Chapter 021: Does He Dare Say That to My Face?
Bai Chuwei’s expression was icy cold. “I don’t want to treat this illness anymore. Find someone else.”
Duan Xingye, who had finally managed to catch up, nearly burst into tears. Hadn’t they just been talking nicely a moment ago? Why had she suddenly refused to treat the patient? His grandfather was truly on the verge of death!
Duan Feihan, seasoned by countless storms and undefeated in the business world, remained calm even after hearing Bai Chuwei’s words. “Miss Bai, may I ask why?”
She snorted coldly. “I’m in a bad mood now.”
No wonder she’d felt that Duan Feihan looked familiar—she had met him before.
Without betraying any emotion, Duan Feihan gently rolled the sandalwood prayer beads around his left wrist. His voice was deep and mellow, like the finest cello. “Then what can I do to lift your spirits, Miss Bai?”
Bai Chuwei couldn’t tell if he spoke deliberately or not, but his words had an oddly stirring effect on her heart.
Duan Xingye interrupted her thoughts abruptly. “Exactly, why? Why does seeing my grandfather put you in a bad mood?”
Suddenly, a wild suspicion struck him. “Could it be that my grandfather once did something terribly wrong to you, Weiwei?”
Duan Feihan’s gaze darkened as he rebuked in a low voice, “Duan Xingye, mind your words.”
Duan Xingye slapped his mouth repeatedly, realizing he’d said something that could tarnish a girl’s reputation. He was about to apologize when he saw Bai Chuwei’s thoughtful expression. She smiled and said, “You could indeed say that your grandfather once did something terribly wrong to me.”
Duan Xingye was stunned. Impossible, wasn’t it? His grandfather was always stern, hated seeing privileged youths bully the poor, and had always taught him to be an upright person.
Bai Chuwei had no intention of explaining. She glanced at Duan Feihan with a trace of lingering interest, then spoke indifferently, “I won’t treat this illness. You don’t need to see me out; I’ll leave on my own.”
Panic flickered across Duan Xingye’s face. Watching Bai Chuwei about to leave, he grew frantic, tugged at Duan Feihan’s sleeve, and pleaded anxiously, “Uncle, do something! What should we do?”
They had finally managed to invite her to their home, only for something to go wrong.
Duan Feihan considered for a moment, just about to speak, when a figure exuding the elegance and spirit of a master suddenly appeared. Casting a glance at Bai Chuwei, the old man’s voice, laced with disdain, echoed, “If your medical skills are lacking, admit it honestly. Why pretend the Duan family owes you something?”
Before them stood an elderly man, faintly scented with the aroma of medicinal herbs. His hair was as white as snow, and he sported a bristly goatee. There was none of the usual benevolence of age about him; instead, his brow carried a haughty pride.
Servants passing by gasped in astonishment. “Is that the great healer, Old Master Liu Zhen? My goodness, I heard he once cured a cancer patient!”
“He’s the titan of the medical world, Old Master Liu! He was even featured on the national news! Didn’t they say he’d retired and no longer sees patients? He must be a hundred and twenty by now. He certainly looks vigorous—longevity has served him well,” another middle-aged bodyguard remarked with envy.
“I heard Miss Tong personally invited him for the old master after three separate visits!”
Bai Chuwei regarded the old man before her with a half-smile. “Lacking in medical skill?”
She had once followed the ancient Shennong, tasting hundreds of herbs, cultivating thousands of rare medicinal plants, and healing countless souls tormented by sickness. Not to mention today’s physicians; even the most renowned doctors of the past two thousand years would have respectfully addressed her as their grandmaster.
Liu Zhen swept his gaze over Bai Chuwei with a trace of contempt. “A mere child—what skill with medicine could you possibly possess at your age? How could you hope to save anyone?”
Bai Chuwei replied coolly, “Go ask your own master if he dares to speak to me that way.”