"Yes, Young Master!" Xue Cong nodded, glaring fiercely at Li Se before preparing to withdraw.
"Wait!"
Li Se's voice rang out at that moment.
"Is there something else?" Xue Cong gritted his teeth and asked.
"Were you just about to make my woman undress for you to examine?" Li Se's eyes were filled with coldness.
"It's the rule," Xue Cong said.
Zhang Ming kicked Xue Cong, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Who gave you the nerve to check my cousin?"
"I..." Xue Cong lamented. Wasn't this all your idea? But he dared not utter a word.
"Get lost, and your salary for this month will be deducted!" Zhang Ming roared.
"Yes!" Xue Cong was dejected.
"That's your Young Master's punishment. As Sister Min's man, I'll give you a bit of punishment too!" Li Se sneered. Two silver needles shot out from his hand, piercing Xue Cong's eyelids.
"You... What did you do to me?" Xue Cong felt his eyelids grow incredibly heavy, so heavy that he could barely open them.
"I just crippled your eyes," Li Se said nonchalantly.
"You dare?!" Xue Cong was furious and wanted to fight Li Se to the death.
"Get lost!" Zhang Ming bellowed.
Only then did Xue Cong calm down. With assistance from others, he retreated.
"My subordinate was ill-mannered. I hope you can forgive him." Zhang Ming appeared apologetic. As for Xue Cong, he didn't take him seriously at all. If his eyes couldn't be used anymore, so be it. They could just find another housekeeper later.
How could Li Se not see that this was all Zhang Ming's instigation? He sneered and didn't say much more to Zhang Ming. Holding Zhang Aimin's hand, he entered the clubhouse.
Soon, Li Se also met the Zhang family's elder, Zhang Aimin's grandfather, Zhang Mao.
Zhang Mao lay on the bed, completely devoid of energy. His eye sockets had sunk in, and he had dark circles. His eyes appeared listless as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Imperial Physician Sun examined him before, but couldn't find any cause. He only prescribed some conditioning tonics," Sun Ming said in a deep voice.
"If not for those conditioning tonics, your grandfather wouldn't have lived until today," Li Se stated calmly.
Zhang Aimin was somewhat dazed. Seeing the old man again was like a lifetime ago. The once lofty and arrogant elder had now become like this.
Zhang Aimin didn't have much affection for Zhang Mao. The Zhang family was extremely patriarchal. In the eyes of the entire Zhang family, a daughter's destiny was to be used to exchange for benefits. This was why she had severed ties with the Zhang family in the first place.
Li Se took Zhang Mao's pulse for a long time and then pressed on his heart area. His expression grew solemn. After a while, he said, "Prepare for the funeral."
"What do you mean by that?" Zhang Ming's expression changed slightly.
"Don't you understand?" Li Se looked at him. "I told you to prepare for the funeral. Your grandfather isn't suffering from any illness. He's just old. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural laws that no one can defy!"
Zhang Ming's face darkened. Zhang Mao was the pillar of the Zhang family. If he truly fell, the Zhang family might indeed falter.
"Do you have no way at all?" Zhang Ming asked, unwilling to accept it.
"What, are you planning to snatch someone from the King of Hell?" Li Se taunted.
Zhang Ming was rendered speechless by Li Se's remark.
"I think you're just a quack doctor!" a middle-aged man said as he walked in. He was Zhang Ming's father, Zhang Cheng.
"If you insist on thinking that, there's nothing I can do," Li Se said calmly.
"Since you can't save him, Aimin will have to get married then," Zhang Cheng said, looking at Zhang Aimin beside him. He more or less believed that Li Se didn't want to treat him.
Li Se frowned. Zhang Mao was indeed beyond saving. No matter what kind of doctor came, they wouldn't be able to change this fact. It was the law of nature, and no one could alter it. However, with his abilities, he could extend his life.
But doing so would come at a considerable cost, so Li Se wasn't willing to extend the life of this old man.
"You can try," Li Se said with a cold laugh.
"Zhang Ming, didn't you find that divine doctor? Why did you bring this kid?" Zhang Cheng said with dissatisfaction.
"Dad, he's the one," Zhang Ming said helplessly.
Zhang Cheng was surprised. Sun Bai had recommended him, so he instinctively thought the person would be around Sun Bai's age. He hadn't expected him to be so young, which truly caught him off guard.
"Imperial Physician Sun probably didn't fail to diagnose the cause of illness. If I'm not mistaken, his diagnosis should be the same as mine." Li Se was very confident in his diagnosis, and he also guessed that Sun Bai's diagnosis would be similar to his. Zhang Mao had no life force left, which was tantamount to being on the brink of death.
"I think you're just a quack!" Zhang Cheng snorted. "Let's just wait. The Sima family will bring a famous doctor later. He will definitely have a way. Really, why did Imperial Physician Sun recommend such a novice to us!"
Zhang Aimin whispered, "Li Se, is there really no way?"
"Mm," Li Se nodded.
Zhang Aimin looked at the old man on the bed, feeling neither joy nor sorrow. She had no feelings for this old man, so even knowing he was about to die, she wouldn't show any change.
Tap, tap, tap...
At that moment, footsteps approached.
Two people walked in.
One of them seemed somewhat familiar to Li Se. He felt like he had seen him somewhere before but couldn't recall it immediately.
When the other person saw Li Se, his gaze flickered, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Jie, quickly save the old man," Zhang Cheng said, grabbing Sima Jie's hand.
Sima Jie smiled. "Uncle Zhang, don't worry. I've found a very renowned physician, Divine Doctor Zhiming. He's not only skilled in medicine but also very proficient in Xuan Shu. He will surely cure the elder."
Zhang Cheng nodded and looked at Zhiming. "It's up to you."
"Don't worry," Zhiming said, walking towards the patient's bed. He took out a small bottle. Upon opening it, a black mist emanated, which he slowly poured into Zhang Mao's mouth.
Suddenly, Zhang Mao's body began to convulse.
"What's happening?" Zhang Cheng asked anxiously.
Zhiming smiled. "This is a normal phenomenon. Don't worry, he'll be fine soon."
Indeed, after about a minute, Zhang Mao stopped convulsing. He even got out of bed, appearing fully alive.
"Dad!"
"Grandpa..."
Zhang Cheng and Zhang Mao were extremely excited.
However, Zhang Mao seemed not to hear them and continued walking.
"Why isn't my father responding to us?" Zhang Cheng asked, confused.
"Normal phenomenon. He's regaining consciousness. He'll be back to normal in an hour," Zhiming smiled.
Although Zhang Mao could now walk, he gave off a very eerie feeling.
After observing for a while, Li Se was startled, and then a slight smile curved his lips. He subtly walked up to Zhiming, suddenly reached out, grabbed him, and said, "Oh, do you remember me? Just a few days ago, I used black dog blood to break your sorcery. How have you recovered so quickly?"