Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1493 - Day One: Settling down and recruiting doctors

Qing Shui stayed quiet, brushed off the dust on his clothes, and stood up. He did not want to get into too much trouble with the Hua Clan, because they were going to stay here for quite some time. Even if they did manage to triumph over the Hua Clan somehow, the other clans in the city would not be happy either, since insular people normally disliked outsiders.

A few more men from the Hua Clan arrived at the scene and carried the young master away, whereas Qing Shui’s group followed the old man to a huge estate some distance away.

Qing Shui was not sure if the street the old man brought them to was the best, but out of the thousands of other estates, the one they were heading towards seemed to be the best. He believed that the Hua Clan would not trick them, because it would be obvious if they did.

”Is this villa to your liking, mister?” The old man said courteously.

Giving away a villa was nothing big for a strong clan like the Hua Clan, even though the villa was one of the best in Linhai City. But now, their reputation was stained.

But right now, regarding this matter, their reputation was of little concern. Even arrogant clans had to be cautious once in a while.

”Satisfactory, I say.” The old man flinched when he heard Qing Shui’s reply, but at the same time, he was relieved.

”Then, what else can this old man help with?” The old man said politely.

After some slight thought, Qing Shui replied. ”We’re fine for now. You may return. I’ll look for you if we need anything.”

The old man, trying to stop his face from twitching, said: ”Okay, then I shall now take leave. Feel free to come to me to ask for anything.”

The old man cursed under his breath. ”How dare you treat us as maids? If you really are strong, then there’s no choice. If not, I swear I will cut you up into pieces!”

It had been Qing Shui’s intent to piss them off a little because it would feel better than outright killing people. With their second young master and the young man sexually impaired and having to give away a decent villa, the Hua Clan was sure to be displeased.

They had better not cause any more trouble, otherwise, Qing Shui would make them compensate a hundred times more. In fact, Qing Shui hoped that they would really be stupid enough to provoke him further.

”What a nice villa. You sure messed them up good.” Xue Nuo laughed and said.

”Mess with them? God knows what would’ve happened to us if we weren’t strong.” Qing Shui laughed, looking at Xue Nuo.

”Seriously? Only one villa? You were way too easy on them.”

Qing Shui knew she was only kidding. This villa already belonged to them anyways - The old man had given them the official documents of the villa.

The villa was huge, with over a hundred hectares of land. Land like this could not have been bought with money. The villa was equipped with everything but was left vacant except for the keeper.

Such a large villa even had its own hills and stream. The pavilions were shaped like ice palaces and were stunning.

”This one’s mine!” Xue Nuo pointed at a colourful pavilion. Yin Tong and Qing Shui also chose their own. After taking a look, they went to the biggest pavilion nearest to the street.

This pavilion could be the place where they opened their clinic. The interior of the pavilion was decorated splendidly as if it was meant to be made into a hotel.

That was not Qing Shui’s intention, because there was already a hotel nearby. There were other clinics in the area as well, but they were not very close. Even so, Qing Shui was confident that he could rise about all the other clinics, but realistically, he knew he could not heal everyone.

”Should we open a small clinic or a big clinic?” Ling Fei asked Qing Shui.

”With a city this big, we can only open up a big one. The clinic should be split into a few sections, otherwise, we won’t be able to keep up with the increase in the number of patients. So, we should also employ other doctors.” Qing Shui said after some thought.

In the Imperial Cuisine Hall, they mostly treated civilians. But occasionally, there would be emergency cases which they treated for free.

This time, Qing Shui would be able to experience more. Of course, he would request benefits when treating more ”influential” people. He was not a saint. Even though they had sufficient money, they should still charge fees. This was the unbroken rule.

”We’re new here. How are we going to find doctors to work for us? Moreover, some doctors are quacks and will be bad for us. How many do we need anyway?” Ling Fei asked

Qing Shui looked around the place. It was indeed big and busy. He tried to recall how many doctors were there in his previous life. Thinking about it, he realized that there were only a few key characters in a clinic. The important thing was to have enough nurses and assistants. Qing Shui decided to employ around twenty doctors and over two hundred other staff.

They did not have to worry about herbs because QIng Shui had plenty of them in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. They could always stock up on herbs by buying them or planting the herbs themselves in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, which would only take a few days.

Normally, businesses like this would require the permission of certain people, which would be settled by paying a monthly fee, but Qing Shui did not have to obtain this permission. Any shop open on the street of the Hua Clan would not need any permission from others.

Qing Shui planned to find skilled doctors, but even average ones would work, too. With Ling Fei and himself around, they didn’t need to worry about patients with complicated diseases.

Qing Shui put up a large signboard at the main entrance, promising a fixed salary, commissions, and even the right to negotiate as long as one had decent healing abilities.

Within an hour, a person came to inquire about the job. The person was a middle-aged man. He looked lethargic and soulless, giving off a ”clean” impression.

He was shocked to see how young Qing Shui was. Qing Shui waved his hand, asked him to take a seat and introduce himself.

His name was Tianyi. He was from Linhai City and had always been alone. It had been a long time since he had last healed someone. That was his simple introduction.

Next, Qing Shui tested his healing abilities. He noticed that the man gave very precise answers and felt that the man had remarkable healing abilities. He stretched out his hand to let the man take his pulse.

The man remained calm, without showing any sign of uneasiness. This made Qing Shui even more convinced that the man before him was no ordinary man.

Tianyi was very good at taking pulses. He was even comparable to the Meridians Knocking Soul Pulling of Soulsearch. But more importantly, Qing Shui discovered a lot about the man’s physique during the process.

This man had gone through training in the past, but had stopped at some point. Qing Shui suspected that it had something to do with his lethargy.

”Were you once a Martial Saint?” Qing Shui said.

”Do we know each other?” Tianyi was surprised.

Qing Shui understood that training was very important to a Martial Saint, even a talented one. To warriors, training was even more important than their own lives.

”No, we don’t. I’m just another doctor like you. Would you like to have your old power restored?” Qing Shui smiled and asked the man.

The man’s body shook and stared at Qing Shui in disbelief, wondering if he had heard Qing Shui correctly. How many times had he tried to restore his old powers? Even though Martial Saints were not that powerful, they were still respected warriors. Losing his powers had a big impact on him.

”You said you can restore my powers?” Tianyi asked for confirmation.

”Yes, indeed!” Qing Shui reassured him.

The man was smart. Without hesitation, he replied. ”As long as you can restore my powers, I will give my life to you!”

Qing Shui smiled,”I can restore your powers on one condition. You have to work here as a doctor for as long as I’m here in Linhai City.”

Tianyi was surprised. This condition was too easy. Once again, he stared at Qing Shui in utter disbelief, doubting if Qing Shui actually had the ability to restore his powers. He knew what his condition was. He had tried consulting many other doctors, even though he was a doctor himself, but there had never been any hope of him restoring his powers.

It had been a long time since he had hoped, so he subconsciously believed Qing Shui right away. Only after a slight delay did he start to doubt Qing Shui’s words.

”Mister, can you really restore my powers?”

”Well, we’ll find out about that in a while. Not only can I do it today, I can even make you stronger than you were before.

Hearing Qing Shui’s words, the man’s face shone with excitement. He replied eagerly,”I will uphold my promise. Even if you need me to plunder into a ball of flames, I will obey without question!”

Qing Shui smiled and nodded. Healing the man was no big deal for him. He could even get an outstanding doctor in return. On the other hand, for Tianyi, this was a blessing. Finally, he had found his saviour.

The healing was simple and only took around two hours. The Rank Eight Martial Saint was reborn, two ranks higher than what he had been when he had lost his powers.

The man seemed to be glowing with energy after being reborn, tears of joy welling up in his eyes. He thought about all the suffering he had gone through, all the times he had thought of ending his own life. The life of a warrior who had lost his powers was not worth living.