Chapter 106: Xinglinju

The old man was none other than Anran's grandfather, Zhao Zhangde. Having been caught by his granddaughter while sneaking a drink, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Drinking a little occasionally isn't a big problem."

"Your hands can't even hold a needle, and your legs can't walk anymore, yet you're still drinking. Do you think your cerebral infarction isn't serious enough?"

Zhao Anran was truly angry, tears welling up in her eyes: "My parents are gone, and my uncle is overseas. If something happens to you, I won't have any family left. Can you please be more careful?"

"Alright, alright, I won't drink anymore, I promise I won't. Hey, Anran, who is this young man? Is he your boyfriend? He's quite handsome." Zhao Lao turned his head and saw Chen Yu, his gaze immediately drawn to him.

"Hello, Zhao Lao, I am Chen Yu." Chen Yu smiled slightly.

"What nonsense are you spouting, Grandfather? This is my friend. His medical skills are very impressive, and I wanted you to use your connections at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association to help him get a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner's license." Zhao Anran blushed.

"His medical skills are really impressive? Traditional Chinese Medicine?" Zhao Lao looked at Chen Yu with disbelief.

"Yes, Traditional Chinese Medicine." Zhao Anran said, "Grandfather, don't change the subject, help him get the license."

"You tell me first if he is your boyfriend." The old man said, "If he is, I'll do it; if not, I'll have to consider it."

"Grandfather, what are you saying?" Zhao Anran turned bright red: "He is just my friend."

"Then that won't do. The foundation of a healer is knowledge and medical ethics; he must pass my test first." The old man shook his head: "Let him show what he can do first."

"You..." Zhao Anran said helplessly to Chen Yu: "I'm really sorry, my grandfather is just..."

"It's fine, Zhao Lao's concern is justified." Chen Yu smiled and said: "A healer's priority is saving lives, so knowledge and medical ethics are indeed essential."

"Exactly. Let me test you. Can you recite the 'Songs of Decoctions' first?" Zhao Lao waved his hand.

"Grandfather..." Zhao Anran was caught between laughter and tears.

"Let's skip the 'Songs of Decoctions'. Let me talk about Zhao Lao's condition first." Chen Yu smiled and said: "Zhao Lao's condition should have started three years ago. Three years ago, you suffered a sudden stroke, resulting in hemiplegia, facial deviation, and inability to speak. You self-diagnosed it as a syndrome of 'Liver Yang Blazing Upward' and 'Wind-Fire Disturbing the Upper Body'."

"That's right, exactly three years." Zhao Lao was slightly stunned, and he began to take Chen Yu seriously: "What else can you see?"

"As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine yourself, after self-diagnosing, you treated it by 'Calming the Liver and Extinguishing Wind' and 'Nourishing Yin to Subdue Yang'. If I'm not mistaken, you used a decoction synthesized from dragon bone, oyster shell, and raw rehmannia."

"Later, when the results were poor, you switched to a decoction for 'Nourishing Qi and Blood'. You recovered slightly, but the meridians in your right hand remained blocked, preventing you from lifting objects, and your legs remained paralyzed, preventing you from walking. That is how you ended up in your current state." Chen Yu smiled.

"Not bad, this young man has some skill; he can even identify my prescriptions so clearly." Zhao Lao nodded slightly and said: "Fine, I will help you with this favor. It seems the girl was right—your medical skills are indeed impressive."

"However, Zhao Lao, this medication of yours does not address the root cause." Chen Yu kindly reminded him again.

"What did you say?" The old man was furious: "Are you implying my medical skills are lacking? Kid, I was practicing medicine before you were even born."

"That is not what I meant." Chen Yu was helpless: "Based on the symptoms, your condition fits the pattern of 'Liver-Wind', but have you ever considered what caused these symptoms?"

"The cause? I haven't thought about that." Zhao Lao was stunned and fell into deep thought.

"I see that although Zhao Lao is physically inconvenienced, your constitution is robust. You must practice the 'Five Animal Frolics' daily." Chen Yu said.

"That's right, I practiced it every day when I wasn't sick." Zhao Lao nodded.

"Therefore, under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for you to have a sudden stroke." Chen Yu said.

"Then why did this happen to me?" Zhao Lao pressed.

Chen Yu stepped forward, took out a Silver Needle, and pricked one of Zhao Lao's fingers. A drop of blackened blood oozed from his fingertip.

Chen Yu held the needle up to Zhao Lao: "Your blood is slightly black and somewhat viscous. This is the poison of the 'Windless Flower'. I don't need to explain what the Windless Flower is, do I?"

"The Windless Flower, which grows in the forbidden lands of Tianshan in the Western Frontier, can cause facial deviation and hemiplegia, with symptoms similar to a stroke." Zhao Lao and Zhao Anran's expressions changed drastically: "Someone poisoned me?"

"Yes, this poison is very difficult to cure. If I'm not mistaken, the person who poisoned you is also a master of medicine." Chen Yu said: "Furthermore, Xinglinju operates with a heart for saving the world, not for profit, and you even give medicine to the poor for free. I believe you have infringed upon someone's interests. You know who it is, don't you?"

"It must be Zhou Hongru from Mingshun Medical Hall. That old bastard! Mingshun Medical Hall has opened all over Fengling, and he wanted to use our Xinglinju's reputation to acquire my family's clinic. I refused, and that old bastard actually harmed me like this."

Zhao Lao was furious: "The scoundrel! He even wanted my granddaughter to marry his grandson? I'm going to settle the score with him."

"Grandfather, don't be so hasty." Zhao Anran quickly stopped the old man.

"Why are you stopping me? They poisoned me! Am I not even allowed to go to their door and curse them out?"

"That bastard Zhou Hongru is wicked and greedy, thinking only of how to make money every day. Now he's even targeting me." Zhao Lao raged: "Don't stop me, I'm going to curse him out right now."

"Zhao Lao, what good will it do to go and curse him now?" Chen Yu said helplessly: "Besides venting your anger, you can't accomplish anything. Why not focus on recovering your health and then confront them openly?"

"That's right, Grandfather, what is the point of going there now? Besides cursing him, what can you do?" Zhao Anran also urged: "It would be better to endure it for now and figure out a way to deal with them."

"Exactly. Even if we go now, we have no evidence that they did it." Chen Yu smiled: "A gentleman's revenge is never too late, Zhao Lao."

"True, a gentleman's revenge is never too late." Zhao Lao gritted his teeth in hatred: "I fell ill a few years ago, and Xinglinju declined because of it. If it weren't for that old wretch, my Xinglinju wouldn't have fallen to this state."

"Haha, Zhao Lao, no need to worry. Curing your poison is not a difficult task." Chen Yu smiled slightly.

"You have a way?" Zhao Lao looked at Chen Yu in surprise and said: "I have been poisoned for several years now. The toxicity has likely invaded my internal organs. Trying to cure it is probably harder than reaching the heavens."

"If I say it's no problem, then it's no problem." Chen Yu smiled slightly.

"Grandfather, Chen Yu knows the Locking Life Nine Needles. He is proficient in such profound acupuncture techniques; curing your poison shouldn't be a big problem." Zhao Anran said.

"You know the Locking Life Nine Needles?" Zhao Lao was truly shocked. He realized then that he had underestimated Chen Yu.

"I know a little." Chen Yu nodded slightly.

"Very well, if you cure me, I will betroth my granddaughter to you." Zhao Lao slapped the table, turning around and selling out his own granddaughter.