As night deepened, the bustling "Yingke Lai Hot Pot Restaurant" began to quiet down.

The spacious hall had only one table of guests, who were boisterous and flushed with alcohol. Several waiters in blue-and-white uniforms began clearing the remnants from the tables, among whom a particularly tall young man stood out.

The male waiter was exceptionally quick and efficient, standing in stark contrast to the other service staff. The table before him was littered with a chaotic mess of dishes and cups.

In just a few minutes, the messy table was cleaned to a brilliant shine, reflecting a clear and earnest face.

The man seemed satisfied with his fruit and turned his gaze to the next table.

Just then, the proprietress wearing a red cheongsam beckoned to the young man: "Xue Dong, come here."

"Hong Jie, is there something the matter?"

Li Xue Dong held out his hands and walked up to Zi's face, a smile spreading across his features.

The woman standing before him, dressed in a red cheongsam with two long legs, is the owner of the hotpot restaurant. Li Xue Dong didn't know her real name; like everyone else, he usually called her "Hong Jie."

Hong Jie is over thirty years old, but she takes very good care of herself. Her complexion is fair and smooth, showing no signs of age.

She was the most captivating person Li Xue Dong had ever seen. With towering mountain peaks as her backdrop, her meticulously tailored qipao hugged her flat stomach, while a pair of snow-white, long and pointed legs were on full display. Even though Li Xue Dong tried his best to avert his gaze from her, Hong Jie’s aura was so alluring that he found himself stealing glances at her repeatedly.

Hong Jie doesn't seem to mind Li Xue Dong's gaze, because what she sees is not a disgusting evil intent, but the pure and clear eyes of someone admiring art.

"Here's your paycheck for this month, please check it."

From the high-end bag, Hong Jie took out an envelope and pushed it to Li Xue Dong's face.

Li Xue Dong took the envelope and flipped through it roughly. He frowned in confusion and asked, "Hong Jie, this amount is not right! Didn't we agree on two thousand a month before? There seems to be more than two thousand inside!"

Hong Jie smiled and casually took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag. "That extra part is your reward. You've been working diligently and hard, even helping the kitchen staff chop pork ribs. How could I let you lose out?"

Just as Auntie Hong was about to light her cigarette, a pair of hands snatched it away.

"Sister, smoking is bad for you. You should quit."

Lee Xue Dong intently gazed at Hong Jie. In his eyes, the woman across from him wasn't just a boss lady; she was like his own elder sister.

Li Xuetong's family was originally quite well-off, but his mother suffered a sudden car accident, causing their life to become extremely difficult.

In order to not add burden to his family, Li Xuetong had to go out to work and earn money for tuition and living expenses from high school until now, even going to college, and occasionally helping with household chores.

When Li Xue Dong first arrived in Jiangdu City, he had no relatives or friends. He took on several part-time jobs recommended by his acquaintances, but none of them satisfied him. He was exploited by unscrupulous bosses, who made him work for free for a few days before dismissing him.

Later, Li Xue Dong saw that Yinglai Guest Hot Pot Restaurant was hiring night shift service staff. He mustered his courage and walked in, but before he could even introduce himself, the boss lady hired him on the spot. Later, Li Xue Dong asked about this, and the boss lady said that she was attracted to his eyes. She believed that a man with clear eyes must be trustworthy.

The business of the hot pot restaurant was much busier at night than during the day, so the night shift waiters were comparatively harder-working. Li Xuetong not only completed his assigned tasks but even went to the kitchen to help chop pork ribs. Sometimes his two arms would ache from chopping, but he still gritted his teeth and persisted without complaint. Although other waiters saw that Li Xuetong's salary was much higher than theirs, no one dared to complain, and some even secretly mocked him for earning a few hundred extra yuan by overworking himself like a dog.

"Well, since you won't let me, I won't." Hong Jie was taken aback for a moment, then smiled seductively. She casually tossed the cigarette case into her bag and looked at Li Xue Dong with eyes filled with strange color.

Those who know Sister Hong all know she never leaves her cigarettes and alcohol behind. If anyone tries to dissuade her, she'll give them a tongue-lashing.

It was strange that every time Li Xue-dong advised, he readily accepted it. This puzzled many people and also caused resentment among some who wanted to find ways to get rid of Li Xue-dong.

Looking at the time, it was already past 10 p.m. Hong Jie asked Li Xue Dong to change and go home, leaving the rest for others to handle. If they waited any longer, they would miss the school's closing time.

Li Xue Dong thanked Sister Hong, quickly changed his clothes, and rode a clunky secondhand bicycle towards Jiangdu Medical College like the wind.

"Help! Help me!"

As Li Xue-dong approached the moat, he suddenly heard someone calling for help.

Looking up, a black car was parked under the dim streetlights. The car door was wide open, and two men in black vests were dragging a white object onto the car by force.

Baishen was terrified, struggling desperately, but he could never resist the two burly men.

"Let go of that child!"

Li Xue Dong, like a lion with enraged hair, leaped off his bicycle and grabbed the handlebars, smashing the bike into a man in a black vest, sending him crashing to the ground.

Don't be fooled by Li Xue Dong's handsome looks, for his physique is surprisingly strong. After taking down a burly man, he immediately pounced on another, tackling him to the ground.

"Run! What are you doing standing there?!"

Li Xue Dong hugged the burly man tightly and shouted towards him.

The sudden change caused great surprise and panic, but she quickly recovered, grabbed her bag from the ground, and ran towards the light like a startled deer, constantly calling for help to attract attention.

Li Xuetong originally thought that these two burly men would run away when they saw him, but unexpectedly, a convulsion suddenly arose from behind them, and a gleaming dagger stabbed into his back. Blood instantly stained his school uniform red.

Pain beyond imagining, centered in the spine, spread instantly throughout my body. My vision blurred.

The next moment, Li Xuetong was lifted up by the crowd.

Two burly men cursed him for meddling, tossing him into the icy moat like trash before driving away in their car.

Under the ink-like river water, a twisted face appeared. Li Xue Dong felt as if his feet were stepping on cotton, effortless.

He reached out with his hand to grab the surface of the water, but just as his fingers touched it, his legs were pulled back as if by a powerful pair of hands. The water, so close at hand, once again seemed miles away.

Li Xue Dong felt himself falling into darkness, his consciousness becoming increasingly hazy. In his mind, he thought of the people closest and dearest to him.

Li Xuetong can't swim, but he refuses to just drown.

He is the hope of the whole family, his father, mother, and younger sister all rely on him. Their impoverished circumstances are waiting for him to improve!

At the brink of life and death, a flash of gold suddenly appeared. A tiny goldfish, no bigger than a thumb, swam before him and in an instant, darted into his body.

The golden carp swam all the way into his abdomen. Li Xue Dong felt his stomach burning like fire, and his hazy consciousness began to feel strange.

Before my eyes, a strange and dark space unfolded, boundless and endless.

Suddenly, a flash of gold appeared in the darkness. The golden carp slowly swam out from the dark.

The traces of the golden carp swimming were a standard circle, with ripples rippling for a few circles before the golden carp once again melted into the darkness and disappeared.

The golden koi's markings stood out in a giant, shimmering gold shape, radiating a dazzling brilliance.

Gold rotates at a slow pace, creating ripples of gold that seem to stretch from the primordial universe, enduring forever, neither born nor destroyed.

Li Xue Dong was completely captivated by the Jin, his entire will seemed to be drawn in by it. He felt a vast and enduring energy wave, making the whole world seem insignificant in its presence.

"Who is it? Who awakened me?"

A resonant and benevolent voice emanated from within the golden sphere, seeming to be both near at hand and infinitely distant, as if traversing countless eons of time and space, imbued with a divine and ethereal tranquility.

"You... who are you?!"

The vision shook Li Xue Dong to his core, making his heart pound like a drum. Even though he was more composed and resilient than most people his age, he couldn't help but ask the other party.

"Hey, how could there be someone's voice? Where am I?!" An old voice sounded again, as if he hadn't expected that he had already been swallowed by Li Xue Dong.

"You... you're in my..."

Unbeknownst to him, the other party could actually hear his voice. Li Xue Dong gasped in surprise.

The next moment, Li Xue Dong discovered that Jin suddenly shot out thousands of golden threads, and each of his meridians was enveloped in gold.

Hahahahahahaha!

A deafening laughter suddenly erupted, and Li Xuedong felt his eardrums were about to be shattered by the sound waves.

After a long while, the amazing laughter finally stopped, followed by a long silence.

On the edge of collapse, Li Xue Dong let out a breath of relief, but his nerves were frayed, terrified that the terrifying laughter would rise again.

"The torrent of time and space flows relentlessly, but I never expected that someone would actually be able to activate my destiny's golden key and unseal the soul's imprisonment. It is simply fate!" A voice, vast and kind, resonated again, filled with long-awaited hope, a rebirth-like joy and excitement.

Before Li Xue Dong could continue his question, the voice of observation sounded again: "Child, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Since you can awaken me, it means we have a predestined relationship from our past lives. In this life, I will attach my soul to yours and pass on all my life's learning to you. I hope you can use it well and benefit all mankind!"

Then, Jin instantly transformed into countless fine silk threads like flowing water, converging on Li Xue Dong's body, fully merging together.

In the instant of soul merging, Li Xuetao's brain immediately received a massive amount of information from the other soul.

The other party's information is extremely vast, with countless categories and quantities far exceeding any library. It includes knowledge such as pharmacological formulas, feng shui geomancy, acupuncture and moxibustion, alchemy and detoxification.

More importantly, Li Xue Dong was pleasantly surprised to realize that the divine voice which had merged with his soul was actually Sun Simiao, the legendary one-hundred-years-old physician!

(Editor in charge:historical fiction novels)