"All right! My injuries are healed!"
"It's the dean! The dean must be back!"
"Long live the dean! Long live the Yanhuang Lingyun Medical Mansion!"
People cried out excitedly, all rushing to find the returning "dean."
Amid the commotion, a handsome man wearing glasses and carrying himself with quiet composure hurried over. The nameplate on his chest read "Vice Dean: Liu Tao." Unlike the others, he wasn't excited. Instead, his face was grave and inquisitive.
He could clearly sense that the life energy from just now had far surpassed the dean's level. It was a power almost like a law of nature!
He quickly organized the medical staff to calm the restless crowd. "Everyone! Please, everyone, calm down! The person who treated you just now wasn't the dean, but a kind-hearted healing-type Lord Soul Master! She has an urgent matter to attend to, so please return to your wards for now and let the doctors give you a thorough examination to make sure you've fully recovered!"
After finally settling the crowd somewhat, Liu Tao immediately followed the traces of lingering life energy to the ICU ward. There, he ran into Doctor Li and Long Jinyu, who had just come out of the room.
"Doctor Li! Just now, was that..." Liu Tao asked urgently, but his gaze had already landed on Long Jinyu. He felt the unfathomable yet gentle, restrained aura surrounding him, and understood at once.
Doctor Li hurriedly replied with respect, "Vice Dean Liu, it was indeed Mr. Long. He healed the patient suffering from heart and lung failure. And just now... just now, that treatment that enveloped the entire hospital was also Mr. Long's doing."
Liu Tao suppressed the turmoil in his heart and straightened his robe before giving Long Jinyu a solemn bow. "Mr. Long, your benevolent heart and saintly hands are unmatched in all the world! I, Liu Tao, on behalf of everyone at the Yanhuang Lingyun Medical Mansion, thank you for your great kindness!"
Long Jinyu returned the greeting calmly. "Vice Dean Liu, you flatter me. It was a small effort, nothing worth mentioning."
"Your kindness is a blessing that has given us a new lease on life." Liu Tao straightened up. "May I invite you to step aside with me for a private conversation?"
Long Jinyu had been wanting to ask about the hospital and that "dean," so he naturally agreed. "All right."
Upstairs, in the vice dean's office.
Liu Tao invited Long Jinyu to sit, then poured him a glass of water himself. "Mr. Long, you seem rather curious about our Medical Pavilion?"
Long Jinyu smiled faintly, making no attempt to hide it. "Your institution is indeed... different from the rest. Your technology is far ahead of its time. Even stranger, when I was in the city earlier, my spiritual power couldn't detect this place at all. It was as though it didn't exist."
A glint flashed in Liu Tao's eyes. As expected! This man's insight was just as keen. He sighed. "Mr. Long, you have a discerning eye. Our Medical Pavilion truly comes from beyond this world, protected by a special domain that makes it difficult for outsiders to detect. As for us..."
He paused, his tone growing somewhat complicated.
"We aren't humans in the traditional sense, either. We're more like 'machines' created to maintain this Medical Pavilion. Our movements are confined to this place, and only the dean can go outside... Oh, actually, in private, we usually call her our master."
"Master?" Long Jinyu caught the title and understood. This setup was definitely some kind of system-generated instance, with NPCs.
"That's right. Our master is kindhearted, and she founded this place. Unfortunately, about three years ago, she went out and never returned. We haven't heard from her since."
Liu Tao's expression darkened. "We can't leave, so all we can do is ask the patients who come and go for news. We've found nothing."
Long Jinyu's heart sank. Three years without returning? In a world overrun by Evil Soul Masters... her chances of being alive weren't good. "I'm sorry to hear that. May I ask your master's name and what she looks like? Why did she leave? Perhaps... I could keep an eye out for her." He had come here for that very reason.
Hope immediately appeared on Liu Tao's face. "That's exactly what I was hoping to ask you!"
He hurriedly took a carefully preserved photograph from inside his clothes.
"This is our master. Her name is Su Qingyan. I remember that day: after receiving a letter, she was overjoyed and kept saying, 'I've finally found it,' and, 'I can go home now.' After giving us her instructions, she left in a hurry. Later, we heard bits and pieces of news that her last known location was Maple Leaf City, in the western reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire."
Long Jinyu took the photograph. The woman in it was smiling brightly, with black hair and black eyes, dressed in a white coat. The background seemed to be a hospital laboratory. She looked capable, yet warm and approachable. She had the unmistakable face of someone from Hanxia, and... she was beautiful.
Maple Leaf City? That was a key border town on the route to the Sun Moon Empire...
"Go home?" Long Jinyu mused. Something about it felt off.
"Yes. The master often spoke of her hometown." Liu Tao nodded. Then his expression turned serious, and he suddenly bowed deeply to Long Jinyu once more. "Mr. Long, I have another unreasonable request!"
"Please, Vice Dean Liu."
"Before leaving, the master left three questions in her office. She said that if she hadn't returned after a year, we could make the questions public and choose the next dean. Whoever solved them would receive the Yanhuang Lingyun Token and take charge of the Medical Pavilion."
Liu Tao's tone was heavy.
"Now three years have passed, and not one of us has been able to solve the final question! Outsiders have fared no better. Even the top healing-type Soul Masters from the Sea God Pavilion or the empires couldn't see through the first question."
His gaze burned as he looked at Long Jinyu. "Today, seeing your extraordinary abilities was like seeing the master herself! This must be fate! Whether or not you can solve the three questions, we're willing to accept you as our new master. We only ask that you lead the Medical Pavilion and honor the work our master devoted her heart and soul to!"
His words were utterly sincere, even carrying a trace of pleading.
The Medical Pavilion couldn't go on without a master forever. Especially after witnessing the "miracle" just now, he was convinced Long Jinyu was the one fate had chosen.
Long Jinyu was a little stunned by this sudden offer of allegiance.
Was 99 luck points really this outrageous? He'd gone out for a walk, saved someone, and now he could pick up a super Medical Pavilion left behind by a fellow transmigrator?
But he quickly regained his composure and shook his head.
"Vice Dean Liu, I understand how you feel. But since your master, Miss Su, left these trials, she must have had her reasons."
"She's the person you've been waiting for and the one you've sworn your loyalty to. If I took her place without passing the trials, wouldn't that be disrespectful to her and to all of you? And if Miss Su returned one day, where would that leave us?"
His tone was sincere and firm.
"Please take me to see the three questions. If I'm fortunate enough to solve them, I'll do my best to shoulder this responsibility."
"If I can't, then I'm not the right person for the role. Please don't bring this up again."
Liu Tao was taken aback at first. Then shame crossed his face, followed by deep admiration. "Mr. Long is absolutely right! I was rash and forgot the master's rules and the respect she deserves! Your character is beyond reproach, Mr. Long. I admire you! Please, come with me. I'll take you to the master's office right away."
Long Jinyu nodded and followed Liu Tao toward the mysterious dean's office on the hospital's top floor.
He was eager to see what kind of challenge that fellow transmigrator had left behind.
Before you continue