In Lu Qing's mind appeared the image of a thin, kindly old man.
Old Doctor Chen.
This old doctor was the only physician in several nearby villages.
His medical skills were exquisite. While he could not quite be said to bring the dead back to life with a touch, ordinary headaches, fevers, bruises, sprains, colds, and wind-cold ailments were generally cured as soon as the medicine was taken. There were few illnesses he could not treat.
Thus, he was greatly revered by the villagers nearby.
It was said that even the wealthy families in town often invited him to treat their illnesses.
Such a person naturally held a special position in the village.
Hardly any villager dared show him the slightest disrespect.
The original owner had merely been an ignorant youth with limited horizons, so he had felt nothing about many things.
But after pondering it, Lu Qing noticed several unusual details.
For instance, Old Doctor Chen should have been quite advanced in age in his memories, yet his body remained robust. He often entered and left the deep mountains alone to gather medicinal herbs.
One had to understand that the deep mountains of this world were nothing like the developed tourist attractions from Lu Qing's previous life.
They were truly towering ranges and primeval forests.
Venomous insects and snakes, jackals, tigers, and savage beasts lurked within in unknown numbers. They were exceedingly dangerous.
Even experienced hunters did not dare venture too deeply into the forests at will.
Yet Old Doctor Chen, an elderly man, could safely travel in and out of such places. That was truly unusual.
Lu Qing was deeply curious about his abilities.
It would be wonderful if he could learn even a fraction of Old Doctor Chen's medical skills.
His supernatural ability could see through the basic information of all things.
When used to identify medicinal herbs, it would be infallible.
It was practically a perfect match for medical arts.
If he could learn a little of Old Doctor Chen's skills, then the future lives of Xiao Yan and himself would have a few more safeguards.
But how could he learn such skills from Old Doctor Chen? As Lu Qing pondered, his eyelids could not help but begin to fight each other.
His body was weak after all. The exhaustion in it was not something his willpower could resist.
In the end, before falling asleep, Lu Qing still failed to come up with any good method.
However, what Lu Qing had not expected was that before he could figure out how to approach Old Doctor Chen, Old Doctor Chen came knocking himself.
Reclining in the lounge chair, Lu Qing had fallen asleep. In his hazy state, he seemed to hear people speaking, and then he felt someone grasp his hand.
He jolted awake at once.
"Lu Qing, you're awake. Old Doctor Chen is examining you!"
A booming voice rang out.
Lu Qing found it somewhat familiar. It seemed to be Grandpa Zhang from next door, and his heart first relaxed.
Then he instantly became fully alert and opened his eyes.
Old Doctor Chen? Turning his head, he saw two elderly men beside him, one standing and one sitting.
The seated one was thin and kindly. Who else could he be but Old Doctor Chen? "Don't move. Let me take your pulse first."
Seeing that Lu Qing seemed about to get up, Old Doctor Chen spoke gently.
Lu Qing immediately dared not move.
Only then did he realize that Old Doctor Chen's hand was resting on his wrist.
No wonder he had vaguely felt someone grabbing his hand just now. Old Doctor Chen had been taking his pulse.
Seeing Old Doctor Chen close his eyes again to examine his pulse, Lu Qing did not dare move carelessly and could only continue lying obediently in the lounge chair.
Sensing that the pulse examination would not end anytime soon, Lu Qing took the chance to study this somewhat mysterious Old Doctor Chen.
His first impression was that the old doctor seemed even gentler than he remembered. His thin figure carried something of a celestial appearance.
The mere sight of him gave people a sense of reassurance.
Yet at this moment, his expression was grave and his brows tightly furrowed, as though he had encountered some difficult problem.
Lu Qing secretly observed Old Doctor Chen for a while. Suddenly, he saw a faint red glow emerge around the old doctor's body.
Chen Songqing: Highly skilled in medicine, kindhearted, and respected by others. A fine old physician. Cultivation: Qi Refining Accomplished, Acquired Inner Organs Realm.
What was this?!
Lu Qing's eyes abruptly widened—not only because of the faint red glow around the old doctor, but even more because of the description that had appeared afterward.
Since awakening, Lu Qing had gradually figured out some of the patterns behind his supernatural ability.
Ordinary, unremarkable things generally displayed a gray glow under its inspection.
Things that were comparatively special, such as medicinal herbs, displayed a white glow.
Humans, however, all displayed white glows without exception—at least, everyone he had encountered in the village had been like that.
The white glows varied in intensity. Adults were brightest, youths and children came next, and the elderly were dimmest.
Lu Qing guessed that this might be related to a person's vitality or life force.
After all, adults generally possessed the greatest vigor, while the elderly possessed the least.
But what Old Doctor Chen displayed overturned his understanding.
What appeared was an unprecedented red glow! More importantly, there was the content of the note that had emerged afterward.
Cultivation?
Qi Refining Accomplished, Acquired Inner Organs Realm?
What did that mean? Could it be that the world he was in was not, as he had assumed, one resembling ancient Huaxia Kingdom, but an even stranger world where people could cultivate?
Lu Qing's heart was thrown into chaos by this sudden development.
Just as he wanted to continue observing and obtain more information from the old doctor, Old Doctor Chen suddenly opened his eyes.
Seeing Lu Qing's flustered and shocked expression, his brows first furrowed, then relaxed.
He comforted him gently, "Don't be afraid. I was only taking your pulse."
He had misunderstood, believing that his grave expression during the examination had frightened Lu Qing.
Seizing the chance, Lu Qing steadied his emotions and asked nervously, "Grandpa Chen, how is my illness? Is it completely healed?"
Grandpa Zhang at the side also looked at Old Doctor Chen expectantly.
Old Doctor Chen pondered for a moment before saying, "Yes, your illness has indeed healed. Though you are still somewhat weak, as long as you recuperate properly, there will basically be no problem."
"Really? That's wonderful! Lu Qing, hurry and thank Old Doctor Chen. If the old doctor hadn't prescribed medicine to cure you, you might not even have woken up!" Grandpa Zhang said joyfully.
"Thank you, Grandpa Chen."
Lu Qing climbed up from the lounge chair and made as if to kneel and kowtow.
After all, the old doctor truly had saved his life.
If not for that bowl of medicinal soup, he might not have endured through the period when his memories were merging.
For that alone, the old doctor deserved his bow.
But Old Doctor Chen stopped Lu Qing. "There is no need for this. Your awakening was also your own good fortune. This old man merely did his small part."
Old Doctor Chen was not being modest.
In truth, even now, he was still exceedingly astonished.
When Lu Qing had fallen ill, he had indeed come to examine him.
At the time, wind-cold had seeped into Lu Qing's bones, and his breath was as thin as a thread. He was already at death's door, left with only his final breath.
Even if a true sage of medicine had arrived, they likely would have found it difficult to save him.
With the benevolence of a medical practitioner, he had ultimately prescribed a decoction and added quite a few precious medicinal herbs to it.
His purpose had only been to do everything humanly possible, then leave the rest to Heaven's will.
Some of the herbs he added had even been reserved by distinguished people from the city.
For that reason, he had no choice but to hurry into the mountains the next day to gather herbs and replenish the shortage.
He had thought Lu Qing would not survive this ordeal, yet when he returned from gathering herbs, he heard villagers spreading word that Lu Qing's illness had already healed.
Not only could he get out of bed and walk, he could even go to the river and catch fish.
Startled, he disregarded everything else and immediately wanted to come see for himself.
Outside the courtyard, he happened to run into Grandpa Zhang, who had just returned from working in the fields, so the two entered the house together.
He had originally thought the villagers' words were somewhat exaggerated.
But now, after taking Lu Qing's pulse, he discovered that the villagers had not uttered a single false word.
Lu Qing's illness had truly been completely cured.
Other than still being somewhat physically weak, all of his previous symptoms had vanished.
This left Old Doctor Chen utterly astonished.
Before you continue