Chapter 19.2

After running for a long while into the mountains, she finally found Gou Sheng.

“Gou Sheng!”

Gou Sheng heard the familiar voice and looked up into the trees. In that instant, his ferocious eyes brightened, and his entire demeanor shifted from the wild wolf to a domesticated dog as he frantically wagged his tail at Guan Yue.

Guan Yue climbed down from the tree, bending over to rub Gou Sheng’s rough furred head. “Hey, look at you! You were quite fierce just now!”

Gou Sheng whimpered softly, rubbing against her.

Guan Yue hugged his head. “Hey, don’t do that! Do you know how heavy you are?”

Now, Gou Sheng had grown into a strong and powerful wolf, not the same fluffy puppy he had been when he was by her side. In the month or so that he had been away, Gou Sheng had transformed from a clean and tidy dog into a rough wild wolf.

At the moment, dried blood stains still marked his forelegs.

Since Gou Sheng had been returned to the wild, Guan Yue no longer mentioned his uncleanliness.

“Being the wolf king isn’t easy, huh? Did you have another fight with the other wolves?”

“Woooo!”

“Were you fighting over a mate?”

“Wooooo!”

“Oh, come on! You’re still young! Wait until next year before thinking about finding a wife!”

“Woooo!”

The whining gradually turned to a more aggressive growl.

Guan Yue patted Gou Sheng’s head. “Oh, you’re still growling at me?”

Guan Yue played with Gou Sheng, following him as he led her to a valley. He swooped down the slope, catching a wild chicken with his jaws and dragging it to Guan Yue.

Guan Yue beamed proudly. “Who would have thought that I’d still get to enjoy the filial piety of my little dog son? Not bad! Didn’t waste raising you!”

Gou Sheng looked pleased and happy, his tail wagging so hard it seemed like it might never stop.

It was almost noon when Guan Yue carried the filial heart of her ‘dog son’ back home. Li Tao had already prepared lunch.

Li Tao was surprised. “Where did you find a wild chicken? Those things are so quick, they fly straight to the trees at the slightest noise; they’re nearly impossible to catch.”

Guan Yue spoke with a hint of pride. “Gou Sheng caught it for me.”

“Wow, Gou Sheng is really something! It’s been so long since I last saw him!”

But Li Tao was just talking; seeing such a large wolf made him uneasy. It was probably best that Gou Sheng stayed deep in the mountains now.

After lunch, Guan Yue sent Li Tao back, saying they’d go up the mountain again in the afternoon to get more herb powder.

Li Tao urged her, “Making herb powder can be tiring. You should take breaks—don’t rush.”

“I know. Just go ahead,” Guan Yue replied.

Once Li Tao had left, Guan Yue turned back to her deep mountain cabin.

Daqing Mountain was lush with greenery as spring turned to summer. Birds and insects sang in harmony, and fish swam through the water plants, bubbling softly as they went.

Gurgle, gurgle—the sound of tiny bubbles emerging from the water.

If it weren’t for Chef Gu Sui still not returning, Guan Yue wouldn’t want to leave Daqing Mountain at all.

This season was the most beautiful on Daqing Mountain!

Guan Yue thought wistfully of the missing Chef Gu Sui, while far away in Hong Kong, Xu Hua’an was also missing his thoughtful Disciple.

After being passed through many hands, Xu Hua’an had only just received what Guan Yue had sent him that morning.

Seeing the letter from Guan Yue, Xu Hua’an couldn’t hide the smile on his face. It was filled with concern for his health and his family, along with a box of medicines she had made herself. She asked him to use them as needed, depending on his brother’s condition.

Xu Hua’an put the letter down with a sigh as Xu Huaping cleared his throat. “Big Brother, what’s the matter? Last night, you were complaining about your chest pain. Did it get better after taking the medicine and resting?”

Xu Huaping pressed his hand over his chest. “A little, but not much.”

This condition—his doctors had said Western medicine couldn’t cure it. The only option would be a heart and lung transplant, something that was beyond his reach due to the risks and the fact that he didn’t want to lose his original heart and lungs, even if it meant survival. Transplant surgery had its risks, and he didn’t want to take that chance.

Xu Hua’an sighed. “I have a solution. Do you want to try it?”

Xu Huaping looked skeptical. “What solution?”

Xu Hua’an handed him both Guan Yue’s letter and a letter from Cai Guofu. He urged his brother to read them carefully.

Xu Hua’an couldn’t help but cough again as Xu Huaping unfolded the letters.

Guan Yue’s letter not only conveyed her greetings and concerns but also included a prescription tailored to his condition—medicines she had crafted specifically for him. The second letter, from a mutual friend, sang praises of Guan Yue’s acupuncture skills and her ability to prepare remedies, ending with a heartfelt envy for Xu Huaping’s connection with such a talented Disciple.

Xu Hua’an nodded slowly. “We don’t need to discuss it—our family knows each other well enough. My skills are modest; I’m no expert, but I can get by.”

“Guan Yue’s medical skills? She’s a prodigy. I’ve never seen anyone with her kind of talent before.”

“She has a memory so sharp she almost never forgets anything. I’ve shown her all the medical books I had, and she can cross-reference the prescriptions from different texts, making adjustments based on the specific symptoms. After teaching her for half a year, I had nothing more to teach her in medicine. Given some time, she’ll definitely be one of the leaders in the medical field.”

Xu Hua’an pointed to the prescription written by Guan Yue. “The medicine she prescribed matches your condition. I think you should give it a try. Guan Yue not only has a talent for studying medicine but an even greater talent for preparing medicines. The same prescription made by her results in better efficacy than when others prepare it. Don’t believe it? I’ve tried her medicines with those made by the old heads on patients with the same condition.”

Xu Huaping laid down the letter. “I know you wouldn’t lead me astray. What you said, I believe it. If Guan Yue truly has such great talent, having her as a Disciple is enough to be recorded in the family’s genealogy.”

Xu Hua’an laughed heartily. To have such a talented Disciple was both his luck and his fortune.

Seeing his brother’s determination, Xu Hua’an opened two bottles of medicine in front of him—Qing Fei Pill (pill for lung health) and Yang Xin Pill for Heart Health.

Xu Hua’an showed his brother the bottles, pointing out the marking on the cap. “Look at this wood grain, the calligraphy seal she made is so precise—it’s a faint ‘moon.’”

Xu Huaping was surprised. “She really did this meticulously.”

“Sometimes she may seem a bit air-headed, but when it matters, she’s very thorough. Probably because she was worried someone would tamper with the medicine if it passed through too many hands.”

With his unique method, Xu Hua’an twisted and turned the lid, finally getting it open. The bottle looked like a Lu Ban mechanism—complex and precise.

“Qing Fei Pill and Yang Xin Pill, one of each.”

Xu Huaping took a pill with a glass of water.

His decision to take the medicine was purely based on trusting his brother. Whether it was a placebo effect or a real improvement, by noon, Xu Huaping felt his breathing was more open and the coughing had stopped. Though his chest still hurt, not coughing was already a blessing.

Given his weak constitution, he used to dread coughing, forcing himself to suppress the urge—it was unbearably uncomfortable.

The medicine made by Guan Yue worked quickly, something Xu Hua’an had prepared himself for.

Xu Hua’an nodded. “I really want to go back and see how far Guan Yue’s acupuncture skills have come. Maybe it’s the acupuncture that holds your hope.”

Xu Huaping took a few comfortable steps, looking less strained. “I’ve tried acupuncture before.”

“Not like this, Xu Huaping. You can’t just look at it the same way,” Xu Hua’an replied with conviction.

Hope began to bloom in Xu Huaping. Perhaps there was a chance, in this lifetime, to be healthy and whole?

Xu Huaping’s wife, Jiang Zhi, was delighted by her husband’s improvement. “Let’s not worry about the future for now. There’s only so much medicine. What do we do when it runs out? We need to find a way to keep the supply going; we can’t let the medicine run out!”

“Exactly, Big Sister-in-law. The person we dealt with last time—we need to contact them. If that doesn’t work, Guan Yue gave us the prescription. We can prepare the medicine ourselves to tide us over for now.”

Jiang Zhi shook her head. “Given how you talk about Guan Yue’s abilities, I doubt her medicine can be replicated accurately by anyone else. You always say, ‘A slight difference means a thousand miles off.’”

Xu Huaping nodded. “You’re right. Our family’s business is in medicinal herbs; for the medicine to be effective, we need both a skilled physician and quality herbs.”

Xu Hua’an agreed. “To be on the safe side, we should start collecting the herbs listed on the prescription.”

Jiang Zhi looked determined. “Leave it to the second brother; he knows what he’s doing!”

“Rest assured, Big Sister-in-law,” Xu Hua’an replied with confidence.