Welcome to the Ability Shop!

Chapter 160 "A Gathering of Wise Men"

The next morning, a black car that came to pick them up stopped at the entrance of Tianlu Community.

After Chen Xuan boarded the bus, he found that apart from the driver, there was only Boss Xu in the huge bus.

"Young friend, this way." Xu Wangxian waved and greeted him as soon as he arrived, "Good morning!"

"Good morning." Chen Xuan yawned and sat down next to the other person. Since opening the shop, he hadn't gotten up at a normal working time for a long time. "It seems that the patient's condition isn't very urgent... It turns out that approval is required before treatment."

“There’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t just let anyone take a look at her,” Xu Wangxian said with a smile. “Of course, what you said isn’t entirely wrong either. It’s said that the Gu family’s daughter has been sick for over a month. It’s certainly not a serious or malignant illness. But since she hasn’t gotten better after so long and we haven’t even been able to find out the cause, Mr. Gu is getting anxious.”

Xu Wangxian looked exceptionally solemn today. He had not only trimmed his beard but also changed into a gray-blue robe, giving him the air of someone cultivating immortality.

It's clear that he takes this trip very seriously.

The bus ascended the mountain along the scenic highway, the same road where Chen Xuan often gathered herbs. Because it was a weekday, there were few people on the road. Halfway up the mountain, the bus turned onto a side road, and the surrounding scenery became tranquil. Ancient trees lined both sides of the road, their branches hanging low, almost completely blocking out the golden morning light.

He had never been here before.

However, he soon realized why, despite frequently climbing Lushan Mountain, he felt so unfamiliar with this place. Less than a hundred meters down the side road, a barrier and guard post appeared, clearly intended to stop ordinary tourists. After passing through this checkpoint, the car drove for another ten minutes, and suddenly a cluster of quaint, ancient buildings appeared at the end of the road.

Lushan, a national 5A-level scenic spot, actually has such a large private territory. Chen Xuan immediately gained some understanding of the strength of Beitian Academy.

After the bus came to a stop in the parking lot outside, he followed Xu Wangxian into the high-walled compound.

The architecture inside was uniformly ancient, with pavilions, temples, and wisps of incense smoke everywhere, and a pleasant fragrance permeating the air. If Chen Xuan hadn't known he was in Lushan, he would have thought he had transmigrated into a Taoist temple.

"Please come in, you two." The guide led them to a magnificent hall and gestured for them to enter.

"This is the Green Grass Hall, symbolizing the beginning of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, and it is also the place where the Northern Heaven Academy receives guests," Xu Wangxian introduced.

Chen Xuan stepped over the high threshold. "It seems this isn't your first time here."

“It’s not the first time, but it hasn’t been that often.” He turned around and held up two fingers. “If we don’t count this time, it’s only been twice in total.”

One time, the medicine he was selling caught the eye of the Beitian Academy, which recruited him to this place.

The second reason was to expand the business by entrusting the Beitian Academy with the sale of the elixirs.

Xu Wangxian still remembers the shock he felt when he was first brought into this secluded palace. The rumors about immortals creating things are all true, and the legacy of immortals continues here.

Stepping into this place means entering the very top circle of the pharmaceutical industry.

After that, Baicaotang's business did improve a lot. Not only did the high-priced pills become more popular, but other medicinal herbs in his shop also gained access to Beitianyuan's channels.

These channels may not necessarily belong to the Medicine Sect itself, but since he has gained recognition, other channels within the circle will also be open to him.

Unfortunately... that's about it for now.

Xu Wangxian realized that she had entered the circle, but was still on the periphery.

He wanted to go further... to glimpse the inheritance of immortals, and even... embark on the path of cultivation.

Just then, a man stumbled past them, his face seemingly swollen. Faint shouts and curses could be heard from inside the hall, "Who found these people?! You charlatans dare to trick people into coming here? I can understand if you're incompetent, but if you're so weak and still want to pretend you're capable, don't blame my fists for being ruthless!" Chen Xuan and Xu Wangxian entered the inner hall and found it quite lively—a dozen or so people were gathered near the entrance, men and women, young and old, but without exception, they were all overwhelmed by the aura of another person.

There were only two men opposite them.

The man who started the cursing was imposing, over two meters tall, with short hair, a square face, thick eyebrows, and piercing eyes. He wore a sharp white suit, and his clenched fist was as big as a clay pot.

The other man's expression was much gentler, his features revealing a handsome beauty. He wore a long robe and only reached his companion's chest in height. Even so, he still comforted his irritable fellow disciple as if soothing a pet, "Don't shout so loudly, can you take a break? You're almost scaring the guests the bosses have invited."

He then turned to everyone and said, “Please take note: saving lives is a very serious matter and cannot be taken lightly. If you think your skills are not up to par, just say so and leave. But if you try to play tricks and deceive people with charlatans, then you deserve to die.”

"If anyone still wants to use superstitious methods to fool people, please leave now with your introducer. The Hokuten Institute can pretend they didn't see it."

No one left the scene.

Seeing this, the irritable man snorted coldly, "Next batch, five people."

Soon, five people stepped out of the group and followed them deeper into the main hall.

"Phew...that was terrifying! I thought that guy was going to be beaten to death here..." someone muttered by the door, then looked at Chen Xuan, "Young man, are you here for treatment too?"

Chen Xuan sized him up with interest. The man appeared surprisingly normal, wearing a white coat and a work ID badge hanging on his chest. It read: Wang Haitao, Deputy Director of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Beijing Second Hospital.

This is a real professional!

"Director Wang, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Xu Wangxian had already taken the initiative to shake hands with him. "My name is Xu Wangxian. I own a pharmacy. This is Chen Xuan... uh, he is skilled in pharmacology and toxicology."

After all, his alchemy was still a secret, and the two of them were aware of it without saying a word, so these medicines sold out still carried the name of Baicaotang.

"Mr. Xu from Baicaotang?" Unexpectedly, the other party immediately replied, "The one who sells blood oranges?"

"Yes, you've used it?"

"Hey, there's not much of a chance for neurology to use this, but I've seen a colleague use it. The effect of this stuff is truly amazing. An artery that was just gushing blood, you just clamp it with hemostats, apply a blood orange paste, and the wound is instantly sealed, saving a lot of time on suturing the blood vessels." Wang Haitao praised it highly. "Now our hospital's emergency room always keeps two or three blood oranges on hand, and they say Boss Xu is a real miracle worker."

Chen Xuan was surprised. A major hospital actually used this kind of substandard product as an emergency treatment? He had envisioned that the pills would be sold through private channels to wealthy people who didn't lack money. They wouldn't care whether a pill cost tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, as long as the efficacy was convincing enough.

"I'm flattered, I'm flattered. I only got the formulas for these two medicines by sheer luck," Xu Wangxian said with a smile. "Blood oranges probably can't be reimbursed, right?"

“That’s not a big problem. The hospital only allows it to be used on people who can afford it, and the department head has to approve it before it can be used.” Wang Haitao glanced at Chen Xuan intentionally or unintentionally. “But things might change recently. The news about superpowers has been released, and the public’s acceptance of some of the strange things that already exist in the world has increased. It’s not impossible for this drug to be included in medical insurance in the future. When that happens, Boss Xu will make a fortune.”

"Haha...who knows. I'm not selling this medicine entirely for money; my main goal is to save more lives."

"I understand, I understand." Wang Haitao nodded, his smile carrying a deeper meaning.

"Let's talk about the patient's condition," Xu Wangxian coughed twice. "What happened to that person just now? It looked like he was slapped in the face?"

"Yeah, he was recommended by a boss from Dongcheng. Turns out he was just doing fortune-telling and exorcism, and he got beaten up on the spot by the disciples of Beitian Academy." Deputy Director Wang said gloatingly, "It was that tall guy, Yue Beifeng."

(End of this chapter)