhang. The Hidden Dragon Vein in the southeast direction stopped at the Linggu Cave in Nanshan Village and doesn’t continue forward. It should form a node near the cave entrance. However, there’s one point I am uncertain of. The entrance of Linggu Cave is actually the Dragon’s mouth. According to the ancient method of locating nodes, the Dragon Vein Node should be in the centre of the Dragon’s forehead. Chairman Meng and I searched there for a long time. We found several auspicious nodes, but we couldn’t find the legendary Taiji Yin Halo.”
“Do you have any other methods?” Huang Qiansui’s tone revealed a hint of displeasure.
Wu Daoming said, “That Earth Spawn must have come from the Taiji Yin Halo. As long as…”
At this moment, someone hurriedly walked in and whispered something into Huang Qiansui’s ear.
“The miracle doctor has been found!” Huang Qiansui laughed.
Huang Qiansui, along with Meng Zhuqi and Master Wu Daoming, got up to greet the miracle doctor at the door, thinking they should show proper respect.
Hansheng was pushed and shoved inside.
Although Huang Qiansui had heard that the miracle doctor was a young man, he was still greatly surprised when he saw him in person. How could this poor rural boy be a miracle doctor?
While he was still pondering this, he suddenly heard his Brother-in-law, Meng Zhuqi, burst into laughter behind him, “I thought it was some miracle doctor, but it’s just you, you little rascal!”
Wu Daoming smiled silently beside them.
Huang Qiansui turned around and sternly questioned, “Zhuqi, what’s going on?”
“This little rascal is no miracle doctor! He’s the son of that old man in the back. Brother-in-law, think about it. If the Father’s medical skills are just average, how could he teach a son any real ability?”
“Are you sure?” Huang Qiansui asked with uncertainty, knowing his Brother-in-law had always been a fool.
Meng Zhuqi did not answer. Instead, he swaggered up to Hansheng and sneered, “Right, your name is Hansheng, right? We met in front of Linggu Cave a few days ago. Have you come to your senses today? Are you going to tell me about the origin of that Earth Spawn?”
“I’ve told you, I bought it at the market,” Hansheng replied.
“Boy, you’re as stubborn as your old man,” Meng Zhuqi angrily snapped.
“My Father is here with you?” Hansheng sensed something was wrong.
“Hey, Little Brother, let’s chat over here,” Wu Daoming came forward and pulled Hansheng to the southeast corner of the courtyard under an Osmanthus Tree.
The golden Osmanthus Tree of autumn filled the air with fragrance. Wu Daoming took a deep breath of the fresh scent and lowered his voice, advising, “Little Brother, I see that your Occipital Bone(back of the skull) is prominent, your Brow Ridge Bone is well defined. You have well separated, big eyes. You’re destined for greatness, but you need the help of a noble person. Otherwise, you’ll remain of low status, with half of your life without parents.”
Seeing his affected manner of speaking, Hansheng impatiently said, “What exactly do you want to say?”
“I want to say that although they don’t believe you’re a miracle doctor, I do. And I can help you. I am the noble person you are destined to meet in your life,” Wu Daoming replied.
Hansheng said, “Fine, then let me ask you, is my Father really here?”
“Yes.”
“Why is he here?”
“They brought him from Nanshan Village two nights ago. Someone reported that he was treating Landlords, Rich Farmers, Anti-Revolutionaries, Right Wingers and Bad Actors,” Wu Daoming said with a grimace.
“Where is he now? I want to see him,” Hansheng said anxiously.
“If you tell me the truth, I’ll help you and your Father get out of here,” Wu Daoming said, almost in a whisper.
“I know, you just want to trick me into revealing the location of the Earth Spawn, don’t you?” Hansheng saw through his game.
“No, you’re wrong. I’m not interested in that at all,” Wu Daoming replied.
※※※
Hansheng looked at him with doubt in his eyes.
Wu Daoming smiled slightly, “I just want to know if the person I want to help is worthy of my assistance. Is he a kind and honest person? Is he someone who practises medicine to help the people, willing to even help the poor?”
Hansheng remained silent.
“Did you cure that old woman at the market?” Wu Daoming asked.
“Yes,” Hansheng admitted.
“Good, you are the person I want to help,” Wu Daoming said, then turned to Huang Qiansui and said loudly, “Chairman Huang, I think we should allow the Father and Son to meet.”
Meanwhile, he gave a secret signal with his eyes.
Huang Qiansui nodded in understanding and waved his hand.
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