Who in the world does not know you?

Chapter 73 Next 1

Xichuan Mansion.

Today is an auspicious day, which means it's the day He Gui Lou will be open for business as usual.

Long queues formed early in the morning at the entrance of He Gui Lou. Special queuing areas had been designated by the government on the surrounding streets, and patients were queuing for treatment in an orderly manner.

The room was filled with the aroma of medicine. Li Zigui sat at a rosewood desk in the clinic, yawning and looking worried.

Anything can become tiresome after a while, let alone sitting in this Crane Returns Pavilion, practicing medicine and helping people for twenty years.

Fortunately, it's a one-day-off-one-day operation, otherwise Li Zigui feels he would have collapsed long ago and taken his wife and children back to Qianbing Manor in Jiangnan to retire...

Leng Honglou organized the various medicinal herbs in the medicine cabinet, and occasionally patrolled the doorway to see if anyone was being too noisy or disrespectful.

With her around, no matter how long the queue outside He Gui Lou is, it will always be completely silent.

"Lack of appetite? Just skip a few meals and you'll be fine. Next one."

"Always feeling sleepy? No problem, you won't die. Go home and get some more sleep. Next one."

"Your wife always beats you. Even after I heal you, she still beats you. Just hang in there and work on your endurance, and you won't feel so bad anymore."

"What? I don't know what it's like to be beaten by my wife? Then I really don't know. My wife is the most gentle and tender woman in the entire Great Hui Dynasty. Next one."

Whether you cure diseases or not, it doesn't matter if I was the best in the world before. Next one.

"You just have a common cold. Go across this street, turn right, then left, then right again, and go to Baicaotang to see Doctor Zhu. He's old, has excellent medical skills, and charges very little. Next one."

"You like him, but he doesn't like you. Your heart aches whenever you think of him? Then you're in love with someone you don't love. There's no cure for unrequited love. Go home and wait to die. Next one."

"Why did the consultation fee change from five taels of silver to five taels and two mace of silver? Huixianglou's roast chicken has gone up in price. My wife loves their roast chicken, but she feels sorry for me, so the consultation fee has gone up as well."

"The reason Huixianglou didn't raise the price of its roast chicken for me is because I have connections, and it's my right to raise the consultation fee at Heguilou. Hurry up and pay up, or I'll call my wife. Next."

"Oh dear, it's just two broken ribs, why are you crying like that? Someone like you dares to roam the world? Just get a few more beatings and you'll be back home farming. What are you pretending to be, some kind of hero?"

"What? You want me to find someone to protect you and help you fight back and get revenge? That's a different price. Here's what you'll do: go out to Huichun Street in the south of the city. There's an antique shop there. Go find the shopkeeper. He's the son-in-law of the maternal uncle of one of the Twelve Venerables of the Wanjie Sect. Pay him to help you connect with the Wanjie Sect and have them send someone to be killed by the other side. That's all."

"Hired a killer? Nonsense. If no one hired a killer, the Wan Jie Sect would have disbanded long ago, and my brother-in-law would be starving."

"What if you don't have money to hire a hitman and can't beat the other person? Then you'll have to make yourself a good coffin, next one."

"Wait a minute, if you don't have money to hire a killer, you still have to pay for the consultation. Wife! Some people don't pay for medical treatment!"

Inside the Crane Returns Tower, a figure flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing onto the street, its fate unknown.

Afterwards, Leng Honglou walked out and nodded and smiled at the old woman selling vegetables passing by, which could be considered a greeting. Then she turned her head and looked at the crowd of people queuing up with fearful expressions.

Bathed in the warm sunshine, her red dress shone brightly.

"They all brought money, didn't they? Those who are penniless will end up like him."

She left a message and turned to enter the Crane Returns Tower, leaving the people queuing outside looking at each other in bewilderment.

Before long, the sun was high in the sky, and an elderly man with a hunched back carrying a cloth bag walked into the Crane Returns Tower.

He looked up and surveyed the exquisite and luxurious decorations of He Gui Lou, his gaze lingering briefly on the medicine cabinet. Then, he walked shakily to Li Zigui and sat down, extending his wrist to the table for Li to take his pulse.

His hands were wrinkled like dried tree bark, and the words "old age" seemed to have enveloped his body.

Li Zigui reached out to feel the old man's pulse, asking questions as he took his pulse.

"Grandpa, is there anything that's bothering you?"

"This old man...this old man's heart isn't feeling well..."

"Of course, you're just feeling guilty."

"Feeling guilty... what kind of illness is this...?"

Looking at the old man with a wrinkled, aged face, Li Zigui narrowed his eyes and his smile grew colder.

"You lost someone's precious daughter, so of course you feel guilty."

The old man was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and his smile became quite awkward.

"Dr. Li, what are you saying? This old man doesn't understand..."

"From the moment you walked in, you've been staring at that mud-covered white porcelain bottle on my medicine cabinet. That's an antique that Master Liu temporarily stored here for a few days to prevent thieves from eyeing it and disrupting the transaction. It's said to be five hundred years old. Apart from you, the ancestor of thieves, who could tell at a glance that it's a treasure? Did you really think you could fool me this time by sticking fake skin on your hands and sealing three acupoints?"

The old man laughed again upon hearing this, but this time his laughter was extremely hearty, revealing his two rows of white and even teeth.

He reached out and removed the human skin mask from his face, revealing a dignified and extraordinary face to Li Zigui.

The visitor was none other than Li Zigui's old friend, the master thief Hu Youxuan.

"Li Zigui, sometimes I really think you're like an old fox, getting smarter and smarter with age. But that Bodhi Frost White Bottle is fake. It's the real one I brought out from the tomb of Empress Qingli. I accidentally broke it when I was drunk, so I made a fake one. The one on your medicine cabinet is the counterfeit I made. I sold it for quite a bit of silver on the black market back then."

"If you can make fakes, why don't you just make fakes directly? Why bother with tomb raiding?"

"Nonsense, how would I see what the real thing looks like if I didn't raid tombs, and how would I make a fake one? My imagination isn't that rich."

Leng Honglou was not surprised to see Hu Youxuan appear. After all, it was common knowledge in the martial arts world that the master thief was skilled in lightness skills and adept at disguise and voice change. He had shown such tricks to this couple countless times before.

"Where's the woman in red? Why isn't she with you, Master Thief?"

Li Zigui gritted his teeth and smiled as he asked Hu Youxuan a question, emphasizing the words "master thief" very heavily.

"Hmm... well, that's a long story..."

Before Hu Youxuan could even offer any explanation, Li Zigui had already reached out and grabbed his neck with both hands.

"What kind of good person would let their daughter learn petty theft from a thief like you! I trusted you so much, and you can't even keep an eye on a twenty-year-old girl? What good are you? Speak up!"

Hu Youxuan wanted to speak, but with his neck being choked, he couldn't utter a word.

He was mainly feeling guilty and in the wrong.

Finally, it was Leng Honglou, who came over with a tea tray, who brought the farce to an end.

"Husband, don't get angry, it's bad for your health."

Hearing Leng Honglou say this, Li Zigui loosened his grip slightly, allowing Hu Youxuan to finally breathe heavily and speak.

"You see, it has to be your sister-in-law..."

"Kill them."

Leng Honglou's voice was cold and devoid of any emotion.

Upon hearing this, Hu Youxuan's eyes widened suddenly.

This is a rip-off! This is a rip-off!