My Most Beautiful Fiancée

Such is the path of a healer, especially one who treats the upper echelons of society. A single failure is not permitted. One mistake, and you are no longer worthy of being called a renowned doctor.

”Divine Doctor, you can try placing the needle on the Baiguan acupoint first, and then—”

”Shut your mouth! Don’t you think it’s chaotic enough in here?!” The sudden setback made Li Yinhe lose all patience with Mu Lin’s supposed ignorance and insolence.

Li Xue glared furiously at Mu Lin. ”Are you trying to kill my grandfather?! The Divine Doctor is here; you have no place to speak.”

Mu Lin took a deep breath and said calmly, ”The Divine Doctor himself said he can do no more. Since it’s a lost cause anyway, why not have him try what I suggested? It’s a long shot, but it just might work.”

”You... how dare you!” Li Xue was so angry she was speechless. Tears welled up and slid from the corners of her eyes, a heart-wrenching sight.

The Divine Doctor hesitated, but now he had no choice but to follow Mu Lin’s instructions. ’It all comes down to this,’ he thought.

To everyone’s surprise, the moment the needle was inserted, Elder Li’s convulsions began to subside, and his body slowly calmed. His breathing grew smoother, though his jaw remained tightly clenched and his face was deathly pale.

The Divine Doctor was both shocked and overjoyed. ’It’s working!’

”Young friend, where should the next needle be placed?” the Divine Doctor asked Mu Lin humbly, no longer seeing him as a scheming opportunist.

’This young man is a true master,’ he thought. ’A real Divine Doctor.’

At that moment, the previously panicked and furious members of the Li Family stared at Mu Lin in utter shock.

Seeing that the Divine Doctor was now receptive to his advice, Mu Lin didn’t waste time. ”The second needle on the Sanlin acupoint, the third on the Juxi acupoint...”

The Divine Doctor followed Mu Lin’s instructions, inserting each needle with a steady, rhythmic hand. After several more needles, Elder Li calmed completely, and a trace of color began to return to his face.

Overjoyed, the Divine Doctor turned and nodded to Mu Lin in thanks.

”Thank you for your guidance, young friend, and for not holding my earlier behavior against me.”

Mu Lin had not only saved Elder Li, but also the Divine Doctor’s reputation.

Standing to the side, Li Yinhe and Li Xue were completely stunned. ’It... it actually worked,’ they thought. ’And the Divine Doctor’s attitude toward Mu Lin has completely changed. Does that mean...’

Everyone stared at Mu Lin as if in a daze, taking a long moment to come to their senses. They all understood now: only Mu Lin could save the patriarch.

Mu Lin, however, remained calm. ’This Divine Doctor has some real skill,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so renowned in Nanjiang Province.’

Mu Lin walked over to Elder Li’s bedside and said calmly, ”Grandmaster Li must have suffered a grievous injury in his youth. Some of his organs were struck by an enemy’s Qi Force. Since it wasn’t treated properly at the time, it left behind a latent problem.”

”Crucially, a remnant of the enemy’s Qi Force has remained lodged within his organs. Over time, it has caused more and more damage.”

”Fortunately, it’s not too late. We just need to expel that foreign Qi Force, and then with some herbal medicine and careful nourishment, Grandmaster Li’s body can naturally heal.

Mu Lin paused for a moment before concluding, ”The Divine Doctor’s method would have been perfectly viable under normal circumstances. But ultimately, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. In the later stages, the suppressed Qi Force would have rebounded even more ferociously, and Grandmaster Li’s body, not yet recovered, wouldn’t have been able to withstand the shock.”

The Divine Doctor understood that Mu Lin was helping him save face and felt a deep sense of gratitude and admiration.

Mu Lin picked up a silver needle and placed it on another acupoint. With his other hand, he discreetly retrieved the Golden Needle from the old man’s leg.

The Divine Doctor observed Mu Lin’s technique closely. The more he watched, the more familiar it seemed, until he exclaimed in shock, ”Mu Xiaoyou, could your Acupuncture Technique be...”

”The Seven-fingered Golden Needle,” Mu Lin stated plainly. ”The remnant Qi Force isn’t very strong anymore. The Seven-fingered Golden Needle is more than enough to contain and eliminate it.”

Downstairs, Mu Lin had already sensed a strange True Qi. He figured it was the very same True Qi that was now running rampant through Elder Li’s body after rebounding against the Divine Doctor’s suppression.

”The Seven-fingered Golden Needle is too aggressive and overpowering. Grandmaster Li is old; his body couldn’t have withstood the shock from this technique instantly eliminating that Qi Force. Fortunately, the Qi Force has now been weakened to an extreme degree, so it’s no longer a concern.”

Before he had even finished speaking, Mu Lin turned to Li Xue. ”Could you get me a pen and paper, please?”

Li Xue was surprised that Mu Lin was speaking to her. She hesitated for a second before replying, ”Oh, yes. I’ll go get them.”

Mu Lin wrote out a prescription and handed the paper to the Divine Doctor. ”I’m not familiar with the area. Would you mind getting these herbs for me?”

”Of course,” the Divine Doctor agreed without hesitation.

The Divine Doctor turned to Li Yinhe and the others, his face filled with apology. ”I am truly sorry for this. If not for young Mu Lin, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I’ll go fetch the medicine now and will return as quickly as I can.”

”Please don’t worry about it, Divine Doctor. We have always had faith in your skill and integrity,” Li Yinhe said graciously.

A strange, unspoken understanding hung in the air.

「Until...」

GRUMBLE... RUMBLE.

Mu Lin pressed a hand to his stomach, wishing he could crawl into a hole and hide. ’Of all the times for it to rumble, it had to be now.’

Mrs. Li, her face worn with worry, gave Mu Lin a kind smile. ”It’s good to be young. You must be hungry. I’ll go make you something to eat; it won’t take long. Would you like some dumplings?”

Mrs. Li had been quiet the entire time, but the look in her eyes showed just how worried she was for Elder Li’s well-being.

”I love dumplings. Thank you, Ma’am.” Mu Lin didn’t refuse; he was, after all, truly famished.

For the past few days, he’d only been able to afford one meal of dumplings a day. ’Things are so expensive down here in the city,’ he mused.

Li Xue stood off to the side, her head lowered in silence. Her delicate brows would occasionally knit together in a frown, only to relax again.

Li Yinhe, however, just smiled and offered a frank apology. ”Mu Lin, I apologize for my earlier behavior. You saw the situation with my father, and I mistakenly thought you were like some of my distant relatives, here to... ahem... well, regardless, I apologize for how I acted.”

Mu Lin waved his hand dismissively. ”Uncle Li, you’re being too serious. It was our first time meeting, and I was the one who came upstairs uninvited and interrupted your conversation. Even though I had my reasons, it was bound to cause a misunderstanding.”

Mu Lin privately thought that aside from his medical skills, the best thing he had learned from his master was how to be a smooth talker.

”Mu Lin, have you been studying medicine since you were a child?” Li Yinhe was curious about the skills that could put even the Divine Doctor of Nanjiang City to shame.

Mu Lin nodded slightly. ”Yes, I’ve studied by my master’s side since I was young. You could say he raised me.”

”Then your master is...?”

”Master forbids me from using his name to make my way in the world,” Mu Lin said, shaking his head with a helpless sigh.

”I see. In that case, when will my father wake up?” Li Yinhe didn’t press the issue.

The two men chatted as they walked downstairs, with Li Xue following close behind.

”Grandmaster Li’s body needs rest. He should wake up in about four hours.”

Li Yinhe led Mu Lin to the dining room. A short while later, Mrs. Li entered with two maids, who were carrying two large platters of dumplings.

”Mu Lin, please, don’t be polite. Eat as much as you like.”

Mu Lin ate his fill. In fact, nearly half of all the dumplings ended up in his stomach.

Just as he finished eating, the Divine Doctor hurried back with the herbs.

”Do you have an herb pot?”

”We do.” Mrs. Li was an incredibly gentle woman. Her soft-spoken words reminded Mu Lin of Li Xue.

Mrs. Li gestured for a nearby maid to fetch it.

Mu Lin measured out the herbs and explained to Mrs. Li how to properly brew the medicine.

This time, Mrs. Li went to brew the medicine herself; she didn’t feel comfortable entrusting it to a maid.

Four hours later, no more, no less, Elder Li awoke. After drinking the pitch-black medicine, he fixed Mu Lin with a sharp, wolf-like gaze. ’He truly is the master’s direct disciple,’ Elder Li thought. ’He hasn’t shamed his legacy.’

”My girl,” he said, ”first thing tomorrow morning, you and Mu Lin are going to get your marriage license.”

This time, Li Xue didn’t object. She was frightened, afraid her grandfather would suddenly collapse again like he had before.

”I’ll do as you say, Grandpa.”

Li Yinhe no longer raised any objections. As for Mrs. Li, she simply smiled, as if this was the outcome she had been hoping for all along.

The Divine Doctor, whose name was Zhao Yang, glanced at Elder Li with envy. ”Elder Li,” he said, ”let’s not even get into how extraordinary young Mu Lin is. With skills like his, he’s destined for greatness. If you hadn’t already arranged this marriage, I would have done everything in my power to snatch him up as my own grandson-in-law.”

Elder Li tucked his blankets in. ”Old Zhao, you’ve missed your chance. Thankfully, this old man still has a keen eye for talent! HAHAHA!”

”I am truly ashamed of my failure today. Now that you have a grandson-in-law like Mu Lin by your side, a half-baked doctor like me can rest easy. I have some other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.”

”There’s no need for such words between us,” Elder Li said with a note of disapproval.

The Divine Doctor sighed, then turned to Mu Lin. ”Young Mu Lin, if you ever have the time, please feel free to visit my Holy Medicine Hall. You are welcome anytime.”

Mu Lin smiled. ”An invitation from the Divine Doctor is something I wouldn’t dare refuse.”