Chapter 131: You must be the successor of some master of traditional Chinese medicine, right?

Qin Fang hung up the phone and vigorously rubbed her cheeks, trying to force a happier expression onto her face. However, thinking of the changes in her appearance, she used her scarf to cover her face before stepping out of the brigade office.

Seeing Su Liang waiting outside, Qin Fang sniffled and called out in a sugary, affected voice, "Brother Liang, I'm sorry to have dragged you out with me. You must be frozen, right?"

As she spoke, she reached out, took Su Liang's large hand into her small ones, and pressed it against her chest. "Brother Liang, I only have you now. You won't abandon me too, will you?" She lowered her head, looking pitiful. "Brother Liang, if I lose you, I won't be able to go on."

The feeling of being needed flooded Su Liang's mind, making his already muddled brain boil with a sense of euphoria. That was right—ever since it was revealed that Qin Fang was the daughter of a spy, her status had plummeted. The friends who used to follow her had dwindled until only he remained. If he left... no, he couldn't leave. Fang'er was innocent; she hadn't asked for such a father. Under Qin Fang's subtle influence, Su Liang quickly finished brainwashing himself.

On the way back, Qin Fang communicated constantly with her system. She knew her current situation was dire. To maintain her beauty and charm, she had to pay a price. But she certainly wasn't going to sacrifice her own luck or lifespan; she would have to find someone else.

"Host, why don't you use a beauty trap to siphon half of Su Liang's luck? That would preserve your looks," the system suggested.

"No way. Su Liang is the eldest son of the Su family. If he loses his luck and becomes cursed with misfortune, there's no benefit to me. I still need his status to elevate my own position," Qin Fang retorted, shaking her head decisively. She wouldn't allow it. Su Liang was the highest branch she could cling to right now; nothing could go wrong there.

However, she could definitely snatch someone else's good fortune. Even if the other person were to suffer or die from the loss of luck, what did that have to do with her? As long as it didn't affect her status and interests, it was fine.

"Then who do you intend to drain? You don't have any close relationships in the educated youth dormitory," the system's cold voice annoyed her. The system wasn't supportive at all these days; it was actually quite hateful, always saying exactly what would sting the most.

"Well, it doesn't have to be someone I'm close to, does it?" Qin Fang asked weakly.

"If you aren't close to them, do you think they'll agree if you ask them to share their good luck? Even if you framed it as a joke, they wouldn't agree—they'd probably just curse at you."

Qin Fang realized the system had a point. If someone came up to her and asked to share her luck, she certainly wouldn't agree. Why would she, when they weren't even close?

"Then, is there a way to loot someone's luck directly without their consent?" Qin Fang's eyes darted around as a thought struck her. "Isn't there a way to buy luck with money?"

"Do you have money?" the system countered. "Buying luck requires an equivalent exchange. You can't just pay a small amount of money and buy a massive amount of luck. That’s impossible."

Qin Fang was hit again. Money was a good thing, but she really didn't have much. Although she had been spoiled in the Qin family and given plenty of money, she was a big spender with no concept of saving. She always assumed she could just ask her parents for more when she ran out. The problem was, asking the Qin parents for money now wasn't easy. They might pay lip service to treating her like their own daughter, but the reality was...

Qin Fang sighed inwardly. She used to have dozens of yuan for living expenses every month, and if she acted spoiled, Mother Qin would let a little extra slip through her fingers. But now, Mother Qin said she would only provide twenty yuan a month. Twenty yuan wasn't a small amount for many, but for her, it wasn't nearly enough—especially now that she had to support Su Liang as well. *Sigh, money, I am so desperate for money.*

While Qin Fang fretted over her immediate troubles, Xu Lin had already entered a state of deep, selfless cultivation. She had completely forgotten about her plan to spy on Qin Fang and her system. Once the dormitory fell silent, Xu Lin ended her practice, slipped out, and jogged over to the shed.

She knocked on the door twice, and hurried footsteps sounded from within. Huang Hongli was pleased to see Xu Lin. He greeted her, invited her inside, and then carefully checked the surroundings before following her in. Several elderly people were sitting in the room; they looked at Xu Lin with scrutiny, but their gazes were clear and devoid of malice.

After Xu Lin greeted them with a smile, her eyes fell on the old woman leaning against the head of the bed, coughing incessantly.

"Educated Youth Xu, sorry to trouble you," Old Madam Huang said, suppressing her cough. She extended a withered, thin arm, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"It's no trouble at all," Xu Lin said with a smile as she took the woman's pulse. A moment later, she nodded slightly. The situation was just as she had determined; it was nothing serious and could be resolved.

However, the constant coughing was painful for the old woman. Xu Lin took out her silver needles and said, "I'll perform acupuncture to stop the cough first, and then after three days of herbal medicine, you'll be fully recovered."

"Acupuncture can stop a cough?" Huang Hongli asked, surprised, as if he were hearing this for the first time.

"It can," Xu Lin explained while sterilizing the needles. In truth, acupuncture was immensely useful and could treat nearly a hundred ailments; when combined with medication, the results were excellent. The problem was that many techniques had been lost, especially during the regime changes, which had been devastating for traditional Chinese medicine.

Even when Xu Lin had reached the level of a divine physician in that ancient dimension, she couldn't prevent the loss of many medical traditions. Her greatest contribution there had been the dissemination of medical knowledge. She had broken the tradition of passing skills only to sons and not daughters, and the notion of only passing knowledge to one's own descendants. She had established medical schools, allowing more people the opportunity to learn. Even so, many secret techniques were still lost, and Xu Lin still remembered the pain of that realization.

Unfortunately, she couldn't change everyone, so she could only accept reality and do her best to pass on the craft. Seeing Xu Lin's skillful application of the needles, the old men in the room nodded in silent approval. To possess such mastery at such a young age—she was truly a genius.

Xu Lin twisted the silver needle, and Old Madam Huang's coughing gradually subsided. By the time Xu Lin withdrew the needles, the cough had almost vanished. The old men watched in stunned silence; this skill was truly miraculous and shattered their current understanding of traditional medicine.

"Which medical master are you the successor of?" Elder Sun asked. He was incredibly curious about who could have taught such a brilliant young student.