Chapter 463 You Have Totally Shamed Me
A worn Volkswagen Jetta was driving on the road. Although the car was run down, the driver inside was pretty. Many would glance into the car whenever it stopped at a traffic juncture.
This decade-old Volkswagen Jetta was owned by Tang Zixian. Although Ning Tao did not show any displeasure on his face, he felt somewhat upset. This broken-down car could not even match a rear mirror of his electric motorbike, God’s Will. It was not even worth a refined screw. So why had she looked down on his electric motorbike?
But Tang Zixian had quite superlative driving abilities. She drove the car well.
Ning Tao did not ask her where they were heading for. Instead, he sat on the front passenger seat, watching the scenery outside. Now and then, he would look at his cell phone to see if Fan Huaying had replied. Whenever he was bored, he would knock the small medicine chest on his lap with his knuckles, making “clock clock” noises.
After some time, Tang Zixian broke the silence in the car. “So have you thought it through?”
“Thought through what?” Ning Tao asked.
“You know what I mean.” Tang Zixian shifted her eyes to look at Ning Tao.
“Drive carefully,” Ning Tao reminded her.
Tang Zixian said, “Okay, since you are pretending not to know, I will be direct. The last time, I offered to exchange the Authentic Ambergris for an Ancestor-seeking Elixir. I would also like to inspect the elixir prescription. What is your decision about this?”
Ning Tao appeared to have just realized. “Oh, you mean this. I have totally forgotten it. Give me some more time to consider.”
How could he have forgotten this matter? He thought Tang Zixian would broach the subject the moment she came looking for him. Yet she had only spoken about it now. Since she had not broached the subject earlier, he happily pretended to have forgotten.
He had already found for himself a large piece of the Authentic Ambergris. He no longer needed Tang Zixian’s. But he did not intend to let her know this. He could not see through this woman and was always wary of her. Telling her would mean that she would likely guess he had refined a new version of the Ancestor-seeking Elixir.
Tang Zixian glanced at Ning Tao again. “Have you found the Authentic Ambergris?”
Ning Tao smiled. “I wish I had. It isn’t easy to find such rare spiritual materials. If I had found one, I wouldn’t have left with you to treat your friend. I’m thinking of asking you for some Authentic Ambergris if I manage to cure him.”
Tang Zixian turned away her gaze. “He is not my friend.”
“Then who is he?” Ning Tao probed.
“You will know when you reach the place.” Tang Zixian shut her mouth and drove on unhappily.
If a woman is pretty, she will hope for all her wishes to be fulfilled. But Ning Tao would not give in to her.
“Let me try again. If I can’t find one, I will accede to your request. But this is nothing urgent. After all, the elixir I refine will be incomplete—a sheer waste of my resources,” Ning Tao said.
Tang Zixian’s face started to look less grim. “What you say makes sense. That is indeed no hurry.”
Ning Tao changed the subject. “By the way, have you discovered anything in your study of the Feminine-moon people’s formation?”
Tang Zixian replied indifferently, “That place has collapsed, so what use is it to unravel its mysteries? I can take my time.”
Ning Tao smiled. “You can indeed.”
He did not believe her at all. She had expended so much effort and risk to locate the Feminine-moon people’s ruins. And she had also found that formation. So why would she take her own sweet time?
After halting at several traffic junctures, the run-down Volkswagen Jetta finally arrived at a hospital entrance. Ning Tao alighted and glanced at the sign. His heart fluttered slightly.
The hospital was Diyun Hospital, a premium hospital of Hua Country. Even big stars and business magnates needed to make appointments to see the doctors here. It was common for the queue to take two to three months. It was almost impossible for ordinary folks to see a doctor here. Sometimes, a patient would have died waiting to see a doctor.
Ning Tao had studied medicine for four years at Shan City Medical University. He vowed to be an eminent doctor, so he obviously knew the stature of this hospital in the medical world. He had dreamed of an internship in this hospital during his first year in the university. He had hoped to work in this hospital after that.
If a man has no dreams, how different is he from a salted fish?
But most people will have dreams and strive after them. But they are still no different from salted fish.
Had he not been a born go-between of good and evil and framed by Chen Pingdao, Ning Tao would have become an intern at some town hospital. An eminent doctor in Diyun Hospital? He would only realize this dream while asleep.
Turning up at this hospital he had once dreamed of working in, Ning Tao was overcome with emotions. But he merely felt a little sad. Although Diyun Hospital was a premium hospital in the country, it could not match his own Sky Clinic. The specialists and professors in this hospital could not hope to rival a cultivating doctor like himself.
Tang Zixian alighted from her car. She did not care if she could park here, instead striding towards the hospital. “Come with me.”
Ning Tao gathered his thoughts and followed Tang Zixian into the hospital entrance. As they walked, he said, “You can’t park at the entrance. Aren’t you afraid the traffic police will give you a ticket?”
Tang Zixian said, “Let them. If they tow it away, I will get someone to claim it back. That’s the advantage of driving a run-down car.”
Ning Tao was somewhat speechless. Was this a new game the rich and the willful would play?
There were throngs of people inside the outpatient building. Many had gathered there, together with their mingled odors. They gave one a feeling of restlessness.
Tang Zixian led Ning Tao past the outpatient building into the inner wards.
Ning Tao saw a large horde of reporters surrounding the front lobby of the wards. A few security guards in uniforms and some men in ties and Western suits were standing at the entrance. Those men in suits and leather shoes were all tall and burly. Although they were not wearing sunglasses, their solemn and aggressive expression clearly showed them to be disciplined professional bodyguards.
Ning Tao wondered to himself, “There are so many reporters here. Could Tang Zixian be asking me to treat some big star? She can even order a billionaire like Tu Wenjin. What kind of star can make her do this?”
Before Ning Tao could come up with a credible answer, Tang Zixian had walked into the lobby.
A security guard blocked her way and said politely, “Miss, this is the first ward building. You can only enter with credentials. If you’re the family of this patient, please show us your visiting or identity card.”
Upon hearing this, Ning Tao realized that the patient was no “big star.” Which big star would dare put on such airs? If it was indeed a star putting on airs here, his days of fame would soon be at an end.
Tang Zixian answered, “We are here to treat Mr. Meng.”
“Are you a doctor?” The questioning security guard scrutinized Tang Zixian. Obviously, he did not quite believe she was one.
Tang Zixian pointed at Ning Tao. “He’s the doctor. He can cure Mr. Meng’s illness.”
The eyes of the security guard landed on Ning Tao. His expression still seemed doubtful.
A large horde of reporters surrounded them, some taking photographs, others asking questions with pen recorders.
Their sudden predicament left Ning Tao somewhat disoriented. He had thought this trip would be no different from those of the past, and that Tang Zixian had long prepared everything. No matter how esteemed that man was, he would be able to see the patient easily. He had not expected both he and Tang Zixian would be blocked outside the entrance. He could not help but grumble inwardly: You don’t know that patient yourself, yet you’re taking me to treat him? You are the one who needs a doctor!
“Putting on such airs with a wooden chest. He must be some famous country doctor!” Someone from within the surrounding bystanders suddenly said this.
“So young. He must be still an undergraduate,” another one said.
“Young people nowadays must be all crazy after fame! Yesterday, I saw a broadcaster eating shit on the internet. What the f**k…” The person who said this was a middle-aged uncle. He pretended to retch, his action and expression showing his distaste at watching the video.
“Just think of who Meng Bo is. He’s our great hero! Every doctor wishes to treat him! I’ve seen quite a few of these so-called eminent doctors from abroad over the past few days,” a bald elderly man said.
“You’re right. They ought to know this place—Diyun Hospital. The doctors here are the best! What a joke, I can tell he’s a telecaster dying for fame. He must have hidden lots of cameras on his body. We ought to frisk him,” an elderly woman said.
Their presence provoked tumultuous discussions.
Ning Tao did not feel uneasy about such discussions. He could gather from these impolite remarks some information Tang Zixian had withheld. The patient was a hero and many eminent doctors from abroad had tried to treat him, but were rejected. This would explain their present predicament. Not only were there security guards in the hospital, there were also professional bodyguards from some special department, as well as hordes of reporters here. Were he not a hero, the patient would surely not have merited such reception.
Since the man was a hero, he would have to see this patient.
Amid the clamor of voices and doubtful looks, Ning Tao took a step forward and approached the security guard. He said politely, “I am the doctor. I have cured many difficult and rare diseases. Please let me see Mr. Meng.”
But the security guard was not in the least polite. “You don’t look like a doctor to me. Spare me the trouble, go home. This place is a mess as it is.”
Ning Tao opened his small medicine chest and took out his medical credentials, handing them to the security guard. “I’m really a doctor, These are my credentials. Please take a look.”
The security guard did not even stretch out his hands. “Even if you are a doctor, I can’t let you in.”
A bodyguard in suit inched forward and said fiercely, “Leave when you’re told to. Don’t be a pest. If you won’t go, I’ll soak your head in water.”
Ning Tao shifted his eyes to Tang Zixian and said unhappily, “Is this your idea of a house call? You have totally shamed me.”
Tang Zixian reacted somewhat exasperatedly. Even she could not help Ning Tao.
At this point, Ning Tao walked towards a young man with a crutch. He said loudly, “Brother, would you like to walk without a crutch?”
The young man started and replied instinctively, “Of course I would. But what business is that of yours?”