After thanking the innkeeper, Xiao Yifei walked somberly along the streets of this unfamiliar small town. He noticed that the town seemed not far from the Ten Thousand Mountains, located at the edge of the range. The town's layout was quite simple, with two rows of houses lining both sides of the road, mostly shops and inns.

It appeared that this town was a resting stop for herbal merchants entering and exiting the edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains to gather ginseng, medicines, or mountain goods. The town was bustling with people coming and going, merchants wandering the streets, very lively.

Recalling his days in the Ten Thousand Mountains, Xiao Yifei thought of how Huaxia was suffering from the ravages of war. He didn't know how the war had progressed these past few months, so he grabbed a passerby to inquire about Huaxia's recent situation.

"Old brother, how is the war going these few months?" Xiao Yifei asked a middle-aged man with a kindly face.

"War? What war?" The middle-aged man was quite puzzled, his face full of doubt, evidently unaware of Xiao Yifei's question.

"The war with those small border countries recently. Don't you know, old brother?" Xiao Yifei said.

"Is that so? How come I don't know." The middle-aged man looked serious, clearly not lying. After making sure Xiao Yifei wasn't joking, he became interested and asked Xiao Yifei in return.

Xiao Yifei felt a bit embarrassed, thinking it might be due to the town's remote location. This isolated rural area, adjacent to the vast Ten Thousand Mountains, would be difficult for any war to reach. Plus, news is scarce here; the war news probably hasn't reached this place yet.

"Alright, I was just asking, I don't know the details either. If you don't know, never mind." Not wanting to bother the passerby further, Xiao Yifei quickly let it go.

Just then, Xiao Yifei noticed a little girl sitting quietly by the roadside. Her almond eyes were round, with a complexion of jade, but she looked pale and somewhat listless. Xiao Yifei immediately saw the illness affecting the little girl.

Being a doctor, Xiao Yifei approached the little girl out of duty, "Little sister, why are you sitting here alone? Where are the adults at home?"

Hearing Xiao Yifei's words, the little girl immediately showed a timid expression, her small hands gripping the edge of the stool, head tucked into her chest, without a word.

"Hey hey hey, what are you doing here? Are you a trafficker trying to abduct children?"

Just as Xiao Yifei was about to step forward and examine the little girl's condition, a teenage boy of about seventeen or eighteen suddenly burst out from beside the road. The boy was as thin as a bamboo pole, with dirt-yellow dyed hair and two earrings hanging from his ears, clearly a hooligan.

Xiao Yifei felt no fondness for such societal riffraff. Upon hearing the latter's words, he was quite indignant, immediately glaring coldly and said in no polite tone, "This little girl is sick. I'm a doctor, here to help her. Mind your own business."

Hearing Xiao Yifei's words, the youth's expression changed drastically, smiling obsequiously at Xiao Yifei, "Bro, you're a doctor?"

"Genuinely so, no need to lie to you," Xiao Yifei said.

"Do you charge a lot for treating people?" The boy asked Xiao Yifei tentatively.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yifei's impression of the youth deteriorated as his first words were about money.

Realizing his slip, the youth immediately straightened, rubbed his palms against his pants seams, and seriously said to Xiao Yifei, "Here's the thing, bro. This little girl is my sister. She's been telling me feeling unwell these days. We don't have a clinic in our town, and it's a dozen miles over mountain paths to see a doctor, plus our family is really poor. Once our parents split, they left us two behind. Life here is too rough; they couldn't manage, so it's just my sister and me relying on each other. I've been worrying these days about how to get the little girl treated."

After listening to the youth's description, Xiao Yifei's anger subsided a bit. Thinking how the siblings have been surviving in such a remote mountainous area without any support these years, it was truly difficult. The mountain town's economic resources were naturally scarce, and with both siblings being so young, it was reasonable they couldn't afford medical treatment.

Considering this, Xiao Yifei said to the youth, "Your sister's illness isn't serious. She doesn't need a doctor, shots, or medicine. Just have her drink a cup of broth every morning, noon, and evening, and avoid cold food. In ten to fifteen days, she'll naturally recover."

"Ah? Is it that simple?" The youth was suspicious.

"Just follow my advice. Your sister's illness is just a common cold, probably because you gave her something too cold to eat these days." Xiao Yifei nodded toward the area around the little girl. There, amid the stools, lay scattered ice cream stick wrappers.

Embarrassed, the youth scratched his head and thanked Xiao Yifei repeatedly.

Xiao Yifei waved it off, then pointed inside the alley behind the little girl, saying, "Actually, the guy inside seems to have a troublesome illness. The weather's been hot these days. Seeing him, he likely has a hidden ailment. Looks fine on the surface, but once it flares up, it could be serious."

Following Xiao Yifei's pointed direction, the youth looked into the alley, where a young man similar in age to the girl squatted in the shadows, a popsicle hanging from his mouth.

"You mean Little Monkey?" The youth asked, puzzled.

"Probably, how should I know which monkey it is?" Xiao Yifei chuckled, but unexpectedly, the youth in the alley heard this joke loud and clear.

"Who are you calling?" Little Monkey threw down the popsicle stick, striding aggressively towards Xiao Yifei.

Xiao Yifei didn't take it seriously, standing still watching Little Monkey approach.

The girl's brother mediated, since Xiao Yifei had helped him and he didn't want any dispute between the two.

"What's going on? Why arguing?" Hearing the noise outside, a relatively older man, apparently in his early twenties, emerged from the alley's depths, impatiently asking.

"Dog Brother, this kid talks dirty, badmouthing me behind my back, and I overheard him."

"What's the matter with you? Speak up," the man called Dog Brother was ready to curse Xiao Yifei, but met Xiao Yifei's gaze, suddenly stunned in place.

"Xiao Yifei?"

"Hey, isn't this Old Dog?" Xiao Yifei also recognized the man, a hint of a smile flashing on his lips. He didn't expect to meet an acquaintance in such a remote place; indeed, it's a small world.

"Xiao Yifei, how are you here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Called Dog Brother, the man once thought he'd seen Xiao Yifei's ghost in broad daylight, even pulling out a fake Buddha from his pants pocket.

"Why can't I be here? Who told you I'm dead?" Xiao Yifei thought of his disappearance lasting several months. It wasn't surprising that friends thought he was dead due to the lack of contact.

"Word spread all over Beijing, saying you, Xiao Yifei, were dragged into the deep mountains and killed by the underworld." Old Dog replied,

Xiao Yifei was dumbfounded. Such absurd rumors actually had believers; he really didn't know what to say.

"Let's talk somewhere else, it's getting hot here." By this time, the sun was already high, the heat starting to scorch Xiao Yifei, making him sweat.

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