As the acupuncture treatment ended, Long Qianming collected his needles and said, "For now, I can only temporarily slow the loss of your kidney Qi. One treatment a day. In three days, I'll have some medicinal ingredients ready for you to collect."
"Divine doctor, does that mean my illness will be cured soon?"
Xu Han desperately wanted to know whether there was any hope of curing his illness. After all, his life and his future were at stake!
"You're getting ahead of yourself. I already told you that the chances of a complete recovery are very slim. All I can do is try my best."
As he spoke, Long Qianming handed Xu Han a sheet of paper he had written on and sternly instructed him,
"Watch your daily diet. This list includes things you should eat often and things you must not touch. If eating carelessly causes all your kidney Qi to leak away, then I really will be powerless."
Xu Han took the paper, studying its contents curiously as he walked outside with slow but firm steps. His pace had improved considerably, and before leaving, he made sure to say,
"Child, thank you. You can rent this shop for as long as you like. I won't charge you a single coin. I'll follow your instructions right away and come back tomorrow."
"All right. Remember, you must follow the medical instructions strictly."
Long Qianming stood happily outside the shop and waved goodbye. Then he hefted the fifteen Gold Soul Coins in his hand and sighed from the heart,
"Now I finally have enough money to buy medicinal ingredients and everything I need to set up the pharmacy."
Afterward, Long Qianming left his bundle inside, shut the shop doors, and went alone to West Street and the trading street inside the Blacksmith Association to purchase the various medicinal ingredients and medicinal minerals he needed.
Even if Gengxin City did not have enough medicinal ingredients for sale, that was no problem. Long Qianming could find them himself. After all, some medicinal ingredients were things people scorned and found disgusting in everyday life, such as dog droppings, chicken manure, and maggots...
Soon, Longxing Medical Hall officially opened. However, its landlord remained its only customer. The passing merchants and travelers from elsewhere all steered clear of the medical hall once they heard someone had died there.
Because of this, Long Qianming had to take the initiative, handing out flyers in the streets and setting up a temporary medicine stall offering free consultations to catch people's attention. Offering things for free proved very effective, especially with such novel treatments as his distinctive acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and cupping.
"Brother Wang, we blacksmiths accumulate plenty of hidden injuries from our daily forging! A traditional medicine clinic recently opened in the east of the city. Not only are its treatments excellent, but its prices are cheap, too."
"That's right. I went there once myself. That little divine doctor's medical skills really are miraculous. After a few needles, I wasn't tired anymore and felt positively full of life. Even the chronic ailments from my daily forging were cured. Three courses of treatment cost just one Gold Soul Coin."
"I also heard the pharmacy's landlord had an extremely severe case of kidney deficiency and apparently only had a few years left to live. Who would have thought that after a few months of treatment from that little divine doctor, he'd be as lively as a dragon and tiger, and even marry two wives at once?"
In less than a month, Longxing Medical Hall established a firm foothold in Gengxin City. Rather embarrassingly, however, Long Qianming had earned his reputation by treating kidney deficiency and a small number of difficult, unusual illnesses.
Moreover, the vast majority of patients who came to the medical hall were blacksmiths suffering from kidney deficiency. Patients with other ailments were comparatively few.
And so, half a year passed in a bustle of activity. After nourishing himself during this period of comfortable living and training with discipline, Long Qianming finally no longer looked as thin as before.
Although his Soul Power remained at rank two without any noticeable increase in rank, he could now complete a twenty-minute run carrying twenty to thirty jin of weight.
His physical fitness had more than doubled.
Long Qianming lay on a wooden reclining chair, enjoying his scarce half hour of daily rest as he ate a piece of Shadow Tiger hind-leg meat.
Beside him, Xiao Tian lay on the ground, seemingly uninterested in the fifty-year-old Shadow Tiger meat in his bowl. Seeing this, Long Qianming stroked his head and said helplessly,
"Xiao Tian, I can't find dark-attribute dragon-type Soul Beast meat to buy, and I don't have the money for it either. You'll have to make do with ordinary dark-attribute Soul Beast meat."
Xiao Tian glanced at Long Qianming, called out twice, then opened his beastly mouth with some disdain.
Seeing this, Long Qianming refused to indulge this haughty, picky Martial Soul and snatched the Shadow Tiger meat away.
"Damn, you're really rebelling now! I hardly ever get to eat fifty-year-old Shadow Tiger meat myself, yet you're already getting picky after just seven meals? Believe me, I can make sure you never eat another piece of Soul Beast meat for the rest of your Soul Beast life!"
Sitting on the ground, Xiao Tian stared blankly at Long Qianming. He neither became angry nor cried out, but lowered his head instead.
"Now that's my good Martial Soul, my good brother."
Only after seeing Xiao Tian admit his mistake did Long Qianming put the feeding bowl of Soul Beast meat back down. In the next instant, Xiao Tian tore into the meat like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey, rapidly swallowing it into his round belly.
When Long Qianming first fed Xiao Tian Shadow Tiger meat, he had worried a little that the meat of this mid-tier Soul Beast might hinder his future evolutionary path.
But after Xiao Tian ate a piece of Shadow Tiger meat, not only had his black fur become slightly harder, it had also gained a faint sheen. Long Qianming had even felt his Soul Power cultivation speed quicken a fraction for a moment.
Through this, Long Qianming realized that Shadow Tiger meat, or dark-attribute Soul Beast meat, did not have much effect in hindering Martial Soul Evolution. He did not necessarily have to feed Xiao Tian draconic Soul Beast meat.
Still, Long Qianming was a little disappointed with his current life. Gengxin City only had so many patients.
He worked eight hours a day and earned less than four Gold Soul Coins in total. After daily expenses, fewer than two remained for his cultivation.
"I'm accumulating wealth far too slowly. Far too slowly!"
Although the medical hall had done reasonably well over the past half year, only a little over three hundred Gold Soul Coins of its earnings had actually gone toward cultivation. Even the cheapest whale rubber under a hundred years old cost twenty Gold Soul Coins per jin.
As for hundred-year-old whale rubber, a hundred Gold Soul Coins per jin was already the cheapest price inland. With his current income, he could only buy small quantities for now.
Soul Beast meat was far more expensive than whale rubber, especially meat from Soul Beasts whose attributes matched one's Martial Soul, or those with rare attributes. Those sold for even higher prices.
Dark-attribute Soul Beast meat was seldom sold in Gengxin City or the neighboring cities. Thus far, Long Qianming had only purchased two fifty-year-old Shadow Tigers, one of which he had obtained by hiring a local Soul Hunting team.
"Looks like I'll have to hunt Soul Beasts myself. The money I save can go toward whale rubber and medicinal ingredients for medicinal baths. If I keep staying at the pharmacy, I simply won't be able to buy all the cultivation resources I need."
With that thought, Long Qianming quickly rose and packed everything he needed for Soul Hunting. While the sun had yet to set and Gengxin City's gates were still open, he left the city.
Following the map, he headed toward the forest in the western foothills of the Forging God Mountain Range.
As soon as he entered the forest, Long Qianming released Xiao Tian to scout ahead. He followed cautiously behind, applying a layer of medicinal powder to his body to prevent his human scent from spreading.
As a bright moon gradually rose on the horizon, the entire forest sank into darkness. The roars of Soul Beasts began to sound among the trees, rapidly growing more numerous as Long Qianming ventured deeper and time passed.
Night was when the Soul Beasts in the forest became active, and it was also the most dangerous period. Many dark-attribute Soul Beasts would leave their dens to hunt and feed.
Thanks to Xiao Tian's dark attribute, Long Qianming could see as clearly at night as in broad daylight. His perception was further enhanced in the darkness as well, allowing him to respond quickly to unexpected situations.
But to avoid unnecessary trouble, Long Qianming, who had only just entered the Soul Beast forest, only dared search for suitable prey in the outer territory inhabited by Soul Beasts no older than fifty years.
Before he had searched very far, Xiao Tian suddenly stopped outside a cave and peered inside with great vigilance.