Chapter 134: The Profiteering Divine Doctor

Hearing He Yu talk with such certainty made it sound genuinely bizarre, but regardless, hearsay is never as convincing as seeing something with your own eyes. This only made me more determined to make the trip to Luoyang.

We sat for a while longer before heading off to sleep. Those two days on the train were pretty boring. At first, He Yu and I were still in the mood to fool around, but eventually, we ate so much instant ramen we wanted to throw up. By the end, we barely talked, only wanting to reach our destination and collapse onto a bed.

It was a few days later when we stepped onto Kaifeng soil again. Since my rented place was only so big no matter how I rearranged things, He Yu and I could only clear out the utility room for Lu Ayao to stay in temporarily. Once He Yu left, his room would be freed up for Lu Ayao.

We only stayed in Kaifeng for a single day before preparing to leave for Luoyang. On one hand, settling down makes you lazy; on the other hand, injuries and illnesses can’t be delayed. Although Lu Ayao’s wound looked mostly fine on the surface, poisoning isn’t something you can judge by appearances alone.

The three of us shelled out nearly a hundred yuan to take a long-distance bus from the station straight to Luoyang. Along the way, we saw nothing but endless plains and trucks hauling pigs and sheep on the highway—nothing much worth describing. We set off at eight and arrived at Luoyang Station around noon.

Not having a phone was really inconvenient, so after getting off the bus, He Yu took Lu Ayao to get ramen while I went to find a place to buy a SIM card and a new phone. While waiting for our food, I slipped the card into the new phone and saved all the numbers I could remember, starting with He Yu and the others.

Eating his noodles, He Yu asked Lu Ayao, “How did the contact go? Can we find him?”

Lu Ayao glanced at a text message on his phone and nodded, then turned the screen to show He Yu. I leaned in to sneak a peek as well. An address was written on it: No. 312 Zhongzhou Middle Road, Xigong District, at the foot of the south gate wall. Present Mon/Wed/Fri, absent Tue/Thu/Sat, closed Sunday.

I was taken aback when I saw the address. I had classmates at school from Luoyang, and I had asked them about it before coming. “No. 312 Zhongzhou Middle Road, Xigong District” was actually Luoyang’s Wangcheng Park, but what exactly did “at the foot of the wall” mean? Was he telling us to meet him by the base of the wall?

But what kind of move was meeting up in a park? Shouldn’t a grand master like him find a teahouse, drinking tea in the air conditioning while taking his time to talk?

Although He Yu and I were both a bit confused, we still took a taxi to Wangcheng Park. The cab driver took us for tourists and chatted excitedly with He Yu the entire ride, leaving He Yu’s mouth completely dry. The moment we got out of the car, he started begging me for water.

I told him not to rush; he wasn’t going to die of thirst anytime soon. There’d be plenty of time to buy water after we found our person.

The location given in the address was very vague. I wandered left and right around the south gate. Not many people came to the park at this time of day; near the entrance were only two or three old men resting in the shade of the trees and a middle-aged woman with a kid. Aside from them, there was just a cart piled high with toys and an unlicensed ring-toss stall.

I glanced around. The owner of the toy cart was a middle-aged man who was smoking and fanning himself with a cattail leaf fan in the shade. The ring-toss stall had grabbed a better spot, its owner hidden beneath a massive sun umbrella.

“That’s strange. I don’t think these old men look like they know how to treat illnesses. Do you think Bai Shenxian might be that middle-aged woman?” He Yu whispered in my ear.

I wasn’t sure either. I figured Bai Shenxian should at least be someone of advanced age, but none of the people here looked like a doctor who could prescribe medicine. I turned to look at Lu Ayao, only to find him looking calm as he walked with steady steps toward the unlicensed ring-toss stall in the corner.

He Yu glanced at me and asked, “What’s his deal? Old in years, young at heart? Does he want to try something new?”

We looked at each other in confusion and silently followed to see what Lu Ayao was up to. Just as we reached the sun umbrella, the owner, who was lying across two folding stools, turned over as if he couldn’t be bothered with us, pulling his straw hat tighter over his face.

“Small rings three yuan, big rings five. Buy ten, get one free. You win whatever you land on. Grazing doesn’t count.”

The owner wore a white tank top and didn’t even bother to sit up to look at us. He lay on the stools with his legs crossed, eyes closed as he recited the rules.

I stepped up and tugged on Lu Ayao’s sleeve, suggesting, “How about we find the person first?”

Lu Ayao ignored me, but then he did something that left He Yu and me completely stunned. Without a word, he stepped forward and kicked the stool right out from under the stall owner. The kick came without warning, and the owner instantly landed hard on his backside.

“What’s going on? What’s going on? Who is it! Who! Trying to wreck my stall, are you?!” The owner scrambled around barefoot looking for his shoes before flipping himself up from the ground with an agile spring.

It was then that I noticed he was wearing a pair of ridiculously exaggerated children’s glasses. The frames were a size too small, leaving only one side hooked over his ear, and on that earlobe hung a single, icy green jade earring.

I rushed forward to grab Lu Ayao, fearing he might hit the owner in a fit of impulse. I thought to myself that I had never seen him so indignant before. Why was he so aggressive today? Even if the man was operating without a license, it was still a small business. We weren’t the authorities, and no matter the reason, he shouldn’t be hitting people.

The owner looked at us and then at Lu Ayao. He brushed his messy hair away from his face, took off his glasses, and squinted. His originally fierce expression instantly transformed into a wide smile.

“Well, now! I was wondering who was bold enough to do that, and it turns out to be young friend Lu! What wind blew you here?”

Lu Ayao said to him, “I’ve been poisoned. I’m here for treatment.”

As soon as he said this, He Yu and I looked at each other in disbelief. No matter how hard we racked our brains, we couldn’t understand how this unlicensed street stall owner could possibly be the legendary Bai Shenxian who could bring the dead back to life.

I immediately sized the man up once more. Bai Shenxian wore a tank top that had clearly been worn many times, as the fabric had thinned from washing. On his bottom half were loose shorts, and on his feet, faded blue slippers. He didn’t look very old, and right now he stood with his hands on his hips, occasionally reaching up to scratch his unshaven mustache.

I stood to the side and scratched my head, feeling more than a little skeptical. No, that wasn’t right. From head to toe, left to right, every inch of this man screamed “unreliable.” It seemed the rumors in the martial world couldn’t be trusted. How on earth did he look like a doctor capable of treating anyone?!

I shot He Yu a meaningful look.

He Yu pulled me aside and whispered, “Don’t be so quick to doubt. This field is never short on lunatics. Often, the crazier they are, the more skilled they are. Old Lu seems to have a special connection with him. Let’s just wait and see.”

Bai Shenxian scratched his neck and said, “Well, that’s bad timing. I’m running my stall today, and you don’t have an appointment. If I pack up early, I’ll lose out on a whole afternoon’s worth of business.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “But since we grew up together, I’ll give you a discount. If you can cover my earnings for the afternoon, I might be persuaded to head back and check your pulse.”

Lu Ayao stood where he was and let out a sigh.

Bai Shenxian chuckled and turned around to grab a large bundle of plastic rings. He winked at Lu Ayao and then waved at me, standing behind him. “Hey, kid, are you with him? Who’s paying, you or him?”

Hearing that, I shot He Yu a resentful look.

How the hell is this guy supposed to be a miraculous doctor? If he’s a miracle worker, I’ll eat every single one of these rings. He’s nothing but a damn swindler!