For Long Xiao, all the mystical arts and metaphysics were merely phenomena that modern science couldn't explain.
As he delved deeper into the "Dragon Scripture," gaining a clear understanding of the principles behind various techniques, he indeed came to believe that metaphysics was a fraud. However, he didn't believe science was the absolute truth either.
Science, especially modern science originating from the West, could explain very little. Unfounded modern science was a rootless source, utterly incapable of explaining the world humans perceived.
Long Xiao's series of actions nearly made the four Southerners question their existence. In their eyes, Long Xiao was practically a master magician, and their respect for him grew even deeper.
"Master Long, could you tell us when you learned these tricks?" Ruan Tianlong asked.
Long Xiao told Ruan Tianlong that before he was five years old, he had wandered with an old man for a few years. The old man made a living by selling fake medicine and performing magic tricks, so Long Xiao learned quite a bit.
"You learned so much by five years old, who was that old man? He must have been even more formidable," Ruan Tianhu asked.
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I don't know his name either. Someone seemed to have seen him recently and said he was called Long Xiaotian."
"Long Xiaotian, you mean, your master is the Heavenly Physician Long Xiaotian?" Ruan Tianbao stood up in surprise.
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. They all say that. Who knows if the old man was Long Xiaotian."
"He must be. Under the heavens, only the Heavenly Physician Long Xiaotian could teach such a formidable disciple like you."
Ruan Tianlong said, "Master Long, as a disciple of the Heavenly Physician Long Xiaotian, you must know medicine, right?"
Long Xiao nodded and said, "I know a bit. Why, does someone in your family have an illness? I'll tell you in advance, my fees for treating illnesses are higher than for performing magic tricks."
Ruan Tianlong shook his head and said, "It's not my family. It's our Southern Kingdom's princess who has a strange illness. We've invited many renowned doctors from around the world, but none of them have even figured out what the illness is, let alone how to treat it."
"Is that so? I don't have time to go to the Southern Kingdom to treat illnesses."
They chatted a while longer about metaphysics and magic tricks. Soon, it was noon. As they arrived at the restaurant, Xiao Ming appeared.
"Esteemed masters, what shall we eat today?" Xiao Ming asked with a smile.
Xiao Ming's performance had opened everyone's eyes, so they treated him with great respect.
"Little brother, whatever you want to eat, we'll make it," Yuan Nandou said, patting Xiao Ming's shoulder.
"What I want to eat, you might not have."
"If you don't have it, I'll send someone to buy it for you immediately."
Xiao Ming nodded and said, "Alright, I've said it then."
Yuan Nandou smiled and said, "Go ahead, are you afraid I can't afford it?"
"Over five hundred-year-old wild ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, Reishi mushroom, Heavenly Spirit Grass..."
Xiao Ming listed more than a dozen precious medicinal ingredients, and everyone was stunned. None of them expected Xiao Ming to want to eat these things.
Yuan Nandou said awkwardly, "Little brother, I don't have so many medicinal ingredients here. I only have one or two."
"One is fine. If it's not enough, we can supplement with roast chicken."
Soon, someone appeared with two boxes. Opening them, they revealed two pieces of old wild ginseng, each weighing seven or eight liang.
Yuan Nandou let Xiao Ming examine them and was about to have the chef prepare them for Xiao Ming to stew with chicken. Xiao Ming said, "No need to bother. I can eat them directly."
Under everyone's gaze, Xiao Ming picked up the two pieces of old wild ginseng and crunched them down.
"Little brother, eating them like this could be dangerous," Yuan Nandou hastily tried to stop him.
Xiao Ming smiled and said, "It's fine. My master said that this is how ginseng is eaten."
Soon, Xiao Ming finished the two pieces of old wild ginseng. When the dishes arrived, he began eating the roast chicken whole.
Xiao Ming's eating habits left everyone dumbfounded. Except for Long Xiao and Lin Wei, everyone else urged Xiao Ming to eat less, so he wouldn't overeat.
After the meal, Long Xiao and the others sat and chatted for a while longer. This time, the four master Ruan family members from the Southern Kingdom were no longer arrogant.
In the evening, as Long Xiao and his group were preparing to leave, the four Southern Kingdom Ruan family masters left Long Xiao their contact information, telling him to visit their Ruan family if he ever went to the Southern Kingdom.
The following days were very peaceful. As long as Xuan Xiao Company was fine, Long Xiao stayed at Xinglin Grass Hall to help Li Yizhen and Mingyue dispense medicine.
After expansion, Xinglin Grass Hall was divided into three sections: the front courtyard for consultations, the middle courtyard for treatments, and the back courtyard for inpatient care, admitting patients with difficult and complicated illnesses, primarily cancer patients.
The front courtyard had three traditional Chinese medicine consultation rooms, managed by Li Yizhen, Li Xinran, and Mingyue. They had also hired over a dozen diagnostic technicians to operate various Western medical equipment.
In the middle courtyard, Chen Meijia and Xue Meiqin helped Tong Hui dispense medicine and perform tuina, acupuncture, and cupping therapies.
Long Xiao, besides occasionally helping in the middle courtyard, hid in the back courtyard with Xiao Ming and Luo Tianshui to cultivate.
One day, as the three of them were cultivating, Zhao Sikou from the Third Hospital rushed into the back courtyard.
Seeing Zhao Sikou arrive, Long Xiao was surprised and asked, "Director Zhao, is something wrong?"
Zhao Sikou sat on a chair under a tree, catching his breath, and said, "Mr. Long, this is bad. Some people are plotting against you and Divine Doctor Li. They're accusing you of practicing medicine illegally, and the authorities are planning to seal off your Xinglin Grass Hall."
"Who is accusing us? We have all the necessary permits and are not practicing medicine illegally," Long Xiao said.
"Mr. Long, 'practicing medicine illegally' is just an excuse. The goal is to shut down Xinglin Grass Hall."
"We haven't offended anyone. Why would they want to shut down our Xinglin Grass Hall?" Long Xiao asked, puzzled.
Zhao Sikou sighed and said, "Mr. Long, a large number of patients are coming to your establishment. The patient numbers in the major hospitals and clinics in Donghai are sharply decreasing. You've encroached on others' territory."
Long Xiao scratched his head and said, "You mean, patients are treated as a means of making money for others, and since I have many patients, they can't earn as much?"
Zhao Sikou nodded and said, "Yes. Yesterday, the Medical Association held a meeting and unanimously agreed that you were engaging in malicious competition. Originally, they planned to call you to a meeting, but no one dared to inform you. In the end, they decided to sue you and shut down Xinglin Grass Hall."
"Will the Health Department really believe their false accusations and seal Xinglin Grass Hall?"
"Mr. Long, this time they're suing the National Health Administration, not the Donghai Health Administration."
"Director Zhao, thank you for bringing me the news. I'll prepare myself," Long Xiao said with a smile.
After seeing Zhao Sikou off, Long Xiao went to the front courtyard and informed Mi Tianfu of the situation. Just as he finished speaking and was about to return to the back courtyard, several cars stopped in front of Xinglin Grass Hall, and a group of men and women swaggered in.
"Who is the person in charge here?" An older woman in her forties, wearing a pencil-leg suit, shouted from the entrance.
Mi Tianfu hurried over and said, "I am the person in charge of the clinic. Are you here to see a doctor, or to cause trouble?"
The older woman took out her identification and flashed it in front of Mi Tianfu, saying, "I am Xue Ruixue, Section Chief of the Enforcement Division of the National Health Administration. Someone has reported you for practicing medicine illegally."
"Section Chief Xue, please follow me. I'll show you our permits."
Xue Ruixue led her people to the reception room with Mi Tianfu. Soon, Mi Tianfu presented all the permits for Xinglin Grass Hall and the qualification certificates of several doctors.
After inspection, Xue Ruixue found no violations. She looked at Mi Tianfu and said, "Someone has reported you for malicious competition and disrupting the market."
Mi Tianfu said righteously, "Section Chief Xue, we operate a clinic here, a place for saving lives and healing the injured, not a business. The healthcare industry is not a market."
"Who says the healthcare industry isn't a market?" a young man accompanying Xue Ruixue said.
Mi Tianfu looked at the young man and said, "If the healthcare industry is a market, then drugs and technology are commodities. Is there anything wrong with our commodities being of good quality and low price?"
"You're maliciously lowering prices and snatching patients," someone said.
Mi Tianfu looked at the speaker and said, "Our clinic's diagnostic technology is cheap and safe. Are other hospitals with outdated technology justified?"
After a round of arguments, Xue Ruixue found no reason to shut down Xinglin Grass Hall and decided to conduct a thorough inspection.