On the second floor of the villa, in Ouyang Zhixin's daughter's room, a maid who specifically served the young lady came out. Upon seeing Ouyang Zhixin accompanied by Wan Yunting and Gu Yuanbai, with Sima Xuanyu also following, she quickly lowered her head and said, "Master, the young lady has just fallen asleep."
"Open the door," Ouyang Zhixin waved. The maid nodded, turned, and gently pushed open the room door. The room was dimly lit. Ouyang Fanmeng, lying on her side in bed, hidden by the mosquito net and curtains, spoke in a dejected tone, "Dad, I don't want to be treated anymore. Please leave."
Hearing his daughter's words, Ouyang Zhixin's heart ached. For so many years, every flicker of hope had been extinguished time and again, completely crushing all hope in Ouyang Fanmeng's heart! Therefore, in recent years, if her condition hadn't worsened day by day, Ouyang Fanmeng would not have cooperated with doctors for treatment. But the results still disappointed her repeatedly.
"Meng'er, this is not that doctor. I've invited another doctor to examine you. Can you please try again?" Ouyang Zhixin went to the bedside and gently persuaded his daughter inside. However, he knew his daughter was very resistant now. But there was no other way. As a father, he had to do everything he could to cure his daughter's illness and allow her to live a normal life. For so many years, due to this illness, Ouyang Fanmeng could not go out to study, shop, or make friends like a normal girl. Her world was confined to this villa and its small courtyard. As she grew older and became more aware, she also developed depression. Various emotions made her condition worse, how could Ouyang Zhixin, as a father, not feel heartbroken?
"Dad, really, it's not necessary." Still lying on her side, her appearance obscured, Ouyang Fanmeng said calmly, "I accepted it when I was fifteen. You really don't need to find doctors for me anymore. No one in this world can cure my illness."
"But..."
"Not absolutely!" Before Ouyang Zhixin could finish, Wan Yunting, standing at the door, spoke to Ouyang Fanmeng on the bed, "Your illness is indeed rare. There hasn't been a single case of recovery in modern medicine. But in the past, this illness could be treated, it's just temporarily lost."
Hearing the stranger's words, Ouyang Fanmeng still didn't turn over. She calmly said, "You said it's lost, which means there's no way."
"We have to try." Wan Yunting's voice was gentle. "Although I can't empathize, I can feel the pain you've suffered from this illness since childhood. Being like this for so long would indeed lead to depression. But I still want to advise you to maintain a positive mindset. With hope, the illness can be cured."
These words made Ouyang Fanmeng on the bed pause. "So, you can cure my illness?"
Wan Yunting shook his head and smiled, "There's no absolute guarantee. I can only say I'll try."
Ouyang Fanmeng fell silent. The doctors and physicians who had come to treat her before had all confidently claimed they could cure her, giving her hope time and again, only to disappoint her again and again. But now, a person suddenly appeared who didn't have absolute confidence in curing her illness, which gave Ouyang Fanmeng a strange feeling. She couldn't help but turn around and, through the dimly visible mosquito net curtain, look at Wan Yunting standing at the door, remaining silent for a long time.
Wan Yunting also looked at the woman on the bed through the mosquito net curtain. She was slender, with skin as white as jade, delicate features, and a pair of melancholic eyes that seemed to speak of endless suffering, subtly revealing a hint of resilience. This was the only hope that had allowed her to live until now. Separated by a curtain, their gazes met, and neither spoke for a moment.
Ouyang Zhixin, standing beside them, wanted to speak, but Ouyang Fanmeng on the bed spoke, "Then let me try."
"Alright," Wan Yunting smiled and nodded. Ouyang Zhixin was also happy that his daughter agreed and quickly asked Wan Yunting to come over to take her pulse...
This made Sima Xuanyu at the door's expression even more gloomy, and he felt displeased. It wasn't that Ouyang Zhixin rejected him, but that Ouyang Fanmeng refused to let Sima Xuanyu continue the medicinal bath treatment. Originally, the first medicinal bath treatment yesterday had masked the foul smell of dead fish on Ouyang Fanmeng's body, bringing her a glimmer of hope. However, when she woke up this morning, the smell on her body plunged her spirits to the bottom. The foul smell had not lessened at all and was still as pungent. Therefore, Ouyang Fanmeng refused to let Sima Xuanyu continue treating her.
Wan Yunting, wearing a mask, sat on a stool by the bed. Ouyang Fanmeng inside extended her arm. Her gaze also looked at the man outside the curtain. For some reason, looking at him up close, this man gave her a sense of inexplicable closeness and familiarity, which puzzled Ouyang Fanmeng.
In fact, Wan Yunting felt the same. He smiled at Ouyang Fanmeng inside, then took her wrist to take her pulse very seriously. After about five minutes, Wan Yunting released her hand and nodded with a smile, "Alright."
Ouyang Fanmeng then withdrew her right hand, remaining silent, quietly watching him. Wan Yunting got up and said to Ouyang Zhixin, "I do have a prescription that I can try for your daughter."
"Tell me," Ouyang Zhixin nodded. Wan Yunting said, "But it's a bit troublesome. It needs to be made into pills, and one of the herbs is very difficult to find, called Ning Xiang Hua!"
"Ning Xiang Hua? That's a very rare medicinal herb," Gu Yuanbai, standing nearby, said in surprise upon hearing the herb's name.
Sima Xuanyu at the door also couldn't help but sneer, "Ning Xiang Hua has disappeared from the market for decades. I originally wanted to add this herb to the medicinal bath, but unfortunately, there isn't any."
Wan Yunting turned and looked directly at him, smiling, "Even if there were, your medicinal bath wouldn't cure her illness."
Sima Xuanyu immediately glared and snorted, "Then you have a solution?"
Wan Yunting's lips curled up, and he smiled, "Have you heard of Ning Xiang Wan?"
"Ning Xiang Wan!" Sima Xuanyu's expression faltered; he clearly hadn't heard of it. Not to mention him, even Gu Yuanbai looked at Wan Yunting with a confused expression. He explained, "Ning Xiang Wan is a pill made from sixty-nine medicinal ingredients, with Ning Xiang Hua as the principal herb. It requires a professional pharmacist to make it. The main efficacy of Ning Xiang Wan is to treat the 'fishy odor syndrome' and improve physique by metabolizing trimethylamine. This is a fundamental cure."
"As for your medicinal bath, it merely masks the patient's external odor. No matter what herbs you add to the medicinal bath, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."
Sima Xuanyu, being questioned, glared and coldly snorted, "Even if your Ning Xiang Wan can cure this disease, Ning Xiang Hua has long been extinct in this world, so how can you make Ning Xiang Wan?"
"Also, you're probably not a professional alchemist, are you?"
But Wan Yunting ignored him and said to Ouyang Zhixin, "Mr. Ouyang, give me a few days. When I go to Wudang Mountain, I will seek an alchemist and see if he has Ning Xiang Hua to make Ning Xiang Wan."
Ouyang Zhixin nodded upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, the butler's voice came from the door, "Mr. Ouyang, the family head is here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang Shenhe appeared at the door, dressed in a gray thick cotton coat and leaning on a cane, accompanied by a middle-aged man. Ouyang Zhixin saw his father and, not understanding why he had come, went to greet him, "Dad, why are you here?"
"Hmm, I heard you invited a doctor to see Fanmeng, so I came to take a look," Ouyang Shenhe said to Ouyang Zhixin without seeing Wan Yunting in the room.
"Dr. Wan and the others are seeing her, and they already have a solution," Ouyang Zhixin nodded.
"Is that so? That's great," Ouyang Shenhe smiled. Wan Yunting, inside, recognized him and exclaimed, "Shenhe!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Ouyang Shenhe looked up. Seeing Wan Yunting, he was surprised and said, "Xiao Wan, why are you here?" Ouyang Zhixin, standing before him, looked at his father in surprise, realizing they knew each other.
Ouyang Shenhe entered the room, and Wan Yunting also went to greet him. He then smiled and said, "Oh, my memory! Xiao Wan, aren't you a TCM doctor? So, the Dr. Wan you invited is Xiao Wan."
"Yes, Shenhe." However, Wan Yunting smiled somewhat unnaturally and nodded, feeling very surprised and taken aback. He hadn't expected that the old man he met yesterday at Fan Li's house was the Old Family Head of the Ouyang family, one of the Five Great Families of the capital.
Sima Xuanyu at the door saw that the Old Family Head of the Ouyang family actually knew Wan Yunting. Seeing the elder enthusiastically greet him and affectionately call him Xiao Wan, it was clear they were close.
Ouyang Zhixin asked curiously, "Dad, how do you know Dr. Wan?"
Ouyang Shenhe smiled and said, "Yesterday, I visited Old Fan and met Xiao Wan. He is a young calligraphy master in the art world, so we got acquainted."
"I see," Ouyang Zhixin nodded.
Ouyang Shenhe asked Wan Yunting, "By the way, Xiao Wan, you just said you have a way to cure my granddaughter's illness. What is it?"
"Ning Xiang Wan," Wan Yunting regained his composure and replied, "It requires Ning Xiang Hua to make the pills, but it needs a professional alchemist to make Ning Xiang Wan."
"That's easy," Ouyang Shenhe said, "Didn't I mention yesterday that I fell ill last year, and a master cured me with pills? That Daoist Zhang from the Wudang sect is still staying at my residence. I'll ask him to come over and find out."
Wan Yunting's heart lit up. "The Wudang sect's alchemist, Elder Daoist Zhang Yansong?"
"Yes," Ouyang Shenhe nodded with a smile. He turned to the middle-aged man who had accompanied him and said, "Xiao Heng, quickly go back and personally invite Daoist Zhang here."
"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded, turned, and left.
Sima Xuanyu, who was preparing to leave, was instantly stunned. He had thought Wan Yunting wouldn't be able to find Ning Xiang Hua or an alchemist. But as it turned out, Ouyang Shenhe's arrival solved everything. This made Sima Xuanyu worried, praying that the Wudang sect's alchemist Zhang Yansong they mentioned would not have Ning Xiang Hua, and that Wan Yunting absolutely could not cure Ouyang Zhixin's daughter's illness...