A top star in the Chinese entertainment industry, but also a Taoist priest.

Chen Shouyi put down his teacup, looked at him, and didn't say anything.

Fang Xu felt a little uncomfortable under his unhurried gaze and gave a dry laugh:

"Master, please don't look at me like that, it's making me feel uneasy."

"Please speak frankly, Benefactor Fang," Chen Shouyi said calmly. "This humble Taoist does not eat people."

Fang Xu paused for a moment, then laughed, which eased the atmosphere somewhat. He picked up his teacup and took another sip, as if to bolster his courage, then leaned closer to the table and lowered his voice.

"To be honest, I came to Hengdian this time not just to talk to Director Lin about TV series."

Chen Shouyi's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"That guy Zhao Mingyuan was drinking with me the other day, and he was bragging about how you're not only amazing at feng shui, but also a master healer," Fang Xu said, laughing to himself.

"Master, please don't blame him for being talkative. I made him drink half a jin of wine before he spoke up."

Chen Shouyi thought to himself, "Oh, no wonder Zhao Mingyuan mentioned in front of him in the shed that morning, 'The Taoist priest's methods of conditioning the body are also superb.' It turns out he wasn't just saying it casually; he was passing on a message to Fang Xu."

Old Zhao certainly knows how to do favors.

"I went to the shed this morning, supposedly to observe, but actually—" Fang Xu paused, then smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "I just wanted to see the Taoist priest in person. Zhao Mingyuan didn't expect me to come so soon."

Chen Shouyi nodded, indicating that he understood, maintaining his calm demeanor, but inwardly he was calculating:

For the vice president of Juku to make a special trip from Shanghai to Hengdian just to bump into him, this illness must be quite serious.

"Mr. Fang, please tell me, what illness do you have?"

Fang Xu took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision, and moved his chair forward again:

"Master, I have some health problems..."

Chen Shouyi remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I've been to several major hospitals in Shanghai," Fang Xu said in a low voice, his gaze unconsciously falling onto the table.

"I booked appointments with specialists at Ruijin, Huashan, and Zhongshan hospitals. I've had a ton of tests done and taken a lot of medication."

He paused for a moment.

"None of them work."

Chen Shouyi nodded: "What exactly are your symptoms, benefactor?"

Fang Xu opened his mouth, then closed it again. He glanced at the door of the private room, which was tightly closed.

"I'm thirty-six this year." Fang Xu looked away, lowering his voice even further. "We've been married for so many years, but we still don't have any children."

Chen Shouyi remained silent.

"At first I thought it was her problem." Fang Xu's fingers started twirling the cup again, this time faster than before. "Later... I secretly went to investigate."

His fingers suddenly stopped.

"It's my problem."

Chen Shouyi looked at him but didn't rush to speak.

He had seen too many people come seeking medical treatment, but it was already quite remarkable that someone of Fang Xu's status would sit down and speak out.

For a vice president of a film and television company, a prominent figure in the industry, if this kind of thing gets out, he will lose more than just face.

"What did the hospital say?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"It's a sperm problem." Fang Xu said this without ever looking at Chen Shouyi.

"The quantity is enough, but... the quality is not good. The doctor said it's due to insufficient sperm motility, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason. Anyway, I just can't get pregnant."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip, as if trying to suppress something within himself.

"I've been trying various treatments for over half a year, including both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. My indicators went up for a while, but then they dropped again."

Chen Shouyi hummed in agreement, signaling him to continue.

"To be honest, I'm outside..." Fang Xu trailed off, then tapped his fingers twice on the table. "...with two...friends. Nothing's happened."

After saying this, he seemed to relax considerably, leaning back in his chair and looking at Chen Shouyi.

"Master, I've tried everything."

Chen Shouyi didn't say anything; he could roughly guess how Fang Xu had gotten here.

At first, I didn't take it seriously, thinking I was still young and there was no rush.

Then came the doubts, yet the fear of investigating, for fear that the problem might actually be their own.

Then I secretly checked, and the moment I got the report, my mind went blank.

What followed was a long journey seeking medical treatment, going from one hospital to another, from one specialist to another, each time beginning with hope and ending in disappointment.

The psychological defenses of such people are actually almost completely worn away.

"Benefactor Fang," Chen Shouyi spoke, "extend your hand."

Fang Xu was stunned for a moment, then quickly reached his hand across the table, palm up.

Instead of examining his palm lines like one would read palms, Chen Shouyi placed three fingers on his wrist.

The posture looked similar to a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner taking a pulse, and Fang Xu didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

But in reality, the moment Chen Shouyi touched it, a wisp of extremely subtle spiritual energy had already seeped into his fingertip.

This is a method recorded in the "Huangdi Neijing Xiuzhen Jue" (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Landscape Cultivation Secrets). It uses spiritual energy as a guide, following the meridians, to observe the fullness or deficiency of qi and blood in the human body, and the prosperity or decline of the internal organs.

As spiritual energy entered his body, Chen Shouyi closed his eyes.

The condition inside Fang Xu's body unfolded in his mind like a map.

When the liver meridian is congested, the flow of qi is obstructed.

The kidney meridian is stagnant due to cold, and the fire of the gate of life is weak.

Especially in the kidney meridian section, the flow of spiritual energy is noticeably sluggish, as if silt has accumulated in a riverbed.

The problem was indeed with the kidneys, but it differed from the diagnosis made at major hospitals.

It's not a problem with the sperm. Insufficient sperm motility is just a symptom.

The real root cause of the illness is a cold pathogen in the kidney meridian. This cold pathogen entered the body at some unknown time and has been lingering deep in the kidney meridian, suppressing the fire of life gate.

Without sufficient yang energy to propel it, kidney water cannot be transformed into essence, and thus conception is impossible.

It's like a pot with no fire underneath; no matter how much water you add, it won't boil.

The medicines prescribed by the hospital are like water in a pot, but the real problem is that there's no fire in the stove.

Chen Shouyi opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

This disease cannot be cured using ordinary methods.

He did have a method. Using spiritual energy as a guide, he would use acupuncture to expel the cold evil, and then use warming and tonifying medicinal herbs to slowly cultivate yang energy. It would take about three months to see results.

But it's very troublesome.

Using spiritual energy to heal is quite taxing for him now, and the acupuncture point treatment requires at least four sessions.

Chen Shouyi tapped his fingers lightly on the table, lost in thought.

Should we take this job?

Not worth it?

Fang Xu looked at him, not daring to breathe.

After taking his pulse, the Taoist priest maintained this expression: a furrowed brow, his gaze fixed on the teacup, and he would occasionally shake his head slightly.

Fang Xu's heart sank as well.

He's a worldly man; what's he most afraid of when seeking medical treatment?

I'm not afraid of doctors talking, I'm afraid of doctors not talking, and I'm even more afraid of doctors shaking their heads while examining me.

He recalled the information his assistant had looked up earlier; this Master Qingquan truly possessed great skill.

The more accomplished a person is, the less likely they are to make a big fuss.

But if an expert shakes their head, then there's a really big problem.

Fang Xu's fingers clenched tightly under the table, his palms sweating profusely.

He didn't dare to urge them and could only wait.

After a long while, Chen Shouyi finally snapped out of his thoughts and smacked his lips.

"Your illness, benefactor—"

Fang Xu immediately leaned forward.

"There is cold pathogens lingering in your kidney meridian," Chen Shouyi said directly, without beating around the bush.

"This cold evil entered your body at some unknown time and has been pressing down on your Mingmen point. The fire of your Mingmen point is suppressed by the cold evil and cannot warm your kidney water, so although you can have sexual intercourse, you cannot conceive."

Fang Xu only half understood what he was hearing, but he grasped the meaning of the words "cold evil".

"Master, do you mean... this isn't a sperm problem?"

"Insufficient sperm motility is a symptom," Chen Shouyi said. "The root cause lies in cold pathogens. The medicines the hospital prescribed replenish kidney water, but your fundamental problem is a lack of fire in your 'life gate' (a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine). If you add water to a pot but don't add fire, the water will always be cold."

Fang Xu was stunned.

He visited dozens of hospitals, but not a single doctor had ever said anything like that to him.

But for some reason, when these words came from the mouth of the young Taoist priest in front of him, he believed them.

"Master Daoist—"

His voice trembled slightly.

"Master, is there any cure for my illness?"

Chen Shouyi glanced at him, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip slowly.

Fang Xu watched the Taoist priest drink tea, then suddenly realized what was happening and quickly said:

"Master, as long as you can cure him, the donations and incense offerings are negotiable! Don't worry, I, Fang Xu, am not an unreasonable person."