The Heyu Medicine Manor quickly returned to its usual tranquility. Bai Hehuai only stayed in bed for one more day before she couldn’t resist organizing the manor’s reopening. After this recent turmoil, the reputation of Heyu Medicine Manor spread even further throughout South Peace City. While patients came in endless streams, Su Muyu established his own rule: they would only see twenty-three patients per day, and unless necessary, the manor would not make house calls.

With Su Muyu’s rule in place, many patients were turned away, including some who genuinely needed urgent treatment. Unable to bear this, Su Muyu and the others devised another solution. Xiao Chaoyan had been learning medicine from Bai Hehuai during this time, and to everyone’s surprise, she showed remarkable talent in medical arts. Combined with having Bai Hehuai—a teacher rarely found in this world—she could already treat minor ailments better than ordinary physicians.

Thus, the manor’s courtyard was divided into two stations: one where Bai Hehuai handled serious, urgent, and difficult cases, and another where Xiao Chaoyan treated minor injuries, colds, and fevers. With Su Muyu’s lightning-fast medicine preparation, Su Zhe’s casual distribution of Buddhist scriptures, and Su Changhe’s daily task of collecting money while eating watermelon, many people said that even without being ill, visiting Heyu Medicine Manor would leave one feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Several days later, a middle-aged man carrying a medicine chest and sporting a thin beard entered South Peace City. He stopped at a teahouse to rest and casually asked, “I hear there’s a Heyu Medicine Manor in the city?”

The waiter set down the teacup and glanced at the man’s attire. “Indeed there is, with a female divine physician in residence. Looking at your outfit, sir, are you also a doctor?”

The man nodded. “I know some medicine, enough to make a living.”

“If you only know ‘some,’ I’d advise against visiting Heyu Medicine Manor to join the excitement. These days, quite a few doctors have heard of the female divine physician’s reputation and come to challenge her medical skills. Each one has been thoroughly defeated, and those who couldn’t accept it were thrown out by the guard.” The waiter laughed, “Our South Peace City has countless beautiful sights, sir. Don’t go asking for trouble.”

“Oh?” The man smiled slightly. “Is this divine physician still seeing patients these days?”

The waiter nodded. “Of course. Every day.”

“How interesting.” The man took a sip of tea.

The waiter looked puzzled. “Isn’t a doctor seeing patients just the natural order of things?”

“Would you kindly point me in the right direction?” The man placed three copper coins down.

The waiter swept the coins into his sleeve with a wave. “It’s not far. Walk out three streets, go forward three intersections until you see a restaurant called ‘Fortune Comes,’ then turn left and walk one street. You’ll see Heyu Medicine Manor.”

“Thank you.” The man drained his tea in one gulp, shouldered his medicine chest, and left. Following the waiter’s directions, he soon arrived at Heyu Medicine Manor. Looking at the four characters on the signboard, he smiled slightly before stepping inside.

“Here to see a doctor?” Su Zhe blocked his path with his Buddhist staff. “Major illness or minor? Urgent or chronic?”

The man shook his head with a smile. “Not here for treatment. Looking for someone.”

Su Zhe glanced at the medicine chest on the man’s back and barked, “Get lost!”

The man said helplessly, “I’m looking for my junior master-aunt.”

Su Zhe froze, then suddenly realized: “You… you’re… Medicine King Xin…”

The man bowed slightly and said slowly, “Indeed.”

Su Zhe hurriedly cleared the way. Bai Hehuai, who had been seeing patients, heard the commotion and looked up to see the middle-aged man with the medicine chest standing at the door. She waved with a smile: “Little Baicao!”

Xin Baicao’s mouth twitched slightly. Years ago, when this little girl first came to the valley, she was lost and homesick, crying every day about wanting to go home. It was the gentle-natured Xin Baicao who cared for her daily, carrying her up the mountain to gather herbs and patiently explaining the properties of each medicine, which first sparked her interest in medicine. Rather than being this girl’s senior nephew, he was more truly her first real teacher. But this girl, taking advantage of her higher position in the sect hierarchy, had started calling him “Little Baicao” despite him being over ten years her senior once they became familiar. Now, after many years apart, even though he had become the world-renowned Medicine King, she still called him Little Baicao, taking quite an advantage of her position.

“Little Baicao!” Bai Hehuai called out again, waving her hand, afraid he hadn’t heard.

Xin Baicao cleared his throat and bowed with clasped hands. “Greetings, Master-Aunt!”

Su Muyu and Su Changhe exchanged smiles. Su Changhe shook his head. “Who knew the rules of Medicine King Valley ran so deep… If I were the Medicine King, I couldn’t bear such treatment.”

Su Muyu stepped forward and led Xin Baicao inside. “Elder, please come in and rest. Have some cool tea while waiting for Divine Physician Bai to finish with her patients.”

Xin Baicao observed Su Muyu’s gait and energy as he walked, slightly furrowing his brow. Just from these few glances, he could tell this person must be an unparalleled master, yet such a master was serving as a medicine assistant to Bai Hehuai—quite peculiar indeed. He took the teacup from Su Muyu’s hand, noticed the calluses on Su Muyu’s hands, and asked with a smile, “Are you a swordsman, sir?”

Su Muyu hesitated slightly: “Perhaps you could say that.”

Xin Baicao set down his teacup: “May I ask about your relationship with my master aunt?”

Su Muyu thought for a moment: “By chance, I once sought the Divine Physician’s help for a senior in my family. During the treatment, we became friends, and together we invested in opening this medicine manor. The ‘Yu’ character in the manor’s name represents me.”

Xin Baicao nodded: “I see. May I ask your full name, sir?”

“Su Muyu,” he replied quietly.

“A fine name.” Xin Baicao responded, then paused, before his expression changed dramatically. “Are you the… Su Muyu I’ve heard of?”

Su Muyu scratched his forehead: “Perhaps so.”

Xin Baicao drew in a sharp breath: “Before my master passed away, he asked me to look after this junior master-aunt. But with her stubborn nature, she wouldn’t even listen to him, let alone me, and left Medicine King Valley to wander on her own. I thought when we met again, I would be the one to shock her, but instead, I was the shocked one. She opened a medicine manor… with Dark River?”

Su Muyu, seeing Xin Baicao’s expression, found it somewhat amusing: “Indeed. We take lives, she saves them. Though we seem to walk completely different paths, we’ve opened a medicine manor together. It does seem rather incredible.”

“I understand now.” Xin Baicao suddenly dropped his scholarly demeanor and slapped his thigh hard. “It must be love, it must be because of damn love!”