Mufeng felt completely baffled. I'm not trying to date you, he thought, so what's the point of apologizing to me? On top of that, crying while talking made it look as if he were some kind of toxic scumbag trying to manipulate her.
Still, upon second thought, he couldn't afford to let money slip away. After all, a first house call was probably a pretty big deal!
Sighing, he realized that to make a living, a scholar ultimately had to cast off his long gown.
"I accepted a commission to come here and treat a patient. Is this the place?"
Mufeng walked back and spoke, remaining on guard in case the other person suddenly unleashed a brain-deadening skill.
After crying it out, Gan Lijing felt much more settled. Keeping her emotions in check, she replied, "Yes, this is the place. Please follow me."
The two walked all the way in silence.
Entering the villa, Gan Gaoping welcomed him warmly. During the pleasantries, he tried to establish a connection with Mufeng through their shared days as classmates with Gan Lijing, but Mufeng deftly steered the conversation away and asked to see the patient first.
Hearing this, Gan Gaoping understood Mufeng's meaning in a split second: the young man had no romantic interest in his daughter. He dropped the subject immediately and led Mufeng straight to Elder Gan's bedside. Gan Gaoping introduced the situation:
"Three years ago, my father was ambushed by the Demon Race at the front lines. After a fierce battle, he returned heavily wounded and has never recovered. We've invited numerous priests and physicians to treat him; they managed to heal all his external injuries, but they were helpless against his shattered internal organs, telling us that simply keeping him alive this long is already a rare miracle."
"Let me assess the condition."
This being his first house call, Mufeng didn't feel nervous at all. He had come fully prepared.
Last night, he had figured out what kind of person would specifically request him for a house call: there was only one possibility. The other party had already hired every accessible renowned physician without success. As for top-tier medical masters, those people were out of their reach. Hearing about him, they had adopted a "treat a dead horse as a live horse" mentality and decided to give it a try. Besides, the patient had probably reached a critical, life-threatening stage.
Mufeng loved this type of patient: first, money was no object; second, they were desperate. They were absolute prime targets to be taken for a ride.
He just hadn't expected the patient to be a member of Gan Lijing's family. In that case, when it came time to collect payment later, he would need to tack on an extra mental anguish fee to offset her brain-numbing buff.
Mufeng grasped Elder Gan's hand, and a faint white light flowed from his palm into the old man's body.
This was the application of the Traditional Chinese Medicine skill Qigong.
This Qigong was indeed miraculous. When used on oneself, it provided the effect of inner vision throughout the body; when used on others, it allowed one to observe the rough internal condition of the subject.
Elder Gan's biggest problem was his shattered internal organs, which caused injury values to continuously generate. Even if Heal reduced the injury value to zero, a massive amount of injury would accumulate again after a short time.
Until the internal organ issue was permanently resolved, none of his external problems could possibly improve.
Mufeng pondered inwardly: would the effect of Limb Regeneration also work on regenerating internal organs?
Using it for the first time, he felt uncertain inside, but now that the arrow was notched on the bow, he could not afford to show any timidity.
"Ahem!" Mufeng gave a light cough.
"Well? Can my father be cured?"
Both Gan Gaoping and Gan Lijing looked at Mufeng with intense nervousness.
"To be honest, I can treat all his other injuries, but the problem of the shattered internal organs exceeds my capabilities."
"However..."
Gan Gaoping and Gan Lijing both wore looks of disappointment, but upon hearing "however," their hearts instantly leaped back up as they asked:
"However what?"
"Although my abilities are lacking, by a stroke of good fortune during my class-advancement trial, I happened to acquire a few ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine pills. Among them, there are indeed some that help repair internal organs, only..."
"Only what?"
"Only these pills are incomparably precious—every one you use is one less in existence. I originally intended to keep them so that when I became capable in the future, I could reverse-engineer their formulas. But now—sigh!"
When he finished speaking, only Gan Lijing was still nervously asking, "Now what?"
Gan Gaoping, however, had caught on instantly. He said, "To tell you the truth, my father was injured fighting at the front lines, and he was wounded for the sake of our country and its people. During his illness, many priests and physicians we invited expressed their admiration and promised to do their utmost and accommodate us. Naturally, our Gan family also possesses some modest assets. As long as it is effective for my father, paying a corresponding treatment fee is only right."
Gan Gaoping first pointed out that his father's injuries were sustained fighting for the nation, taking the moral high ground so that the fee wouldn't be subjected to extortion. Then he signaled that payment was fine, provided there were therapeutic results. If there were no results, they would send him packing.
"Although this ancient traditional medicine is precious, using it on Elder Gan is a most fitting match. I also deeply admire Elder Gan's deeds, so bringing up treatment fees would make us strangers. A healer holds the heart of a parent; as long as I can cure the patient, I will do my utmost. Once the patient shows improvement, it won't be too late to collect a voluntary token of appreciation."
Mufeng parried the thrusts step by step, using Gan Gaoping's own words to elevate Elder Gan's status. He made it clear: rest assured, if there's no effect, I won't charge a cent; as for the money, you can name an amount as you see fit, as long as it matches Elder Gan's standing.
"That won't do. These ancient traditional medicines do not come easily; using one reduces the supply by one. If they are effective, it only proves their precious value, so we naturally need to pay the corresponding medicine fee. Please feel free to name your price boldly, and I will consider it accordingly."
Gan Gaoping refused to make the first offer, leaving it to Mufeng to state the price himself, intending to bargain if it was too high.
Mufeng thought it over. It was his first time making a house call and he lacked experience, so he had no idea how much money was appropriate to charge in this situation. It would be best to name a figure that both parties could accept so that neither would feel cheated, saving them from petty haggling that would lower his standing. Therefore, he said:
"When I acquired these pills, the accompanying introduction stated that crafting them required two hundred Traditional Chinese Medicine apprentices like myself acting as assistants just to complete the preparation of the raw materials."
Mufeng's standard house call fee was ten thousand, so two hundred apprentices like him would amount to two million.
"To think they are this precious! Being able to use this medicine is my father's great fortune."
Gan Gaoping said, "It's a deal. Administer the medicine quickly."
Mufeng was filled with deep regret. During bargaining, the thing you feared most was when you named a price and the other party agreed immediately—it always felt like you had taken a massive loss.
He was still too young and lacked experience!
He took out a bottle and poured out a small yellow pill. It was made from the leftover bit of a potato he had eaten that morning, mixed with a little flour and rolled between his palms. He had only made two of them in total.
"You may use a little warm water to help him swallow it. I will use a Traditional Chinese Medicine secret technique to help the patient activate the medicinal efficacy, which will yield twice the result with half the effort."
Gan Gaoping naturally agreed. He would never have guessed that this gadget was made from potato scrapings; as long as it worked, anything was fine.
With all the work completed, Mufeng put on a show and activated the Heal (Life) skill. To enhance the effect, Mufeng deliberately used Qigong to reinforce it.
For a moment, various colored skill lights flashed over Elder Gan, including the effects of Heal, Vitality, Limb Regeneration, and Qigong.
"Mmh... mmh? Am I not dead yet?"
Elder Gan let out a sound. The first "mmh" was still very weak, but the volume of the second "mmh" rose, and by the time he said "Am I not dead yet," his voice was already full of vigor.
Mufeng continued channeling Qigong into him and sensed that his internal organs seemed to have been repaired. A wave of relief washed over him: the two million was in the bag.
"Dad!" "Grandpa!" "How are you feeling?"
Instead of answering, Elder Gan slowly sat up.
"Dad, are you well?"
"I don't feel any discomfort anywhere; I must be cured. Who is this?"
Elder Gan patted himself down, finding everything in order, and only then noticed Mufeng standing off to the side, maintaining a mysterious smile.
At that moment, Mufeng was radiating an air of supreme authority, putting on such a grand facade that he was practically missing only a folding fan and a stroked beard.