That night, at the Iron Fist Martial Hall.
A refined side room was brightly lit.
"Is that true?"
A young nobleman dressed in an ornate robe asked the night watchman before him sternly.
This was none other than Peng Hanshan, the Iron Fist Martial Hall's eldest disciple.
"Absolutely true."
The night watchman hurriedly replied, "I saw it with my own eyes. The ugly middle-aged man had a brick glowing purple in his bundle."
A pleased smile tugged at Peng Hanshan's lips. "So after all that, the Black Brick wasn't in Lu Qiling's hands. No wonder he couldn't get a single word out before he died!"
"Congratulations, senior brother. Your wish has come true."
"Where's Steward Liu?"
"Reporting to you, senior brother: Steward Liu told me to come back and report first. He'll kill that ugly man himself and bring back the Black Brick."
The night watchman spoke quickly.
Peng Hanshan nodded. "Well done! You and Steward Liu are truly my most trusted men. Don't worry. Once this is done, I'll put in a good word for you both with Master."
"Thank you for your support, senior brother."
"Let me ask you something else," Peng Hanshan said suddenly. "Have you ever seen that ugly man before?"
The night watchman thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. His looks are so hideous that he's impossible to forget. I've always worked in East City, so if I'd seen him, I'd remember."
Peng Hanshan lowered his voice. "Could he have been passing through?"
"To be honest, I'm puzzled too," the night watchman said. "Why would such an important brick end up in the hands of an ugly man? Who is he, anyway?"
"Never mind!"
Peng Hanshan waved a hand. "Once Steward Liu makes his move, that fellow won't live to see the morning.
"I'm not interested in the identity or background of a dead man.
"Go to the kitchen and bring me a few pounds of lamb and some wine. I'll sit here and wait for good news from Steward Liu."
"Yes, senior brother."
"This brick is strange..."
In a room in the East City courtyard, Shen Han stared at the Black Brick on the table.
The Black Brick gleamed all over, bathed in purple light.
"Liu Yuan said it could speed up cultivation. But how?"
Shen Han muttered to himself.
He turned the Black Brick over and over, examining it for a long while, but couldn't find any special mechanism or trick.
Setting the Black Brick down, he picked up the silk cloth beside it.
In the lamplight, he could make out the words.
At the very top of the silk cloth were four characters: "Mystic Frost Soul-Sealing."
Below them were four illustrations, each accompanied by several lines of notes.
"Isn't the first illustration the Black Brick?"
Shen Han held the Black Brick up to the silk cloth and compared them closely.
Sure enough, the illustration depicted the very same Black Brick in his hand, and the notes matched its features and measurements down to the last detail.
The Black Brick even had a name: Dark Iron Brick.
Shen Han continued reading.
The other three illustrations depicted three more objects. Their names, drawings, and notes all followed the same pattern as those for the Dark Iron Brick, and were quite remarkable.
Cold Frost Wood Mirror: a pure-white, hexagonal wooden mirror.
Heavenly Seal-Opening Bead: a bead with two tails growing out of it.
Soul-Illuminating Jade Seal: a dark-green seal block.
That was all. There was nothing else on the entire piece of silk.
Perhaps he had to collect all four objects before he could uncover the whole secret.
But what did the words "Mystic Frost Soul-Sealing" mean?
Shen Han pondered for a while before deciding to take things one step at a time. For now, he put the Dark Iron Brick and the silk cloth into the Bronze Mirror.
The space inside the Bronze Mirror was vast, making it perfect for storing things.
"Time to take my medicine."
Shen Han went to the well in the courtyard and brewed a dose of Qi Condensing Powder. Then he instructed his clone to cultivate the Ancient Sun Technique.
Once everything was in order, he himself fell into a deep sleep.
Before he knew it, four days had flown by.
It was now the first day of the fifth month.
At noon, after lunch, Shen Han collected his monthly pay from the medical hall's storeroom. As he passed Clinic No. 8, he noticed a commotion inside.
"What's going on?"
He immediately pushed through the crowd and entered the clinic.
The clinic was packed, and the patients were all talking over one another. It was no different from a marketplace.
Hadn't the sign-in system been introduced throughout the entire medical hall? Why was it still such a mess?
Shen Han frowned.
Huh? Where were Elder Huang and the apprentice, Li Xunshan?
After Feng Hao left with Shen Han, Huang Tie had promoted another apprentice from among the menial workers. That was Li Xunshan.
But now, neither of them was in the clinic.
"What's going on?"
The medical hall's steward, Qian Cheng, hurried over after hearing the commotion.
"Where's the physician? When is he going to start seeing patients?"
"I've been waiting for ages!"
"Give me back my registration fee!"
"If Physician Huang doesn't show up soon, I'll tear this place apart!"
The crowd seethed with anger, voicing their complaints one after another.
As it turned out, these patients had paid their registration fees early that morning but had been waiting in vain for Huang Tie.
"Elder Huang hasn't come in since this morning?"
Shen Han asked in surprise.
One of the patients stomped his foot. "That's right! We've all been waiting for him the entire morning!"
It didn't make sense... Shen Han thought to himself.
He knew Elder Huang well. Given his meticulous nature, there was no way he would miss work without good reason.
And his apprentice, Li Xunshan, was absent too.
"Could he have gone out on a house call?"
Qian Cheng tried to calm everyone down.
"No!"
A man who looked like a servant hurriedly said, "Physician Huang was supposed to go to my master's house today to treat him. My master sent me to the medical hall to fetch him. I got here before dawn, but Physician Huang never showed up."
"That's strange..."
Qian Cheng murmured.
But letting everyone wait around any longer wouldn't help, so he immediately called over a menial worker.
"Supervisor Qian?"
"Go to Physician Huang and Li Xunshan's homes right away and find out what happened."
"All right, I'll go now."
Afterward, Qian Cheng quietly counted the patients. Then, as the medical hall's steward, he made a decision. "Everyone, today's situation is the medical hall's fault.
"I can offer you three ways to resolve this.
"First, if you're not in a hurry, you can cancel your registration, and the medical hall will refund you twice the fee.
"Second, if you're willing to wait, you can come back tomorrow. Your registration will still be valid.
"Third, if your condition is serious and you need to see a physician today, we'll arrange to transfer you to another clinic."
Qian Cheng had handled the situation with careful deliberation.
He had thought of everything.
After hearing him out, most of the crowd canceled their registrations and left. A dozen or so patients remained.
Qian Cheng could only turn to Shen Han for help. "Physician Shen, what do you think...?"
Of everyone at the Hanging Pot Medical Hall, Shen Han was undoubtedly the finest physician. What's more, he worked with remarkable efficiency. Transferring all these patients to another clinic would probably cause trouble too, so Shen Han was the only one Qian Cheng could rely on.
"Supervisor Qian, leave it to me."
Shen Han agreed without hesitation.
It wasn't just for the medical hall's sake. It was also for Elder Huang.
And so, the patients were brought to Clinic No. 13.
Thanks to Shen Han and Feng Hao's efforts, they had finished seeing them all in a little over two quarters of an hour.
"Physician Shen, about treating my master..."
The servant had been waiting off to the side.
"Let's go. Show me the way."
Shen Han brought Feng Hao along and followed the servant out of the medical hall.
An hour later.
Shen Han and Feng Hao walked out of Wealthy Zhang's Mansion in the county seat.
"I can't believe it. It's just a fever from a common cold. Did they really have to make such a fuss and summon us to their home...?"
Feng Hao grumbled as he carried the medicine chest on his back.
Shen Han smiled. "We don't understand how rich people live. Still, this works out for us—the house-call fee is much higher."
"True, hahaha."
Feng Hao rubbed the silver in his hand.
Just then, Shen Han's eyes lifted. A familiar figure had appeared at the mouth of the alley ahead.
"Brother Feng Hao, head back to the medical hall first."
His expression turned grave, and he immediately told Feng Hao to go ahead.
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