Go and capture those thirty-six fierce villains.

Qin Ning nodded in return.

Two more people appeared behind the other party. One was shaped like a pumpkin hammer that had come to life, and the other looked no different from an ordinary person, except that he had a silly smile on his face.

Strangely, the thumping sound that shook the floorboards actually came from beneath the feet of the laughing man.

Watching the strange three people walk to the window and sit down, Qin Ning withdrew his gaze.

"These three look like they're not to be messed with."

First floor lobby.

Snapped!

The gavel struck, drawing everyone's attention. On the small platform downstairs, a young storyteller had appeared out of nowhere.

This person neither paused for words nor recited a prelude poem; he simply began to speak.

"It is said that decades ago, a great battle that shook heaven and earth took place here! The battle was so fierce that countless lives were lost, and rivers of blood flowed. After the battle, blood rained down on this place for thirty days, and the fortress was renamed Blood Rain Fortress."

"Gentlemen, do you know who participated in that great battle?"

Qin Ning clicked her tongue, looked at the young man, who was only about twenty years old, on the stage downstairs, and shook her head.

That's a very stiff way of speaking.

Besides, Baiweilou is full of diners; who would come up here and start talking in such a bloody and raucous way?

Sure enough, no one answered the young storyteller's question. Instead, some diners complained:

"Don't you have any sense? Why are you talking about blood and killing while we're eating? Tell me something nice."

"Yes, to put it nicely, 'The Monk with the Lampwick' is quite good."

"The Legend of Ruyi Jun would also be fine, hahaha."

The young storyteller was clearly unfamiliar with these two masterpieces. He scratched his head, a forced smile flashing across his face.

At this point, the proprietress of Baiweilou quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

She stood on the stage, one hand on her hip, and the other gesturing towards the people who were speaking.

"A bunch of shameless old men, all they do is go to brothels when they want women. This Baiweilou is a place to eat!"

The diners who had just made lewd remarks fell silent instantly.

It is illegal for waiters to assault customers... Suddenly, a slogan posted on the wall of a restaurant decades ago popped into Qin Ning's mind.

Feng Hanying, however, was not surprised: "This place is a melting pot of all sorts of people. Anyone who can open a shop here has to be pretty capable to survive."

Qin Ning agreed, picked up a slice of braised beef and fed it to the little black cat, saying, "Indeed, but being good at it alone probably isn't enough."

"The proprietress's younger brother is a commander of a thousand men in Blood Rain Fortress."

No wonder... Qin Ning raised an eyebrow, and after a few more curses from downstairs, the young storyteller's voice rang out again.

Well... he didn't continue talking about the big battle, and instead told a story about a talented scholar and a beautiful woman.

After the two finished their meal and went downstairs, the fiery-tempered proprietress, seeing Qin Ning's face, made a few teasing remarks and gave them a 10% discount.

Feng Hanying, however, acted unusually and insisted on paying the original price.

The two left Baiweilou and stood on the street.

"Shall we take a stroll around the castle this afternoon?"

"Let's go to the market we just passed and come with me to buy some things."

Feng Hanying asked in confusion, "What do you want to buy?"

Qin Ning: "The items we set up at the stall will have to stay here for seven days; we can't just leave them sitting there doing nothing."

"Then you want it?"

"Practicing medicine, treating patients."

Refining the plague energy can improve physical fitness, and practicing medicine can earn money. With money, one can buy elixirs like the Qi-replenishing pill. Refining similar elixirs can further improve physical fitness.

Therefore, practicing medicine is truly a way for Qin Ning to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"I'll die..."

The expression on the Daoist Master's face when he said those words was etched into his mind.

Qin Ning didn't want any ominous creature to come knocking on his door one day, leaving him just as powerless as he had been when facing the phantom of the Taotie.

......

three days later.

Southeast corner of Blood Rain Fort Market.

A huge queue had formed in front of a small stall.

At the finish line of the procession was Qin Ning, who was holding silver needles and giving acupuncture to someone with a gentle smile.

When he first set up his stall, no one paid any attention to him, and the neighboring merchants also looked down on him with disdain, watching the spectacle unfold.

Although it was the season when autumn and winter were approaching and colds were common, most of the people living in Blood Rain Fortress were merchants or military families.

Most people can just tough it out with minor illnesses, but for serious illnesses, those with money go to clinics, while those without money simply wait to die.

Who would come to the market to find a quack doctor like him?

Even if he claims to be a seventh-rank physician, someone still needs to believe him.

However, who is Qin Ning? He is a fine young man who has experienced all kinds of marketing tricks and consumer traps in his previous life!

After launching a series of marketing tactics such as "no money if you can't get better," "free for the first five people each day," "effective with just one injection without needing medicine," and "the renowned doctor only stays here for seven days," the company launched a series of marketing campaigns.

His stall was instantly packed with customers!

On the first day, its fame spread throughout the market; on the second day, it became famous throughout East Street and some brothels; and on the third day, it became famous throughout half of Blood Rain Fortress.

"Here's 50 coins. When you get home, try not to catch a cold and eat more meat to nourish your body."

Qin Ning put away the needles and spoke to the plainly dressed old man in front of him. The man thanked her profusely, put 50 copper coins into the small wooden basin on the table, helped his now-recovered wife up, and slowly left through the crowd.

The old woman had contracted a cold in her lungs and had been taking medicine for months without getting better.

Now, thanks to Qin Ning's acupuncture, he has stopped coughing altogether, and naturally deserves this immense gratitude.

"Next, where does it hurt?"

"Doctor, I feel a tightness in my chest."

Looking at the alluring woman in front of him, Qin Ning frowned. "You don't have to work during the day, so you can't all come here to mess with me."

This was the first time he had experienced the disadvantages of his appearance.

No one knows who spread it, but starting the next day, women from brothels who were perfectly healthy but pretended to be sick started coming to his stall to join in the fun.

"Chest tightness is easy to treat, 20 taels of silver, and the ailment will be cured with a single needle."

The flirtatious woman hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, "12 taels and 7 mace..." She glanced down at the purse in her hand, "Would 12 taels and 7 mace, and 12 cash be alright, Doctor?"

Qin Ning: "...?"

No... this is all the hard-earned money you make every single day...

"no."

"Oh~"

The flirtatious woman left in disappointment.

After treating more than a dozen people, Qin Ning felt that he could no longer store the plague energy in his body, and he also had little strength and true energy to activate the [Divine Power: Devouring] again. Only then did he call for the people in the back of the line to disperse.

He poured the silver coins from the small wooden basin into his satchel.

A middle-aged man wearing a royal blue jacket, with a few strands of gray hair at his temples, sat down opposite him with great familiarity.

Qin Ning showed no surprise, because this wasn't the first time the other party had come.

Back when he first set up his stall and wasn't famous yet, this man, whom he had met once at Baiweilou, appeared after he left and sat opposite him just like now, chatting with him about medical theories for more than half an hour.

"Meishan, pay up."

"Yes."

Snapped!

A silver ingot weighing about 30 taels was slammed onto the table by the man who was laughing maniacally.

"go back."

"Yes."

This group of people didn't take advantage of others for free; they always paid 30 taels of silver each time, and they didn't talk much, only discussing medical matters each time.

The man with graying temples asked softly.

"When one is suffering from external wind-cold or wind-heat in its early stages, and the extent of the pathogenic influence on the body's vital energy is unclear, hastily administering medication, acupuncture, or sweating may easily lead to overdose and depletion of the body's vital energy. How should this be addressed?"

"Once the illness has subsided, sweating should be induced in moderation. If the pulse is slow or floating, then... If after sweating the pulse becomes calm and the body cools down, it means the pathogenic factor has been eliminated and the body is at peace. If the pulse remains rapid, sweating should not be continued, and treatment should be based on the specific symptoms."

"A child's internal organs are delicate, and both yin and yang are immature..."

"By observing their eyes, one can determine good or bad fortune; by listening to their voice, one can discern their belly..."

The two exchanged questions and answers, and half an hour passed quickly, as the market gradually became less crowded.

After asking the last question, Physician Yang smiled and nodded, then got up and led the two away.

Throughout the entire process, aside from asking some questions related to medicine, he didn't say a single extra word.

Watching the three figures depart, Qin Ning frowned and put the thirty taels of silver on the table into his satchel.

"This money is too easy to make... I wonder who these three are. Once we get our travel permits, we should leave this place as soon as possible."

He had considered simply not setting up a stall, but he was afraid of causing some unpredictable situation.

As the saying goes, if a program can run, it's best not to touch it, even if it has bugs.

We returned to the inn as the sun set.

Upon reaching the room door, Feng Hanying, hearing the commotion, pushed open the door and pulled Qin Ning inside.

What's going on...? Has this woman finally decided to make a move on me?