It was getting colder. It was so cold that one could even see one’s breath when exhaling.

  When they saw Wang Yao, they quickly greeted him. “Hello, Mr. Wang.”


  “Are you going to the mountain?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Yes.”


  “OK, have a nice day.”


  Wang Yao turned and walked toward his home. Just as he reached the door, he saw a car speed by and head south of the village.

  He thought, Are they here to see a doctor?

  Once the car stopped, a man jumped out of the car. Next, a woman carrying a child got out. She had an anxious look on her face. Wang Yao hurriedly turned around. Although his pace was not fast, he was soon at the clinic.

  “How come it’s closed?”


  The man and woman were sweating profusely.

  “What’s wrong with the child?” Wang Yao asked. The child’s face was slightly blue.

  “He choked while eating.”


  “Let me check,” Wang Yao said.

  He closely looked at the child and patted on his back twice in succession. The child spit out a ball of food and began to cry.

  Wang Yao glanced down and found saw the child had eaten peanuts. He said, “The child is too young to eat this kind of food.”


  “Hey, we didn’t want him to. He stuffed it in his mouth while we were not paying attention.”


  Wang Yao looked at the child again. After confirming that the child had no other problems, he said to the couple, “It’s OK. You can go home.”


  “Thank you so much.”


  “You are welcome,” Wang Yao replied. “You must pay more attention.”


  “Thank you. How much is it?”


  “Forget it.” Wang Yao waved his hand as he turned and walked toward his house.

  The man stopped to thank him again as he drove past him. “Thank you.”


  “You are welcome,” Wang Yao replied. “Have a safe journey!”


  He slowly returned home.

  “You came back.” Zhang Xiuying was preparing dinner.

  “Mom, what do you need me to do?” Wang Yao asked.

  “It’s OK, just go back to the room,” his mother said. “It will only be the two of us tonight.”


  “Where is Dad?” Wang Yao asked.

  “He went out for a drink,” his mother said.

  They had dinner and stayed in the house to watch TV. At around 8 p.m., Wang Fenghua returned home. He had the heavy smell of tobacco and alcohol.

  “Dad, how many drinks did you have?” Wang Yao asked.

  “More than three glasses, maybe even a bottle of wine.” Wang Fenghua laughed.

  “Wait a minute, I’ll bring you some water.” After his father ate his dinner, Wang Yao brought him a hangover soup he had cooked already. It could be used to protect the stomach and liver.

  “I heard that two more people moved out of the village,” Wang Fenghua said as he sipped his soup.

  “Who was it?” Wang Yao asked.

  “Brother Mao Sheng’s family,” Wang Fenghua said.

  “Oh,” Zhang Xiuying said with a sigh.

  “Someone bought two houses, and they have already been renovated,” Wang Fenghua said. “Xiao Yao, do you know them?”


  “Well, it was Zheng Weijun who started the pharmaceutical factory with me. You have met him,” Wang Yao said.

  “Hmm…… Is he rich?” his father asked.

  “Of course. He is not just commonly rich. He is crazy rich,” Wang Yao said.

  “The rich man’s mind is different from us,” Zhang Xiuying said. “Villagers want to move out, yet others want to move in.”


  “There will be more people coming later, but there are some people who can’t come here even if they want,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

  “Who would like to come here?” his mother asked.

  “I can’t say,” Wang Yao said.

  No one was allowed to get any piece of land to build a house in the village. They could only renovate established houses based on their original condition. The number of new houses was limited.

  He spoke with his parents until around 9 p.m. He left and went to Nanshan Mountain.

  Nothing happened overnight.

  In the morning, the father of the child Wang Yao treated the day before came to the clinic. He brought a pennant with the words “Another Hua Tuo with holy hands and heart” on it.

  The man specially customized the pennant to express his gratitude to Wang Yao.

  “Thank you.”


  Wang Yao smiled and took the pennant.

  In the morning, Zhong Liuchuan suddenly came to the clinic.

  “Sir, I have encountered a problem while practicing,” he said.

  “What is the problem?” Wang Yao asked.

  Zhong Liuchuan told him about the confusion he encountered the past few days, which was a typical bottleneck. No matter how he practiced, there was no improvement.

  “Are you in a hurry?” Wang Yao asked.

  “It is not necessary to be in a hurry.” Zhong Liuchuan immediately understood his meaning. “Sir, sorry to disturb you.”


  “Read more about the Taoist scripture,” Wang Yao said.

  “I see, Sir,” Zhong Liuchuan said……

  In southern Yunnan, thousands of miles away……

  “The news came with such short notice!”


  “I didn’t want you to be concerned, so I wanted to tell you first.” Xu Xinyuan looked at the seasoned man seated in front of him. He didn’t know why the young man had come across such a force.

  “OK, go ahead, please,” Guo Zhenghe said.

  “The place really exists,” Xu Xinyuan said. “It’s just south of Yunnan. The location is very remote. It is in a forest. The road is rugged, and it has a very closed village. They are exclusive to outsiders. We tried to get closer to it. As a result, we found that they even deploy hidden watchmen in the peripheral jungle.”


  “They are good at poisoning, aren’t they?” Guo Zhenghe asked.

  “According to what I know, they are extremely good at poison and raising poisonous insects,” Xu Xinyuan said.

  He thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want you to have any interaction with them because they are too dangerous.”


  According to the data from the past few days, the village had existed for hundreds of years, perhaps even longer. There were even legends in the current generation. As for such hidden schools or villages, he had always been reluctant to come into contact with them.

  They had existed for a long time, so they naturally had some means and history.

  “I don’t want to, but they came at me first,” Guo Zhenghe said with a smile.

  “The latest autopsy report shows that the same unknown toxin was found in the bodies of the 11 people. It is very weak, but it does exist,” he added. The reason it was not detected before was that the detection methods and equipment in the city were limited.

  “What do you want to do?” Xu Xinyuan asked.

  “Are there any of them outside the village?” Guo Zhenghe asked.

  “I’m still making inquiries about that, but they are too closed,” Xu Xinyuan said.

  “If you know any of them, contact them first,” Guo Zhenghe said.

  “Will do.”


  Xu Xinyuan left after drinking a cup of tea.

  Valley of Thousands of Medicine…… Hidden world…… Hmm…… Guo Zhenghe squinted his eyes, thinking about something. No one knew what it was.

  The setting sun was infinitely beautiful as dusk approached.

  That evening, a car with a foreign license plate number entered the mountain village.

  “Is this the place?”


  “Yes, here it is.”


  A man in a suit, who was wearing glasses, knocked on the door as he entered the clinic.

  Knowing the other party’s intention, Wang Yao said, “Sorry, I have no plan to go out on home visits.”


  “We can discuss the payment if you are not satisfied,” the man said. “This patient’s situation is a bit special, and he really cannot move.”


  “I already said no,” Wang Yao calmly said.

  “If you have any requirements, you can tell me,” the man said. “As long as I can meet them, I will try my best.”


  Wang Yao just silently waved his hand.

  The man left the clinic full of disappointment and got into the car.

  “How was it?” a man, who was in his 40s and sitting in the back seat, asked.

  “Sorry, he is unwilling to come to go out on home visits,” the man with glasses said.

  “I don’t blame you. I know his temper is a bit strange,” the middle-aged man said.

  “Is there any other way?” the man with glasses asked.

  “I heard that his parents and a few of his friends are in this village,” the middle-aged man said. “Maybe we can start with those people.”


  “Don’t disturb his family. Ask his friends first,” the middle-aged man added.

  “OK.”


  “Xiao He, stay here to handle this matter,” the middle-aged man said.

  “Yes.”


  The car left the village.

  Early the next morning, Zhong Liuchuan and Jia Zizai were jogging. They approached the east side of the mountain.

  “Come up.” They heard a voice. It was not loud and came from at least 300 feet away, yet it entered their ears accurately and clearly.

  Hearing the voice, Jia Zizai was momentarily shocked. He looked around. As he raised his eyes, he saw Wang Yao above.

  “Mr. Wang, are you there?” he yelled at the mountain, but his voice quickly dissipated.

  “Yes, it’s me. Come up the mountain here,” Wang Yao said.

  “OK!” Jia Zizai was happy. He knew what it meant.

  He hurriedly ran up the mountain. He even fell a few times because of his excitement.

  “Mr. Wang.”


  “You will start your studies today,” Wang Yao said. “You will learn from Liuchuang today.”


  “OK, Sir,” Jia Zi happily said.

  His persistence had not been a waste. The day he had eagerly waited for had finally come.

  “Brother.”


  Zhong Liuchuan smiled and nodded.