Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 171 - 166 Song Tianran

Wang Jian didn’t rush in to see his teacher. Instead, he chatted with Song Tianran to catch up on what had happened while he was away.

Teacher Song’s illness had worsened since last year. Despite resting this year, there hadn’t been much of a turnaround, a clear sign that this wasn’t a recent affliction.

Wang Jian believed that with Teacher Song Yijin’s Medical Skills, it was impossible for him not to have known the risk.

The sole reason he had persisted until last year was simply that the old man wanted to stay at the school.

As he considered this, Wang Jian also remembered that Teacher Song Yijin had resigned from his hospital position the year before last to teach full-time.

Now, it seemed likely that Teacher Song had known about his condition for some time and had worried he might collapse in the hospital, harming a patient.

This wasn’t mere speculation on Wang Jian’s part; it was a reasonable deduction based on things he had heard and seen during his university and graduate years.

Although they had argued after graduation because Wang Jian researched medical techniques with no scientific basis and dabbled in unorthodox methods, he still held great respect for his teacher in his heart.

Especially now, after speaking with Song Tianran, he realized that Teacher Song had always looked out for him in his work, even after their arguments.

"I heard you went back to your hometown!" Song Tianran said suddenly. She recalled that Wang Jian had mentioned bringing his sister to school, which seemed to answer her question. "Why have I never heard you mention a sister before?"

"She’s not my sister by blood," Wang Jian explained. "Besides bringing her to school, I also came to see some old friends."

"Oh..." Song Tianran glanced at Wang Jian again when he mentioned old friends. I wonder if this scoundrel counts me as one of them. However, her expression remained as calm and composed as it had been since she opened the door.

But then she asked, "I also heard that you’ve opened a clinic and become a village doctor?"

"Huh?" Wang Jian was taken aback. He was surprised that she was interested, though her face remained impassive. She must be dying for a cigarette, he thought. If Teacher Song wasn’t resting out here in the yard, she would have lit one up already. "How did you know?" he asked. "I did become a village doctor. It’s been two months, and it’s quite comfortable—much more so than in Capital City."

Song Tianran scrutinized his expression, trying to discern if he was just putting on a brave face. After a moment, seeing that he remained genuinely carefree, she sighed and said, "What’s so good about being a village doctor? When you left Capital City, my dad had already fallen ill, otherwise he definitely wouldn’t have just ignored your situation. And you’re too stubborn. If you wouldn’t talk to Teacher, you could have told any of us. It wouldn’t have come to this..."

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Wang Jian laughed. If she’d said this to me back when I stormed off in anger, I might have actually listened. But now... "I think things are great," he said. "No one’s looking over my shoulder, and I have the freedom to treat patients my own way."

Seeing that Song Tianran was about to say more, Wang Jian cut her off. "Don’t think I’m feeling wronged. I’m genuinely doing well. My clinic is a partnership with the Cai Group; they’re sponsoring me. On the surface, I’m a village doctor, but I’m actually a private physician. The salary is much higher than what I earned at the hospital, so... you don’t need to worry." He finished with a shrug and a smile.

Song Tianran finally dropped the topic. "Since you’re doing well, you should tell my dad. Someone else told him you’d left Capital City. Even though the old man had a stroke, he still cried when he heard the news."

He cried? Wang Jian froze.

In an instant, he understood why Teacher Song would react that way. If his own health were failing and one of his students ran into trouble but refused to ask for help, still angry over a past disagreement, he would feel the same.

But he had long since moved past all that.

With his current proficiency in Ancient Medical Skills, he was confident he could finally win Teacher Song’s recognition for the discipline.

Moreover, after learning about Song Yijin’s condition today, Wang Jian had a new idea: he was going to cure his teacher. Health is the top priority. Arguments and disagreements are meaningless at a time like this.

"May I examine Teacher’s condition?" Wang Jian asked Song Tianran. "If necessary, I might also perform Acupuncture."

"You’re planning to treat him?"

Song Tianran wasn’t surprised. All her father’s disciples wanted to check on their teacher’s health when they visited.

However, Wang Jian was the first to speak so directly about performing Acupuncture, making it clear he intended to provide treatment.

Song Tianran didn’t rush to refuse, her mind drifting back to when she had first met Wang Jian.

It was in a remote mountain village, the kind of place where birds wouldn’t even bother to shit. At the time, Wang Jian looked like a tourist lost in the mountains. He was unkempt, his clothes were tattered in several places, and he was carrying a very strange-looking medicine chest on his back.

It was the medicine chest that had caught her eye and made her linger.

She had just been hiking to relax and hadn’t expected any strange encounters. But in a mountain village, someone like Wang Jian was hard to miss.

And it was with that appearance that Wang Jian saved the entire village before leaving with a flourish, disappearing back into the deep mountains.

That was when Song Tianran realized he wasn’t some lost tourist but a reclusive master. A powerful curiosity immediately took hold of her, and for some unknown reason, she followed him into the mountains.

But how could she possibly keep up? Once in the mountains, Wang Jian moved like a monkey or a wild beast, covering a hundred meters in minutes with great, leaping strides. Song Tianran was athletic, but she was no match for Wang Jian, who could cultivate qi.

It wasn’t long before she lost him. She then realized she had wandered deep into the mountains, far from any developed trail, and was completely lost.

Luckily, Wang Jian happened to find her while searching for dinner. Otherwise, Song Tianran wouldn’t be standing here right now; she would have become dinner for some wild beast.

Because of that day, Song Tianran had always held an inexplicable trust in Wang Jian.

It was related to his obviously abnormal abilities, so different from an ordinary person, and to his unpredictable, almost supernatural way of moving.

More than that, it was related to why he and Song Yijin had argued.

Wang Jian hadn’t used the Chinese medicine he learned in college to save those people; he had used the techniques he learned in the mountains.

While this became the source of Song Yijin’s fear that he had strayed onto a dangerous path, it became the foundation of Song Tianran’s absolute trust in him.

After all, in her heart, that guy Wang Jian wasn’t quite human. A doctor who wasn’t human... maybe he really could save her father.

Therefore, Song Tianran had no reason to stop him. She agreed on the spot, her indifferent demeanor since opening the door melting away. Her eyes shone with anticipation, revealing her extremely high hopes for him.

Wang Jian, of course, didn’t notice this. He was completely engrossed in the examination.

The area he was examining this time was the brain. This was new territory for him as a practitioner, so even he was being exceptionally careful. Despite his powerful qi, he didn’t dare to be the least bit careless.

In Capital City, September was nearing autumn. The sun remained intense, however, and the temperatures had hardly dropped, though the nights could bring a slight chill. A refreshing breeze rustled through the small courtyard, making it far more pleasant than any air-conditioned room. Yet even in these comfortable conditions, beads of sweat began to form on Wang Jian’s forehead.