In the past, Fang Yuan's parents were deeply hurt and had searched for famous doctors in the imperial capital but to no avail. Those doctors either knew little or were afraid of the reputation of the swordsman Sword Ghost. Only Dong Xinglin came to the rescue and told Fang Yuan's parents that they were injured by the witnessing method of the swordsman.
If not for this, Fang Yuan would have thought that his parents had some strange disease and might have been kept in the dark until today.
On this day, at daybreak, Qiao Mu followed Fang Yuan's instructions and came to the clinic.
The three characters "Xinglin Hall" were inscribed on the clinic's signboard. There were already several patients waiting at the door, including some wealthy people in gorgeous clothes, as well as ordinary people in coarse cloth. However, all of them stayed in the lobby and everything was in order.
Fang Yuan was very sad about this matter. He found a middle-aged doctor he knew well and talked to him about treating Qiao Mu's injury. However, the middle-aged doctor shook his head:
"If you need treatment, just wait in line as usual."
"This is the rule set by my master. Doctors and patients don't ask about their family backgrounds or origins. Since you are here in Xinglin Hall, you must follow this rule."
Fang Yuan wanted to say something, but Qiao Mu raised his hand to stop him.
His injuries were not serious to begin with, it was just the cold poison that was a bit troublesome.
It's not a bad thing that the famous doctor Dong Xinglin abides by the rules. He doesn't care about it for the time being, so there's no need to break other people's rules.
Fortunately, Qiao Mu and his companion arrived early, so there were not many patients waiting in the lobby.
Finding a bench to sit down, Qiao Mu casually glanced over the Sword Ghost Martial Arts Experience in his arms, while looking around and observing everyone in the hall.
The famous doctor Dong Xinglin is old. Now in his clinic, it is mainly his three apprentices who treat patients. Under the apprentices, there are several apprentices. Some are responsible for dispensing medicines and some help with acupuncture. The division of labor is clear.
The patient in front of Qiumu was a middle-aged man holding a child of five or six years old.
The middle-aged man was wearing a long gown, his figure was thin but straight, his hair was combed meticulously, he looked like a Confucian scholar, quite bookish, and must be in his forties or fifties.
However, his long gown had turned slightly yellow, and his cloth shoes were dirty and muddy. It was obvious that he came from a poor family and was probably not a native of the imperial capital, but a foreigner who had come from far away.
This middle-aged man was obviously not the patient. The patient was the five or six-year-old child he was holding by the hand.
The child was only about five or six years old. He looked plumper and had a rounder face than the thin middle-aged man holding his hand.
These two people are one big and one small. I thought the middle-aged man was the child's father, but he doesn't look like that. The thin man looks too old, and he must be over 40 years old.
Let’s say this middle-aged man is the child’s grandfather. This thin man is not that old.
Qiao Mu was bored and was guessing their ages, but he actually looked at them a few more times.
Although the child is young, he is sensible.
He stood in the clinic without crying or making a fuss, except that his little face and nose were a little red and swollen, and he kept breathing with his mouth open. Apart from that, there was nothing unusual.
Time passed, and soon it was the child's turn.
The middle-aged doctor felt the patient's pulse and asked a lot of questions, his brows unconsciously furrowed.
He asked the child to wait in the lobby, and called the thin man behind the screen, and said in a low voice:
"There seems to be a foreign object in your child's nasal cavity."
"It seems to be a larva of a monster called 'Ningsha Ghost Spider'. It's quite troublesome..." At this point, the doctor's words were full of blame:
"Almost all the major cities in Zhongzhou have immortal gates stationed there, so these weak monsters rarely cause trouble in the major cities. They almost only appear in the wilderness and forests... You, as a father, must have not paid much attention to the child's movements, otherwise this would not have happened."
The thin man looked a little unhappy and smiled bitterly:
“That’s true.”
"Actually, I'm originally from Tan County. Half a month ago, Tan County suffered a disaster, with hundreds of thousands of casualties. Afterwards, I had no choice but to leave my hometown with this child and come to the imperial capital to find a safe place."
"I may have failed to take good care of you during this journey..." The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and asked;
"May I ask how much does it cost to treat this disease?"
The doctor shook his head slightly;
"Although this Condensed Demonic Spider is not strong, it is still a monster after all. Now that it has entered the human body, it is not so easy to deal with. It cannot be cured by ordinary external or internal medicines."
"If you want to treat it, you have to take Ma Fei San first, and then use a sharp knife to cut open the nasal cavity... You have to be careful to adjust it afterwards. After all, your child is still young, and you can't be careless."
"All told, it should be about... fifty taels of silver."
"Fifty taels? Is it that serious?" The thin man was stunned for a moment and said nothing.
"You think it's too expensive? After all, this is a demon's doing." The doctor took a look at the man's clothes and thought of the man's background. He realized that he was not financially well-off. He thought and calculated in his mind and said:
"Then... five taels."
Five taels of silver, based on the purchasing power of the Great Yan Dynasty, was equivalent to five thousand in Qiao Mu's previous life.
This was obviously a huge discount. According to the doctor, if the patient wanted to regulate his body, he would have to take herbal medicine for a long time. Not to mention the surgery fee and labor costs, five taels of silver might not even be enough to pay for the medicine.
"Five taels..." The thin man read out the number without any expression on his face.
After a long while, until the doctor became impatient, he suddenly spoke:
"What will happen if it is incurable?"
The doctor was startled and stared at the thin man. Their eyes met and neither of them spoke for a long time.
He wanted to persuade the man to think about it more, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know what to say.
Just as everyone was silent, an old man walked quickly towards them and went straight behind the screen.
"Here, this is fifty taels."
The old man was quite strong and forced fifty taels of silver into the doctor's hand.
"I don't have the patience to watch you guys bargaining and playing sympathy. I've paid you, when are you going to treat my injuries?" Qiao Mu didn't even look at the man next to him and urged the doctor directly.
"Old sir, you are so kind." The thin man blinked his eyes and bowed deeply to express his gratitude:
"A penny can make a hero fail. I am now poor and cannot repay you. I hope you can tell me your name. I will repay you in the future."
Qiao Mu originally didn't want to leave his name behind, but then he thought that being famous would be a good thing for him, so he said:
"I am Qiao Shuanglin."
"Qiao Shuanglin?" The doctor had been standing nearby. When he saw Qiao Mu take the initiative to come forward to give the money, his expression looked a little strange.
It was not until Qiao Mu introduced himself that he began to understand.
"So it was Qiao Shuanglin, Mr. Qiao... Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Chapter 144 Goodbye Hai Wuya
After knowing Qiao Mu's identity was Qiao Shuanglin, the doctor suddenly became polite and kind.
"Mr. Qiao, please come in."
"My master Dong Xinglin is waiting in the inner hall."
The middle-aged doctor pulled the thin man and his son aside, went into the inner room to wait, and then took Qiao Mu inside.
While leading the way, he bowed his head and explained:
"Mr. Qiao is the Qiao family member who has gained fame recently. I know you have your own beliefs and are strong warriors with firm minds that will not be shaken by the words of others, but there are some things I still want to say."
The middle-aged doctor was somewhat helpless, and was obviously still thinking about the thin scholar.
"Five taels of silver, or fifty taels of silver, is not a small amount, but it can only help one or two people at most."
"In fact, my master Dong Xinglin is not a greedy person, but rules are rules."
"A few years ago, my master also tried free medical treatment. He didn't charge any consultation fee. He only asked the patient to plant an apricot tree in the mountains and forests outside the city after he recovered."
"In the first few years, there were tens of thousands of apricot trees in the suburbs of the imperial capital, forming a lush forest."
"My master's reputation has grown rapidly, and his name as a benevolent and miraculous doctor has spread throughout the imperial capital. He has also been given the beautiful name 'Dong Xinglin'."
"This is indeed a beautiful story that may be passed down through the ages." Qiao Mu nodded in praise.
But after hearing this, the middle-aged doctor smiled bitterly:
“For the first few years, that was true.”
“But things won’t be so beautiful anytime soon.”
"My teacher Dong Xinglin, whose medical skills are considered the best in the world, provides free consultations without charging any fees. What can other doctors do?"
"In the following years, gossip gradually arose."
"Some people say that my teacher is trying to gain fame, and that other people in his field are used as stepping stones to highlight his noble character."
"Other doctors in the same field are often criticized by others and compared with the benevolent doctor 'Dong Xinglin'. They say that your medical skills are not as good as Dong Xinglin in the imperial capital. How dare you charge such a high consultation fee?"
"This is just idle gossip. Why should we care about them?" Qiao Mu frowned.
"If that's the case, Master will tolerate it... But the world has been in chaos in recent years, with natural and man-made disasters everywhere. There are many victims and patients like the middle-aged scholar just now."
"When they heard about our master's free clinic, they naturally flocked to the clinic, almost breaking down the door."
"In addition to these disaster victims, there are also some ordinary people who are greedy for small profits and are unwilling to pay for medical treatment. When they are sick, they don't want to go to other clinics and come to my clinic specifically to wait for free medical treatment."
Qiao Mu was shocked.
"Even among patients, there are actually major and minor illnesses, and different levels of severity and urgency."
"When the number of patients increases, patients with severe and mild symptoms are mixed together. They are all free clinics. How can we prioritize them? Patients with mild symptoms may not be willing to give way and let others receive treatment first."
"In fact, my clinic is short of staff and cannot treat so many victims... As a result, one day, seriously ill patients were delayed and died in the lobby of my clinic." The middle-aged doctor sighed.
"... It's not your fault." Qiao Mu had no choice but to say this.
"Since then, all kinds of rumors have been circulating, and my master had no choice but to stop providing free medical treatment."
"Who knew that this would make things even worse."
"They all said that my master was just trying to gain fame. In the early days, he only offered free clinics to gain reputation, but now his reputation has spread throughout Zhongzhou, and he has become a so-called benevolent doctor. His clinic is packed with patients every day, so he started collecting consultation fees again, making a lot of money. He is a very good abacus."
"Later... my master was old, so he left us disciples to consult patients in this clinic, and he didn't dare to do any free medical consultations anymore."
Having said that, the middle-aged doctor did not forget to take a deep look at Qiao Mu.
Qiao Mu understood.
The middle-aged doctor was talking about Dong Xinglin's past deeds, but what he meant behind the scenes was that he had just paid the medical fee.
Good intentions may lead to bad results. If you donate generously at the door of this clinic, it is hard to predict what will happen next.
"So this is what you wanted to say..." Qiao Mu laughed and didn't comment.
Thinking of the doctor's strange look just now, Qiao Mu finally understood.
But the doctor's reminder was actually kind, it's just that everyone has their own ideas.
Qiao Mu understood what the doctor meant, but that didn't mean he was convinced.
While chatting, we had already walked into the inner hall of the clinic.
An old man with white hair and beard and a ruddy complexion was sitting on the armchair. He was Dong Xinglin, the famous doctor in the imperial capital.
As for the other old man sitting next to the armchair, Qiu Mu was familiar with him.
It was Hai Wuya who taught him the "Sumeru Mountain King Sutra" in the Heavenly Prison.
The two old men were originally chatting happily, but when they saw Qiao Mu and Fang Yuan being brought in, they stopped talking.
"Are you Qiao Shuanglin?" Dong Xinglin and Hai Wuya both looked up.
Especially Hai Wuya, even though the current Qiao Shuanglin is different from Qiao Zhong in the Heavenly Prison, he still makes his eyes move.
Among the miscellaneous books Hai Wuya read in the Heavenly Prison in the past, there was the "Qing Nang Medical Classic". Now after he was released from prison, he communicated with his old friends and unexpectedly ran into the Qiao family, which made him a little excited.
..
The wound on the shoulder is not difficult to treat, and the injury itself is not serious, it’s just the cold poison that is a little troublesome.
In less than half an hour, Dong Xinglin had treated the injuries and said that the cold poison would be cured in another half day and there would be no big problem.
"Speaking of which, I heard that you have a picture of the blood moon left by a martial artist hundreds of years ago. Can you lend it to me to take a look?" Dong Xinglin asked.
Dong Xinglin was not an ordinary doctor. He was half a martial artist and had also heard of Qiao Shuanglin's deeds the day before.
Qiao Mu glanced at Fang Yuan behind him. Strictly speaking, this painting was one of Fang Yuan's property, but he just took it out to go fishing.
"Senior Qiao, please feel free to do as you please." Fang Yuan was smart and said quickly:
"This painting is useless to me. It would be a disaster if I kept it in my hands. Senior Qiao can do whatever he wants with it."
Qiao Mu always carried the ancient painting with him, and when he heard this, he took it out of his arms.
The two old men, Dong Xinglin and Hai Wuya, looked at it carefully for a few times, and gradually became fascinated. After a while, their blood began to boil, and suddenly they came back to their senses.