There were eyes watching the Prince of Ning’s residence at all times, so Lu Huan could not show his true face. As such, he still wore a black cloak, his face hidden beneath its hood.
Including what that person had sent him, he now had a total of sixty-three packets of wind-cold medicine.
He spent some time dividing fifty of those packets into five equal parts. After decocting each portion, he poured the liquid medicine into a waterskin.
In this way, five waterskins were filled with medicinal soup.
The remaining thirteen packets he did not boil. He merely ground them into coarse powder and repackaged them.
As for why he did so—naturally, he had his own considerations.
After finishing all this, he did not go straight to Yong’an Temple. Instead, he first sought out the day laborer Wu he had met yesterday. At this very moment, Yong’an Temple must be in an uproar; if he appeared there, he would surely be surrounded and find it difficult to leave.
In a deserted alley near the temple—
Because of the cold weather and the lack of shelter from wind and rain, the place was utterly empty.
Laborer Wu stared in astonishment at the reappearance of that young divine physician.
His wind-cold had completely healed, and early that morning, he had gone to the market to look for work. Yet perhaps because he still looked too thin and sallow, he returned empty-handed. On his way back to Yong’an Temple, someone patted his shoulder—then brought him here.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would meet again the benefactor who had saved his life!
He had left his home village for the capital, only to be swindled out of his money and fall seriously ill. He thought he would die in this cold winter, far from home—but who would have thought that at the brink of death, he would find life again? After drinking just one bowl of the young man’s medicine, his body had suddenly grown strong and healthy! It reignited his will to live.
Thinking of this, Laborer Wu’s lips trembled as tears rolled down his cheeks. With a thud, he fell to his knees before the youth.
“Your great kindness and virtue—I have no way to repay them. Please, let me follow you.”
Though he was not worldly, he could still see that this youth carried an extraordinary bearing. If he was not some young master from a noble household, then he must be a disciple of some rare and lofty master.
He had already been given back his life. Rather than continue wandering the capital aimlessly, it was far better to follow this youth—perhaps then he might find a place to belong.
Lu Huan regarded the man for a moment. The man was thin and weak, cautious by nature, yet the calluses on his fingers were thick—clearly an honest, diligent worker who bore hardship without complaint.
He asked, “What are you good at?”
Laborer Wu, afraid of being deemed useless, quickly replied, “Benefactor, my family back home does carpentry work. I know a thing or two of the trade. But besides that, farming, chopping wood, sewing, cooking—I can do all of it!”
Lu Huan said, “Then help me with something first.”
Laborer Wu feared nothing more than being unable to help, so when he heard the youth had a task for him, he grew excited at once. “Benefactor, just give the order! I’ll work like an ox or a horse for you!”
Lu Huan handed him five waterskins and the thirteen remaining packets of medicine.
“These five waterskins—each day pour one pot’s worth into the porridge distributed by Zhong Ganping. Make sure every disaster victim at Yong’an Temple can drink it. After five days, they will all recover.
“As for these thirteen packets, sell them to the nobles and officials in the capital—anyone except the Prince of Ning’s residence. Ten taels of silver per packet. Sell twelve, and keep the last one untouched. Don’t act rashly. Wait for Zhong Ganping to come find you.”
Laborer Wu was steady but slow to think. He asked cautiously, “…But, why?”
Lu Huan said calmly, “Human nature is greedy. If you reveal that you have medicine, there will surely be a scramble for it. Some people, after drinking one bowl, will still not be satisfied and will want to seize it all for themselves. So you only need to pour the decoction into the porridge—once the people at the temple drink it, their illnesses will heal on their own.
“As for Zhong Ganping, don’t ask—just do as I say.”
Laborer Wu dared not question further. He quickly agreed, brimming with gratitude.
By a twist of fate, his life had been saved by his benefactor.
He was uneducated, dull of mind—yet this young benefactor had entrusted him with such an important task, even taking the trouble to explain things to him! Though he didn’t fully understand, his heart swelled with gratitude, and he silently swore that he would carry out the mission flawlessly.
After assigning the matter to Laborer Wu, Lu Huan temporarily returned to the Prince of Ning’s residence.
Because of Lu Wenxiu’s long illness, the entire household was in chaos.
The Princess Consort of Ning had lately lost all interest in managing household affairs, leaving everything to Lu Yuan and the steward. But one was mediocre, the other incompetent—so before long, discipline in the residence grew lax.
And not only that—most of the manor’s guards had been sent out to search for the whereabouts of the young divine physician who had appeared at Yong’an Temple. As a result, the residence suddenly found itself short of manpower.
Lu Huan took all this in, but made no move—he simply continued feeding the chickens, planting zucchini, and writing replies to that person’s letters, just as usual.
Ever since Su Xi had, without hesitation, taken away the little wooden rabbit carving, he’d noticed she seemed to like the small gifts he sent. Thus, nearly every day when Su Xi opened the game, there would be all sorts of curious, lifelike wooden carvings appearing on the desk inside his room.
Each one melted Su Xi’s heart like an indulgent mother’s.
And without exception, every single piece was labeled a “picked-up” trinket.
Su Xi grumbled inwardly—My little one really knows how to ‘pick things up’!—but still accepted them all with great delight.
She even bought a large wooden chest from the shop, placed all the gifts inside, and buried it like hidden treasure.
───♡───
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and a great event occurred at Yong’an Temple.
Those patients who had been long ill, their faces sallow and ashen, suddenly began recovering one after another!
The news spread like wildfire through half the capital.
As early as the third day, some of the gravely ill had noticed a faint bitterness of medicine in the porridge—they nearly thought it had spoiled.
At that point, Laborer Wu had no choice but to step forward and explain that the young divine physician had entrusted him with five waterskins, telling him to pour one pot into the porridge each day. After drinking it for five full days, everyone would recover.
It sounded utterly unbelievable, like something out of a storybook legend! If people hadn’t seen with their own eyes how Laborer Wu himself had fully recovered overnight, they might never have believed it.
But now the living example stood before them, how could these desperate patients not believe?!
The moment Laborer Wu finished speaking, Yong’an Temple erupted in chaos. The thin porridge was snatched up in a frenzy!
It nearly caused a stampede.
Even the wealthy nobles outside, upon hearing of it, hurried to send their servants to fight for a bowl of porridge!
Laborer Wu feared ruining his young benefactor’s plans, but fortunately, during the first three days, everyone in the temple had already drunk the porridge. Though in the last two days some failed to get a bowl, visible recovery had already set in.
Those robust men who had fought hardest for the porridge—some downing over ten bowls—felt light and hale that very night. The cold chills, sweating, and heavy-headed dizziness from their illness vanished entirely!
This strange affair at Yong’an Temple quickly became the talk of the city.
But once the five days’ porridge was gone, only the common folk had been cured. The nobles’ families—those who had caught wind-cold later—were now too late, and no miracle medicine was to be found!
Thus, the nobles and officials—Prince of Ning’s residence included—were furious with impatience, all wanting to seize Laborer Wu at once and interrogate him:
Who was that youth who could cure with divine medicine?
Laborer Wu, like a frightened chick, was dragged back and forth as noble after noble tried to invite him in. He was so terrified he could barely tell north from south!
…But how could he possibly know who his young benefactor really was?
Besides, since that youth had concealed his face, it was clear he did not wish his identity to be revealed. How could he, then, betray his benefactor’s secret?
So Laborer Wu made up a story. He claimed that the twelve remaining packets of medicine had been thrown down to him from the heavens, and that a voice from beyond a wall had given him brief instructions before vanishing. How could a lowly commoner like him possibly know such a divine physician?
—And indeed, when one thought about it, the man did look rather slow-witted. The nobles could not get a single useful word out of him.
Their only recourse, then, was to pay a high price for the medicine still in his hands.
But Laborer Wu, remembering Lu Huan’s words, did not let greed take hold. He sold the medicine at the same fair price. Thus, by the fourth day, he had exchanged those twelve packets for a total of one hundred and twenty taels of silver…
This only deepened the nobles’ astonishment. Could it be that the divine physician had not appeared for money at all?
And so, the legend of the young divine physician spread ever wider across the capital.
───♡───
Meanwhile, at the Prince of Ning’s residence, the Princess Consort grew ever more frantic as she watched Lu Wenxiu’s illness worsen by the day.
When she heard the rumors from Yong’an Temple, she immediately sent men to bring Laborer Wu over.
But by the time they did, not a single packet of medicine remained in his hands.
She was furious—so enraged she forgot all pretense of composure, scolding her guards harshly:
“What’s the meaning of this?! Didn’t I order you to keep a close eye on Yong’an Temple’s affairs at all times? How did you end up one step too late, letting others snatch up all the medicine?!”
The guards looked aggrieved.
After all, the Prince of Ning’s household wasn’t the only one stricken with illness. Even the Minister of Revenue’s young daughter had been bedridden with fever for days.
By the time they’d arrived to fetch Laborer Wu, the Minister of Revenue’s people and several other mansions besides had already intercepted him.
What could they do? Start a brawl in the streets?
Besides, even if they fought, they couldn’t win.
The Princess Consort of Ning clearly realized this as well. The title of Prince of Ning had been granted only out of respect for the old matriarch. His Highness currently held no post at court. In the capital, the Ning Prince’s household had long since fallen into decline—so much so that even the Minister of Revenue dared to disregard them entirely!
The clearer this truth became, the more her anger burned.
Now that stammering laborer had no medicine left, and the young divine physician who had appeared only once was nowhere to be found—
Was Wenxiu to remain tormented by illness until he could no longer be saved?
The Princess Consort went to sit by Lu Wenxiu’s bedside. Taking his hand, she gazed at his darkened complexion, her heart wrung with anguish, as though it bled within her chest. In her desperation, silver strands had begun to appear among her hair…
───♡───
Among all those involved, Zhong Ganping was the most desperate of all.
He couldn’t understand it—hadn’t the Bodhisattva given him divine guidance? How had the miraculous medicine ended up being poured into porridge to save others instead?
When he heard of the matter on the fourth day, he hurried there to seize a share. He managed to scoop a bit of the porridge and fed it to his gravely ill young son—but such a tiny dose was far from enough to pull the child back from the gates of death.
Watching his son still weak and wracked with suffering, his heart clenched in helpless panic.
But just then, Laborer Wu came knocking at his door.
───♡───
When Su Xi logged back into the game, she found her little one at a long pavilion dozens of li outside Yong’an Temple. The whole area had already been unlocked during the previous event, so Su Xi switched the interface there.
Inside the pavilion, Zhong Ganping was kneeling before her little one, tears streaming down his face as he expressed his gratitude. The little one, still cloaked in black, reached out to help him up.
The last time Su Xi had moved the statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, it had truly worked.
Now, when Zhong Ganping looked at the youth before him, his eyes were filled with reverence—as though he were gazing upon the Bodhisattva’s attendant boy, sent down to the mortal world to deliver all beings from suffering.
And he himself—what virtue, what merit could he possibly have to deserve such grace—?!
Yesterday, that laborer Wu had come to find him, saying that the young divine physician, in gratitude for his kind act of distributing porridge to relieve the disaster victims at Yong’an Temple, had left behind the final packet of medicine for him.
After the first shock, Zhong Ganping was moved to tears of joy. Without the slightest doubt, he immediately decocted the medicine Wu had given him and fed it to his ailing son.
Then he and his wife kept vigil beside the boy’s bed all night. They watched as, come dawn, the child—who had been unconscious for several days—suddenly opened his dark, round eyes and called out to them, “Father, Mother, I’m hungry.”
At that moment, Zhong Ganping’s old tears burst forth; he hugged his precious son tightly and wept bitterly!
If this wasn’t the mercy of Heaven itself, then what was it?
After his excitement subsided, he sought out Laborer Wu, pleading earnestly to meet the young divine physician once—just once—to thank him face to face. He’d thought the youth too mysterious, unlikely to agree to such a meeting. Who could have expected that today, he would truly see him at this long pavilion?
Zhong Ganping patted his chest solemnly and declared, “Benefactor, the grace you have shown to my son is unforgettable for a lifetime. Whatever you require, speak it plainly. I, Zhong Ganping, may lack in other things, but I have been in trade for many years, and in the capital’s merchant circles, my name holds some standing. Even if you asked for half my fortune, I would give it to you without hesitation!”
The reason Lu Huan had chosen Zhong Ganping was, first, because the man had shown compassion in aiding the victims and seeking blessings—clearly, he was no villain. Moreover, his reputation in the capital was good: a self-made man, diligent and generous. If one helped him, he would surely repay the favor.
“In that case,” Lu Huan said evenly, “I will ask for a few things.”
Zhong Ganping said at once, “Please, name them!”
Lu Huan thought for a moment and said, “Fifty taels of silver, a courtyard outside the city walls, and a small farmstead.”
Zhong Ganping was taken aback. “Just that?”
To him, such a request was nothing—a mere drop in the ocean of his wealth. But why would the youth want a courtyard outside the city, and not one within? In the inner city, a single courtyard could be worth a fortune!
Still, sensing the youth’s air of mystery—and fearing to offend someone blessed by the Bodhisattva—he dared not question further. He immediately agreed with utmost sincerity:
“That’s easily done! I will have all of it prepared and delivered before the day’s end!”
On Su Xi’s side, dialogue after dialogue popped up on the screen as her little one conversed with Zhong Ganping. She was so excited her heart thumped like a drum—
Holy crap! Fifty taels of silver! Adding in the silver from Laborer Wu’s sales… doesn’t that make a total of one hundred and seventy taels now?!
She and her little one had suddenly become so rich!
A task that should have taken ten days had been completed by her little one in just five—and with such perfect success! As the mission came to an end, a metallic clink sounded, like coins dropping into a pouch, and the system interface displayed:
【Congratulations on completing Main Quest IV!
Gold Reward: +500
Point Reward: +6】
Then, at the top right corner, a new status window appeared:
【Wealth & Assets】: 170 taels of silver; one courtyard (Outer City); one five-hectare farm; assorted crops; chickens and eggs in quantity.
【Reputation & Prestige】: Gained title — “The Mysterious Young Divine Physician Who Declines to Reveal His Name.”
So by this logic, Laborer Wu would from now on completely obey her little one’s orders—
In other words, he’d officially become his little follower!
On screen, her little one seemed to be merely carrying out a well-laid plan. Even after hearing Zhong Ganping offer him all that wealth, not a single ripple of emotion showed on his face.
But off screen, Su Xi was so thrilled she nearly rolled off the bed—almost bumping her injured leg in the process!
Su Xi probably had a hamster-like instinct for hoarding things; she couldn’t help but count up all of her little one’s current assets again. She even tallied them precisely—twenty-six chickens, four hundred and ninety-two eggs—each number noted clearly and carefully.
After finishing her inventory, she felt a deep sense of satisfaction, like watching a small household grow richer step by step, one solid footprint at a time.
This—this was what made playing the game so meaningful!
To watch her little one climb upward from a pit of hardship, growing better and stronger with each day—his tiny world becoming more and more prosperous!
