Elixir Supplier

“Look at this day; it seems like it’s going to be a cold spring!” Standing on the peak of the hill, Wang Yao thought the weather looked gloomy.

He came down the hill and entered the frame of the array. In there, the cool hill breeze felt marginally less cold, and the wind force was less strong.

“This array needs further improvements to be complete.”

…

At noon, when he was making his way down the hill to his home, Wang Yao met someone—it was Wang Yide. At that time, he had angered Wang Yao and got detained in the police station for over ten days. Hence, when he saw Wang Yao in the distance, he took a detour and went into an alley. He was afraid of this young man. Although Wang Yide was a scoundrel, he was not stupid. In the time that he was detained at the police station, he had suffered. At the same time, he had the opportunity to cool his head and considered the consequences of his actions. It was then that he realized that he had indeed made a mistake, thinking that Wang Yao was a weakling and could be bullied since he was kind. He never thought he would suffer so much.

When Wang Yide finally left the police station, he hadn’t even gotten home yet before he was held up by the village joint defense captain who warned him severely with words and actions. When he went out at night, his head was covered in a gunny sack, and he was beaten up almost to the point of unconsciousness. Subsequently, in the week that he was back in the village, the three times that he went out at night, he was covered in the gunny sack and beaten up again. He was so fearful that he did not dare go out at night.

He now knew whose path he should not cross. That was why he avoided Wang Yao immediately.

“He realized that he should not have provoked me and so he hid?” Wang Yao saw Wang Yide make the detour and smiled. A wicked person would get his comeuppance. The result of letting him suffer was beneficial after all.

After he had his meal, Wang Yao went up the hill and started to decoct a Chinese formula for Tong Wei’s mother. He quietly sat there, looking at the multifunctional pot, undistracted by the outside world.

In the late afternoon, the decoction was done. Half a day had gone by.

On this day, a particular post on the internet forums had gone viral. It was a photo that showed a man with both hands raised. On his hands was a rock, almost the size of a man. Below the rock, there was a beautiful woman whose face looked a little pale. The caption was, “Amongst the people, there exists a protector of a pretty lady. He uses his fists to deflect a rock of a few thousand kilograms.”

There were countless comments that followed the post.

“This must be a fake. However, the photoshop is pretty well done. Can’t tell that the photo has been manipulated.”

“That girl is quite pretty; how can I find her?”

“What a rubbish expert. I can use just a single hand to drag a mountain. Next time, I’ll post a photo to show everyone.”

“This is real. I saw this with my own eyes. He is definitely an expert!”

“He’s an expert? How good is he?”

Apart from the people who had witnessed Wang Yao’s powerful skills, nobody else believed this to be genuine. Even so, this post with the photo had become very popular. It was obvious that the internet was a flourishing place and there were numerous bored netizens.

Obviously, Wang Yao was unaware of this post as he did not normally check out such things. He did not know that he had become popular in such an unconventional manner.

Even though the decoction was done, he was not in a rush to deliver it. After he came down from the hill and upon entering the alley, he saw his father rushing out.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

“Can you drive to your Uncle Fenglong’s house? His child is sick and needs to rush to the hospital.”

“Sure, I’ll go immediately.”

Wang Yao drove his car to his Uncle Fenglong’s house. His wife was already waiting inside, and she was carrying a child in her arms. The child was no older than four, or five years old. The reason was unknown, but the child was struggling and crying, and his cries were resounding.

“Yao, quickly go to the hospital.”

“Okay!”

Wang Yao drove his car towards Lianshan County, and his speed was faster than usual.

“Uncle, what’s wrong with Xiaohe?”

“This afternoon, his stomach hurt suddenly. It was very painful, and the medicine was no use,” Wang Fenglong said.

As he was driving, Wang Yao could not examine the child and could not determine what the cause of his pain was. In the car, the child constantly cried. Evidently, the pain must have been excruciating.

“Yao, can you drive faster?”

“Sure.” Wang Yao accelerated. His car was like a panther on the road, dashing at great speed.

They reached the county hospital shortly and were rushed into the emergency ward where all sorts of examinations and tests were conducted. During the process, Wang Yao examined the child. It was an illness in the intestinal tract.

However, the doctor could not detect the cause. The doctor on duty was very meticulous; he asked a pediatrician on duty to help examine the child. As the child was still crying constantly, the pediatrician was unable to immediately detect the problem.

“There is something wrong with the intestinal tract; it may be intussusception,” Wang Yao suggested.

“Intussusception.” The pediatrician took the ultrasound film and carefully examined it.

“It is possible. Do another ultrasound check.”

With another round of check, the child continued to cry.

This time, the result was more prominent, and the reason was determined to be intussusception.

The emergency room doctor and the pediatrician were stunned after seeing the results of the film. They looked at Wang Yao with peculiar eyes.

“Are you a doctor?”

“Sort of. Please treat the child quickly.”

“Yes!”

As the problem was discovered early, the treatment could be administered to the child early, and therefore no operation was needed. The process was considered smooth, and the child was finally cured. His face was pale and did not have much energy. The doctors suggested that he stay in the hospital for further observation. Thus, Wang Yao helped to handle the hospitalization paperwork.

In the ward, the child had fallen asleep after tiring himself out from all the crying. His parents sat by his side, watching.

“Thank you, Yao,” Wang Fenglong said. “You have medical skills?” It was all thanks to Wang Yao’s timely actions in sending his son to the hospital and his diagnosis that his son could receive treatment in time and suffered a little less.

Wang Yao nodded. “I know a little.”

By the time things settled down, Wang Yao had noticed that the time had already touched 9 pm.

“Uncle, Aunt, if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave now.”

“No hurry, you haven’t had dinner yet. Shall we go out to have dinner?” Wang Fenglong said.

“It’s alright. I’ll have it at home.” Wang Yao waved his hands, got up and left the ward. Outside the ward, he met the emergency room doctor from earlier.

“Hello, is the child settled?” the doctor asked Wang Yao.

“Yes, he just fell asleep. Thank you, Doctor,” said Wang Yao. Starting from the emergency ward, this doctor proved to be both meticulous and responsible.

“This is my job. How do I address you?”

“Wang Yao.”

“Hello, I am Pan Jun.”

“Hello.” Wang Yao looked at the bulkily built man. When he saw him for the first time, he thought that he looked like a member of an association. Without makeup, he could easily play the role of a rebel in a movie. Ordinarily, people would look at him and be fearful of him. No one would associate a man of his looks with the title of a doctor.

“You are also a doctor, right?” Pan Jun said. He had a strong impression of Wang Yao. This good-looking young man could point out the cause of the illness with one sentence. This had saved them a lot of trouble and reduced the child’s suffering. Such a skill was not something an ordinary person could display.

“No.” Wang Yao smiled and shook his head.

“If you’re not, how did you know the cause of the child’s illness?!” Pan Jun asked amazedly.

“I am a pharmacist,” said Wang Yao.

“Pharmacist? Like a medicine maker?”

“No.” Wang Yao smiled and shook his head. He did not wish to continue explaining. However, Pan Jun followed up with another sentence that surprised him.

“An ancient pharmacist?” Pan Jun tested the waters and enquired.

“Yes, you know of this?”

“Really? You are adept at treating all sorts of difficult-to-treat illnesses?” Pan Jun had read about such a concept from medical books. This was a name for ancient doctors.

“Yes.” Wang Yao nodded. “But I do not have the qualifications yet.”

Pan Jun was stunned and stood there not saying a word for some time.

Ring, ring! All of a sudden, the phone in his pocket sounded, and Pan Jun picked it up. There was someone urgently looking for him. The emergency room was the busiest place in the hospital and would encounter all sorts of patients.

“Can you leave me your contact details?” Pan Jun asked.

“Sure.”

After they exchanged their contact details, Pan Jun left quickly.

“Yao, why haven’t you left?” Wang Fenglong enquired as he came out to get hot water and saw Wang Yao still at the corridor.

“I just met someone earlier and spoke for a bit. I will go now. Call me if there are any problems.”

“Okay, drive safely.”

“I will.”

When Wang Yao drove his car home, it was already past 10 pm. His house was still lit. He knew that his parents were worried and hence he did not go up the hill and chose to go home. He told his parents what transpired at the hospital, and then slept at home and did not go up the hill.

The next day, in the morning, Wang Yao woke up early. First, he made breakfast, ate it, then left some for his parents and quietly left the house. He went up to Nanshan hill, tended to his herbal field, and did his breathing exercise. Having finished with his chores, he looked at the time and decided to go to the city. He intended to deliver the decoction he made to Tong Wei’s mother.

When he reached Lianshan, he went to the supermarket to buy some presents and then made his way to Tong Wei’s house.

Wang Yao took the gifts and decoction up the stairs and coincidentally, Tong Wei’s parents were both at home.

“Uncle, Aunt.”

“Yao, you’re here. Have a seat!” Upon seeing him, Tong Wei’s parents’ attitude towards him was warm.

“You don’t have to bring so many things when you come!”

Tong Wei’s parents had both retired. Both were civil servants. Her father was a deputy director in one of the government bureaus, and his pension was quite high. They certainly did not lack for things. However, Wang Yao knew that if he did not bring a gift, even if the two of them did not say anything, they would think that he was very unpassioned.

“Aunt’s complexion looks good today.”

“It’s not too bad; I went out for a walk this morning,” Tong Wei’s mother smiled and responded.

“Here, have some tea.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

Wang Yao accepted the tea. Then he took out the decoction he made and put it on the table.