The Martial Doctor-Chapter 63: Got Stuck With Him

Qin Yanran was furious.

Being teased by men wasn’t something she hadn’t encountered before. How could she run a place like Qin Lou and avoid these "idle gossips"?

But being teased by a boy whose hair had not fully grown, and still unable to do anything about it, how could she not be burning with anger?

"Han Si!"

"Master, Han Si is here, at your service."

"From now on, keep a close eye on Lin Miao next door for me. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, I want to know. Do you understand?"

"I understand, but Master, why do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

A single glance from Qin Yanran sent Han Si scurrying out, his head lowered in fear. Too many questions from subordinates were not a good thing.

"Yanran?"

"Master..." Qin Yanran shivered all over, and turned around in surprise. An old woman dressed in a black robe seemed to appear out of thin air before her, exuding a chilling aura, giving off an impression of unfathomable depth.

"Master, have you broken through to the Sky Origin?"

"Not yet. This step has blocked countless martial artists. Three years ago, I brushed against the threshold, so I returned to the sect under the guise of faking my death to seclude myself and cultivate. But after sitting in meditation for three years, the harvest is minimal. Alas." The old woman sighed. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"So, are you not leaving this time?" Qin Yanran cautiously asked, somewhat wary of her master.

"The sect received information that half a year ago, Situ Wan’Er from Wentian Sect descended the mountain. After extensive efforts to track her, it has been confirmed that her destination is indeed Dongshan Prefecture in Lanzhou." The old woman said.

"Master, why has Situ Wan’Er come to Dongshan Prefecture?" Qin Yanran asked in surprise.

"I don’t know. That’s why the sect sent me over, first to see why you haven’t achieved anything in Dongshan City after ten years, and secondly to ferret out Situ Wan’Er, to find out what she intends to do!"

"Master, in this vast sea of people, trying to find one person is too difficult. We’ve been looking here for ten years, almost turned Dongshan Prefecture upside down, yet still found nothing." Qin Yanran said.

"That’s no excuse. If we can’t find the Saint Heir, you and I will both die, understand?" The old woman glared at Qin Yanran fiercely.

"Yes, Master."

...

By the third day, before Lin Miao could go find Mr. Xie, Mr. Xie came first because the "Physician" token of Sun Simiao had unexpectedly been sold by Yuanheng’s main auctioneer of Dongshan City’s branch.

Once sold, it would be difficult to take back.

"Auctioned?" Lin Miao really wanted to slap Mr. Xie to death, but things had come to this, and even killing the other party was useless.

He also didn’t expect the usually reputable Yuanheng to do such a thing.

"I didn’t expect this to happen either. Normally, it’s just an ordinary ’Physician’ token, not something for auction. But coincidentally, one of the ten intended auction items had its owner back out at the last minute, so the physician token from your master was added to fill the gap, and then sold..."

"Who bought the physician token?"

"I don’t know. This isn’t a formal auction; none of the participants report their identity, so nobody knows who it was." Mr. Xie said.

"Mr. Xie, aren’t you afraid I’ll take this to the authorities and ruin Yuanheng’s reputation?"

"It’s no use. I’ve already been expelled by them. Even if you go to the authorities, this is my responsibility, not Yuanheng’s."

"These pledges and agreements were signed when you were the main auctioneer of Yuanheng in Baihe County. Can they just not acknowledge them?"

"They don’t acknowledge it because what I submitted was a different original record. They could claim that what you have is a forgery..."

"Good, good, so shameless. Since you can’t get my master’s physician token back, why did you come to find me?" Lin Miao was so furious that he was almost steaming from his seven orifices. If this weren’t his own home’s living room, he might have really given Mr. Xie a beating first.

"I have nowhere to go, so I’ve come to seek refuge with you, Mr. Lin." Mr. Xie shamelessly said.

"You really are shameless as hell." Lin Miao cursed directly out of anger.

"I know you wouldn’t agree with this, but I thought, if I stayed by your side, maybe you’d feel more at ease." Mr. Xie said.

Lin Miao’s eyes narrowed slightly; this indeed appealed to him. If Mr. Xie ran off, given his current ability, he would have a hard time finding anyone.

And Mr. Xie knew about his killing of Huang Baichuan and Huang Yulang and others. If he were to divulge this, neither he nor Mr. Xie would have a good outcome, but he would end up ruined as well.

This guy, despite being at his mercy, was also tied to him.

"Fine, I’m short of a steward, you can serve as my steward here temporarily." Lin Miao thought for a moment; his master’s "Physician" token still needed to be recovered, and Mr. Xie needed to provide clues to achieve this.

This guy was also intelligent, knew how to adapt to circumstances. Although his loyalty was questionable, having him under his nose was more reassuring.

"Thank you, Master Lin."

"The matter of the physician token isn’t over. This is the only keepsake my master left for me and my senior sister. I am determined to get it back. You must help me investigate. If you find the buyer, I’m willing to pay a high price to buy it back." Lin Miao commanded coldly.

"Yes, Master Lin, rest assured. This matter is on my mind, and I will definitely help you find the bidder." Mr. Xie agreed.

...

Losing his master’s "Physician" token wasn’t Lin Miao’s fault, but since he was the one holding the token, he couldn’t shirk this responsibility.

Therefore, afterward, he explained the entire sequence of events to his senior sister.

His senior sister did not blame Lin Miao much after hearing everything, aside from shedding some tears out of sorrow. In truth, the fault lay with Mr. Xie.

Had he not attempted to forge a fake receipt, trying to curry favor with the higher-ups, such a situation wouldn’t have occurred.

However, even if Mr. Xie were handed over, it wouldn’t help the matter, as the "Physician" token had been auctioned, and it was one of those black market auctions, making it difficult to track who purchased it.

It was regular practice for pawnbrokers to send "dead pledge" items to auction. Some items that cannot see the light of day had to be auctioned in the black market, whereas formal auctions require disclosure of items’ origins and identity registration of participants.

Suing Yuanheng also might not succeed, since at its core, the mistake was Mr. Xie’s fault.

The best judgment might only be that Mr. Xie compensates financially, but might not even entail prison time.

"Mr. Xie agrees to compensate us with one thousand taels of silver and also voluntarily to stay and serve as steward until the ’Physician’ token of our master is found," Lin Miao said.

This explanation conveniently accounted for the over a thousand taels of silver he had acquired from Huang Baichuan and others.

In this way, Sun Youwei also nodded in agreement, acknowledging no better solution existed.

"Senior sister, I will recover the ’Physician’ token of our master and personally hand it over to you," Lin Miao promised solemnly.

"Junior brother, I trust you, but don’t stress yourself out," Sun Youwei nodded, understanding the situation.

"I understand, don’t worry, senior sister." Lin Miao assured.

...

"Haha..." With a burst of laughter, Su Chen flung open the doors and emerged from seclusion. The energy emanating from him indicated a significant advancement in cultivation over the past three days.

"Congratulations, Mr. Su."

"Thanks to you, my dear brother, for the guidance; this is how I managed this breakthrough." Su Chen was full of gratitude, as Lin Miao’s "Yin-Yang Balance" theory aided him in progressing to the Blood Fusion Realm—a great favor he remembered well.

"It’s due to your own accumulation; you just needed that final push," Lin Miao chuckled.

"I see that you practice martial arts too, my young brother. I have here a ’Concealing Breath Skill.’ If you don’t mind, maybe you’d like to give it a try?" Su Chen handed Lin Miao a piece of paper.

"Mr. Su, this isn’t appropriate."

"Ah, if my dear brother doesn’t accept it, you’re saying you don’t consider me a friend?"

"Since Mr. Su puts it that way, I shall accept it." Lin Miao accepted it.

"Brother, I must return to Star-Picking Tower. Tomorrow I must attend the consultation exam, and if I don’t return, they’ll be anxious."

"Mr. Su, having been out for so long, aren’t your family worried?"

"Not at all, as long as I return on time, they don’t question my doings." Su Chen walked away with a relaxed stride.

"Concealing Breath Skill"

Such a treasure.

With this method, I can hide my energy as much as possible, not letting my opponents know my true power.

This is a must-have for "playing the fool to catch the tiger."

Still, it’s important to be a good person.

Because good deeds do bring good rewards.