Open a Clinic to Cultivate Myself Chapter 154

Everything in the Sky Clinic was the same as before. The good-evil tripod was wreathed in smoke, and due to the arrival of Qing Zhui, the face on it was angry.

Qing Zhui felt afraid. She threw the two plastic woven bags of medicinal herbs onto the floor and immediately strode out, saying, “Brother Ning, I, I'll wait for you outside.”

She was ruthless and cruel, capable of frightening the most heinous people, but here she was afraid.

Ning Tao jerked her hand and said, “Don't go out yet. Wait for me, we'll go out together.”

“Then you, you hurry up,” Qing Zhui stammered. She was so nervous that she couldn't even look at the face on the good-evil tripod.

Ning Tao put down the small medicine chest, took out the ledger of bamboo slips and opened it.

A passage appeared on the ledger, saying, “The rent of this month has been collected, and the Sky Clinic has moved. There are 29 days and 18 hours from the date of the next payment of rent; Next month's rent is 2,000 points of good-evil rent. Current account balance is 1,137 points of good-evil rent.”

Rents for the unreliable clinics had gone up again, and it was doubled. This time the rent had doubled from the base of 1,000. If it doubled from the base of 10,000 in the future, what should he do?

“It's unreliable! You're just an unreliable clinic!” Ning Tao threw the ledger on the desk in anger. He wanted to check it to see if there was an address for the clinic, but he found that there was no address on it and instead there was a notice of rent increase. It annoyed him intensely.

“What's the matter with you, Brother Ning?” Qing Zhui asked anxiously.

“Nothing, let's go out and have a look,” Ning Tao replied, and headed for the door.

Although he was furious at the clinic, he still had to earn good-evil rent, just like the world knew that they would die, but everyone still tried to live.

Ning Tao opened the door, and the sun was shining in his face. The city covered with tall buildings came into view. In front of him was a lonely alley, which was not long, with a street at the end. The first thing he saw was a blue streetnameplate at the entrance of the alley, which said “Hakka Alley”.

Guan City was one of the most famous cities in south of the Five Ridges, with developed economy and comprehensive strength ranking among the best in Hua Country.

Why did the Sky Clinic move to Guan City?

Ning Tao was confused. Then he turned around, and was immediately stunned by the clinic's appearance.

In front of him was a Hakka house with white walls and gray tiles that looked decades old.

The Sky Clinic was not what it used to look like in Shan City. It seemed to change its appearance as the address changed. But given that Chen Pingdao could turn into a black dog and bite, it was no surprise that it could “renovate” itself into a Hakka building.

“Er…” Qing Zhui let out a strange noise. “It did move.”

Ning Tao did not seem to hear her voice, still in a state of unconsciousness.

Qing Zhui looked around, then frowned and asked, “Brother Ning, where do I live?”

Ning Tao pulled himself together and said, “Let's go out and see if there are houses for rent around here. I have to rent a house, too.”

“Don't you want to live in the clinic either?”

Ning Tao cast a glance at the good-evil tripod and spat, “I hate to see the face of that bastard, too.” Then he reached out and closed the door.

Before they could get out of the alley, they saw an advertisement for a house for rent posted on a door. Ning Tao called the number in the advertisement, and the landlady came quickly.

The landlady was a middle-aged woman with wavy hair, a pair of printed shorts and slippers, and a cigarette dangling in her mouth. At the sight of her, Ning Tao somehow remembered the landlady in the movie Kung Fu Hustle.

“Young man, are you renting? Is that your girlfriend? How pretty she is!” the landlady said in Hakka.

Ning Tao couldn't understand her and said, “Ma'am, can you speak mandarin or English?”

“Isn't Hakka the language of Hua Country? Humph,” the landlady said in mandarin, which was not bad.

Ning Tao smiled and asked, “Ma'am, what's the rent for your house?”

The landlady took a puff of her cigarette and puffed out a cloud of smoke before she replied, “12,000 yuan per month.”

“Isn't that too expensive?” Ning Tao started.

The landlady rolled her eyes at him. “It's a detached house with a yard, just like a villa. Where can you find such a house? It's not expensive at all,” she spat in Hakka.

Ning Tao gave a bitter smile and said, “Ma'am, please speak mandarin.”

“Okay, okay, mandarin. I speak mandarin. Come with me. I'll show you my house. You'll be pleased. We'll discuss the price after you have visited it.” The landlady opened the door and showed Ning Tao and Qing Zhui around.

It was a nice house with three bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen and one bathroom. The bathroom and kitchen were very large. Besides, there was also a backyard of about 20 to 30 square meters with flowers and plants growing in it. In a place like Guan City, the monthly rent of 12,000 yuan was actually a reasonable price. Ning Tao, however, continued to bargain for 10,000 a month.

The landlady's surname was Liang and her name was Liang Dahui. After settling the price, Ning Tao transferred 40,000 yuan of rent to her on the spot and signed a simple lease contract with her.

Liang Dahui handed Ning Tao the key before she went out the door. Ning Tao followed her out, stopped her and asked, “Ms. Liang, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?” Liang Dahui involuntarily asked in Hakka. Then she looked at Ning Tao and repeated it in mandarin.

Ning Tao pointed to the Sky Clinic disguised as a common residence and tentatively asked, “Whose house is that?”

Liang Dahui glanced in the direction Ning Tao pointed and replied, “That was Mr. Chen's house, but it was sold 10 years ago. I don't know who bought it. I've never seen the new owner. Why do you ask, young man?”

Ning Tao smiled and said, “Nothing. The owner of the house will be our neighbor. I asked you about it so that I could say hello to the neighbors when I saw them.”

“That house is unoccupied. No chance to say hello. I have to go home and cook for my husband. Call me if you need anything,” Liang Dahui said and left.

Ning Tao stood in the alley, looking at the Sky Clinic, and said to himself, “I see. The house in Shan City was supposed to be the disguise of the Sky Clinic as well. It specially chooses houses that are unoccupied for camouflage. As to whether the owners of those houses were alive or dead, perhaps only the clinic knows.”

This was the most reasonable explanation, but also reflected the clinic's power and magic. It held everything, even a house, in its grasp.

The ways of Heaven had eyes, and saw everything.

“Brother Ning, which room do you want to sleep in?” Qing Zhui's voice came from the room.

Ning Tao stopped wondering and went in, saying casually, “You pick the room first. I can have any bedroom.”

Qing Zhui winked at him with her big dark eyes and suggested tentatively, “How about…we share the same room? I can warm the bed and massage.”

Her words gave Ning Tao a headache. “Don't be joking. I live in the bedroom next to the backyard,” Ning Tao said with a bitter smile.

“Then I'll live next door to you,” uttered Qing Zhui.

“Let's go out and buy some groceries,” said Ning Tao. “The sheets here must be changed. God knows who has used the quilts, towels, and something else here. It's not sanitary.”

“Okay, I'll call my sister and see if she's in this city,” Qing Zhui said.

“Bai Jing?” asked Ning Tao, a little surprised. “Isn't your sister in Beidu?”

“She spends most of her time in Beidu, not only because the company's headquarters is there, but also because of me. You know, I need to recuperate in that cave. The birthplace of my sister's company is Guan City. I have lived here before, but not for long. So sometimes she is in Guan City.”

Ning Tao thought for a moment and said, “Okay, you call her.”

As far as he was concerned, he didn't want to contact Bai Jing. However, Bai Jing was Qing Zhui's elder sister, and Qing Zhui hadn't met her sister since she worked for him for such a long time. It was natural that a girl wanted to meet her sister, so he could not stop her.

Qing Zhui took out her phone and made a call.

Ning Tao went into his chosen room near the backyard.

There was a bed, a wardrobe, and a small computer desk beside the window, but no computer in the room. The window was ajar so that the flowers and plants in the backyard could be seen. The room was nice, but the furniture was old and the wallpaper yellowed and no longer fitted the wall. Ning Tao started to clean up his room, such as removing clutter and sheets and quilts.

Before he finished, Qing Zhui walked in. She handed her phone to Ning Tao and said, “Brother Ning, my sister wants to talk to you.”

Ning Tao put down his unfinished job, took the phone and said, “Hello, Miss Bai. This is Ning Tao.”

Immediately, Bai Jing's voice came out from the phone. “Doctor Ning, how do you do? Thank you for taking good care of my sister. She's blessed to have such a good demon master.”

“You're welcome,” Ning Tao said. “Qing Zhui and I are good friends.”

“Hha…” Bai Jing let out a series of clear laughter. “It seems that I really have to explain to you the relationship between demon master and demon. Let's set up a meeting. I'll buy you a drink.”

“Are you in Guan City now?” Ning Tao asked.

“No, I'm in Beidu,” Bai Jing replied. “I will fly to Guan City in four hours. See you this evening.”

“Hey…” Bai Jing hung up before Ning Tao could finish. Ning Tao gave Qing Zhui the phone and said, “Your sister asked us to meet for dinner this evening.”

“Good,” Qing Zhui shouted happily. “It's like me going back to my mother's home. I must prepare some presents.”

Ning Tao felt perturbed. “What do you mean by going back to your mother's home?”

“Just take it literally. You go to the clinic and deal with the herbs. You're a man, and men have men's things. Making the bed is a woman's business. I'll do it.” Qing Zhui pushed Ning Tao out the door and urged, “Come on, go, you don't have to buy bedding or anything. I'll get them.”

“Well, I'll go back to the clinic and deal with the herbs,” said Ning Tao.

Back at the clinic, Ning Tao took the herbs collected from Shennongjia out of two plastic woven bags. Then, he picked up a packet of seeds and a few medicinal seedlings and walked to the stone wall. He opened the convenient door to the Sword Pavilion Cave, and two seconds later he reached the Sword Pavilion Cave in Shan City from Guan City.

Qing Zhui tidied the house while he worked in the field.

It didn't really make much difference to Ning Tao whether the clinic moved or not.

But who was the villain in Guan City?

Chapter end