Chapter 249: Silly X

The "contact" Wen Gu spoke of was not to directly contact Doctor Luo.

Since everyone knows that doctor has a prickly temperament and is not easy to communicate with, why offer oneself up to be scolded?

Wouldn't that be looking for abuse?

"Tell me about Doctor Luo's fifth apprentice," Wen Gu said.

If Doctor Luo cannot be contacted directly, then go contact this fifth apprentice who is highly regarded by Doctor Luo.

Patrol Lieutenant Yang said: "Doctor Luo usually does not like to deal with the Six Great Powers of Beidi. It is not just the Six Great Powers of Beidi; he does not even care to bother with the Medicine Gang of Shenyi Gu."

"Doctor Luo looks at everyone as if they are plotting against his secret recipes."

This statement is actually not wrong.

The Six Great Clans of Beidi and the Medicine Gang of Shenyi Gu are indeed very interested in Luo Teng's exclusive secret recipes.

But no one dares to use force.

"This man Luo Teng is very famous for making medicine, and he is also very famous for making poison!" Patrol Lieutenant Yang said.

Doctor Luo's poisons are quite famous in certain industries; one could say they are a "well-known brand."

With no family and no sect, if someone really tried to get tough with him, that man would truly dare to drag everyone down with him!

Being able to live carefree for decades in the miasmic mountains of the South is not something an ordinary person can achieve!

The Six Great Clans all treat him with courtesy; in order to purchase high-quality medicine, they are willing to pamper him.

"This fifth apprentice of Doctor Luo was met halfway while fleeing to Shenyi Gu; I heard he helped Doctor Luo."

"When that person arrived at Shenyi Gu, he had no other skills. He wanted to stay by Doctor Luo's side as an attendant or medicine worker, but he could not pass the standard assessments. Yet, Doctor Luo insisted on bearing the pressure from all sides to take him as an apprentice."

Doctor Luo only intended to recruit five apprentices. The first four all relied on genuine ability, but for the fifth spot, many people fought tooth and nail, yet it was snatched up by this person.

And yet, this person knows absolutely nothing about medicine, so naturally, the others cannot stand him.

Even if they cannot stand him, there is nothing they can do; Doctor Luo protects him!

"This person's original name was Huang Xiaoniu, but now people in the valley generally call him Young Master Wu or Huang Wulang. Being fifth in the sect ranking, this form of address highlights his status even more."

"Huang Wu acts in a fawning manner around Doctor Luo, but is extremely arrogant toward others. He is also very greedy! The business of scented pills all has to pass through his hands; who knows how much profit he has skimmed."

"Huang Wu goes to the Town from time to time to have fun; he is glib and overbearing. People in the Town speculate that this person was likely a rascal or a hoodlum in the past, not a law-abiding citizen."

Patrol Lieutenant Yang was very puzzled: "I do not know why Doctor Luo values him."

From this, one can glimpse Doctor Luo's temperament; he is difficult to deal with.

Wen Gu listened to this information and said: "Famous doctors each have their own specialties. Doctor Luo's skill in medicine is indeed irreplaceable by others. Toward such talent, we must have more patience."

"Yes."

Patrol Lieutenant Yang replied. He thought to himself, it seems the Deputy Envoy has already made a decision and is about to start casting the bait.

Hook Huang Wu first, then go fish for Doctor Luo?

"To fish—cough, to contact Huang Wu, there should be an opportunity in the near future."

Patrol Lieutenant Yang said.

"There was a slight disturbance in the Town a few days ago, and Doctor Luo had him stay at the Residence in the mountains. Once everything settles down, that fifth apprentice will surely have been cooped up for too long and will definitely come to the Town to stroll around. He is restless and not someone who can stay put on the mountain."

A few days ago, in order to cooperate with Wen Gu's actions, Patrol Lieutenant Yang had been intermittently acting crazy and picking fights to attract everyone's attention, making the atmosphere in the Town somewhat tense. However, it will ease up from here on out, and everything will return to normal.

"I have noted down the places where Huang Wu often stays—"

Patrol Lieutenant Yang unfolded a diagram with several markings on it.

"I will send people to keep an eye on the movements there; as soon as the other party comes down the mountain, I will send word immediately!"

Wen Gu nodded: "Fine, then let us go and get to know that Huang Wulang first."

Patrol Lieutenant Yang's confidence increased greatly.

When Deputy Envoy Wen takes action and casts his fishing rod, he never comes up empty!

On the mountain where Doctor Luo resides.

Huang Wu yawned, was served by attendants while getting dressed, and wandered out slowly. His soles shuffled against the ground, looking listless, as he walked toward a courtyard not far away.

Three people, both men and women, stood outside the courtyard.

Huang Wu gave a perfunctory salute and called out casually: "Senior Brother, Senior Sister!"

The young man leading the group nearby had a smile that did not reach his eyes, and his voice was squeezed out from between his teeth: "Fifth Junior Brother is up quite early today."

The sun was already very high, but usually at this time, the Fifth Junior Brother would still be sleeping.

Huang Wu yawned again, pointed his chin at the ceramic jar held by the attendant beside him, and said lazily: "The sauce I ordered a while ago was finished, and it was delivered today, so I am rushing to send it to Master right away."

He did not linger, ignored the three of them, and continued walking toward the courtyard.

Before he could even knock on the courtyard door, Huang Wu immediately perked up, craned his neck, and shouted: "Master! Are you in the room? It's me, Lao Wu! I know you haven't had much of an appetite lately, so I brought this jar of sauce to you the moment I got it!"

Soon someone opened the door, and Huang Wu entered with his attendants; the courtyard door closed once again.

From inside came the sound of Huang Wu fishing for praise: "I've tasted this sauce, it's so delicious—"

The few people outside the courtyard rolled their eyes and curled their lips.

If you didn't know better, you'd think he, Huang Wu, had done something major!

Every time he does the smallest thing, he is dying to shout it so that everyone on the whole mountain knows!

Another young man pulled his robes together, thinking of the fox fur Huang Wu was wearing that was full of the air of wealth, and said sourly: "That fox fur Master received a few days ago, the old man didn't wear it himself, but actually gave it to Fifth Junior Brother!"

The woman standing with them snorted: "It's obvious, what's so surprising?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the courtyard door that had closed again and continued: "Master just told us earlier that he was very tired today and wanted to rest, and didn't want to talk to us much. Now, he sounds quite energetic!"

Where is there any sign of fatigue?!

The young man pulling his robes still stared sourly at the courtyard: "Those two master and apprentice are definitely secretly sharing things in the room right now, deliberately avoiding us!"

It's simply burying one's head in the sand!

Do they take us for fools?!

"Did you think I wouldn't know? With that little bit of scheming, who could you possibly hide it from?"

The youth in the lead had already composed his emotions and advised, "That's enough for today. Second Apprentice, Third Apprentice, go attend to your own business."

Why stay here and make things difficult for yourselves?

Inside the courtyard.

Doctor Luo, who had been in a calm mood all morning, was currently happily showing off the new gifts he had received over the past two days to his fifth Apprentice.

Doctor Luo did not know what the few Apprentices outside were saying about him, and even if he did, he would not care.

When he first took them on as Apprentices, hadn't he already made his attitude clear?

At the beginning, he had been unwilling to take on Apprentices; he kept his unique secret techniques tightly guarded. Aside from his past experiences of being cheated, there was also the war-torn world's need for self-defense.

But staying in Shenyi Gu to seek refuge, forced by the situation and pressure from many sides, the highly respected Elder Physician Zhan also advised him to consider the big picture.

In the end, he reluctantly agreed to take on five Apprentices, but he specifically designated one person: his fifth Apprentice, Huang Wu.

Doctor Luo had his own set of logic.

The weight of the five Apprentices in his heart was not the same.

First Apprentice: Aptitude is passable, but ambition is quite large. Not long after entering the sect, he went to be a sycophant for a Beidi noble family and marry into a wealthy household, and he's almost succeeded!

Second Apprentice: Aptitude is passable, ambition is also not small. She has contact with many forces and is flirting with a noble family's son, intending to marry into a wealthy and prestigious clan.

Third Apprentice: Aptitude is passable, but not loyal enough. He has too many little schemes, is too mercenary and greedy, and always wants to rake all the benefits into his own hands.

Fourth Apprentice: Aptitude is passable, but his whole heart is set on learning more medicine and he even wants to learn the sect's unique secret formulas! In Luo Teng's heart, this is about the same as usurping power. He is also a rebellious Apprentice!

Fifth Apprentice: Not good at medicine, but speaks well, is filial and thoughtful!

In this kind of world, this actually makes Luo Teng feel more at ease.

As the saying goes, "Teach the Apprentice, starve the master," and this saying is reasonable.

Luo Teng is a lone cultivator; he doesn't care about sect heritage or anything like that, and he has always kept his techniques tightly in his grasp.

Without an orthodox master-disciple lineage, there is no pressure or sense of responsibility from a sect heritage.

He will not teach his life's work to others!

While he is alive, these are his life-saving talismans!

When he dies, he will take them to the grave; no one should even think about getting his secret formulas!

Little Wu doesn't understand medicine, has no talent, and has no other skills. In this current world, if he wants to survive, besides relying on him, this master, who else can he rely on?

No talent, no skills, and relying on his master for everything—this makes Doctor Luo feel even more at ease!

Looking at it this way—

Speaks well, can provide high emotional value, and shares the same stance; what a good Apprentice!

Only Little Wu is of one heart with him!

Doctor Luo's favoritism was clear for all to see.

The five Apprentices had clear positions in his mind:

Apprentices one, two, three, and four: beasts of burden to do the work!

Apprentice Lao Wu: beloved Apprentice!

At this moment, inside the room.

Huang Wu held a gold-inlaid jade hair crown that his master had shoved into his hands. Seeing that Doctor Luo was in a good mood, he said, "Master, I ordered some goods in Town a while ago. They should have arrived by now, and I'd like to go check on them."

Huang Wu stretched his arm to drape it over Doctor Luo's shoulder and continued familiarly, "I know you're worried about my safety. I've asked around; the Town has calmed down, and it's fine now."

He had the look of someone sharing gossip: "I heard from the person delivering the sauce that the one surnamed Yang from the Zhao Clan has been looking terrible and very irritable these past few days, acting impatient and a bit manic—"

Plus those dark circles under his eyes, it was as if he had intense emotions surging but was forcibly suppressing them, looking like he could go crazy at any moment.

Huang Wu clicked his tongue in evaluation: "Doesn't look like he's faking it!"

Doctor Luo was not surprised and said, "The military merit he had in his grasp went down the drain, and the medicinal herbs he finally managed to find were mostly burned; anyone would go crazy!"

Precisely because of this, he was worried that the people from those warlord factions would fight and implicate the innocent, which is why he continued to restrict his fifth Apprentice to staying on the mountain.

He had also received news these past two days that the Town had calmed down again. He knew Lao Wu's temperament well; Lao Wu had been cooped up in the room for too long and had long wanted to go to Town to move about.

After hesitating for a moment, Doctor Luo agreed: "It's fine for you to go to Town to relax, but you must take your attendants and guards with you!"

"Thank you, Master!" Huang Wu said happily, "I'll see what new delicious things are in Town and bring some back for you!"

Doctor Luo didn't care for those things from Town, but he knew Lao Wu hadn't enjoyed a good life before, and he was happy to see that Lao Wu thought of his master whenever he ate something good.

The master and Apprentice chatted happily.

Huang Wu stayed on the mountain obediently for another day before taking his people down the mountain.

Having not appeared in Town for a while, he had specially changed into a new outfit today: the new clothes his master gave him, along with the new hair crown.

An adult man with some status wears a hair crown when out and about; not letting one's hair hang loose is what is called being decent.

As soon as Huang Wu got his hands on the newly acquired gold-inlaid jade hair crown, he knew it was clean goods, not something stripped from a corpse.

He didn't know which wealthy family had brought it as a treasure while fleeing.

This kind of hair crown, before the chaotic times, would not have been something a person without status was worthy of using.

"The world is different now!"

In Shenyi Gu, it's all about showing off your father, your mother, or your master. Whoever has elders who are doing well and have status, that's where their confidence to be arrogant comes from!

As long as one has backing, in public, let alone noble families, even if it were an item from the imperial family, we would still dare to use it!

Admiring his new look in the mirror, Huang Wu grabbed a fan to put on airs.

He asked his attendant, "How does that Rong Huan, who stole the show at the examination grounds, compare to me?"

The attendant smiled obsequiously: "How could that one surnamed Rong possibly compare to you, Young Master Wu?!"

Huang Wu was satisfied.

Looking the part, he arrived in Town and first found a place to drink tea.

He specially changed into a gorgeous new look to make his appearance.

But—

A scion of a noble family and a street-roaming hoodlum cannot be defined just by wearing expensive clothing.

Huang Wu, in his luxurious attire, paired with that completely ill-fitting, frivolous, and oily demeanor, looked at first glance like a street-roaming hoodlum who had stolen someone else's clothes.

In Huang Wu's own eyes: I am drop-dead handsome~

In the eyes of passersby: What an idiot!!