Chapter 23: Xiao Jiu, calm down!

The two old men glanced at each other, then turned their gaze toward the doorway in unison. "That person outside seems somewhat familiar!"

"Divine Physician! Divine Physician! Why have you come here?"

Guards rushed in from outside.

"Divine Physician Tan Simiao!" the two old men exclaimed, pointing at each other in excitement, their voices overlapping.

"Indeed! It is I, Tan," Tan Simiao said, pacing inside with his hands behind his back.

Wei Zhiyuan immediately snapped to attention and hurried forward to welcome him. "To what do we owe the honor of this visit, Divine Physician Tan?"

"I have come to see this medicine-dispensing prodigy who has been the subject of such miraculous rumors these past two days," Tan Simiao said, cutting straight to the point.

"Have you heard of her too, Divine Physician?" Zheng Zhongyuan asked with a smile.

"Everyone on the streets is talking about her; it would be difficult not to know," Tan Simiao nodded.

Wei Zhiyuan looked troubled. "She is unsightly, and I fear she might offend your eyes, Divine Physician. Furthermore, rumors are often exaggerated; she merely possesses the advantage of a good memory."

"We are men who have lived for over half a century; how could we still be as shallow as the youth, judging by outward appearance?" Tan Simiao scoffed.

"Now, Dr. Wei, you cannot speak against your own conscience! While the child has two scars on her face, she is hardly so hideous that she cannot be seen. What is your motive for preventing her from meeting the Divine Physician?"

Hearing Wei Zhiyuan’s string of nonsense, Zheng Zhongyuan raised his eyebrows in displeasure.

Wei Zhiyuan remained unmoved, firmly refusing, "It is truly inconvenient for her to come out and meet you!"

Tan Simiao calmly produced a prescription from his robe. "No matter. I have a prescription here; pray, have her come out and fill it for me."

"The medicine is sold out; we are not filling prescriptions for the time being!" Wei Zhiyuan insisted, his expression unchanging.

Tan Simiao let out a low laugh. "Dr. Wei, you haven't even looked at the prescription—how can you know if your clinic lacks the ingredients?"

Reluctantly, Wei Zhiyuan took the paper and scanned it casually. Suddenly, his pupils dilated, and he began to examine it carefully from beginning to end.

"Well? Your clinic should have these twenty-four herbs, should it not?" Tan Simiao peered at him.

"I shall fill it myself!" Wei Zhiyuan said, heading toward the medicine cabinets with the prescription.

"Wait, Dr. Wei, our profession has its own rules!" Tan Simiao reached out to stop him.

"'When medicine is scarce, the prescription is paramount; trust brings efficacy, and joy aids recovery!' Surely you are aware of this, Dr. Wei? I have provided a complete prescription. If your clinic has the herbs, you must prioritize filling them for me; you cannot refuse. A patient must be attended by the doctor or apprentice they trust, for only when a patient is at ease will their illness fade quickly! This is the essence of a healer's benevolence!"

Even with a thousand objections, Wei Zhiyuan had no choice but to have Bai Ji call Lu Shijiu out to fill the prescription.

"Grandpa Wei, where is the prescription?" Lu Shijiu trotted over.

"This is no ordinary prescription, be careful with it!" Wei Zhiyuan whispered as he handed it to her.

"Understood!"

Lu Shijiu gave the paper a quick glance, placed it on the counter, and began moving the ladder to gather the herbs.

From the moment Lu Shijiu took the prescription, Tan Simiao’s fingers, hidden behind his back, began to move rhythmically. Seeing her place the prescription directly on the counter, he frowned in disapproval.

She didn't look at it while gathering the medicine? She went straight for the targets?

One might attribute this to familiarity—having done it many times, one naturally remembers the locations. But the herbs on his prescription were rare and obscure; even an old man who had been filling prescriptions for decades would have to pause, let alone a child less than three feet tall. Furthermore, several herbs had similar names, making them very easy to confuse.

"Done!" Lu Shijiu finished gathering the herbs and bundled them up.

Twenty heartbeats! It had taken only twenty heartbeats!

The look in Tan Simiao’s eyes changed instantly. To gather twenty-four rare and easily confused herbs in just twenty heartbeats—that averaged out to only six seconds per herb.

As the saying goes, the layman watches the show, while the expert watches the method. Excluding the time spent moving the ladder, climbing the stool, and walking back and forth, the child had moved without any hesitation, heading straight for the correct drawers. With a single reach, she would weigh the herb, and it would be exactly the right amount. After the medicine was gathered, the drawers remained as neat as before, not the slightest bit messy.

This was not merely the advantage of a good memory, as Wei Zhiyuan had claimed. What kind of memory allows one to memorize everything at a glance? What kind of memory allows one to measure simply by feeling the weight in one's hand? Yes, to that child, the scale was merely a tool to verify the accuracy of her own hands.

After taking three deep breaths, Tan Simiao looked intently at Lu Shijiu. "Child, have you ever taken a master?"

Lu Shijiu shook her head honestly.

As she looked up, Tan Simiao finally saw her eyes clearly and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "The Eyes of the Netherworld!"

"Yes, everyone says I am a harbinger of misfortune," Lu Shijiu explained in a flat tone.

"I do not believe in such things. Would you be willing to take me as your master? To use such heaven-defying talent merely for dispensing medicine is a waste! Why not study medicine with me?" Tan Simiao asked eagerly.

Zheng Zhongyuan, fearing Lu Shijiu did not realize Tan Simiao’s status, quickly interjected, "Little one, this is a renowned Divine Physician of our Great Sheng, a titan of the medical world. Taking him as your master would mean a limitless future!"

Lu Shijiu looked conflicted. "If I study medicine with you, can I quickly earn thirteen taels of silver?"

Wei Zhiyuan couldn't help but cover his face, while Zheng Zhongyuan and Tan Simiao were both stunned. After the shock, Tan Simiao replied with good-natured patience, "Once you have mastered the craft, such worldly wealth will be easily within your reach!"

"Then I’d rather not."

Tan Simiao frowned. "Are you in dire need of silver?"

"Yes, I owe a debt of thirteen taels," Lu Shijiu nodded, her expression indifferent.

Tan Simiao rubbed his temples. "If you study medicine with me, I will give you one hundred taels of silver immediately—how about that?"

"That won't do! I cannot accept gifts from others just like that."

Even Wei Zhiyuan was baffled. "You are a child who cannot even fill her own belly; why refuse a gift, especially when the giver would be your future master?"

Lu Shijiu lowered her head, pursing her lips in silence.

Just as the standoff intensified, a rakish voice rang out from the doorway.

"Dr. Wei! Dr. Wei! I heard that my niece has been helping you fill prescriptions at your Huichun Hall, and that you've been doing a roaring trade! Dr. Wei, one must be kind-hearted. Since my niece has brought such great fortune to your clinic, surely it wouldn't be too much to give her a share of the profits? Since I'm here today, why not settle it with me now? My family is in urgent need of money!"

Upon hearing this voice, Lu Shijiu shed her previous indifference, grabbed a mortar pestle from the counter, and dashed outside.

"Get out! You abandoned me here without a second thought, and now that you see there’s profit to be made, you come crawling back!"

Her sudden, violent demeanor startled Wei Zhiyuan and the others. They were used to her icy, aloof nature—she would occasionally grumble if annoyed, but never like this, like a furious little lion.

"Little Jiu, calm down!"

Wei Zhiyuan was the first to react; he hurried to pull her back, whispering urgently, "The world is ignorant, and your eyes are already different from others. In normal circumstances, it is fine, but if you display such extreme behavior, people will only demonize you. By then, you will truly have no path to survival!"