Open a Clinic to Cultivate Myself

Ning Tao leaped down from the Iron Plantain tree. He stopped a brief moment before landing, his feet stepping in mid-air. The feeling was almost as if he were descending a staircase. It looked extremely dashing.

Many fish demons were visibly affected. They obviously did not understand how Ning Tao did it.

Ning Tao reached out and lifted a bunch of Iron Plantain. It felt heavy in his hand. Usually, a bunch of plantains would weigh at most a few kilograms, but this bunch of Iron Plantains weighed at least 25 to 30 kilograms. There were four bunches on the ground, so they must be at least 100 kilograms in weight.

Ning Tao lifted the four bunches of Iron Plantains and walked to the bonfire.

Yang Sheng looked at Ning Tao’s small medicine chest slung upon his shoulder and smiled. “Doctor Ning, you have so many treasures. The tripod you used for mending magic tools is already a rare treasure. And your knife sliced through the Iron Plantains like they were bean curds. Could you let me see them both?”

Ning Tao grinned. “Let me put my Iron Plantains in my room. Then I will return and show Senior Yang my treasures.”

Yang Sheng knitted his brows somewhat.

Ning Tao said no more. He lifted his four bunches of Iron Plantains and walked to the Sea Soul Building.

Bao Zhimei said, “Tianyin, accompany Doctor Ning back to his room, and help him open the door.”

“Alright.” Ruan Tianyin rose and followed Ning Tao, speaking as they walked. “Doctor Ning, let me help you carry the plantains.”

Ning Tao said, “No need. I can carry them myself.”

At this moment Zhang Chengdong too crawled up from the rug. He said, inebriated, “I… I must go to the woods and piss.”

Bao Zhimei and Yang Sheng totally ignored Zhang Chengdong. The eyes of this pair of husband and wife were fixed on Ning Tao’s departing figure.

“My lord, you can’t be thinking of…” As Zhang Chengdong tottered away, Bao Zhimei whispered quietly to her husband.

“He has a tripod which can mend magic tools. It is a real magic tool. And that knife is another.” Yang Sheng’s eyes were full of excitement and covetousness.

“I get you. So we must resolve this issue together with Zhang Chengdong, so no one will know.” A cold smile started hovering on Bao Zhimei’s lips.

Yang Sheng raised a bowl of wine and glugged it down his throat. He smiled coldly, “Let’s strike when he returns.”

Bao Zhimei nodded. Her eyes swept through the dozens of village fish demons slowly. Everywhere she looked, the fish demons nodded. A few even took out their condiment bottles.

Ning Tao’s room was on the second floor of Sea Soul Building, nearest to the stairway. He did not intend to stay for the night, but Bao Zhimei had insisted on preparing a guest room for him. He could not reject her zealous offer.

Once they reached the room, Ruan Tianyin immediately dashed up to open the door for Ning Tao. She entered the room after him.

The room was sparsely furnished. A wooden bed, a chair and two stools made up its entire furniture.

Ning Tao put the four bunches of plantains on the table and said, “Miss Ruan, I have nothing else I need your help. You may go.”

But Ruan Tianyin said, “Let’s go back together.”

Ning Tao said, “You have to wait for me outside. I will come once I have changed.”

Ruan Tianyin smiled. “Doctor Ning, are you feeling bashful? I can turn around and not look at you.”

Ning Tao furrowed his brows and stared at Ruan Tianyin with an expressionless face.

Ruan Tianyin decided to change tack. “Alright, I shall wait for you outside the door. Please hurry.”

Ning Tao followed Ruan Tianyin to the door. After she went out, he stretched out his hands and closed the room door.

Ring, ring…

An incoming call suddenly rang on his cell phone.

Ning Tao took out his cell phone and looked at the screen. Then he picked up the call and said directly, “Imperial Physician Zhang, the situation here isn’t too good. Come to my room right now.”

It was Zhang Chengdong’s voice, “Doctor Ning, I’m here to remind you that that stinking shark is eyeing your treasures. I will be walking into their trap if I come to your room. I’m already five kilometers away. You should run too!”

Ning Tao was speechless.

He had asked Zhang Chengdong to come to his room in order to take him away through the convenient door. He did not expect that during the brief moments he mounted the stairs and spoke to Ruan Tianyin, Zhang Chengdong had already fled to five kilometers away!

Ning Tao smiled wryly and kept his cell phone. He had worried over nothing. Zhang Chengdong was all along only pretending to be drunk. He was secretly watching Yang Sheng and Bao Zhimei, and must have decided on his route and manner of escape long ago. Yet it was quite an exaggeration to find him five kilometers away in the blink of an eye. They were both cultivating doctors, so why was he so skillful?

“Doctor Ning, are you ready?” Ruan Tianyin’s voice came from outside the door.

Ning Tao said, “I will be soon.”

He walked to his left and took out an ordinary prescription with the picture of a blood lock. He opened the convenient door and strode into it with his four bunches of Iron Plantains.

“Doctor Ning? Doctor Ning?” Went Ruan Tianyin’s voice.

The room was completely quiet.

Outside the door, Ruan Tianyin retreated to the corridor. Then she waved her arms in the direction of the bonfire.

Yang Sheng and Bao Zhimei exchanged glances. The husband and wife seemed to have realized something. They both rose and sprinted towards the Sea Soul Building. Taking quick steps, they soon leaped up the air. As the wind whizzed past them, they had leaped up the corridor of the second floor.

Below the stairs, dozens of fish demons were swarming in.

“What’s the situation?” Bao Zhimei lowered her voice and asked Ruan Tianyin.

Ruan Tianyin said, “He said he wanted to change, and asked me to wait outside the room. He did reply just now when I called him, but soon, it was all silent.”

Yang Sheng kicked the door open and rushed in with a group of fish demons.

The room was completely empty. Ning Tao was nowhere to be seen.

In Sky Clinic, Ning Tao placed the four bunches of Iron Plantains on the floor. He had wanted to call Zhang Chengdong and asked him where he had fled, but he changed his mind after giving it some thought. If Ning Tao disturbed his escape, he might be captured. That would spell trouble.

Most demons were wicked and would scheme against humans. At the bonfire party in the demon village, that mussel spirit Ruan Tianyin had tried to bewitch him the moment she came. He had realized he might be in trouble. He was not Tang Sanzang, so why would demonesses fall for him so easily? Besides, Bao Zhimei and Yang Sheng kept plying him with wine. If he had not been cautious, he would have been dead.

Ning Tao’s eyes fell on the four bunches of Iron Plantains.

All seven spiritual materials required for the Tianbao Weaving Method were now ready. The next step would be to start weaving the magic garment.

He decided to do it at once. Ning Tao took out the delicate perfumed tripod and began extracting the spiritual materials and refining them into a semi-finished fluid.

Two hours later, a fluid as dark as ink appeared in the delicate perfumed tripod. Before that when there had been six fluids, the semi-finished product was transparent. After adding in the Iron Plantain, it turned black. Since the semi-finished fluid was black, the threads in it must be black as well. The situation Ning Tao feared had not surfaced. He did not need to use authentic Heavenly Gem Cloth to weave his clothes for autumn.

After refining the semi-finished fluid, Ning Tao sat cross-legged before the delicate perfumed tripod. He jabbed out his Incredible Sword Fingers with both hands and summoned his spiritual power. His arms rose and fell, plunging very methodically into the fluid from the delicate perfumed tripod. He lifted up the threads of silk…

Ring, ring…

Before Ning Tao could lift up all the silken threads, the ringing of his cell phone interrupted the process.

Ning Tao took out his cell phone and looked. Then he picked up the call. “Imperial Physician Zhang, it’s me. What’s up?”

Zhang Chengdong’s voice rang out from his cell phone. “Are you out of that place?”

Ning Tao said, “I have escaped. Where are you now?”

Zhang Chengdong heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s good that you have escaped. That stinking shark is a ruthless, deceitful jerk… I’m already in Macau.”

Ning Tao was speechless.

Zhang Chengdong’s voice came, “Doctor Ning, I’m so glad to know that you have escaped. It’s not convenient to talk on the phone. How about fixing a date and venue for another meeting?”

Ning Tao said, “Call me when you arrive in Beidu. Get ready the elixir prescription and spiritual materials. I will repay the favor I owed you.”

“Great! You’re straightforward. Let’s fix it as that. I will come to Beidu when I’m ready.” Zhang Chengdong’s voice sounded very excited.

“Keep in contact by phone. Goodbye.” Ning Tao hung up the line.

He could not guess what elixir Zhang Chengdong wanted him to refine. But he would know when the man brought him the elixir prescription and spiritual materials.

Ning Tao kept his cell phone and resumed picking up the silken threads.

Cha, cha, cha…

In the clinic, the sound of Ning Tao’s fingers jabbing into the fluid and lifting up the silken threads had a strong rhythmic tempo. As this rhythmic sound continued, one after another of the Heavenly Gem threads fell on the floor beside the delicate perfumed tripod, gathering into a heap.

Whenever he was tired, Ning Tao would move to the good-evil tripod and practice his spiritual power. When he regained his energy, he would return to the delicate perfumed tripod to pick up the threads.

Quite unconsciously, dawn broke.

Cha!

Ning Tao jabbed his Incredible Sword Fingers into the bottom of the delicate perfumed tripod. He lifted up the last strand of the dark-as-ink Heavenly Gem threads. His entire person collapsed on the floor, completely exhausted.

He lay on the floor and dozed for a while, then got up to wind the threads. He fused the different lengths of the Heavenly Gem threads into skeins of silk.

After all the busy work, more than half a day had passed. There were no more Heavenly Gem threads on the floor, but only 12 skeins of silk.

These 12 skeins of silk were the quantity required for the Tianbao Weaving Method. They corresponded to the 12 Earthly Branches, that is, to Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, and Xu— the Yang branches; as well as Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You, and Hai— the Yin branches. While weaving, the different silk skeins would correspond to different warp and weft threads. This weaving was very particular and did not resemble the sweater knitting of his earlier training.

After winding the silk skeins, Ning Tao took out a porcelain vial from his small medicine chest and unstoppered it, pouring out a devil’s kidney wolfberry. He put it into his mouth.

Cultivation could restore his spiritual power, but his body would always require energy. It would not do without any food to replenish his body.

The devil’s kidney wolfberry started to melt in his mouth. It turned into a scorching energy invigorating his body. In the blink of an eye, the energy in his body had been replenished again. His primordial vitality soared, and both his Yin and Yang energies were restored. Just one pill of this tonic was enough.

But there was still a shortcoming. The moment the devil’s kidney entered his stomach, he began to suffer an indecent reaction in his groin. Luckily, there was no one with him, so he needed not worry. After a brief rest, he resumed weaving the cloth again.

His Incredible Sword Fingers danced about, each thread constantly shuttling and crisscrossing in the air. Soon, a piece of fabric gradually materialized…