"Supporting several wives?"
The crowd twitched the corners of their mouths, simultaneously looking at Lin Xue.
Seeing Lin Xue expressionless with no emotional fluctuations, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that Ye Ning hadn't accidentally let it slip; Lin Xue probably already knew about this matter.
"If you can cure my father, I am willing to offer fifty million as Master Ye's consultation fee," Zheng Le said.
Fifty million was no small sum to him.
Compared to his father, however, it was nothing.
"Deal, let's go right now." Ye Ning instantly grew interested.
Making money was what interested him most.
Zheng Le hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say something.
At a glance, Ye Ning saw through his thoughts and said with a smile, "Don't worry, if I can't cure your father, I won't take your money."
Zheng Le blushed, looking somewhat embarrassed as he said, "Thank you, Master Ye, for your understanding."
He wasn't entirely confident in Ye Ning's medical skills.
After all, Ye Ning was far too young.
Painting required talent, allowing someone to make a name for themselves at a young age.
But the medical profession demanded time and the accumulation of experience. No matter who it was, facing a young man around twenty would likely make anyone feel uneasy inside.
Tan Qingshan shook his head. Little Zheng's perspective was too narrow.
So what if he gave Ye Ning fifty million?
When he needed to ask Ye Ning for a painting in the future, the young man certainly wouldn't be able to refuse.
Such a great opportunity, yet Zheng Le had missed it.
Slight gains leading to heavy losses—that was precisely what this was.
"Let's go." Ye Ning didn't think it was a big deal.
If he couldn't cure the illness, naturally he wouldn't accept the money.
They took their leave of Tan Qingshan and arrived at Zheng Le's residence.
Before even getting close, Ye Ning frowned, staring fixedly at Zheng Le's villa.
An evil aura lingered over the place.
Zheng Le's father wasn't sick.
However, Ye Ning kept quiet. Maintaining his composure, he walked inside together with Zheng Le.
Chapter 25 You Just Don't Have Long to Live
The moment the door opened, a pretty woman in her early thirties appeared before them.
Her face was filled with anxiety, which visibly subsided when she saw Zheng Le.
"How is he?" Zheng Le asked.
"He had another episode. We've already had people restrain him, but constantly living like this is no way to go on," the woman said, looking deeply worried.
She glanced at Ye Ning and the others, asking, "Who are these two?"
"This is Master Ye, a miracle doctor I invited to treat my father," Zheng Le replied.
The woman cast a look at Ye Ning, her eyes clearly tinged with a hint of disdain.
"You must have lost your mind. What could someone this young possibly know about medicine? I've already invited Master Li, and he'll be here any minute now."
As the words left her mouth, a man in his fifties, dressed in a retro-style cyan gown, walked in.
Behind him followed a female assistant in her early twenties, dressed in sexy, fashionable clothes and carrying a small medicine box. She walked like a frail willow swaying in the wind, her slender waist narrow enough to be spanned by a single hand.
Seeing them appear, the woman at Zheng Le's home immediately broke into a smile and hurried forward.
"Master Li, you're finally here! Quickly, go take a look at the old man—he's acting crazy again."
The woman's attitude toward Master Li was worlds apart from how she had treated Ye Ning.
Zheng Le felt deeply stifled, but he could only watch helplessly.
As he saw Master Li heading upstairs, he turned to Ye Ning and said, "Master Ye, please don't be offended. This Master Li is a rather formidable miracle doctor here in Xiaocheng, and his medical skills are said to be exceptionally brilliant."
Ye Ning shrugged and said indifferently, "I'm not offended. Let's go take a look first. I'll bet you anything he can't cure this illness."
Zheng Le was slightly startled. How could Ye Ning be so confident?
"A true miracle doctor wouldn't let their own body get into such terrible shape. This fellow is terminally ill himself, yet he's still trying to treat others," Ye Ning shook his head.
Zheng Le was taken aback. Could that Master Li be a fraud?
"Master Li has an excellent reputation in Xiaocheng and has cured quite a few people," Zheng Le hurriedly said.
"He knows a bit of medicine. In the eyes of ordinary people, he counts as a miracle doctor, but he can't cure this illness," Ye Ning said. It wasn't because Master Li's medical skills were lacking, but mainly because Zheng Le's father wasn't sick at all—he was possessed by evil spirits.
Master Li was just an ordinary person and lacked the ability to drive away evil auras.
Zheng Le's heart stirred slightly. In truth, he still placed a good deal of trust in Ye Ning's words.
Aside from anything else, just given his identity as Master Yinlong, the other party wouldn't make groundless claims.
"I must ask Master Ye to step in shortly," Zheng Le said respectfully.
"By the way, is that woman just now your wife?" Ye Ning asked.
Zheng Le quickly waved his hands and said, "No, her name is Jiang Yuyan. She's my father's wife, you could say she's my stepmother."
At this, Zheng Le looked at Ye Ning with some surprise and asked doubtfully, "Why? Is there something wrong with her?"
Zheng Le was no fool; hearing Ye Ning bring up his young stepmother, he immediately sensed something was amiss and pressed for an answer.
Ye Ning gave a faint smile and said, "Play along with a scene of mine in a moment."
He whispered a few instructions in Zheng Le's ear, causing the latter's expression to shift slightly.
Casting a suspicious yet solemn look at Ye Ning, Zheng Le nodded.
Ye Ning suddenly chuckled, teasing, "The old man really is still full of vigor in his old age."
Zheng Le looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "My father met this stepmother of mine seven years ago. My mother passed away early, and he wanted to marry her. Jiang Yuyan's character wasn't bad either, so we didn't stop them. Besides, in the end, as long as we give her a sum of money, it'll be fine."
They hadn't planned on treating Jiang Yuyan unfairly; even if the old man passed away, the money allocated to Jiang Yuyan definitely wouldn't be lacking.
After all, why else would a young woman in her early twenties marry an old man?
If anyone insisted it was about love—what could a young woman in her early twenties possibly like about an old man? Did she like his advanced age and that he didn't bathe?
It was all for the money.
At this point, he trailed off, ultimately saying nothing more.
Ye Ning glanced at him, knowing there was more to the story.
Right at that moment, a series of screams rang out from inside the room.
Ye Ning and the others pushed open the door and walked in. A scrawny old man was currently lifting Master Li with one hand and violently throwing him out.
"Your dad is really fierce," Ye Ning laughed.
Zheng Le was dumbfounded. When his father had episodes in the past, he only ever harmed himself—when had he ever started beating other people?
Looking at him now, it was as if he harbored a deep, irreconcilable hatred for Master Li.
Master Li shrieked as he was pinned to the ground and given a brutal beating.
With much difficulty, Master Li managed to crawl back up and quickly hid behind Ye Ning.
Meanwhile, Zheng Le's father had originally wanted to charge forward, but upon seeing Ye Ning, his body jerked violently and he actually stopped in his tracks, as if he had encountered his nemesis.
Everyone was quite surprised. The old man had been so frantic just a moment ago, yet he didn't dare provoke Ye Ning.
"Holy shit, damn it, he's not sick—he's possessed! I can't cure this illness," Master Li said in terror.
Jiang Yuyan's face sank as she rebuked, "What are you spouting nonsense for? It's just your own medical skills that are lacking! What spirit possession? This is the 21st century, and you're still out here spreading superstitious nonsense."
"Bullshit! He is possessed! I've encountered patients like this before; it's a descending head curse from the Coconut Island. You people must have offended someone you shouldn't have—hurry up and make funeral preparations for the old man," Master Li said with absolute certainty.
He inwardly cursed his bad luck. Why was it that whenever he went out to treat patients, he always ran into this kind of thing?
This was already the second time. The last time, the victim had been in the final stages of the curse's backlash, and the misery of it still gave him nightmares at night.
Later, after asking around among many friends, he finally learned that the person had been cursed.
Ye Ning was somewhat surprised. This fellow actually knew a thing or two—he even recognized the descending head curse.
"Get out, what kind of bullshit master are you, you're just a fraud! Get out of our house, we don't welcome you here," Jiang Yuyan said angrily, as if desperately trying to deny that the old man was cursed.
Instead of leaving immediately, Master Li said, "Your family must have offended someone. A doctor should have a benevolent heart; although I can't cure his physical body, I'll give you a piece of advice: go find some masters with true spiritual cultivation and have them drive away the evil for the old man. Perhaps there's still a chance to save him. If that doesn't work, prepare to collect his corpse."
Zheng Le turned pale. He was starting to believe Master Li's words.
They had consulted so many renowned physicians for the old man's illness with no success; it really did look very much like a demonic possession.
Ye Ning couldn't help looking at Master Li in a new light.
Though this fellow's medical skills were somewhat terrible, he indeed possessed the heart of a healer.
"Drive away evil? No need to look for any masters, I know how to do it myself. A mere curse, it's very easy to deal with," Ye Ning smiled faintly.
Zheng Le looked at Ye Ning in surprise, truly not knowing what to say.
The dignified Master Yinlong possessed medical skills, martial arts knowledge, proficiency in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and even understood the arcane arts of Qi Men Dun Jia.
Thinking of this, his heart suddenly settled.
For someone who understood Qi Men Dun Jia, driving away evil spirits shouldn't be surprising at all.
"Little brother, don't mess around blindly. You saw the outcome of my attempt just now—this stuff isn't a game. One careless move and you'll throw your life away," Master Li warned.
Seeing that Ye Ning was young, he mainly didn't want to see the youth come to harm.
"Rest assured, I'm not unskillful like you," Ye Ning smiled slightly.
Master Li felt rather stifled and couldn't help letting out a cold snort.
He had meant well with his warning, but the other party's words carried a sharp edge, which displeased him greatly.
"If you don't listen to the advice of your elders, you'll suffer right before your eyes. I want to see how you drive away this evil," Master Li said.
"I disagree, the old man's body can't take any more tossing and turning," Jiang Yuyan chimed in.
Zheng Le's expression shifted, and he said coldly, "I'll make the call on this matter, you don't need to speak."
Jiang Yuyan's expression flickered.
She opened her mouth, but seeing Zheng Le's stern look, she instantly lost her nerve and dared not say another word.
Although she was Zheng Le's stepmother, when Zheng Le got serious, she had no choice but to obey.
"Master Ye, what items need to be prepared?" Zheng Le asked respectfully.
Ye Ning glanced at them and said, "All of you get out. When I'm driving away the evil, I don't want anyone watching."
"Alright."
Zheng Le did not hesitate in the slightest.
He led everyone away and then pulled the bedroom door shut.
Ye Ning glanced at the old man, his gaze landing on the Buddha pendant around his neck.
It was a black ink-jade Buddha pendant, and the monstrous evil aura was emanating directly from it.
The so-called descending head curse was actually just a mass of evil, hazy consciousness harbored within the ink-jade Buddha pendant that was harming the old man's body.
Ordinary people couldn't break this malevolent energy, but for Ye Ning, eradicating the evil Qi inside the ink-jade Buddha pendant was nothing more than lifting a finger.
He reached forward, grabbed the ink-jade Buddha pendant, and crushed it with a casual squeeze.
A faint shriek seemed to echo from within the ink-jade pendant, and then a wave of black evil Qi lunged toward Ye Ning.
Ye Ning raised his hand, grabbed the black Qi, circulated his true qi, and refined it directly.
In a gloomy ancient temple in the Coconut Island, a middle-aged man suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Who killed my treasure? I'll make him pay with his blood!"
The middle-aged man shrieked, filled with fury.
Ye Ning, however, knew nothing of this. Having destroyed the consciousness within the ink-jade pendant, the old man fell straight back onto the bed.
His body was extremely weak and on the verge of breathing his last at any moment.
With a flash of silvery light in Ye Ning's hand, silver needles appeared. He laid the old man flat on the bed and began acupuncture.
The true qi in his other hand continuously poured into the old man's body to mend his constitution.
Otherwise, even if the evil Qi was removed, the old man wouldn't live much longer—and that simply wasn't Ye Ning's style.
When all of this was done, a trace of healthy color was already visible on the old man's face.
He opened his eyes, looking somewhat dazed.
Ye Ning smiled slightly and said, "Old man, here is what happened."
Ten minutes or so later, Ye Ning opened the door and walked out.
"Master Ye, how is my father?" Zheng Le asked anxiously.
With a gloomy expression, Ye Ning said coldly, "I failed. The old man has already passed on."
"What?" Zheng Le was struck dumb with horror.
"Don't blame the little brother. That was a curse; even if he hadn't intervened, your old man wouldn't have lived past two days anyway. Ending it early like this just spares him a bit of suffering," Master Li said, stepping forward to explain for Ye Ning.
Zheng Le said with bitter grief, "I understand. It's all up to fate."
"In fact, even if the exorcism had succeeded, given the old man's physical condition, he wouldn't have lived many more days either. The outcome couldn't be changed anyway," Master Li continued.
Zheng Le let out a sigh. As for Jiang Yuyan on the side, her eyes were already red.
At that moment, Ye Ning suddenly spoke up: "Don't worry, I've already figured out where the evil aura is hiding. It's a vengeful ghost raised by a curse-master from the Coconut Island. Once I rest for a moment, I'll drag that ghost out, find out who put the curse on the old man, and settle the score for him then."
"I will never let that bastard go!" Zheng Le said, gnashing his teeth.
Hearing Ye Ning's words, Jiang Yuyan quietly slipped into the old man's room.
She carefully closed the door and scurried stealthily over to the old man.
She reached her hand toward the old man's chest, intending to find the ink-jade Buddha pendant.
"What are you looking for?"
Right at that moment, the old man suddenly opened his eyes and asked.
"Ah!"
Jiang Yuyan was almost frightened out of her wits. A person who was supposed to be dead had actually spoken!
Her face turned pale, her legs went weak, and she dropped directly to her knees on the floor.
"Honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Jiang Yuyan said with a pale face.
The bedroom door was pushed open, and Ye Ning and the others walked in.
Zheng Le's face turned livid. Glaring at Jiang Yuyan, he shouted angrily, "Jiang Yuyan, why did you do this? Our Zheng family has treated you well, why would you try to murder my father?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Jiang Yuyan burst into tears.
She knew her plot to harm the old man had been exposed.
Ye Ning couldn't be bothered to listen to this. What followed next belonged to the realm of Zheng Le's family matters and had nothing to do with him.
"Let's go."
Ye Ning called out to Lin Xue.
Lin Xue was somewhat reluctant; she was watching with great fascination. This was a blockbuster family ethics drama, far more exciting than any television show.
However, seeing Ye Ning walk toward the exit, Lin Xue followed along anyway.
Master Li rolled his eyes and hurried after them with his female assistant.
They stepped out of the Zheng family's villa one after the other.
"Master Ye, please wait a moment," Master Li called out.
Ye Ning halted and looked at Master Li with some confusion. What did this fellow want with him?
"Master Ye, since you know how to drive away evil, can you help take a look at me? It feels like I've been possessed too," Master Li asked with a hint of eager anticipation.
Ye Ning glanced at him. There was not the slightest sign of demonic possession on the man.
"You're fine."
Ye Ning stated.
Master Li refused to believe it, anxiously arguing, "That's not right, I really do have a problem. I used to be able to go twice a day, lasting an hour each time, but now I can't even manage a normal reaction. Please give me some guidance, Master Ye."
So that was the reason. Seeing that Master Li's female assistant also wore an expectant look, Ye Ning casually remarked, "Is that so? Rest assured, you aren't possessed. It has nothing to do with evil spirits."
Master Li instantly heaved a sigh of relief, saying with a slightly lighter tone, "As long as I'm not possessed, that's good. Does the Master know what my problem is, then?"
"You just don't have long to live, so you've lost your function. Don't worry about it," Ye Ning said.
Master Li felt as though he had been struck by a five-bolt thunderclap; his heart turned completely cold.
He... didn't have long to live?
Chapter 26 Five Realms of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Damn it.
He would have rather been told he was possessed by evil spirits.
Still, his own medical skills were decent, and he had a vague inkling of his condition.
"I beg the Master to save my life!" Master Li cried out, lunging forward to embrace Ye Ning's thigh.
Master Li's assistant also stared at Ye Ning with eyes full of hope.
Although Master Li was quite a bit older than her, he truly treated her well.
He was a man in his fifties, and she was in her early twenties; there was genuine affection between the two.
Therefore, she didn't want Master Li to depart just yet.
Mostly because, although their relationship was intimate, they hadn't formalized things yet.
If Master Li passed away, she would end up with nothing.
Ye Ning remained silent, merely rubbing his fingers together.
Master Li's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly said, "Easy, easy. If the Master can cure my body, I'm willing to pay one hundred thousand yuan."
One hundred thousand yuan was already quite a substantial sum.
Master Li's consultation fee generally only ran to one hundred thousand.
Though he practiced medicine to save the world, most of his business was with the wealthy.
As for ordinary people, Master Li occasionally offered free clinics and didn't charge them.
Because of this, his reputation in Xiaocheng was fairly decent.
Ye Ning turned and walked away. One hundred thousand yuan—was he trying to brush off a beggar?
"Master, don't leave! Name your price," Master Li asked through clenched teeth.
"When I treated the old man, Zheng Le promised me fifty million. You want me to cure you—how much can you give me?" Ye Ning asked.
Master Li was dumbfounded.
Fifty million?
He could scrape it together, but it would ruin him financially.
Of course, compared to his life, fifty million wasn't much.
"Forget it, this Master Li has a pretty good reputation; he often holds free clinics and doesn't charge poor people for treatment," Lin Xue reminded him.
Ye Ning looked slightly surprised at that.
He nodded and said, "Fine then. I'll take your hundred thousand. For the sake of your free clinics, keep up the good work in the future, and I might even teach you some real medical skills."
Master Li's eyes instantly lit up, and he said excitedly, "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
He believed Ye Ning's words implicitly.
A powerhouse capable of driving away evil spirits would naturally disdain lying to him.
Besides, he had seen the old man's complexion earlier; the man's physical state had clearly improved significantly.
Exorcism alone couldn't achieve that effect when the old man had been on the verge of total exhaustion.
This proved that Ye Ning had taken action to regulate and nourish the old man's body.
To produce such immediate, miraculous results, Ye Ning's medical skills were undoubtedly extraordinary.