Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

The man was dressed in brocade clothes, unlike ordinary villagers, but exuding the aura of a shrewd and calculating businessman. As soon as he entered the village, he went straight to Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's clinic, with greed flashing in his eyes. This man was the largest supplier of medicinal materials in the city - Qian San.

Qian San had not paid much attention to this small clinic in a remote village until recently, when he heard the rumors about Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. This attracted his attention. The prosperity of the clinic meant the loss of customers and money from him. How could Qian San tolerate this?

"Humph, they are just using some unorthodox methods to deceive the country folks. Do they really think they are miracle doctors?" Qian San sneered in his heart and decided to teach these two people a lesson. He secretly observed them for a few days and found that although the herbs used by Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were ordinary, the effects were surprisingly good, which made him even more jealous.

So, he found some idle men in the village, stuffed some silver pieces into their pockets, and asked them to spread rumors everywhere, saying that Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's clinics used inferior medicinal materials, and even mixed in some poisonous herbs, thinking that the medicine would cure the disease, but in fact it was like drinking poison to quench thirst, and something bad would happen sooner or later.

The rumor spread like a gust of wind throughout the village. The villagers were already skeptical about the medical skills of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, and now they were even more uneasy after hearing such rumors. The clinic, which was originally crowded, gradually became deserted.

"Brother Hu, look..." Wu Tao looked at the empty clinic with a frown on his face.

"Don't worry. A person of integrity has nothing to fear. We are upright and have no fear of gossip." Although Hu Bugui was a little worried, he still comforted Wu Tao.

Wu Tao sighed softly. She knew that what Hu Bugui said made sense, but she was extremely anxious as she saw that the clinic she had worked so hard to run was about to be destroyed by rumors. "No, we can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to find a way to clarify the rumors!" Wu Tao's eyes flashed with determination.

Hu Bugui looked at Wu Tao and knew that she had already made up her mind, so he asked, "What do you want to do?"

"We will visit the villagers in person and explain everything to them!" Wu Tao said firmly, "I believe that as long as we are honest with each other, we will be able to clear up the misunderstanding."

Hu Bugui nodded in agreement. He knew that Wu Tao's medical skills were obvious to all, and the patients cured by her were the best proof.

So, they brought some commonly used herbs and visited the villagers door to door, providing them with free medical treatment and patiently explaining the absurdity of those rumors. Some villagers were skeptical at first, but after seeing Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's sincere attitude and their superb medical skills, they gradually dispelled their concerns.

At this time, a white-haired old man came to the village. He was wearing coarse linen clothes, but he could not hide his immortal spirit. This old man was the descendant of Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the world, and was called "Hua Tuo".

It turned out that the miracle doctor was traveling around and heard about the righteous deeds of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, so he came to help. He had met Wu Tao by chance when he was collecting herbs in the mountains, and had seen her ability to identify herbs. He also knew Hu Bugui's character, so he firmly believed that these rumors were just malicious slander.

"My fellow villagers, I guarantee with my life that Doctor Wu and Doctor Hu are both good doctors with excellent medical skills and noble medical ethics. The medicinal materials they use are also genuine and there will be absolutely no problems!" The miracle doctor's voice was loud and powerful, echoing over the village, and the villagers could hear it clearly.

The arrival of the miracle doctor undoubtedly brought great prestige to Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. When the villagers saw that even the miracle doctor spoke for them, the remaining doubts in their hearts completely dissipated. They apologized to Wu Tao and Hu Bugui one after another, saying that they would never believe those rumors again.

The clinic's business gradually returned to its former prosperity, and Wu Tao and Hu Bugui also showed relieved smiles on their faces. However, they knew that the influence of the rumors had not been completely eliminated, and a few villagers still had grudges against them, but they did not show it for the sake of face.

"It seems that it will take time and action to completely eliminate the impact of rumors," Hu Bugui sighed.

Wu Tao nodded and said with a firm look: "I believe that as long as we persist in practicing medicine and convince people with our virtues, one day everyone will understand our sincerity."

However, things did not develop as smoothly as they expected. Just when they thought the storm had subsided, new troubles quietly arrived.

On this day, Wu Tao went to the town to get medicine as usual, but found that several commonly used medicinal materials were out of stock. She asked several pharmacies, and the answer she got was the same: out of stock.

"How could this happen? These are all very common medicinal herbs." Wu Tao was puzzled.

The owner of one of the medicine shops saw her anxiousness and kindly reminded her, "Doctor Wu, you don't know that these herbs have been bought by a businessman from outside the town recently, who said he would ship them to other places for sale. Now almost all the herbs in the town are monopolized by him, and the prices have increased several times compared to before. Small-scale medicine shops like us dare not buy any."

Wu Tao suddenly realized that someone was behind this! She thought about the rumor she had spread before and immediately had a guess: Could it be that the drug dealer was behind this?

She decided to go back to the clinic first, tell Hu Bugui about this, and then make plans.

After listening to Wu Tao's story, Hu Bugui frowned and said after thinking for a moment: "It seems that this drug dealer is coming for us. He first wanted to ruin our reputation with rumors, and now he wants to monopolize the supply of medicinal materials, raise the price, and make it impossible for us to continue operating. He is really cruel!"

"Then what should we do?" Wu Tao asked worriedly, "If we can't buy the herbs, we won't be able to treat the patients."

"Don't worry, I will definitely find a way." Hu Bugui comforted, "Don't worry, I will never let his conspiracy succeed!"

Hu Bugui frowned and paced back and forth in the room. It's not that he didn't think about going directly to the drug dealer, but the other party was obviously well prepared, and there might be some forces behind him to support him. A head-on confrontation would only hurt both sides. Wu Tao was thinking carefully about the solution, and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind. She remembered that when she was collecting herbs in the mountains before, she met a hermit herbalist. The medicinal herbs he planted were of excellent quality, but because of the remote location, few people were interested in them.

"Got it!" Wu Tao excitedly grabbed Hu Bugui's arm, "We can go to a farther place to look for medicinal herbs, or directly find reliable herbal farmers to cooperate with!"

Hu Bugui's eyes lit up. Yes, they could find another way! He held Wu Tao's hand, his eyes full of admiration: "Tao'er, you are really my wisdom bag!"

They immediately set off, following the route they remembered, crossing mountains and ridges, and finally found the hermit farmer. After hearing about their experience, the farmer agreed to provide them with medicinal materials without hesitation, and at a fair price, which deeply moved Wu Tao and Hu Bugui.

The two returned to the village with a cart full of medicinal materials, and the clinic returned to its former bustle. When the villagers learned that they had gone through hardships to find good medicine, they became more skeptical of the previous rumors and had more respect for them.

However, the drug dealer hiding in the dark was furious when he saw that his plan failed again. He decided to take a gamble and hired a group of hooligans to sneak into the clinic on a dark and windy night...

The dull sound of a heavy object hitting the door broke the tranquility of the night and woke up Wu Tao from her light sleep. She sat up suddenly, her heart pounding. Then, there were even louder kicking and shouting, which seemed particularly harsh in the silent night.

"It's the direction of the clinic!" Hu Bugui also woke up with a gloomy face. He quickly got out of bed, grabbed the long sword on the bedside, and whispered to Wu Tao, "Stay here and don't move. I'll go take a look."

Although Wu Tao was afraid, she knew that it was safest for her to stay here. She clutched the corner of the quilt tightly and looked anxiously in the direction of the clinic through the crack in the window.

Hu Bugui took advantage of the cover of night and rushed to the door of the clinic. With the weak moonlight, he saw the scene clearly: seven or eight burly men holding sticks were smashing the doors and windows of the clinic, shouting obscene words, obviously with ill intentions.

"Stop!" Hu Bugui shouted angrily, drew his sword, and pointed the tip of the sword at the group of people.

The group of people obviously didn't expect someone to suddenly appear, and they were all stunned for a moment. The strong man in the lead came to his senses, looked Hu Bugui up and down, and sneered with disdain: "Where did this pretty boy come from? How dare he meddle in our business?"

"In broad daylight, they broke into people's homes, smashed, looted and burned. Is there any law in this world?" Hu Bugui asked harshly.

"The law? I am the law!" The sturdy man laughed arrogantly, "Get out of here if you know what's best for you, or I'll take care of you too!"

Before he finished speaking, the sturdy man swung the stick in his hand and hit Hu Bugui on the head. Hu Bugui dodged sideways, shook his wrist, and the sword flashed. He only heard a scream of "Ah", and the sturdy man covered his bloody arm and retreated repeatedly.

Seeing this, the other thugs rushed forward and surrounded Hu Bugui. Although Hu Bugui had learned some martial arts, after all, two fists could not beat four hands, and he gradually lost the upper hand.

At this critical moment, the sound of breaking air was heard, and several stones accurately hit the acupoints of several thugs. They groaned, and the sticks in their hands fell to the ground.

A clear voice came from the rooftop: "How dare you be so rampant in broad daylight? Do you really think there is no law in this world?"