Volume 1, Chapter 65: Divine Doctor Ye's Renown Echoes Throughout the Entire City!

It trembled!
It truly trembled!
Every single person's heart violently contracted along with that slight tremor!
That was far more than just the fluttering of eyelashes; it was the signal of life returning from the brink!
"Mo'er! Mo'er!"
Patriarch Li and his wife could no longer contain themselves, throwing themselves forward onto the stretcher, their voices shattered and trembling beyond recognition.
On the stretcher, Li Mo's brows knitted slightly, as if he were caught within the depths of a long and agonizing dream.
His fingers also began to twitch faintly.
His breathing shifted from imperceptible to gradually distinct and steady.
The rise and fall of his chest grew more and more pronounced.
Ye Xuan withdrew his fingers and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
His complexion was a shade paler than before.
Controlling dozens of golden needles simultaneously while channeling a stream of spiritual energy to force out the foreign obstruction was no small consumption for him.
With lightning speed, he reached out and pulled the golden needles from Li Mo's head one by one, returning them to the wooden box.
The entire process was executed without the slightest sound.
Having finished all this, he took a step back and calmly gazed at his own masterpiece, as if he had merely completed some trivial task.
By now, the scene before them had descended into absolute madness.
"He's awake! He's really waking up!"
"A miracle! This is nothing short of a miracle!"
"He raised the dead! A living corpse who had slept for three years has actually been saved by him!"
"A divine doctor! This is a true divine doctor!"
Exclamations, praises, and discussions converged into a towering wave of sound, nearly tearing the roofs off the South City marketplace!
Those commoners who had previously looked on with skepticism and branded Ye Xuan a fraud now flushed crimson, wishing they could crawl into a crack in the ground.
Their faces were etched with deep shame, but even more so with the feverish awe of witnessing a miracle with their own eyes!
As for that scrawny ruffian who had been jumping up and down earlier, he was now utterly dumbfounded.
Staring blankly at the soon-to-be-revived Li Mo on the stretcher, and then casting a glance at the blood-stained needle tip still deeply embedded in the table leg, he felt his legs turn to jelly and collapsed backward onto the ground.
It was over.
Completely over.
Not only had he failed to trample Ye Xuan into the dirt, but he had personally escorted him onto a pedestal of divinity!
From this day onward, the reputation of the Returning Spring Hall would be crushed ruthlessly beneath the feet of this young man!
Manager Liu, standing behind him, looked ashen-faced.
He stared fixedly at Ye Xuan, his eyes filled with venom, jealousy, and an unmaskable trace of terror.
He had lost.
He had lost completely, utterly stripped of his dignity.
"Cough... Cough-cough..."
A soft fit of coughing shattered all the clamor.
The entire scene instantly fell dead silent once more.
Every single gaze focused intently on the stretcher.
Li Mo slowly opened the eyes that had been sealed shut for three years.
At first, his vision was entirely hazy, as if he had no idea where he was.
He turned his eyeballs with great difficulty, looking at the unfamiliar faces around him, and at the sky above that was both familiar and strange.
"Where... where am I?"
Because he had not spoken for so long, his voice was rasping and painfully parched.
"Mo'er! My Mo'er! You're finally awake!"
Madame Li could no longer hold back, pulling her son into a tight embrace and weeping bitterly.
Patriarch Li's eyes streamed with old tears as he chanted repeatedly, "He's awake! As long as he's awake, it's fine! It's fine that he's awake!"
Li Mo's gaze gradually cleared.
He saw his parents, beheld their haggard faces, and memories flooded back like a tide.
He recalled how, three years ago, he had gone horse racing outside the city with a few drinking buddies. At a street corner, someone had ruthlessly driven something into his back from behind, causing him to plummet from his horse, after which he knew nothing more.
"Father... Mother..."
Li Mo called out weakly, tears streaming down his cheeks.
That single cry of "Father, Mother" completely ignited the emotions of everyone present!
"He lived! He truly lived!"
"Good heavens! This Divine Doctor Ye is truly Hua Tuo alive, Bian Que reborn!"
"More than that! This is snatching a soul right out of the Underworld! He's a living immortal!"
Someone took the lead.
With a heavy thud!
A burly man who had previously been refused medical treatment dropped straight to his knees, pressing his head heavily against the stone pavement in the direction of Ye Xuan.
"Divine Doctor! Previously, I was blind and misunderstood you! I am here to make amends!"
"Thud! Thud!"
Following closely behind, more and more people sank to their knees.
Those who had spoken insolently before, those who had harbored doubts—all of them now knelt in utter and sincere submission.
Hundreds of people, thousands of people!
A vast, dark sea of kneeling figures!
The spectacle was magnificent enough to shock anyone to their core.
The looks they directed at Ye Xuan no longer held a shred of doubt, leaving only the purest, most fanatical adoration!
After his initial burst of ecstasy, Patriarch Li also snapped back to reality.
Pulling his wife along, he turned toward Ye Xuan and kowtowed with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The heavy, sincere thud echoed as their foreheads collided with the bluestone flags.
"The great kindness of the Divine Doctor, the Li family will never forget for generations!"
"From this day forward, the lives of the Li family belong to the Divine Doctor! Should you have any commands, we will die without hesitation!"
Faced with this wave-like cascade of prostrations, Ye Xuan's expression remained calm.
He merely said indifferently, "Rise."
"He has just awakened and his body is still very weak. Take him back to recuperate properly, feed him plenty of rice porridge, and within three months, he will be no different from an ordinary person."
He glanced once more at the chest of gold and the property deeds.
"As for the consultation fee..."
Everyone's heart leaped into their throats.
Ten thousand taels of gold—was he actually going to accept it all?
Ye Xuan spoke slowly: "I will take only one thousand taels as the consultation fee."
"Take the rest back with you."
"The patient needs recuperation, which requires money at every turn."
A gasp!
The entire crowd erupted into an uproar!
No one had anticipated that Ye Xuan would make such a decision.
Ten thousand taels of gold, and he refused it just like that?
What kind of magnanimity was this? What breadth of mind!
Even Patriarch Li was stunned.
"Divine Doctor, this... this simply will not do! We agreed on ten thousand taels; even if the Li family has to smash our pots and sell our iron, we will gather it for you!"
"The rules are set by me," Ye Xuan's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty. "I say one thousand taels, and it is one thousand taels."
"When I practice medicine, I do not chase after wealth."
"What I seek is justice."
His gaze swept coldly toward the scrawny ruffian who sat paralyzed on the ground with an ashen face.
"Some people hide behind the banner of saving lives while engaging in the slaughter of innocents and extortion for wealth."
"Such people are unworthy of being called healers."
As his words fell, all eyes turned uniformly toward the scrawny ruffian and, behind him, the ashen-faced Manager Liu.
The gazes of the crowd instantly shifted from awe to fury and contempt!
"So it was the Returning Spring Hall playing dirty tricks all along!"
"I knew it! How else would someone randomly show up to wreck the stall?"
"Black-hearted bastards! They almost ruined a true divine doctor!"
"Beat them to death! Drive these frauds out!"
Public outrage boiled over, and countless people stood up, surrounding the ruffian and Manager Liu.
Scared out of his wits, the ruffian scrambled to flee on all fours.
Manager Liu could no longer maintain his facade either, shoving his way through the crowd in an attempt to slip away.
But how could the angry commoners let them leave so easily?
"Don't let them run! Grab them!"
"Drag them to the magistrate's office! Let them rot in a prison cell!"
Amidst a flurry of commotion, the ruffian and Manager Liu were soon swallowed by the enraged mob. Fists and kicks rained down upon them, accompanied by endless wails and screams.
Ye Xuan did not spare them another glance.
He turned to Su Xuexue and instructed, "Pack up the stall."
"Yes, Young Master." Su Xuexue stepped forward, a brilliant light dancing within her cool, autumn-water eyes as she lowered her voice and said:
"Young Master Ye's move can only be described as exquisite. Not only did you shake the Northern City with a single needle, but you also effortlessly destroyed your greatest competitor while winning the adoration of the entire city's populace. From now on, the name Divine Doctor Ye will be known to every single person in Zhenbei City."
Ye Xuan's expression remained indifferent.
"That is still not enough."
"The adoration of the commoners is far too cheap."
"What I want is to make those people inside the Prince's Estate sit uneasy as well."
Su Xuexue understood instantly.
Indeed.
With such a massive commotion, the Prince's Estate could not possibly remain unaware.
The value of a divine doctor capable of reviving a living corpse was enough to move any person of supreme authority.
Just as she was about to speak, her peripheral vision caught sight of an exceptionally luxurious carriage slowly rolling over from the end of the long street.
The style of the carriage and the token hanging before it caused Su Xuexue's pupils to contract slightly.
That was... the carriage of the Prince of Zhenbei's Estate!
Speak of the devil.
No, rather, everything was proceeding precisely within Ye Xuan's calculations.
The carriage stopped before the stall, and a middle-aged steward dressed in fine brocades and possessed of an extraordinary bearing stepped down.
Ignoring the surrounding clamor, he walked straight up to Ye Xuan and bowed respectfully.
"Might I ask if you are Divine Doctor Ye Qianyuan?"
Ye Xuan did not even lift an eyelid, merely letting out a faint "Mn."
The steward lowered his posture even further, his tone laden with utmost humility.
"Divine Doctor Ye, my Prince's Heir extends his invitation."
"Please accompany us to the Prince's Estate immediately to treat the Princess Consort's lingering ailment."
"My Prince's Heir has stated that as long as you can cure the Princess Consort, the Prince's Estate will agree to any condition you name."
As the words faded, the entire scene plunged into deathly silence once more.
Every face was etched with extreme shock!
The Prince's Estate!
It truly was someone from the Prince's Estate!
And the Heir Apparent himself had issued a personal invitation to treat the Princess Consort!
This young man had truly... soared straight to the heavens in a single bound!