The Turmoil of Misty Willow Town

Lin Zhong spoke with a tinge of sorrow and helplessness in his voice, "I have explained everything to Manxiang, but she is determined to follow me into the immortal path."

"Oh?" Yang Fan's lips curled into a faint smile. "And how did you respond to her?"

Lin Zhong's expression darkened. "I told Manxiang that if she could reach the Qi Refinement stage, I would not object to walking the path of immortality alongside her. But if not, she would naturally have to give up on that dream."

Yang Fan nodded in agreement. "That seems wise. Given her crippled spirit root, she has no chance of advancing in the immortal path. Eventually, she will see reason, and when that time comes, you will be free of any lingering attachments to her."

In truth, this outcome aligned perfectly with Yang Fan's desires. His only concern was that Liu Manxiang might persist stubbornly, doing something that would burden Lin Zhong with guilt and regret, planting the seeds of a future heart demon. 

He gave Lin Zhong another instruction, "In the coming days, you will have to be a bit busier. Keep an eye on Hu Banxian and his movements. If he tries to leave Misty Willow Town or harbors ill intentions toward the Liu family, inform me at once."

Lin Zhong nodded, but then asked, "Now that Hu Banxian's influence has dwindled, and the success of your medical clinic is growing, what are your plans going forward?"

Yang Fan's eyes, usually calm and still as water, flickered with a hint of emotion. He replied quietly, "Once the clinic is settled, you should focus on cultivating diligently. At the same time, take care of the Puo'ai Medical Clinic and my family. In three months, I'll need to travel to Ghost Corpse Mountain, and in about a year, I'll head to the capital. During those two periods, you cannot enter seclusion, but other than that, you may practice as you wish."

Lin Zhong hesitated for a moment before offering a suggestion. "Master, I have a recommendation."

"Speak," Yang Fan said with a single, curt word.

"I've noticed that your true goal in establishing Puo'ai Medical Clinic is to serve cultivators in the immortal world. If that's the case, once the clinic builds a solid reputation in the local cultivation circles, you could consider moving it to a remote location deep in the mountains, where it would cater exclusively to immortals. Of course, we would charge a certain number of spirit stones for our treatments."

"Well said. I have indeed thought about this, but it's not something that can be achieved in the short term. It may take several more years to lay the groundwork." 

Yang Fan glanced at Lin Zhong approvingly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "In the future, if you have more suggestions, do not hesitate to bring them to me. It's best if there are no barriers between us."

Encouraged by such words, Lin Zhong felt deeply grateful. He went on, "Master's medical skills are unparalleled, but as time goes on, the number of patients will surely increase. It may be wise to consider recruiting a few talented disciples from either the cultivation world or the mortal realm."

"Disciples?" Yang Fan was slightly taken aback, having not considered that. After a brief moment of reflection, he realized it made sense.

As Yang Fan's cultivation progressed, his patients would naturally need to have higher cultivation and strength to benefit him in return. Ordinary patients, with minor ailments and injuries, would no longer serve his growth, and those cases could easily be handled by his disciples.

…

In the days that followed, more and more patients came to Puo'ai Medical Clinic, including some martial artists from the mortal realm.

For most cases, Yang Fan's personal attention was unnecessary. He would only step in for the gravest injuries or most severe illnesses. Meanwhile, the doctors and apprentices in the clinic were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work, though Lin Zhong often came by to lend a hand when he wasn't cultivating.

Before long, two weeks had flown by.

During this time, Yang Fan had treated many patients, though they were all ordinary mortals, which caused his progress in cultivation to slow. Despite this, he was only a half-step away from the late stage of Qi Refinement, having already reached the pinnacle of the mid-stage.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhenchang, the town head, had begun collaborating with Puo'ai Medical Clinic to pressure Hu Banxian's Immortal Sage Herbal Hall.

As the business of Immortal Sage Herbal Hall declined steadily, Puo'ai Medical Clinic grew more prosperous by the day.

Two promising young talents of the Yang family, Yang Guang and Yang Lei, both at the peak of Qi Refinement, had departed Misty Willow Town, seemingly reaching an agreement to return to the Yang family fortress.

Though Yang Guang had left, Li Fatty remained in the town, frequently seen conspiring with Hu Banxian, plotting something in secret. 

Yang Fan observed all this with a cold smile, using Liu Zhenchang's influence in the mortal world to steadily apply pressure on Hu Banxian.

With the help of a few influential figures fanning the flames, rumors spread through the town that Hu Banxian had poisoned the daughter of Liu Zhenchang and was an evil man who deceived the townspeople with his mystical tricks. 

Little by little, Hu Banxian's reputation fell into ruin, and it seemed that he would soon be unable to remain in Misty Willow Town any longer.

…

In a secret chamber at the back of Immortal Sage Herbal Hall, Hu Banxian and Li Fatty were whispering to one another. Beside them stood two cultivators at the early stage of Qi Refinement.

"Li Gongzi, I truly cannot stay in Misty Willow Town any longer…" Hu Banxian said with a bitter smile.

"Hmph! If you can't stay here, where do you think you can go? The county town? The capital? There are even more scattered cultivators in those places. You'll starve faster there. Listen to me and stay here. Together, we can figure out a way to bring down Yang Fan."

Li Fatty sneered, "Follow my plan, and when it succeeds, there will be plenty of rewards for you."

Hu Banxian sighed, "But the Yang family brothers are no easy foes. Though Yang Lei is gone, Yang Fan and Lin Zhong working together won't be easy to handle."

"Who said we need to deal with them directly?" Li Fatty mocked. "The real problem we're facing comes from Liu Zhenchang's suppression. Don't you hate Liu Degui and his precious daughter, Liu Manxiang?"

"You mean…" Hu Banxian began to guess at Li Fatty's intentions.

It turned out that Li Fatty had set his sights on Liu Zhenchang's daughter, Liu Manxiang.

"Heh, Liu Manxiang might not be as stunning as Yang Huixin, but she's still a fine woman. I've always enjoyed tormenting young ladies of noble birth." A lecherous gleam flashed in Li Fatty's eyes.

Hu Banxian hesitated. "I just can't shake this uneasy feeling… Yang Fan is cunning. What if he's already laid a trap for us, waiting for us to walk right into it?"

"Ha! You've lived all these years in the cultivation world, and yet you're still so cautious? Yang Fan is just a Qi Refinement novice, and Lin Zhong is barely in the mid-stage. With the two of us, plus two more early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, we may not be able to kill them outright, but bullying a few mortals under their noses should be easy."

"But…" Hu Banxian still felt uncertain.

"What's the 'but' here?" Li Fatty interrupted impatiently. "Yang Guang and Yang Lei have returned to the Yang family fortress, and for now, they'll be too busy with internal matters to come back. Besides, the mortals we're targeting aren't even related to the Yang family brothers. We're not violating any major taboos of the cultivation world."

Li Fatty's arrogance and overconfidence silenced Hu Banxian's doubts. With his logic laid out so confidently, even Hu Banxian found it difficult to spot any flaws in the plan.

…

Meanwhile, back at Puo'ai Medical Clinic, Yang Fan was about to face his first significant challenge since the clinic opened.

"Master! Trouble is brewing! Several cultivators have come seeking treatment, but they don't seem to have good intentions," Lin Zhong said anxiously as he rushed in, interrupting Yang Fan's meditative study of the Dao of Medicine.

"What? Finally, some cultivators have come for treatment?" Yang Fan's eyes lit up, his expression one of excitement.

Though the clinic had been open for many days, this was the first time that cultivators had sought treatment.

At present, while Puo'ai Medical Clinic had earned some renown and was revered by the surrounding mortals, the cultivators still harbored doubts.