So Who Exactly Is He? 

When Tu Xuan spoke up to this point, Fei Yan almost accidentally extended her claws hidden in her paw pads out of guilt. She took two awkward steps and squeezed herself further into Chen Miansheng’s arms. 

Fortunately, Tu Xuan’s tone changed in the next second. “But today when I visited your shop, I didn’t see any such person.” 

No one else present noticed anything odd about the little orange cat, and Tu Xuan didn’t seem interested in dwelling on that either. Instead, he continued, “Let’s put that aside for now. Let’s talk about the most important matter first.” 

“I hope Shopkeeper Chen can work with us and dispense medicine based on Doctor Qu’s prescription. Doctor Qu is highly skilled; the altered prescriptions won’t worsen the patients’ conditions, so you don’t need to worry about anything going wrong.” 

Chen Miansheng didn’t respond immediately. He pressed his lips together and was silent for a moment before speaking: “Besides me, have you approached anyone else, Shopkeeper Tu?” 

Tu Xuan assumed he was worried that involving more people would mean a smaller cut of the profits, so he laughed heartily and said, “Don’t worry, Shopkeeper Chen. This is just between you, me, heaven, and earth. Only a few of us know — you, me, Doctor Qu, and your assistant. Just us making money together. What’s not to like?” 

Only then did Chen Miansheng slowly lift his eyes. He gave a faint smile, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of warmth in it. Staring directly at Tu Xuan, he said word by word, “Then what if I refuse?” 

Tu Xuan was still smiling, but upon hearing this, he froze, and his expression quickly turned cold. “Shopkeeper Chen, what do you mean by that?” 

Chen Miansheng gave him an amused look and let out a soft “Mm.” “Is that hard to understand? I said, I don’t want to agree to your request.” 

Tu Xuan slammed the stone table and stood up in anger. “Chen Miansheng, don’t be ungrateful. You’re just a sickly, deaf cripple. Other people would kill for a chance like this to make money. Don’t be so shameless. Do you have any idea what’ll happen if you say no to me, huh?” 

But Chen Miansheng remained calm, still gently scratching the little orange cat’s chin with his fingertips. His voice was mild as he replied, “Aren’t you also just a medicine hall shopkeeper, Shopkeeper Tu?” 

Tu Xuan snorted. “Don’t forget who the mayor of Dongfeng Town is. As long as I want to, I can have you kicked out of here at any time.” 

Chen Miansheng had lived in Dongfeng Town for a few years and naturally knew that Tu Xuan was the nephew of the town mayor, Tu Feng. 

But he’d dealt with Tu Feng before. The man was an honest and upright person. Even if Tu Xuan was now using his uncle’s name to intimidate him, it didn’t mean he’d actually told Tu Feng about any of his shady dealings. 

Still, for Tu Xuan to come here so brazenly meant he wasn’t afraid of Chen Miansheng exposing him. After all, Chen Miansheng had no proof. Just his word against Tu Xuan’s—and the townspeople never liked him much to begin with. 

Fei Yan quickly realized this as well. She looked at Chen Miansheng with concern, worried that he might really anger Tu Xuan. Even if it didn’t get him kicked out of Dongfeng Town, Tu Xuan would definitely make his life difficult. 

But when Chen Miansheng glanced at Gu Wu’s hand signals, his expression didn’t change. His eyes lowered slightly, lost in thought. 

A moment later, he stood up with Fei Yan in his arms and said, “Alright, since Shopkeeper Tu is so capable, then please, go ahead and have me kicked out of Dongfeng Town. But forgive me for not seeing you out today. You can find your own way.” 

Tu Xuan’s chest heaved violently, clearly enraged by Chen Miansheng’s attitude. 

Though Chen Miansheng looked frail and sickly, Gu Wu beside him was tall and intimidating — clearly not someone easy to mess with. Tu Xuan gritted his teeth, muttered a few “fine”s, slapped the stone table hard, and turned to leave. 

Chen Miansheng silently watched Tu Xuan’s back disappear into the rear courtyard. 

Gu Wu signed: “Young Master, how should we proceed?” 

Fei Yan didn’t understand the gestures, but saw Chen Miansheng take out a jade pendant from his sleeve and hand it to Gu Wu. He said softly, “Dongfeng Town falls under the jurisdiction of Yun County. Go to the county magistrate there.” 

Gu Wu respectfully accepted the jade pendant and carefully tucked it into his sleeve. “Understood. I’ll set out tomorrow.” 

“No, leave today. The sooner the better. With just Ah Chu and me at the medicine hall, we won’t be able to manage for long.” As he spoke, Chen Miansheng tapped the little orange cat’s soft pink nose with a cool fingertip. His expression softened. “You’ve been so good today, Little Orange. I’ll make braised pork belly for you when we get home, okay?” 

Fei Yan was still trying to make sense of the odd exchange between Chen Miansheng and Gu Wu when the scent of pine and herbs suddenly filled the air. Instinctively, she rubbed her nose against Chen Miansheng’s fingers, earning a soft chuckle from him. 

What Fei Yan didn’t expect was that in the days that followed, Gu Wu never returned to the medicine hall. 

Seeing the little orange cat looking around curiously in the shop, Chen Miansheng flicked her forehead playfully. “What’s this? Missing Xiao Wu already, Little Orange?” 

Fei Yan quickly wagged her tail and threw her arms around his arm, rubbing her fluffy head against it affectionately. 

Who was Gu Wu? She didn’t know. Sorry, she only knew Chen Miansheng. 

Chen Miansheng laughed warmly and gently cradled the little orange cat in his arms, smoothing her fur. “Don’t worry. Xiao Wu will be back soon.” 

Fei Yan blinked a few times, barely managing to suppress the bit of suspicion still lingering in her heart. 

She couldn’t shake the feeling that ever since Tu Xuan showed up, something about Chen Miansheng had changed. 

But what exactly it was… she just couldn’t put into words. 

Noticing the little orange cat staring at him, Chen Miansheng lowered his head and scratched the back of her neck. “Be good. I’ll take you to the market again soon. Whatever you want, we’ll buy it and we’ll let Xiao Wu carry everything. Sound good?” 

Fei Yan felt a stir in her heart and suddenly hugged Chen Miansheng even tighter. 

Who cared if he was different in some way? 

At least in front of her, he was still the same Chen Miansheng. 

That was enough. 

Three days later, Gu Wu finally reappeared at Tong Yao Hall. Along with him came the news that Bai Shan Hall and the Qu Medical Clinic had been shut down by the authorities, and that Tu Xuan and Doctor Qu Lin had been arrested and thrown in jail. 

In less than half a day, the news had spread across the entire Dongfeng Town, and everyone had already learned the reason behind it. 

That day, Tong Yao Hall was livelier than usual. 

While waiting for their prescriptions, a patient muttered angrily, “I’ve never liked Tu Xuan. Now that he’s behind bars, he got exactly what he deserved.” 

“Exactly! Both Tu Xuan and Qu Lin were heartless. If you ask me, Tong Yao Hall is the only decent place. Not only are the herbs sold at fair prices, but Shopkeeper Chen is honest and kind too,” another chimed in. 

“But don’t you all think it’s a little strange? Was it someone who reported them to the authorities? Otherwise, how’d they suddenly get arrested like that?” 

“Ah, why bother thinking about it so much? They’re arrested now, that’s all that matters.” 

“Fair point.” 

The topic came and went quickly, and soon everyone’s attention shifted elsewhere—leaving Fei Yan still in a daze. 

The others might not know the reason behind it, but she had been by Chen Miansheng’s side the entire time, and she was very aware that this incident with Tu Xuan and Qu Lin was definitely connected to him. 

The jade pendant Chen Miansheng had given to Gu Wu had the character “Sheng” carved into it. Its pristine color and quality clearly showed it was no ordinary object. The strangest thing was that right after Gu Wu returned, Tu Xuan and Qu Lin were immediately arrested. And the county magistrate from Yun County—whom Chen Miansheng had once mentioned—was definitely involved as well. 

Fei Yan shifted her paws, her big eyes blinking nervously. 

It was the first time she realized that, even though she had spent all this time with Chen Miansheng, she had never truly known the real identity of this gentle and refined man in front of her. 

Everything about his behavior, clothing, and manner clearly indicated that he didn’t belong in Dongfeng Town—at least, not originally. 

So why was he staying here in Dongfeng Town? And who exactly was he?