Li Xu finished preparing all the medicinal ingredients.

He had Wu Jingmei get a clay pot ready, then personally decocted the medicine.

As time passed, a thick medicinal aroma—bitter, with a fishy fragrance—began to waft out from the kitchen.

An hour later, a bowl of medicinal soup, inky black and pungent-smelling, was placed before Elder Wu.

"Elder Wu, please take your medicine."

Without hesitation, Elder Wu picked up the bowl, held his breath, and started drinking. GULP GULP GULP.

As the liquid went down his throat, a powerfully sharp taste instantly spread from his mouth throughout his entire body.

"COUGH... COUGH COUGH..."

Elder Wu couldn’t help but cough a few times, his tongue sticking out as he gasped for air. "My heavens... What kind of medicine is this? How can it be so bitter?"

He had spent his life in the military; what hardship hadn’t he endured?

But this taste—bitter, astringent, and with an indescribable, foul, fishy odor—was still almost unbearable.

"Dad, are you all right?"

Seeing this, Wu Jingmei hurried over with a glass of warm sugar water she had prepared earlier and brought it to her father’s lips.

Elder Wu took the glass and downed the entire thing.

Only then did he manage to suppress the churning nausea, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Neither Li Xu nor Zhang Yanquan had left.

After all, no one was completely certain about the medicinal properties of Yabulu.

They stayed to observe, so they could take immediate action if Elder Wu had any adverse reactions after taking the medicine.

The three of them sat on the living room sofa, with nothing much to do.

To ease the awkward atmosphere, Zhang Yanquan took the initiative and asked Li Xu about his experience searching for the herb.

"Fellow Friend Li, I just can’t wrap my head around it. Wild Yabulu is extremely rare. How did you know you could still find it in Stan Country?"

This question also piqued the curiosity of Elder Wu and his daughter.

Li Xu, of course, couldn’t tell them the truth.

He simply mentioned that he had come across the information by chance.

Then, he focused on telling them about his experience in Donggan Village.

He described how, upon first arriving at the village, he encountered Snar, a man in a state of "suspended animation" whose funeral was underway;

how he went against everyone’s objections, using Ten Xuan Bloodletting and Five-Point Iron to pull the man back from the brink of death, thereby earning the trust of the entire village.

He then explained how, following Snar’s directions, he found the place where the Yabulu grew.

And finally, he led the villagers to work together to dig it up.

He also recounted how he used the unexpectedly acquired Ah Wei as a miraculous bait to help Snar catch many loaches, even capturing an extremely rare Golden Leopard-Striped Loach.

Although Li Xu’s telling was understated, the events themselves were still full of twists and turns.

Elder Wu, Zhang Yanquan, and Wu Jingmei listened with great relish, sighing in amazement again and again.

At the same time, their respect for Li Xu’s medical skills grew even deeper.

They all understood that without genuine, convincing abilities, it would have been absolutely impossible for Li Xu to win over the remote and xenophobic foreign villagers in such a short time.

And even less possible to get those villagers to willingly help him dig up the dangerous Yabulu.

As they talked, more than an hour passed without them realizing it.

Seeing that the three of them were getting parched from all the talking, Wu Jingmei got up to pour them some water.

First, she poured a glass of warm boiled water for both Zhang Yanquan and Li Xu.

But as she carried a glass of water to her father, she suddenly remembered something.

She stared at her father, both shocked and delighted, and cried out excitedly, "Dad..."

"What is it, Jingmei? Why are you so jumpy?"

Elder Wu was a bit baffled by his daughter’s reaction.

Wu Jingmei didn’t answer. She pointed a finger at the wall clock, then at her father, and stammered:

"Dad... h-have you noticed? It’s... it’s been over an hour since... since you took the medicine! And you... you haven’t coughed or wheezed even once!"

Huh?

Her words were A Wake-up Call, not only for Elder Wu, but also causing Zhang Yanquan’s jaw to drop.

That’s right!

They had been so engrossed in Li Xu’s fascinating stories that they had completely overlooked this fact.

Previously, with Elder Wu’s condition, forget an hour—even sitting quietly for ten or twenty minutes would inevitably trigger a violent fit of coughing and wheezing due to his obstructed qi flow.

But now, he had not only sat for over an hour but had also spoken so much, and yet, he was perfectly fine!

Elder Wu himself also realized it.

He subconsciously took a deep breath.

The breath was smooth, deep, and strong.

There was only a slight obstruction and wheezing sound.

His chest, which for years had felt as if it were being crushed by a giant boulder, now felt an unprecedented and long-lost sense of relief.

Zhang Yanquan shot up from the sofa.

He lunged toward Elder Wu’s side, forgetting all etiquette, and grabbed his wrist, placing his fingers on the cun-kou pulse point.

Only Li Xu remained calm as he watched the scene unfold.

All of this was within his expectations.

Because the prescription provided by the intelligence system was guaranteed to be effective.

Zhang Yanquan’s fingers remained on Elder Wu’s wrist for a full two minutes.

The solemn expression on his face gradually gave way to an undisguisable look of delighted surprise.

"It’s... it’s stabilized..."

Zhang Yanquan looked up, his face full of disbelief. "Elder Wu, your pulse—which was originally wiry, slippery, and rapid, typical of asthma—has become much more stable. Moreover, your body isn’t showing any adverse reactions from the medicine being too potent. This... this medicine is effective. It’s really effective!"

"HAHA... HAHAHAHA!"

After hearing this, Elder Wu was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Much better. I feel so much better."

Elder Wu stood up and walked back and forth across the living room a couple of times.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but not only was his breathing smoother, he even felt that his steps were much lighter.

Wu Jingmei was so emotional she started wiping away tears.

"Doctor Li, thank you. Really, thank you so much."

After thanking him profusely, Wu Jingmei said, "Doctor Li, please give me your bank account number. I’ll transfer the consultation fee to you."

Elder Wu, standing to the side, added with a hearty laugh, "Doctor Li, you’ve cured my asthma. This old man can live a few more years now. If you ever run into trouble in the future, just say the word. I still have some pull."

Having gone through a certain special incident before, Li Xu knew exactly how much weight Elder Wu’s words carried.

Afterward, he prepared seven doses of medicine and gave them to Wu Jingmei.

"Ms. Wu, here are seven doses. Decoct and take one dose per day. After seven days, I’ll come back and adjust the prescription based on his recovery."

With Elder Wu out of danger, Li Xu had completed his task for this trip and rose to take his leave.

Zhang Yanquan left along with him.