CFSMS -Chapter 253 Patient-Speak, or “I Didn’t Eat Anything—Just Had a Fruit”

“Boss Lu, I want some too.”

Lou Xiaotian walked over with a grin, peering curiously at the stall.

Strangely enough, after seeing Xu Gu take the first bite, those little insects now looked rather adorable.

With one shove, he squeezed Qin Zhan aside and claimed the second spot in line.

“Get lost. Yesterday you were the first one to run away.”

Qin Zhan, who had been acting all cool and composed in front of the young man earlier, immediately darkened when he saw Lou Xiaotian cutting in line. He looked ready to grab Lou Xiaotian by the neck and give him a piece of his mind.

“Nonsense. I had family matters to deal with. If you don’t believe me, ask Fellow Daoist Shan.”

Lou Xiaotian firmly denied being a coward the day before.

Shan Hanzhi, the person most terrified of bugs, was currently standing at the back of the queue. The sight of those insects still made her somewhat uncomfortable.

But delicious food was right in front of her.

She felt she could overcome this obstacle.

“You can do it.”

Long Zhang stood beside her, cheering her on.

His mother had once told him that when a girl was feeling vulnerable, a man should stay by her side and warm her heart with affection.

That was called…

Taking advantage of weakness.

Having failed to grasp the finer points of human culture, Long Zhang was thoroughly misusing the phrase.

Regardless, the arrival of these people reignited the crowd’s curiosity about Lu Wu’s stall.

“Even Divine Doctor Jiang went over there. Maybe these things really are edible.”

Patients placed great trust in the Divine Physician Hall, and Jiang Yunhe was the most outstanding disciple of this generation from Divine Physician Valley.

Before he began his travels, he often treated patients at the Divine Physician Hall.

His miraculous medical skills had saved countless lives.

People trusted Jiang Yunhe.

“Mom, I want to eat the buggies.”

Among the patients stood a little girl of seven or eight, tugging at a woman’s hand as she pleaded sweetly.

She was adorable, with rosy cheeks and healthy-looking skin. From appearances alone, there was no sign of illness.

“But haven’t you been unable to eat things like this?”

The woman looked worried.

The child was their only daughter. For reasons no one could determine, she had recently lost her appetite. Everything she ate came right back up.

After consulting countless doctors without finding an answer, they had finally come to the Divine Physician Hall.

Seeing her daughter voluntarily ask for food was both surprising and worrying.

“Madam, even the divine doctor is eating it. That means there’s no problem with its safety. As for the taste, we’ll know once we try it. Besides, one hundred spirit stones isn’t expensive.”

In the end, it was the middle-aged man beside them who made the decision.

Ruffling the girl’s hair, he picked her up and headed toward Lu Wu’s stall.

Truth be told, he was curious too.

The aroma alone was enough to awaken anyone’s appetite.

The stall suddenly became lively.

Business was booming, and Lu Wu naturally put her full effort into serving customers.

Piles of spirit stones landed on the counter.

Da Huang wagged his tail while diligently counting the payments.

Mimi had transformed into a mascot, sprawled lazily atop the stall roof with eyes half-closed, tempting every fluffy-animal enthusiast present.

Meanwhile, Huohuo hopped around on the heads of Qin Zhan and the others. Even if they were regular customers, cutting in line was unacceptable.

The three little helpers each handled their duties.

As for Lu Wu, she stood with a scoop in hand, packing Jiang Yunhe’s order.

It had only been a day since they last met, but she noticed dark circles under his eyes.

Apparently, he hadn’t slept well.

“Brother, are you suffering from weakness too?”

Qin Zhan slung an arm around Jiang Yunhe’s shoulders, his gaze drifting shamelessly toward the doctor’s lower body.

“Scram.”

Jiang Yunhe parted his thin lips and uttered a single icy word before rubbing his temples.

The previous night, he had encountered a particularly troublesome patient.

When people fall ill, they seek doctors. Yet many patients, for all sorts of reasons, hide parts of their condition even from medical professionals.

Others openly agree to a doctor’s instructions and then completely ignore them.

There were quite a lot of such people.

For example, some patients require treatment and are explicitly told not to eat or drink beforehand. They promise obediently.

Then, just before treatment begins, the doctor asks again.

“I didn’t eat anything,” the patient says.

“I only had a fruit.”

The patient Jiang Yunhe met last night was even more bizarre.

An old man with an incredibly stubborn temperament.

Most patients answered every question with “I don’t know.”

This one answered every question with “I won’t tell.”

His throat was perfectly fine, yet he insisted on pretending to be deaf and mute.

Without communication, treatment was nearly impossible.

After wrestling with the man until the middle of the night, the old fellow eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.

Jiang Yunhe, meanwhile, spent the rest of the night pondering the illness until dawn.

After a night of mental and physical strain, merely bringing up the subject filled his face with misery.

Qin Zhan, however, had no such worries.

He grinned mischievously before shutting up under Jiang Yunhe’s increasingly dangerous stare.

This was Divine Physician Valley territory.

As a disciple of the Holy Sword Sect, he didn’t dare push his luck.

“All done.”

While the two chatted, Lu Wu finished preparing Jiang Yunhe’s order.

In a crystal-clear jade bowl lay a pile of golden insects, waiting patiently for his attention.

“Thank you, Boss Lu.”

Jiang Yunhe stepped aside but didn’t go far. Lifting his robes, he simply squatted on the ground.

The casual display left many patients staring in shock.

Where was the aloof, spotless, taciturn divine doctor they knew?

When food was involved, who cared about image?

Jiang Yunhe casually skewered an insect with a bamboo pick.

It was a bee pupa.

Nourished by spiritual energy, the bee pupa was plump and creamy white. Once picked up, it wobbled gently on the skewer.

Doctors frequently dealt with insects.

Some were used in poisons.

Others in medicine.

When necessary, doctors even consumed them personally to test their toxic or medicinal properties.

Among the group, Jiang Yunhe had the highest tolerance for insects.

He experienced no psychological resistance whatsoever.

He popped the bee pupa into his mouth.

Lu Wu had prepared this batch with a salt-and-pepper seasoning.

The moment it entered his mouth, the seasoning took center stage.

After that brief impact, the bee pupa’s natural milky flavor surged forth.

It was the rich aroma of fat exploding across his senses.

Jiang Yunhe chewed slowly.

The outer layer of the pupa was as thin as a cicada’s wing.

The initial texture was crisp from frying, yet the pupa’s inherent softness remained unmistakable.

Dense and delicate, almost like tofu.

As the food lingered in his mouth, he detected a sweetness reminiscent of crab roe.

Faintly, there was also a lingering honey-like aftertaste.

Harvested directly from honeycombs, the pupae retained a trace of that natural sweetness.

Lu Wu had used spirit stones to keep the insect feast warm, eliminating any fishy or unpleasant odor.

Both texture and flavor gave Jiang Yunhe an entirely new appreciation for the humble bee pupa.

A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his lips.

Anyone familiar with him knew exactly what that meant.

He was extremely satisfied.

“Is it good?”

Lu Wu asked for feedback from her second customer.

“Delicious.”

“A rare delicacy unlike any I’ve encountered in my life.”

“Though, of course, that excludes Boss Lu’s other dishes.”

Jiang Yunhe was never stingy with praise.

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Wu flashed him a sly smile.

“Do you have someone you like?”

The question was pure gossip.

Normally, Lu Wu respected personal boundaries and never pried.

The instant she asked, everyone else snapped their attention toward Jiang Yunhe.

If it were only Lu Wu, Jiang Yunhe wouldn’t mind answering honestly.

But with this group of loudmouths present?

Anything he said would probably spread across the entire world by tomorrow.