Hearing the sound, both the fat old man and the thin old man turned their heads simultaneously. When they saw two extra people materializing out of thin air in the room, they were instantly startled, nearly crying out.

How could two more people suddenly be here? How did they get in?

They knew the only way into this room was that narrow doorway, yet they had been staring intently the entire time and hadn't seen a single living soul, not even a fly. This was uncanny, truly uncanny!

"Little Xiu, can you check this man's illness?" Kaini also approached, getting straight to the point.

Zhong Shenxiu merely glanced over, his gaze finally settling on Huniu, and he commanded calmly, "Stick out your hand!"

Huniu was clearly thrown off by the instruction, looking somewhat bewilderedly at Kaini and Niuniu.

"Huniu, do as Brother Xiu says, he won't harm you!" the Huniu beside her urged.

Huniu hesitated for a moment, then finally extended her small arm.

"Slight infection!" Zhong Shenxiu murmured to himself first, then asked, "Do you often feel very itchy all over?"

Huniu nodded. She felt that this young boy, not much older than her, seemed to possess a magical power that compelled her to cooperate without resistance.

"Little Xiu, you mean Huniu is also..." Kaini next to him sounded surprised, realizing that her focus had been entirely on Huniu's father, and she hadn't investigated Huniu's condition at all.

Although Zhong Shenxiu only nodded slightly, the fat old man and the thin old man were not fools; they immediately understood something from the exchange. A visible shock crossed their faces, and they rushed to Huniu's side.

"Huniu, let Grandpa take a look!" the fat old man urged anxiously.

He genuinely adored the child Huniu; in this desolate Pingyan Town, she brought him much joy. He certainly didn't want anything to happen to her. The thin old man next to him shared the same sentiment, and both moved quickly to examine her.

But after checking and rechecking, the result was that Huniu was perfectly healthy, completely free of any viral infection.

What was going on? Was he deliberately trying to make fun of them?

The fat old man and the thin old man both glared at Zhong Shenxiu with disapproval, but he merely offered a faint smile. Then, under their stunned gaze, he flicked out a beam of light that enveloped Huniu.

The light didn't last long, flashing and vanishing. But even so, Huniu clearly felt an indescribable comfort, as if her entire body was suddenly infused with vitality.

"Can you decoct medicine?" Zhong Shenxiu ignored the two old men's petrified expressions and asked Huniu again.

Huniu hadn't recovered from her shock yet and only managed an instinctive nod.

Zhong Shenxiu said nothing more. As if performing a conjuring trick, he produced several herbs and presented them to Huniu. "Put all these herbs together into the pot, simmer them slowly over a low fire, and only remove them after half an hour."

As he spoke, he intentionally paused, glancing at the two old men before continuing, "You can find these herbs nearby. For your father's current condition, just one dose will suffice!"

Huniu quickly accepted them, a tearful smile blooming on her face, and bowed deeply to Zhong Shenxiu. "Thank you, little brother!"

Huniu was joyful, but the fat old man and the thin old man beside her were terrified.

"Th-this... what is this?" Looking at the herbs in Huniu's hand, the fat old man's pupils dilated again.

"You... you intend to use these poisonous grasses as medicine?" The thin old man also showed a look of utter horror.

"Is that not allowed?" Zhong Shenxiu looked at them, his expression still placid.

While Zhong Shenxiu could have instantly cured Huniu's father with his abilities, the principle of 'teaching a man to fish' was better than 'giving a man a fish.' He was indirectly revealing the method to treat this virus to them!

"Don't you know these poisonous grasses contain potent toxins? How can you give them to someone to take?" the fat old man said, thoroughly exasperated.

It was understandable that he was so agitated. Huniu's father had finally stabilized thanks to Kaini's treatment, who knew that this child popping up from nowhere would bring out these deadly poisons, and even intended to let Huniu personally prepare the decoction? Did he plan for Huniu to poison her own father?

Facing the fat old man's questioning, a smile curled at the corner of Zhong Shenxiu's lips, and he countered with a question: "Have you never heard of fighting poison with poison?"

The fat old man was momentarily stunned. Of course, he understood the principle of 'using poison to counteract poison,' but this wasn't something that could be employed casually. Without expert knowledge of the properties of the poisonous grasses and the very nature of the ailment, reckless use would only compound the poisoning!

※※※※※※

Meanwhile, Leorien and Laorei had returned, but they looked utterly dejected. It seemed the impact Zhong Shenxiu had on him was significant.

Even after half a day of deep contemplation, his mind remained a mess; none of the bizarre events could be sorted out!

He glanced up outside; it was already dusk. He wondered if the fat old man and the thin old man had returned? On his way here, he had stopped by the apothecary but found it empty, not a single person inside!

"Sir, where are you going?" Laorei, walking beside him, followed as Leorien got up to leave.

Laorei found it quite strange himself; how could he have recovered from such severe injuries so quickly? And what happened to that Scarlet-tailed Lizard?

He had asked Leorien, but Leorien at the time was so preoccupied that he hadn't heard the question at all. Laorei was generally a simple-minded man; even if he felt confused, he wouldn't waste many brain cells over it, as long as Leorien was safe.

"I'm going to check the apothecary. You should rest well here!" Leorien paused.

"Sir, I'll go with you!" Laorei still looked uneasy.

Leorien said no more, tacitly agreeing. The two walked extremely slowly, taking a long time to reach the door of the apothecary.

Pushing the door open, they found the fat old man and the thin old man seated at a table, deeply engrossed in studying something, completely unaware that someone had entered.

"What are you looking at?" Leorien asked casually.

The two old men turned their heads simultaneously. Upon seeing Leorien, they were first taken aback, then overjoyed, and quickly stood up.

"Physician Leorien, you're back!"

"Mm," Leorien nodded, then his gaze fell upon the small porcelain vial on the table.

"Physician Leorien, the thin old man and I encountered something incredibly bizarre today!" the fat old man said, maintaining a mysterious and serious air.

"Oh? What was it?" Leorien showed little reaction, as he too had encountered something bizarre today.

"Huniu's father is cured!" the fat old man said, forcefully suppressing his excitement.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would hardly have accepted the fact. He truly hadn't expected that young man could cure Huniu's father using just those poisonous grasses. It was too miraculous; it even made him feel that the young man's medical skill far surpassed that of Physician Leorien. Could this be the so-called 'there is always someone better'?

"Oh!" Leorien first nodded, then seemed to jolt awake, his eyes widening as he asked, "Wh-what did you just say?"

"Huniu's father is cured, treated by several masters from out of town!" the thin old man interjected.

"Cured?" A certain place in Leorien's heart felt as if it had been struck by electricity; he froze completely.

He had personally diagnosed Huniu's father's condition. Although it hadn't reached the point of complete deterioration, it was already far advanced. For a condition that severe to be cured—was this even something humans could achieve?

"If we hadn't seen it ourselves, we wouldn't believe it. It was truly..." The fat old man momentarily couldn't find the right words to describe it.

For some reason, Leorien's mind was suddenly flashed with the images of Zhong Shenxiu and Robin.

At that time, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin had vanished into thin air. He had been pondering where those two masters had gone. Now, hearing the fat old man and the thin old man speak, could it be that they had also encountered those two masters?

"Tell me exactly what happened," Leorien suddenly became interested, his expression turning serious.

Although the questions in his mind remained unanswered, one thing he was certain of: he desperately wanted to see those two masters again!

The fat old man and the thin old man dared not hide anything and quickly recounted everything that had happened that day in detail.

After listening to their narration, Leorien was eighty percent certain that the two people who had appeared out of nowhere were the same two masters he had encountered in the forest!

With this realization, Leorien became even more eager to meet Zhong Shenxiu and Robin again!

"Oh, Physician Leorien, this is the elixir the lady gifted us. She used one pill of this to pull Huniu's father out of the critical period!" the fat old man said while picking up the small porcelain vial from the table.

The thin old man added, "We studied this for a long time just now but couldn't figure out its composition! Physician Leorien, can you examine what it's refined from?"

Leorien took the small porcelain vial with a solemn expression, gently pulled out the stopper, and poured one pill into his palm. He first brought it close to his nose to smell it, then examined it closely.

The fat old man and the thin old man dared not disturb him, barely daring to breathe. After all, Leorien was now their last hope!

Time did not make them wait long. A gasp suddenly escaped Leorien's lips, followed by a soft murmur:

"This... this is impossible, how could this be achieved?"

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