Chapter 2 The Ancestor's Heritage

Li Yong, in his forties, wore a slightly soiled blue stripe shirt, with his hair kind of messy and his eyes bloodshot. He looked exhausted. Apparently, he hadn't got a night of good sleep for days.

After he saw that Li Tianchen was awake, Li Yong's gaunt face showed a trace of delight. He took a breath, nodding and saying, "Finally, you're awake. How do you feel?"

Li Family had been practising medicine for generations. Li Yong, who learned the traditional Chinese medicine in his childhood, was sort of famous in the neighborhood. He had checked Li Tianchen's injury, which was not serious. Li Tianchen was only knocked out. But it was a little scary when he was in a coma for three days. "If Li Tianchen didn't wake up, I would send him to the hospital for a thorough checkup. After all, the human brain is the most mysterious part of the human body. The existing medical treatments couldn't figure out this part completely. Now that Li Tianchen is awake, I can rest assured." Li Yong thought.

Li Tianchen smiled, saying, "I feel fine."

Li Yong nodded, and his expression lighted up.

"How's Elder Sun doing?" Feng Guifang couldn't help but ask.

Li Yong forced a smile, answering thoughtlessly, "He's okay. I'll lie down for a while." While speaking, he turned to leave.

Li Tianchen frowned slightly, thinking, "Dad's words are contrary to his heart. Clearly, he's not telling the truth." Yet, he didn't articulate his suspicion.

Zhou Xiaoqing's cooking was excellent. The chicken soup had a pleasant smell, which stimulated Li Tianchen's appetite. He ate three bowls of the chicken soup in succession, making Zhou Xiaoqing very happy to the degree that her eyes were like crescents.

Seeing that her son was quite energetic, Feng Guifang stopped worrying.

After eating and drinking, Li Tianchen said that he needed to rest, and asked his mother and Zhou Xiaoqing to leave the room so that he could sleep on the bed.

Although Li Tianchen was in good shape when he woke up, he knew that his head was still kind of messy. After meditation, his thoughts got clear. He surprisingly found that what he dreamed about seemed to be true.

According to the memories he absorbed, the old voice came from Miracle-working Doctor Li, the ancestor of Li Family. Miracle-working Doctor Li was a highly skilled doctor from Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago. He was a cultivator who practised "Shennong Sutras", and created Shennong Medical Knowledge. He practised medicine in the world and saved countless lives. However, when Miracle-working Doctor Li reached the Peak of his Cultivation Base, he tried to transcend into an immortal but failed, with his spirit vanishing, leaving only the Black Fire Pestle.

The once prosperous Li Family fell along with Miracle-working Doctor Li's death and never regained its glory. After several dynasties, the medical knowledge was lost as time passed by. When it came to the generation of Li Tianchen's father, the medical expertise was dropped entirely, so that he could only make a living by running a small clinic.

When Miracle-working Doctor Li's spirit vanished, his damaged soul went into the Black Fire Pestle and survived. When Li Tianchen was hit on the head by Sun Ergou using the Black Fire Pestle, Li Tianchen's blood was smeared on Black Fire Pestle. It accidentally connected the damaged soul in it with Li Tianchen. Therefore, he acquired Miracle-working Doctor Li's recognition and inherited all the memories, including Miracle-working Doctor Li's countless experiences of saving lives and the "Shennong Sutras".

"I've never thought that the ancestor of Li Family has such a glorious history. It turns out that the stories my father told me while I was a child are not lies." Li Tianchen thought.

Li Tianchen was very excited, with his heart racing. "If I study the 'Shennong Sutras', can I be a Miracle-working Doctor as well? Then, I can make my ancestors proud by realizing my dream of becoming a famous doctor." He thought.

Studying medicine had always been Li Tianchen's dream. He grew up in the legends of his ancestors told by his father. Although other people claimed that the stories were made up, the Medical Knowledge was rooted in Li Tianchen's heart. He learned the traditional Chinese medicine from his father when he was a child, and he wanted to study in the best medical school of Huaxia after passing the entrance enrollment exam.

Li Tianchen recalled the materials of the "Shennong Sutras", which was a Cultivation Method. There were nine levels, namely Taste, Image, Focus, Color, Base, Fragrance, Infinity, Uniqueness, and Perfection.

The story of Shennong tasting a hundred herbs was known to all. Yet the first level of the "Shennong Sutras", Taste, was to "taste a hundred herbs". By tasting a hundred herbs, the cultivator would know the medicinal properties of a hundred herbs. Meanwhile, it was a process of strengthening the muscles and bones, remodeling the body, and thoroughly cleansing all the Impurities.

"That's how it works."

Li Tianchen couldn't help but be amazed. "I didn't realize that the story of 'tasting a hundred herbs' contains such a cultivation realm. The "Shennong Sutras" is indeed magical." He thought.

While he was surprised, Li Tianchen's eyes brightened. He silently clenched his fists and said, "Please be assured, my ancestor. I'll definitely pass on your medical skills."

Once he said these words, Li Tianchen suddenly felt relieved, as if the obsession of Miracle-working Doctor Li completely disappeared at this moment.

"The first level, Taste, requires the cultivator to taste a hundred herbs to remodel his body. However, the problem is that where I should go to taste a hundred herbs..." Li Tianchen thought, "The fastest and easiest way is to make Simplified Hundred-herbs Soup Medicine and take it."

"Because of the ancestral medicine, the clinic run by my family is inclined to traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, there are a lot of herbs in the pharmacy of the clinic, sufficient to provide me with the materials of making Simplified Hundred-herbs Soup Medicine." Li Tianchen thought.

Li Tianchen brightened up and immediately went to the pharmacy.

According to the memories Li Tianchen acquired, Simplified Hundred-herbs Soup Medicine could improve the body and cleanse the impurities inside the body, which was suitable for him at present. "Only with a strong body can I begin the real process of cultivation." He thought.

At this time, it was quiet in the house, and there was no patient in the front hall. When Li Tianchen passed by his parents' room, he suddenly heard their conversation.

"What? Elder Sun is so sick that he must get an amputation?"

This was the voice of Feng Guifang, Li Tianchen's mother. With surprise, Li Tianchen had an idea. He immediately stopped moving forward and walked to the door quietly.

The voice of Li Yong, Li Tianchen's father, came, "Hush, don't yell."

Feng Guifang's voice sounded urgent, "What's going on exactly? Isn't he suffering from rheumatism? Why does he have to get an amputation in the end?"

"I don't know what's going on." Li Yong's tone was helpless. "His rheumatism is worse, and he can't feel his legs. The doctor said that the cause is nerve atrophy, and it's inevitable for him to get an amputation."

"Ah!"

Feng Guifang covered her mouth emotionally, saying, "What should we do? You treated him. There's no way that his family would let us go. Now, we can't afford the compensation even if we break the bank."

"Sun Ergou doesn't come to make trouble these days. But he won't be willing to quit doing that. Once this matter goes to the court, whether his father's conditions are connected to the medicine I prescribed or not, my license will be revoked. And my career will be affected. If worse, I will lose everything." Li Yong thought.

Li Yong stomped his feet, saying in a low voice, "Stop crying. I'll figure it out."

"Since the hospital gives such a solution, what else can you do?" Feng Guifang sobbed in a low voice, feeling hopeless.

"Every cloud has a silver lining. There must be a way." Li Yong's voice was low. "Don't cry. Keep Li Tianchen in the dark. He'll take the entrance enrollment exam in a month. We can't distract him."

"I know that. But what should I do now?"

Feng Guifang who was at a loss what to do mumbled, "Sun Ergou is a notorious hooligan in the neighborhood. He'll definitely blackmail us. Ah, you were kind to help Elder Sun and didn't' charge him for the medicine. Yet, your good will caused such big trouble."While speaking, she wiped her tears, saying, "What's wrong with the world? How come good deeds go punished?"