The unreliable divine physician

[Host, it's a complicated story. Simply put, his medical skill and emotional intelligence are inversely proportional: the better his medical skill, the lower his emotional intelligence. The previous valley master of Divine Physician Valley recognized this and entrusted his care to his disciple.

Usually, masters look after their disciples, but with these two, it's the other way around. These past few days were the time he'd agreed with Chancellor Chi to conduct a follow-up examination. However, his disciple had something to attend to at home and asked him to wait another two days in Divine Physician Valley.

He refused to accept that, convinced he could look after himself without his disciple, and set off for Capital City alone. Unfortunately, he has no sense of direction. He took the wrong roads and spent nearly all his silver. In the end, he only managed to arrive by finding a merchant caravan that happened to be heading to Capital City.

But by then, he'd spent all his silver. To avoid starving to death, he decided to earn some consultation fees, which led to the scene you just witnessed.]

Jiang Nuan pressed a hand to her forehead, thinking Gu Qingfeng and Yun Shining could keep each other company.

Their experiences were rather similar.

Why do I keep running into people like this, anyway? Do birds of a feather really flock together?

I think I'm pretty clever!

Yes, I'm definitely clever!

But since Gu Qingfeng had appeared, she might as well hand her prescription straight to him. That would save her some trouble, too.

With that thought, Jiang Nuan changed her expression.

"So you're a Divine Healer? I have a prescription here. Would you mind taking a look?"

After saying that, Jiang Nuan pulled a sheet of paper covered in writing from her pocket.

Gu Qingfeng kept his eyes fixed on Jiang Nuan's hand. In her inner thoughts, she had mentioned having a prescription that could cure Chi Hengji's illness. Presumably, this was it.

Chi Hengji's illness had given him headaches for a long time. With too few cases to refer to, he could only prescribe medicine based on his own experience. He had exercised the utmost caution, but unfortunately, the results had not been very good.

Thus, his first reaction upon hearing Jiang Nuan's thoughts had been disbelief. He had absolute confidence in his medical skills. It was no exaggeration to say that no one in this world could surpass him.

Still, to be safe, he ought to examine the prescription first.

After accepting the prescription, he began reading it carefully, and Jiang Nuan did not disturb him.

But the more he read, the deeper his brows furrowed. Seeing this, Jiang Nuan grew a little uneasy.

Before long, however, Gu Qingfeng's brows relaxed.

"Little girl, this prescription of yours is excellent. It happens to be just what I need to treat a young friend's illness. Would you be willing to give it to me? Name your price."

Jiang Nuan froze upon hearing that. Isn't he afraid I'll open my lion's mouth and demand an outrageous sum? Then she reconsidered. He probably would not think that far ahead.

But she had intended this prescription for Chi Hengji in the first place, so charging for it would not feel right.

"It's fine. I'll just give you this prescription. But could we leave each other a way to get in touch? I think I have plenty more prescriptions at home. If I find suitable ones in the future, I'll give them to you."

Those prescriptions would only gather dust in her possession. It would be better to hand them to someone who knew the field and let them flourish.

After hearing Jiang Nuan's words, Gu Qingfeng grew serious instead.

"Little girl, were these prescriptions passed down by your ancestors? If so, I suggest discussing it with the adults in your family. Don't give them away casually."

Had this prescription not concerned Chi Hengji's life, Gu Qingfeng would have been too embarrassed to accept it. Prescriptions might well be ancestral heirlooms. Perhaps the little girl did not know any better and had brought them out to play with. Such things might even be forbidden from being shared with outsiders.

Accepting even one already weighed on his conscience. If he kept taking more, would he not truly become someone who swindled children?

Although these novel prescriptions were immensely tempting, he could only steel himself and refuse.

"All right, little girl, hurry along now, or I'll change my mind."

Once she understood his reasoning, Jiang Nuan's impression of him improved considerably. He went from an unreliable Divine Healer to a principled, yet still unreliable, Divine Healer.

[Shouldn't prescriptions be used to help more people? Cherishing a worn-out broom as a treasure does no good. I'd rather they were used for people who need them. Besides, this prescription wasn't passed down by my ancestors! Even if I printed it out and gave everyone a copy, it wouldn't matter!]

Jiang Nuan thought to herself.

After hearing this, Gu Qingfeng looked at Jiang Nuan with eyes full of admiration.

"Divine Physician Gu, it's all right. I obtained these prescriptions by chance. There's no harm in sharing them."

Jiang Nuan said this to Gu Qingfeng.

Gu Qingfeng glanced at Jiang Nuan, and inspiration flashed through his mind.

Isn't Jiang Nuan at just the right age to study medicine? And she's very kind. She could certainly live up to the compassionate heart a physician ought to have.

"Little girl, would you like to study medicine under me?"

He had begun thinking of taking her as a disciple.

"Huh?" Jiang Nuan exclaimed in surprise. Once she recovered, she hurriedly shook her head.

"No, thank you. I'm not interested in that at all."

May lightning strike anyone who persuades others to study medicine!

That saying had thundered in her ears throughout her previous life. Once, while browsing online, she had looked up some medical books out of curiosity. That night, she had fallen asleep faster than ever before.

"Ah, what a pity."

Gu Qingfeng felt it was a great shame.

Jiang Nuan did not agree. Even indulging in a little gossip meant stealing a moment from her busy schedule now. She still had so many things she had not had time to do. How could she possibly spare time to study medicine?

"Oh, right, little girl. When I'm in Capital City, I stay here. If you need anything, you can come here to find me. Even if I'm not there, the people here can contact me, since I'm never quite sure where I'll be."

Gu Qingfeng gave Jiang Nuan an address.

Jiang Nuan accepted it and put it away.

"By the way, Divine Physician Gu, do you have any time soon? I'd like you to examine someone for me."

Jiang Nuan thought of Yun Shining, who was still lying in bed, unable to move. Although the physician they had consulted said she would be fine with proper rest, with a Divine Healer like Gu Qingfeng here, it would be nice if he could help her recover faster.

"Of course, that's no problem. But I probably won't have time today, so I'll go tomorrow. Give me the address. Also, stop calling me Divine Physician Gu. It feels terribly awkward. Just call me Grandpa Gu."

Gu Qingfeng readily agreed.

"All right, Grandpa Gu. Here's your consultation fee. Keep it safe."

Jiang Nuan pressed some more silver into Gu Qingfeng's hands. She had not forgotten that he had tried stopping people to examine them and collect consultation fees precisely because he had no money.

His methods had simply been too crude, leading people to mistake him for a swindler. She wondered whether that woman would regret it if she learned she had missed a chance to be treated by a Divine Healer.

Gu Qingfeng accepted it without any qualms. Originally, he had wanted to put up a little resistance to save face. Otherwise, he would have gone straight to Chi Hengji upon arriving in Capital City. But Jiang Nuan and that one called Guagua had already exposed his most embarrassing predicament. Pretending would accomplish nothing, so why bother?

"Since you still have things to do, Grandpa Gu, I won't disturb you any longer. I'll be going now."

With the prescription matter settled, Jiang Nuan did not want to spend any more time on it, so she waved goodbye to Gu Qingfeng.

After she had walked one street away, Gu Qingfeng came jogging up to her.

"Little girl, could you take me to the Chancellor's Residence?"

Gu Qingfeng asked Jiang Nuan. Although the Chancellor's Residence was not far away, his hopeless sense of direction meant he simply could not find it.

Jiang Nuan truly had not expected him to be this bad with directions. Still, thinking she ought to escort the Buddha all the way to the west once she had begun, she took him to the Chancellor's Residence before waving goodbye again.

And the sight of her waving goodbye to Gu Qingfeng happened to fall right into Chi Hengji's eyes.