The Divine Doctor Comes Down the Mountain: Only Seven Copper Coins Left, and Even a Movie Queen Gets a Free Ride
He cupped his hands in greeting.
"Thank you for your guidance today, Coach."
Liu Laosan said, "We'll continue with the stake setting tomorrow."
Ye Qingyun tightened his grip.
"Still pricking?"
Liu Laosan raised his stick and pointed it at the wooden sign at the door.
"Learn to stand firmly first, then learn to punch."
Ma Liu catches up quickly.
The notice said, "Can you read?"
Shuhe was so angry he almost jumped up.
Ye Qingyun raised her hand to stop him.
"Yes, Instructor."
In the back room of the tea stall, Gu Moran listened to Boss Zhao's report, by which time the tea in his cup had gone cold.
Boss Zhao said, "Your Highness, Ye Qingyun's stance training is indeed excellent. He stood for half an incense stick's time without swaying."
Gu Moran nodded.
Boss Zhao added, "But when he practiced his boxing, he added the bamboo slip exercise, and Sun Kui said the energy flow was wrong."
Uncle Fu stood to the side, holding a bottle of medicinal wine.
"They've made it?"
Gu Moran turned the teacup around once.
"It just barely grazed the edge."
Boss Zhao said, "He won't listen to advice."
Gu Moran looked out the window.
There was still a line of people outside the Dragon Abyss Martial Arts School, and steam was rising from the porridge buckets.
"He came to Dragon Abyss not to seek stability."
Uncle Fu continued.
He wants to win quickly.
Gu Moran pushed a piece of paper to Boss Zhao.
"Tell Liu Laosan not to provoke him, but also not to flatter him."
Boss Zhao accepted it.
Uncle Fu looked at the sentence on the paper. "Learn to stand firmly before you learn to throw a punch."
"Your Highness, if Ye Qingyun goes back and trains extra tonight, he'll improve even faster."
Gu Moran said, "He's already practicing extra."
Boss Zhao nodded.
"They practiced until midnight last night in Shun'an Lane, and they'll probably practice even later today."
Gu Moran tapped his fingertip on the table.
"Starting tonight, focus on three things."
"Did you cough after practice? Did your neck swell? Did your hands feel numb?"
Boss Zhao made a note of it.
"Understood."
Uncle Fu asked, "Should we ask Madam Shen to help observe Ye Qingyun's condition?"
Gu Moran his head.
We can't let her get involved yet.
Uncle Fu said in a low voice, "Afraid she'll worry?"
Gu Moran picked up the bottle of medicinal wine, and the pungent smell filled her nostrils.
Lin Qingdai's wooden stick.
Murong Xue's sword and horse.
And then there's Shen Ling'er's face, so focused on preparing the medicine.
He put the medicinal wine back.
"Let her come; she really dares to prepare a death potion for Ye Qingyun."
Boss Zhao was taken aback.
Uncle Fu coughed.
Gu Moran up.
"Let's go back to the manor."
Boss Zhao said, "Your Highness, aren't you going to finish reading?"
Gu Moran looked in the direction of Dragon Abyss Martial Arts School.
Ye Qingyun will only be angrier today.
Uncle Fu followed.
What happens when you get angry?
Gu Moran pulled his straw hat down low.
"Go back to Shun'an Lane and hone your steady fist technique into a rapid one. Then you won't need to wait a month or two; you can prepare his coffin in advance."
At night, the sound of fists whistling through the Shun'an Courtyard could be heard.
Shuhe sat in the corner, holding a cold steamed bun, and whispered words of comfort.
"Young master, Instructor Liu said, don't raise your breath."
Ye Qingyun punched the remaining roots of the wooden stake.
The wood shook, and dust fell.
"He can teach porters."
The Shuhe raises its head.
"Young Master..."
Ye Qingyun withdrew his fist.
The bamboo slip at his waist heated up, the heat traveling all the way to his throat, while the taste of blood clung to the back of his tongue.
He didn't vomit.
He swallowed it.
Shuhe looked at him, forgetting to eat the cold steamed bun in her bowl.
"Young master, your face..."
Ye Qingyun raised her hand, stopping him from saying anything more.
Outside the courtyard, the laughter from the Dragon Abyss Martial Arts School had long since dissipated.
But the words "train for another six months" from earlier in the day still echoed in my ears.
Ye Qingyun clenched his fist again.
"I can't wait six months."
Along the official road leading to the capital.
Chu Tianxing placed the medicine box at his feet and opened his palm to count the money.
Seven copper coins.
He counted it all, then counted it again.
Still seven.
His master sent him down the mountain to the capital for training, giving him three hundred taels of silver, saying it would be enough for him for two years.
But now, after only five days, they're already at their wits' end.
Especially these last three days, as we approached the capital, were absolutely bizarre.
He looked up at the tea stall beside him, his throat dry and tight.
The tea stall owner hung the wooden sign at the entrance, higher than his face.
Hot tea, ten coins.
Eight coins for a steamed bun.
Accommodation costs 100 cash, with a deposit of 2 taels of silver.
Chu Tianxing stared at the sign for a long time before finally unable to resist.
"Boss, are these steamed buns made with gold powder?"
The tea stall owner wiped the table with a rag without even looking up.
"Young doctor, if you think it's too expensive, don't come."
Chu Tianxing spread out the copper coins to show him.
"I just came down the mountain from the south; steamed buns there are only one coin each."
The boss looked up.
"Then go back to the south to eat."
Chu Tianxing was speechless for a long time, and finally looked down at his medicine box.
"Beijing is a great place; even steamed buns have become more expensive there."
The tea stall owner scoffed.
"You can treat patients, and we can provide enough steamed buns to fill our stomachs; everyone has their own abilities."
Chu Tianxing pointed at him.
"What you're saying may not be pleasant to hear, but it makes some sense. It's a pity you're not sick, otherwise this divine doctor would surely prescribe a price-reduction formula for you."
The boss draped the rag over his shoulder.
"I wouldn't come to you even if I were sick. You're so poor you can't even afford a steamed bun, and you call yourself a miracle doctor?"
Chu Tianxing couldn't save face, so he straightened his back.
"What do you know? A renowned healer traveling the world prefers to travel light."
The shopkeeper glanced at the mud on his shoes.
"I believe in traveling light, I believe in simple travel, but I'll leave the title of 'miracle doctor' to you for now."
Just as Chu Tianxing about to retaliate, a woman suddenly ran out of the nearby thatched hut, clutching her stomach and crying so hard her voice cracked.
"Little miracle doctor? Where is there a little miracle doctor?"
"Is that you? Little miracle doctor, please save me!"
"My husband is a gambler and a dissolute playboy; we're short of food at home; my mother-in-law is bedridden; and I'm suffering from excruciating abdominal pain!"
Chu Tianxing's eyelids twitched.
It's the same old routine again.
He has listened to it thirteen times in the past few days.
The previous story was about a father addicted to gambling, a mother bedridden, a younger brother still young, and a woman covered in injuries.
The next one is pretty much the same, except the younger brother is replaced with a younger sister.
Isn't Beijing a wealthy city?
Why are these unfortunate people still lining up?
He looked down and touched the medicine box.
There aren't many medicinal herbs left.
The silver needles are still there.
The money has been almost entirely taken by these "poor people".
The woman clutched her stomach and rolled on the ground, her cries growing louder with each sob.
Chu Tianxing gritted his teeth as he looked at her flushed face.
We need to save them, but the medicinal herbs are scarce.
If I don't help her, I won't be able to sleep well tonight if she really has a medical emergency.
He pulled the medicine box to his side.
"Sit down first. Stop rolling around. If you roll one more time, I'll have to treat your dizziness."
The woman quickly sat down on the straw mat, and her crying subsided a little.
"Little miracle doctor, am I about to die?"
Chu Tianxing held her wrist to feel her pulse, then examined her eyelids.
I got an upset stomach.
The woman still had tears on her face.
Is it curable?
Chu Tianxing glanced at her.
"If you keep howling for even half a minute, you'll drive me crazy. Five coins for medical treatment."
The woman's crying was cut off.
The tea stall owner chimed in from the side.
"Young doctor, please help her to the end! She has no money; her family is so poor they can't even afford food."
Chu Tianxing turned to look at him.
"You charged me ten coins for tea, how dare you ask me to drink it for free?"
The boss wiped the table legs with a rag, pretending not to hear.
Chu Tianxing took out the pain-relieving powder from the medicine box, his finger hovering over the medicine packet.
Even if you give it to them, you might not be able to get it back even if you give them five coins.
No, I won't give it to him. I shouted "Little Miracle Doctor" too loudly just now, and everyone around was watching.
Saving face is important.
He handed the medicine over.
"Drink. After you finish, don't run around. Sit down for a bit."
The woman took the medicine and swallowed it in a few gulps.
Not long after, she patted her chest and shouted.
"It doesn't hurt anymore! The little doctor is such a kind person!"
She knelt down and kowtowed.
"The little miracle doctor has shown me such great kindness; I will repay him in my next life by being his ox or horse."
Chu Tianxing out his hand.
"I can't wait for you in the next life, five coins will suffice for this one."
The woman raised her head, and the crying stopped.
The two stared at each other for a moment.
Chu Tianxing stretched his hand forward again.
"Five coins, not much. You were crying so hard just now, even if you stopped crying a couple of times, it would be worth five coins."
The woman suddenly stood up.
"Oh dear, I just remembered my mother-in-law is about to give birth!"
She turned and ran, faster than a rabbit.