Ultimate Village Doctor

Chapter Twenty-Two

Upon entering the home, Long Xiaoshan greeted Long Dashan.

Long Dashan said, "Xiaoshan, why have you come back alone? Where did you go last night? You didn't come home, and your mother couldn't sleep all night."

Long Xiaoshan mentioned that he had left Long Xiaoling to work at a grand hotel in the county town, but he didn't mention what had happened at the Grand Tycoon Hotel; saying it would only cause Long Dashan and the others worry.

Hearing that Long Xiaoshan hadn't found a job, Long Dashan sighed but didn't say anything. When he saw Xiaoshan about to go into the house, Long Dashan called out to him again.

"Dad, is there something else?"

Long Dashan seemed about to say something but then hesitated and waved his hand, "No, it's nothing. Go and eat first."

"I'll go check on Mom first." Long Xiaoshan hurried into the room.

He Xiangyue was sitting on the bed. When she saw Long Xiaoshan come in, she quickly said, "little Xiaoshan, come and check for me, I feel like I can walk now."

Long Xiaoshan replied, "Mom, what's the hurry? Just rest up a bit more."

"little Xiaoshan, your mom has been lying down for several weeks, my bones are nearly rusting," He Xiangyue said.

"Then let me check for you." Understanding He Xiangyue's feelings, Long Xiaoshan walked to the bedside, observed He Xiangyue's legs, and with his clairvoyance, saw that indeed her legs had healed; the effects of the Bone-Regeneration Powder were truly astonishing.

Long Xiaoshan then said, "Mom, I'll help you down to give it a try."

"Good! Good!" He Xiangyue eagerly said, leaning on Long Xiaoshan's arm, she slowly placed her feet on the ground, and with Long Xiaoshan's support, she stood up and took a few slow steps on the floor.

"Xiaoshan, I feel fine, let me try walking on my own."

"Then I'm really going to let go now."

"Okay."

Long Xiaoshan released his hand but still paid close attention. He Xiangyue took a deep breath, slowly took a step forward, her body wobbled, Long Xiaoshan quickly reached out, and He Xiangyue hastily gestured, "I'm fine, I can do this."

He Xiangyue steadied herself and took another two steps, then joyfully exclaimed, "little Xiaoshan, look, your mom can walk."

Long Xiaoshan was also delighted. However, amidst his joy, a strange glint flickered in his eyes, as he saw silvery light spots dancing in the air once He Xiangyue was on her feet—the third time he had witnessed such a phenomenon in two days.

The first time was at the Grand Tycoon Hotel, saving little Ling.

The second was in the back alley late at night, helping Su Wan chase off the thugs.

The third was now, with He Xiangyue being able to walk around.

Initially, he thought these light spots appeared because he had been involved in fights—after all, the first two times he had injured people. But the third time, it had nothing to do with causing harm. Nevertheless, Long Xiaoshan realized there must be a commonality between the three occurrences.

The common point seemed to be his acts of saving others.

Whether it was saving little Ling, helping Su Wan, or curing his mother's leg, all were acts of helping others.

Every time he helped someone, light spots would appear and be absorbed by the Virtuous Jade Spiritual Purification Bottle. Yes!

The Virtuous Jade Spiritual Purification Bottle... Could it be that the key lies in the first two characters, 'virtue'? Whether saving or healing, both are virtuous acts; those light spots could indeed be virtue itself. Whenever there is virtue, the Jade Purifying Bottle would absorb it and produce that Mysterious Liquid.

A shock went through Long Xiaoshan's heart, and he finally understood.

It must be so.

He hadn't expected to pick up an artifact like something from the celestials, capable of absorbing such ethereal virtue. Could there actually be celestials in this world?

Long Xiaoshan was skeptical, and even his atheism began to waver.

Perhaps, many things aren't as ordinary people imagine them to be.

"Old man, old man." He Xiangyue walked to the doorway and called for Long Dashan to come in. Long Dashan was naturally very happy to see He Xiangyue able to walk; with Long Xiaoshan's return and He Xiangyue's recovery, it seemed like vitality had been brought back to the family.

The three of them sat down together for lunch, and hearing that Long Xiaoling was working at a grand hotel in the county, He Xiangyue was also reassured.

After lunch, Long Dashan and He Xiangyue whispered to each other for a while. As Long Xiaoshan stood in the yard, pondering over experimenting again with the mysterious liquid from the Jade Purifying Bottle, He Xiangyue called him into the inner room.

"Mom, what's up?"

He Xiangyue took Long Xiaoshan's hand and said, "Little Xiaoshan, Mom knows you're of age now. In our village, folks your age are already married. Don't you worry, even if I have to sell everything, I'll make sure you get a wife."

"Mom, why bring this up all of a sudden?" Long Xiaoshan said helplessly. "I'm only twenty-one; there's no rush for marriage."

"Little Xiaoshan, you don't have to be shy in front of Mom. It's normal for a young man your age to have those needs, but we've got to do it properly and get you a real wife. You cannot do things stealthily and have the villagers talk behind your back," He Xiangyue advised.

"What did I do, Mom?" Long Xiaoshan asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why don't you listen? What's going on between you and Chun Tao from the fifth aunt's house?" He Xiangyue's expression grew serious.

Upon hearing this, Long Xiaoshan knew it was about that issue again. He was already frustrated when he entered the village and said grimly, "Mom, don't listen to the villagers' nonsense. There's nothing between me and Chun Tao. It just so happened that I bumped into her in the mountain that day, and these rumors started. I don't know who's been spreading them."

Seeing her own son getting angry, He Xiangyue didn't want to say too much. She earnestly advised, "Little Xiaoshan, it's not that I don't believe you, but our village has always been weird, and Chun Tao is said to have a White Tiger destiny that overturns her husband's fortune. Mom is just worried about your youthful vigor, that's all."

Long Xiaoshan nodded his head despondently and said, "Okay, I got it."

When He Xiangyue saw Long Xiaoshan go out, she sighed. It wasn't that she didn't trust her son, but since Long Xiaoshan had gone to jail over a woman before, and now these rumors had surfaced, she couldn't help but be suspicious. Besides, Chun Tao was indeed beautiful, one of the most attractive girls in Longyang Village. There were quite a few young men, like puppy dogs, trailing after her. It would be normal for Xiaoshan, at his age, to not be able to resist temptation.

Long Xiaoshan walked out to the courtyard.

Taking a few breaths of the fresh mountain air and putting his worries aside, he saw his parents were inside the house. He took out the Jade Purifying Bottle and shook it; after using a drop last night, it seemed as if some had replenished itself.

Long Xiaoshan considered finding more test subjects to experiment with.

Hadn't he made a pot of precious orchids bloom just yesterday?

However, he wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not, so he needed to test it several more times to be certain. Long Xiaoshan looked for the watering can in the courtyard, added a drop of the silver liquid to it, mixed it with water, and after consideration, poured it onto the Gui Vegetable Plot in the yard, where he had just sown vegetable seeds, and none had sprouted yet.

After watering, Long Xiaoshan looked at the nearby water jar and had an idea. There were still many shrimps he had scooped from a mountain stream the day before yesterday. He wondered if the Mysterious Liquid would affect living creatures, so he simply dropped another one into the water jar.

After finishing, Long Xiaoshan observed for a while but didn't notice anything special.

He then went inside to prepare his medicine.

The herbs he had picked the day before yesterday weren't only for making Bone-Regeneration Powder; there were other prescriptions as well. Seeing the remarkable effect of the Bone-Regeneration Powder, he planned to prepare several doses and possibly sell them in the town or the county next time—he might stumble upon a way to wealth.

By the time he was done, evening had arrived.

Long Xiaoshan remembered the vegetable seeds and shrimps in the backyard he had treated with the Mysterious Liquid and went to check on them.