Igaizaki Dōjun, from the moment he arrived in Huaxia, never expected to openly reclaim the demon blade Muramasa and avenge his young master, Ishino Kōtarō.

He knew that as a Great Perfection Realm cultivator, merely evading the attention of the Huaxia authorities was a feat in itself; exposing himself in a Huaxia city was out of the question. Instead, Yanming Mountain, near Changjing, instantly became his chosen location.

Especially after he discovered traces of a rudimentary illusion formation in the back hills of Yanming Mountain, along with ruins that showed signs of previous habitation, Igaizaki Dōjun took it all as a sign of blessing from the Emperor of Great Japan above.

Since discovering this place, Igaizaki Dōjun had been planning to lure out one of Zhang Yang’s associates, capture and hold them hostage to force Zhang Yang to leave Changjing and meet him here.

The existing illusion formation on the mountain was subsequently expanded and modified by Igaizaki Dōjun, creating a massive sealing barrier. This barrier would ensure that after luring Zhang Yang here and killing him, he would remain undetected by other powerful Huaxia cultivators, allowing him to escape unhindered.

To this end, he did not hesitate to expose the intelligence network Japan had secretly maintained in Huaxia for years to help him execute this reckless plan.

At the Beijiao County Hospital, an elderly TCM doctor had been rehired. This doctor was Yan Liangfei’s grandmother, and she possessed several precious medicinal formulas left to her by Zhang Yang. She was currently spearheading the epidemic prevention and control efforts in the vicinity of Beijiao, and progress was remarkably smooth.

Many hospitals from nearby areas, including those in major cities, had even sent representatives to ask the Yan family elder for the anti-epidemic prescriptions to keep on hand just in case.

All of this brought immense honor to the Beijiao County Hospital. During this period, the commendations and silk banners sent to the hospital outnumbered those received in the previous two years combined; in short, the Beijiao County Hospital was now famous near and far.

Even the Beijiao County Government passed a resolution to allocate support funds for the expansion and renovation of the Beijiao County Hospital, along with the introduction of advanced medical equipment to enhance its influence.

The director of the Beijiao County Hospital was named Su Shouguo, a Western medicine practitioner in his early forties. He had previously worked at a major hospital in the Capital but was later transferred back to his hometown’s county hospital as director due to some incident. Although it appeared to be a promotion on the surface, it was effectively a sidelining maneuver—the director of a county hospital simply didn't compare to a department head in a Capital hospital...

However, the earth-shattering changes that had swept through the Beijiao County Hospital in recent days had made Director Su, who had always been downcast, smile so widely his mouth nearly cracked.

Su Shouguo knew full well that all this glory was owed to the young man named Zhang Yang who had appeared at the Yan family residence. It was only after he gave those formulas to the Yan family elder that their Beijiao County gained such current prestige.

Although Su Shouguo was a Western doctor, he understood the profound value of those few formulas. That young man could have given them to any elderly TCM doctor, allowing that doctor to amass a fortune simply from those prescriptions. Yet, he gave them to the Yan family elder, who had no intention of profiting from them, using them purely to heal the sick and benefit the populace.

Considering the Yan family elder’s advanced age made frequent commuting between home and the hospital difficult, Su Shouguo specially allocated a large dormitory room at the county hospital to serve as a temporary rest area for the Yan family elder and Tang Xiaolan.

He had also repeatedly mentioned to the Yan family elder his desire for an introduction to the young man who had taken the elder’s grandson as a disciple. He genuinely wished to discuss academic matters concerning Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine with this young man named Zhang Yang. But the Yan family elder, fearing he would disturb Zhang Yang’s peace, kept politely postponing, always saying he would introduce them when the opportunity arose. This left Su Shouguo quite disappointed, and it was his only recent regret.

Yan Liangfei’s mother, Tang Xiaolan, was also kept busy. After the Yan family elder was rehired by the Beijiao County Hospital, she became swamped initially, so she brought Tang Xiaolan along to stay by her side at the hospital to serve as an assistant.

Having been married into the Yan family for many years, Tang Xiaolan’s understanding of TCM was no less than that of many practicing TCM doctors; helping the Yan family elder was a natural fit for her.

Naturally, Director Su Shouguo had no objection to this. The Yan family was a renowned TCM lineage, and now two of its women served as the living emblem of the TCM department at the Beijiao County Hospital.

Working at the Beijiao County Hospital made Tang Xiaolan’s life feel very fulfilling, which in turn subtly lessened the ache of missing her son, Yan Liangfei.

The epidemic in Beijiao County had been prevented and treated to the maximum extent right from the start, never achieving widespread proportions. Now, Tang Xiaolan and the Yan family elder were not as frantically busy at the Beijiao County Hospital as they had been initially. During her off-hours, Tang Xiaolan could find time to take the elder out for strolls around the county town.

It must be remembered that after the Yan family exacted revenge for the brutal slaying of the Jiang family, Elder Yan Han had harbored thoughts of ending his life. It was only when Zhang Yang thoughtfully left the prevention and treatment formulas for the epidemic with the Yan family elder that he abandoned the notion of self-destruction. Still, Tang Xiaolan feared the elder might contemplate it again, so whenever she had time, she would drag the elder out of the hospital to refresh his mind.

Beijiao County was not large, and most people knew each other. Walking down the street, many recognized the Yan family elder and Tang Xiaolan.

“Isn’t that the old TCM doctor from the Yan family? Taking your daughter-in-law out again?”

“Come, Old Doctor, what catches your eye? I’ll give you a discount, sell it to you at cost—no profit for me!”

“Old Doctor, try my noodles! Don’t worry, it’s on the house!”

The street vendors greeted the Yan family elder and Tang Xiaolan with such enthusiasm that they both felt a sense of warmth.

Shaking off the greetings of these warm-hearted people, the elder and Tang Xiaolan walked toward the county hospital. The day was already growing late.

“Old TCM Doctor Yan! Old TCM Doctor Yan!”

Just as the elder and Tang Xiaolan passed an empty intersection, a call suddenly came from behind them.

Turning around, Elder Yan saw that the people calling out to them were two unfamiliar men, both panting heavily, looking as if they had run the entire way to catch up.

“Excuse me, are you the Old TCM Doctor Yan from the Beijiao County Hospital?” one of the younger men asked after catching up.

Elder Yan nodded, while Tang Xiaolan looked at the man curiously, then quietly asked, “May I ask what you need from us?”

The man who had stopped Elder Yan and Tang Xiaolan became visibly agitated upon receiving confirmation, opening his mouth but struggling to speak. It was the younger man beside him who quickly stepped in, pleading, “Old Doctor, we are from another county and are just passing through. But last night while camping at the foot of Yanming Mountain, one of my brothers seems to have caught the plague. He woke up this morning unconscious, running a fever one moment and cold the next, and occasionally seizing as if possessed! We heard that you are the most skilled doctor around here for this kind of illness, so we rushed here to find you. We didn't expect to see the two of you before even reaching the county hospital!”

“Yes, yes!” The first man, who had been excited, immediately nodded in agreement. “At first, I was afraid that since it was so late, we wouldn't find you two even if we got there. But now, this is perfect! Could you two please come with us immediately to the foot of Yanming Mountain and save my brother!”

Tang Xiaolan hesitated. The sky was already darkening, and it would take a long journey from here to Yanming Mountain—even by taxi, it would be dark by the time they arrived.

Elder Yan, however, didn't consider those things. Hearing the men’s description, he immediately asked with tension, “Your man is on Yanming Mountain? Is the situation serious? Do you have someone watching over him?”

“Yes, yes! We have another brother guarding him there, and the two of us couldn’t delay any longer since we had no other option but to come find you!” The man nodded vigorously to the Yan family elder.

“Let’s go! Life is at stake. Take me there quickly!” Elder Yan heard the description and knew the patient’s condition could not be delayed, so he spoke immediately.

“Mom, all our medicine is back at the hospital. Wouldn’t it be better for them to bring the patient to the hospital?” Tang Xiaolan hesitated; for some reason, she felt there was something odd about these two men.

“Please don’t be like that! We were just afraid our brother might suffer if moved, so we dared not touch him. We beg the Old Doctor to come with us!” One of the men immediately urged when he heard Tang Xiaolan’s words. “We have a car; the round trip will be fast. As soon as the Old Doctor comes over, confirms our brother is fine, we will bring him back with you two to the county hospital!”

“Xiaolan, let’s go. We’ll go over first to confirm the patient’s condition, and then we’ll discuss other things!” Elder Yan did not care about the bumps of the journey; as the men claimed, human life was at stake, and this matter could not be treated carelessly!

Seeing the elder’s insistence, Tang Xiaolan set aside her own doubts and followed the two men to a black SUV parked across the intersection.

After the two of them got into the car, the two men exchanged a glance, and all previous panic and anxiety vanished.

It had to be admitted, these two men had timed their approach perfectly, and the location they chose to intercept Elder Yan and Tang Xiaolan was quite discreet. Few people saw them in the first place, and no one paid them much mind.

A black LV SUV, even with falsified license plates, sped out of Beijiao County and headed toward Yanming Mountain.

As the vehicle entered the Yanming Mountain area, there was no sign of the driver slowing down. Tang Xiaolan, in the back seat, grew increasingly restless.

Even Elder Yan frowned.

(To be continued)