Zhang Yang froze abruptly. As far as he knew, his great-grandfather hadn't passed away until after the founding of the PRC, and he had treated many people, often traveling with his grandfather when he was young, healing the sick everywhere they went.

"Yes, sacrificed. He was sacrificed. He was so young, unmarried, and he gave his life for us useless people. We are the ones who should die, not him!"

Once the old man's tears began to flow, they could not be stopped. He wept even harder at this point, bowing his head low.

Zhang Yang stood there, completely stunned.

He had heard many stories about his great-grandfather from his grandfather. His great-grandfather's medical skills were once renowned, earning him the nickname the 'Living Hua Tuo.' Unfortunately, he was a restless soul who loved to wander.

According to his grandfather, the great-grandfather had saved countless people over the years, from common folk to high-ranking officials. Given the great-grandfather's disposition, saving Master Xie and his entourage during the war years would have been entirely normal.

However, his grandfather had never mentioned that the great-grandfather ever fought the 'devils' (Japanese soldiers), let alone that he had been sacrificed.

"Wait a minute," Zhang Yang suddenly recalled something and asked urgently, "You said he—he wasn't married? Are you sure he never married?"

Zhang Yang had a sudden thought. He knew his great-grandfather married during the war years, though he didn't know the exact year. Judging by his grandfather's age, it must have been after the War of Resistance.

At the very least, his grandfather was born after the war.

"Yes, he hadn't married yet. I know he was the only male heir in the family. To leave just like that, without marrying—it was all our fault for bringing disaster upon him!"

Old Master Xie was still crying. This was a secret he had buried for decades; he would never have spoken of it if not for Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang was utterly bewildered.

From the moment Old Master Xie started speaking, Zhang Yang sensed that the man he was referring to was his own great-grandfather. There couldn't be so many coincidences, especially since people skilled in both ancient martial arts and medicine were rare.

Dying unmarried—this completely contradicted everything Zhang Yang knew.

Although his great-grandfather hadn't lived to be ancient, he had sired his grandfather. Later, during the turmoil, he was persecuted for his habit of saving people everywhere and eventually passed away.

Zhang Yang had never met him, but these facts were certain.

Zhang Yang suddenly remembered a crucial question and asked again, "Old Master Xie, can you be certain he was sacrificed? Or, did you witness his sacrifice with your own eyes?"

"I can be certain. I saw the Japanese machine gun fire hit him. Later, several comrades and I secretly recovered his body and buried him. He—he died because of us!"

The old man started weeping again, and Zhang Yang grew even more confused.

Dead. Definitely dead. Even recovering the body was the best possible proof.

That meant the history of his great-grandfather in this world was different from his previous life. At least in his previous life, his great-grandfather had not died due to wartime conflict.

He then recalled the sentence the System had spoken.

In this world, people closely connected to him would disappear. Zhang Yang now understood what 'disappear' meant.

Without the great-grandfather, naturally, there would be no grandfather, no father, and consequently, no Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang didn't know how to feel right now; his very existence had caused his grandfather and parents never to materialize. This seemed like too high a price.

"Doctor Zhang, I must admit, I am very curious where you learned your medical skills. You are so much alike. If I didn't know he was an only child with no brothers, and that the medicine was a family tradition, I would truly believe you are a descendant of his lineage!"

The old man's mood had calmed slightly. Tears still streamed down his face, but not as violently as before.

For him, this was a release. Speaking aloud words he had never shared with anyone in decades felt different. He couldn't tell these things to others, couldn't tell his own descendants, yet speaking them to Zhang Yang felt so natural, as if Zhang Yang should have known all along.

"My medical skills were taught by an old Daoist priest. Perhaps... perhaps this Daoist priest had some other connection to your benefactor!"

Zhang Yang managed a stiff smile, quickly picking up his needles again to continue the treatment. The preceding events had deeply unsettled him, nearly making him forget his primary task.

"I think that must be it. My benefactor said it was a family legacy, and he was an only son, but he never mentioned if he had uncles, or if his father had other disciples. Your needling technique is so similar, the movements so alike—I believe you must be related!"

The old man nodded gently. Zhang Yang gave him an overwhelmingly familiar feeling, and he trusted this intuition, believing that even if Zhang Yang wasn't the benefactor's direct descendant, there had to be a connection.

His guess was simultaneously right and wrong. Zhang Yang was the descendant of his benefactor, the direct lineage, but the unfortunate truth was that Zhang Yang's connection stemmed from the previous life; in this life, there was no connection at all.

"Old man, what else did that person tell you?"

Zhang Yang softly inquired while inserting needles. He held an indescribable feeling in his heart; he understood much more now.

According to what the System had said, everyone connected to him would vanish, regardless of the cause—they simply wouldn't exist in this world anymore.

It was like his grandfather, who never even got the chance to be born; others were out of the question.

Knowing this made him feel even worse. After all, in his past life, many people held deep feelings for him. Because of his appearance here, those people never even had the opportunity to enter existence. It was undeniably cruel.

"Doctor Zhang, I am so sorry for my outburst today!"

Old Master Xie wiped his face with a towel. Since he was already sitting in the tub, washing his face was convenient.

"No, not at all. Your story moved me deeply. Your benefactor was a good man. It's a pity I never had the chance to meet him!"

Zhang Yang slowly shook his head, his voice laced with profound sadness that even infected Old Master Xie.

"Yes, there will never be a chance again. Not even a chance for us to repay his kindness!"

Old Master Xie sighed as he spoke, completely unaware that the man treating him now was his benefactor’s actual, true descendant.

"Old man, I need to warm the water slightly. Please bear with me, it might feel a bit hot!"

Zhang Yang smiled slightly, trying hard to calm his turbulent emotions. He brought over a thermos of hot water from beside him—all pre-prepared, everything he needed was at hand.

"Don't worry. Even if you boiled this old carcass of mine, I could endure it!"

Old Master Xie chuckled. After finally voicing his secret, he felt a sudden sense of catharsis, and his attitude toward Zhang Yang had visibly shifted.

It was closer to that of a relative than just a doctor and patient.

"Xiao Hui, is he actually capable?"

Outside the door, Xie Fei looked anxiously toward the interior. The room's soundproofing was excellent; the two outside had no idea what was happening inside, or how things were progressing.

"I don't know!"

Xie Hui shook his head with a wry smile. He had only gone over earlier because he heard Zhang Yang possessed a thousand-year-old ginseng root; he hadn't anticipated that the man was a doctor, much less that he would proactively offer treatment.

After a moment, Xie Hui added, "I think he probably can. He diagnosed the grandfather's two severe injuries just by taking his pulse, which is unlike other doctors; none of them achieved that!"

"Let's hope so. Actually, as long as the thousand-year ginseng is real, if he can't do it, we can call Doctor Liu!"

Xie Fei nodded. What concerned them most was the ginseng root.

The Doctor Liu they mentioned was a famous senior Chinese medicine practitioner in the country and Old Master Xie's primary attending physician. The ginseng they acquired at high prices was given to Doctor Liu to help formulate medicine for their grandfather.

Without this doctor's assistance, Old Master Xie would never have lasted this long.

It was rumored that Doctor Liu had treated many top leaders; in ancient times, he would have been an Imperial Physician. When he retired, they still wanted him to stay, but he insisted on leaving and finally returned home.

Even after returning home, people frequently sought his consultation, but besides leaders, he usually refused ordinary people.

Old Master Xie received such dedicated help because they had an old acquaintance, someone he had once saved. Without that pre-existing relationship, no amount of money would have been effective.

"Should we notify Doctor Liu now?" Xie Hui agreed, nodding, then asked thoughtfully.

"Let's wait until after we secure the thousand-year ginseng. Otherwise, if Doctor Liu finds out someone else treated Grandpa before him, he might get angry!"

Xie Fei shook his head. Doctors' temperaments were often eccentric, especially the great ones.

The better their skills, the more peculiar their quirks. Ji Hongguang of Jiaoyi was a perfect example. Zhang Yang was relatively better; in both his past and present lives, he was young and hadn't developed such eccentricities yet.

But this was contingent on not offending him. If truly provoked, Zhang Yang's temper could be just as strange.

"Squeak!"

As the two were speaking, the door suddenly opened.

Zhang Yang emerged, supporting the old man, who now wore a smile, his complexion somewhat improved, though his legs were still weak, requiring support to walk.

"Today I will focus on needling. We will continue for three consecutive days before switching to medication. In seven days, the old man should be able to walk independently. In a month, he should recover sixty to eighty percent, and full recovery will take three months!"

Zhang Yang looked at the two brothers and spoke with a smile.

The old man's illness was severe and required a long treatment period, but with the thousand-year ginseng in hand, Zhang Yang was completely confident he could cure him within three months.

When one is confident in the outcome, the words flow easily.

"Really? Thank you so much, Doctor Zhang!"

The Xie brothers were simultaneously overjoyed. Three days of acupuncture wasn't much—the old man had undergone needling before—but no one had ever succeeded in directly improving the old man’s condition with needles alone.

Zhang Yang's overall capability didn't matter much to them; Zhang Yang's second statement was the key point.

In seven days, the old man could walk independently. What a tremendous surprise that would be!

Since the incident occurred, the old man’s movements had never been natural again. No matter how other doctors treated him, they failed to change this fundamental issue, and even that Doctor Liu hadn't achieved it.

Hearing Zhang Yang's prognosis, the brothers were both surprised and elated, temporarily forgetting about Doctor Liu.

Fourth update, more to come! (To be continued)

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