Chapter 30: Reunion, Determined to Help with Treatment
Soon, a woman came upstairs and respectfully said, "Dr. Xu, it's been a long time."
The woman was Meng Lingzhu, older now but still possessing the same determined eyes.
Xu Ning gestured for her to sit down across from him. Meng Lingzhu quickly and carefully sat down opposite him, her posture tense with hope.
Xu Ning took a sip of tea, his expression calm. "I wonder how Old Master Meng is doing these days?"
Actually, Xu Ning didn't really need to ask. He assumed the other party was definitely dead—after all, more than ten years had passed since he had last seen them. The poison should have claimed him long ago.
Unexpectedly, Meng Lingzhu suddenly stood up and knelt down before Xu Ning, her eyes glistening with tears. "Dr. Xu, my grandfather's condition is very serious now. He's still alive, but barely. I beg you to treat him. If you can make his remaining days easier, I am willing to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life!"
Xu Ning was genuinely shocked. More than ten years had passed, and he was still alive? That old man's constitution and inner energy must have been truly extraordinary to have held on for so long.
But immediately, Xu Ning raised his hand to stop Meng Lingzhu from kneeling further. "No, I can't treat him. I'm sorry."
After saying that, Xu Ning's other hand tapped lightly on the table, then made a few subtle, careful strokes, barely visible to anyone watching closely.
Meng Lingzhu had been somewhat devastated after hearing his refusal. But after seeing Xu Ning's secret gesture, a different light immediately appeared in her eyes—a spark of understanding and hope.
Immediately, the light in her eyes was quickly hidden by Meng Lingzhu, and her face returned to its sorrowful, pleading expression. She understood he was telling her to meet him elsewhere.
"I wonder what brings you here, Divine Physician Xu?" Meng Lingzhu changed the subject smoothly, as if nothing had happened.
Xu Ning looked out the window at the bustling street below and said softly, "To participate in the imperial examinations."
Ah! Meng Lingzhu was immediately surprised, her mouth involuntarily falling open in shock. "Participate in the imperial examinations? You?"
Xu Ning looked up at her with a slight smile. "What? Is that not allowed? Do I not look like scholar material?"
This question stumped Meng Lingzhu. Not allowed? Of course, he was allowed! Anyone could theoretically participate.
But in Meng Lingzhu's eyes, he was already a renowned divine physician, a healer with a legendary reputation. Why would he need to lower himself to participating in the imperial examinations like a common scholar seeking official position?
Seeing Meng Lingzhu's bewildered expression, Xu Ning couldn't help but laugh softly. "Everyone has their own pursuits and dreams, Meng Lingzhu. And so do I. Ambition knows no age, as they say."
Meng Lingzhu nodded slowly, but her heart was still filled with incomprehension. What dream could be greater than being a legendary healer?
After chatting for a few more minutes about trivial matters, Meng Lingzhu took her leave, while Xu Ning continued to sit by the window drinking tea, seemingly lost in thought.
Unbeknownst to anyone watching, Xu Ning sat by the window for a whole day, just watching the passersby.
Then, as dusk fell, he calmly returned to his inn.
Glancing at the darkening night outside his window, Xu Ning quickly changed into simple black clothes. Then, silent as a shadow, he leaped out of the window and disappeared into the darkness.
Currently, Xu Ning was considered top-tier among internal martial arts masters. His mastery of the Snow Shadow Step made using simple light-foot techniques relatively easy for him. He could move with supernatural grace and speed.
After some searching, he arrived in the outskirts of the town and found a place to hide and observe.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on NovelBin, not stolen versions.
He waited quietly for a long time, watching the area carefully. Only after confirming that no one was following him or watching the area did he slowly walk deeper into the darkness.
Soon, guided by the subtle clues he had left, Xu Ning found Meng Lingzhu and her grandfather, Meng Yangming, waiting anxiously in a nearby grove of trees.
Seeing Xu Ning approach, Meng Lingzhu hurriedly greeted him, her voice a whisper of relief. "Dr. Xu, you've finally arrived!"
Indeed, Xu Ning had come to meet them. This was the location he had gestured on the table during the day—a secluded spot away from prying eyes.
Xu Ning waved his hand, silencing her thanks, and went directly to where Meng Yangming lay.
At this moment, the old man's face was ashen and yellow, a terrible sign. He was groaning softly from constant, unrelenting pain.
Seeing Xu Ning, he managed a forced, ugly smile through his suffering.
Seeing the other's symptoms up close, Xu Ning knew that if he waited any longer, it would be too late. The man was at death's door.
His sallow, jaundiced complexion was a clear symptom of the final stage of Hundred Flowers Wither poisoning.
Xu Ning didn't rush to treat him immediately. Instead, he spoke calmly, "I can treat you, but I need you to agree to one condition first."
At this point, Meng Lingzhu would agree to anything. She quickly said, "Please speak freely, Divine Physician Xu. Anything you ask, we will do."
Xu Ning stated his terms. "I need your family's cultivation techniques. All of them. Also, after I cure him, I need you to help me collect different cultivation techniques from wherever you can. The more varied, the better. This is the price for my help."
The reason he needed the techniques was, of course, to upgrade his own.
Although the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art and Snow Shadow Step were almost at their peak, the Iron Shirt technique was still far from reaching its ultimate level.
If even the vast collection of books in the Hanlin Academy couldn't help him reach the top level of Iron Shirt, then he would need the direct assistance of studying other cultivation techniques to push his understanding further.
Meng Lingzhu and Meng Yangming didn't hesitate for a moment when considering Xu Ning's condition. They immediately nodded in agreement, relief flooding their faces.
As long as Meng Yangming recovered, the cultivation techniques were a minor matter! Xu Ning was already being merciful by not asking for something far more difficult.
Seeing that the two had agreed, Xu Ning immediately took out some things he had brought in a small bag and placed them carefully on the ground.
Then, he took out a single, unremarkable-looking leaf and fed it to Meng Yangming. "Eat this."
After Meng Yangming ate the unknown leaf without hesitation—trusting him completely—Xu Ning took out a silver needle pouch and opened it.
However, what was inside were not traditional silver needles, but various sharp, carefully prepared plant thorns.
Xu Ning took one out, then took out a small porcelain bottle, opened it, dipped the thorn in the strange liquid inside, and then precisely inserted it into a specific point on Meng Yangming's body.
Then, Xu Ning continued to repeat the operation, methodically and with intense concentration.
As Xu Ning continued, the thorns inserted into Meng Yangming began to slowly turn black, absorbing the poison. Eventually, a drop of pitch-black, foul-smelling unknown liquid would drip out. Only then would Xu Ning pull that thorn out and insert another in a different point.
In what seemed like no time at all, Meng Yangming's body was covered with thorns. The unknown black liquid that flowed out soaked the ground beneath him. Some nearby plants that came into contact with it immediately withered and died.
And as Meng Yangming continued to receive treatment, the constant pain on his face began to visibly lessen. His groaning stopped.
This process lasted for a full three hours. The moment it ended, Xu Ning sat down on the ground with a heavy thud, panting slightly from exhaustion.
Three hours of focused concentration, of precise, delicate work, had left Xu Ning completely drained. If he weren't a highly trained martial artist with exceptional control, he truly wouldn't have been able to endure it.
Meng Yangming, however, was completely transformed from before.
He still had thorns embedded in his body, but the black liquid no longer oozed from them. This indicated that the poison in those areas had been completely neutralized.
After resting for a while and catching his breath, Xu Ning stood up on slightly shaky legs. He said to Meng Lingzhu, "You stay here and watch over him. He should wake up around dawn, once the last of the poison is expelled naturally. As for the cultivation techniques you promised me, you can give them to me later. We'll meet again. I need to head back to the inn now before anyone notices I'm gone."
Meng Lingzhu quickly cupped her hands in a deep, grateful bow. "Take care, Divine Physician Xu. Thank you. Thank you so much."
Xu Ning didn't waste any more words. He simply nodded and turned to leave, quickly disappearing into the night.
Meng Lingzhu watched Xu Ning's departing figure, her gaze filled with complex, swirling emotions.
She always felt that Xu Ning possessed a mysterious aura, as if she could never fully understand him no matter how she tried. He was an enigma.
And yet, he was about her age, but far more outstanding, more capable, more composed than her.
What kind of experiences could have given him such wisdom, such skill, such shrewdness at such a young age? She couldn't fathom it.
During the long wait, the image of his calm, focused face kept flashing through Meng Lingzhu's mind, lingering there for a long, long time.
Before she knew it, dawn was beginning to break, the sky lightening in the east. Meng Yangming beside her suddenly stirred and made a soft noise. Meng Lingzhu quickly got up to check on him.
Bang!
Suddenly, a terrifying wave of force emanated from Meng Yangming's body. It instantly blasted away all the spikes and thorns embedded in his flesh, sending them flying in all directions.
Immediately afterward, a mysterious and profound internal energy fluctuation emanated from Meng Yangming, filling the grove with power.
Meng Lingzhu, sensing this incredible fluctuation, widened her eyes in shock. Her face filled with ecstatic joy!