The Martial Doctor-Chapter 69: Going Too Far

"Dear brother, I originally wanted to invite you to celebrate at the Star-Picking Tower, but the food there isn’t as good as at your place. However, you don’t have the great wine I do..."

This Su Chen has gotten addicted to freeloading meals.

However, this time he didn’t come empty-handed; he brought two jars of fine wine from Lanzhou: Jade Le Jiang.

"Mr. Su, I won’t be cooking personally tonight, so don’t be disappointed." Lin Miao chuckled; by the time they get back, dinner would likely already be prepared at home.

If he were to cook, who knows when dinner would be ready. He was already starving.

"No worries, we’ll drink one jar tonight and the other tomorrow!"

"Hurry up, Mr. Xie."

"Dear brother, where did you find this steward? He seems to have some cultivation skills," Su Chen asked quietly. He hadn’t seen Mr. Xie before.

"He and I are both from Baihe County. We came to Dongshan City to make a living, and it happened that my family needed a steward, so he joined us."

"Oh, so he’s a fellow townsman, no wonder." Su Chen didn’t ask further. Everyone has their secrets, and prying too much would be impolite.

...

In the Huaye Tower.

"Tower Master, the list and rankings from the Xinglin Institute were delayed by more than half an hour, but they’re finally out." Han Si didn’t know why their Tower Master was concerned about this, but since he was always arranged to keep an eye on the neighbors, he could guess some of the reasons.

The Tower Master has taken an interest in that young man named Lin across the street.

What exactly that interest is, even he couldn’t say. He’s been a guard at the Huaye Tower for several years, and the Tower Master, being quite attractive, has had many admirers, yet no man has ever made it to the second floor of the pavilion in the backyard.

Except for Tower Master’s maid Chun’Er, who can come and go freely from the Tower Master’s fragrant boudoir on the second floor, no one else is allowed.

Even if he could enter the backyard, he would only be allowed on the first floor, usually staying in the study room, the gazebo on the first floor, or in the guest reception hall.

"Is Mr. Lin from next door on the list?" Qin Yanran elegantly lifted her teacup, took a small sip, and asked.

"Yes, Mr. Lin is ranked third." Han Si slightly bowed and answered, finding it difficult to meet Qin Yanran’s enchanting eyes directly; they were too captivating and often appeared in his dreams, both.

longed for and dreaded. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Oh, third place." Qin Yanran showed a hint of surprise, realizing the young man was quite impressive. She said, "Go, prepare a congratulatory gift for tomorrow and deliver it for me."

"A congratulatory gift?"

"A neighbor passed the medical examination; shouldn’t we offer a congratulatory gift?"

"Yes, yes, we should...we should..." Han Si nodded, "Then Tower Master, what should I buy as a gift?"

"Forget it, you wouldn’t know what to buy. I’ll go myself tomorrow."

"Yes, Han Si takes his leave."

"Yanran, you seem quite concerned about Mr. Lin. Have you taken a liking to him?" As soon as Han Si left, a gray figure appeared behind, asking.

"Master, this Lin Miao is only seventeen. How old am I? Am I really that desperate to cradle snatch?" Qin Yanran said.

"What did you say? This Mr. Lin isn’t even seventeen?"

"Yes, he’s just over sixteen."

"Being just over sixteen, he matches the age of the one we’re searching for." Qin Yanran’s master, Long Po, slightly opened her eyes, emitting a daunting light.

"Master, I’ve looked into Mr. Lin’s background, and he has no connections with the one we’re searching for." Qin Yanran explained.

"No connections?"

"Yes, although he was adopted at six, it was because he lost his parents early and was taken in by a healer named Sun Simiao. But he is from Qingping Town, Baihe County, so his background can be traced, having no relation to the Saint Heir we seek." Qin Yanran explained, "The Saint Heir disappeared near Longchuan Canyon, which is several hundred miles from these places."

"Since you’ve investigated, it’s good." Long Po said, "Since this person is unrelated to your mission, why waste effort on him?"

"Despite his youth, he possesses miraculous medical skills, capable of pulling someone back from the brink of death..." Qin Yanran explained to her master why she was paying attention to Lin Miao.

"If he’s such a talented individual, he’s indeed worth attention. Yanran, do you plan to enroll him into our organization?" Long Po understood Qin Yanran’s intention, "However, have you considered where his medical skills come from? Was it from his deceased mentor, Sun Simiao?"

"I’ve had someone investigate his mentor as well; his medical skills are decent but nothing miraculous, otherwise, he wouldn’t have died of anger after misdiagnosing a patient to death!"

"Hmm, if he truly possesses extraordinary medical skills, there must be another source. Yanran, haven’t you considered why he rented the courtyard next to yours..."

"Master, are you saying he’s here for me?"

"It’s not impossible. If he had another mentor teaching him medical skills, that mentor must have an impressive background. We must uncover the truth."

"Yes, Master."

...

In the study room, Lin Miao was sobering up. The Jade Le Jiang that Su Chen brought, while sweet and delicious, was quite potent.

The alcohol tolerance of this body was decent; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to drink Su Chen into a drunken stupor first.

Although Su Chen was a descendant of the Su Family, his drinking capacity was just average.

He would get unruly after drinking too much.

"Junior Brother, I’ve asked Mrs Luu to prepare a sobering soup for you..." Sun Youwei, concerned that Lin Miao might harm his health by drinking too much, had instructed the cook Luu Wan to prepare a sobering soup in advance.

"Thank you, Senior Sister." Lin Miao didn’t claim to be drunk, but his eyes were a little hazy. At this point, Senior Sister appeared to him more delicate than flowers, charming. He couldn’t help but step forward and grab those soft hands.

The cold hands made his mind clear instantly, but soon a surge of drunkenness swept over him, and again he felt his steps were floating.

In his past life, he had never experienced the feeling of being drunk, because ever since he got sick, he had been forbidden to touch a drop of alcohol.

This feeling.

Made him feel like he was stepping on cotton piles, his hands, his feet disobedient, even his mouth uncontrollable.

"Senior Sister, I passed the exam, I finally passed!"

"Junior Brother, don’t be like this..."

...

Waking up early the next morning, his head pounding, Lin Miao climbed up and found himself in his own bedroom, his jacket had been removed, but the inner garments were intact, very neat.

He vaguely remembered being in the study with Senior Sister, who had come to bring him some sobering soup, and in his excitement, he had hugged her and even...

Lin Miao reached out to touch his lips, trying to find the lingering scent of her lips.

This should have been Senior Sister’s first kiss, but sadly, he was too drunk at the time to fully savor it. However, with this breakthrough, it wouldn’t be difficult to have another opportunity.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

He recognized it was his Senior Sister Sun Youwei, and Lin Miao immediately lay back down, pretending he hadn’t awoken yet.

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother..." Sun Youwei first knocked on the door, hearing no response, only then did she push the door open and enter.

A drunk person sleeps deeply, not waking, unable to hear the knock is normal.

After entering and seeing Lin Miao still "sleeping soundly" on the bed, Sun Youwei leaned down and gently pushed him twice, calling, "Junior Brother, wake up, someone is looking for you."

"Senior Sister, it’s so early, who’s looking for me?" Lin Miao feigned just waking up, reluctantly getting up.

"She said her name is Xia Zhu..."

"What?" Lin Miao’s feet slipped, nearly losing his balance.

He hadn’t provoked this woman, right?

"Senior Sister, what’s she here for?"

"I don’t know, she didn’t say, she just said she wants to see you. I couldn’t just send her away, you’ll have to decide." Sun Youwei brought out a new set of clothes.

"Senior Sister, about my clothes from last night?"

"Mr. Xie took them off for you." Sun Youwei’s cheeks reddened; that kiss last night indeed made her dizzy with emotion, but fortunately, she held onto her true feelings.

"Xie?" Lin Miao frowned slightly. Although he sheltered Mr. Xie, he didn’t trust him—this guy isn’t very honest, not a good person.

"Senior Sister, in the future, my study and bedroom should not be open to just anyone, except you of course." Lin Miao didn’t say much more, but he didn’t want his drunken state to lead to unexpected troubles.

It seems from now on, he shouldn’t drink so much.

No wonder, the ancient wisdom summarizes it well: drinking easily leads to trouble.

"I’ll wash up, Senior Sister, please welcome the visitor to the living room for tea; I’ll be there shortly." Lin Miao instructed.

Sun Youwei nodded, both of them tacitly avoiding the topic of last night’s "close contact" in the study.

In the living room, after Sun Youwei had Yu Zhu serve tea, she didn’t know what to say, as she was meeting Xia Zhu for the first time.

There was no connection between them; she didn’t know how to start a conversation.

Fortunately, Lin Miao arrived quickly.

"Xia Zhu, what brings you to my house?" Lin Miao and Xia Zhu were fellow examinees, but although Xia Zhu didn’t pass as a physician, by societal norms, they were considered peers from the same year.

"Xia Zhu pays respects to Mr. Lin."

Upon seeing Lin Miao, Xia Zhu immediately knelt and performed a formal salutation.

"Wait, Xia Zhu, what are you doing, please get up." Lin Miao was startled; he couldn’t bear such formalities.

"Xia Zhu came on behalf of my father to thank Mr. Lin for saving him from a grave mistake. If not for Mr. Lin’s intervention, my father might have lost everything yesterday. Additionally, Xia Zhu wishes to apprentice under Mr. Lin; I humbly ask Mr. Lin to accept Xia Zhu." Xia Zhu spoke, bowing again.

"Xia Zhu, please get up. It’s not uncommon for doctors to misdiagnose, and Vice Chairman Xia didn’t do it intentionally. A patient’s condition changes; even if your father made a mistake, it wasn’t willingly. No one is perfect. If doctors aren’t allowed to err, then who would dare practice medicine? Not even the wise would claim their diagnoses are 100% accurate, leading to ruin, so don’t worry about it. As for apprenticing, let’s move past it!" Lin Miao reached out to support her but, since she was a woman and unmarried, he could only gesture lightly.

"Regardless, if Xiaolian Lady had died at Jinxian Tower yesterday, my father’s misdiagnosis would have been inevitable. Under such circumstances, how could he face Xiaolian’s family or himself in the future?" Xia Zhu remained kneeling.

"This, this, Xia Zhu, please stand so we can speak properly."

"Xia Zhu will not rise unless Mr. Lin agrees to take her as a disciple."

"You, you, this woman, how are you so unreasonable..." Lin Miao was at a loss for words.

"Mr. Lin won’t accept me, so I won’t rise."

Disregarding social norms, Lin Miao reached out to pull Xia Zhu; she knelt as if rooted, a tug couldn’t lift her.

It turned out Xia Zhu possessed martial skills, quite advanced, reaching at least the top tier of the Bone Forging Realm.