In the main hall of the Ji family residence on Taiyue Island, besides the master Ji Baishan, six other people were seated.
Ji Baishan's expression was heavy, his brows tightly furrowed.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, "We've been searching for over a month now, but still have no news of Divine Doctor Di. My grandson Ji Xiaoting has been ill for far too long. If we can't find Divine Doctor Di within another two or three months... sigh, it seems the Ji family will meet its end..."
Yu Jianfu was also deeply anxious. It was he who had recommended Di Jiu to the Ji family. The Ji family had reciprocated by making him director of the Ji Family Hospital. Now, with Di Jiu nowhere to be found, how could he treat Ji Xiaoting?
"Dr. Lin, Divine Doctor Di treated in front of you twice—did you learn anything that might save my Xiaoting?" Sitting beside Ji Baishan was a middle-aged woman, Li Xuehua, Xiaoting's mother. Her husband had disappeared on Celestial Maiden Star, her son lay poisoned and unconscious, and even her temples had turned white.
Even though she knew Lin Bo couldn't possibly have mastered Divine Doctor Di's skills, Li Xuehua couldn't help but plead. For her, she would grasp at anything—not just a wooden plank, but even a single straw.
Lin Bo's face flushed red. If he had the ability to save Ji Xiaoting, he would have acted the moment the Ji family invited him.
"Xuehua, Xiaoting's poison is strange—even if Divine Doctor Di were here, he might not be able to cure it. There's only a month left until the Celestial Maiden Star treasure auction. We'll go then and see if there's any good antidote..." said a middle-aged man beside Ji Baishan, trying to comfort her and relieve Lin Bo's embarrassment.
He was Ji Xiaoting's uncle, Ji Tangfei, the only member of the Ji family involved in politics.
Upon hearing Ji Tangfei's words, Hu Qianli frowned. If Ji Xiaoting's life weren't hanging by a thread, he might have stood up to object.
Yu Jianfu was the one who recommended Di Jiu to the Ji family, just as he had recommended the Ji family to Di Jiu—the logic was the same. He himself was also invited by the Ji family to inquire about Di Jiu. However, he had no idea why Di Jiu hadn't come to the Ji residence.
Ji Baishan was a shrewd old man. With a single glance, he could see Hu Qianli’s dissatisfaction.
He smiled gently and turned to Hu Qianli, saying, “Qianli, just as your name suggests, my Ji family invited you from afar, and we’ve delayed your work. Please forgive us. I also thank you for recommending Divine Doctor Di to us. When Di Jiu bid you farewell, did he mention where he was going?”
Hu Qianli hurriedly replied that he wouldn’t dare, then, after thinking for a moment, said, “No, he only mentioned going to an auction. From his tone, it sounded like he wanted to go to Celestia.”
“I’ve already sent people to keep watch at the Yanjing Alliance Aerospace Airport. If Divine Doctor Di shows up, we’ll hear about it. What I’m worried about is that he might be stopped by the gated community’s guards,” Ji Baishan sighed. He had once issued an order: no matter who it was, unless invited by the Ji family, no one was allowed into the estate under the pretense of practicing medicine.
“Dad, why don’t we just call all the guards over and ask them?” Ji Tangfei suggested.
Ji Baishan shook his head. “It’s no use. I’ve already asked. In this period, there have been at least seventy or eighty so-called famous doctors coming here to see the Ji family. The guards can’t possibly remember them all…”
At this point, Ji Baishan suddenly thought of something and turned to Lin Bo. “Dr. Lin, could you please give me a photo of Dr. Di? I’ll have them check the surveillance footage at the entrance.”
Lin Bo looked a bit embarrassed. “I don’t have a photo of Senior Di, but the HR department at Aibo Hospital should have a copy of his ID.”
“That works too…” Ji Baishan had just spoken when a slightly dark-skinned woman entered, leaning on a crutch.
Not only was she leaning on a crutch, but her hand was also wrapped in white cloth.
“Xiaorong, you’re not going back to the Martial Academy, are you?” Seeing the dark-skinned woman enter, Li Xuehua hurried forward to support her.
The newcomer was Ji Xiaoting’s younger sister, Ji Xiaorong, who was also her daughter. After Ji Xiaoting was poisoned, her husband Ji Tanghong went to Celestia and then disappeared. Their daughter, Ji Xiaorong, went to Yanda Martial Academy to find her father and save her brother. Unfortunately, Ji Xiaorong had no talent for martial arts. After two years at Yanda, she still couldn’t join the advanced class, let alone go to Celestia.
This time, Ji Xiaorong had pushed herself to train so hard that she injured herself. With no other option, she had to come home to recover.
“Mom, I know.” Ji Xiaorong’s eyes dimmed; she understood that her path at the Martial Academy had come to an end. She simply wasn’t cut out for it—so far, her strength hadn’t even broken past one hundred ten kilograms.
“Go upstairs and rest.” Li Xuehua truly didn’t want anything else to happen to her daughter. If she was left alone, what meaning would her life have?
Ji Xiaorong shook her head. “No, I can still help out with something. Aren’t Grandpa and all of you searching for a divine doctor? If I post information about him online, someone is bound to find him.”
“Absolutely not! Senior Di hates publicity more than anything. If you put his information online, he’ll never come here.” Lin Bo quickly stood up, stopping Ji Xiaorong’s reckless idea.
“Senior Di?” Ji Xiaorong suddenly remembered the so-called fortune teller who had come looking for her at Yanda. “What’s his name?”
“Senior Di’s name is Di Jiu…”
“Di Jiu?” Ji Xiaorong was so surprised when she heard the name that she interrupted Lin Bo.
Ji Baishan heard his granddaughter’s tone and instantly knew she must have met Di Jiu. He immediately asked, “Xiaorong, have you met Di Jiu?”
A sense of unease washed over Ji Xiaorong. She quickly replied, “Yes, I’ve met Di Jiu. He came to Yanda Martial Academy to find me. He even said he could cure my brother’s illness, but I thought he was a fraud…”
“Xiaorong, where is he?” Ji Baishan stood up as well, his voice trembling.
He understood why Xiaorong called Di Jiu a fraud. Lin Bo and Hu Qianli had explained clearly that Di Jiu didn’t look like a divine doctor at all—he was simply too young.
Hu Qianli suddenly stood up, his face darkening. “Divine Doctor Di’s medical skills are the best I’ve ever seen. If not for him, my son would still be suffering from illness—or even dead. I don’t know about other things, but calling Divine Doctor Di a fraud makes me furious.”
Li Xuehua was just as agitated. She hurried to apologize, saying, “I’m sorry, Xiaorong didn’t mean it that way. Xiaorong, quickly—where is Divine Doctor Di?”
Ji Xiaorong sensed something was wrong and explained, “That day, Di Jiu came to our training hall to find me. He bluntly said he could cure my brother. He looked so young, but I still stopped to listen. Later, I asked him about Suhexiang, and he didn’t know what it was, so I thought he was a fraud.”
This time, even Lin Bo frowned. Although Suhexiang was a bit obscure, it wasn’t something strange—he knew it was sweet and warm, could open the orifices, dispel stagnation, ward off evil, and detoxify certain poisons.
It was perfectly normal for Ji Xiaorong to know about Suhexiang; after all, Ji Xiaoting’s poisoning could have been caused by evil qi. But how could Di Jiu not know about Suhexiang? Could it be that the Di Jiu Xiaorong met wasn’t the Divine Doctor Di they were seeking?
Thinking of this, Lin Bo quickly asked, “Xiaorong, did Di Jiu mention where he was from?”
Ji Xiaorong thought for a moment before answering, “He said he rescued a girl named Yu Mu from a poisonous snake in the Wangchuan Mountains. He also claimed to have saved someone in the morgue at Aibo Hospital. Isn’t that ridiculous? Once someone’s in the morgue, how could…”
Ji Xiaorong didn’t finish her sentence. She sensed something was off—everyone was staring at her, their gazes strangely intense.
“Xiaorong, the Di Jiu who came to see you is the Divine Doctor Di we’ve been searching for. Where is he now? We must invite him here immediately,” Ji Baishan said gravely.
“Ah…” Ji Xiaorong’s arm trembled, and her crutch fell to the ground. Only now did she realize that the person she had driven away was the divine doctor her family had been desperately searching for.