Chapter 2

"Cough, cough" ... "Cough, cough" ...

Shen Luo woke up suddenly from the bed amidst a series of unconscious, hurried coughs. He quickly opened his mouth to take a few deep breaths, then swiftly pulled out a small bottle from under the pillow, took out a yellow pill the size of a bean, and swallowed it.

After sitting motionless on the bed for a while, he felt the chest tightness and coldness gradually subside, and then he let out a long sigh.

Shen Luo gave a bitter smile, slowly put on the neatly folded clothes on the nearby chair, and habitually glanced at the desk in the corner.

On the desk lay an old, light yellow book with the title "Spring Glory Oddities" written in neat black letters.

Shen Luo frowned, retracted his gaze, and slowly opened the door to leave the room.

"Master."

Outside the door, a young servant boy around twelve or thirteen years old was standing guard. Seeing Shen Luo come out, he hurriedly came forward to greet him.

In the distance, a large cluster of houses with red tiles and white walls could be seen, with a total of about forty to fifty rooms of various sizes.

"Did I cough last night? Was there any other noise?" Shen Luo glanced at the servant and asked indifferently.

"Master, you coughed thirteen times last night, and there was no other noise," the servant replied with dark circles under his eyes, showing some fear towards Shen Luo.

Shen Luo nodded, asked no more, and walked past the servant.

The young servant followed him tactfully.

After passing through several long corridors and a garden covering about an acre, Shen Luo arrived at a main hall.

The two maidservants standing in front of the hall hurriedly came forward to greet him, also showing some fear towards Shen Luo.

"Lu'er, you're here. How did you rest last night? Come in quickly and have some ginseng soup. I just had the servants prepare it for you," a man's concerned voice came from inside the hall.

"Thank you, Father, I rested well last night," Shen Luo's expression changed slightly, and he replied before entering the hall.

Inside the hall, a round table was set with a variety of dishes, and several people were seated around it. The main seat was occupied by a middle-aged man in his forties, with slightly graying hair, looking somewhat prematurely aged.

The middle-aged man was Shen Luo's father, Shen Yuange, who was now looking at Shen Luo with joy.

"Lu'er is up! Xiao Cui, quickly bring the ginseng soup. Didn't you hear Master's order?" A beautiful woman with a head full of jewelry, sitting next to Shen Yuange, managed to force a smile when she saw Shen Luo.

"Thank you, Second Mother."

Shen Luo nodded coldly at the woman.

"Brother."

"Brother."

The young man and young woman sitting next to the woman also stood up to greet Shen Luo. They were about fourteen or fifteen years old, with faces that resembled Shen Luo's to some extent. They were his half-siblings, Shen Ci and Shen Mumu.

The two were twins, but their reactions to Shen Luo were quite different.

Shen Ci's gaze avoided Shen Luo, similar to the servants.

Shen Mumu, after greeting Shen Luo, looked restless and curious, as if she wanted to ask her brother something but hesitated after glancing at Shen Yuange.

Shen Luo sat down, drank the ginseng soup served by the maid, and ate a few bites of food before frowning and putting down his chopsticks, stopping his meal.

"Lu'er, since you're done eating, come to the study with me. I have some business matters to discuss with you," Shen Yuange, seeing this, became even more worried but said this.

Shen Luo nodded, politely excused himself to the woman, and followed Shen Yuange out of the hall.

The woman's face turned sour at the sight.

Shen Ci could not hide his envy, while Shen Mumu pouted her red lips, clearly dissatisfied that her father and "Brother" had finished so quickly and left.

...

"Lu'er, did everything go well last night?" As soon as they sat down in the study, Shen Yuange asked Shen Luo with concern.

"Father, don't worry. Nothing happened last night. That 'thing' didn't appear again. However, my body is getting worse. Even with the 'Jin Xiang Yu' I personally formulated, I probably won't last a few more years. This body can't be cured by ordinary medicine," Shen Luo shook his head and replied.

"Alas, Lu'er, you have indeed suffered a lot. Your mother's pregnancy was troubled, making you weak and sickly from a young age. Last year, you were also plagued by evil spirits, which left you with such a serious illness. If anything happens to you, how can I face your mother in the netherworld? I promised your mother that I would take good care of you," Shen Yuange sighed deeply, a look of pain appearing on his face.

"Father, you should think positively. If I hadn't become a doctor due to my long-term illness and formulated 'Jin Xiang Yu' and other medicines, how could the Shen family have built such a large business? Our family has turned a disaster into a blessing," Shen Luo said with a smile.

"That's true. Now, when people in Chunhua County mention the Shen family clinic and the Shen family pharmacy, who doesn't know us? Even County Magistrate Wang now looks at us with more respect," Shen Yuange's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

"That's also because Father is good at socializing. You gave a bottle of 'Jin Xiang Yu' to Magistrate Wang, curing his son's tuberculosis. Otherwise, with our current wealth, we would have encountered some trouble long ago," Shen Luo flattered his father subtly.

"Ha ha, that's because you and I are of one heart. It's a pity that you don't want to be famous. I had to attribute the formulation of these medicines to an ancient recipe found by chance. Only you and I know about this. Even your Second Mother and your siblings don't know. So, if your Second Mother offends you, I hope you can overlook it for my sake. She comes from a humble background and has limited knowledge," Shen Yuange laughed heartily, then hesitated and added.

"Father, how could I hold a grudge against Second Mother! Besides, if I'm not around, the Shen family will need my younger brother to support it. My greatest wish now is to drive away the evil spirits from my body. Otherwise, I won't last a few more years," Shen Luo said with a bitter smile after a moment of silence.

"Since you say that, I'm relieved. No matter what, a harmonious family is the key to success. How is your condition now? I remember you had an episode seven days ago," Shen Yuange's expression relaxed, but he quickly became worried again.

"Yes, the last episode almost strangled that Yellow Great Immortal. Last year, the so-called Golden Light Monk, who claimed to be a Bodhisattva, was also beaten half to death by me during an episode. They have no real magic, just a bunch of frauds," Shen Luo replied with a look of hatred, his face darkening.

"But Yellow Great Immortal and Golden Light Monk are already the most famous exorcists in the nearby counties. The others are even more fraudulent. Should I send someone to the provincial capital to look for an exorcist?" Shen Yuange also felt helpless upon hearing this.

"No need. The provincial capital is too far, and we don't know anyone there. Even if we find an exorcist, they are likely to be frauds like Yellow Great Immortal. My episodes are getting more frequent, and I can't wait that long," Shen Luo refused without hesitation.

"Then what do you mean, Lu'er?" Shen Yuange, who knew his eldest son well, was somewhat surprised.