ATPnovel Chapter 42 Bad Reputation
Chapter 42 Bad Reputation
Days passed by like this.
During the day, Jiang Xun grinds medicine at the front clinic, his hands becoming calloused from the grinding.
Yu Xiaoyi initially had a stern face, but later realized that although this person was talkative, he was hardworking, so his expression gradually improved.
That evening, Jiang Xun studied the meridian diagrams in the backyard until he felt dizzy and disoriented.
Every three days, Lao Yu would give him an acupuncture treatment, which made him grimace.
Every five days, he would take a medicinal bath until his whole body was burning hot.
Every afternoon, when he wasn't getting acupuncture, Jiang Xun would take a stroll around the city gate.
The south gate of the city was the only way out of Yunzhou to the Central Plains.
He stood in the city gate, watching the people coming and going—caravans, laborers,江湖人 (jianghu people, people from all walks of life), refugees, all sorts of people.
He put his hands in his sleeves and looked each person's face in turn.
Before his master left, he told him to wait for him in Yunzhou. But so many days have passed, and that disheveled middle-aged man still hasn't shown up.
Jiang Xun carved a mark on the wall next to the city gate.
A small, inconspicuous cross.
This was the secret signal he and his master had agreed upon—when they arrived, they would carve another one next to this mark.
He came to check every day, and every day the mark was just a lone figure.
On the seventh day, there was still only one mark.
On the tenth day, it was still the same.
Day 15...
Jiang Xun stood at the foot of the city wall, staring at the small fork, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Could something have happened to Master?
"No, it won't happen." He shook his head, shaking off the bad thoughts in his mind. "Master is so powerful, he'll definitely be fine."
He stood at the city gate, gazing south, lost in thought for a long time.
"Waiting for that person again?" Yu Xiaoyi's voice came from behind.
Jiang Xun turned his head and saw him carrying a medicine box, looking at him.
"Um."
"I've been waiting for several days, and it still hasn't arrived?" Yu Xiaoyi asked.
Jiang Xun shook his head.
Yu Xiaoyi, unusually, refrained from sarcasm. After a moment of silence, he said, "Perhaps something has delayed us. Let's wait a little longer."
Jiang Xun glanced at him with some surprise, then smiled and said, "Thank you."
Yu Xiaoyi awkwardly turned her face away: "No need to thank me, I'm not concerned about you, I just... was passing by and asked."
After saying that, he picked up his medicine box and walked away quickly.
Jiang Xun watched his retreating figure and smiled. He clearly came specifically for this; what was there to be embarrassed about?
That afternoon, Jiang Xun returned from the city gate. When he was still half a street away from the clinic, he saw a large crowd gathered around him.
It was noisy and could be heard from a distance—some people were crying, some were cursing, and others were making a fuss.
"Make way! Make way!"
Jiang Xun pushed through the crowd to the front, then froze.
A stretcher was parked in the open space in front of the clinic.
A man in his forties lay motionless on the stretcher, his face pale.
A woman, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt beside the stretcher, weeping uncontrollably.
"My poor husband! You were perfectly fine yesterday, then you came to this clinic and got two doses of medicine, and this morning you were dead! These quacks kill people! Everyone, please be the judge!"
Behind her stood two burly men, knives tucked into their waistbands, their faces full of menacing features, glaring menacingly at the people at the clinic entrance.
Yu Xiaoyi stood on the steps, her face flushed red: "Ma'am, your husband did come for a checkup yesterday, it was just a mild cold, how could it be—"
"How could this be? You prescribed the wrong medicine!" the woman shrieked, interrupting him, her cries growing louder. "My husband has always been healthy. If it weren't for you, how could he have died? You quacks, give me back my husband's life!"
The neighbors around them were whispering and gossiping.
"Guangjitang is a decades-old brand, surely nothing like this would happen?"
"That's hard to say. Doctors are compassionate; everyone makes mistakes sometimes."
"I don't think this woman is faking it; something really must have happened."
"If someone actually dies while treating him, Guangjitang's reputation will be ruined..."
Jiang Xun watched from the crowd, his brows furrowed.
He stayed at the clinic for almost half a month. He knew the capabilities of Guangji, and the claim that the clinic could kill people was utter nonsense.
He glanced around but didn't see Lao Yu anywhere.
This old man has a really big heart.
The commotion outside is getting worse and worse.
The woman's voice was hoarse from crying, and two burly men rolled up their sleeves and pressed forward, shouting that they were going to smash the place.
More and more people gathered, blocking half the street completely.
Yu Xiaoyi was young and easily embarrassed. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He kept repeating the same few sentences to explain, but the woman completely ignored him.
"Smash it! Smash this shady restaurant!" The two burly men raised their feet and were about to barge inside.
A hand reached out and rested across the door frame.
"Wait a minute."
Jiang Xun stood on the steps, looking down at the stretcher.
The woman paused, then her sobbing became even more shrill: "Who are you? Are you trying to stand up for my man?"
"Me? A handyman."
"Get lost, you errand boy! What's it to you?"
"We have no right to stop you, but look at this gentleman, is that alright?"
Jiang Xun jumped down the steps and rushed towards the stretcher.
Two burly men reached out to stop him, but he glared at them, and for some reason, they withdrew their hands.
Jiang Xun squatted down and looked down at the "dead man".
He was in his forties, with a round face, purple lips, and a pale complexion; he really did look like he had passed away.
His gaze moved down the man's face and landed on his neck—there was a thin bloodstain on the side, like a needle prick, which was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
He then reached out and checked his pulse.
Also, it's very weak, but it's still jumping.
Jiang Xun understood perfectly well what was going on.
He stood up, turned to look at the woman, and asked, "Auntie, is your husband really dead?"
"Nonsense! He's already dead!"
"It's cold?" Jiang Xun grinned. "Then why does it still feel warm to the touch?"
The woman's face turned deathly pale.
The two burly men behind him exchanged a glance and secretly reached behind their waists.
Jiang Xun pretended not to notice and asked with a smile, "Auntie, what medicine did your husband get yesterday?"
The woman was startled and instinctively turned around to look.
A burly man snarled, "Medicine for treating colds! You killed someone and now you want to deny it?"
"Where's the prescription?"
"What prescription?"
"We have prescriptions for all the medicines. You say you died after taking our medicine, but where are the prescriptions?"
The burly man opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.
The woman reacted quickly, immediately crying out, "Throw it away! Throw it away!"
"Thrown it away? What about the medicine? How many doses are left?"
The woman's crying paused for a moment: "I...I've finished eating."
"Six doses of medicine for three days, finished in one day?" Jiang Xun laughed. "Auntie, six doses of medicine for a cold a day? Does your husband want to die too slowly?"
The crowd burst into laughter.
The woman's face turned a deep purplish-red, and just as she was about to open her mouth, Jiang Xun squatted down, quickly took out the silver needles he had taken from Lao Yu, and inserted them into several acupoints on the "dead man's" body.
A moment later, the "dead man" coughed, rolled his eyes, and opened them.
The woman let out a scream, whether from surprise or joy, it was hard to tell.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
Jiang Xun stood up, dusted off his knees, and raised his voice: "This person didn't take any medicine from our Guangjitang at all. Someone deliberately gave him a drug to fake his death and frame him!"
Yu Xiaoyi darted forward, blocking the woman's path: "Who ordered this? Speak!"
The woman trembled with fear, pointing at one of the burly men: "It's him! He said he'd give me a hundred taels of silver if it worked out..."
Seeing that his plan had failed, the burly man smashed through the crowd and ran away.
Jiang Xun lightly touched the ground with his feet, and he flew over like a gust of wind, pinning him to the ground with a single move.
The burly man struggled twice but couldn't break free, and then he slumped down: "It's...it's Manager Zhao from Huichuntang...he said Guangjitang stole his business and sent us to ruin his reputation..."