Chapter 1638: The Real Doctor

"You... how did you get in??"

Dr. Jia was startled, retreated several steps in terror, and steadied himself against the wall.

Chen Ling’s fingertips flicked open the wrapped newspaper, revealing the messy capsules and pills inside. His gaze was like a sharp viper, staring fixedly at Dr. Jia before him...

He walked forward step by step.

"What are these?" His voice was chillingly cold.

"They... they are medicine!"

"I’ll give you one more chance." Chen Ling reached one hand into his sleeve, and immediately, an eerie boning knife with centipede legs flashed with cold light in the air. "What... are these?"

Dr. Jia looked as if he had been scared out of his wits. He swallowed his saliva, and after struggling for a moment, he spoke:

"They are... starch, vitamins, and... a little bit of... painkillers."

"Is this... what you usually prescribe to those patients?"

A suffocating pressure surged from Chen Ling’s body. Those red eyes, which seemed to be above everything else, stared fixedly at Dr. Jia, who was within arm’s reach. He slammed the knife into the wall beside Dr. Jia!

*Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle—*

The centipede legs on the knife handle made a rustling sound in Dr. Jia’s ear. Under Chen Ling’s pressure, he became as stiff as a sculpture, unable to move a single finger.

"You don't have that much medicine at all! You’re just using these things to deceive them... From the very beginning, you were a fake doctor."

Chen Ling’s voice sounded as if it came from the underworld.

To be honest, how this doctor deceived people or sold fake medicine had nothing to do with Chen Ling; he had seen plenty of such people... But at this critical juncture, Chen Ling had indeed pinned his hopes on him, and when Chen Ling discovered that Kong Baosheng’s lifeline was nothing but a ridiculous lie, he was already furious.

Under this terrifying pressure, beads of sweat seeped from Dr. Jia’s forehead. His already exhausted mind was directly overwhelmed, and an indescribable despair and anger surged into his heart!

"Me? I’m a fake doctor??"

"That’s right, I am selling fake medicine! I am deceiving those people!! But do you think that if I didn't deceive them, they would be able to buy real medicine?!"

"Where is there any medicine in the entire Cangyun Domain now? I told them before, told them not to struggle, not to have fantasies. The medicine they can get now is all fake! But they don't believe it... They want to live, they want to live so badly!"

"In order to survive, they are even willing to believe those real scammers, to be cheated out of their food, their bodies, and even their children... Even so, they are still willing to believe those scammers!!"

"And me? I only took some of their worldly possessions! Gold, jewelry, ornaments—what the hell are these things worth in this era?! Do you think I really like those things?! It’s because if I don't make them pay something, they won't believe me at all!"

Dr. Jia’s emotions became more and more agitated. He even ignored the boning knife beside his ear and kicked the cabinet next to him hard.

The already dilapidated and old cabinet was kicked open by this kick, and countless gold and jewelry rolled out from inside, filling the cramped floor like trash...

"Can these broken things fill my stomach?! Can they cure my illness?!!"

"In this world, all these things added together aren't worth a decent loaf of bread... If I had even a shred of selfishness, I wouldn't have ended up in this state!"

The blade of the boning knife grazed the clothes on his shoulder, and a tear fell from his old white coat, revealing his emaciated body underneath, as well as strange, tumor-like lumps.

Chen Ling froze. He looked at Dr. Jia, who had been driven to the point of collapse and madness, and was speechless for a moment.

"Yes, I know you’re very powerful..."

"When I pulled you back from the crematorium, I didn't do anything at all; you recovered most of the way on your own... From that moment on, I knew you were definitely not an ordinary person."

"You’re not an ordinary person, so how can you understand the pain of us ordinary people??"

"You think I’m selling fake medicine to deceive people, but I can tell you responsibly that before that Miracle Doctor Han came, I was the one who was truly treating and saving people in this domain!"

"Without these 'placebos' of mine, without me continuously supplying 'hope' to those people, they would have either committed suicide by burning charcoal at home, or been tortured by their own psychological suggestions until their illnesses flared up. They wouldn't have lived until today!"

"They were able to hold on until now because of me! Because of me!!"

"Who says only real medicine can save people?! Who says only those who know how to treat illnesses... are real doctors?!!"

After the intense emotional outburst, Dr. Jia seemed to be hollowed out... Hunger and illness occupied his body again. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the ground, weak...

He lowered his head, sweat mixed with rainwater dripping from his hair onto the ground, drop by drop.

"I don't have medicine..."

"You..."

"If you want to kill me, then kill me."

Chen Ling was silent.

His hand gripping the handle of the boning knife tightened, until his knuckles turned white. But in the end... he still didn't kill Dr. Jia.

Chen Ling actually knew very well that if it were in a peaceful era, Dr. Jia’s actions would definitely deserve divine punishment... But in this chaotic and desperate era, he was indeed saving many people.

Chen Ling did not deny Dr. Jia’s way of doing things; what he was truly unwilling to accept was that he had lost the hope of getting medicine for Baosheng.

"...I won't kill you." Chen Ling took a deep breath and closed his eyes helplessly. "It’s not your fault that you don't have medicine."

He put the boning knife back into his sleeve, took a deep look at Dr. Jia, who was sitting pale on the ground, turned around, opened the door of the storage room, and prepared to leave.

Just then, Dr. Jia’s hoarse voice rang out from behind him:

"I know who you are now... the opera robe, the boning knife, and that hair-raising pressure... you are the Red King of the Twilight Society."

Chen Ling’s footsteps paused slightly.

He looked back at Dr. Jia. "So what?"

"I’ve read a lot of news about you... you’re very powerful." Dr. Jia also looked at him quietly. "Can you help us solve the plague, the hunger, and the civil strife?"

"...I can't." Chen Ling answered truthfully. "In this world, no one can."

"Oh..."

Dr. Jia leaned powerlessly against the wall, his eyes filled with exhaustion and emptiness, looking at the window where raindrops were falling wildly. His chest heaved like a broken bellows. After a long time, he spoke hoarsely,

"But there is one thing you should be able to do."

"What?"

"This era is already terminally ill." Dr. Jia paused for a moment. In his calm voice, there was a hint of longing for relief,

"Since you can't save us... then let the process of our suffering be a little shorter."

"Instead of lingering in this shitty era..."

"Death is also a form of relief."