Why Don't You Come

Although Zhuang Yong really wanted to tag along and take a look, there was no need for him to go since Zhuang Mengli was going. It was just picking up some medicine; they didn't need that many people.

He glanced at Zhuang Mengli and said, "Mengli, you go with them. I'll stay here and look after your grandfather."

"Okay, Dad." Zhuang Mengli agreed and followed Su Yang and Guan Tianya out of the bedroom.

After the three of them left, Zhuang Changyun tilted his head to look at Zhuang Yong and said, "Dayong, come and sit down."

"Okay, Dad. How are you feeling now?"

"I don't know why, but just now while Little Su was checking my pulse, a current of energy suddenly surged through my body. Originally, I felt a bit delirious, like I was about to pass away, but after that energy appeared, my spirits have improved a bit."

"Oh? Really?" Zhuang Yong asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it seems meeting him was the right decision. This Little Su is likely not as simple as he appears on the surface. I figure..."

"You mean..."

Before Zhuang Yong could finish, Zhuang Changyun continued, "I have a premonition, or rather a guess, that he might be the disciple of some reclusive master, or perhaps the apprentice of an expert from an ancient martial arts family."

"Is that possible?"

"How else can you explain it?"

"Do you know much about him?" Zhuang Yong thought for a moment and asked.

Zhuang Changyun shook his head and said slowly, "Not really. Ever since I left Old Su's home all those years ago—that is, Su Yang's grandfather's place—I haven't seen the child again. I've only seen some photos."

"Well, after so many years, it's quite possible that your guess is spot on."

"We'll see. Anyway, no matter what, he is Old Su's grandson. Even if he can't cure my illness, don't be too harsh on him. I owe Old Su too much; he retired early from the military all because of me."

"So, regardless of what happens, take good care of Little Su in the future. If I can really live another eight or ten years, that would obviously be for the best. If not, it doesn't matter."

Zhuang Yong nodded. "Dad, I suddenly have a strong feeling that the kid might actually be able to cure you."

"Oh? I saw earlier that you didn't give him a good look. Why say this now?"

"This kid is different from most young people. He has a clear mind and is neither haughty nor humble. Anyone could hear the slight threat in my words earlier, but he wasn't afraid and even threw it back at me a bit. So, he might actually have some real skills."

"Hehe, then let's wait and see."

"Yeah, but Dad, I still have one doubt."

"Tell me."

"You wanted to see him essentially to repay his grandfather's past kindness to you, but why didn't you do this earlier?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Changyun said with some guilt and helplessness, "I devoted most of my life to the military. I could barely take care of your mother... sigh, and you, Mengmeng, and my own brothers and sisters. Let alone the grandson of an old friend?"

"To put it bluntly, I never considered these things before. Even in the years since I retired, I didn't think about it. I only wanted to spend my final years with my family."

"It wasn't until recently, when my illness became so severe that I couldn't even get out of bed, that I had plenty of time to reflect on my life. Besides all of you, there is someone else who is very important to me, so..."

Towards the end, Zhuang Changyun was struggling to catch his breath. Before he could finish, Zhuang Yong hurriedly interjected, "Dad, stop talking for now. I understand."

Zhuang Changyun nodded gently and said no more.

......

On the other side, Su Yang, Zhuang Mengli, and Guan Tianya walked out of the first-floor lobby to the entrance.

The Ghost was already parked in its previous spot, waiting.

Without saying much, the three of them opened the doors and got in.

Just like before, Su Yang sat in the passenger seat, while Zhuang Mengli and Guan Tianya sat in the back.

As soon as they were in the car, Guan Tianya said to the female driver, "Xiaotong, to the clinic."

"Okay, Elder Guan." The woman named Xiaotong skillfully turned the steering wheel and drove toward the villa's main gate.

"Little Su, which medicinal herbs do you need? Actually, wouldn't it be more convenient if you just wrote me a prescription and I had someone brew it and deliver it?" Guan Tianya looked at Su Yang in the passenger seat and asked.

Hearing this, Su Yang thought to himself, 'It won't work if you have someone else brew it. Without the Medical God's buff, even a divine elixir would be useless.'

After this thought, Su Yang replied, "No need for the trouble. I'll go take a look first."

"Alright then. Xiaotong, drive a bit faster."

"Got it." Xiaotong acknowledged. After exiting the villa area, she immediately sped up, weaving through the traffic.

Guan Tianya's clinic wasn't too far from the Tianxiang Waterfront Villa area. Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of an ordinary-looking clinic on Xipu Road.

Su Yang and the other two opened the doors and got out, and Xiaotong immediately drove the car away.

Guan Tianya looked at Su Yang, pointed to the clinic's entrance, and said, "Little Su, this is it. Let's go."

"Okay." The three of them stepped inside.

Before coming, Su Yang had thought Guan Tianya's clinic would be very luxurious. But now, it looked pretty much like any ordinary traditional Chinese medicine clinic, except it was a bit larger.

At this time, there was only a man in his thirties or forties in the shop, standing behind a counter with his head down, reading something. Hearing the noise, he looked up and, seeing Guan Tianya return, immediately said respectfully, "Master, you're back."

"Yes, came back to pick up some medicine. Go open the pharmacy in the back."

"Right away." The man jogged quickly toward the back of the shop. He reached a wooden door, pulled out a key to unlock it, and then stood to the side.

Guan Tianya looked at Su Yang and said, "Little Su, please go in."

"Okay."

Su Yang didn't say much and walked straight into the pharmacy, with Guan Tianya and Zhuang Mengli immediately following behind.

Upon entering the pharmacy, a complex scent of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs flooded Su Yang's nose. He turned his head and gave the room a rough scan.

It was just an ordinary pharmacy. It wasn't large, about twenty or thirty square meters, in a perfectly square room.

The four walls of the room were lined with cabinets for storing herbs.

These cabinets were made up of small rectangular drawers, and each small drawer had a sticky note with the name of the herb stored inside.

Su Yang slowly looked along one of the walls. Guan Tianya followed behind him, his face full of curiosity, wanting to know which herbs Su Yang would choose.

After looking for a while, Su Yang said, "Elder Guan, I'll help myself?"

"Be my guest," Guan Tianya nodded.

"Alright," Su Yang said as he walked to the table in the center of the pharmacy and picked up a medicine basket and a wooden scoop.

Then he returned to the medicine cabinet, pulled open two of the small drawers, and said, "Some Panax Notoginseng, and some Angelica Sinensis."

After taking the two herbs, Su Yang walked further and opened other drawers. "Throw in some Bupleurum, and a bit of Szechuan Lovage, Danshen, and Poria too."

Watching Su Yang casually grabbing herbs, Guan Tianya frowned in deep confusion. "Little Su, are you... sure these herbs are useful?"

"Definitely. Why would I take them if they were useless?"

"I see you're only picking common herbs. These might work for treating ordinary ailments, but Old Zhuang's illness is extremely complex and stubborn."

"Since you just took his pulse, you should know that his strange condition gradually developed from a severe internal injury he suffered in his youth, which caused a long-term stagnation of his qi and blood."

"His symptoms point to the extremely rare and difficult-to-treat Three Yin Blood Impediment Syndrome. On top of that, there are several complications. Therefore, I don't think this illness can be cured by the few ordinary medicinal herbs you just picked out, right?"

Su Yang listened silently to Guan Tianya and thought to himself, 'Hmm, this old man really knows his stuff. He even knows what the disease is.'

"Elder Guan, are you doubting me? How about you do it then?" Su Yang joked.

Hearing this, Guan Tianya was momentarily speechless. If he could do it, he would have done it long ago.

Considering how impressive Su Yang was when taking the pulse earlier, although he still had doubts, he shook his head and said, "I'm just voicing my concerns. If I could cure Old Zhuang, we wouldn't need you. So, you should go ahead."

"Then don't worry about it. Besides, I haven't finished gathering the herbs yet, have I?"

"True. Carry on then."

Su Yang smiled faintly and turned around to continue picking herbs.

Over the next few minutes, he sequentially grabbed ten different herbs. Adding the six he had taken earlier, he now had a total of sixteen bizarre traditional Chinese medicines.

At this point, Guan Tianya was getting a bit confused. At first, Su Yang had picked common herbs used for invigorating blood circulation, dispelling stasis, and calming the mind.

But later, he took some herbs that seemed completely unrelated to the previous ones.

After Su Yang finished gathering everything, Guan Tianya was utterly dumbfounded. Could these herbs really be brewed together? Decades of practicing medicine, and he was left completely baffled by Su Yang's actions over the past few minutes.

After finishing, Su Yang tilted his head, looked at Guan Tianya, and smiled, "Elder Guan, I'm done. Just these."

Guan Tianya stepped forward, glanced at the Chinese herbs in the basket, and frowned again, asking, "Are you sure the herbs you picked... can be brewed together? I just saw you grab some oleander. Do you know that this herb is toxic?"

Su Yang nodded, "I know, but that herb is the key. It won't work without it."

"Su Yang, are you... really sure about this?" Zhuang Mengli, who had been silent until now, asked uneasily after hearing about the toxic herb.

"If you guys don't believe me, I might as well leave."

"Wait, it's not that we don't believe you. It's just that in my decades of medical practice, I've never seen such a combination of herbs, so I have to ask to be sure."

"But I can't really explain it to you clearly. It's not something that can be explained in a sentence or two. Anyway, these herbs just have to be brewed together."

After saying this, Su Yang thought to himself, 'If I could explain it clearly, I would have done so already. Damn it, the main issue is that even I don't really understand why these herbs are needed. The moment I walked up to the cabinet, the names and dosages of these herbs automatically popped into my head. How am I supposed to explain that?'

Seeing that Su Yang was unwilling to explain, Guan Tianya couldn't say much more. Although oleander had a certain level of toxicity, it could naturally be used as medicine if handled properly.

He just couldn't figure out if a medicine brewed from this combination of sixteen herbs would actually work.