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Chapter 159 - 158: Debt of Favor

"Won’t this seem too cold?" Lin Qing stared at Chen Xuan’s phone and said, "Why don’t you chat with her a bit more?"

Chen Xuan closed WeChat, "Our name is Ability Center, not Ability Friends. It’s easier to cut ties later if you chat less now."

"Is that so? I didn’t see you as such a cold person before." Although Lin Qing said this, her face showed no sign of displeasure.

This person... wouldn’t expect me to say she’s the special one, right? Chen Xuan turned his head away, deliberately avoiding her trap, "What about you? Are you sure you’ve hacked into her phone?"

Lin Qing pouted, "Of course, such a primitive system, even Lv could crack it in a minute."

Actually, that contract was just a facade.

Whether it’s a secret trade or a one-sided request function, at its core, it’s a form of ability trade. Once sold, it’s sold, and if the other party doesn’t agree, there’s no way for him to take it back. The moment Jiang Siqi signed, it was equivalent to agreeing to a secret trade, trying to do another one-sided request in the same way, the other party might not easily agree.

They didn’t plan to let an online celebrity be a professional spy. They said they wanted her to film some vlogs of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism life and send them over, but in reality, they hacked her phone to listen in on everyday conversations in the Mechanism. If the Mechanism was on guard, it wouldn’t matter, as long as she didn’t suspect herself, Lin Qing could completely provide a device that current detection technology couldn’t detect for her to use.

Two days later, Chen Xuan received a call from an acquaintance.

It was Boss Xu from the pharmacy.

"Young friend, I need your help with something."

Apart from collecting medicine and making payments, this was the first time Xu Wangxian had sought him out proactively. The last time with Jiu and Hua, it was through his hospital connections that it was quietly resolved, so Chen Xuan replied readily, "Just say the word, anything I can help with is not a problem."

"Here’s the situation... there’s a boss’s daughter who’s ill, and no treatment has proven effective. This boss is someone from our circle, and he finally sought the president of Beitian Academy. The president said if anyone can help, they will be a prestigious guest at Beitian Academy in the future."

Chen Xuan was puzzled, what circle? Traditional Chinese medicine circle?

And what organization is Beitian Academy?

But he understood the last sentence.

"You want me to help treat her illness?"

"Exactly, young friend, you’re quick to catch on. The medicine you sell is like an Immortal Elixir, although her illness can’t be cured by Blood Orange and Sweet Green Clear Pill, but I think you might have other means."

Chen Xuan hesitated for a moment.

Xu Wangxian most likely already realized he’s not some so-called Immortal Pill spokesperson, these medicines are made by him. If Chen Xuan were to use the excuse of only selling medicine to decline, the other party wouldn’t have much to say, but their relationship would certainly become distant, and the favor owed would remain unpaid forever.

"If you don’t want to be famous, I can bear the name for you, when it comes to treatment, I could say you’re my assistant..." Seeing he didn’t immediately answer, Xu Wangxian hurriedly added, "Of course... that would be an injustice to you. You must understand, being a prestigious guest at Beitian Academy isn’t just an empty title, it’s something money can’t buy. On the other hand, if you simply want money, they can offer you a sky-high reward."

"What kind of organization is Beitian Academy? Is it state-level?" Chen Xuan asked curiously. In the meantime, he searched online and found no relevant information at all.

"I can’t really discuss this over the phone. How about we meet and talk face to face?"

Since the other party had said so much, Chen Xuan couldn’t decline anymore.

"Alright, I’ll come to your pharmacy to talk."

After explaining to Lin Qing, he took a cab alone to the Hundred Herbs Hall.

The sales assistant was still there, and when she saw Chen Xuan, she looked at him in suspicion, glancing at him several times. It wasn’t until Boss Xu personally took him upstairs that her face showed a hint of shock.

In the office with the door closed, Xu Wangxian made him a cup of hot tea, "Young friend, I’m not trying to be mysterious, but Beitian Academy is indeed a hidden Sect, and it prefers not to have public discussions about it."

Sect... the word made Chen Xuan’s heart stir slightly.

"The legendary kind?"

"Yes." Xu Wangxian nodded, "The legendary kind. It’s said to have been founded by the Medicine King Sun Simiao, passed down since ancient times. Anyone with a bit of a connection in the traditional Chinese medicine circle knows it exists to some extent. Of course, I’m talking about ordinary people. Those with wealth and power would know even more, after all, some of the Immortal Elixirs highly sought after on the market are from Beitian Academy."

It was the first time Chen Xuan heard about this. "So amazing? Even patients that the Medicine Sect can’t cure, is it really useful to seek outsiders?"

"That’s what I thought at first, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized they’re placing their hopes on Ability Users," Xu Wangxian said with emotion, "Recently, isn’t there talk everywhere about superpowers? Who knows if there’s an ability that can cure ailments untreatable by both Chinese and Western medicine? That’s why Beitian Academy put out the word—those big shots might not be good at other things, but their connections are top-notch."

Ah, that makes sense. It seems Ability Users have already become an alternative beyond all conventional solutions, Chen Xuan then asked, "Why don’t they just directly seek the Dimensional Limit Mechanism?"

"Hmm... I’m not really sure either, maybe the self-respect from a thousand-year legacy doesn’t allow them to do so?" Boss Xu speculated, "Owing a debt to an individual is easier to settle, owing one to an organization is much more complex."

Chen Xuan took a sip of tea, "Do you know any specific details, like what illness the person has?"

"I don’t know about that, it involves the patient’s privacy." He shook his head, "I only know the boss’s surname is Guo, and Dingsheng Pharmaceutical is their family business."

Dingsheng Pharmaceutical... even Chen Xuan had heard of this name, from toothpaste to vaccines, their products cover it all, with a very strong financial backing. With their family’s resources, top-notch medical resources must be utilized without limit, if even that is powerless, the severity of the illness is evident.

"So, young friend, are you willing to give it a try?" Xu Wangxian asked with anticipation.

Chen Xuan thought about it and replied, "Since Boss Xu is asking for help, I have to agree. But checking the situation is one thing, curing it is another. If I’m not completely confident, I won’t prescribe any treatment."

He didn’t know any medical skills at all, talking about using medicine would just give him away, so prescribing is out of the question. If so many people couldn’t treat it, it would be normal if he couldn’t either. As long as he went there, this favor would be considered repaid.

"Of course, of course!" Xu Wangxian was so pleased he stroked his beard, "But I believe in your abilities, young friend. If you succeed, our Hundred Herbs Hall will shine brightly!"

This was probably why the other party went to great lengths to get him to treat the illness, Chen Xuan thought. Boss Xu clearly wanted to integrate into this circle, and he just happened to know a skilled person who can make ’Immortal Pills’. This is how the so-called network of interests forms.

Initially, Chen Xuan hesitated simply because he found it troublesome. After all, the patient might not even be in Jiang City, and the ’important intrusion node’ Lin Qing mentioned had no specific occurrence time, only an estimate around Christmas, he didn’t want this to delay more important matters.

But Boss Xu was, after all, a savior of his client’s life, simply going there wouldn’t cause a loss, anyway, he wasn’t required to cure the illness, and if the patient were in the country, flights could mostly reach the same day.

"So... where’s the patient now?"

"Right on Lu Mountain!" Xu Wangxian said.

Chen Xuan was stunned, "Lu Mountain in Jiang City?"

That’s right behind the residential area he rented in.

"Where else? Oh, I forgot to tell you, young friend, Beitian Academy is located in Jiang City." Xu Wangxian chuckled and said, "If you have no other arrangements, I’ll give them a heads-up tonight, and we can visit them first thing tomorrow morning."