Chapter 685: Chen Ziqiang
Xia Fei walked down the street of the Flame Imps camp with his hands behind his back, seemingly very relaxed. Those thin and small Flame Imps looked at him with admiring gazes, opening a path for him and bowing.
“Hmph! He’s still rather young, but he’s already quite arrogant!” Ke Lin raised her beautiful face and angrily said.
In truth, Xia Fei had been rather close with the Flame Imps, never looking down on them despite his status as an apothecary. Ke Lin was angry primarily because Xia Fei had kept them waiting for so long, disrespecting the divine doctor and his disciples. However, she did not realize that this was only because they had been willing to wait. Xia Fei certainly had not forced them to wait with a knife pressed against them.
The master and his two disciples all thought the same thing, and Divine Doctor Chen Ziqiang went from curiosity to rage. That sign that had ‘Divine Doctor of the Universe’ written on it particularly incensed him.
Smiling and nodding at Lu Qian, Xia Fei entered his tent. The waiting crowd quickly surrounded it, but Seth sent them over to Lu Qian’s tent. The rules could not be broken. If Xia Fei took on ordinary patients, he would have to spend a long time every day treating everyone, thereby reducing the amount of time he could devote to cultivation.
“Master, there are still no patients today that Master Lu has been unable to treat. Why don’t you rest for now?” Seth whispered.
Xia Fei nodded. He leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette, blowing out clouds of smoke and paying no attention to Divine Doctor Chen standing by Lu Qian’s side.
Ke Lei was furious. From what he understood, Xia Fei was a junior, so it was only proper that he came and paid respects to his master. How could he ignore such an important person?
Ke Lei and Ke Lin were about to angrily rebuke Xia Fei when Chen Ziqiang pulled them back, at the same time shooting a glance at Lu Qian.
Lu Qian nodded. He called out a Flame Imp warrior from his tent and took him and a medical prescription to Xia Fei’s tent.
“Master Ah Fei,” Lu Qian smiled and called.
Xia Fei smiled and bowed. Seeing the three strangers behind Lu Qian, he asked, “Good day, Master Lu. Who might these three be?”
“Heheh! They’re colleagues who happened to be coming through the area. They heard of Master Ah Fei’s impressive skills and are curious to see these for themselves,” Lu Qian replied with the answer that he had agreed on with his master beforehand.
Xia Fei nodded at Chen Ziqiang, and Divine Doctor Chen intentionally turned his head away to ignore Xia Fei. Meanwhile, Ke Lin and Ke Lei acted with incredible arrogance, leaving Xia Fei in a rather awkward position.
“Pa.s.sing by? That’s too much of a coincidence,” Oro said to Xia Fei. “The net has already been cast. Whether or not you can draw out that beast Quinn depends entirely on this play. At this critical juncture, it’s best not to stir up any side issues.”
Xia Fei nodded. “I understand, but this might be an opportunity. That old man, with his black hair, healthy complexion, and proud bearing, must be some fellow who lived like a prince. He might be Chen Ziqiang himself.”
Oro was taken aback. He took a closer look at Chen Ziqiang and realized that this old man had an extraordinary bearing, nothing like an ordinary person.
Lu Qian smiled as he led a Flame Imp warrior inside, handing over a medical prescription to Xia Fei.
“There aren’t any too complicated cases today, but I’m somewhat unsure about this person’s injury, and though I made a prescription, I don’t actually dare to apply it. I’d like to seek Brother Ah Fei’s a.s.sistance on this matter,” Lu Qian said as he sat the warrior down in the chair across from Xia Fei.
“Oh, I see,” Xia Fei muttered as he looked over the prescription.
Today, Lu Qian was able to cut through all the obstacles in his path because of Chen Ziqiang’s instruction. As for this warrior, he was a p.a.w.n that Chen Ziqiang had personally selected. The prescription was actually made by Divine Doctor Chen Ziqiang himself.
Xia Fei sighed and slightly shook his head, apparently not happy with this prescription.
Chen Ziqiang’s eyes immediately turned sharp and cold. Divine Doctor Chen was certain of the level of his prescription, and Xia Fei’s reaction had generated no small amount of disgust.
Unmoved, Xia Fei placed two fingers against the warrior’s heart and sent in a sliver of mental energy.
A few moments later, Xia Fei drew back his arm and asked, “How long have your muscles been shriveling?”
“Around three years. In the past, I was one of the tribe’s strongest warriors and was 1.7 meters tall, weighing nearly two hundred kilos. My entire body was covered in muscles without a single cell of fat, but after these three years, I don’t even weigh ninety kilos,” the warrior said with a sigh.
He truly was very tall. A height of 1.7 meters was actually him being humble. With his eyes, Xia Fei determined that the warrior was actually 1.75 meters, but this once muscular Law Warrior was now like an emaciated skeleton, his cheeks sunken and his expression listless. It looked as if a strong gust of wind might blow him over.
“Don’t be too worried. Your illness is because your heart can’t provide sufficient blood. It’s not just your muscles severely shrinking; you probably have to sleep at least sixteen hours a day, yes?”
“That’s right, but how did you know? Every day, I only think about sleeping. My energy levels are absolutely awful,” the Flame Imp warrior said in surprise.
Xia Fei waved his hand, indicating that he already understood the situation and did not need any more details.
Turning around, Xia Fei said to Lu Qian, “Master Lu, while this prescription is good, the price for curing the illness is too high. Six-leaf sophora and silver ephedra—these are all expensive ingredients. I fear that this prescription will cost one hundred grade 4 crystals. No normal person can afford it.”
“A hundred grade 4 crystals!” The emaciated warrior was dumbfounded. With a bitter look on his face, he said, “My G.o.d, not even if I sold everything I own could afford this! It seems like there’s no curing this illness!”
The warrior struggled to his feet and prepared to leave, his face twisted in a scowl. Ordinary Flame Imps made little money, so there was simply no way he could afford this pricy medicine.
Chen Ziqiang immediately scowled. The divine doctor had long ago ceased to treat ordinary patients. Only the wealthy came to him for services, so he had never worried about the price when making his prescriptions.
Xia Fei pulled the warrior back and smiled. “You don’t have one hundred grade 4 crystals, but you should have a single grade 3, right?”
Everyone was stunned, not daring to believe their ears. Was Xia Fei really able to use medicinal ingredients that cost only a single grade 3 crystal to treat this warrior’s rare anemic muscular degeneration?!
It had to be understood that a single grade 4 Origin Crystal could be exchanged for one hundred grade 3 crystals. Xia Fei was curing the illness at one-ten-thousandth of the price!
This was such a dramatic reduction! How could a medicine that was one-ten-thousandth of the original price still have the same effect?!
Chen Ziqiang was shocked at first, but then he smiled. He did not believe that Xia Fei could achieve the same result with cheaper ingredients. He believed that this was a chance to embarra.s.s Xia Fei!
Xia Fei moved quickly. Once he made up his mind, Xia Fei would not hesitate for a moment. He immediately used some cheap herbs to mix up a bottle of green medicine.
After glancing at the concoction in the sunlight, Xia Fei pa.s.sed the concoction to the warrior.
“Once you drink this, your heart will become much stronger, your energy will instantly recover, and obviously, your muscles will begin to grow. In ten days, your illness will be completely gone, but as the medicinal effect is too powerful, your heart will madly thump and it will be very painful,” Xia Fei sternly said.
The warrior nodded his head. After four days, the tribe had become very familiar with Xia Fei’s medicines. All of the cured patients had to first endure a painful torment, so nearly everyone had acknowledged this by now.
“Hold on!” The watching Chen Ziqiang finally could not help but speak, anger on his face.
It was actually rather strange. The Flame Imps’ territory was unbearably hot and made Chen Ziqiang miserable, but when he was focused on watching Xia Fei treat the patient, the environment seemingly stopped affecting him, and he no longer felt the heat to be so unbearable.
“Does this elderly gentleman have some advice to give?” Xia Fei narrowed his eyes as he lit a cigarette and asked.
“You can’t drink this medicine!” Chen Ziqiang firmly declared.
“Oh? Why not?”
Ke Lin also could not help but speak. She had been with her master for around eight years, and this was the first time she had seen someone who disrespected the divine doctor this much. She felt disgust and revulsion at Xia Fei’s every movement and smile.
“You still need an explanation?! Since my master said not to drink it, don’t drink it! Because my master is Chen Ziqiang! Divine Doctor Chen! The most formidable apothecary in the Exiled Grounds!” Ke Lin bellowed at Xia Fei.
“Chen Ziqiang?! The divine doctor!”
“Level 6 Apothecary Chen Ziqiang!”
“My G.o.d! Even the divine doctor has come!”
The outside of Xia Fei’s tent had never been short of spectators, and Ke Lin had spoken so openly that everyone had heard her loud and clear. Besides Xia Fei, everyone was stunned.
Chen Ziqiang, a level 6 apothecary. n.o.body knew why he had been driven into the Exiled Grounds, but over the last one hundred years, his name had rooted itself in everyone’s hearts, from elders all the way down to the children who were only just beginning to speak!
The renowned Divine Doctor Chen had come all the way to the remote Flame Imps Tribe? This news grew wings and swiftly spread across the tribe.
A vast crowd gathered outside of the tent to find out what was going on, and even the guards found it hard to remain composed, abandoning their posts to join the spectators.
Chen Ziqiang was rather unhappy. He had not planned to reveal himself this time, and Ke Lin announcing his name was certain to cause many problems. However, as there was no stopping it, Divine Doctor Chen could only gather up his dignity and contend against Xia Fei.
Xia Fei placed a fist in his hand and bowed, saying, “So this gentleman is the ill.u.s.trious divine doctor.”
“Correct,” Chen Ziqiang softly replied, “I am Chen Ziqiang.”
The crowd exploded with momentous cheers. In admitting his ident.i.ty, Chen Ziqiang had excited the crowd. His two young disciples smiled smugly as if they were the ones who were being cheered.
“Divine doctor, why do you say that my medicine can’t be drunk?” Xia Fei asked with a smile once the cheers had died away.
Chen Ziqiang’s eyes flashed with cold sparks as he stared at Xia Fei and coldly said, “Because your medicine contains herbs of contradictory natures! It is poison!”
“Poison?!”
“Master Ah Fei mixed up a bottle of poison?!”
The unknowing crowd was extremely irritating at times. Chen Ziqiang’s one sentence had wiped away Xia Fei’s efforts over the last four days, and many people began to eye him strangely.