Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Seeking Medical Treatment
 

“What?”

As soon as she heard the three words ‘White Rhino’, Qi Yue hurriedly moved closer to the old man.

“Can you help me find the White Rhino?”

“Yes.” The old man, with a face full of profound mystery, stroked his beard.

“The place where the White Rhino resides is extremely perilous, with a slim chance of survival. If you go, you’ll certainly not return. Call me master, and I’ll guarantee your life and that of the lame boy to last a long time, isn’t that good?”

As soon as she heard the words ‘lame boy’, Qi Yue immediately snapped back to reality.

Hmph!

Zhao Xiyan didn’t regard her highly, so she certainly wouldn’t heal his leg.

Let him remain a lame boy for life!

She immediately snorted disdainfully, “What do I need the White Rhino for? That thing is useless to me.”

“Is that so?” The old man smiled, “Alright, then think about it. Call me master once you’ve made up your mind.”

“No need to think, I definitely won’t call you master for something like the White Rhino.”

“Is that so, I’ll be waiting to see.”

“….”

After verbally sparring for a bit, Qi Yue felt much more relaxed and started to chat with the old man.

It turns out that this old man was named Huang Zai’an, and his ancestors were Imperial Physicians.

His father treated the concubines in the palace, committed some taboos, and the whole family was exiled here.

When Huang Zai’an first came to Longnan Ridge, he wasn’t even twenty years old, and he had been here for almost forty years.

A few years ago, the Emperor suddenly granted a pardon to his entire family, asking them to return to the Capital City.

However, his parents had died here at Northern Ridge, and he was the only family member left, so he naturally refused to leave.

His reputation for medical expertise was well known, and after the Emperor’s several failed summons, he resorted to threats, but Huang Zai’an, seeing no escape, simply chose to disappear and hid in this vast forest.

Since then, he had been exchanging medical treatment for protection from the natives, and his days were quite comfortable.

Little Shanzi was also a child of exiled criminals; his parents had died, and he had been picked up and raised by Huang Zai’an from a young age and now took care of his day-to-day needs.

As they got to know each other better, the huge age gap between the two seemed inconsequential, and Qi Yue straightforwardly asked.

“Old man, tell me the truth, why do you want to take me as your apprentice?”

“Naturally, because I see your potential and want to nurture it.”

Qi Yue snorted.

“I know my potential is good, but I already know what you know, and I also know what you don’t know, so what can you teach me?”

“To lead you to the White Rhino!” Huang Zai’an’s crafty old eyes twinkled.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yue got up and left.

To hell with the White Rhino!

She needed to hurry home.

But the old man wouldn’t let her go, stretching his neck and shouting after her.

“Good apprentice, your master will come to find you and that lame boy another day!”

“I’m not your apprentice!”

“…”

As soon as Qi Yue left, the valley immediately returned to tranquility.

After a while, the master and disciple began to speak.

“Master, I don’t think Miss Qi is willing to be the senior sister.”

“She will be willing. This child looks rebellious, but she is actually the most compassionate at heart. Even if she doesn’t want to be this senior sister, she won’t ignore you when your master is gone.”

“Master, I don’t want you to die.”

“Silly child, life and death are predestined. Your master is already of this old age, how can he not die?”

Little Shanzi cried for a while, then suddenly asked.

“Master, now that Longnan is gone, if Supervisor Hu comes, how should we explain to him?”

“Master has a plan for that; just pretend you know nothing about it.”

“Yes.”

Not far from the valley, in the forest, Qi Yue was sprinting furiously.

She glanced at the sun already moving westward in the sky, growing more anxious by the moment.

She had left in the morning, and now it was already afternoon.

Shen Yu and the others must be worrying their heads off, especially since she didn’t tell anyone where she was going.

I wonder if Zhao Xiyan will go out and look for her this time?

Just thinking about Zhao Xiyan made her slow down her steps.

Hmph, even if he did search, it would be feigned concern.

He clearly knew she cared deeply for him and had shown it in every way possible; even a fool would know what that meant!

But him!

Fine, once I get back, I’ll divorce you! I’ll travel the world with my space!

Qi Yue wasn’t in a hurry anymore; she sauntered toward the edge of the forest. She didn’t know how long she had been walking when she suddenly heard a mix of familiar and unfamiliar voices.

“Yueyue… Yueyue…”

“Daughter-in-law…”

“Miss Qi…”

Qi Yue listened carefully for a while and recognized that it was Shen Yu and Zhao Yonglian’s voices, and one was actually Jiang Wei.

“What’s he doing here?”

She skeptically walked toward the source of the voices and indeed saw Shen Yu and a few others, but her eyes quickly caught the slender, bamboo-like figure trailing far behind.

If he just stood there, ignoring the crutches, Zhao Xiyan really was uniquely handsome, without an equal in the world.

She suppressed the inexplicable throbbing in her heart and called out.

“Mom, I’m back.”

Shen Yu immediately came over, looking her up and down.

“How come you came back so soon? Are you hurt?”

Qi Yue let out a hearty laugh.

“Mom, I’m fine; I just walked a bit too far and got lost.”

But then she glanced at Zhao Xiyan and raised her voice intentionally, “Didn’t I say, if I go out, don’t come looking for me, I’ll return sooner or later.”

“We had to look for you, a moment without seeing you and Mom gets anxious.”

Zhao Yonglian was chuckling on the side as he watched the two talk, adding a few words himself.

“Daughter-in-law, you must call me when you go into the mountains next time. Uncle can at least keep an eye on the road for you!”

Qi Yue remembered the last time he had helped her pull out the knife and could not help but smile broadly.

“Alright, thanks, Uncle.”

After the three finished speaking, Jiang Wei finally came up.

“Miss Qi, since you like going into the mountains so much, why not let me accompany you next time? It’s too dangerous alone.”

Qi Yue did not pick up on his prompt, only smiling subconsciously.

“Supervisor, what brings you to such a place? Isn’t the monitoring bureau comfortable to live in?”

“The bureau is fine, but it’s just too lonely by myself.”

Jiang Wei smiled genteelly, thinking himself a debonair intellectual, little did he know Qi Yue detested men who spoke in roundabout ways like him the most.

She promptly offered a well-meaning suggestion.

“Supervisor, there are many people in Northern Ridge with no shelter; why not pick some of the younger ones to take care of? It would liven up your place and give those people a way to live, wouldn’t it be a good deed?”

Jiang Wei was momentarily stunned, but then he chuckled.

“When Guan Yidao left, I indeed promised him I’d look after you, but who knew you were so capable, you even built a house.”

This time, Qi Yue was the one taken aback.

She hadn’t expected Guan Yidao to entrust someone to look after her, much less understand how he had such a relationship with Jiang Wei to ask this favor.

“Of course, I’ve always been one to create my own happiness.”

She declared her stance clearly with those words and continued walking, arm in arm with Shen Yu.

She had already seen that, like last time, Zhao Xiyan had gone on ahead and left.

Jiang Wei still wanted to say a few words to her, but seeing her eagerness to distance herself, he felt slightly uncomfortable, yet reluctant to just leave, he followed her as well.

Soon, they reached the outside of the fence, and when Jiang Wei saw that Qi Yue had no intention of inviting him in, he spoke up.

“Miss Qi, I came to see you for medical advice this time; you wouldn’t turn a patient away from your door, would you?”

“Medical advice? I’m afraid I can’t cure it.”

“Why not?”

“Because the person who can cure you is my master.”