Chapter Fifteen: Good and Evil

To fulfill this substantial order, Lin Su’e had visited more than a dozen pharmaceutical merchants in a single day, even leveraging her father’s former connections and enlisting the help of several uncles. Only then had she managed, just barely, to gather all these precious medicinal ingredients within one day.

Her delicate brows knit together anxiously as she kept glancing toward the end of the street, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes. It wasn’t that she had to stay in the city, but hidden deep within her heart was a small, persistent wish—to revive the Baozhi Medical Hall.

The Baozhi Medical Hall that belonged to the Lin family!

That person appeared just as expected. Strangely, the moment she saw him, Lin Su’e’s heart calmed. Perhaps it was because, in her darkest hour, he had appeared in an unexpected way and rescued her, leaving a unique impression in her heart.

“Sir—no, Young Master, your medicine is ready,” Lin Su’e said anxiously. Though this man’s attire was simple and almost untidy, she always felt he possessed a quality absent from the ordinary men of the marketplace.

After years of studying the classics, some things ingrained in her were not easily erased, even by transmigration.

“Hmm,” Kou Li checked through the parcels. Seeing that everything was neatly sorted and the quantities were more than sufficient, he nodded in satisfaction.

“Thank you, Young Master,” Lin Su’e said gratefully. Without him, she truly didn’t know what she would have done; even a hero can be defeated by a lack of money, let alone a weak woman like herself.

“No need to thank me. It’s just business. Your prices are the lowest in town,” Kou Li paused, then added seriously, “And your reputation is the best, Little Goddess.”

Lin Su’e’s cheeks flushed. Hearing these words from him carried a different weight than the praise from those uncles and aunts.

“Still, thank you, Young Master. Without you, I truly—”

Kou Li waved his hand. He disliked owing favors or receiving gratitude. Though she was indeed beautiful—her face like a lotus, skin as pure as snow, lips just budding like plum blossoms—it made him all the more determined to keep his distance. The dangers of tender affection rivaled those of the pursuit of fame and fortune.

When the “Young Master” remained silent for a moment, Lin Su’e hesitated but couldn’t resist speaking, “Young Master, these are all excellent tonics, but if you combine them in one concoction, the result will be as fierce as tiger and wolf medicine. An ordinary person could not withstand it.”

What ordinary folk could not bear was perfect for those who practiced martial arts.

Kou Li glanced at her in surprise. Despite her current predicament, she was still thinking of others. As the saying goes—

A genuine, pure-hearted fool.

A thought arose in his mind. With her character, perhaps he could entrust her with the preparation of the medicine. He was no expert, and making it at the martial hall risked discovery by others. If word got out about the body-tempering prescription, it would be hard to explain.

He tried tentatively, “Miss Lin, I’d like to ask you to make these ingredients into a medicinal paste. The formula is sound, but it must be kept secret. Not a soul can know. It’s a private matter for a friend of mine. If my friend can pay a thousand taels for medicine, he can pay much more for secrecy. Of course, if you’re willing, price is no object—”

But Lin Su’e shook her head decisively, replying earnestly, “Dealing with you was already a great benefit for me. For such a trivial matter as preparing medicine, how could I accept any more payment? Rest assured, while I dare not claim much, I do have some confidence in the art of medicine.”

Kou Li’s mouth twitched. Did this silly woman really understand what he was implying? It was normal for men to be single-minded, but for a woman, such straightforwardness was rare.

However, perhaps it was for the best. With her temperament, she would never seek to profit from the prescription. In another year or so, even if the matter became known, it would no longer matter.

He was certain that, by then, the martial hall would treat him like a treasure.

Though Lin Su’e appeared gentle and not particularly bright, she was efficient and resolute in her actions. Having received the prescription for Tenfold Jade Paste, she immediately shut the doors and began mixing and refining the medicine. While working, beads of fragrant sweat formed on her forehead, strands of black hair fell loose, highlighting her graceful yet capable demeanor.

But Kou Li paid no heed to this pleasant scene; his thoughts were elsewhere. Among the three body-tempering prescriptions he had obtained from the library, the Deep Sea Shark Bone required for Bone Broth was exceptionally rare. He had visited several pharmacies, all in vain.

Rather than a medicinal ingredient, Deep Sea Shark Bone was more a rare tonic, found only among the Dragon House of Guangcheng and the Water Dragon Gang, who thrived on maritime trade.

Another prescription required the leaf of a thousand-year-old lingzhi, which was even more unrealistic.

A thousand-year-old lingzhi—such things scarcely appeared in decades.

So only the Tenfold Jade Paste was feasible, though the ingredients were still expensive. After the maritime disaster, prices had risen. How much paste could a thousand taels really yield? Kou Li was uncertain.

As the medicine pot bubbled, Lin Su’e finally breathed a sigh of relief. After hours of work, only the final grinding remained. Hesitating, she asked, “Young Master, what did you mean yesterday? You said doing good and doing evil are essentially the same. In my heart, good is good, evil is evil.”

Kou Li considered, then replied, “Before I arrived, I overheard your conversation with that fat pig. He rented you this shop, didn’t he?”

Lin Su’e giggled and nodded. That portly Zhang was indeed like a fat pig.

“I can guess that when he first rented it to you, he claimed the location was remote and you wouldn’t have to pay much, right?”

“How did you know?” Miss Lin was astonished.

Kou Li shook his head. This Lin sister was truly naive. Before transmigrating, even toilets within the third ring could fetch astronomical prices. How could the core business district of Yuezhou charge so little? It was like boiling a frog slowly.

That fat pig, though ugly, was shrewd. Knowing Lin Su’e wouldn’t be swayed by money, he chose an indirect approach.

“If I’m not mistaken, over the past half year, he’s raised the rent repeatedly, and the number of poor seeking treatment at your clinic has increased, with their ailments growing more severe, often leaving you in deficit, correct?”

“That’s exactly right,” Lin Su’e said, shocked.

“Then have you never suspected that these poor people might have been sent by him, perhaps even under his secret orders?”

“How could that be possible!”

But as Kou Li laid out the situation, Lin Su’e fell silent. She was no fool. She realized that some patients had looked at her with odd, even pitying, expressions—not gratitude.

Is it possible that doing good can bring evil consequences?

If she failed to pay the rent, with his methods, she might really be forced to sell herself to settle the debt. That fat Zhang had started as a butcher and was notoriously violent. It was rumored his first wife had angered him, and during a drunken rage, he beat her to death.

She could hardly imagine what cruel fate awaited her if she entered the Zhang household.

Did those people truly feel no shame at all? Did their consciences never ache?

“Could it be—I made a mistake?” Lin Su’e murmured in despair.

“You didn’t make a mistake, you simply failed,” Kou Li shook his head. “That’s why doing good and doing evil are the same. If your evil deeds are cunning enough—murder and arson without witnesses—you won’t be punished by the law. Similarly, it’s not that good deeds don’t work, but that you didn’t do them well enough.”

“At the very least, when helping others, you failed to distinguish between those worth helping and those who aren’t. That’s called doing good with bad judgment, and in the end, you only harmed yourself.”

Lin Su’e fell into deep thought, occasionally glancing at Kou Li with bright, shining eyes.

‘As for me, the boundary between good and evil is not so important. What matters is only the final result,’ Kou Li mused to himself, unsure for whom these words were meant.

…

Three hours later, Kou Li appeared at the city gate, but immediately sensed something was wrong. Enhanced hearing allowed him to pick up subtle sounds within ten miles, especially under threat.

“Is it him?”

“Yes, he’s the one Brother Wolf told us to find.”

“That’s right, I saw him at the tavern. He was with that old devil Zheng.”

“We must get the roster!”

‘Water Dragon Gang!’ Kou Li took a deep breath. He knew he had been careless. As one of the three great maritime clans, with Yuezhou as their headquarters, countless people depended on the gang for their livelihood. With eyes and ears everywhere, finding someone was child’s play. Strolling boldly into the city was tantamount to walking into a trap.