https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-26-Trial-Joy-Tuesday-s-request-for-continued-reading-/13688161/
Chapter 25: The Virtue of the Old Physician
Eventually, Lao Zhao was carried off by his two sons, dragged away by his wife’s scolding. After Chen Laodaifu administered a few acupuncture points and prescribed some medicine, Lao Zhao’s complexion had improved significantly by the time he returned home.
Once Lao Zhao’s family left, the villagers, having lost their entertainment, dared not linger too long around Chen Laodaifu and began to disperse one by one.
“Are you leaving, A Qing?” Wang Da An asked Lu Qing.
“Huh? Lu Qing, what are you doing here? Xiao Yan’s here too?” The other villagers only now noticed Lu Qing and Xiao Yan standing quietly in the corner.
“I’ve been here all along,” Lu Qing smiled. “You were all focused on Zhao Shu’s condition, so you just didn’t notice me. Da An Ge, you and the others go ahead. I still have a few things I’d like to discuss with Chen Ye Ye.”
“Discuss?” Wang Da An finally noticed the book in Lu Qing’s hand and suddenly understood. “You’ve been learning from Chen Laodaifu?”
“Yeah,” Lu Qing didn’t deny it. “I’m picking up some knowledge about herbs under Chen Ye Ye’s guidance.”
The moment he spoke, the villagers were stunned.
Lu Qing, of all people, was being personally taught by the old physician?
Shock turned quickly into envy.
Chen Laodaifu’s medical skills were undeniable. He’d brought back people who were already beyond hope. Lu Qing himself had once been so ill—many had seen him—that only a single dose of the old physician’s medicine had saved him.
Earlier, when Lao Zhao fell into the river and turned ashen, no breath left his body—yet after a few skilled manipulations, Chen Laodaifu revived him.
Such mastery, some said, could truly be called “reviving the dead.”
Now, Lu Qing was being granted the rare chance to study under the old man. How could anyone not feel envious?
But envy aside, the villagers also knew this was something they couldn’t simply wish for. Mastering medical skills wasn’t easy. Only someone exceptionally intelligent could even begin to grasp the basics.
Look at Lu Qing—he held a book in his hand. In contrast, the entire village’s total literacy barely filled a single basket. Only Lu Qing, thanks to his grandfather’s early education, had learned to read.
Perhaps that was why Chen Laodaifu had taken a special interest in him.
Thinking this, the villagers’ jealousy softened. They knew—if such a rare opportunity fell into their hands, they wouldn’t have had the strength or ability to hold onto it.
An elderly villager stepped forward and placed a hand on Lu Qing’s shoulder.
“Good job, Lu Qing. You must study hard under the old physician. Make sure you learn everything he knows!”
The sudden encouragement left Lu Qing slightly dazed.
He wanted to say he was only learning a little about herbs—nothing more. But seeing the old man’s earnest eyes, he could only nod. “I’ll do my best.”
Only when the last of the villagers had left did Lu Qing still feel unsettled.
He’d expected the crowd to react with jealousy and resentment upon seeing him studying under Chen Laodaifu. Yet what he’d witnessed was different—yes, there was envy, yes, there was jealousy—but it wasn’t as intense as he’d imagined.
Instead, beneath the envy, there was a quiet hope—hope that he would truly master the old physician’s skills.
Lu Qing didn’t like to assume ill intent in others. But he also knew: people’s hearts were hard to read. Sometimes, jealousy flared for no reason at all.
“Feeling confused?” Chen Laodaifu appeared beside him.
“What?” Lu Qing blinked.
“You don’t understand why the villagers are so eager for you to learn my medical skills?”
Lu Qing nodded. He truly didn’t.
Did the old physician know the reason?
“Lu Qing,” Chen Laodaifu asked instead, “when I first came to this village, were there any other physicians in the surrounding areas?”
Lu Qing shook his head. The original owner of this body was still too young at the time, with little memory of those days.
“None,” Chen Laodaifu said, surprising him. “Before I arrived, there wasn’t a single physician in any of the nearby villages.”
“Back then, if someone fell ill, minor ailments were usually treated by gathering a few herbs they recognized and boiling them. Or they’d go to the MidwifeSpirit Medium for a remedy. Beyond that, they just had to endure—wait it out. Only when they could no longer bear it would they travel to the city for help.”
“But most serious illnesses began as small ones. By the time people were desperate enough to go to the city, the disease was already far advanced.”
“Serious illnesses were hard to treat—even city physicians weren’t always able to cure them.”
“And even if they could… city life was expensive. Traveling there for treatment? Unthinkable for most.”
“Even if a cure was possible, the medical fees were far beyond what ordinary villagers could afford.”
“So for common people, a serious illness often meant a death sentence.”
“Before I came, many villagers in the surrounding areas died each year from illness.”
Lu Qing thought back. Yes, he recalled—before Chen Laodaifu arrived, the village had lost people every year.
“I traveled here years ago, and saw how many people suffered, how many had no access to medical care. Out of compassion, I decided to stay—to give them a chance.”
“Little did I know I’d remain here for ten years.”
“Over these past ten years, I may not have saved countless lives, but I did ensure that when someone fell ill, they had a place to turn. They no longer had to let small problems grow into fatal ones.”
Lu Qing listened, deeply moved.
According to the old physician’s words, these past ten years had made him truly a savior to the region—a living bodhisattva.
“So that’s why they all want me to learn from you?” Lu Qing asked. “So I can help others the way you do?”
“Exactly,” Chen Laodaifu nodded. “They’ve all suffered too much from having no doctor. They’re afraid—afraid that one day, if I’m gone, they’ll be back to square one.”
“Don’t you still have Chen Ye Ye?” Lu Qing said.
“I’m very old,” the old physician admitted. “Though I don’t often walk around the village, I still hear the whispers. People wonder—what if I pass away tomorrow? Where will they go when they’re sick?”
Lu Qing: ……
He remembered the old man’s true nature—the subtle red glow that sometimes flickered around him.
Those villagers, of course, had no idea that their elderly healer could hear every word they said.
Now Lu Qing finally understood.
The villagers’ mix of envy and jealousy when they saw him studying under Chen Laodaifu—yet their urgent plea for him to learn well—wasn’t out of spite. It came from fear. Fear of returning to the days when illness meant death, when help was nowhere to be found.
“Chen Ye Ye,” Lu Qing asked quietly, “are you angry?”
“Why would I be?” Chen Laodaifu chuckled. “It’s only natural. And besides, I really am old. Half my body is already in the earth.”
But you look perfectly healthy. Lu Qing thought to himself.
He remembered the faint red light he’d once seen glowing from the old man’s body.
“Lu Qing,” Chen Laodaifu said gently, “you’re a smart boy. Now do you understand what the villagers truly mean?”
“A little,” Lu Qing nodded.
“Then… would you like to learn medicine from me?”
The old physician asked, his voice calm and clear.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
