Chapter 3: The Lovely Little Nun

  "No need to be polite!" Sun Simiao walked up to Chen Yi, who was standing with his body bent, and looked him up and down before raising his hand to gesture: "Little Daoist friend, please follow me into the house, let me take a look at your injuries."

  "Yes, Master Tao!" Chen Yi responded with a bow and followed Sun Simiao into the house. Ning Qing, who had not spoken but occasionally glanced at Chen Yi with her beautiful big eyes, also followed them in and stood aside with her hands down, looking very well-behaved.

  After a few days, Chen Yi had completely understood what others were saying, and his tone of speech had unconsciously become similar to theirs. This was something he found hard to understand - he couldn't figure out why he, who had been accustomed to speaking Mandarin for years, would change his way of speaking in just a few days.

  Sun Simiao sat down, gesturing for Chen Yi to sit beside him. After Chen Yi sat down, Sun Simiao reached out and felt his pulse for a while, then carefully examined the wound on Chen Yi's body. After a thorough examination, Sun Simiao smiled and nodded, "Young friend, your body was originally strong and healthy, and the injury you sustained wasn't severe, without damaging your tendons or internal organs, so recovery is quick. You just need to rest for a few more days to fully recover! I was worried about your head injury... haha, it seems that was unnecessary!"

  "This is the result of Master Sun's rescue," Chen Yi said with a very grateful expression, and after bowing respectfully, he continued: "Master Sun is a divine doctor in this world. Fortunately, I was rescued by Master Sun, so I can recover so quickly. If it weren't for Master Sun's rescue, not to mention recovery, I might have ended up as a corpse in the wilderness!"

  Sun Simiao had a kind face and looked very young, but his hair was white, with a hint of an immortal's elegance. Facing this kind and intelligent old man, Chen Yi didn't dare show any disrespect, speaking carefully and respectfully.

  "Healing the sick and saving lives is a doctor's duty, so there's no need to mention it. Moreover, although I've been practicing medicine for many years and have achieved some success, I dare not accept the titles of 'Divine Doctor' or 'King of Medicine' that you mentioned. Sun Simiao's smile faded, and he shook his head, saying with a hint of emotion: "I'm just a humble doctor who has studied medicine since childhood and only understands some superficial medical principles. There are still many illnesses that I am powerless to cure, so how can I dare to be called a 'Divine Doctor' or 'King of Medicine'? Hehe... From my observation, you've also treated your own injuries over the past few days and used some therapeutic techniques that I'm not familiar with. It seems... you're also knowledgeable about medicine, but I don't know who your teacher is?"

  Sun Simiao's eyes were filled with inquiry as he spoke.

  "What the Taoist said is not wrong, I just have a little knowledge of medicine, but...I'm not a professional doctor, I just read a few ancient medical books and remembered some of their contents..." Chen Yi was somewhat at a loss for how to explain why he knew medicine, and felt very uneasy telling lies in front of Sun Simiao, who seemed like a god who could see into people's hearts.

  After regaining consciousness and accepting the fact that he had traveled through time, Chen Yi naturally wanted to treat his injured body. After being rescued by Sun Simiao's disciples, this world-renowned divine doctor had already treated all of Chen Yi's wounds, applying medicine to some of the deeper cuts with unfamiliar Chinese herbal remedies. Chen Yi was unclear whether his wounds had been disinfected and what effect these medicines would have on their recovery. Drawing on his own rich experience, he also used some of his own methods to treat his injuries, discussing medical principles with Ning Qing, who was attending to him. He believed that Ning Qing would inform Sun Simiao about this, and the old Daoist master would come to ask him about these matters.

  Chen Yi did not expect that Sun Simiao would come over today and ask questions, but he didn't know how to explain it. He didn't dare to make up a forced story to deceive Sun Simiao, so he could only respond vaguely, hoping that this god-like old Taoist wouldn't ask again!

  "Heh, it seems that young friend has something difficult to say, and this poor Daoist won't ask anymore! Since young friend's injury is not serious, this poor Daoist will go take care of some matters first, and come back tomorrow to check on you again!" Sun Simiao said as he stood up, pointing at Ning Qing beside him: "Young friend should focus on resting these days, don't overexert yourself, if there's anything just tell Qing'er!"

  "Yes, Master Sun!" Chen Yi hastily stood up, bowed and replied with gratitude: "Thank you, Master!"

  Sun Simiao didn't ask again, he let out a sigh of relief!

  Sun Simiao took two steps, then stopped and turned around to look at Chen Yi, saying with deep meaning: "If my young friend has anything unclear, you can come ask me anytime. If there's something on your mind, feel free to tell me too. Want to discuss medical principles? That's okay too!"

  Sun Simiao's words made Chen Yi feel a bit chilled, and he hastily nodded in response: "Yes, Master Sun, I understand, thank you, Master!"

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  Ning Qing followed Sun Simiao out, but she turned back after a while!

  In the house where Chen Yi lived, Sun Simiao came over only once a day, and most of the time he had Ning Qing, this little Taoist nun, come to take care of things. After several days of getting along, he had already become somewhat familiar with this lovely little Taoist nun who was full of youthful energy. However, Chen Yi, who hadn't fully adapted to his current life, didn't dare be too casual in front of Ning Qing, who was about the same age as him, and most of the time treated her with courtesy!

  "Is Master Chen's body really much better?" Ning Qing looked at Chen Yi with a pair of big, shining eyes.

  "It's all right now!" Chen Yi moved his arm and smiled, full of gratitude: "Thank you for saving me back, and thank you Ning Qing little lady for taking care of me these days, I'm grateful beyond words!"

  These days, Chen Yi roughly knew from Ning Qing's mouth how he was rescued. Sun Simiao needed to prepare a prescription and required many medicinal materials, some of which were not easy to find in the still cold Zhongnan Mountain, especially the rare White Plus this season. The Liangshan area often had some herbs that were hard to see elsewhere, so he took several disciples to the Liangshan area. Ning Qing followed two senior brothers up the mountain and unexpectedly saw him injured, then brought him back.

  Sun Simiao also had two other male disciples, Wang Chong and Liu Hai. On that day, it was these two who carried the injured Chen Yi down the mountain on their backs. These days they followed Sun Simiao's orders to enter the mountains to gather medicine! While Ning Qing has been responsible for serving Chen Yi's daily life.

  Chen Yi was very grateful and fortunate after knowing. Being rescued by someone after being injured will definitely make people feel grateful! Moreover, Ning Qing, such a beautiful little girl serving him, he naturally felt proud and honored, and words of gratitude must be said!

  Ning Qing shook her head and pouted, "It's nothing, I just followed Master's orders, Master often helps people!"

  "No matter what, I must thank you, Qing, for taking care of me these past few days!" Chen Yi said, bowing respectfully.

  Ning Qing didn't expect Chen Yi to give him such a big gift, and he hastily dodged away, waving his hands. "Master Chen, please don't do this, it's nothing, Master often helps people!" After dodging Chen Yi's gift, Ning Qing revealed a strange expression, looked up and down at Chen Yi several times, and laughed: "Hehe... we thought you were just an unlucky hunter who fell off the cliff, but didn't expect you to be such a handsome young master!" Ning Qing stared at Chen Yi's face, smiled slyly, and his face flushed slightly.

  "Ning Qing, you're laughing at me... I'm ugly compared to you, a stunning beauty!" Chen Yi said with a glance at Ning Qing, smiling and saying: "Enough to make people... gasp in amazement!"

  This remark suddenly made Ning Qing's face turn bright red, but in her heart she was very happy and proud. Being praised by a handsome young master like this would make any woman happy, it's just that she had thin skin and couldn't take it, and didn't know how to respond!

  Looking at Ning Qing's slightly unnatural expression, Chen Yi also stopped the courtesy and smiled warmly at the slightly shy little girl. His tone became more casual, "Just now, the young lady said it too, great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, I'm being too conventional, from now on, let's not say thanks or no thanks!"

  According to historical records, during the Tang Dynasty, a young girl was called "little wife" or "wife". Chen Yi also followed the recorded name, and judging from Ning Qing's and others' reactions, it seemed that this way of calling her was not wrong, but he felt very awkward!

  "That's it!" Ning Qing, who had finally regained her composure, looked up at Chen Yi and asked hesitantly: "Young Master, I want to know, have you really forgotten many things... or are you just not willing to tell me?" These days, Ning Qing often asked Chen Yi questions, wanting to know his situation, but Chen Yi couldn't give a clear answer, which made her a bit disappointed, and that's why she asked this question today.

  Chen Yi was startled and looked at Ning Qing, who was holding onto his clothes with a slightly awkward expression. He hastily explained: "Ning Qing, I really can't remember many things, it's not that I'm intentionally hiding them from you, I'm also confused about my own identity! It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I really can't remember! Otherwise, I could send a message and have my family come pick me up!"

  "Is that really so? Well, it's also said! Ning Qing let out a slight sigh of relief, but couldn't hide his disappointment. "It's just that I find you very familiar, as if I've seen you somewhere before, but can't quite recall. I was even thinking of asking what kind of person you are!"

  "What?! Could it be that Little Miss actually saw me before?!" Chen Yi was greatly astonished in his heart.

  Ning Qing shook her head, "I've grown up in the observatory since I was a child, and rarely go out. I haven't seen many people, definitely not you. It's just that your face looks familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before, so... I wanted to ask you, who are you?"

  "It turned out to be like this!" Chen Yi also felt a little disappointed, it was just like that. He let out a small sigh and continued: "Ning Qing, little girl, if I remember, I'll definitely tell you at the first opportunity, telling you everything, who knows... maybe we met unintentionally when we were kids?"

  "Alright then, you'd better keep your promise!" Ning Qing burst out with a brilliant smile.

  Ning Qing's smile made Chen Yi feel very comfortable, and his heart was completely relaxed. He hesitated for a moment, also wanting to clarify the doubts in his mind: "Ah... Ning Qing little girl, I'd like to ask you a question, how old is your master... Sun Daozhang now?"

  He was very curious, according to his vague understanding of Sun Simiao's birth and death, Sun Simiao should have been born during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and by the time Li Shimin became emperor, he was already over 50 years old. Now that Li Zhi has become emperor, Li Shimin has been dead for many years, so roughly calculating Sun Simiao's age, he should be around 70 or 80 years old. However, the current Sun Simiao doesn't look like a 70- or 80-year-old man at all. Although his hair is slightly white, his face is extremely youthful, with almost no wrinkles, and looks more like someone in their 40s or 50s. It's even a bit forced to call him "Old Dao", and it would be more suitable to call him a young Daoist!

  It's a very confusing fact, Chen Yi really wants to know the specific situation!

  "My master is already seventy-five years old this year!" Ning Qing said with some pride, "My master has a good way of nourishing his life, and no one can tell how old he really is..."

  "Ah……your master's beauty preservation really has skills, I admire it!" Chen Yi was surprised again, as he had expected, Sun Simiao was indeed so old, but his appearance was still so well-preserved, it was too amazing. It seemed that the historical records were true, Sun Simiao was indeed "demonic", with beauty preservation techniques, not showing any signs of aging at all, living over a hundred years was an extremely easy thing, after crossing over, he got to know this extraordinary person, and in the future, there would definitely be many interactions, and they could also exchange experiences on health preservation!

  "Hmph! My master is indeed formidable, he has an untransmissible secret!" Ning Qing looked at Chen Yi's curious face, rolled his eyes twice and said: "Don't ask me, I don't know what Master's untransmissible secret is either!"

  "Really!" Chen Yi was slightly disappointed, but he immediately thought of another question and looked at the delicate little girl in front of him with a puzzled face, asking carefully, "Then... how old are you... what's your age?"

  This question was asked by Chen Yi with a bit of trepidation, and he couldn't help but hope that the lovely little Taoist nun in front of him wouldn't also be an old lady, an aunt or grandmother figure, a real-life Heavenly Mountain Fairy, which would be too disappointing.

  Ning Qing seemed to know Chen Yi's doubts, and said with a hint of shyness: "I'm only 14 years old this year, I'm the youngest disciple of Master... You still think I'm as old as Master? Hehe... you guessed wrong!"

  Ning Qing said with a smile, revealing a shallow dimple on her face again. The sparkling eyes were very charming, and the lovely and cute appearance made Chen Yi stunned. The girl in front of him was too pure, making his heart tremble uncontrollably.

  Perhaps beauty can be savored, which refers to the feeling of facing a girl like Ning Qing!

  "Excuse me for being too forward, Miss... " Chen Yi could only pretend to be embarrassed and scratch his head.

  "Hmph... I knew you'd make wild guesses!" Seeing Chen Yi like this, Ning Qing snorted and couldn't help but chuckle, her smile with sparkling eyes was so vivid that it left Chen Yi stunned, taking a while to come back to his senses.

  "Ning Qing, little girl, I don't quite understand... why... why did you become a little..." Chen Yi originally wanted to say "why did you become a little Taoist nun", but felt that saying so would be somewhat disrespectful to the young girl, and swallowed back the last two words. He had been wanting to ask this question since yesterday - such a beautiful little girl like Ning Qing becoming a Taoist priest and renouncing worldly life was truly a waste of her youth!

  "Are you asking me why I was in the Zong Sheng Palace?" Hearing Chen Yi ask this, Ning Qing's face showed a hint of desolation. "I didn't have parents since I was young, and it was my master who took me in as an orphan. I've been following my master for over ten years now, and it was my master who raised me! That's why I wear Taoist robes!"

  "I see... Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your painful memories!" Chen Yi said with some embarrassment.

  "It's okay, I knew you'd ask!" Ning Qing's face broke into a smile again. "Let's not talk about these things, let's talk about something else!"

  "Okay, let's sit down and talk!"