“I’m sorry for getting you into so much trouble.” Guo Zhenghe apologized again, and he seemed very sincere. At the very least, he looked sincere.

A thousand cups were too few if one drank with a bosom friend, yet half a sentence was wasted on someone unable to see eye to eye.

Those two people were unable to see eye to eye. Guo Zhenghe knew that all too well. As such, he did not stay at Wang Yao’s place for too long. He had gone there and said all there was there to say. His words had gotten across to the other man. That was more than enough for him.

“Let me know if you need anything,” he said. “I’ll be leaving now.”

“Have a safe trip,” Wang Yao said.

Guo Zhenghe got into his car and left the mountain village. He returned to Haiqu about 30 minutes later.

“You’re back, Sir,” Xu Xinyuan said.

“Uncle Xu, stop going calling me that,” Guo Zhenghe said. “It’s awkward, and it’s not like the times demand you to call me that anyway.”

“Just call me Zhenghe.”

“Aye.” Xu Xinyuan nodded and paid lip service to what was asked of him.

“Have a seat.”

“I’ve just been to the clinic in the village for a bit,” Guo Zhenghe said. “Our men are there. The man from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine was there. He has been captured.”

“Is that so?” Xu Xinyuan asked. “They’re fast.”

“Wang Yao is getting irritated about what is going on,” Guo Zhenghe said as he took a sip of tea.

“What do you mean?” Xu Xinyuan asked.

“While he has been holed up in that tiny village this whole time, he would have been able to get things done if he wanted to. I know of at least three powerful families that owe him favors in just Jing alone. As long as his requests remain within reason, those people would be more than willing to help if he asked.”

“Have some tea.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Xu Xinyuan said.

“Let’s get on with the second phase,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“Sure, but what about things on your side?” Xu Xinyuan asked.

“It’s alright,” Guo Zhenghe said. “Despite having been poisoned, I’ve still seen to all the arrangements. I’ll get myself transferred to somewhere in Jing. Consider it a sabbatical and a time for me to rest up a bit.”

“Fair enough,” Xu Xinyuan said. “It’s best to leave the war zone.”

He had always thought the young man standing before him was a cut above the rest. Coupled with his family background, he had a bright future. As such, Xu Xinyuan thought having Guo Zhenghe holed up in dingy He County of southern Yunnan was an utter waste of talent.

“Yeah.” Guo Zhenghe nodded.

At the village clinic…

Wang Zecheng and Wang Yilong had come there. The son was accompanying his father, who had come for a checkup. Wang Yilong was indifferent to it. He thought his illnesses were little more than minor hiccups. Wang Zecheng, on the other hand, was very worried. He knew about his father’s illness. Despite his father’s body getting better and becoming increasingly sprightly and vigorous, he still knew that his father’s illness was serious. He had no idea if his father had truly gotten better.

“He’s alright.” Wang Yao looked over Wang Yilong for a bit.

“He’s alright? Are you sure about that?” Wang Zecheng was shocked.

“Of course, he is,” Wang Yao said with a smile. “Why would I bother lying to you?”

“This is great, this is great! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much!” Wang Zecheng was so happy that he began to look and sound rather ridiculous. He felt that all his hard work had finally paid off.

“Right, we should go home and celebrate,” he said.

“Sure, sure.”

Wang Zecheng was very happy, yet Wang Yilong looked rather exasperated.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

After they left the clinic, Wang Yilong asked his son, “By the way, why are you so happy?”

“You’re cured, Dad!”

“I know that,” Wang Yilong said. “My body has had no problems lately. Didn’t I tell you before that those were just minor hiccups and nothing to worry about?”

“Minor hiccups still meant you were ill,” Wang Zecheng said. “With those minor hiccups out of the way, we should celebrate. How about we get more dishes on the table and drink for a bit?”

“Well sure,” Wang Yilong said as he clapped his hands.

His son had changed and gotten a new job. His grandson had also gotten two perfect scores in a test a few days ago. The family was practically being flooded with good news.

Wang Yao informed his parents about the matter when he got home.

“That’s good to hear! Yilong has finally gotten out of the ditch!” Zhang Xiuying was relieved to hear that.

“He has indeed,” Wang Fenghua added as he happily lit a cigarette.

That night, in the herbal field on the southern mountain…

Wang Yao looked up at the sky.

“It’s going to rain tomorrow, San Xian.”

Woof! Woof!

“Take it.” Wang Yao handed a strip of the vine to the dog.

It was a strip of Polygonum Vine, which was a magic herb. He discovered that the dog liked it very much. For the dog, it felt like chewing on a bone. In fact, the dog seemed to like it better than actual bones. Wang Yao saw the dog drool at the sight of the vine. He plucked a small section. The dog proceeded to chew on it for a bit, making crunching sounds before swallowing the vine. The dog looked like he had not had enough yet.

Then again, the dog would not have eaten the vine without Wang Yao’s permission. That dog was very intelligent.

“Alright, just enough to stave off the cravings. This is a magic herb, so I really can’t let you munch on it anytime you happen to see.” Wang Yao patted the head of that huge dog for a bit. He was telling the truth. The Polygonum Vine was a magic herb that was slow to grow. It took a long time just to grow the length of a human palm. Furthermore, it only grew at that rate with the Spirit gathering battle array at work. If the vine grew elsewhere, its growth would have been stunted altogether.

“Alright, get to sleep now,” Wang Yao said.

He went into the cottage. The dog went to lie down in his place.

Shortly afterward, sutras were heard being chanted in the cottage.

The dimmed lights remained lit. They were extinguished when it was midnight.

The sun gently rose in the east.

A mother and her son had come to the clinic in the morning. They were from the He family in Jing. It was that glass boy.

“Good day, Dr. Wang, we are here to bother you again,” the woman said with a smile.

“Don’t mention it,” Wang Yao said. “Have a seat.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Good. Not bad,” the young man said. His body had gotten better. He felt like a different person and looked much brighter.

When they returned to Jing City recently, they had gone out of their way to visit the best hospital in Jing for a full body checkup. The result highly pleased them. The young man’s body had seen significant changes. They had been so drastic that it even baffled the specialist, who had seen the young man more than once. He lauded the change to be unbelievable and kept asking where did they had gotten the treatment for the boy. For the specialist, the result was too frightening. That checkup results indicated that while he had not completely recovered, the young was more than capable of going about life normally. Fundamental changes were seen in the bones in his body. They were gradually mending themselves, enabling him to perform aerobic exercises to a certain degree. There was, however, still a need to watch out for considerable injuries and do his best to avoid breaking his bones to prevent staunching the good recovery rate he was experiencing.

The results spoke volumes about Wang Yao’s miraculous healing methods, which prompted both the mother and the son to continue receiving treatment at his village clinic.

“Alright, let’s begin,” Wang Yao said.

The young man was given his medicine, underwent an acupuncture session, and got his breathing adjusted before proceeding with the medicinal bath.

After the treatment session was over, it was already past noon.

The young man was sweated all over his body. He looked invigorated.

“Man, this is good!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, you have been fundamentally changed,” Wang Yao said. “This will be your last medicinal bath session. Now, it’s just taking measures to strengthen your corporeity and stabilize your condition with medicine.”

“Sure, sure,” the woman said with a nod.

“Thank you very, very much.”

Her son’s condition had caused years of extreme worry and stress to not only her but also her family. The family was overjoyed to see the stunning changes in the young man when he returned for the New Year’s festivities. They all claimed that it was the best present gifted to their family in the New Year.

“Don’t mention it,” Wang Yao replied.

Several patients came to the clinic after lunchtime.

It was near the evening and about time he heeded to return home for dinner.

Two silhouettes were seen on the western mountain.

“Is this the place?”

“Yeah, this is it.”

The two men were from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine in southern Yunnan. One of them was Zhao Yinghao. He had been there before, so the village was still fresh in his memory.

“Is this the place that was in the picture?”

“We just have to get over that mountain to get to it.”

The two men went walked over the mountain and found rays of sunset shining on the lush, green, vibrant southern mountain far away. The place seemed to be clouded with mist.

“Man, what a place,” the middle-aged man said.

“I sure didn’t expect to find one such paradise out here indeed,” he admiringly added.

“Be careful, there is some guy who is like a god somewhere in there,” Zhao Yinghao said.

“A god?” the middle-aged man asked. “You must have been frightened to the core back then.”

“He’s not even 30 years old yet. Even if he were to train while still being in the womb, how powerful could he have gotten?”