Afternoon.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

Sitting in the open yard of the house, Ning Tao was playing Sun Pingchuan’s magic tool erhu. He was an expert at fixing magic tools but not so good at playing the instrument. Besides, the magic tool for the common practitioner was not functioning, so that was the best sound he could make.

As to Sun Pingchuan, he might deserve death. To Ning Tao, the most important thing was elixir prescription on the fifth skull fragment, not to kill Sun Pingchuan. If he killed Sun Pingchuan after he gave him the elixir prescription, that would be ungracious. Do others a favor in a current predicament; make oneself a waiver for the future. Sometimes giving others a chance equals giving yourself a chance.

Ning Tao didn’t regret this.

Meow!

A cat’s meow entered Ning Tao’s ears. He stopped playing erhu and looked up to the roof. A black cat stood on the roof with snow, dirty and thin as if a stray cat.

Ning Tao was vaguely familiar with the cat. Looking closely, he remembered that he had seen it in the alley before meeting up with Sun Pingchuan. It was snowing and the cat ran through the alley. Yet he hadn’t been paying attention to it so he wasn’t sure.

“Was it you last night? Are you hungry? Come down. I can make you something to eat,” Ning Tao said.

“Meow.” The stray cat didn’t go down but stared at Ning Tao vigilantly.

Ning Tao suddenly remembered something and awoken the state of looking and smelling of eyes and nose. A cloud of innate aura entered his eyesight instantly, as well as the all the scents of the stray cat.

It was just an ordinary cat.

The cat turned away as if it saw changes in Ning Tao’s eyes, making noises on the roof.

“Zzz, zzz, zzz…”

Ning Tao looked up to the sky in a hurry.

A flight of pigeons crossed the sky, leaving signature pigeon coos behind.

Ning Tao couldn’t help shaking his head to himself with a bitter smile. With so many enemies, he was paranoid.

“Doctor Ning, are you at home?” It was Teacher Fang living across the street.

Ning Tao raised up his voice without standing up, “I’m here. The door is open. Please come in.”

Fang Min opened the door and entered with Huang Xiaopeng beside her. The child seemed to be sick, looking pale and listless.

Ning Tao looked at Huang Xiaopeng with concern, “Xiaopeng, what’s the matter? Are you ill?”

Huang Xiaopeng nodded honestly.

Fang Min started the conversation, “Xiaopeng has been having headache and fever for no reason and I’m so worried about him. He took off classes in the morning and went to the hospital. A doctor gave him some medication after we waited for a long time but it didn’t work. I heard noises in your house so I brought him. Is it convenient now?”

Ning Tao smiled, “How would it not be convenient for me? Come over Xiaopeng. Let Uncle Ning examine you.”

Huang Xiaopeng walked closer, looking at him timidly.

Ning Tao checked Huang Xiaopeng’s pulse, then opened his eyelid and gently rubbed his forehead. During the process, he poured some spiritual power into him.

Fang Min looked at Ning Tao curiously, “Doctor Ning, what are you doing?”

Ning Tao said, “The kid is fine. It’s cold and windy these days and he overstrains his nerves by studying too hard. Let me rub and activate his nerves. He doesn’t need medicine.”

“No medicine?” Fang Min looked in disbelief.

Just when she finished the sentence, Ning Tao had finished the head message for Huang Xiaopeng.

Huang Xiaopeng shook his head and said with joy, “Mom, my headache is gone!”

Fang Min noticed blushing on Huang Xiaopeng’s face and he seemed to be in better spirits than when he walked in. She said gratefully, “Doctor Ning, thank you so much. Your skill is so much higher than so-called experts in hospitals.”

Ning Tao replied with a smile, “No problem, Teacher Fang. Just a small favor.”

Fang Min smiled shyly, “We are neighbors and friends so I won’t insist. Has Xiaoji come back yet? I can take her to class if she is back.”

Ning Tao replied, “She’s still in her hometown. She won’t be back for some time. I’ll send her to school when she’s back.”

“If that’s the case, well then. I need to bring Xiaopeng back to school now,” Fang Min said, “Xiaopeng, do you know what you should say?”

Huang Xiaopeng gave a Young Pioneers of China’s salute to Ning Tao, “Thank you, Uncle Ning. Goodbye, Uncle Ning.”

Ning Tao wore a smile, “See you, Xiaopeng. Keep up with your study and contribute to your country in the future.”

Huang Xiaopeng nodded hard, “Okay! I’ll study hard and become a doctor like Uncle Ning.”

Ning Tao was struck by his words. “Didn’t he dream of becoming a general before? Now he wished to be a doctor. How changeable.”

Fang Min took Huang Xiaopeng away.

Ning Tao packed up the erhu and headed towards Sky Clinic with the magic tool.

A woman with a camera seemed to intentionally take a photo of him with her cell phone before he walked far.

Ning Tao pretended that he didn’t know.

He kept walking. A man reading a newspaper at a breakfast shop was whispering undercover. The man didn’t notice the newspaper’s date was the first of May, but Ning Tao did.

Still, Ning Tao kept walking as if he saw nothing.

Swaggering through the streets with Sun Pingchuan’s magic tool erhu, he wanted to send the wrong signal to Wu Yue’s eyes, leading them to believe that he had killed Sun Pingchuan. Not only to protect Sun Pingchuan and Sun Lanxiang from danger but also to give the false impression that Sun Pingchuan sacrificed himself for Sun Lanxiang and there wasn’t any deal.

Walking into the alley, a woman with thin clothes entered Ning Tao’s eyesight. She looked slim and charming from behind, black hair wrapped in a purple handkerchief, simple but natural.

Even Tang Zixian was a dead person that Ning Tao could recognize from the back. It would be another case if she had used Yingu Soul-suppressing Talisman. That way he needed to awake the state of smelling to identify her.

Tang Zixian also seemed to catch Ning Tao’s scent, turning around to look at him while he was staring at her back. Her eyes fell on the magic tool erhu in Ning Tao’s hand in the next second.

“You… killed Sun Pingchuan?” The first sentence she said to him was filled with surprise.

Ning Tao said, “A vicious killer deserved that. Do you have any problem?”

“Really?” A flash of suspicion appeared in Tang Zixian’s eyes.

Ning Tao said indifferently, “Of course it’s true. Not only Sun Pingchuan, but I’ve also killed Sun Lanxiang. They tried to assassinate me a few times. Why would I have mercy on them?”

Tang Zixian seemed to be enlightened, “Mo wonder the blind man’s magic tool is in your hand. But surely you don’t need a magic tool like this, right?”

Ning Tao walked towards her and changed the topic, “You told me Master Fakong wanted to solve the problem between me and Wu Yue last time. You said Master Fakong would be in touch with her. You are here to tell me Wu Yue’s decision right? What are her thoughts?”

“She’d like mediation.” Tang Zixian’s answer was simple and straight.

“When and where?”

Tang Zixian said, “Master Fakong is looking for the right place. I’ll let you know as soon as he has decided on the location.”

Ning Tao nodded and walked past her.

Tang Zixian frowned, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Ning Tao said, “You’d tag along even if I didn’t invite you.”

Tang Zixian shook her head with a bitter smile and followed him to Sky Clinic.

Ning Tao opened the door of Sky Clinic and put the magic tool erhu on the shelf.

Smoke curled up and around the good-evil tripod, and the face on the tripod revealed a smile, just like the first time Tang Zixian had walked inside the clinic. Except that the smile was bigger than the last time because Master Fakong was with her and he had more merits of good intention.

Ning Tao let her follow into the clinic because he wanted to see if she was really a good person. The face’s impression on the good-evil tripod was only decided by sins of evil intention or merits of good intention on that person. The last time it showed a smile even though there was a little sin of evil intention on Tang Zixian because Master Fakong had countless merits of good intention.

Now a straight answer was in front of him, she was a good person.

“Well, do you want to find a place to drink something?” Ning Tao said. Since he had the result, he didn’t want her to stay in the clinic.

Tang Zixian looked upset, “Do you want me to leave as soon as I walked in the door? Do you dislike me that much?”

Ning Tao shrugged, “Alright, let’s talk here. What do you know about Wu Yue? Tell me if you don’t mind.”

Tang Zixian stared at him, “You want information without spending a penny. Do I owe you?”

The conversation ended.

Ning Tao looked at her speechlessly, thinking of an excuse that could get her out.

Tang Zixian sensed the emotional changes on Ning Tao, and added, “But I’ll tell you if you visit a patient for me.”

Ning Tao kept silent for a while before he asked, “Who’s the patient?”

Tang Zixian smiled, “Save the surprise. Follow me and you’ll see.”

Ning Tao said, “How can I come with you without knowing who the patient is? Besides, as a doctor, shouldn’t I prepare for the patient’s symptoms and condition?”

“Believe me, you won’t make a trip in vain.” Tang Zixian still kept it as a secret and walked to the door. She was surprised to find that the door stayed close when she pulled.

Ning Tao walked over, opening the door for her, “After you. You’d better not lie to me.”

Tang Zixian’s face returned to normal, she smiled, “Don’t ride your electric motorbike this time. I drove here. Let’s take my car.”