Chapter 2

When Jiang Fei saw that there was indeed a patient, he no longer bothered to argue with Lin Molili. He casually threw the black-screened laptop on the table and walked to the counter.

The clinic was already struggling, and if he were to be even a bit more indifferent to customers, it might really have to close for good.

"Old sir, what are you here for?" Jiang Fei sat on the stool by the counter and asked with a smile, giving off a warm and welcoming vibe.

The patient was an elderly man, about sixty years old, who looked relatively healthy but lacked energy.

"Cough, cough, cough..." The old man started with a severe cough, tears welling up in his eyes. After a while, he said, "Doctor, I'm still coughing. After I took the medicine you prescribed last time, the cough did lessen. But it hasn't been a week, and it's back..."

Jiang Fei felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing this. He remembered that this elderly man had indeed come to see him a week ago.

"Oh, it might be a chronic cough. Let me check your pulse first," Jiang Fei said, asking the old man to extend his hand. He placed his index, middle, and ring fingers on the old man's pulse.

Jiang Fei studied Western medicine in college, but when diagnosing patients, he preferred the traditional Chinese method of pulse-taking over using a stethoscope to listen to heartbeats.

This preference was related to his family background. Jiang Fei's family could be considered a medical lineage. His grandfather was an old Chinese doctor who ran a traditional Chinese medicine shop until a few years ago when his health declined, and he had to close the shop and stop practicing.

When Jiang Fei was young, he often spent time with his grandparents. He had memorized ancient Chinese medical texts like "Tangtou Ge," "Shanghan Lun," and "Bencao Gangmu." As a result, he had developed considerable skills in traditional Chinese medicine.

The clinic he now ran wasn't purely Western medicine. The cabinets on the right wall were filled with traditional Chinese herbs.

"Doctor, my cough is getting worse. It's better during the day, but it's most severe in the morning and evening. I've also been producing a lot of phlegm. What do you think is wrong with me?" the old man asked.

However, he didn't notice that the doctor, Jiang Fei, suddenly had a shocked expression, wide-eyed and speechless, as if he had seen a ghost!

Fortunately, he didn't notice. If he had, he might have thought he had an incurable disease.

In Jiang Fei's mind, a very strange yet familiar image appeared. It was similar to the character in the online game "Xiake Xing" he had been playing just now!

Character: Jiang Fei

Level: 0

Experience: 0/500

Stamina: 0.9 (mild hunger)

Spirit: 1.1

Agility: 1

Strength: 1.2

Unallocated Points: None

Martial Arts Skills: None

Secondary Professions: Weapon Forging (Level 9), Plant Cultivation (Level 9), Cooking (Level 9), Gardening (Level 9), Music (Level 9), Brewing (Level 9), Beast Taming (Level 9), Medicine (Level 6)...

...

"What's going on? Am I hallucinating?" Although Jiang Fei was still holding the old man's pulse, his mind was completely distracted. He wasn't even paying attention to the patient's symptoms.

This image was clearly a part of the character attributes from the game "Xiake Xing" he had been playing. He had been tricked and hadn't spent much time or money leveling up, but he had reached level 20 after a few months. He hadn't learned high-level martial arts like "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms," "Nine Yin Manual," or "Northern Mystic Power," but he had practiced some basic martial arts like "Huashan Sword Technique" and "Shaolin Fist Technique."

His secondary skills, however, remained at the master level of Level 9.

As for the secondary profession of medicine, it seemed he was already at Level 6.

In the game, medicine was almost useless. Players who were injured would simply take magical elixirs to recover or seek help from specialized doctors. The true skills of a doctor, which could help people recover significantly and even bring them back from the dead, were as powerful as high-level martial arts and were very difficult to learn.

Thus, the secondary profession of medicine was considered a useless skill. Even the person who tricked Jiang Fei didn't pay much attention to it, only raising it to Level 6.

Jiang Fei shook his head, trying to dispel the hallucination from his mind.

But then something even more shocking happened.

Patient's Symptoms: Nasal congestion, clear runny nose, sore throat, and hoarseness. The patient's cough worsens or is triggered by exposure to cold air, cold temperatures, or irritant gases. The cough is more severe in the morning and at night, and it often causes nausea, vomiting, and chest and abdominal muscle pain.

Diagnosis: Acute bronchitis caused by coughing!

Suggested Treatment: Acupuncture (best). Traditional Chinese medicine (second best).

Jiang Fei was completely stunned. His mind filled with the techniques for acupuncture and the herbal formulas needed for treatment...

After a series of strange events, Jiang Fei began to doubt that this was just a hallucination. It seemed to be real!

As a doctor with some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, he could recognize the acupuncture techniques and herbal formulas in his mind. This was indeed an excellent method for treating bronchitis!

However, could he really perform these techniques as skillfully as they appeared in his mind? He had never used acupuncture to treat anyone before, yet now he felt like he was already an expert, and these techniques seemed simple and easy to perform!

With a complex expression, Jiang Fei's hand remained on the old man's pulse, his face as stiff as ever, filled with unease.

To prove whether this was a hallucination or if he was really possessed by the game character, there was a simple way: immediately perform acupuncture to treat the patient.

The truth would be revealed!

Swallowing hard, Jiang Fei suppressed the tempting thought in his mind. There was plenty of time to verify the truth; there was no need to rush.

As a doctor, it would be irresponsible to randomly perform acupuncture without proper training. If he made a mistake, he would be in serious trouble.

"Old sir, do you have nasal congestion, a clear runny nose, a sore throat, and hoarseness?" Jiang Fei removed his fingers from the old man's pulse and began to list the symptoms he had seen in his mind.

"Yes! Doctor, you're right!" the old man nodded.

But in his heart, the old man thought: This young doctor is strange. Didn't I already tell you these symptoms? Why are you repeating them? I should find an older, more experienced doctor. Young doctors are unreliable...

Jiang Fei was now almost certain that he was indeed possessed by some character!

At the same time, he had gained great confidence in his "medical skills."

"Old sir, your symptoms suggest acute bronchitis caused by coughing. Don't worry; I'll prescribe you a traditional Chinese medicine formula that will definitely cure your illness."

As he spoke, Jiang Fei began to write down the formula from his mind and called out, "Lin Molili, please prepare the medicine!"

Lin Molili, who was trained as a nurse, had no trouble preparing the medicine.

"However, you should also be careful. During this period, you must not smoke. If the air quality is poor, with smoke, dust, or irritant gases, you should wear a mask and avoid exposure as much as possible."

"Traditional Chinese medicine?" The old man looked hesitant. "Will it work?"

Nowadays, most people in China believe that traditional Chinese medicine is ineffective and slow-acting, preferring Western medicine.

But Jiang Fei had great confidence in the formula in his mind. He smiled and said, "Old sir, don't worry. The medicine I'm prescribing will definitely work. Take two doses, and if it doesn't work, come back to me."

Lin Molili prepared two doses of the medicine, and the old man sighed, "If it doesn't work, I'll really have to come back to you, Doctor."

After collecting the payment and seeing the old man off, Jiang Fei sat on the stool, looking up at the ceiling. He summoned the character attribute interface in his mind and couldn't help but smile. "It seems there's always a way out! When I was unsure how to make a living, heaven gave me such a good opportunity. With so many master-level skills, it's like I'm being groomed to be a versatile talent—"

"But why are there no martial arts skills among these life skills? I still have a dream of becoming a great martial artist!"

"And how do I level up my character?"

At that moment, a "ding" sounded in his mind, and a line of text appeared: "Treated a patient of medium difficulty. Experience +2, Experience 2/500."

Medicine (Level 6): Proficiency +1%

Jiang Fei's eyes widened. It seemed that just like in the game, using life skills also increased experience points.

However, the leveling speed was too slow!

Treating a bronchitis patient only gave him 2 experience points. To level up, he would need to treat 250 such patients!

Given his current business, he didn't know when that would happen.

Moreover, his medicine skill was only at Level 6, making it difficult to level up. At Level 6, he could only treat some diseases, but not more serious or chronic ones.

"If I had known this, I would have focused on leveling up my medicine skill first! Successfully treating a patient with an incurable disease would surely make me famous and bring in a lot of business."

As he thought, a new page of the advertisement began and then ended.