Chapter 267 The Doctor's Devious Deeds

The more he spoke, the happier he became. Just as he was lamenting how life is full of unexpected reunions, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and his brows arched slightly.

"Eh?"

Qi Huan stared at Chen Mu, his eyes filled with a bit more astonishment.

"Chen Mu, have you already achieved a Breakthrough in the Heart-Awakening Realm? Why do I feel like you're more than just a little stronger than you were in Yunmeng? What on earth have you experienced these past few months?"

Chen Mu shook his head slightly, his tone indifferent.

"I was lucky to have some encounters, nothing worth mentioning."

Qi Huan glared at him and said irritably,

"You kid, still holding back from me."

However, he did not press for more, only sighing with emotion,

"Fine, fine. You've always been this way, and I can't be bothered to ask. But having said that, I am happy for you that you've attained this level of ability today."

The two chatted for a while, the atmosphere in the room harmonious, until Duan Shenxing, who had been silent the whole time, finally set down his teacup and gave a light cough.

"Alright, you two have caught up enough. It's time to talk about serious matters. Qi Huan, I stopped you here not just for tea and reminiscence."

Qi Huan's expression froze.

"Please speak, Elder Duan."

Duan Shenxing did not speak immediately but looked at Chen Mu, his gaze thoughtful.

Chen Mu understood and was about to rise to take his leave when Duan Shenxing raised a hand to stop him.

"You don't need to leave. Although you haven't been in the division long, you handled those few cases cleanly and efficiently. I have seen it all. This matter also involves the Demon Hunting Division, so it wouldn't hurt for you to listen."

Chen Mu nodded slightly and sat back down.

Duan Shenxing stood up and walked to the door, peering outside. After confirming no one was there, he closed the door and sat back on the couch.

"Recently, the area around the Prefecture has not been peaceful. Starting half a month ago, several villages in succession have been struck by illness. Plagues, leprosy, bubonic plague—all kinds of infectious diseases have come on aggressively, and many people have fallen ill within just a few days."

Qi Huan frowned.

"A plague? But if it were a plague, how could we in the Prefecture not have received a single whisper of it?"

Duan Shenxing glanced at him.

"That is the strange part. Although those illnesses came on aggressively, none of them spread on a large scale. The illness in each village would only flare up for three to five days before inexplicably subsiding, and everything would return to normal."

He paused, a flash of gravity crossing his eyes.

"This is suspicious."

Qi Huan interjected from the side,

"Inexplicably subsided? Once an epidemic breaks out, without proper treatment, it only spreads wider and wider. It subsided in three to five days? This..."

Chen Mu pondered for a moment.

"Has Medical Officer Duan gone to check personally?"

Duan Shenxing nodded slightly.

"Naturally, I have. I took my pharmacy assistant and visited all seven or eight of those villages. The patients had long since recovered, were in good health, and suffered no lingering aftereffects."

"I went door-to-door to diagnose them, examining no fewer than a hundred people. I can confirm that they had indeed been ill, and with highly contagious diseases at that. But for some reason, it didn't spread to more people, nor did it leave any root of illness."

At this point, his brows furrowed even tighter.

"What's even stranger is that the villagers' accounts are identical. Every time an epidemic broke out, within three days, an old man with white hair and a silver beard would enter the village, going door-to-door to diagnose and administer medicine, taking not a single cent, and the medicine would cure the illness instantly."

Qi Huan pondered for a moment and tentatively asked,

"Could it be a wandering healer?"

"If it were just a wandering healer, that wouldn't be strange."

Duan Shenxing picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"But I asked those villagers, and the prescriptions the old man wrote had nothing special about them. They were just ordinary herbs—honeysuckle, forsythia, isatis root, and the like—formulas to clear heat and release the exterior, at most with a few herbs added to strengthen one's Qi."

"Yet, with these very ordinary herbs, once the decoction was drunk, those dying patients were able to get out of bed and walk by the second day, and by the third day, they could work in the fields. I have practiced medicine for decades and have never seen any prescription with such rapid efficacy."

He paused, speaking word by word.

"It's like an elixir."

When he said the word "elixir," his tone carried an indescribable nuance.

Chen Mu listened quietly, his mind racing with thoughts.

For ordinary herbs to have such miraculous effects, either the person administering them possesses some method unknown to ordinary people that allows the medicine's power to be exerted to its limit, or the medicine itself is not ordinary herbs at all.

But Duan Shenxing came from the Imperial Hospital and was highly skilled in medicine; if there were a problem with the medicine, he could not have failed to see it.

Chen Mu pondered for a moment and asked,

"Where is that old man now?"

Duan Shenxing shook his head.

"I don't know. Every time the epidemic subsides, he leaves. No one knows where he goes, and no one knows where his next stop is. The villagers try to keep him, but they can't. If they ask his name, he doesn't say. If they ask where he is from, he just smiles and says nothing."

"So, these villagers have built temples for him in their villages, offering incense and worship, calling him a living deity."

Chen Mu frowned slightly.

An old man with white hair and a silver beard travels the world, specifically choosing villages plagued by epidemics to administer medicine, curing illnesses instantly, taking no payment, leaving no name, yet causing the common people to spontaneously build temples for worship...

This behavior doesn't sound like an ordinary wandering healer at all.

Chen Mu looked up at Duan Shenxing.

"Does Medical Officer Duan suspect this person is a demon?"

Duan Shenxing nodded slowly.

"I do indeed have suspicions. Practicing medicine to save people is a virtuous act, and I shouldn't make rash speculations. But this person's actions are too suspicious. Every time he appears, it is after an epidemic has broken out, and he visits every village, yet he never leaves any clues that can be traced. How can there be such a coincidence in this world?"

"Furthermore, I investigated the source of the epidemics in those villages and found nothing. It was as if those illnesses appeared out of thin air, and once he appeared, they vanished into thin air as well."

Qi Huan mused,

"Elder Duan, you told me about this because you want the Demon Search Division to investigate?"

Duan Shenxing nodded.

"Exactly. This matter can be small or large. To put it simply, he is just a wandering healer with superb medical skills, and the people are grateful and built temples, which is understandable. On a larger scale, if it really is a demon at work, his actions must have an ulterior motive, and we cannot sit idly by."

Chen Mu's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked at Qi Huan.

"How does Chief Qi intend to handle this?"

Qi Huan sighed, a look of helplessness appearing on his face.

"This is exactly where my dilemma lies. According to the rules, the Demon Search Division should investigate such a suspicious person to the end. But the problem is... he hasn't harmed anyone yet; on the contrary, he has saved many commoners. The villagers treat him like a living deity. If we act rashly and say he is a demon and want to bring him to justice, what will the villagers think?"

Chen Mu did not speak, simply listening quietly.

Qi Huan continued,

"They will only think that the Demon Suppression Division is muddled and incompetent, unable to distinguish good from evil, and even wants to arrest a living deity who saves people. When public resentment rises, it will be impossible to suppress."

"But if we leave it alone..."

He paused, a flash of gravity crossing his eyes.

"If he really is a demon, not harming anyone now doesn't mean he won't in the future. Today he can administer medicine to save people, but tomorrow he could administer poison to kill them. Once his wings are fully grown, it will be difficult to deal with him."