Jinnan Province lies just south of Haizhou Province, in the heart of eastern coastal China, nestled along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
On the train, inside a soft sleeper compartment.
A woman in a Gucci space-print silk dress sat cross-legged on the lower bunk, holding her phone. Every so often, she glanced up and glared at the boy sitting beside her.
She looked to be about twenty, pretty and striking. With her two-thousand-dollar dress and Gucci purse beside her, she was clearly not someone to mess with.
Right now, Claire Li was in a terrible mood. She’d planned to fly back to Capitalview City, but every flight was sold out. Annoyed, she bought a soft sleeper ticket and decided to just ride the train home.
From the moment she left, Claire had been pestered by an annoying fly of a guy. She finally got him sent off to another compartment, but as luck would have it, at the last stop, this kid showed up again. Not only did he claim to be some reincarnated miracle doctor and a master sent down from the mountains, he insisted she was sick and tried to diagnose her on the spot. Worst of all, the way he kept glancing at her was downright creepy.
“You really are sick, I’m not lying. My master is a doctor from the Miracle Hand Sect, and I’m already a junior Miracle Hand doctor myself. He sent me down the mountain to gain experience in the mortal world. If I happen to meet my true love, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a good match.”
The boy looked about eighteen, dressed in shabby clothes with a battered backpack stuffed with worn-out laundry. He was scruffy, not at all handsome, but still tried to act cool, even flicking his bangs as he spoke.
“No thanks!” Claire replied coldly, her face full of disgust. She kicked off her shoes, shrank away from him on the lower bunk, pulled the blanket up, and did her best to put as much distance as possible between herself and this kid.
This so-called master from the mountains, who claimed his hands could work miracles, not only dressed like a country bumpkin—he also reeked of earth and mud, enough to make anyone want to gag.
“Don’t go, miss. I bet you’ve been waking up in the middle of the night lately, having nightmares, and feeling out of it every day. Plus, about three inches below your chest, you get a dull ache, right?”
The boy shook his head, grinning slyly.
Claire was caught off guard—he’d gotten everything right. But when she saw the look in his eyes, her disgust flared again: “What’s it got to do with you?”
“A doctor’s heart is all about kindness. If I hadn’t met you, it wouldn’t matter, but now that I have, it’s my responsibility.” The boy’s face turned serious, then he broke into a smile and stood up, reaching out as if to press his hand on the spot three inches below Claire’s chest.
“What are you doing!”
Claire’s face showed a hint of panic as she couldn’t help but raise her voice.
“A doctor’s kindness, a doctor’s kindness! I’m just trying to help you. Trust me—once I get started, your problem will be cured for sure. My master says I’m a once-in-a-century genius in the Miracle Hand Sect.” The boy chuckled, eyes gleaming.
“Stay back! If you come any closer, I’ll call for help!” Claire had never faced anything like this before; she grabbed her purse and held it in front of her for protection.
“Go ahead, call! I’m not just a medical genius—my skills are top-notch too. I don’t care who tries to get in my way when I’m treating someone; I’ll put anyone flat on the floor!” The boy looked utterly confident.
Just then, the compartment door was yanked open, and three guys stood in the doorway.
The guy in front was decked out in Adidas—his name was Victor Wen, a fellow student at Claire’s college. Born rich, he’d been chasing after Claire since freshman year, but never got anywhere.
This time, he’d tagged along on Claire’s trip, hoping to spark something along the way, but never got his chance.
Just now, he was about to chat with Claire when he overheard her voice from inside the compartment. After listening for a bit, he more or less figured out what was going on, so he grabbed two buddies and rushed over, ready to play hero and save the damsel.
“Don’t worry, Claire, I’m here!” Victor shouted as he yanked open the door. His gaze shifted to the boy reaching for Claire, and his face darkened. “Damn it, kid, what do you think you’re doing? Get out here! You dare touch my girl?”
Victor’s face was full of anger and his voice boomed with pride. In his eyes, the eighteen-year-old kid was scrawny and looked easy to beat.
If he could rough up this kid, he’d definitely score some points with Claire.
“Didn’t you hear me say stop? If you don’t, my buddies and I will beat you down.”
“You dare mess with Victor’s girl? Which dirt-poor village did you crawl out of, huh? Got land but don’t farm—just came out here to act like a creep?”
Victor’s two buddies shouted loudly, cursing him out.
Seeing Victor and his crew arrive, Claire’s face lit up with relief.
She thought the country bumpkin boy would panic, but instead, he narrowed his eyes, paused, then slowly turned to face the three at the door, sneering: “I came down from the mountains, straight from Nima Village, just to plow your mom’s fields!”
His tone was cold and full of foul language.
“Bastard! You’re dead!”
“Beat him up!”
Victor and his friends’ faces changed instantly. The three of them charged in, ready to rough the boy up. But the country bumpkin didn’t dodge—he rushed them head-on and, with a flurry of blows, sent Victor and his crew crying for their moms and dads, then kicked them all out the door.
“Damn, what a waste of my time—messing up my diagnosis!” The boy dusted off his hands, not even glancing at the totally defeated Victor and crew. He turned back to the pale-faced Claire, grinning. “Don’t be scared, miss. Let me give you a proper checkup! You just saw how good I am with my fists—now I’ll show you my medical skills!”
At that moment, the train pulled into the platform at Minghai City.
Evan Lin, backpack on and pulling a suitcase, glanced at his ticket and headed toward the sleeper compartment.