Banquet and Message! Qian Daoliu's Message!

Two days went by in the blink of an eye.

On the evening of the third day, while the sun still hung over the western hills and its golden-red afterglow spread across the streets of Nuoding City, Lan Tian closed the clinic early, changed into clean clothes, and headed toward Louise's house.

Louise's home was in the eastern part of Nuoding City, a fairly large estate with gray tiles and blue-brick walls. Two imposing stone lions stood before the gate, making it obvious at a glance that this was a well-off household.

When Lan Tian arrived, the gatekeeper had clearly already received instructions. As soon as he saw him, he warmly led him inside.

After passing through the front courtyard and circling around the screen wall, Lan Tian heard laughter and conversation coming from the main hall.

Louise's father was named Henry. He was a slightly plump middle-aged man with an amiable smile always on his face, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp and bright.

Seeing Lan Tian come in, he immediately rose and came forward, taking Lan Tian's hands in both of his and shaking them again and again. "Doctor Lan! We've finally managed to look forward to your arrival! Please, take the seat of honor!"

"You are too polite, Mr. Henry." Lan Tian smiled and nodded, then followed him to the table.

A round table had been set up in the hall, and several people were already seated around it.

Connor was there as well. Upon seeing Lan Tian, he hurriedly stood and cupped his hands in greeting. There were also three unfamiliar faces, all middle-aged, dressed in luxurious clothing and carrying extraordinary bearing.

Henry introduced them one by one. "This is Mr. Dupont from Auer City to the west. He's in the cloth business. This is Mr. Morris from Hagen City to the north. He deals in medicinal herbs. And this one..."

He pointed to the last man, who was slender and had two small mustache streaks. "This is Mr. Charles, the steward specifically in charge of coordinating supplies between Spirit Hall and the various local merchant associations."

Lan Tian greeted them one by one, and he had a rough idea in his heart.

None of these people were simple figures.

After they took their seats, the wine and dishes were brought out one after another, and the atmosphere at the banquet grew lively.

Henry and Connor kept toasting Lan Tian, thanking him for saving a life, while the other three guests also raised their cups frequently, their words filled with admiration for Lan Tian's medical skills.

After three rounds of wine, the conversation fully opened up.

Dupont set down his cup and sighed. "Speaking of it, this world is becoming more and more unsettled. When I left Auer City last month, I heard several century-old soul beasts had appeared outside the city again and ruined the crops of several villages beyond recognition. The city's guard team was run ragged."

Morris nodded along. "Things aren't peaceful over in Hagen City either. A while back, someone even found traces of a thousand-year soul beast in the forest outside the city. It frightened quite a few hunters so badly they didn't dare go up the mountain anymore."

Holding his wine cup, Charles slowly took a sip before saying, "It's the same everywhere. Spirit Hall has also been expanding its manpower recently. Branch halls all over the place are recruiting. If you know any promising seedlings, feel free to recommend them. The treatment won't be poor."

Henry picked up the conversation. "Speaking of Spirit Hall, Mr. Charles, since you work there, your information must be better than ours. I heard His Holiness the Pope recently had a son and named him Qian Daoliu? Is that true or false?"

At that, Charles's expression immediately grew a little more serious. He set down his wine cup and lowered his voice. "I won't hide it from you all. That information is absolutely true. His Holiness had a son at the beginning of the year and named him Qian Daoliu. On the child's hundredth day, Spirit Hall held a grand celebration, and all the branch halls received notice. I have a colleague at headquarters who saw him with his own eyes. He said that child's future is immeasurable."

Everyone at the table showed looks of envy.

"A direct bloodline of Spirit Hall. That really isn't something ordinary people can compare to."

Connor sighed with emotion. "For people like us, it's already not bad if we can scrape by as soul masters in this lifetime. Others are standing at the very top the moment they're born."

Lan Tian sat to the side, quietly listening. He picked up some food with his chopsticks, placed it in his mouth, and slowly chewed.

Qian Daoliu.

That name surfaced from the memories of his previous life, carrying a heavy weight.

The Grand Worship of Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, a rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, the guardian of the Angel God's divine position... That was a man who stood at the very peak of the entire continent's pyramid.

And now, that man had just turned one year old.

Lan Tian silently calculated the timeline in his mind, becoming even more certain of his previous judgment.

He had transmigrated a full century earlier than the original story.

Over this century and more, the changes and turbulence across the continent were far more complex than they appeared on the surface.

The current Spirit Hall was still under Qian Wushuang's control. Qian Daoliu was nothing more than an infant in swaddling clothes. As for people like Qian Xunji, Bibi Dong, and Tang San, not even their shadows existed yet.

He silently drank a mouthful of wine and did not cut in.

For him, the more of this information he knew, the better, but there was no need to reveal too much.

The topic at the banquet turned several more times, from Spirit Hall to trade routes in various regions, and from soul beast movements to medicinal herb prices.

Morris was the most interested in medicinal herbs. He pulled Lan Tian into asking quite a few questions about types of herbs and their effects, and Lan Tian answered them one by one. From time to time, he threw out a few folk prescriptions he had seen in the library's books, prompting Morris to nod repeatedly.

"Doctor Lan is truly learned." Morris raised his thumb. "I've been in the medicinal herb business in Hagen City for more than ten years, and I don't think my knowledge is all that lacking, but this is the first time I've heard of the uses for several of the herbs you mentioned. If there's a chance another day, I must come to your clinic and properly seek your guidance."

"You are too kind, Mr. Morris. You are welcome anytime."

By the time the banquet ended, the moon had already risen to the middle of the sky.

Henry personally escorted Lan Tian to the gate and stuffed a heavy money pouch into his hand. "Doctor Lan, this is a small token from Mr. Connor and myself. Please, you mustn't refuse."

Lan Tian declined a couple of times, but seeing Henry's firm attitude, he accepted it.

On the way back, the night wind was slightly cool, and the streets were empty. Only the sound of his own footsteps echoed over the flagstones.

He opened the money pouch and glanced inside. It contained a full two hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Added to the previous one hundred coins of medical fee and the income he had gradually earned over this period, the savings in his hands were already quite considerable.

This money was enough for him to do many things.

Expand the clinic, purchase more medicinal herbs, and even consider buying some supplementary items that would aid cultivation.

But what mattered more was the information he had heard from Charles tonight.

Qian Daoliu was one year old, Spirit Hall was in its prime, soul beast activity across the continent was becoming increasingly frequent, and every region was expanding its soul master forces...

This era was still in the chaos of its dawn.

The top powerhouses from the original work had either not been born yet, or were still infants in swaddling clothes.

The structure of the entire continent was far from settled, and there were far more opportunities than there would be a century later.

He returned to the clinic, pushed the door open and went inside, lit an oil lamp, then sat at the table and quietly thought for a while.

His original plan had been simple: find a stable place to be a village doctor, scrape by, and muddle through the rest of his life.

But after finishing tonight's meal, he suddenly realized something.

Since the timeline was more than a hundred years earlier, the window of opportunity left to him was far longer than he had imagined.

More than a hundred years was enough time to do many things.