Physician, Not A Consort

Zheng Feng turned around and attacked with full prowess; his expert sword strikes surrounded and enveloped Lin Haihai in an instant. Lin Haihai didn’t retaliate, only moving albeit slightly to dodge his direct confrontations. Fa Hai watched the heated combat from the sidelines, noticing that Lin Haihai was able to counter with ease. An idea popped up in his mind as he took out the Demon-subduing Staff, a heirloom of his master. The staff was said to have the powers to deal with demons with a high cultivation base. Regardless how impressive their cultivation was, they’d be a goner once they got struck by the Demon-subduing Staff. This was why Fa Hai had always been cautious when using the Demon-subduing Staff, for he wanted to avoid taking too many lives.

But now, this demoness before him was too powerful and he probably wouldn’t be able to take her down without the Demon-subduing Staff. He mumbled the magic chant underneath his breath. The Demon-subduing Staff flew towards Lin Haihai as if it had been bestowed with life. Lin Haihai only felt a black log flying towards her amongst the flurry of sword shadows. She ducked to the left and the log followed suit. She turned to the right and the log also turned the same way. For a moment, her steps were in disarray, and Zheng Feng actually got a few slashes in on her clothes. Completely flustered, she reached over to grab the Demon-subduing Staff and struck it against Zheng Feng, jumping out of the area of combat.

Fa Hai completely lost his ability to think at this moment. Not to mention touching the Demon-subduing Staff, a demon should become restless just at the sight of it. Yet right now, Lin Haihai was actually holding the staff suffused with his chant; the staff had also stopped attacking her.

“What the hell is this? It can follow people too. It looks pretty interesting.” Lin Haihai tossed the Demon-subduing Staff into the air, and it spun a few times before landing back in her hands.

“Just who are you?” The imposing aura around Fa Hai had dissipated, and he sounded as weak as a defeated rooster. It was certain that she wasn’t a demon, since she could hold the Demon-subduing Staff in her hand without feeling any discomfort.

“Zheng Feng, have I hurt anyone before?” Lin Haihai didn’t respond, but instead turned around to ask the messy-haired Zheng Feng.

“From my knowledge, you haven’t,” Zheng Feng responded honestly.

“Then why do you guys claim I’m a demoness? Just because I have better martial arts skills than you guys? Or because the monk said he examined the spirit of Lin Family’s young miss in the past?” It was rare for Lin Haihai to wear a solemn countenance.

“Your martial arts aren’t just outstanding; they’re unimaginable. At least, I’ve yet to see it before!” Zheng Feng recalled her moves, or rather, the lack of them. She had been able to dodge every attack with flexibility and agility. The only time she had attacked was to hit him with the strange staff. While it had seemed like an ordinary and direct move, he had been unable to evade.

“Monk, let me repeat myself. I’m not a demoness! I’m confiscating this staff. You’re reckless and can’t distinguish between good and evil. If you can’t even do that, what right do you have to talk about capturing devils and subduing demons?” Lin Haihai lashed out sternly.

“My master personally passed this Demon-subduing Staff down to me. After making a mistake like this today, I really don’t have the face to see him anymore. However, this Demon-subduing Staff is the treasure of our temple. It’s inappropriate for this benefactor to take it. Please give it back to me. I’ll be extremely grateful to you,” Fa Hai said, ashamed. The fact that the Demon-subduing Staff was in Lin Haihai’s hands proved that she was indeed not a demoness. He also knew that he had been reckless. There had not been a hint of demonic aura on her from the start, yet he had kept on insisting that she was a demon. What a sin!

“Since it’s the treasure of your temple, how can I take it? But Monk, there are good and bad guys in the human world, the same way there are good and bad demons too. Capturing devils and subduing demons isn’t just a slogan. Wouldn’t you just be killing more innocent ones in this world by getting rid of all the demons you see?” Lin Haihai softened her tone and tried to advise him.

“This old monk will engrave this benefactor’s words into my memory.” Fa Hai received the Demon-subduing Staff from Lin Haihai, shedding tears of gratitude.

“Monk, I’m not scared of revealing my background to you either. You’re right. I’m not Lin Yuguan. I’m Lin Haihai, and I started learning medicine from a young age. I obtained my martial arts skills by chance. I happened to bumped into Lin Family’s young miss committing suicide that day and tried my best to save her, but to no avail. I was deeply upset by the result. Seeing that Lin Family’s young miss looked the same as me, I assumed her identity and brought her younger brother out of the family, finding a place for him to settle down. I originally planned on traveling around the world and putting my medical skills to use, as a method of survival. However, I was worried about her younger brother, so I opened this hospital to take in disciples and to complete my master’s wish as well.”

Lin Haihai’s explanation had completely bought over the two, especially Zheng Feng. He had personally witnessed the meticulous and careful treatment Lin Haihai gave her patients, coupled with love and anxiousness. In his heart, he had been holding onto the whimsical bit of hope that Lin Haihai wasn’t a demon. He had been following and seeking evidence to ascertain that his initial guess was wrong. However, he noticed that Lin Haihai was indeed not an average person, which was why he had believed Fa Hai’s words. Hearing her explanation now, he let out a sigh of relief. After all, her medical skills were unprecedented and in terms of martial arts, no one could compare to her either. If she could work for the country, then no doubt, their country would be strong!

“This old monk will bid farewell to Benefactor Lin. You have a kind heart and that is a blessing to this world. If you need this old monk in the future, just go ahead and give me orders. This old monk will do everything he can,” Fa Hai put his palms together and promised in a genuine tone.

“Abbot, you don’t have to be so polite. Linhai Hospital will always welcome you!” Lin Haihai hurriedly returned the salutations and replied.

“Abbot, take care!” Zheng Feng cupped his hands together and said respectfully. No matter what, Fa Hai had been doing this out of the intention of ridding trouble for the commoners; Zheng Feng still respected him very much.

“Goodbye!” Fa Hai picked up the alms bowl on the ground and bowed deeply before heading down the mountains slowly.

“Consort Lin, I apologize for the offense. Please pardon this official!” Zheng Feng got down to one knee and apologized humbly. Lin Haihai waved her sleeves, and Zheng Feng felt a stream of air enveloping him as he was lifted back up.

“Official Zheng, what are you doing?” Lin Haihai was slightly upset, as she hated people kneeling down for no reason.

“This official has committed an offense and shouldn’t have doubted Consort Lin,” Zheng Feng said, feeling ashamed.

“What are you saying? If you have doubts, then seek confirmation. You can’t just live without clearing your doubts. Plus, you know that I’m not the real Sixth Princess Consort. I’ve always been Lin Haihai, Linhai Hospital’s physician,” Lin Haihai replied.

“In Zheng Feng’s heart, Physician Lin is more worthy of respect than the princess consort.”

“Zheng Feng, please don’t tell anyone what happened today. The moment you do, there will be no place for me to go. I would have no choice but to go to a faraway place.” Lin Haihai explicitly stated her intentions, hoping that Zheng Feng would keep her secret.

“Zheng Feng understands! There will definitely not be a fourth person who will know of today’s events. Physician Lin, please don’t worry,” Zheng Feng promised.

“That’s good. If you have any other doubts, please feel free to ask. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, provided I know of it,” Lin Haihai replied.

“No one appeared on the day you were kidnapped, right?” Zheng Feng asked what he had been wondering the entire time.

“Right, I subdued those people, and they now work for me. They broke away from their original liege. Please don’t make things difficult for them,” Lin Haihai replied honestly.

“Did they reveal who the mastermind behind them was?” Zheng Feng pressed for information.

“I asked them. They all came from an assassin organization, and they don’t know the identity of the person that hired them.” Lin Haihai didn’t hide anything.

“I see.” Zheng Feng sank into deep thought.

Lin Haihai recalled the one thousand gold taels, feeling distressed. Noticing her expression, Zheng Feng hurriedly asked, “Physician Lin, is anything troubling you?”

Lin Haihai looked at Zheng Feng and sighed, “It’s the Empress Dowager’s birthday in two days, and I need to prepare a performance.”

“You can do anything. The song you sang to us that day was very pleasant to the ears. Her Highness Empress Dowager would be very pleased,” Zheng Feng said with a smile.

“The issue is that I want to get first place. I want the reward of one thousand gold taels!”

“Why? Physician Lin, you shouldn’t be lacking silvers, right?” Zheng Feng asked in confusion. 

“Why? Zheng Feng, I’m not afraid to tell you honestly, but the expenses in my Linhai Hospital have been increasing day by day. I already can’t afford the expenditures. If it weren’t for the thousand silver taels Sixth Prince is sponsoring us monthly, my hospital would’ve closed down already!” Lin Haihai sighed and said gloomily.

“How could that be? Linhai Hospital sees many patients each day and there are also a lot of disciples. Disregarding the tuition fee, just the silvers earned would be enough to maintain the expenditures. How did you guys come to this point?” Zheng Feng was bewildered.

Lin Haihai pondered for a moment before she answered, “I have a total of about a hundred ninety or so disciples, close to two hundred. Each person obtains two silver taels of subsidy from me every month. That’s a total of four hundred silver taels. As for my patients, I don’t accept the medical fees from half of them. There are some nobles and officials that come here too, but I only have them pay according to the market value. I never accept anything more than the actual value. Other than that, on the fifteenth of each month, Linhai Hospital diagnoses patients for free. We go to some villages and impoverished farmsteads to check on the patients there. The prices of medicinal herbs are extremely high, and we will not have any medicinal herbs after depleting our current stock. That will be another problem. So, tell me, is the reward important or not?”

Lin Haihai wasn’t scared of people ridiculing her. She had used about half of the ten thousand silver taels from the bank to purchase a mountaintop, and was constructing a manor on it for the disciples and staff to live in.

Zheng Feng was rendered speechless for a moment. He took a huge step back and gave a huge bow, raising his clasped hands. Wearing a respectful countenance, he proclaimed “Physician Lin is really kind hearted. Zheng Feng admires and respects you greatly. If there’s something I can help you with, just let me know. I will do whatever I can.”