Jiwetang Clinic

After leaving Rainbow Cloud Pavilion, it was nearly noon.

They found a noodle shop by the roadside and sat down. Each ordered a bowl of plain noodles, along with three pounds of beef and a pot of Huadiao wine.

The small noodle shop had always served food quickly. Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor had barely taken their seats when the waiter brought over all the dishes.

At that moment, a light drizzle began falling from the sky again, bringing a trace of coolness.

After eating, the two simply sat in the noodle shop, each holding a small wine cup as they admired the rain and slowly savored their drinks. It had a charm all its own.

But it was only a light rain. Though it had come at just the right time, it eventually had to end.

"Where do you want to go next?" Xiao Yan asked as they left the noodle shop.

"Hmm, let's go take a look at Wutan City's medicinal herbs." Little Fairy Doctor tilted her head in thought, then smiled at Xiao Yan.

One of them was a pharmacist, while the other was an alchemist. Both dealt with medicinal herbs regularly. Though a herb market hardly sounded like a place for a date, it truly suited the two of them.

Xiao Yan smiled knowingly. Clearly, he had expected that answer.

There was a street south of the city devoted entirely to selling medicinal herbs. Although herbs on such a large-scale market were mostly used by ordinary people or cultivators newly initiated into Dou Qi, the two of them still browsed with great interest.

"Xiao Yan, look at this hundred-year ginseng. You can tell at a glance that it grew on a snowy plain. It's a pity the digger used too much force—some of the roots were torn off."

"It's fine. Look, the main stem is still intact, and the drying technique was perfect. It's worthy of this ginseng."

Words like these flowed continuously from their mouths. Not only passersby, but even people who had worked in this trade for years could not understand how the two had turned appraising medicinal herbs into something that looked like flirting.

The street was not large, but Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor stopped and walked at leisure. From time to time, they would pick up a herb with either an unusual appearance or a plump, fine quality, appraise it, and imagine the environment in which it had grown—snowy mountains, grasslands, or deserts. In less than an afternoon, it felt as though they had traveled across the land, and both wore satisfied expressions.

By the time they emerged from the other end of the herb market, it was already evening.

Little Fairy Doctor once again looped her hand around Xiao Yan's left arm, intending to return to the Xiao Clan with him, but Xiao Yan stopped her. When she turned back, a puzzled look appeared on her face.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, then led Little Fairy Doctor to a building beside them with the three words "Jiwetang Clinic" hanging above it. It was clearly a medical clinic.

The building was not large, with two floors. There was a great deal of foot traffic around it, though most were mercenaries or other lower-class laborers. With the herb market right beside it, it was indeed an excellent place to open a clinic.

However, whether because its owner was not home or for some other reason, the clinic was not open. Still, it did not appear abandoned, as there were obvious signs that it had been cleaned.

"What are we doing here?" Little Fairy Doctor asked in confusion.

Xiao Yan gave a mysterious smile. Then, to Little Fairy Doctor's astonishment, he took out a key, opened the door to Jiwetang Clinic, and led her inside.

Since it was a clinic meant for ordinary people, it did not have lighting items commonly used by cultivators, such as moonlight stones. Xiao Yan rubbed his fingers together, igniting a fist-sized red flame at his fingertips to illuminate the somewhat dim interior.

The clinic's interior was mainly divided into two sections by a counter. In front of it was a waiting area, with dedicated seats placed against the walls on both sides. Behind the counter stood an entire wall of medicine cabinets. Near the left corner was a small door leading to the rear, where there was a medicine-brewing room and stairs leading upstairs to the owner's living quarters.

"This is..." Little Fairy Doctor followed Xiao Yan around the place once, then asked expectantly, a spark shining in her eyes.

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "A few days ago, I had someone acquire this clinic. Didn't you always want to become a physician? What do you think of this place?"

"This? You opened a clinic for me?" Little Fairy Doctor asked in disbelief. Her childhood dream had been to become a physician who healed the sick and saved lives. Unfortunately, heaven had given her a constitution destined to make her a poison master. She had already given up on that dream, yet Xiao Yan had brought it up again today.

"But..." After her brief excitement, Little Fairy Doctor's gaze dimmed. "I'll be going to the Cloud Empire soon. There's no use in giving me this clinic."

"Don't worry." Xiao Yan pulled Little Fairy Doctor into his arms, lifted her cheek with his left hand, and looked directly into her eyes. "I already arranged for a physician to take over. After you leave, someone will come to replace you."

"Then... what if we move somewhere else in the future?"

"Then we'll keep opening clinics. If our footsteps can spread across the entire Dou Qi Continent, then we'll open Jiwetang Clinics all over the Dou Qi Continent. By then, you'll be the founding ancestor of all physicians on the Dou Qi Continent!" Xiao Yan declared boldly.

"Xiao Yan... thank you." Tears glimmered in Little Fairy Doctor's eyes as she gave Xiao Yan a sweet smile and gradually leaned into his embrace.

"For these next few days, I'll stay with you. You write the prescriptions, I'll brew the medicine. We'll do it together!"

"Mm."

"Hey, did you hear? A new clinic opened south of the city recently. It's called Jiwetang Clinic. I heard the physician there is not only highly skilled and capable of bringing the dead back to life, but also gentle and refined. Most importantly, she's a beauty like a celestial fairy!"

"Oh, you mean Jiwetang Clinic! I've heard of it, but isn't that physician always wearing a veil? How do you know she's beautiful?"

"Hey! That's not right. So what if she wears a veil? I've seen that physician before. With that figure, those eyes, and that skin, she has to be a beauty! The only problem is that the man beside her is terrifying. He threw me out just because I looked at her a few extra times. I have no idea what strength he has—I'm a Dou Fighter, yet I couldn't resist at all."

"Oh, so she's married. And you were still so interested in her? Of course her husband would beat you up! By the way, how long did you stare at her?"

"Uh... only half a..."

"Half an incense stick?"

"Half an hour."

"...You deserved it!"

Inside Jiwetang Clinic, today was already the tenth day since Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor had opened for business.

With a beautiful female physician who was skilled, attractive, and gentle in charge, the clinic had made a name for itself within just a few days, and business had become booming.

Quite a few people seeking treatment had gathered in the waiting area before the counter. Most of the elderly and children sat in the seats along the walls, while the adults formed a long line before Little Fairy Doctor that extended more than ten meters outside.

"Auntie Han, yours is simply spleen and stomach deficiency caused by cold. Drink more of our Yang Water, and you'll be fine," Little Fairy Doctor said gently to a woman who appeared to be in her early fifties.

"Ah, so that's what it is. I was wondering why I'd been feeling nauseous whenever I ate these past few days. I thought I'd accidentally eaten something bad! Thank you, miss." After hearing Little Fairy Doctor's words, Auntie Han's previously worried face immediately broke into a smile.

For poor families like Auntie Han's, they could not easily afford to see a physician, because they usually could not pay the medical fees. In that case, even if they saw a physician and learned what was wrong with them, it would be of no use.

Only after she truly could not eat anymore, vomiting up everything she swallowed, had she come to Jiwetang Clinic to try her luck.

As for the Yang Water Little Fairy Doctor mentioned, it was actually plain boiled water that Xiao Yan had heated with his Heavenly Flame.

Previously, while Xiao Yan had helped Little Fairy Doctor brew medicine, he had often found that yin-nourishing herbs lost their medicinal properties, while yang-nourishing herbs became far more potent. After investigating, they discovered that it was caused by the powerful yang energy from the Heavenly Flame being infused into the water during boiling.

Moreover, during the first few days of consultations, many poor people lacked firewood and could only eat cold food and drink cold water, so they often suffered from cold-related ailments. Thus, they created this Yang Water. Since its only ingredient was water, they charged very little for it—just one coin per bowl.

The reason they still charged a fee was to prevent people from drinking it without restraint simply because it was free, only to end up with excessive yang and deficient yin.

That was why Auntie Han was so happy. She could afford to treat this illness.

Under Little Fairy Doctor's guidance, Auntie Han went to a water vat nearby, filled a pot to the brim, and took it home.

Then another patient sat down before Little Fairy Doctor.

This time, it was a mercenary with a very common sprain and bruise injury. Considering that his financial situation was much better than Auntie Han's, Little Fairy Doctor prescribed some wound medicine after treating his injuries, as well as some tonics to speed up his recovery.

"Hiss!" The wound medicine irritated his injury slightly, and the mercenary could not help crying out.

"Are you all right? I'll be a little gentler. Bear with it," Little Fairy Doctor said softly, then began chatting to distract him.

Little Fairy Doctor worked quickly. By the time the mercenary came back to his senses, the medicine had already been applied.

Just then, Xiao Yan emerged from the medicine-brewing room in the back, looking at the man before him with a dark expression.

"Your medicine. Take it," Xiao Yan said stiffly. Though he had been the one to bring Little Fairy Doctor here, seeing scenes like this still made him unhappy. He did not know whether he would ever get used to it.

"Ah! All right, thank you. I'll be leaving now." A chill ran down the mercenary's back under Xiao Yan's gaze. He hurriedly paid, took his medicine, and left.

"You really shouldn't keep doing that. You'll scare the customers," Little Fairy Doctor said helplessly as she looked at Xiao Yan.

"Hmph! That won't do. You have no idea what the mercenaries are saying about you now. I heard the mercenaries of Wutan City secretly made a ranking of the wives they most want to marry, and our Xian'er is sitting firmly at the top! They sure work fast!" Xiao Yan said irritably.

Originally, Xiao Yan could still turn a blind eye to mercenaries who came for treatment. But after learning of this, he adopted the attitude of killing rather than letting one slip through. Any young mercenary was driven away the moment his treatment ended.

It was the first time Little Fairy Doctor had heard of this. After a moment of surprise, she looked at Xiao Yan with a hint of amusement. "What? Is our Young Master Xiao jealous?"

"Hmph!" Xiao Yan snorted, turned around, and returned to the medicine-brewing room.

At that moment, a new patient had already sat down, looking awkwardly at Little Fairy Doctor.

Little Fairy Doctor's face reddened. After composing herself, she asked, "May I ask where you're feeling unwell?"