Upon his return from the capital city this time, Du Fei’s harvest was exceptionally rich.
Firstly, he obtained the rare medicinal herbs he desired from Qi Lianshan.
He had been missing a few herbs, but with Grandpa Qi's miraculous recovery and the potential for his true qi to advance further, the elder generously ordered Qi Lianshan to collect the remaining herbs Du Fei needed.
This saved Du Fei a considerable amount of effort.
Furthermore, before returning, Du Fei had acquired a small sword that felt like an extension of his arm.
Upon this thought, Du Fei took out the small sword he had unexpectedly acquired.
After some deliberation, Du Fei finally understood.
It seemed he and this small sword had established a subtle connection, a tacit understanding.
This was likely the fabled "blood drop recognition."
*Hummm.*
As Du Fei drew the small sword out, it vibrated slightly twice, as if greeting him.
Seeing this, a smile played on Du Fei's lips.
Next, under the impetus of Du Fei’s true qi, the small sword slowly floated to eye level with him.
"Go!"
Du Fei pointed, and the small sword shot out.
However, due to his insufficient true qi, he meticulously controlled the small sword, preventing it from flying more than half a meter away from him.
For if it exceeded half a meter, the sword would completely slip from his control.
*Pfft.*
Under Du Fei's command, the small sword directly flew towards a concrete pillar in front of him.
With a faint *pfft* sound, the small sword pierced through the concrete pillar, emerging from the other side.
Even though Du Fei had briefly tested the sword’s sharpness before, he was still slightly astonished.
Because, under Du Fei’s gaze, the concrete pillar had been as easily pierced as a sheet of paper.
Subsequently, Du Fei once again channeled his true qi into the small sword.
Thirty seconds later, the concrete pillar in front of Du Fei vanished, replaced by a pile of cement debris and powder on the ground.
After repeatedly activating the small sword, Du Fei’s true qi was somewhat depleted, forcing him to put it away for the moment.
However, after this test, Du Fei’s combat power had significantly increased.
In the future, when facing a strong enemy, a surprise attack with the small sword would be something they would never anticipate.
This small sword thus became Du Fei's trump card.
After sheathing the sword, Du Fei sat in a meditative posture, commencing his daily cultivation.
…
Jianghua Street, Miaoshou Huichun Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic.
"Wenshan, get the medicine for this elder gentleman."
"Wenshan, this elderly lady needs..."
Wang Zhongling was swamped.
As she managed to steal a moment to check on the remaining patients, her eyes suddenly widened.
"Miss Wang, I..."
Du Fei responded to the patients enthusiastically greeting him at the entrance and then smiled at Wang Zhongling.
"Damn it! You actually remembered to come back?!"
If there hadn’t been a patient in front of her, Wang Zhongling would have stood up and slapped Du Fei across the face.
This fellow had told her he was sending his sister to the capital for university and asked her to manage the clinic for a couple of days.
At the time, Wang Zhongling had smilingly told Du Fei, "It's alright. Yunyun is a girl, and it's indeed not entirely safe for her to travel alone. You should send her."
But Wang Zhongling never imagined that Du Fei would disappear for an entire week.
This wasn't just sending his sister; it was a vacation!
Thus, upon seeing Du Fei appear, Wang Zhongling gritted her teeth viciously.
It was no wonder Wang Zhongling looked so furious. She had initially thought Du Fei would be gone for at most three days.
Instead, he had been gone for over a week, leaving her to handle all the clinic patients by herself, working herself to exhaustion every day.
"Um, Aunt Hu, are you feeling a bit unwell? Come, come, let me take a look."
Before Wang Zhongling could unleash her fury, Du Fei quickly pulled over a neighbor standing closest to him.
Aunt Hu, who was being pulled, said, "Dr. Du, I'm not sick. I just came to pick up some medicine. I..."
"Shh, Aunt Hu, don't speak yet. Let me examine you."
Du Fei directly interrupted her, then gravely began to take her pulse.
Seeing Du Fei's solemn expression, Aunt Hu started to feel a bit anxious.
Everyone on Jianghua Street knew how skilled Du Fei was in medicine. Yet, at this moment, Du Fei appeared so serious. Could she have contracted a serious illness?
In an instant, Aunt Hu's mind began to race with wild thoughts.
They were busy for several hours, and it was already lunchtime.
"You two take a break. I'll go out and buy something to eat."
Xu Wenshan, having just dispensed medicine to a patient, clapped her hands and said to Du Fei and Wang Zhongling.
Du Fei shot up, "Wenshan, you sit down. I'll go..."
"You sit down! Don't go anywhere!" Wang Zhongling pointed at Du Fei, then smiled at Xu Wenshan, "Then I'll trouble you, Wenshan."
Xu Wenshan glanced at the two of them and said it was nothing before walking out of the clinic.
As soon as she left, Du Fei looked at Wang Zhongling somewhat sheepishly.
"Miss Wang, um, I..."
"Boss Du, what can I do for you?"
Just as Du Fei was about to utter some placating words, Wang Zhongling cut him off with her question.
Looking at the displeased Du Fei, he understood very well why Wang Zhongling was angry.
He had to admit it was his fault. Wang Zhongling was originally a lady of noble birth.
She had come to the clinic not to earn money, but because her grandfather wanted her to learn medicine from him.
Yet, he had claimed to be sending his sister to university and ended up being gone for a week, leaving all the clinic's affairs to Wang Zhongling. It was no wonder she was so upset.
"Miss Wang, I was indeed in the wrong this time. I sincerely apologize. Furthermore, I shouldn't have burdened you with all the clinic's affairs. I'm sorry."
Since he was indeed in the wrong, Du Fei was not someone who clung to his pride. He didn't hesitate to apologize when necessary.
Seeing Du Fei's earnest apology, Wang Zhongling's expression softened slightly.
"Alright, alright. If someone overheard, they'd think I was unreasonable. So, how is Yunyun settling in over there? Speaking of which, her sudden departure left me feeling a bit unaccustomed. I miss her quite a bit."
Wang Zhongling was initially just upset by Du Fei's sudden disappearance for several days. Now that he had apologized, her anger had mostly subsided.
Sensing the slightly tense atmosphere, Wang Zhongling proactively brought up Du Yunyun.
"She's doing very well. Yunyun is quite sensible. Everything is fine. Oh, and she asked me to buy gifts for you and Wenshan."
As he spoke, Du Fei noticed the bag he had brought with him.
He then opened the bag and took out its contents.
It was two sets of cosmetics, one for Wang Zhongling and one for Xu Wenshan.
"Yunyun is thoughtful."
Holding the cosmetics, Wang Zhongling finally broke into a smile.
Seeing this, Du Fei breathed a sigh of relief.
A while later, Xu Wenshan returned from buying lunch, and Du Fei gave her the other set of cosmetics.
Xu Wenshan was equally delighted upon receiving the gift.
Subsequently, while the clinic was empty, the three of them sat at a nearby table to have lunch.