May Your Journey Be Bright and Your Future Full of Promise

Over the next three years, Chen Xun began accompanying Ning Si on house calls, traveling among the common folk and treating all manner of difficult and complicated illnesses. Whenever they ran into minor trouble, he would occasionally reveal his sixteen-pack abs without meaning to.

Chen Xun carried a small notebook with him and had an endless stream of questions. Ning Si was exceedingly patient as well, answering them one by one. A disciple so eager to learn was truly rare.

But once, they went to a wealthy landlord's home for a consultation. Chen Xun accidentally exposed a Mountain-Splitting Axe at his waist, and everyone turned pale with fright. Was this really a doctor?!

Chen Xun had merely smiled sheepishly at the time. When traveling abroad, wasn't it perfectly normal to carry a Mountain-Splitting Axe?

He calmly adjusted his robes and covered the Mountain-Splitting Axe, only to accidentally reveal two more. Every servant faced him as if confronting a great enemy, gripping long staffs in hand. This youth was definitely no good man.

Chen Xun wore a friendly smile as he kept explaining. When wandering the world, it was only natural to bring a couple more weapons, wasn't it? Had Ning Si not been beside him, a battle might have erupted at any moment.

While Ning Si examined the patient, the people in the landlord's household kept breaking into a cold sweat. If it turned out to be an incurable illness, wouldn't this youth split the patient in half with an axe? Then the illness would be solved...

Chen Xun looked at their expressions in confusion, smiling and nodding repeatedly to reassure them.

They hurriedly returned his smile, their heads bobbing like chicks pecking grain as cold sweat dripped from them nonstop.

Peaceful Medical Hall basked beneath a brilliant sun today, the spring scenery bright and beautiful.

Chen Xun had now changed into a doctor's robes. Which passing clerk did not respectfully call him Doctor Chen?

"Doctor Chen, save him!"

A commoner supported a man with a blackened face into the medical hall, his own face full of panic.

Chen Xun's gaze sharpened. Judging from the man's appearance at a distance, the poison had already seeped into his blood. Had he arrived any later, it would have been time to set the funeral feast.

"Was he bitten by a venomous snake?"

Chen Xun laid the man on a nearby bed. There were two tiny wounds on his hand, clearly left by venomous fangs.

"No, Doctor Chen. He ate poisonous mushrooms."

"Huh?"

Chen Xun was startled. He began taking the man's pulse, his expression changing dramatically before he looked at the commoner. "After eating poisonous mushrooms, he was bitten by a venomous snake too..."

Thud.

The commoner dropped to his knees at once, weeping bitterly as he cried, "Doctor, please save him!"

"I'll write you a prescription. Go get the medicine first. He should still be salvageable."

Chen Xun took out a sheet of paper and began writing and drawing on it before handing it to the commoner. The man's expression changed the moment he saw it. He did not have enough money for all that medicine.

"It's fine. I'll cover the cost for you first. Pay me back when you have the money," Chen Xun said calmly. Helping where he could was enough. Over the past year, he had made quite a bit of money treating wealthy households.

"Thank you, Doctor! Thank you, Doctor!" The commoner was overjoyed, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Chen Xun nodded. In this world, if a man fell, his entire household fell with him. Lending a hand within the limits of his ability did no harm.

But gradually, he realized that he had been wrong...

Chen Xun's reputation for kindness slowly spread. The doctors at the medical hall all had families to support, so naturally they could not be as unattached as Chen Xun, spending their own money to help impoverished patients.

He was completely put on a pedestal. Everywhere, people praised him as a miraculous doctor who saved the world, saying he treated patients for free, that they could see Divine Doctor Chen without paying, and even buy medicine on credit. The only thing missing was a silk banner in his honor.

Countless poor commoners came flooding in. Chen Xun's purse gradually ran dry, but he would never trouble others or use morality to force the people at the medical hall into acts of charity like his.

And among those commoners who owed money, only a handful came back to the medical hall to repay him. He truly had no money left.

The wind shifted. Some commoners cursed him for standing by and watching people die, calling him hypocritical. Even some of those he had once helped came to the medical hall and looked at him with disgust.

Some commoners who had come because of his reputation heard that Chen Xun no longer allowed credit and even spat in front of the medical hall, complaining that they had wasted their time traveling so far.

Good deeds never leave the door, but bad deeds travel a thousand miles. People all said that Peaceful Medical Hall had produced a doctor of poor character, a man who carried three Mountain-Splitting Axes with him all year long. One look was enough to tell he was no good person.

In the rear courtyard of Peaceful Medical Hall, Chen Xun no longer dared to see patients in the front hall.

"Good grief, the clown was me all along."

Chen Xun laughed heartily, though there was a bleakness in that laughter. Even the clerks and doctors now looked at him differently.

Didn't you like showing off? Why aren't you showing off now? Quite a few people in the medical hall secretly mocked him. Back then, Chen Xun had stolen much of their limelight.

"Moo! Moo!"

Black Bull pressed its head against Chen Xun's face. It had learned of the matter recently too; the rumors were everywhere.

"Old Bull, look. Didn't I tell you from the start that we only needed to help the friends around us? Now do you understand what I meant?"

"Moo!"

Black Bull looked at Chen Xun with heartache. It had never seen such a dejected expression on his face. In its eyes, Chen Xun had always been an optimistic, cheerful person.

"You underestimate me too much. I expected all of this. I only wanted to show you what that saying truly meant."

Chen Xun forced a smile, one hand tightly hugging Black Bull's head as their faces pressed together.

"Moo~~" Black Bull rubbed against Chen Xun, its spirits unusually low, but deep inside, it was already consumed by rage.

"Old Bull, let's go. This place doesn't suit us. I'll go say goodbye to Master Ning."

Chen Xun patted Black Bull. He had already seriously affected the medical hall's business, and he did not want to hold anyone back.

"Moo!"

Black Bull sprang up. It did not want to stay here either, and hurried off to pack their pots, bowls, ladles, and pans.

Chen Xun watched its busy figure from behind, warmth rising in his heart as a faint smile touched his lips.

Ning Si's residence.

Chen Xun had changed back into the green clothes he had worn before and no longer wore the medical hall's long doctor's robes.

"I already know of this matter, and I understand your difficulties."

Ning Si sat in the seat of honor, a weathered look in his eyes as he spoke slowly. "Human nature is inherently evil. That is the conclusion I have drawn after many years of practicing medicine. I hope it will help you on the road ahead."

"I will never dare forget Master Ning's teachings." Chen Xun solemnly cupped his hands. Over these ten years, he had learned far too much.

Ning Si picked up an untitled book from the table and explained, "This contains my accumulated experience over many years. I will give it to you."

"Huh?"

Chen Xun was startled. He took a large step forward and quickly caught the book. "Master Ning, I really shouldn't accept this."

Ning Si gave a light tug, and his expression changed. He could not pull it free. The book he had written seemed to be clamped in the grip of iron pincers.

"Hehe, it's fine. Take it."

"Thank you, Master Ning!"

Chen Xun flashed away, and the book instantly appeared at his waist. The speed was so fast that Ning Si's pupils widened slightly.

"Go on. Come back and visit when you have time."

"Master Ning, thank you for taking me in. If anything happens to the Ning Family, even if I must travel ten thousand miles, I will certainly rush back."

Chen Xun's expression turned solemn as he bowed deeply.

Ning Si sighed and nodded repeatedly. "All those years, I was constantly observing you. Wise though you seemed foolish, you are by no means something that can remain trapped in a shallow pond. Simply hold fast to your original heart."

Chen Xun slowly raised his head, gave Ning Si one final look, then turned and left.

Watching Chen Xun's departing figure, Ning Si smiled faintly. "Xun, may your journey be bright, and may your future be full of promise."