Chapter 81: Father-Son Relationship, Zhang Fan

Evening. The summer breeze felt somewhat stifling.

South of the city, No. 368 Guai-zi Alley.

As an old part of the city, it still maintained the architectural style of low walls and residential courtyards; neighborhood children chased and played in the narrow alley.

Following the address provided by Jiang Hu, Zhang Fan found his way here. The further he walked, the more images flashed through his mind.

He knew he had definitely been here before.

"No. 368... this is the place..."

Zhang Fan arrived in front of a small courtyard. The ancient wooden gate had mottled patterns and was adorned with traditional peach-wood charms. The copper ring held by a lion's head struck the wooden gate, creating a "thump-thump" sound.

"No one home?"

Zhang Fan's gaze narrowed, and he knocked twice more.

"Who is it?"

Just then, the door opened, revealing only a sliver of a gap. Through the crack, Zhang Fan saw a beautiful woman standing behind the door. Her long hair reached her waist, styled in a braid. Her beautiful eyes were like autumn water, and she wore a loose short-sleeved shirt, revealing fair, slender arms.

"I'm looking for the old Mr. Ming..." Zhang Fan said through the gap.

"My grandfather isn't home." As the girl spoke, she moved to close the door.

"How can I get in touch with him?"

Just then, Zhang Fan hurriedly blocked the closing door and spoke urgently.

"What are you doing?" The girl's delicate brows furrowed, and she stared at Zhang Fan with vigilance.

"Uh... I mean no harm... I just want to ask the old Mr. Ming about something... I think I came here to see a doctor when I was a child, but I can't remember..." Zhang Fan didn't know how to explain it.

"You... your surname is Zhang!?" the girl suddenly asked.

"How did you know?" Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment.

"Zhang Fan!?" The girl's words were startling; she had directly called out his name.

"Huh!?"

Zhang Fan's eyes widened, and through the gap in the door, he looked the girl up and down.

"You really did come looking."

The girl showed a look of realization, then opened the door and let Zhang Fan in.

"Have we met? Do you know me?" Zhang Fan looked at the girl suspiciously.

"My name is Ming Yunxia. You don't remember me?"

"Huh!?" Zhang Fan frowned, showing a look of confusion.

"When you were twelve, your father brought you to my house to seek medical treatment..." Ming Yunxia said.

"Twelve... twelve..." Zhang Fan was lost in thought.

That year, he had experienced the greatest tragedy of his life; his mother had passed away in a car accident, and he had suffered such a shock that he developed traumatic selective amnesia...

Zhang Fan remembered that at first, Zhang Lingzong had taken him to many large hospitals...

Later on, he had indeed been taken to see an old doctor of traditional Chinese medicine...

"This is the place." Zhang Fan seemed to recall some things.

"You're different from when you were a child... You were a bit fierce back then, and you didn't like to talk. I tried to play with you, but you wouldn't pay me any mind," Ming Yunxia said.

"I think I have some impression... You are Sister Yunxia..."

Zhang Fan vaguely remembered that his emotions had been extremely unstable back then, even somewhat aggressive. In this courtyard, it seemed there had been an older sister who kept trying to play with him.

Every time he came for treatment, that older sister would stay by his side.

"Come in."

As she spoke, Ming Yunxia led Zhang Fan into the inner hall. A thick scent of medicine permeated the entire room. Human meridian charts hung on the walls, and the surrounding shelves were filled with various medicinal herbs and instruments. "Sister Yunxia, where did the old Mr. Ming go?"

Zhang Fan walked to the corner of the wall, looked at a strange picture hanging there, and asked casually.

"He went to the Southern Yunnan border to search for medicine."

As she spoke, Ming Yunxia walked to Zhang Fan's side and pointed to the picture on the wall. The painting depicted a milky-white mushroom rooted in yellow soil, yet it possessed a human face.

"Is this medicine?"

"This is called the Beauty Mushroom," Ming Yunxia introduced.

Since ancient times, there have been many taboos regarding building bridges and repairing roads, because it involves breaking ground and disrupting water, which changes the direction of the dragon veins and disturbs the earth's Qi.

It is rumored that in ancient times, while building a road in the Southern Yunnan border region, some mountain folk dug up a human face halfway up the mountain.

That face was flesh-colored, slightly pale, with eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Its eyes were tightly shut, as if it were growing out of the rock wall, and its mouth kept twitching, occasionally emitting a sound like muffled thunder, which was very frightening.

At the time, the mountain folk were terrified. Some said they had broken the earth and accidentally dug into the mountain god's residence, and that this human face was the mountain ghost guarding the residence.

Others said this human face was the manifestation of a wronged soul who had died in the mountains, and if it opened its eyes, it would hook away one's soul.

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In short, there were various theories. Finally, an old man took the lead, and they reburied that section of the mountain road and suppressed it with large stones. From then on, no one ever saw that thing again.

Many years later, a wandering Daoist priest passed through the area, heard the rumor, and sighed with regret. He said that the human face was called the 【Beauty Mushroom】, a type of miraculous medicine. It is said that its roots reach into the netherworld of the Yellow Springs. If someone takes a tear from that human face and consumes it, they can communicate with ghosts and gods, and their lifespan can exceed a hundred years. As for its other uses, the Daoist kept silent. Later, he lived in those mountains and built a temple, living until he was one hundred and twenty-three before passing away peacefully.

"There's actually such a medicine?" Zhang Fan clicked his tongue in wonder.

However, he now knew that Ming Chengjun was not an ordinary traditional Chinese medicine doctor; he was a Daoist physician, and born of the Yin Mountain Sect. His methods went without saying, and even the medicine he treasured was extraordinary and quite effective.

"Grandfather has been searching for this medicine for half his life... Every midsummer, he travels to Southern Yunnan," Ming Yunxia said solemnly.

"Are you and your dad on better terms now?"

Just then, Ming Yunxia suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment.

"I remember when you were a child... your relationship with your father was very bad... the two of you often got into fights at my house."

"Ah!? I fought with my dad? At twelve?" Zhang Fan showed a look of disbelief.

In his memory, he respected Zhang Lingzong very much, not even daring to raise his voice. As for foul language... he even felt that Zhang Lingzong thought he didn't know how to curse.

Fighting? Are you kidding!?

"You saw it with your own eyes?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask.

"No... but every time you two were in the inner hall for a consultation, I could hear it, the kind that was very scary..." A look of reminiscence appeared in Ming Yunxia's eyes.

"I thought at the time, if I were your dad, having such a rebellious son, I might as well just strangle him."

"Ah!?"

Zhang Fan showed a look of disbelief, feeling as if he were listening to someone else's story.

"By the way..."

Just then, Ming Yunxia changed the subject and suddenly asked: "Is your dad's illness cured?"

"My dad's illness?" Zhang Fan was stunned.

"Right. Every time your dad brought you here, it was of course to see a doctor," Ming Yunxia whispered solemnly.

"Wait a minute... wasn't I the one seeing the doctor?"

"No..." Ming Yunxia shook her head: "My grandfather said... your dad was sick... he had a very serious illness..."

"But he also said..."

"Said what!?" Zhang Fan pressed.

"He said... you are his illness." Ming Yunxia's expression became strange.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 82 =====