Chapter 25

Wang Sihua didn't think much of it, but the moment he stepped outside, he ran straight into Zhao Facao.

The two of them made eye contact.

Zhao Facao: '...'

Wang Sihua said, 'Master Zhao, we meet again.'

Zhao Facao's heart skipped a beat, unsure how much this police officer knew. But he couldn't afford to be a liability. So he put on a stern face and said, 'What brings you here? Looking for a face reading or a fortune-telling?'

Wang Sihua said, 'Just a health check. I don't put stock in that fate-reading business.'

A health check? Surely not the kind that charges...

Master Zhao was eager to send him off, so he spoke with thinly veiled sarcasm, 'I thought Officer Wang had heard of my great name and came specially to consult me. Since that's not the case, I won't see you out.'

Being spoken to like that, Wang Sihua was a little displeased. He gave a soft huff, 'I hope Master Zhao won't happen to divine another big event next time.'

He deliberately bit down hard on the word 'happen to.' Then he left.

The moment Wang Sihua was gone, Zhao Facao hurried inside, 'Master, master, what did you just say to that cop?'

Su Fuling: '...You're saying that person just now was a police officer?'

'That's him. The one in charge of the car accident involving He Li last time. I went to the Police Station and dealt with him then. This time he must be up to no good. You need to be careful.'

Su Fuling said, 'No wonder he brought it up in front of me just now. But even if he's investigating, we don't need to be afraid. We weren't involved.'

As long as they don't drag her to the Police Station, that's fine.

As for how many times the man comes to investigate, it has nothing to do with her.

'Master, you didn't say anything strange just now, did you?'

Su Fuling said, 'I only told him to be careful.'

'You mean he'll have bad luck today? Oh no, if he really does have bad luck today, he'll definitely connect the dots.' Zhao Facao was already worried. 'It's all my fault for getting back late, otherwise I could have warned you.'

Su Fuling felt that even if Uncle Fa had been here to warn her, she wouldn't have turned the man away. He hadn't done anything wrong—should she chase him off just because she feared he might learn something?

Still, she was glad she had firmly denied any superstition. Nothing for anyone to latch onto.

Seeing Su Fuling wasn't worried herself, Zhao Facao dropped the subject.

His master was a capable person; she might just give that cop a good scare.

Since there was nothing more to worry about, Zhao Facao beamed as he showed Su Fuling the bottles and jars he'd bought.

'Look at all these I just bought—this one can hold medicinal wine, this small one for medicinal paste. And this wooden box can hold Plaster. Looks quite refined, doesn't it? Oh, I also ordered a big signboard; they'll deliver it this afternoon. It says Su Family Clinic. I made it based on the name on your signboard, Master. Do you want to change it?'

Su Fuling: '...You went out just for this?'

'Of course! These were things an apprentice used to handle. How could I let the master trouble herself?'

Su Fuling thought, no wonder people in the old days liked taking disciples... But she really couldn't bring herself to take advantage of others. 'How much did all this cost? I'll pay you back.'

Zhao Facao quickly waved his hands, 'No need, it didn't cost much.'

Su Fuling's face hardened, 'Uncle Fa, I teach you medicine, you help me with tasks—that's fine. But spending your money won't do.'

Seeing Su Fuling angry, Zhao Facao quickly reported the prices.

The bottles and jars hadn't cost much; the signboard had run over a hundred.

Su Fuling gave him the money. 'No need to change the name.'

She and her little uncle would carry on their grandfather's ideals, passing them down and letting them flourish.

...

Wang Sihua felt this trip had been a waste. Maybe the last car accident really had been an accident. As for the advance warning, it was just a charlatan happening to guess right.

Anyway, looking at that charlatan, he didn't seem to know anything; and that Doctor didn't seem to show any particular skill either.

The more Wang Sihua thought about it, the more confused his mind became. He always felt like something didn't add up. The things he'd seen these past two days made it impossible to fool himself into thinking there was nothing wrong at all.

He had just returned to the Police Station when his superior, face dark, summoned him to the office. 'I heard you went out to investigate the Tsim Sha Tsui car accident again today?'

'Sir, I just had some suspicions and wanted to investigate thoroughly.'

The superior cut in directly, 'This case has been confirmed as a traffic accident and handed over to the Transport Department. It's no longer under our jurisdiction. Don't investigate it again. Police resources aren't to be wasted like this, and I don't want others saying we like to steal credit.'

Wang Sihua said, 'Sir, I was thinking that if we don't get to the bottom of it, what if we really let someone get away...'

'Enough. If you want to keep investigating, take off that green and put on white.'

That meant transferring him to traffic police?

Wang Sihua knew his superior wouldn't agree, so he said nothing more. But he was stubborn by nature, and his displeasure was plain on his face.

The superior's face went cold, 'If you're that free, go out and catch thieves. Recently citizens have reported too many thieves in Yau Ma Tei. You'll patrol the streets at night.'

Wang Sihua: '...'

'Officer Wang Sihua, do you understand?'

Wang Sihua stood at attention, 'Yes, sir!'

Patrol days weren't as interesting as investigating cases. The partner patrolling with Wang Sihua said, 'Ah Hua, why did you have to be so stubborn? Regretting it now?'

Wang Sihua said, 'Anyway, back at the police academy, our teachers taught us to be patient with every case. As long as we can uncover the truth, we should fear nothing.'

'You don't have a chance to investigate now either. I don't get it either—it's just an ordinary traffic accident, and those two drivers explained everything themselves. You're just making trouble for yourself. These next few days you'll just be sunning yourself on the street with me.'

Wang Sihua was speechless.

His partner asked again, 'So did you actually find anything these past two days?'

'...No.' He'd even lost twenty Hong Kong dollars. Had a useless health check.

'Give it up. Don't go anymore. I think this case really is just an ordinary accident. There was no prior setup with the vehicle or the road. That Ms. An also asked us not to keep pursuing it.'

'Mm.' Wang Sihua nodded, dejected.

Suddenly, a figure darted past, followed by a shout, 'Stop the thief! My wallet!'

A white-collar worker just off work had been pickpocketed.

Wang Sihua reacted swiftly, turning to chase after that figure. Though the thief ran fast, Wang Sihua was a young officer who'd graduated not long ago—his physical conditioning was good, and he gained ground quickly. He even commandeered a bicycle along the way.

When he caught up to the thief, he leapt off the bicycle, grabbed one of the thief's arms and twisted it behind his back, then went for the other.

'Stay still!' Wang Sihua barked.

The thief, seeing escape was impossible, finally stopped resisting. But just as his other arm went behind his back, the small knife in his hand took the opportunity to stab at Wang Sihua.

Wang Sihua dodged instinctively; the thief moved quickly too, using the moment of his evasion to spin his body, the small knife in his hand slicing across the hand Wang Sihua had used to grab him.

The thief had expected Wang Sihua to let go from the pain, but Wang Sihua, even after being cut, held on tight and quickly subdued him.

'Ah Hua, you're really quick.' The partner who caught up was panting.

He hadn't expected such a young man, barely out of training, to be so agile.

But he soon noticed the wound on Wang Sihua's hand, hurried over to take the thief, and cuffed him.

'You're hurt.'

Wang Sihua waved it off, 'Just a scratch.'

The partner called to have someone come, then said, 'So you really shouldn't have talked back to Inspector Li. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten hurt today.'

Wang Sihua smiled, 'Just an accident. Getting hurt is normal for a cop.'

His partner said, 'You hadn't been hurt before. Forget it, just be more careful next time.'

Wang Sihua's heart stirred suddenly. He recalled what the young Doctor had said during his health check at Master Zhao's shop today.

He looked at his own hand, trying hard to convince himself—this must just be coincidence, just coincidence.

No one could have known in advance what would happen to him.

Su Fuling searched through many books in the System before finding cases matching Chen Shan's condition.

These cases also taught how to use the medicines and their effects.

This was truly a godsend for Su Fuling.

She hadn't expected the System to have such good things. 'System, is medical study this convenient in your future?'

Merit System: 'This is nothing—just very ordinary books. If you want to experience a better teaching model, the host is welcome to purchase various videos, actively level up, and obtain one-on-one guidance from renowned teachers as soon as possible.'

Su Fuling: '...Such a capitalist. This is the longest the System has ever spoken—it's to guide me to spend.'

'It's not that I don't want to—it's just I don't have the Merit Points, right?' If she had enough Merit Points, she wouldn't leave a single one behind.

'Sigh, if only I had a real big Medical Hall someday, with a steady stream of patients...'

A long road ahead.

Early the next morning at the shop, Su Fuling saw the big signboard hanging at the entrance.

Looking at the words Su Family Medical Office on it, her mood was quite good.

At least she'd taken the first step.

Zhao Facao had arrived earlier than her, already tidied the tables and brewed a pot of tea.

Su Fuling: 'Uncle Fa, you don't need to do these chores in the future. When I see patients, you can watch. When I'm done, I can guide you through some medical texts.'

Hearing this, Zhao Facao's face lit up. He felt all his effort had paid off. 'Master, don't worry, I'll study hard.'

Su Fuling had just sat down and taken a sip of tea to wake up when someone arrived.

She'd expected the earliest visitors to be He Li and the others, but the one who came was actually that police officer from yesterday.

But in Su Fuling's mind, every identity was the same. Whoever came for treatment was a patient.

But Zhao Facao saw it differently—he thought the man had come to cause trouble. The case had nothing to do with them, but being pestered by this person was annoying. 'Officer, you're very free.'

Wang Sihua ignored him, sat down in the chair across from Su Fuling, and extended his hand. 'I got hurt yesterday.'

Su Fuling: '...Sir, are you here for bandaging?'

Wang Sihua said, 'How did you know I'd get hurt yesterday? How exactly did you see it?'

Su Fuling said, 'Sir, yesterday I only said your spirit was off and you were prone to mistakes, that you should rest more. I didn't say you'd be hurt.'

She spoke with righteous conviction, 'Sir, I hear you're a police officer. You people shouldn't believe in superstition, should you?'

Zhao Facao chimed in from the side, 'Oh, Officer Wang, you've started believing in this stuff too? Want me to cast a hexagram for you?'

Wang Sihua began to doubt his own judgment, but looking at his hand, he wondered if it was really too much of a coincidence?

He pulled out another twenty Hong Kong dollars. 'I want another health check today.'

Su Fuling thought, is he addicted now?

Zhao Facao was, at this moment, full of envy. Getting a cop to willingly hand over money—his master really had the skill!

Su Fuling looked at the money on the table and said with a smile, 'Sir, you really shouldn't waste your money. Coming in injured, there's no way you can be healthy, no matter how you look at it. As a Doctor, I can't lie.'

Wang Sihua said: '...Yesterday I saw Li Liang also come in injured for a health check.'

So he'd been staking out the place since yesterday.

Su Fuling explained, 'Because his wound was treated by me. I have confidence in my own medicine, so I can guarantee he has no other issues. Your wound wasn't treated by me, so of course I can't give a full guarantee.'

Wang Sihua hadn't expected Su Fuling to come up with such an excuse. He gritted his teeth and extended his hand. 'Then please, Doctor Su, take a look at this wound for me and tell me how to treat it so it meets the standard for a health check.'

Seeing him so persistent, Su Fuling knew she couldn't avoid this. If she didn't do the check today, he'd keep coming back.

She stopped being coy, unwrapped the bandage, and examined the wound. 'I have medicinal paste here that promotes wound healing.'

Zhao Facao had already nimbly prepared fresh bandages and paste, and told Wang Sihua, 'This is the good stuff—freshly made paste. Ancestral formula!'

Wang Sihua didn't care about any of that. 'Then please, Doctor.'

Su Fuling applied the medicine for him and bound the bandage, thinking she'd finally earn 1 Merit Point.

'Merit Points +2'

Su Fuling: '...!!!'

Both were second-time bandaging—Li Liang's wound was even deeper than this, and that only got 1 Merit Point! Was this cop's wound different? How exactly does the System evaluate this?

From her previous judgment, it was based on the severity of the condition. Now it seemed that wasn't the only factor. Thinking about this person's identity, she asked, 'This wound of yours doesn't look self-inflicted. How did you get it? I need to know if there's any source of infection.'

Wang Sihua said, 'Just an accident while catching a thief. Already been checked—no other issues.'

Su Fuling had a quiet guess forming in her heart.

The calculation of Merit Points really wasn't simple. It wasn't just about the condition—it was also about the person being treated. Or rather, about what the person being treated had done.