The deflated cultivator refused to give up and vowed to turn the tables.

Su Zinong looked carefully at the place. Although it was still a cliff, it was no longer the sinkhole from before.

With just a little walking, you can find a crevice in the rock that you can squeeze through.

Su Zinong walked further and further away, becoming breathless after only a short distance, and had to stop to rest. He walked for three days and three nights before reaching the mountain pass, where he looked down and was surprised to see a town.

Su Zinong was overjoyed and jumped for joy.

Having not seen the warmth of human life for so long, I am now filled with such overwhelming emotion and excitement. It feels like a rebirth after a lifetime.

Looking down, he saw that his clothes were already riddled with holes, leaving him with only a Thunder Sword, a silk bag containing Yin-Yang Beads, a Heavenly Silk Armor Vest, and a human skin mask.

Those silver notes had long been torn apart by tree branches and dissolved by water, and even the beloved purple jade pendant disappeared during the fall off the cliff.

Right now, I'm a penniless pauper.

Su Zinong arrived in town and discovered that this was Lishui City. However, the pedestrians were all hurrying by, and he didn't recognize a single one of them. Tired from walking, he had no choice but to sit down for a while in a corner by the street.

A kind and pretty girl passed by and handed him a steamed bun, assuming that Su Zinong was a beggar.

Su Zinong took the food but froze on the spot, unsure whether to eat it or not. He was penniless; how could he possibly get anything to eat? Should he steal or rob? He wasn't very strong; he was afraid he'd get caught and beaten up.

"So be it," Su Zinong sighed, taking a bite of his steamed bun. He thought to himself, "The old immortal said I wasn't low-key enough. From now on, I'll be low-key. Even being a beggar is a way of being low-key."

Little did he know that after the woman left, three beggars came over, snatched half of his steamed bun, and beat him mercilessly. After they finished, they warned him, "This is our territory, you three masters. If you want to beg for food, go somewhere else!"

Su Zinong was already bruised and battered, glaring angrily but helpless. He had no strength at all; he couldn't even defeat a beggar without any cultivation, let alone three.

He had no choice but to move forward slowly, limping along.

Su Zinong walked to a small riverbank, carefully shaved his beard with his Thunderbolt Sword, washed his hair, and tied it up with a small vine. After tidying himself up, although his clothes were still tattered, his face looked like that of an ordinary person.

Then he went from shop to shop asking if they were hiring workers, only to be met with disdain and driven away each time.

Later, a kind and generous boss hired him to raise horses. He gave him a set of clothes, but no money, only food. However, he ate no meat at each meal, only winter melon and tofu.

The boss was worried that his employees would eat too much and become fat, leading to high body fat and affecting their health.

There is no other boss like him, because no one else is willing to hire Su Zinong.

The smell of horse manure was even worse than that of pig manure. Su Zinong had to clean up the horse manure every day, as well as bathe the horses, massage them, and sing to them.

Sometimes when the horses got sick, a veterinarian had to be called in to administer medicine. Su Zinong could also treat simple colds with acupuncture, and it was always effective, even surpassing the veterinarian's methods. However, for some more serious animal diseases, he was unfamiliar with the acupoints and points, which differed from those in humans, so he dared not treat them haphazardly.

Later, because Su Zinong directly affected his business, the veterinarian resorted to underhanded tactics, claiming that the death of a recently deceased white horse was caused by Su Zinong's haphazard use of needles, and got the boss to fire Su Zinong.

Poor Su Zinong's first job ended abruptly after only one month, leaving him penniless and with only a set of coarse cloth clothes.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, but having clothes makes all the difference.

The next day, I successfully found a second job washing dishes in a restaurant. Although the monthly salary was not much, I was given a new set of clothes every month, and the food was slightly better, sometimes with a piece or two of fatty meat. At least the work here wasn't so smelly.

One day, Su Zinong caught typhoid fever, suffering from a cough, runny nose, and headache. He took out his silver needles and pricked himself with them seven times. His runny nose stopped, his cough lessened, and his headache subsided—it was remarkably effective. His coworkers were astonished; with such abilities, why was he doing dishwashing work?

Word spread, and whenever his fellow workers felt unwell, had a headache or fever, or if their family or friends were sick, they would ask Su Zinong to come and give them acupuncture. He always went willingly. Sometimes he would receive one or two copper coins, or a meal as payment for his services. These were all poor families, and he never complained.

That day, Da Niu, a coworker at the restaurant, quietly asked Su Zinong, "Su Cui, last time you cured my brother Er Niu's strange illness, he asked me to thank you. He works for a well-known merchant, and now the young master of the house is seriously ill. They've consulted many famous doctors, but none have been able to help. The situation is getting worse every day, and he's lost his appetite. The master has declared that whoever can cure his son's illness will receive half of his fortune. Er Niu wants you to give it a try..."

"I don't know if it can be cured, I can only say I'll try, I can't guarantee it," said Su Zinong, who is now using the alias Su Cui.

That day, Da Niu took over Su Zinong's shift, and Er Niu led Su Zinong to a huge mansion. Looking up, they saw a plaque that read "Shuiyue Manor". Opposite was another sizable house, and its gate was quite interesting. While other houses had stone lions, this house had two small elephants with their trunks sticking out very long.

Su Zinong smiled slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

The wealthy man, Song Fulai, was in his forties and a business genius. His business spanned from south to north, with operations in cities large and small throughout the country. While he couldn't be described as richer than a country, he was certainly one of the wealthiest men in the region.

"The most important thing in doing business is integrity. I've said it before, as long as you can cure my only son's strange illness, I'm willing to give half of my fortune. Don't worry, I mean what I say! Money can be earned back, but no one can replace a son," Song Fulai said confidently.

“I believe you,” Su Zinong said. “How did Young Master Song fall ill?”

“My son is seven years old this year. At first, I didn’t know what happened, but later he often vomited, had bloating, indigestion, lost his appetite, and became pale and thin. I had to coax him a thousand times before he could eat half a bowl of porridge. I consulted many famous doctors, both big and small, and they all said it was a problem with his stomach and intestines, but no matter how much I treated him, he didn’t get better. I was completely desperate. Then I heard from Erniu that you have excellent medical skills, so I asked you to give it a try. I didn’t expect you to be so young.” Song Fulai spoke frankly.

“I’m not a doctor who specializes in treating illnesses. When I was young, I studied a variety of things, including medicine, divination, and astrology. So let’s give it a try. I can’t guarantee a cure, but the situation should improve.” Su Zinong wasn’t entirely without confidence.

Pulse characteristics: The cun pulse is slightly weak, the guan pulse is weak, and the chi pulse is faint.

"Young Master Song usually stays in his bedroom with the doors and windows tightly closed?" Su Zinong wanted to know more and confirm his suspicions.

"Oh, yes. Because he's been feeling weak lately, we don't dare let him go outside in the wind, so he usually stays in the bedroom with the doors and windows closed to keep out the wind." Song Fulai touched his nose, thinking that he and his wife had put in a lot of effort and taken meticulous care of their sick child.

"Do you have anyone in your household who is particularly eloquent, especially good at telling jokes and stories?" Su Zinong suddenly asked.

Song Fulai was puzzled and asked with a face full of doubt, "Hey, I asked you to help treat my child's illness, why did you ask someone who can tell jokes..."