Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 118: Baili Mingyue

Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Baili Mingyue

"Uncle, how long has Auntie been sick?"

Fang Bai asked casually.

"It has been over a decade now... Fang Bai, you haven’t finished shopping yet, right? Why don’t you let Mingyue accompany you to the nearby department store to look around?"

Mingyue’s father seemed very reluctant to discuss his wife’s illness with strangers and smily steered the conversation away.

Surviving for over ten years with the "Man-Eating Flower" poison indicates that there must be some special medicine suppressing the spread of the toxin.

However, while this method can extend a patient’s life, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and the backlash will be severe in the future.

Once the toxicity accumulates to a certain level within the body, it will suddenly erupt. At that time, the poisoned person’s skin turns black, black blood flows from all seven orifices, and they die in extreme agony—the death is horrifically tragic.

Presumably, Mingyue’s parents have yet to find a cure for the poison and can only rely on certain drugs to suppress it, hanging on day by day.

Seeing that Mingyue’s father did not wish to elaborate, Fang Bai did not press further. After chatting with the family about this and that, he followed Mingyue to the nearby department store to shop.

On the way to the department store, Fang Bai learned through Mingyue that their family name was Qiu, with the father named Qiu Zhan, and the mother, Qiu Yuzhi.

For some reason, Fang Bai always had an intuition that both Qiu Zhan and Qiu Yuzhi, this couple, exuded a sense of mystery.

There’s no need to mention Qiu Zhan, who is an even more powerful Martial Artist than Fang Bai.

And although Qiu Yuzhi is stricken with a strange toxin, weak and infirm, Fang Bai was certain that had it not been for the toxin, she would also have been a Martial Artist, with strength not much less than her husband’s.

Fang Bai speculated that the Qiu family must be living in seclusion here, and they must have lived here for many years, fully integrating into the life of this place.

Martial Artists live in seclusion typically for two reasons: one is to seek peace after being accustomed to a lively and bustling life; the other is to avoid enemies.

In the case of the Qiu family, the latter possibility seems more likely.

Fang Bai even suspected that the Qiu family might not originally carry the surname Qiu, and it’s quite possible that after living in seclusion here, they had someone help them change their names and continue living under new identities.

Logically, a secluded Martial Artist should prefer tranquillity and not easily rent out their house. But when Fang Bai saw Qiu Yuzhi, he understood some of the reasons.

Qiu Yuzhi, stricken with the strange toxin, needed to prepare medicinal herbs to suppress the toxicity, and those herbs were certainly not cheap. Over the years, this drained the Qiu family’s finances, necessitating the renting out of rooms for some income.

Qiu Zhan was a master, and there were plenty of ways he could make money, but if the family was hiding from enemies, they would not dare to show themselves, much less attract attention.

Mingyue was studying at Yanjing No. 16 Middle School. After the summer vacation ended, she would move up to the third year of high school. Although Fang Bai had not talked much with her, he had already gotten a clear sense of her character.

Mingyue was an independent and rebellious girl, generous in spirit, and highly principled. It was said that many students in school liked her, but there were also not a few who had conflicts with her.

Mingyue liked to stand up against injustice. Whenever she saw someone being bullied at school, she would intervene. The fact that she had learned some self-defense skills from her father since a young age made her formidable in a fight and even boys were afraid of her, leading to the nickname "Campus Witch."

In Yanjing No. 16 Middle School, although Mingyue could not be considered wealthy, when it came to looks, she was undoubtedly first. She required no makeup—a plain face was enough to outshine the other dolled-up girls.

Of course, if she put on some light makeup, like the subtle smoky eyes and a hint of blush she wore today, she was breathtaking, capable of overshadowing the second most beautiful girl in school by miles.

But despite Mingyue’s beauty, no boy dared to give her a second glance, let alone pursue her.

Because Mingyue’s temperament was volatile; instead of engaging in verbal altercations like most, she was direct with her hands and feet.

It was said that a boy, after giving her a few extra glances and whistling at her, ended up getting beaten into a pig-headed state by her, unrecognizable even to his own parents when he got home.

So this thorny blossom was left untouched by the boys, who feared just one careless touch would leave them bloodied.

On the way, Fang Bai cracked a few harmless jokes with Mingyue, and she responded by glaring at him several times, threatening to thrash him.

If it had been a boy who knew Mingyue’s personality, he would have turned pale with fright at her threats, but Fang Bai just chuckled.

Though the girl had learned some skills from her parents, her Qi Sea didn’t contain any True Yuan, which meant she hadn’t reached any significant level of mastery and couldn’t be considered a Martial Artist. Fang Bai could subdue her with just one finger.

The department store had everything from large refrigerators and televisions to the smallest items like toothpaste and toothbrushes, encompassing all necessities of life.

Accompanied by Mingyue, Fang Bai took a walk around the market and purchased some toiletries and bedding.

By the time they finished shopping, dusk had fallen. Fang Bai carried several large and small bags while Mingyue also helped him carry a couple; together, they headed out of the department store.

"You’ve been with me for so long, you must be tired and hungry, right? To show my gratitude, let me treat you to dinner!"

Reaching the entrance of the department store and smelling the fragrance wafting from a noodle shop, Fang Bai said to Mingyue with a smile.

"Do you have your phone with you? Let me borrow it; I need to call my dad and tell him you’re treating me to dinner."

Mingyue was straightforward and enjoyed making friends. She had walked and talked with Fang Bai and found him to be a pretty good conversationalist. When Fang Bai offered to treat her to dinner, she didn’t hesitate.

Fang Bai freed up his right hand and handed his phone to Mingyue.

"Wow, an apple phone! What does your family do, Fang Bai? You seem quite rich!"

Mingyue took Fang Bai’s phone, first made a call to her father at home, and after hanging up, she examined the phone closely and then stared at Fang Bai, inquiring.

Scratching his head, Fang Bai said, "Rich is not exactly the word, but we have enough to eat and wear. My family comes from a lineage of Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, and my father is an old TCM doctor who runs a clinic in Zhongzhou."

Mingyue’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, "Is your father’s medical skill highly proficient?"

"To be honest... my medical skill is even better than my father’s."

"Ah..."

Mingyue immediately lost her enthusiasm.

"What’s wrong?"

Fang Bai was curious upon seeing Mingyue’s listless appearance.

Mingyue sighed and said, "My mother has been ill for over a decade, and no treatment has cured her. These last two years, her condition seems to have gotten worse. If your father was a good doctor, I would have asked him to come see my mother. But now..."

Fang Bai smiled and said, "You’re disappointed because you heard that my father’s medical skill isn’t even as good as mine, right?"

Mingyue nodded and said, "Yes. You are just a medical student intern; I imagine your medical skill isn’t that advanced, and if my father isn’t even as good as you, then it’s definitely not going to work."

She paused for a moment, then, without waiting for Fang Bai to respond, turned and walked towards the noodle shop, saying, "Let’s just eat. I have to go home after dinner, or else my parents will worry."