28: The "Living Dead" Healer

"I'm tired of hearing empty thanks. Just do your job well by my side." Ling Xian raised his eyes slightly and helped Wu Poshan up with one hand.

"Understood," Wu Poshan nodded in response.

He knew in his heart that mere thanks were too hollow for the favors Young Master Ling had shown him.

If he had the chance in the future, he would definitely repay him with his life.

"Your sister's illness seems a bit troublesome. This time, I'm taking you to see a divine doctor."

...On the outskirts of Donghai City, in a small courtyard built into a valley and hidden by emerald bamboo, mist lingered all year round.

Even if an ordinary person wandered in by mistake, they would find themselves circling back to where they started in the bamboo forest's natural maze.

In the eyes of ordinary people, such methods were undoubtedly like those of an immortal.

This was the secluded residence of the divine doctor, the "Living Dead."

To find this place, Ling Xian had dispatched all his Hidden Guards, leaving not even a single bodyguard behind.

The rolls-royce stopped outside the bamboo forest. Ling Xian got out of the car with Wu Poshan and Wu Yueyue, whose complexion had improved significantly.

Wu Poshan looked at the seemingly ordinary bamboo forest and frowned slightly. His instincts, honed from frequent battles in the boxing ring, told him that this place was unusual.

Wu Yueyue looked around curiously, her small hand tightly grasping the corner of Ling Xian's clothes, her heart filled with both excitement and fear.

"Young Master Ling, this place..." Wu Poshan hesitated, wanting to warn Ling Xian that this place was not simple.

Ling Xian's gaze was calm as he scanned the layout of the bamboo forest. "A type of Qimen Dunjia, but it's just some shallow illusions.

Follow my footsteps; don't take a single wrong step."

"illusion dream, help me crack this."

[host's villain points are insufficient. Would you like to take a loan? Borrow nine, repay thirteen.]

"Are you robbing me? Never mind then."

Ling Xian had wanted to save some effort, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible now.

He must save some villain points next time; he absolutely couldn't use them all up.

Calming his mind, Ling Xian expanded his mental and soul power to cover the entire bamboo forest in the next moment.

He took the lead into the bamboo forest. His steps seemed casual, but they followed a certain pattern, making his figure flicker in and out of the bamboo shadows.

Wu Poshan and Wu Yueyue didn't dare to be careless and followed Ling Xian's footsteps closely.

As expected, the bamboo forest, which had seemed like a dead end, parted automatically, revealing a winding path.

Soon, several simple bamboo huts came into view, the scent of medicine wafting through the air.

In front of the bamboo huts, an old man dressed in grey hemp clothes, with hair and beard as white as snow but a complexion as rosy as a baby's, sat on a stone bench, unhurriedly fiddling with a medicine pestle.

He didn't look up, as if he hadn't seen this group of uninvited guests.

Ling Xian cupped his hands and said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone, "Junior Ling Xian, along with my friend's sister, Wu Yueyue, has come to pay respects to the divine doctor Living Dead. I earnestly request the divine doctor's assistance."

The Living Dead stopped his movements and lifted his eyelids. His eyes were clear, unlike those of an old man. His gaze paused slightly on Ling Xian before finally settling on Wu Yueyue.

"Why is it so hard for an old man like me to find a place for seclusion in this era?

I'll teach you for ruining my seclusion! Ruining it! Ruining it!"

The Living Dead used the medicine pestle in his hand to repeatedly hit Wu Poshan.

As for why he didn't hit the others?

He didn't hit Ling Xian because he was chicken; he couldn't beat him.

He didn't hit Wu Yueyue because she was a patient, and he was afraid of causing complications.

Ling Xian watched, somewhat speechless. He remembered that when Lin Feng wandered in by mistake, it wasn't like this!

Didn't he save his life directly back then?

Why is he throwing a tantrum with me?

For his sister's sake, Wu Poshan chose not to fight back and waited until the old man had calmed down.

"The rules, do you understand them?" the old man asked in a raspy voice.

"I have heard a little," Ling Xian explained calmly. "As for the words 'Trust' and 'Sincerity,' I believe I possess them.

As for 'Fate'..."

"I think I might be able to offer something that would interest you, sir."

"Oh?" The old man's eyes were filled with scrutiny and contempt. "Young man, you talk big. Gold, silver, treasures, power, and status are nothing but dung in my eyes.

What can you possibly offer?"

Ling Xian didn't speak directly but threw a punch, stopping just a foot away from the old man.

"I think your life should be enough."

The old man, the "Living Dead," broke into a cold sweat, his heart pounding wildly.

"Holy crap! Which family's little brat is this? So disrespectful of the rules, actually wanting my life?" The old man's heart skipped a beat; he was utterly shocked!

Anyone who had found his seclusion in the past had been pleading and incredibly respectful.

This little brat doesn't follow the rules and attacked me. Isn't he afraid there'll be no one to treat the patient?

In fact, Ling Xian really wasn't afraid.

He came to find the "Living Dead" to snatch Lin Feng's opportunity and treat Wu Yueyue in the process.

If the old man was unwilling, he would just kill him.

With the system, as long as he had enough villain points, he didn't believe he couldn't even get a god-level medical skill.

Just then, Ling Xian laughed loudly. "Haha! Sir, I was just joking, just joking."

After saying that, Ling Xian stepped forward slowly and said, "Sir, your Nine Needles Technique is probably incomplete, isn't it?"

Ling Xian paused and looked at the old man, the "Living Dead."

"The remnant of the Nine Needles Technique is missing the most crucial mental cultivation method, causing the medicinal properties to be fierce but lacking gentleness. It might barely suffice for treating illnesses where yin-cold has seeped into the bones, but if you want to stimulate vitality and reshape the heart's meridians, it would likely have the opposite effect."

*Clatter!*

The medicine pestle in the "Living Dead's" hand dropped to the ground.

He suddenly looked up at Ling Xian in disbelief.

He had spent over ten years unable to complete the missing parts of his lineage's secret medical manual.

This young man before him could actually tell.

"You... who exactly are you?" the old man asked with a trembling voice, taking a few steps back.

Wu Poshan and Wu Yueyue didn't understand what was going on, but seeing the old man's intense reaction, they realized that what Ling Xian said was likely very significant to him.

"It doesn't matter who I am," Ling Xian smiled. "What matters is that I happen to know that the missing mental cultivation method is recorded in another long-lost manual, the 'Taisu Pulse Theory'."

"The 'Taisu Pulse Theory'!" The old man stood up abruptly, his breathing becoming rapid.

He had only seen the name of this medical treasure in his founder's notes.

By now, it had likely long since vanished into the river of history.

"You... you have the 'Taisu Pulse Theory'?" The old man's voice carried uncertainty and longing.

Ling Xian shook his head. "The complete 'Taisu Pulse Theory' has long been lost, and I haven't had the chance to see it either.

However, the part regarding the mental cultivation method happens to be recorded in a remnant."

As he spoke, he took out a remnant volume from his robe. Instead of handing it directly to the old man, he placed it gently on the stone table.

"This is an excerpt from that remnant. It happens to record the essentials of the mental cultivation method, as well as some knowledge regarding the way of nurturing the heart's meridians."

This was the [Taisu Pulse Incantation: Counter-Current Chapter Remnant] that Ling Xian had exchanged from the system mall by taking a loan of 500 villain points.

To an old man like the "Living Dead" who was obsessed with the medical path, this was nothing short of a priceless treasure.

After a long while, the old man took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart, and thought to himself, "This kid bringing such a gift shows he put thought into it. I'll just let his attack on me earlier slide."

"Haha, this gift is quite precious. Just to save this girl? It's hardly worth it." The smile hadn't left the old man's face since a moment ago.

But how could Ling Xian let the old man off so easily?

He had to squeeze every bit of value out of him.

"The value of knowledge lies in its application," Ling Xian said with a wicked smile. "As long as you become the Family Doctor for my Ling Family, I can give it to you."