Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 453 Little Hobbies

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed since the worship of the Ancestor of Medicine at the Three Emperors Temple. The entire city of Suzhou has gradually stabilized from the hidden storms.

During this period, several more medical clinic owners from the Ancestral Master Association were imprisoned and subsequently interrogated by the prefect, and all were punished according to their crimes.

This not only resulted in a large sum of money in the prefect's treasury, but also made the remaining medical clinics as docile as trembling quails, treating Niu Yi's words as if they were imperial edicts.

On the other hand, the news that Niu Guangyi, the new head of the Three Emperors Ancestral Master Association, offered incense on the day of the Three Emperors Temple worship ceremony, which led to the miracle of the Medicine Ancestor, has spread throughout the country in a short period of time, and even the current emperor has heard of it.

For a time, countless people came to seek medical treatment. Even though Niu Yi immediately set a rule that he would only hold consultations for three days every half month, this still did not diminish people's enthusiasm.

The main reason is that Niu Yi's medical skills are undeniable. Even what others consider terminal illnesses can be miraculously cured in his hands, which makes people even more frenzied.

Seeing that he was severely short-handed, Niu Yi simply called Bai Suzhen to help. He also selected some promising talents from the Patriarchal Society, regardless of their status, and trained them alongside Xu Xian. They made rapid progress during this time, but it would still take some time before they could truly stand on their own.
At this moment, Niu Yi was in Baohe Hall, watching the government officials carrying boxes into the room.

Before long, as the room was filled with tightly sealed wooden crates, Prefect Chen, who was sitting opposite Niu Yi, waved his hand and dismissed the servants.

"Alright, everyone get out. During my meeting with Chief Niu, no one is allowed to approach this place."

"Yes!"

As the constables responded in unison and left the room, only Niu Yi and Prefect Chen remained, sitting opposite each other in the now somewhat cramped space.

"Your Excellency, what is this?"

“Chief Niu, I’ve come to realize over this period that you are no ordinary person, so I’ll be frank.”

Prefect Chen looked at Niu Yi across from him with a complicated expression, and cupped his hands in greeting:
"Chief Niu, these things were found in those clinics, not a single penny was missing, they are all here. I will now hand them over to you, Chief Niu, and you shall handle everything!"

"Oh? Prefect Chen means..."

Prefect Chen shook his head with a wry smile and said:
"To be honest, Chief Niu, when I saw this gold and silver a few days ago, I couldn't resist having some wicked thoughts. It's a pity that I've aspired to be a good official since childhood, and I've read countless books, but in the end, I almost lost my true nature."

"Fortunately, at the Three Emperors Temple that day, the God of Medicine manifested his divine power. I suddenly woke up that day and realized I had almost gone the wrong way. Even now, I often wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat."

"At my age, how could I not know that once you take that step, the bottom line in your heart will be widened again and again, and eventually you will go further and further away and there will be no turning back."

Chen Lun let out a heavy sigh, as if all the torment and suppressed emotions of the past long period of time were released with this breath, and he felt much lighter.

Chen Lun stroked his beard and smiled, then stood up and bowed to Niu Yi once more.

"I have witnessed Chief Niu's character and abilities during this time. I will entrust all these things to Chief Niu. I believe that the existence that can make the Ancestor of Medicine manifest will not disappoint me. Chief Niu, I will take my leave now."

As Chen Lun spoke, a smile appeared on his face, and he left the room with light steps, leaving only Niu Yi and the room full of gold and silver treasures behind. "This Chen Lun is quite interesting. He has had a great awakening this time. If he can continue like this, it shouldn't be a problem for him to be appointed as the City God of Suzhou in the future."

Niu Yi watched Chen Lun leave and nodded slightly in approval, but his expression quickly turned strange again.

"But this faith came far too quickly; it's not what I wanted at all."

Niu Yi opened his palm, and a golden vortex of mist was slowly rotating. This was the medical fortune and divine faith of this world.

"It seems there's a bit of trouble."

According to Niu Yi's original plan, he intended to build up the prototype of the Ancestral Master Association and train a group of followers before handing it over to Xu Xian, letting Xu Xian bear the faith and fortune, while he himself would disappear from people's sight and focus on cultivating Taoism.

After all, his identity as an outsider had been discovered long ago, and he must have been registered in the heavens. It was best for him to avoid contact with the beliefs and gods of this world. He had no interest in such karma, and besides, this world was different from the previous one, and cultivation did not actually require these things.

But now, because of the miraculous appearance of the Patriarch of Medicine, his reputation has become known to many. The speed at which his name has spread has even piqued the interest of the emperor, who intends to invite him to the palace for an audience.

And this faith and fortune have been flowing towards him continuously during this period, slowly gathering around him.

"However, so much time has passed, and there has been no movement in the heavens. Guanyin Bodhisattva has not appeared either. Could it be that she has been taken away by Shennong?"

After thinking for a moment, Niu Yi slowly shook his head, stood up, and looked at Xiao Qing, who had been hiding beside him using invisibility magic and had appeared at this moment.

"Miss Xiaoqing, I gave you quite a bit of gold and silver a few days ago, why are you interested in these things again today?"

Xiao Qing, who was holding a handful of gold bars with a big smile on her face, rolled her eyes upon hearing this, turned around, and looked at Niu Yi, saying:
"Hey~ Doctor Niu~ Others may fear you, but I don't. You've been ordering me around the whole time. I've been running around like crazy keeping an eye on those clinics to prevent them from cheating. It's only right that I get paid for this!"

Niu Yi chuckled and nodded.

"Alright, alright, you should take them, you should take them. Take whatever you like."

"But from now on, we'll have to trouble you, Miss Xiaoqing, for the next period of time. The people in the Ancestral Master Association all listen to you now, and we'll have to trouble you both at home and outside."

Xiaoqing put her hands on her hips and said smugly:
"Of course! Look at this, it was me, Little Qing, who personally took charge. Those people started calling me 'Grandma' the moment they saw me. How about that? Now you've seen my abilities, haven't you?"

This little green snake
Niu Yi shook his head, deciding to let the little girl choose for herself.

How come he hadn't noticed the other party's potential for greed? But these were just some mundane things; if they were in his possession, he could take them, as long as he didn't take anything from others.

And although this little girl is a bit eccentric, she is also kind-hearted. As long as someone is watching her, she is quite capable. She has a few small hobbies and is content with that.

(End of this chapter)