The lights were off, but he still sat where he was right until midnight. He did not know the exact time. He opened his eyes, which looked bright and focused. He slowly rose and went down the mountain.

He Xiao Rui and his mother came to the clinic the next morning to Wang Yao farewell. The last time they had come, Wang Yao told them the young man could return to Jing for recuperation. They were still worried enough that they insisted on staying around for a few more days to continuously receive treatment from Wang Yao. The effects of the treatment were as expected. They were nothing short of excellent.

“We can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for us,” the woman said.

“Don’t mention it,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

“Thank you very much, Dr. Wang,” the young man said. He Xiao Rui expressed gratitude at his own volition. His body had gotten better. He felt more energetic, which had changed his personality somewhat.

“You’re welcome,” Wang Yao said. “Head back home and get some good rest. You’ll return to normal before long. At that time, you can play sports and run around.”

“Yeah, I’ve got plans laid out for my new life,” the young man said.

He had once lived a sheltered life because he was unable to withstand the rigors of the outside world. Now, he planned to take his time and see the world after recovery. He wanted to play ball sports, swim, hike, and just go running around everywhere. He wanted to return to school and make new friends.

He was filled with hope for his upcoming bright, new life.

“Thank you.” When those thoughts came to mind, he looked at the doctor and bowed deeply.

“If you happen to come to Jing, Dr. Wang, you must pay us a visit,” the woman earnestly said.

“Sure.” Wang Yao smiled and nodded.

Guo Zhenghe, who was there for treatment, bumped into them as they were heading out.

“Auntie, Xiao Rui, are you two here for treatment too?”

“Yeah, we were here to have Dr. Wang check Xiao Rui out. What are you doing here, Zhenghe?” The woman was very startled. As far as she knew that young man from the Guo family was assigned to some county down south. She wondered what was he doing there.

“Good day, Mr. Guo.”

“Hi, good day. I have some personal matters to talk to Dr. Wang about. Is Xiao Rui OK now?”

“He’s mostly good. Now, it’s to get him home to recuperate further.”

“That’s good to hear. Are you happy to hear this, Xiao Rui?”

“Of course I am,” the young man said.

“We’ll be on our way.”

“Goodbye, Auntie. Goodbye, Xiao Rui.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Guo.”

Guo Zhenghe saw both of them off.

“Well, I never expected him to be able to get such a disease treated.”

“What disease?” Xu Xinyuan asked in a subdued voice.

“That boy was afflicted with a rare brittle bone disease, or Osteogenesis Imperfecta, if you will,” Guo Zhenghe. “These people are what we usually call ‘glass people.’ Their bodies are very weak, and their bones easily break. His family had been running all over the place to get him treated. They went to many places and saw many renowned doctors, both in and out of the country, yet the results were lackluster. In time, his body became even weaker. The whole family had practically given up hope. I totally didn’t expect the guy inside to be able to cure the boy of such a weird disease.” He pointed inside as he spoke.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that disease an inherent one?”

“It is.”

“Is the doctor is capable of curing even inherent illnesses?” Xu Xinyuan was very shocked to hear that. The ability to cure uncommon, even incredibly rare, poisons, that could not be cured elsewhere had been an astonishing feat on its own. He had not expected the doctor to be able to even treat inherent diseases, which were comparatively more varied and difficult.

“Well, is it to say that he could even cure cancer?” Xu Xinyuan asked as the idea entered his mind.

“He might just be able to do so,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“With someone around like that, shouldn’t you…”

Guo Zhenghe interrupted him before he finished. They were already deep inside the clinic.

“Still occupied?”

“I was just about done,” Wang Yao replied.

He heard the conversation taking place outside.

“I know those two who were just here,” Guo Zhenghe said. “They are folks from Jing City. We’re practically neighbors.”

“Is that so? What a coincidence.”

“How has Xiao Rui’s treatment been going?”

“He’s fine now,” Wang Yao said. “He just needs some time to recuperate back home to fully recover.”

“Your medical skills seem to know no bounds,” Guo Zhenghe said. “The family had been paying visits to a good number of doctors throughout the years, yet none were able to really treat him.”

“Please, you flatter me too much,” Wang Yao said.

He was in no mood for flattery and pleasantries. Furthermore, he did not like the young man from the Guo family much to begin with. From his perspective, Guo Zhenghe was simply trying to start a conversation, even though there was little to talk about between them. He never liked people sucking up to him in any manner, especially when it was not sincere.

“You two don’t look like you have big problems,” Wang Yao said. “Just go home and rest. You’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“I have a favor to ask,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“Speak.”

“Could you give me the solution to curing the curses?”

“Huh?” Wang Yao was dumbfounded when he heard that. He had not expected Guo Zhenghe to ask something so ridiculous.

“I’m sorry. No deal.” He immediately refused.

“I’m not out for personal gain,” Guo Zhenghe said. “I think you know that I don’t need to do so.”

“I know that, but I still can’t help you with this one,” Wang Yao adamantly replied.

The very reason the antidote had been so potent was because of the magic herbs used. No other herbs would have been able to achieve such results. It was something produced at his place and nowhere else. It was not a prescription that he could just give anyone.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been asking too much.”

“It’s fine,” Wang Yao smiled and replied, although his tone had gotten noticeably cold.

“I’ll take my leave now,” Guo Zhenghe said.

“Have a safe trip,” Wang Yao said.

The two men walked out of the clinic.

After they got out of the clinic, Xu Xinyuan said, “You shouldn’t have said what you said back there, Sir.”

“I’m not doing this for profit,” Guo Zhenghe replied.

“I know that,” Xu Xinyuan said. “Your family is such that there is no need for that, but you’re doing so to make up for your mistakes and bolster your records, right?” He had been shooting straight, perhaps a little too straight.

“Yeah.” Guo Zhenghe did not skirt around the question. He was not irritated at all. He admitted that it was what the other man thought.

His records back in He County had been excellent. He had done many things the past two years, which saw considerable growth in all manners of statistics about the county. His record had been shiny. However, all those bad things that had been happening for the past few months had practically wiped all that shiny data clean. No matter how well-developed a place was, having incidents taking place every day was inexcusable all the same. Safety had to come first.

“The guy in there might actually know about that,” Xu Xinyuan said.

Guo Zhenghe was startled when he heard that.

“Sir, forgive me for being direct. You’re an elite, the cream of the crop, yet the doctor is just as capable of a person.”

“Yeah.” Guo Zhenghe shuddered for a bit before lightly clapping Xu Xinyuan’s shoulders.

“You’re right, Uncle Xu,” he said. “It looks like I’ve been overestimating my importance.”

“You are indeed important, Sir, and you deserve to think highly of yourself, but…” He did not continue saying what he meant to say. He was but a lowly servant to the Guo family. While harsh words would have proven beneficial, there were still the time, place, and person being spoken to that had to be considered.

“Let’s head back to Haiqu.”

Back in the Valley of Thousands of Medicines, thousands of miles away in Southern Yunnan…

Smoke from incense rose from the largest wooden house in the stockade.

Miao Xihe sat with his legs crossed. He was intently focused.

“Sir?” Someone’s voice was heard from outside.

“Come in.”

“Xiao He is awake.”

“How is he doing?”

“Good, far better than what we expected.”

“Is that so? Let’s go and take a look.” Miao Xihe rose.

They left the village and went into the mountains. They took a winding path that led to a very secluded cave less than a mile away. The cave was low. A river gushed from the cave. There was no way of walking into it.

The two men dove into the river and swam inside the cave, which widened considerably after swimming for about 32 feet. They saw rocks in front of them. After getting out of the water, they climbed the rocks. The cave was not dark. There was light coming in from several holes at the top. Furthermore, there were lit torches all around the place.

“Who is there?”

“It’s me.”

“Chief.”

The cave was spacious. There were five to six people in it.

“Chief.”

Everyone bowed respectfully to Miao Xihe.

“Xiao He.”

“Chief.”

“Come here. I’ll take a look.”

He walked up to a young man still in his teens. Miao Xihe bent over and observed him. The young man’s skin glistened, and his eyes looked vibrant.

“Good, very good,” Miao Xihe approvingly said.