Chapter 479

# 479: The lazy One Steps Forward (4)**

Jangil covered his nose.

*’I just can’t get used to it.’*

You could say that for a beggar, he was too sensitive to bad smells, but Jangil couldn’t help it.

Although he was familiar with all kinds of disgusting odors, the scent of these medicinal herbs was something he could never get used to.

Jangil glanced around.

*’It’s not that I hate the smell of medicines…’ *

It was the place where that smell came from that he disliked. This place was always full of patients. It was a place where the sick and injured came, after all.

Of course, as a beggar, Jangil couldn’t afford to visit it just like that, even if he was suffering.

But there was another reason why he couldn’t help but frown and cover his nose.

“Wei Yanho.”

“Yes.”

“…It smells like a corpse.”

“That’s right.”

A stench of rotting flesh emanated from the inside.

It was a well-known fact that the bodies of those who had been affected by the *Demonic Arts* decomposed while alive, but the last time they visited this place, the smell wasn’t this strong. That meant the situation had worsened.

*’What a headache.’*

He hadn’t heard that there were any deaths in the Medical Hall. And he was attentive to any relevant information. That could only mean one thing: those giving off this stench were patients who were still alive.

*’I feel like I’m trash.’*

Jegal Munin expressed what Jangil didn’t dare to say.

“This is a problem. That they suffer such severe injuries and still don’t die isn’t something to celebrate. Taking care of the wounded consumes resources, and it also makes it difficult to change the course of the battlefield.”

“Who doesn’t know that, huh?”

“Does a beggar know? Well, I guess by sniffing around everywhere, you must have heard something.”

“Does this bookworm think he knows everything?”

“Fool. The truth is always in books. Do you think a beggar like you can understand the teachings of the sages that are written there?”

“Ah, really? And that’s why, after reading so much, you can’t even beat the Tang family? So the books are great, but you guys aren’t up to understanding them, right?”

“What… what are you saying, beggar?”

“How dare you?!”

Wei Yanho clicked his tongue and looked at both of them.

“Do you seriously want to do this here? You need to know when and where to behave.”

“…Wow.”

“Wow…”

Jangil and Jegal Munin opened their eyes wide as they looked at Wei Yanho. The right words sound different depending on who says them. It was a valid criticism, but he doubted anyone wanted to hear it from Wei Yanho.

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

“It’s nothing.”

But no one criticized him. After all, criticism is done with the intention of correcting the other’s behavior or, at least, making them feel some shame.

But Wei Yanho would never change, and he would never feel shame. So criticism would be useless.

“Tch, you need to have some common sense.”

Everyone looked at him with a blank expression.

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

“Absolutely… absolutely nothing.”

Wei Yanho snorted and entered the building, followed by the others, who shook their heads.

Upon recognizing Wei Yanho, some of the medical staff ran inside to find the director. Shortly after, the director came out in a hurry.

“Have you come?”

“How are things?”

“…I know it’s a formal greeting, but it’s still difficult to answer.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

The stench emanating from the inside was enough to imagine how much they were suffering.

“How’s the situation?”

“It’s the worst.”

They weren’t expecting an encouraging answer, but even so, it was too blunt. They probably didn’t have the luxury of beating around the bush. The director’s expression said it all.

His face was somber, marked by deep fatigue.

“Well, I don’t know what to say.”

Saying empty words might be an insult. Perhaps this man was the busiest and most exhausted in the world right now.

“I appreciate your words.”

Wei Yanho nodded. The director’s formal tone was a bit overwhelming, but asking him to relax would only put more pressure on him.

That was clear from seeing the members of the Medical Hall who didn’t dare to approach and only looked at him from afar.

“Could I see the patients?”

“It’s not difficult. But…”

“But?”

The director coughed and continued.

“It won’t be a pleasant sight. The situation has worsened…”

“It’s inevitable.”

Wei Yanho spoke with an unusually serious face.

“Anyway, I need to see them. I have something to check.”

“Yes. This way, then.”

The director took the lead, and Wei Yanho’s group followed him without asking.

“I think the last time wasn’t this way, right?”

The director smiled bitterly at Wei Yanho’s question.

“We moved them to a deeper place.”

“Doesn’t that make it harder to care for them?”

“Partly, but it also has its advantages. The assigned doctors can concentrate only on them, without mixing with other patients. Also, it prevents the other patients from panicking unnecessarily.”

“Mmm…”

Seeing the discontent in Wei Yanho’s eyes, the director added:

“It is said that the Tang family is closed off, but that’s not really the case. It’s true that, compared to other clans, it has its reserved aspects, but there are also very open parts. The Medical Hall is an example. Although there are famous doctors in the city, the Tang family is known for its medicine, so many want to be treated here. That’s why the Medical Hall is open to the public.”

“Oh?”

Wei Yanho tilted his head.

“Are there many people who want to be treated by the Tang family?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that’s surprising. I thought… well, nothing.”

“No problem.”

The director smiled.

“It’s the image that the *Central Plains* has of the Tang family. Poison and hidden techniques, right?”

“I didn’t say it with bad intentions.”

“I know. Although that rumor exists, there’s also talk of their excellence in medicine, right?”

“That’s true.”

“In Sichuan, the fear or resentment towards the Tang family is less. After all, they are people they live with daily, and there’s a certain familiarity in being a representative clan of the region. Also, there are no cases of people poisoned by receiving treatment here. Without those rumors, people feel safe.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

Wei Yanho nodded.

Leaving aside the matter of poison, it wasn’t easy to find doctors as reliable as those of the Tang family.

“But it’s something unexpected.”

“What thing?”

“I noticed it last time too, but the people who come and go don’t seem particularly wealthy.”

The director smiled.

“The rich have many options for doctors, why would they come here? The Tang family offers treatment to those who don’t have money. We’re not that greedy.”

“Aren’t doctors usually obsessed with money?”

“…I suppose that, being from the Tang family, we have a certain immunity to various poisons.”

“Oh?”

Wei Yanho looked at the director with new eyes.

“You don’t need to look at me like that. It’s something natural for the Tang family.”

“Huh?”

“If we compare it to herbs, the medicinal and precious ones are the most valuable, the edible ones are in the middle, and the useless weeds at least serve as fertilizer. But poisonous herbs have no use, right? The Tang family collects those useless herbs, studies them, and improves them.”

“Mmm…”

“Just as there are no useless herbs in the world, there are no useless people either. It’s ridiculous to judge people by their wealth or status. When you’re a doctor, you understand. There’s no difference between the body of an emperor and that of an ignorant peasant. Medicine is the art of saving lives. How could we discriminate between people?”

“Yes…”

Wei Yanho nodded.

It was an undeniable truth.

Although it sounded like a repeated speech, it didn’t seem empty because the director spoke with the conviction of experience.

“But most of the doctors in the world are greedy.”

“Is there anyone in the world who isn’t?”

“…I guess not.”

“Everyone loves money. But doctors have a worse reputation because… in other jobs, if you don’t have money, you simply don’t do them. But the sick must pay to be treated. Not all doctors are bad. Sometimes it’s something inevitable.”

That was something Wei Yanho couldn’t agree with.

“Bah, still…”

“And doctors are changing. I don’t know if you’ve heard the news…”

“Eh?”

“The *Sacred Hand Hall*, which reopened in *Hubei*, is expanding its branches and treating the poor.”

“…Ah, really?”

He was itching to talk.

But he decided to bite his tongue. If he said something, he’d end up drinking with this man.

“Not only do they charge affordable prices, but they even lend money to some patients.”

Wei Yanho’s eyes twitched.

A combination of usury and medicine?

What the hell were those guys doing?

The image of the cunning administrator appeared in his mind.

“Allow me to ask you something…”

“Yes?”

“Are they doing well?”

“The rumors are everywhere. They say they already have more than ten branches. It’s rare to see such rapid medical expansion, so everyone’s wondering who’s behind it.”

“Behind?”

“Yes. No matter how successful a clinic is, opening so many branches and hiring doctors requires a fortune. Everyone’s wondering where all that money is coming from.”

“…Ah, I guess.”

The one responsible was right here.

Wei Yanho’s eyelid twitched slightly.

*’Well, I didn’t do much…’ *

Simply, the people around him were a bit peculiar. If he thought about it, Jin Soah wasn’t normal either.

“In any case, it’s something to celebrate, that there are more doctors striving for patients.”

“…Not everyone does it for that.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“There’s someone who strives without limits… for the patients.”

“Does someone like that exist?”

“Yes, she exists.”

Wei Yanho clicked his tongue.

*’It’s scary to think about her.’*

As he shook his head, he remembered Jin Yeran’s face.

*’By the way, how is she doing?’*

“Here we are.”

“Ah, yes.”

Wei Yanho looked up and looked at the pavilion in front of him.