Feng Jiu’er thought that her luck tonight seemed to be running a little unfortunate — she had barely been walking when a remarkably handsome man came dropping out of the sky.

Still, Tianji Hall was a place for healing people, and at the sight of that pale, haggard face, her professional instincts took over.

She had him carried inside and began her examination. It did not take long to find the source of his trouble.

This handsome man had rheumatism.

Truly, on a night of raging storm, wandering out to drink alone was one thing — but to come stumbling, half-drunk, all the way to Tianji Hall? How strong was his will to live?

“Get him a change of clothes. I’ll come back shortly to give him his acupuncture.”

Two attendants answered: “Yes.”

Jian Yi had endured the searing pain through most of the night. In the small hours before dawn, drifting in and out of consciousness, he vaguely sensed someone fussing over his legs.

His first instinct had been to kick her away, but the moment he thought to lift his leg, he realized the pain was already somewhat less.

This injury had tormented him for so many years. Every time it rained, the pain would come. Last night, with the addition of alcohol, it had been worse than ever.

He did not know himself why he had come to Tianji Hall. Perhaps it was simply that there was nowhere else left to go.

His leg ached so badly that standing was difficult. Whether it was because of the drink, this episode had been more severe than any before.

But when he woke this time, it was different. In the past, a flare-up would leave him in pain for at least several days. This time, waking the next morning, there was only a faint numbness — no pain.

There was someone in the room.

Jian Yi shot upright. Before him sat a figure whose face was completely wrapped in bandages. The moment the man saw Jian Yi was awake, he slipped out the door.

A short while later, Feng Jiu’er came in behind him.

Jian Yi had already climbed out of bed, straightened his clothes, and was preparing to leave.

When he saw Feng Jiu’er enter, a faint wariness flickered across his eyes.

“You came to Tianji Hall of your own accord, and now you’re being wary of me? Don’t tell me you didn’t bring any money and don’t intend to pay for your treatment?”

Feng Jiu’er waved her hand. From somewhere, Yanu produced an abacus and held it respectfully before her.

Feng Jiu’er’s slender fingers immediately began clicking through the beads with crisp, rapid precision.

“This set of clothes is brand new — that’s three taels of silver. Last night I gave you acupuncture treatment. Since it was a night visit, the consultation fee is twenty percent higher than the daytime rate — that comes to three taels, which includes our people carrying you in and attending to you while you were changed.”

Tianji Hall’s rates were not excessively high, but they were not low either. Everything was fair and reasonable — they were certainly not running some shady establishment.

Feng Jiu’er had not been practicing on the abacus for long, but her hands moved over it with remarkable fluency.

“Ordinarily, since you came dropping out of the sky and gave me quite a fright, I should charge you something for the emotional distress. But given how handsome you are, I’ll let that go.”

She held out her open palm and looked at him. “Six taels in total. If you would kindly settle the consultation fee and the cost of the clothes.”

The wariness in Jian Yi’s eyes quickly shifted to bewilderment. He looked down at himself and confirmed that yes, he had indeed been changed.

He also glanced at Yanu, who stood behind Feng Jiu’er with a warm, good-natured expression — not the slightest hint of anything threatening about her.

Could it be that he had truly come here on his own last night, and had actually… come crashing down and frightened Feng Jiu’er?

Suddenly, Jian Yi’s gaze darkened. On instinct, he reached up and touched his face.

The human-skin mask was gone. Right — last night, in Qingxiang Palace, he had not been wearing a mask.

In Feng Qingyin’s place, he had never been particularly guarded. On the days when she had no need for him to go out, he would take off that human-skin mask.

In the past, wherever he went, whenever he was in the presence of outsiders, he always wore the mask. Because of this, very few people had ever seen his true face.

Even the Sect Master of Tianzhun Sect, Di Wu Ya, had once tried to pull the mask off him — and had not succeeded.

From the time he first made his name in the world at the age of some ten-odd years, Jian Yi had never trusted anyone — except Feng Qingyin.

But now, he no longer trusted even Feng Qingyin. He could not go back to Qingxiang Palace. From here on, where was he to go?

Half a year of relative peace had passed. Too long without being an assassin — and now, suddenly, he felt a little lost, unable to see the road ahead.

“Hmm?” Feng Jiu’er’s brow furrowed slightly. This man kept cycling through caution, confusion, and despair — she had no idea what was going through his head. She was only asking him to pay a small consultation fee. Was that so difficult?

He carried himself with an air of distinction, and he certainly did not look like someone short of money. On the contrary, he had quite the bearing of a young nobleman. He should not be unable to pay even a trifling sum.

Jian Yi was pulled back to the present by Feng Jiu’er’s impatience. He looked down, his gaze falling on her outstretched palm. This Ghost Doctor Feng Jiu’er was truly something — being male, to have hands this slender.

Though, perhaps that was not what he ought to be paying attention to right now. At this moment, he… “I’m sorry. I have no money.”

“No money?” Feng Jiu’er’s delicate brows immediately drew together. “A man of your bearing — really? Where do you live?”

“Home…” The color of Jian Yi’s face grew colder still. He turned his face away, wrapped in an air of cold pride. “I have no home.”

“Friends?”

“No friends.”

“…” That was a disaster. No family, no friends — which meant not only was the consultation fee uncollectable, but she had also given away a set of clothes for nothing.

Feng Jiu’er let out a quiet breath, feeling somewhat helpless.

He did not look like he was deliberately making excuses, and there was no point in forcing him to pay. But she could not simply let this sort of thing set a precedent — if the word got out, what was she supposed to do when everyone who came seeking treatment claimed to have no money?

Tianji Hall was not a charity.

“I will repay you later,” Jian Yi said, clearly displeased under her skeptical gaze. “Once I go back…”

He had only left Feng Qingyin’s place in too much of a hurry to bring money. It was not as though he… no, wait. He had not taken a single job in the past half year. Where would he even get money?

And going back to ask Feng Qingyin for money — that was out of the question.

Seeing that he could not finish his sentence, Feng Jiu’er had no desire to keep going back and forth with him.

She said evenly: “Tianji Hall is a business. I can see you have nothing pressing at the moment. Since you have no money, then you can work off the debt.”

Dragging this out would lead nowhere. But letting someone eat, sleep, and receive treatment here all for free was genuinely not something she could allow to become a habit.

If one person told ten and ten told a hundred, before long, a whole host of truly shameless people would be turning up at her door.

Jian Yi fixed her with a look, his brows drawing slightly together. “What do you mean, work off the debt?”

“It means helping out with some tasks — sweeping the backyard, drying medicinal herbs, that sort of thing. Working in exchange for what you owe.”

The point was simply that she could not let him walk out of here just like that.

“Yanu, take him and put him to work. He owes us six taels — you decide how to arrange the tasks accordingly.”

In other words, every bit of that six taels’ worth had to be accounted for.

Jian Yi, however, suddenly said: “I can stay and work. But… could you give me something to eat first?”