The young divine doctor Li Xiu felt a splitting headache, a side effect of his heavy hangover that made him let out a low groan.
He struggled to sit up from the bed and looked around.
It was a humble and dilapidated shack, with the wind whistling in from all sides.
It was the middle of the night.
Outside, the wind howled fiercely.
Through the dim moonlight, Li Xiu could vaguely make out a petite figure kneeling beside the bed. Although slender and frail, she still possessed an alluring, curvaceous figure. Her face was streaked with tears, looking pitiful as she pleaded bitterly, "Let... let my sister in, please. She's dying."
The girl begged desperately.
Li Xiu was slightly stunned as memories flooded into his mind.
In the modern world on Yunxiao Mountain, he had trained since childhood under an old Taoist priest, mastering medicine and martial arts...
On the very day his cultivation reached perfection, as he prepared to descend the mountain and return home, the old Taoist held a graduation banquet for him.
Li Xiu, who had never touched alcohol in his life, had somehow gotten drunk.
When he woke up, he had actually transmigrated to an ancient dynasty.
His transmigrated self also shared the name Li Xiu, but this Li Xiu was a hopeless gambler. Not only had he gambled away every last cent, but he had also driven his parents to their graves with anger.
Aside from this run-down thatched cottage, there was nothing left.
What was even more infuriating was that he frequently subjected his twin-sister wives to domestic violence!
Li Xiu looked back down at the girl kneeling on the floor.
His memory told him that the girl before him was his younger wife, Yang Ruixue, and the sister she spoke of was Yang Ruiling, the one he had driven out into the cold.
Li Xiu rubbed his temples, feeling as though his head was about to explode. But that was nothing compared to the fury burning in his chest.
His predecessor was simply no human being!
To have married a pair of beautiful twin sisters and yet fail to cherish them—what a waste!
His gaze fell upon Yang Ruixue.
The girl was kneeling on the freezing ground, dressed in thin garments, making her look even more fragile.
Though her face was somewhat haggard, one could still tell she was naturally stunning, her brows shaped like budding flowers, evoking an overwhelming urge to protect her.
Deep in his heart, Li Xiu cursed his predecessor a thousand times over. To be blind enough not to cherish such a beautiful girl!
"Where is your sister?" Li Xiu's voice was slightly hoarse, not yet fully recovered from yesterday's drinking.
Yang Ruixue's delicate body trembled as she looked up at Li Xiu, her eyes filled with terror, as if she were looking at some terrifying monster.
She probably thought Li Xiu was about to fly into a rage and beat her again.
Li Xiu sighed, forcing his tone to soften: "Don't be afraid. Where is your sister?"
Only then did Yang Ruixue timidly point toward the doorway, choking back a sob: "She... she's outside. The cold wind has chilled her to the bone..."
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Li Xiu sprang to his feet and rushed toward the door.
The freezing gale whipped against his body, sending a bone-chilling cold straight through him.
There, curled up beneath the eaves, was a figure trembling violently.
It was his older wife, Yang Ruiling!
Li Xiu hurried over and supported Yang Ruiling.
The moment he touched her, he found her forehead frighteningly hot.
Lowering his head to look closer, he saw her face was deathly pale, her lips blue-purple, and her delicate brows tightly knitted as if she were running a high fever.
"Sister!" Yang Ruixue had rushed out behind him, and upon seeing her sister's condition, she burst into loud wails.
Li Xiu scooped Yang Ruiling up in his arms, carried her back inside, and gently laid her on the bed.
Yang Ruiling was burning up all over, moaning continuously.
"Sister, Sister, wake up..." Yang Ruixue grabbed Yang Ruiling's hand, dropped to her knees with a thump, and wept bitterly.
Li Xiu looked at his two wives with a worried expression.
Yang Ruiling's condition required immediate treatment.
Fortunately, he needed to ask no one—he was a divine doctor himself.
"Don't cry, I'm going to gather some herbs," Li Xiu hurriedly soothed Yang Ruixue.
"It's no use." Yang Ruixue shook her head amidst her tears. "Our family... our family has no money left..."
Yang Ruixue left the rest unsaid, but Li Xiu understood.
His predecessor had gambled away everything; where would they get money for a doctor?
A sudden sense of helplessness washed over him.
He had just transmigrated into this world with no money to his name, yet found himself helpless against his severely ill older wife.
This made him deeply uncomfortable.
Pulling his thoughts together, he turned back to Yang Ruixue: "I'm going out to gather herbs. Keep a good eye on your sister."
Yang Ruixue stared blankly at Li Xiu, her eyes swimming with tears, looking as if she didn't know what to say.
This man usually knew only how to hurl curses and beat them; when had he ever been this kind?
Unable to find the right words, she could only feel that the Li Xiu before her had suddenly changed.
With no time to spare, Li Xiu picked up the bamboo basket from the corner and plunged straight into the howling wind.
Yang Ruixue watched Li Xiu's retreating figure, her lips moving as she stopped herself from speaking further.
She lowered her head to look at her unconscious sister on the bed, and fresh tears welled up and spilled over.
...
High on the mountain, the violent gusts lashed at his body like a flurry of whips.
Gritting his teeth, he limped forward step by step.
Finally reaching the summit, Li Xiu caught sight of a patch of greenish light.
Houttuynia cordata, Plantago, and pheasant's eye...
The sight of those green gleams filled Li Xiu with elation!
He hurriedly pulled the trowel from his bamboo basket and began digging up the herbs.
Soon, Li Xiu had gathered enough medicinal materials to treat Yang Ruiling.
Looking at the full basket of herbs, he calculated silently in his mind: aside from treating Yang Ruiling, the remaining herbs could be taken to town and sold to supplement their household expenses.
His predecessor had been a prodigal who squandered everything to the point of utter destitution; now that the family was dirt poor, he had to find a way to make money.
Just as Li Xiu was planning to head back down the mountain, a flash of golden light darted across his field of vision.
"What? What's that?" Li Xiu's heart leaped, and he hurried toward the source of the glow.
Parting the dense weeds, Li Xiu discovered a mysterious sight beside a boulder.
He squatted down and began carefully excavating the surrounding soil.
"Wild Codonopsis?!" Li Xiu's pupils constricted, his heart pounding wildly as he stared fixedly at the fist-sized wild codonopsis root.
Codonopsis nourishes yin and qi, strengthens the spleen and stomach, and moistens the lungs and tonifies the kidneys. It was an excellent restorative tonic that, when taken long-term, could prolong life, earning it the reputation of "immortal grain."
Li Xiu's hands trembled slightly. A wild codonopsis root this large could easily sell for six or seven liang of silver!
What a massive sum of money!
With this cash, his family's livelihood would become much more comfortable.
He carefully dug the wild codonopsis out of the earth and placed it into his bamboo basket.
"Hah..." Li Xiu let out a long breath, forcefully suppressing his excitement, gathered a few more common medicinal herbs, and prepared to head back.
However, the very next moment, a golden light flashed into his vision once again!
This time, the golden radiance was far more blinding than the last!
"Holy cow!" Li Xiu muttered in disbelief. His luck was truly off the charts!
He hurried toward the source of the glow, parted a cluster of bushes, and was left dumbfounded by the sight before him.
Emerging from a crack in the rock was a colossal ganoderma mushroom!
Ganoderma invigorates qi and blood, strengthens muscles and bones, fortifies the spleen and stomach, promotes bodily fluids, and calms the mind.
Li Xiu drew in a sharp breath. This was the real deal!
This was an absolute fortune!
If he took it to town to sell, it could fetch at least a dozen liang of silver!
Li Xiu felt as though he were walking in a dream.
He carefully harvested the ganoderma mushroom and placed it into his bamboo basket.
"I've hit the jackpot!" Li Xiu beamed with excitement, nearly jumping for joy.
Seeing that dawn was approaching, he took a deep breath. Saving his older wife took precedence, so he quickly turned and hurried down the mountain.
Following the rugged mountain path against the howling wind, Li Xiu proceeded with the utmost caution.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a tree branch snapped in the fierce gale, giving Li Xiu a start.
"Damn this weather, it's going to be the death of me!" Li Xiu cursed inwardly, but his pace did not slacken in the slightest.
His only thought now was to hurry home and treat his older wife, Yang Ruiling...