The Almighty Martial Arts System - Chapter 332

“Doctor, I’m here to see a physician!” A booming voice echoed through the Jiang Clinic.

The speaker was a man around thirty years old. He wasn’t exceptionally tall, probably just under six feet, and his build was average, not particularly brawny. Yet, standing there, he gave off an immovable, mountain-like solidity.

What was rather peculiar was that this young man seemed completely out of place in the modern world. He was more like someone who had just emerged from deep mountains and old forests, a recluse who had never set foot in a city—it felt anachronistic!

He wore coarse, homespun linen clothes, similar to what people wore in ancient times. And now, in the dead of winter when everyone was starting to wear padded cotton jackets or down coats, this man was dressed so lightly.

One had to remember, even in the rural countryside nowadays—unless it was the poorest mountain regions in the country—basic needs for food and clothing had long been met. People could wear clothes in rich colors; it was impossible to see someone looking like this.

A young nurse, her eyes holding a strange curiosity, proactively walked up to him and asked with a smile, “Sir, are you here for internal medicine or surgery?”

This man’s attire and his unique aura had drawn the attention of many people as soon as he entered. Just like this nurse, who couldn’t help but wonder to herself: Why is that? This man looks like he just came out of the Shennongjia wilderness, completely devoid of any fashion sense, yet he gives off this unusual, very striking handsome vibe? This feeling is actually a bit like our Director, the kind that makes women fascinated, drawn in like moths to a flame!

The man took a wine gourd from his waist, uncorked it, and took a large swig of strong liquor. The nurse standing beside him could smell the pungent aroma of alcohol.

“I’m not here for internal medicine, or surgery,” the man said heartily, his voice very loud and clear. Taking that drink seemed to invigorate him immensely, as if he had swallowed nectar. “I’m here to see your director, the Acupuncture King, Jiang Fei!”

“See our Director?” The young nurse was taken aback.

In recent days, their elusive, god-like male director had been appearing more regularly at the clinic since bringing in a new administrator who favored black stockings, often holding consultations and seeing patients.

Today was no exception.

However, Jiang Fei’s seniority and skill placed him among the experts of experts. He didn’t handle ordinary cases, only stepping in for more challenging medical conditions. And even then, unless it was particularly urgent, patients had to queue up and wait.

Basically, anyone trying to get a ticket and queue after 9 AM most likely wouldn’t get a chance to see him that day and would have to wait until the next.

It was already 11 AM now. Coming to queue for Jiang Fei at this hour was naturally impossible.

The nurse quickly explained, “Sir, what kind of illness do you have? If it’s not a particularly serious one, you can certainly consult other doctors in our clinic. Every doctor in our clinic is highly skilled and completely trustworthy.”

“But if you absolutely insist on having our Director see you, then it’s best if you come to our clinic early tomorrow morning, preferably before 8:30 AM, to queue and register.”

The man in coarse linen, with the wine gourd at his waist, frowned upon hearing this and said, “So troublesome? Forget it. I’ll just find your Director myself.”

With that, he took a single stride, easily bypassing the nurse, and headed further inside.

It took the nurse a few seconds to react after the man had already moved several meters away. She quickly jogged to catch up, her mind still a bit fuzzy. She hadn’t even really seen him move, so how did he get so far away suddenly?

“Sir, please wait…”

This man was peculiar. He had never been to the Jiang Clinic before, yet he seemed to know its layout perfectly, as if everything was clear in his mind. He didn’t need to ask for directions at all, heading straight and unerringly towards where Jiang Fei was.

And no matter how hard the young nurse tried to chase after him, the man maintained an unhurried pace, yet she could never quite catch up—extremely bizarre.

“Here we are.” The man smiled, looking at a consultation room ahead where the chairs outside were filled with patients. A mysterious smile appeared on his face, as if he could already see Jiang Fei inside.

Sure enough, as soon as he reached the doorway, he saw Jiang Fei inside, applying silver needles to a young man’s abdomen.

The man had never seen Jiang Fei before, but standing outside the door, he stared directly at him, utterly certain of his identity. Once there, he didn’t proceed further. He just waited by the doorway with a smile, taking out his wine gourd and starting to drink on his own.

Finally, the panting nurse caught up, grabbed the man’s arm, and tried to pull him away, saying somewhat anxiously, “Sir, the Director’s appointments for today are full. He doesn’t have time to treat anyone else. If you need to see him, please come back first thing tomorrow morning!”

“Xiao Fang, go back to your work. Don’t mind this person, let him stay.” Jiang Fei spoke without turning his head, his fingers gently rotating the needles in the patient’s body.

The young nurse, hearing this, was momentarily stunned. She looked at Jiang Fei, then at the strange man, and finally nodded, said “Oh,” and left.

Roughly two minutes later, Jiang Fei focused his breath and withdrew all the needles from the patient’s abdomen in one smooth, flowing motion. He then handed the used needles to a nurse beside him for sterilization.

“All done. After this, your stomach should be fine. No need to come back, and no need for surgery. Your current gastric dysfunction was actually caused by the previous surgery not being performed properly, combined with poor post-operative recovery,” Jiang Fei explained.

The patient got up from the examination bed and put his clothes back on. A middle-aged woman beside him, the young man’s mother, hurriedly nodded in gratitude. “Thank you so much, Dr. Jiang! You have no idea how much my son’s stomach issues have plagued our family these past years. We’ve seen many doctors without much improvement. Dr. Jiang, you truly live up to being the best doctor in the country!”

Jiang Fei smiled and nodded, not bothering with modest refusals this time.

Once the mother and son left the consultation room, he went out and addressed the patients waiting outside. “I’m sorry, everyone. That’s all for the morning consultations. Patients who have registered, please come back at 2 PM this afternoon.”

Even though it wasn’t quite the official lunch break yet, none of the patients complained. They all smiled and left.

In the patient-doctor dynamic, the hospital inherently holds the initiative, and what they say is rarely challenged by patients. It’s like medicine costs—the price is the price, unlike buying clothes where you can haggle.

Moreover, Jiang Fei’s medical skills were nationally renowned, and the Jiang Clinic’s reputation was stellar. Patients coming here held great respect for the clinic and for Jiang Fei, so they naturally wouldn’t feel displeased over such a small matter.

After everyone had left, the strange man holding the wine gourd said with a smile, “So, will you see me now?”

Jiang Fei narrowed his eyes slightly. “Let’s find a different place for your consultation. But before that, how about telling me your name? You know me, but I don’t know you—that’s hardly fair. And for a consultation, one must register, right?”

“Gaoyuan. Little Wine Lover…” the man replied, nodding.

Hearing this name, Jiang Fei nodded. His face showed no obvious change in expression, but his eyes narrowed just a fraction, holding a trace of wariness. Internally, he was quite surprised.

He had never heard of the name ‘Gaoyuan Little Wine Lover’ before.

However, before returning to Jincheng, when he met the publicly recognized number one expert from Wudang Mountain, Master Qingxu, at the Beijing Central Martial Arts Institute, Jiang Fei had asked him a question: How many top-tier martial arts experts were there currently in the Jianghu of China, and who were the ones that could compare to his nominal master, Xuanji Zi?

The result was that Master Qingxu said there were almost none in the current Jianghu who could compare to his master Xuanji Zi. Even Master Qingxu’s own master was no match for Xuanji Zi.

However, there truly were a few extraordinary individuals in the current Jianghu who had lived in seclusion for many years, paying no heed to worldly affairs, and were little known among Jianghu folk.

Compared to these people, the so-called famous masters and top experts of the current Jianghu seemed far too green.

Even Master Qingxu, the publicly recognized top expert of Wudang Mountain, was too weak compared to these reclusive masters and was no match for them.

According to him, with his level of skill, he would find it difficult to last even ten moves against these masters!

Master Qingxu’s cultivation and combat prowess were comparable to Miyamoto Ichizen’s. So, Jiang Fei roughly estimated that he himself might not necessarily be a match for these true reclusive masters either.

He had remembered these names clearly at the time because he was concerned.

Master Qingxu had mentioned three: ‘Prince Dong’ from the black mountains and white waters of the Northeast; the ‘Wine-Loving Monk’ from the Plateau; and the ‘Wild Grass Taoist’ from the foot of Lushan Mountain.

Hearing ‘Gaoyuan Little Wine Lover,’ Jiang Fei naturally associated it with the Plateau’s ‘Wine-Loving Monk’!

Not only did they hail from the same region, but both used ‘Wine Lover’ in their names. It was hard not to make the connection.

Jiang Fei nodded, took off his white doctor’s coat, and walked out of the clinic with this strangely dressed man in coarse linen.

He didn’t know if this man’s intentions were good or malicious, so he naturally had to be somewhat cautious, guarding against any potential tricks.

As they left, Jiang Fei asked, “Gaoyuan Little Wine Lover? Judging by your name, you must have some connection to the ‘Wine-Loving Monk’ from the Plateau, right? May I ask what the relationship is?”

The strange man looked surprised upon hearing this, but then let out a hearty laugh. “Haha, so you’ve heard of my master, the old man? That’s not easy. In the Jianghu these days, very few actually know of my master.”