Pepper Potts and the Enhanced Life and Death Talisman

After resting for two days and getting used to his body and the circulation of his internal energy, Xia Yu discovered another benefit of internal energy: his senses had become sharper than before. Whenever someone stared at him from behind, he could sense it. He didn't know how to describe the feeling, but if someone was staring at you, you would know.

For example, right now, Xia Yu was eating lunch at a hot pot restaurant in Chinatown, and the girl at the register had been staring at him for quite a while. When he finished eating and stood up, he saw her hurriedly avert her eyes. Pretending not to notice, he went over, paid the bill, gave her a charming smile, and turned to leave.

Without looking back, Xia Yu knew the girl was still watching him. He unconsciously straightened up a little and silently gave himself some BGM. Didn't he look cool striding away like that?

"Xiao Xia, Xiao Xia, come here a moment!" The BGM in Xia Yu's head was interrupted by a middle-aged man at the entrance to the pharmacy. Dressed in a Tang suit, the square-jawed man had a clean-cut air and was smiling and waving at Xia Yu.

"What is it, Uncle Wang?" The man was a tenant of Xia Yu's family and ran a pharmacy on the first floor. His father had originally rented the place from Xia Yu's grandfather, and he had followed in his father's footsteps. His family had lived and worked in Chinatown for two generations, and they had been neighbors for decades. Xia Yu smiled as he walked over and answered.

"I heard you've started seeing people upstairs again. Your grandfather told me a long time ago that you'd surpassed him. That's impressive, taking over your grandfather's practice at such a young age. I studied under him for six months back then, and I couldn't even identify all the acupuncture points." Uncle Wang showered him with praise.

"You flatter me, Uncle Wang. I just watched a lot from a young age and picked up the basics. I'm only using them to get by with the foreigners. Uncle, if there's anything you need, just say the word!" Xia Yu said modestly.

"You rascal, still being so modest in front of Uncle Wang? Here's the thing: now that you've started up again upstairs, could you prescribe some oral Chinese patent medicines when clients come by? Help your uncle's business out a little." Uncle Wang had a favor to ask, and his smile grew even sweeter.

As soon as Xia Yu heard this, he understood. Chinatown was a little society of its own, with all sorts of things that met pretty much every need of daily life. But in recent years, many young people had gone elsewhere to work and chose outside hospitals whenever they fell ill, whether it was serious or minor. The pharmacy's business wasn't as good as it had been in previous years. When Xia Yu's grandfather was alive, he would often recommend that people buy traditional Chinese medicines for health maintenance and reducing internal heat from the pharmacy downstairs after their treatments. Of course, they were all patent medicines in pill or capsule form; foreigners couldn't stomach medicinal decoctions. His grandfather's clients were all members of the elite, mostly middle class, and knew nothing about using Chinese medicine to maintain their health. They were the very definition of people with more money than sense, and they brought plenty of business to the first floor. His grandfather had passed away shortly before Xia Yu transmigrated, and the people downstairs had been too embarrassed to ask. But over the past half month or so, Uncle Wang had seen people occasionally coming to see Xia Yu, so he had stopped him for a word today.

"Sure, Uncle. I overlooked that. Don't worry, from now on, whenever someone comes, I'll write them a prescription and have them get some medicine from you." He was his family's tenant, so of course Xia Yu should help his business. He agreed at once.

"All right, then! Your uncle will be counting on you to put food on the table!" Uncle Wang beamed.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Xia Yu went upstairs to continue his career as an old Chinese medicine doctor.

After watching movies all afternoon, it was a little past five, and just as Xia Yu thought no one would come today, he received a call to make an appointment. It was a new client who had never been there before, asking whether she could come today. Seeing that it was still early, Xia Yu readily agreed.

After he had waited for almost an hour, there was a knock at the door. When Xia Yu opened it, he was delighted. Another pleasant surprise! It seemed this old Chinese medicine doctor would have to work a few more hours every day!

"Hello, were you the one who made the appointment just now? What can I do for you?" Xia Yu asked Pepper Potts, who stood at the door in a white business suit. That was right, the visitor was Iron Man's future wife and current secretary, Pepper Potts!

"Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Xia. You couldn't be him, could you?" Pepper Potts asked, a little puzzled.

"Then you must mean my grandfather. If you don't mind, could you come in and we can talk?" Xia Yu said, gesturing for her to enter.

Pepper Potts followed him inside, and Xia Yu showed her to a seat at the tea table. This had almost become Xia Yu's signature routine: first make tea and chat, then provide treatment according to the client's needs.

Pepper Potts looked around and said to Xia Yu, "Your place is beautifully decorated, very elegant. I like it a lot, but forgive me for being blunt, I came to see your grandfather, Dr. Xia."

"Thank you for the compliment. My grandfather passed away last month. If you're looking for Dr. Xia, that's me now!"

Pepper Potts didn't doubt him just because he was young. After all, she was already here. She said, "A friend of mine came here for a few detox treatments, and the results looked very good. Her skin got much better, far better than the results from cosmetics. You know, women can't resist that. I wanted to give it a try too."

Xia Yu had made a pot of black tea especially suited to women. Hearing this, he first poured a cup and placed it in front of Pepper Potts before saying, "I guess your friend didn't originally come here for beauty treatments. That was a side effect. In Chinese medicine, we focus on maintaining health from the inside out. Once everything in the body is in good shape, the skin naturally gets a little better than before."

Pepper Potts politely took a sip of the black tea first, and her eyes lit up. "Your tea is wonderful! I tried Chinese tea once before, and I thought it was all bitter, astringent, and hard to swallow."

Xia Yu laughed and said, "People who aren't used to coffee think the same about it, don't you think? If you don't mind, I need a thorough understanding of your condition. Could we start with your work?"

As an old Chinese medicine doctor, Xia Yu had skills guaranteed by the system. After the two chatted a little about Pepper Potts's life and work, her eating and resting habits, and so on, Xia Yu had a general idea. In fact, he had seen it at a glance from the start. Since she wanted better skin, it was simply a matter of detoxification and improving her complexion. First, he wanted to chat longer to get more of a feel for a plot character, and second, he wanted to make himself seem more professional.

After going through the motions, Xia Yu casually pointed out Pepper Potts's constipation and minor cervical spine problems, which amazed her, as she had never encountered Chinese medicine before. After all, to Western medicine, the four diagnostic methods of inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry, and pulse-taking were no different from a swindle. If not for the system's arrangements, or rather, his grandfather's decades-old reputation, he would only have been able to treat minor complaints like fevers and colds in Chinatown.

The treatment afterward was even simpler. Deliberately trying to please her, Xia Yu even used the Nine Yang Divine Skill he had just obtained during acupuncture, opening up some of Pepper Potts's blocked minor meridians and curing some minor ailments common among office workers. Of course, the results wouldn't be visible immediately.

Even so, after the acupuncture, Pepper Potts still felt relaxed all over and marveled at how miraculous it was. They agreed that she would come once a week, and Xia Yu, worried that she might not get through by phone, made a point of giving her his cell number. Suddenly remembering Uncle Wang's request downstairs, he picked up a pen and paper and wrote four large Chinese characters: detoxify and beautify. He was sure Uncle Wang would understand at a glance.

After seeing Pepper Potts out, Xia Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought, I spent so much internal energy to give you the best results. You have to bring me the greatest return, and it'd be best if I got a chance to meet Tony Stark.

Xia Yu understood that the system would arrange for him to grow stronger and join the plot step by step, but who wouldn't want Iron Man's suit? It was every man's dream gear, so of course the more familiar he became with him, the better.

"Successfully helped treat a plot character. Reward: 50 points and one system lottery draw." Xia Yu was surprised when the notification sounded, because he had received more points than before. Was it because he had used internal energy to improve the results? He had only received 30 points for treating Nick Fury last time. He decided to see what the lottery gave him first!

One look, and Xia Yu was overjoyed. This was simply too useful!

Life and Death Talisman (enhanced version):

A hidden weapon used by the Xiaoyao Sect's Lingjiu Palace to control its subordinate sects. After being struck, the victim suffers unbearable itching, and within seven times seven, or forty-nine days, their internal organs slowly rot away, causing death. (System-enhanced version: after a person is struck by a Life and Death Talisman, whether it flares up or remains dormant is entirely up to the maker's will; it will not flare up on its own. Note: cannot be used on plot characters.)