Early the next morning, Lan Tian had just taken down the clinic's door panels when people began arriving on the street before he could even return to the backyard to feed the horse.
The first was Old Zhou, the bun seller across the street. Carrying a steamer basket of freshly made, piping-hot buns, he walked in and set it on the table with a broad smile. "Doctor Lan—no, I should call you Baron Lan now! I heard you've received a title and a fief. That's wonderful news for all of Nuoding City! I, Old Zhou, don't have anything valuable to offer, so please eat these buns while they're hot. Consider it a token of my regard!"
Before Lan Tian could thank him, several more people entered through the door.
Shopkeeper Shi from the blacksmith's shop brought a newly forged short dagger, its edge gleaming brightly, as a congratulatory gift for Lan Tian.
Uncle Chen from the herbal shop wrapped up a packet of premium hundred-year-old ginseng and set it on the counter. Smiling, he said, "If Baron Lan ever needs medicinal herbs, just come to my shop. I'll give them to you at cost."
Even the proprietress of the general store, whom he rarely dealt with, brought over a dish of pickled vegetables she had made herself, saying she wanted Lan Tian to have a taste.
The clinic's doors did not close for the entire morning.
Nuoding City was not large, and news traveled quickly. Over the past two days, Lan Tian's story of rising from a one-ring Soul Master to a three-ring Soul Elder, from a commoner to a baron, had spread through every street and alley.
The townsfolk might not have understood how difficult a soul master's cultivation was, but the fact that "Blue Silver Grass could become