The Wheel-Turning Master.

Chapter 48 Peace and Trouble (Two in One)

After arguing for a long time, Pei Ning finally got the upper hand.

Firstly, she is the daughter of the national teacher, and therefore has a noble status and is the person with the highest martial arts skills; secondly, Qin Ruzhong and others are also in the wrong, after all, since the master cannot be found, there is indeed suspicion of corpse stealing.

After another night's rest, the next morning, there was a thin mist in the forest and the dew was heavy.

"Brother Qin, I am returning to Qingyang Sect this time. Do I need to tell your sister anything?"

Before leaving, Pei Ning smiled at Qin Ruzhong.

Qin Ruzhong did not answer, but just snorted coldly and glared at Lin Bai with a bad look.

"Who did I offend?" Lin Bai muttered softly.

"When you return to Huaxi County this time, please take good care of Mr. Bai and Xiuxiu." Pei Ning looked at Lin Bai.

According to Pei Ning's plan, she took the three people back to the Qingyang Sect's main mountain, while Lin Bai returned to Huaxi County.

This was decided yesterday, and Lin Bai agreed immediately.

"If I knew that you seduced a widow and defiled a good family, I would not forgive you." Pei Ning said with a smile.

Everyone was laughing quietly.

"I dare not..." Lin Bai bowed.

Pei Ning said no more and stepped forward. Lin Bai and the three gray-clothed disciples followed.

After walking two miles, Lin Bai went down the mountain to the west, while Pei Ning led the other three Qingyang Sect disciples to the east.

At noon, a forest breeze blew through the mountains and the fog dissipated.

Lin Bai no longer hid his abilities, and used his Green Bat Skill to leap over the tall trees in the mountains.

Following the same route, we headed towards Taoist Cemetery Village.

Another hurried night passed, and by the afternoon, Lin Bai finally got out of the mountain.

When he arrived at Muramasa's house, Lin Bai threw out some silver and asked them to boil water and cook.

After hanging out in the mountains these days, Lin Bai really wanted to drink some hot soup.

After eating and drinking, I took a hot bath and rested at Muramasa's house at night.

When he got up at dawn, Muramasa's daughter-in-law had prepared the meal and brought two horses over.

After the meal, Lin Bai thought about bringing some local specialties back home, so he bought some dried persimmons and walnuts in the village.

Lin Bai rode on a horse, and another horse carried a sack, and they set out on their journey home together.

When they came across a town on the way, Lin Bai bought another set of clothes. Clothes make the man, and riding a big horse, he attracted everyone's attention.

I made some more purchases along the way, but in the end it was much faster.

Lin Bai and Pei Ning had walked for five days previously, but this time they only traveled for two days before they saw the north gate of Huaxi County.

The disaster victims have dispersed, and the market is now open and bustling with people.

Lin Bai rode a horse, with a sword on his waist, a bow on his back, and a horse in his hand. He could barely be considered to be returning home in glory.

Most of the people at the market knew Lin Bai, so they all looked at him.

"Lin Zhuanlun!" someone suddenly shouted.

Lin Bai looked in the direction of the sound and saw a young man carrying a basket covered with sackcloth. It was Yun Ge'er, the man selling crisp pears.

"Brother Yun, the crisp pears are out of season. What are you selling now?" Lin Bai asked with a smile.

"Alas, I can only sell some sweet persimmons to make a living." Brother Yun sighed, lifted the sackcloth on the basket, revealing the bright red persimmons, "I can only make a little money, unlike you, who can sell your body."

"..." Lin Bai didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"You are incredible. Who in Huaxi County doesn't know your name, Lin Zhuanlun?" Yun Ge'er sighed with emotion, "From a peasant weaving mats and selling shoes, you have become a nobleman in a short time..." He seemed to have forgotten the words when he said this. He scratched his head and thought for a while, then slapped his forehead and said, "The guest of honor! Yes! The guest of honor!"

Is my reputation really that bad? Selling myself for fame? A lover?
Lin Bai sighed and felt that life was difficult.

"Lin Zhuanlun, the blind storyteller Ke said that you have been practicing since you were a child, swinging a stone hammer around every day, and that's how you developed your skills. Is that true?" Yun Ge'er asked curiously.

"What falling stone hammer?" Lin Bai was puzzled.

“What else could it be?” Yun Ge’er chuckled.

Lin Bai understood immediately, his face darkened, and he said seriously: "Brother Yun, I am appreciated by the noble because of my extraordinary medical skills, my goodness in treating gynecology, and my good character! There is no other reason!"

"Now that you've made it big, naturally what you say comes true." Yun Ge'er was carrying a basket, with an envious look on his face.

"..." Lin Bai couldn't tell him much, so he asked, "Is there anything big happening in the city recently?"

"Nothing serious." Brother Yun tilted his head and thought for a while, "The county master came out to manage the affairs, and I heard that he beat up the county master's wife; the owner of the martial arts hall in South City, Ma, challenged someone to a fight, but was ambushed by him."

"Is there anything going on at Baicaotang?" This is what Lin Bai was most concerned about.

"What's the problem?" Brother Yun looked Lin Bai up and down again and said, "The constables will go to check on you seven or eight times a day. No one dares to bully you!"

"I understand." Lin Bai nodded, lifted the reins, and said, "Then I'll leave first. I'll treat you to a drink another day."

“Don’t be impatient!” Brother Yun hurriedly stopped him, took out a bright red persimmon from the basket, and said, “Take it and eat it. This thing can nourish the kidneys!”

Lin Bai took it reluctantly, said thank you, and then rode his horse into the city.

After crossing two streets, acquaintances would greet him from time to time, but Lin Bai could always vaguely hear someone saying: Lin Zhuanlun is back from sowing.

He arrived outside Baicao Hall and dismounted.

Xiuxiu had heard the sound of horse hooves a long time ago. She held onto the door frame, with one foot on the threshold and the other foot raised inside the house, revealing half of her body, her pigtails hanging by her ears, and she kept looking outside.

Lin Bai smiled at her, Xiuxiu puffed out her lips and kept her eyes on the sack on the horse's back.

"Doctor Lin! You're back!" A patient came out of the clinic, looking anxious, and ran to Lin Bai, "Come and take a look at my wife!"

"Don't worry." Lin Bai said helplessly while tying the reins.

"How can I not be anxious? It's not easy to come here. If I wait any longer, my wife will go into menopause!" The patient said in a frustrated tone.

So exaggerated?

"..." Lin Bai felt a headache and waved to Xiuxiu, "Come and move the things."

Xiuxiu hesitated for a moment before running over and asked in a low voice, "What are they?"

"Food." Lin Bai smiled.

Xiuxiu also laughed, her face flushed.

After moving the sack into the clinic, Lin Bai bowed to Mr. Bai.

Doctor Bai smiled and nodded, but said nothing.

Lin Bai went to the back hall to wash his hands before coming back to see the patient about his infertility.

Xiuxiu brought a cup of hot tea, placed it in front of Lin Bai, then tilted her head and stared at Lin Bai.

More than half an hour later, Lin Bai finished treating the infertile patients and finally had time to talk to Doctor Bai.

"Mr. Bai, are you feeling well lately?" Lin Bai asked with concern.

"I eat a little less, but that's okay." Xiuxiu quickly replied.

"I'm fine." Mr. Bai waved his hand. "But you've been gone for nearly a month. Have you finished your work?"

"It's over." Lin Bai nodded. He knew that Mr. Bai guessed that he was not going to treat infertility, but was concerned with weapons.

"That's good," Doctor Bai stroked his beard and smiled, "Xiu Xiu missed you so much that she was thinking about when you would come back every day. She would go to the door to check on you when she had nothing to do."

"Will you leave again in the future?" Xiuxiu tilted her head and stared at Lin Bai, "People on the street say that you are going to enjoy your life and don't want to associate with us poor people anymore."

"Of course we have to enjoy life." Lin Bai stretched out his hand and pinched her little face, and said with a smile: "But you have to take Xiuxiu with you when you enjoy life. It would be boring for me to enjoy life alone." Xiuxiu was immediately overwhelmed with joy when she heard this. She jumped up and down while pulling Doctor Bai's sleeve, and said: "Look, Grandpa! I told you that he would not abandon us!"

Doctor Bai smiled and shook his head, saying, "Who was it that kept telling me that Xiaolin wanted to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, and would not go with you to collect herbs anymore?"

Xiuxiu smiled foolishly and snuggled up to Mr. Bai, seeming embarrassed.

"Xiu Xiu, I brought you something good." Lin Bai stood up and untied the sack.

"What good stuff?" Xiuxiu immediately became excited, her eyes shining.

"You love copying medical books the most, so I bought you some good pens and ink, which will make copying books much easier in the future." Lin Bai took out a paper box and handed it to Xiuxiu with a caring look on his face. "Do you like it? Open it and take a look. This ink has a nice fragrance when it is ground."

Xiuxiu took it in amazement. After being stunned for a while, she looked at Lin Bai in disbelief, then pouted and gritted her teeth.

Lin Bai pretended not to see him and chatted with Doctor Bai for some more small talk, then took Xiuxiu out with him.

The two men led the horses back to the county government office, but the bow and arrows and the long sword were left behind.

The county magistrate came out in person and wanted to invite Lin Bai to have a drink at night, but Lin Bai refused on the grounds of feeling unwell.

On the way back, Lin Bai bought two pounds of mutton, two pounds of tofu, and a braised pork knuckle for Xiuxiu.

"Did you get a lot of medical fees this time?" Xiuxiu asked with concern when she saw Lin Bai was so generous.

"Of course." Lin Bai answered seriously.

Xiuxiu tilted her head and thought for a while, then said, "I will also see patients more often in the future." She was serious and clenched her fists.

Seeing her dazed look, Lin Bai took out a small silver ingot from his purse and handed it to Xiuxiu.

"This is what you earned, why are you giving it to me?" Xiuxiu tilted her head and asked, then handed the silver back and solemnly reminded her: "You have to save it well, because you will need money to marry and have children in the future."

"Please keep it for me first." Lin Bai said.

"Ok."

Xiuxiu agreed immediately. She carefully put the silver ingot into her purse, and continued to talk like a teacher, "You have to marry a virtuous and capable wife, otherwise no amount of money will be enough to spend. The Xue family in front of our clinic married a fierce woman who beats and scolds people every day. The good family was ruined, and his sister was almost mad to death."

"Who is virtuous? You?" Lin Bai asked.

"Of course." Xiuxiu straightened her back immediately, with a smile on her face. She counted on her fingers, "She is filial to her parents, doesn't quarrel with neighbors, can cook, clean, and sew. If I'm not virtuous, who will be?" She became more and more confident. "The matchmaker on the street said that in two years, the threshold of my house will be broken by potential marriage proposals."

"You are really amazing." Lin Bai laughed and asked as he walked, "What kind of ideal husband are you planning to find?"

Xiuxiu held onto the corner of Lin Bai's clothes with one hand and followed him as he walked. She tilted her head and thought for a while, then said, "Grandpa said that we can't judge a person's character by his wealth. It's okay to be poor. As long as he can make a living, be willing to let me manage his finances, and be willing to listen to me chat every day..." When she said this, she tilted her head and looked at Lin Bai.

When they arrived at the clinic, they cooked mutton and tofu, and Xiuxiu also made two side dishes.

By the time the food was served, it was already dark.

Doctor Bai instructed Lin Bai to get the medicinal wine, pour it into a small wine glass, and drink it by the candlelight.

"Xiu Xiu is greedy. I'm afraid she will become a fat girl in the future." Doctor Bai shook his head helplessly as he saw Xiu Xiu only eating meat.

"It's better to be fatter, it makes you look richer." Lin Bai said with a smile.

"How am I fat? I've been like this for years." Xiuxiu muttered softly while picking up some food for Doctor Bai.

Doctor Bai also smiled. He looked at Xiuxiu with a loving expression on his face.

"Her mother was fat since she was a child, and she didn't lose weight until she was thirteen or fourteen. At that time, many people came to propose marriage, but she refused any of them." Doctor Bai took another sip and recalled the past. "I know she has a high ambition. Xiuxiu is the opposite of her mother. She talks a lot and has no ambition. She just wants to be a doctor, get married and have children in the future."

"Don't everyone live like this?" Xiuxiu looked at Doctor Bai in confusion, as if dissatisfied with the evaluation of "lacking ambition".

"It's not bad to live a peaceful life like this." Lin Bai smiled and poured wine for Mr. Bai.

"Yeah, it's not bad to live like this."

Doctor Bai sighed, looked at Lin Bai, and asked, "What do you want to do in the future?"

What did this mean? Lin Bai didn't understand the deep meaning. Mr. Bai had previously entrusted his son to Lin Bai, and Lin Bai had also made it clear that he would take over the pharmacy and protect Xiuxiu's safety.

"Of course I'll be a doctor." Lin Bai touched Xiuxiu's head and said, "I'll help Xiuxiu."

"I see that although you look a little vicissitudes of life when you come back this time, you are also full of energy." Mr. Bai poured a glass of wine for Lin Bai and said with a smile: "I guess you did a great job, and you also like to do those things."

Lin Bai was silent for a while and nodded.

"It doesn't really matter whether you become a doctor or not. I have the heart to practice medicine, but I can't force you." Doctor Bai's face looked even older under the candlelight. "The world is not doing well now, and there might be more trouble. It doesn't matter whether you are a doctor or not."

"Mr. Bai." Lin Bai raised his hand, wanting to take his pulse.

Mr. Bai took his hand back, shook his head and smiled, "I just drank some wine and was inspired. You don't need to care about it."

Lin Bai nodded and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Bai. Xiuxiu is my biological sister. I will take good care of her."

"I don't treat you as my sister..." Xiuxiu was picking up food to eat. When she heard this, she immediately said in a low voice, turned her gaze to Lin Bai, stared at him for a while, and then picked up some food for Lin Bai.

After chatting for a while, Lin Bai helped Mr. Bai back to his room to rest.

He then cleaned up the table with Xiuxiu and returned home at night.

When I got home, the jujube tree leaves were all over the ground.

Lin Bai didn't care. He went into the house, swept the dust, washed his face, and sat cross-legged in meditation.

The Wuji Gong has reached the seventh level. Although only a short time has passed, there has been progress.

Firstly, it was due to the effect of Sister Zhen’s pills; secondly, it was due to some insights gained during the life-and-death battle.

The progression from the seventh to the eighth level is even slower, and requires gradual accumulation before there is a chance of a breakthrough.

Lin Bai estimated that it might take more time.

After practicing hard in the stone plate for a month, Lin Bai opened his eyes and it was already dawn.

He fetched some water to wash, swept the fallen leaves in the yard into the corner, and then went out.

When we arrived at the clinic, Xiuxiu had already prepared breakfast, but she held her stomach and refused to eat, looking uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" Lin Bai asked.

Xiuxiu glanced at Doctor Bai secretly and didn't dare to say anything.

Doctor Bai sighed and said, "She got up in the morning with an empty stomach and was greedy. She ate a lot of dried persimmons while cooking the porridge."

"I heard that if you eat too many persimmons, you won't grow taller." Lin Bai smiled and tapped Xiuxiu's forehead.

"Don't lie to me. Eating too many persimmons will make you fat, cause a heavy stomach, and cause tooth decay." Xiuxiu had copied so many medical books that she could really speak fluently.

Lin Bai ignored her and just sat down to eat.

After dinner, Lin Bai cleaned up the dishes and went to the back hall to wash them, and Xiuxiu followed him.

"Are you feeling better?" Lin Bai asked with a smile.

"I still feel a little uncomfortable." Xiuxiu pressed her stomach, shook her head, and whispered, "Crack a walnut for me."

"Still eating? Your stomach doesn't hurt anymore?" Lin Bai asked.

"Persimmons are cold in nature, while walnuts are warm in nature. If we harmonize the yin and yang, maybe it will be fine." Xiuxiu's words really make sense.

"You're just greedy, right?" Lin Bai laughed.

Xiuxiu smiled brightly and whispered, "Don't tell Grandpa."

Lin Bai thought of what Doctor Bai said last night and nodded slightly.

In the next half month, Lin Bai worked in the clinic during the day and practiced internal skills at night. When he had free time, he took Xiuxiu into the mountains to pick sour jujubes and look for some medicinal herbs, and ignored other trivial matters.

Another month passed like this, and the weather was getting colder in late autumn, but Pei Ning still didn't return.

(End of this chapter)