"Phew, finally succeeded in refining it."
Du Fei looked at the Qi Gathering Pills before him, filled with a sense of accomplishment.
After gathering all the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the Qi Gathering Pills, Du Fei eagerly prepared to start the process.
He informed his mother and sister in advance that he wouldn't be returning home that night.
Once everyone in the Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic had left, Du Fei began refining the pills.
Despite his prior preparations, Du Fei still found himself fumbling when he actually started the refinement.
It took him over three hours, and using up all the prepared medicinal ingredients, he managed to refine twenty Qi Gathering Pills.
If it wasn't his first attempt and if there hadn't been so many mistakes during the refinement process, the prepared ingredients should have yielded forty to fifty Qi Gathering Pills.
However, Du Fei was quite satisfied with the current results.
The Qi Gathering Pills were a grayish-brown in color, about the size of a thumb, and carried a faint medicinal fragrance.
Now that the pills were refined, it was time to test their effects.
Du Fei picked up a pill and popped it into his mouth.
The Qi Gathering Pill dissolved instantly upon entering his mouth, and Du Fei felt a surge of potent energy rush into his limbs and meridians. Soon, Du Fei felt as if his meridians were about to burst.
He quickly sat cross-legged and began circulating the cultivation technique of the Myriad Aspects Art.
Initially, the hot current within him felt like a wild, untamed beast, crashing around erratically. However, Du Fei remained unfazed. Slowly, the internal heat began to be subdued and integrated into the circulation routes of the Myriad Aspects Art, flowing through one cycle after another.
He meditated for over an hour until the full medicinal potency of the Qi Gathering Pill was absorbed by Du Fei.
Fivefold.
That one hour of meditation was equivalent to five times the effect of a full night's cultivation previously.
Indeed, the path of cultivation not only required diligent practice but also the aid of elixirs.
Seeing how effective the Qi Gathering Pills were, Du Fei quickly swallowed another one and resumed his meditation and cultivation.
...
"Shh, keep it down."
"I'm already being quiet, why don't you mind your own business!"
"Old Geng, watch your attitude. I'm not your subordinate."
On Jianghua Street, outside the "Miraculous Hands Revival" Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic, stood two furtive figures.
As they jimmied the lock, they kept looking around, afraid of being discovered.
These two figures were none other than Mo Zhiqiang and Geng Wenliang.
Under normal circumstances, these two would never have been seen together.
The last time Mo Zhiqiang bribed Ding Ke to try and shut down the TCM clinic, he failed, and Ding Ke was instead suspended, forcing Mo Zhiqiang to lie low for a while.
During this period, his rival Geng Wenliang approached him.
Mo Zhiqiang was surprised that Geng Wenliang had taken the initiative to seek him out.
Then, Geng Wenliang explained his purpose. Not only had Mo Zhiqiang's small clinic's business plummeted, but Geng Wenliang's clinic on the adjacent street was also faring no better.
The TCM clinic's reputation was growing, and with its affordable consultation fees and medication costs, patients from nearby streets, and even further afield, were choosing to seek treatment there.
Geng Wenliang found Mo Zhiqiang and suggested that instead of waiting for doom, they should take a gamble.
He then revealed his plan: to sneak into the TCM clinic and replace some of the medications.
This would lead to accidents for the patients seeking treatment, and then they could report it at the opportune moment, ensuring the TCM clinic would be shut down.
Mo Zhiqiang hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Geng Wenliang's plan.
After all, he knew very well that if the TCM clinic continued to develop, his own clinic would have to close.
So, he hardened his heart and decided to follow Geng Wenliang's plan.
And so, the two of them chose the dead of night to carry out their wicked scheme.
Mo Zhiqiang was responsible for picking the lock. He had been a locksmith in his younger days, so he could open doors without damaging the lock cylinder.
This was one of the reasons Geng Wenliang had sought his cooperation.
*Click.*
The lock was opened.
"Once we get inside, we'll swap these common medications. Let's see how he meets his end..."
Geng Wenliang's expression was sinister.
Then, he saw Mo Zhiqiang staring fearfully behind him.
"Damn it, Old Mo, what's with that look? This is no time for joking."
Geng Wenliang nudged Mo Zhiqiang and turned to enter the TCM clinic.
But as he turned around, he jumped back in fright.
It turned out that there was a person standing inside the TCM clinic, staring at him and Mo Zhiqiang.
"Gentlemen, visiting so late without an invitation and jimmying my door. You're not going to tell me you're here for a consultation, are you?"
The person standing in the TCM clinic was Du Fei.
He had just finished meditating when his sharp hearing detected movement outside the clinic.
Just as he was about to open the door to investigate, he found the door being opened from the outside.
Immediately after, Du Fei saw Geng Wenliang and Mo Zhiqiang appear at the doorway.
"You, you, how can you be here?"
Mo Zhiqiang stammered.
Du Fei chuckled at his question. "Shouldn't that question be for you? Breaking into my clinic in the middle of the night. If I call the police... you think you can run? No way!"
Du Fei had barely finished speaking when Geng Wenliang turned and bolted.
After a curse, Mo Zhiqiang also turned and fled.
They each ran in opposite directions.
Du Fei was alone, and each of them had a fifty percent chance of escaping.
However, a few minutes later, Du Fei, with Geng Wenliang and Mo Zhiqiang in hand, each held by one arm, was back at the entrance of the TCM clinic.
"You got me. I'm not as skilled in medicine as you, and I can't even outrun you. Call the police, I admit defeat."
Geng Wenliang was completely defeated. The way Du Fei had carried them, like two children, had truly frightened him.
Since they were caught red-handed, Geng Wenliang decided to accept his fate.
"Doctor Du, I'm sorry. It's all my fault for being incited by this fellow, and my mind went blank, leading me to break into your clinic. I hope you'll be magnanimous and forgive me. I'll never do it again."
Mo Zhiqiang, not wanting to go to jail, disregarded his pride and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, begging Du Fei for mercy.
However, Du Fei had no intention of letting Mo Zhiqiang off the hook. When Ding Ke was suspended last time, he had confessed that he had accepted a bribe from Mo Zhiqiang.
Mo Zhiqiang had repeatedly tried to harm him, so how could Du Fei show mercy to such a person?
However, this was a society governed by law, and Du Fei had no intention of handling the matter privately.
Subsequently, Du Fei directly took the two to the nearby police station and recounted their actions to the officer on duty.
As for what punishment they would receive, that was no longer Du Fei's concern.
Those who do evil will ultimately be consumed by their own deeds; the saying perfectly suited Mo Zhiqiang and Geng Wenliang.