The middle-aged man's arrogant words and the black-clad bodyguards' high-handed attempt to clear the area instantly shattered the peaceful atmosphere outside Ask Heart Clinic. Most of the patients waiting in line were ordinary residents of the Residential Complex. They had never seen anything like this, and a commotion broke out at once. Fear and indignation mingled on their faces, but they dared not speak up.
Yet Taishang Laojun—Li Er—sat on his little stool without even lifting an eyelid. He calmly picked up his signature enamel mug, blew on the nonexistent froth, and took a sip of tea steeped with three "Demonic Qi Pills," as if the uninvited guests glaring at him were nothing more than a few buzzing flies.
His disregard instantly darkened the middle-aged man's expression. As the personal assistant to Wang Jianguo, one of the city's best-known entrepreneurs, he was usually greeted with fawning deference wherever he went. When had he ever been treated with such contempt?
"Hey! Old man! I'm talking to you! Can you hear me? Our Mr. Wang is asking you to come treat him. It's your good fortune! Don't push your luck!" The assistant raised his voice, his tone turning even more hostile.
At that moment, Old Zhang, near the front of the line, could no longer hold back. The old man, whose chronic leg pain Laojun had cured, mustered his courage and said, "You... How can you act like this? People have to wait their turn for treatment! Divine Doctor Li believes in first come, first served!"
"Wait their turn?" The assistant sneered, sweeping his contemptuous gaze over the people in line. "You poor nobodies think you're worthy of waiting in line with Mr. Wang? Do you even know how much Mr. Wang earns in a minute? If you delay his treatment, you couldn't pay him back even if we sold you all!"
His words finally enraged the residents waiting in line. Complaints and accusations erupted, and the situation began to spiral out of control.
Just as several bodyguards in black moved to drive the crowd away, Laojun finally set down his enamel mug and raised his head. His gaze was calm and untroubled, showing neither anger nor fear. He merely glanced at the assistant and the white-coated old man beside him.
"At this clinic, treatment is given without regard to wealth or status. Everyone must wait their turn," Laojun said. His voice was quiet, yet it carried with strange clarity over the din. "If you wish to be treated, wait at the end of the line. If you wish to throw your weight around, go elsewhere."
His tone was mild, but his resolve brooked no argument, as if he were stating a fundamental law of the universe.
Under Laojun's gaze, the assistant felt an inexplicable chill and instinctively took half a step back. But he quickly came to his senses. Embarrassed to have shown fear in front of an old man, he was about to blow up when the old man beside him stopped him. The man wore a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses.
"Assistant Zhao, there's no need to lose your temper." The white-coated old man adjusted his glasses and stepped forward, sizing Laojun up with a scrutinizing look. His tone carried the arrogance of academia. "I am Liu Mingbo, Director of Oncology at Central Hospital. I've heard that Mr. Li's medical skills are almost miraculous, so I've come to seek his advice. Tell me, Mr. Li, do you have a cure for late-stage Malignant Glioma?"
As soon as Liu Mingbo said this, the people around them let out a collective gasp!
Malignant Glioma—and late-stage at that! It was a terminal illness known as the "King of Brain Cancers"! Even with the full power of modern medicine, the prognosis was poor, survival time short, and the process excruciating. Liu Mingbo had clearly asked the question in bad faith, hoping to publicly corner this "miracle doctor," expose him as a fraud, or make him back down.
Assistant Zhao caught on as well and chimed in mockingly, "Exactly, old man! Aren't you a miracle doctor? If you can't even treat Mr. Wang, why are you acting like some big shot? You might as well close up shop!"
Every eye turned to Laojun. The patients in line held their breath. They believed in Divine Doctor Li's skills, but "late-stage brain cancer" was beyond anything they understood as an illness.
Under countless watchful gazes, Laojun's expression remained unchanged. He even lowered his head to take another sip of tea before speaking slowly, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.
"An intracranial carbuncle, with toxic fire attacking the heart and eating away at the bones and marrow. It is indeed a stubborn disease."
A mocking smile curled at the corners of Liu Mingbo's mouth. He was about to speak when Laojun continued:
"Yet all things counterbalance one another. Though the toxic fire burns fiercely, there is still a cleansing dew that can dispel it. This illness is not beyond treatment."
Not beyond treatment?!
Those four words exploded across the scene like thunder on a clear day!
The mockery froze on Liu Mingbo's face, replaced by incredulous disbelief. "What did you say? Late-stage glioma isn't beyond treatment? Mr. Li, you have to take responsibility for your words! This is science, not some inscrutable trick of traditional Chinese medicine!"
Assistant Zhao looked as though he'd heard the funniest joke in the world. "Old man, are you out of your mind? Even the best medical teams in the United States are helpless, and you're claiming you can cure it?"
Laojun ignored their doubts. He calmly fished a small jade bottle from his gray jacket, which seemed to have pockets like Doraemon's. It looked far more impressive than the plastic box he kept the "jellybeans" in. The bottle was smooth and warm to the touch, yet gave off a faint chill.
He uncorked it and tipped out a pill the size of a longan. It was perfectly round, a rich jade green, with natural cloudlike patterns on its surface, and it gave off a refreshing, soothing fragrance. The moment it appeared, the air around them seemed to grow fresher, and even the summer heat eased.
"This is a Clear-Heat Pill." Laojun rested it on his palm, his tone as mild as before. "It specifically clears toxic fire and stagnation from the internal organs, breaks up blood stasis and masses, strengthens what is upright, and dispels what is malign. It may be of some help with the 'intracranial carbuncle' you mentioned."
"Clear-Heat Pill?" Liu Mingbo paused, then let out a snort of laughter. "You think a single pill like that can cure late-stage brain cancer? Mr. Li, that's a joke in very poor taste! Do you even know what cancer cells are? What the blood-brain barrier is? What tumor heterogeneity and invasiveness mean?"
He rattled off a string of modern medical terms, trying to crush Laojun with theory.
Laojun merely glanced at him and said, "A physician treats illness. Knowing what happens does not necessarily mean knowing why. There's only one way to find out whether this medicine works."
"Find out how? Use our Mr. Wang as a guinea pig?" Assistant Zhao shrieked. "What if something goes wrong? Are you ready to take responsibility?"
"This medicine is mild in nature. It is made from the essence of common plants and herbs—morning dew, sweet wormwood, lotus hearts, borneol, and so on—refined using... a special method. Even if it is not suited to the illness, it will do no harm. It may even clear the mind and improve eyesight." Laojun explained, making the process of refining the pill sound utterly ordinary, though his mention of a "special method" left plenty to the imagination. "If you don't believe me, find someone with a similar condition and try it. If it has no effect, I'll close this clinic immediately and never practice medicine again."
His voice held absolute confidence, as though he were stating an established fact.
Even Liu Mingbo found himself wavering at this. In his decades as a doctor, he had never met anyone so certain they could treat late-stage brain cancer. And just the scent of the pill in the old man's hand had lifted his spirits. It was clearly no ordinary medicine. Could such miraculous medical skills and remedies truly exist?
Assistant Zhao was also unsure, but Mr. Wang's condition could not wait any longer. They had consulted every top expert at home and abroad, and all had given the same answer: prepare for the end. Now they had what might be a "lifeline." However absurd it seemed, it was worth a try! What if... what if it worked?
"Fine!" Assistant Zhao gritted his teeth. "I'll go back and ask Mr. Wang right now! If this medicine really works, you'll get a reward you'll be happy with! But if it doesn't, or if it causes any problems..." He glared viciously at Laojun and left the rest unsaid. The threat was clear enough.
With that, he wasted no time. He hurried off with the bodyguards and Liu Mingbo.
The sudden disturbance subsided for the moment, but news that Ask Heart Clinic and Divine Doctor Li could treat late-stage brain cancer spread even faster, causing an even bigger sensation and sparking heated debate.
Back in his rental, Lin Fan learned about the Clear-Heat Pill and the late-stage brain cancer almost at once, from neighbors talking and local news alerts on his phone. He was so frightened that he nearly lost his mind. He didn't even have time to look closely at the astonishing preliminary appraisal of Nüwa's paintings he'd just brought back from Jiade Art Gallery. He practically rolled and crawled his way home.
"Senior Laojun! You... you really brought out a medicine that can cure cancer?!" Lin Fan burst into the room, forgetting all about manners as he gasped out the question.
Inside, Yuanshi Tianzun was sitting with his eyes closed, seemingly calculating something. Goddess Nüwa quietly molded clay by the window. Master Tongtian still radiated an aura that warned people to keep their distance, while Gong Gong slept in a corner. Only Laojun, who had just returned from a walk—or, more accurately, from seeing patients—sat on his little stool, ready to refill his "tea."
At Lin Fan's words, Yuanshi opened his eyes, Nüwa stopped what she was doing, and even Tong Tian glanced over. Clearly, they already knew what had happened outside.
Laojun calmly poured hot water into his enamel mug. Watching the three black pills rise and fall in the tea, he said unhurriedly, "It is merely an ordinary pill that clears toxic fire and stagnation from the body. Why make such a fuss?"
"An ordinary pill?! That was late-stage cancer!" Lin Fan felt like he was going insane. "Modern medicine has already given up on patients with that disease! You can cure it with one pill? This... this is going to cause an earthquake! The authorities will keep us under close watch! And those pharmaceutical giants... they'll go crazy!"
Lin Fan could already picture countless forces closing in like sharks drawn to the smell of blood.
"Little friend, there's no need to panic." Laojun blew on his tea, still perfectly composed. "I did not cure 'cancer.' I neutralized its root cause: that imbalance, that loss of control, that 'toxic fire' which proliferates and devours vitality without end. In my understanding, cancer cells are a kind of uncontrolled, malicious life force, like a crude, mindless form of demonic qi. This Clear-Heat Pill is mild in nature. It focuses on restoring balance and stirring up the body's own righteous energy—its immune system—to eliminate what does not belong. The effect may be pronounced, but it is still within the bounds of 'medical theory.'"
With this explanation, he tried to present his extraordinary power as the ultimate form of "traditional Chinese medicine." It sounded somewhat plausible, but Lin Fan knew it was a blatant attempt to change the subject! What kind of treatment could cure late-stage brain cancer in a few days? He was trying to fool a ghost!
Yuanshi Tianzun spoke up, his voice steady. "Though Senior Brother's action was somewhat... conspicuous, it was also a clever move. This 'terminal illness' may serve to demonstrate our 'value' and 'controllability' to this world. Rather than remain on the defensive, we can reveal some of our abilities of our own accord, set boundaries, and secure a say in what happens. The authorities want stability and control above all else. A 'miracle doctor' who can solve problems they cannot is worth far more than he is a threat."
Lin Fan paused, then thought it over. It did seem to make sense. Laojun had demonstrated medical skills that were very real, an ability to meet humanity's most urgent need: overcoming disease. If used wisely, that ability would not invite a devastating attack. It could instead become a shield and a bargaining chip. The authorities would have to weigh the benefits of controlling a "miracle doctor" against the risks. Clearly, the benefits were enormous.
Nüwa nodded slightly as well. "If this can serve as an opportunity to reduce conflict and secure greater freedom of movement in this world, it would indeed be a good deed."
Even Tong Tian, for once, did not argue. He merely snorted. "Let's hope those mortals know what's good for them."
Seeing that the Sages seemed perfectly confident and unconcerned, Lin Fan gradually calmed down as well. That was right—he was still too quick to panic. With such powerful figures here, even if the sky fell, the tallest among them would hold it up. He only had to do his job as "logistics director" and "liaison with the outside world."
He took a deep breath and handed the document envelope to Nüwa. "Goddess Nüwa, Jiade Art Gallery thought very highly of your two paintings. They put together a team of experts to conduct a preliminary appraisal. They believe that the brushwork, artistic conception, and age of the paper and ink—all of which they couldn't date precisely, but could tell were definitely not modern—make them exquisite masterpieces. They gave us a preliminary valuation..." Lin Fan swallowed and named an astronomical figure that made even Nüwa raise her brows slightly.
"That's enough money to buy the sanatorium Senior Yuanshi had his eye on and renovate it," Lin Fan added. The financial problem was about to be solved!
At least this was good news, easing the tension brought on by the Clear-Heat Pill.
But no sooner had the dust settled than another disturbance arose. Just as Lin Fan was starting to relax and prepare to sort out dinner, his phone rang urgently. The caller ID read Chen Jing.
Lin Fan's heart gave a violent thump. It was happening!
He glanced at Laojun. Laojun gave him a slight nod, signaling for him to answer.
Lin Fan picked up and tried to keep his voice calm. "Group Leader Chen?"
"Lin Fan," Chen Jing said. She sounded more serious and grave than ever before. "We need to talk immediately about that Mr. Li Er in your Residential Complex and the so-called Clear-Heat Pill... This has already gone beyond our ability to control."
Lin Fan's heart sank. It seemed the pressure on the authorities was enormous, too.
"Wang Jianguo... the entrepreneur with late-stage brain cancer. His family has already gone through senior officials to pressure us directly, demanding that we ensure 'Divine Doctor Li's' treatment proceeds smoothly." Chen Jing's voice carried a trace of helplessness. "At the same time, several top medical research institutes and pharmaceutical giants at home and abroad have already heard the news. They're making inquiries through every channel—and... some forces have even begun investigating through unconventional means."
Lin Fan's scalp tingled. The situation was even more complicated and serious than he'd expected!
"We need clear answers on a few things," Chen Jing said firmly. "First, Li Er's identity and purpose. Second, the Clear-Heat Pill's actual ingredients, mechanism of action, and potential risks. Third, and most importantly, what does he—and what do all of you—actually want?"
Chen Jing paused, then lowered her voice slightly, adopting a tone more formal than ever before.
"The higher-ups have decided to initiate the highest-level dialogue. Lin Fan, we need a frank, official meeting with you and the 'friends' behind you. It will be tonight. We can arrange it somewhere completely secure and confidential."
An official meeting! The authorities were finally ready to lay their cards on the table!
Lin Fan covered the mouthpiece and quickly relayed Chen Jing's words to the Sages in the room.
A glint flashed in Yuanshi Tianzun's eyes, as if he had expected this. Nüwa remained calm. A cold smile touched the corners of Master Tongtian's mouth. Taishang Laojun... leisurely took another sip of tea, then gave Lin Fan a gentle nod.
Lin Fan took a deep breath and spoke into the phone:
"Fine. You decide the time and place. We'll be there... on time."
Before you continue