The City of Zhaoge covered a vast area, and because it was divided by a large river, it naturally split into the South City and the North City.
The North City was essentially the Royal City, home to the imperial family and the civil and military officials.
Commoners rarely, if ever, set foot there.
The South City was quite different.
A boat was moored by the riverbank, ready to carry both people and horse-drawn carriages across to the opposite shore.
This was the South City of Zhaoge.
The entire South City was much larger than the North City.
Because the South City was primarily where the common folk lived—an enormous population—this area handled all the daily supplies and resources consumed by the noble families and officials in the North City.
As a result, the South City was bustling with merchants and a continuous flow of people. The streets blossomed with activity, and carriages rumbled ceaselessly.
Amidst the lively and prosperous South City, there was a street with a large house consisting of three connected storefronts.
The signboard above the door bore three big characters:
Wan He Tang.
It was one of the most famous pharmacies in Zhaoge’s South City.
What people talked about most was the nearly ninety-year-old old hall master, revered as the number one divine physician among the common people and nicknamed “Wan Ji Cang, the one who cures all ailments”!
Old Master Wan.
Though he was already eighty-eight years old, nearing ninety, he still had sharp eyesight and keen hearing, and he insisted on seeing patients every day for half a day.
This earned him much admiration from the locals.
When a lavish double-horse carriage, clearly bearing royal style, slowly stopped in front of Wan He Tang, many of the people waiting outside cast uncertain glances toward it.
After all, this was not the North City, and people of noble blood rarely ventured here.
It was neither a common sight nor a frequent occurrence.
Moreover, parts of this carriage were trimmed in gold, and four-clawed dragon patterns adorned its sides, unmistakably marking it as the carriage of a prince.
For a moment, the townsfolk couldn’t help but speculate: Could the person inside be the Zhennan King?
Great Qi had several princes, but only two moved freely within Zhaoge City.
One was the Prince of the Frontier, the other the Zhennan King.
Since the Prince of the Frontier was clearly unlikely to appear here, the only candidate left was the Zhennan King.
Yet, under the expectant gazes of all, the figure who stepped down from the carriage was not the virtuous king they had imagined, but a young man unfamiliar to them.
“Who is this? Could he be… the Shunnan King’s Heir?”
“No, I’ve seen the Shunnan King’s Heir before, and he’s nothing like this. Who is this guy?”
“This person is here at Wan He Tang—could he be seeking medical treatment?”
“Hey, have you heard? Our Majesty was saved by a humble township doctor, and rumor has it he was even granted a title.”
“That’s impossible! What could a mere township doctor possibly do? I’m sure it was the Flowing Cloud Sect Master who bestowed an immortal elixir and saved His Majesty.”
The crowd buzzed with speculation, discussing everything from the young man’s identity to the recent major event.
But Xu Ping’an, who had stepped down from the carriage, ignored the noisy crowd and walked straight to Wan He Tang, bowing respectfully.
“Xu Ping’an, here to pay respects to Old Master Wan. Please inform him.”
The young apprentice standing at the door was taken aback, glanced at Xu Ping’an, hesitated, then nodded.
“Well… wait here. I’ll inform Old Master.”
After a moment, the apprentice came running out, panting as he looked at Xu Ping’an.
“Mr. Xu…”
The apprentice sized Xu Ping’an up carefully, assuming he was a scholar, hence addressing him as ‘Mr.’
“That’s me. Please, may I come in?”
“Of course.”
Xu Ping’an smiled and nodded before stepping inside, but barely had he crossed the threshold when a loud, firm snort sounded nearby.
“Hmph! How can a humble little place like mine possibly bear the presence of a noble prince?”
Hearing that sarcastic, clearly irritated voice, Xu Ping’an’s face showed a hint of apologetic smile as he bowed again respectfully toward the old man.
With a head full of white hair, narrow eyes, eyebrows like those of a Luohan statue, and a square, “country-style” face, the old man had a tuft of white beard tied with a cotton cord hanging down just past his chest.
Though he looked like an eighty or ninety-year-old elder at a glance, the sharp gleam in his eyes and the vigorous aura he exuded made him seem like a man in his thirties or forties.
“Master Wan… long time no see. I have missed you greatly.”
Xu Ping’an’s gaze held a few moments of nostalgia.
“Hmph! I don’t deserve the title ‘Master,’” the old man scoffed. “I told you many times before, but you always refused.”
“Though we have no formal master-disciple title, we share the relationship of one in practice. These past two years, I have been busy with many troubles and have not come to pay my respects. I hope Master Wan will not blame me.”
When Xu Ping’an first obtained the System, he lacked much foundational knowledge, and by chance he met this stubborn old man.
More than seventy percent of this godlike medical knowledge came from the System’s teaching, while the remaining thirty percent was learned during those three months spent here at Wan He Tang.
Master Wan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Xu Ping’an.
Though approaching ninety, his gaze was surprisingly sharp and piercing—so much so that Xu Ping’an felt as if a blade were being run over him repeatedly, leaving him uneasy all over.
“What have you been doing these past two years?”
“Master Wan, I have been busy curing patients. During the epidemic outbreaks two years ago and last year, I was tied up and could not visit. This year, I specifically came to pay respects.”
“An epidemic? So you’ve been living in Southern Prefecture all this time?”
Two years ago and the year before, a rare epidemic spread through Southern Prefecture. Though many lives were lost, a certain expert intervened, preventing the plague from spreading beyond the region.
“Not hiding it from you, Master Wan,” Xu Ping’an raised an eyebrow.
“You always dodged the question when I asked where you lived. Why… why are you telling me now? Is the sun rising from the west?”
“Heh~ Master Wan, I thought about it carefully and felt it was wrong to keep it from you, so I told you honestly.”
“Bah! You have great talent but willingly work as a simple township doctor, not thinking of developing further—it’s such a waste of your gifts!”
“Yes, yes, I have no grand ambitions. I’ve disappointed Master Wan.”
Facing Wan Ji Cang, Xu Ping’an really couldn’t feel much pride.
Though he never formally took him as a master, in his heart this old gentleman was already like a teacher.
Why didn’t he take him as his master?
The reasons were complicated and simple at the same time.
Complicated, because he didn’t want to be too deeply connected to Wan Ji Cang’s extensive network.
Wan Ji Cang was a world-famous divine physician with disciples scattered all over, organized into more than a dozen branches, each with hundreds of followers.
Such a vast network could bring trouble he wanted to avoid.
Simply put, the System forbade formal master-disciple relationships.
“Enough, you’ve come. Now get lost quickly—if I see you too long, my heart will feel like it’s on fire!”
“Master Wan, I came specifically to visit you. You can’t just close the door on me and send me away, can you?”
This old man was truly stubborn.
His stubbornness hadn’t changed a bit.
When Xu Ping’an left back then, the old man was furious, even breaking a precious, century-old inkwell used for pressing medical prescriptions.
No matter how much Xu Ping’an tried to reason with him, he still left.
As a result, the old man kept nagging, always grumbling that Xu Ping’an would never get a friendly welcome when he visited.
Yet whenever Xu Ping’an came to pay respects at the gravesite, he always stopped here first, even if it meant getting scolded and not being welcomed warmly.
After all, he had learned foundational medicine here for three months; though not his official master, this old man was like one.
Despite never establishing a formal master-disciple title, Xu Ping’an never forgot his gratitude.
“Hmph! This is a pharmacy. If you want to come in, come in—no one will stop you!”
The old man snorted gruffly and turned to go inside.
Seeing this, Xu Ping’an shook his head and smiled helplessly before following.
This old man was really thick-skinned!
He even joked that if he were boiled in a pot for an hour, by the time the lid was opened, his body would be soft and his bones tender, but his mouth would still be cursing in the boiling water.
Following Master Wan into the pharmacy, many young apprentices looked at him with curiosity, but the older physicians who had their own clinics all nodded with smiling approval.
After all, Old Master Wan’s treasured disciple was well known.
Though Old Master Wan often acted disdainful, dismissive, and arrogant, when Xu Ping’an wasn’t around, he almost daily praised him, sometimes scolding his other disciples with remarks like:
“You worthless bunch, this scoundrel learned thirty years of medical skills from me, yet Xu Ping’an learned more than you all combined in just three months!”
Or:
“Learn from Xu Ping’an, learn from him. He mastered in three months what you all failed to grasp in half a lifetime. Look at you—you can’t even treat minor illnesses, and I have to clean up after you!”
Or:
“Where is that scoundrel? If something’s wrong, you lot better find him fast. Alive or dead, I want to see for myself!”
Old Master Wan never went a day without mentioning Xu Ping’an, and every time, he’d scold his disciples.
Yet the disciples never minded; instead, they all smiled.
After all, an eighty-eight-year-old man was already considered very old in this era.
Most of Old Master Wan’s direct disciples were in their fifties, and many had lost their own parents.
To them, Old Master Wan was no different from their own father.
At their age, being scolded by a master was a kind of blessing.
Though Xu Ping’an only stayed here for three months and didn’t know everyone well, he was at least familiar to them all, nodding in greeting as he passed.
After a brief delay, he proceeded to the back hall.
Just as he lifted the curtain and was about to step inside, Old Master Wan’s voice rang out again.
“This is the back hall. No one outside Wan He Tang is allowed in here. You’re smiling and chatting with those people out there—why don’t you just go join them?”
The old man truly loved to pick faults.
“Master Wan, you jest. I’m not familiar with them.”
“Not familiar? Yet you greet them? What, you think old man here is senile and easy to fool?”