Ge Xin introduced her grandfather to Long Xiao and told him that Long Xiao had single-handedly fended off over a dozen assassins, saving her and her brother.
Ge Xin's grandfather was Ge Haitian, the head of the Ge family.
The Ge family had a tradition of practicing martial arts. Ge Haitian had been training since he was young and had always been in good health.
One day, about a month ago, Ge Haitian and his family went out shopping. Upon returning home, he suddenly felt unwell, experiencing weakness and soreness all over his body.
Ge Haitian's sudden illness panicked his family. They took him to the city, to the provincial capital, and even to Donghai. However, no matter what tests they ran, they couldn't diagnose his illness.
Just as the Ge family was worrying about this matter, a divine doctor arrived at Gejiabao. In just a few days, he cured many people, almost as if his medicine worked instantly.
The Ge family eagerly invited the divine doctor to their home to examine Ge Haitian. The divine doctor prescribed a herbal formula and told the Ge family to procure the herbs according to the prescription. One dose would be sufficient for recovery.
The prescription contained many precious medicinal ingredients that could not be found in Gejiabao. Thus, Ge Xin took Ge Yu to the medicinal market in Lingcheng, where they spent a large sum of money to acquire all the necessary herbs.
After hearing Ge Xin's introduction, Long Xiao asked, "Did the divine doctor tell you how to use these herbs?"
Ge Yu nodded and said, "The divine doctor said to find him again after obtaining the herbs. He would then refine them into pills for my grandfather to consume."
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Find him this afternoon. I'll help you see if he has any ulterior motives."
"Long Xiao, do you know medicine?" Ge Haitian asked.
Long Xiao nodded and replied, "I run a medical clinic in Donghai and know some medicine."
Hearing Long Xiao say he knew medicine, Ge Yu asked, "Long Xiao, can you tell what my grandfather's illness is?"
Long Xiao smiled and said, "Your grandfather isn't ill; he's been poisoned."
"Poisoned? How is that possible? We consulted many doctors and ran various tests, but none detected any poisoning."
"Poisons are diverse and strange. Testing for poisons with Western medicine is based on modern chemistry and biology, which is not on the same level as the profound and extensive Chinese culture."
"Long Xiao, are you saying that my poison cannot be detected with modern technology?" Ge Haitian asked.
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, modern instruments cannot detect it, but I can. Xiao Ming can too."
After speaking, Long Xiao looked at Xiao Ming, who nodded and said, "Grandpa, black mist is swirling around both your ears. The poison is concentrated in your kidneys. Hospital tests might indicate kidney problems."
Ge Haitian nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. They couldn't find the cause. Both Chinese and Western doctors said my kidneys are not good, and they all recommended dialysis."
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "Dialysis is useless. There are no toxins in your kidneys; the toxins are in your stomach."
"The toxins are in my stomach, so why can't the hospital detect them?" Ge Haitian asked.
Long Xiao pointed to Ge Haitian's abdomen and said, "There's something in your stomach. Don't worry, once it's removed, you'll be fine."
After chatting with Ge Haitian for a while, Ge Haitian returned to his bedroom to rest, while Long Xiao and the others went to the dining room for a meal.
There were many members of the Ge family, with dozens of people dining. Ge Xin only introduced Long Xiao to her parents.
After the meal, Ge Xin's parents accompanied Long Xiao and the others to Ge Haitian's residence. Ge Xin and Ge Yu went to find the divine doctor.
As Long Xiao sat down on the sofa, Ge Xin's father, Ge Longfei, asked, "Long Xiao, what brings you to Gejiabao? Our Ge family has some influence in this area and can help you."
Long Xiao hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone, opened an electronic map, and pointed to a location marked by a tomb robber. He asked, "Uncle Ge, has an ancient tomb been opened near here recently?"
"Why are you asking this? Are you also coveting our Ge family's treasures?"
This time, it was Long Xiao's turn to be surprised. "Treasures? What treasures? Is that ancient tomb yours, the Ge family's?"
Ge Longfei nodded and said, "Yes. Our Ge family has been facing a lot of trouble recently. My father fell ill with a strange disease, and our ancestral tomb was dug up and the burial objects were looted."
"What about the treasures?" Long Xiao asked.
Ge Longfei told Long Xiao that centuries ago, there was a legend that a Qilin was buried in the Ge family's ancestral tomb's underground palace.
The Qilin could revive five hundred years after its death. The first person it saw after reviving would recognize them as its master. This year marked five hundred years, so everyone who knew this legend was targeting the Ge family's ancestral tomb's underground palace.
A few days ago, on a dark night, a group of tomb robbers opened the underground palace and stole all the portable burial objects. By the time the Ge family found out, it was too late; the underground palace had been completely ransacked.
After the local cultural relics department arrived, they conducted a protective excavation of the underground palace. Apart from the coffin of the Ge family's ancestor, everything else was subjected to archaeological research.
The day before yesterday, after the archaeological team left, the Ge family sealed the underground palace and installed surveillance equipment nearby.
It turned out that the large bowl was unearthed from the tomb of the Ge family's ancestor. Long Xiao immediately called Zhao Yitian, explained the situation, and asked him to deliver the bowl to Gejiabao.
"Long Xiao, are you going to return the bowl to the Ge family?"
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, send it over, and I'll give you eight hundred thousand yuan."
"You bought the bowl, so you don't need to give me money. I'll send it over right away," Zhao Yitian said.
After making arrangements, Long Xiao put away his phone and asked, "Uncle Ge, can I go and see the underground palace?"
Hearing Long Xiao arrange for the return of the Ge family's lost cultural relics, Ge Longfei readily agreed.
They chatted for a while, and then Ge Xin and Ge Yu entered the living room with the divine doctor.
The divine doctor was in his early forties, with a slicked-back hairstyle and dressed in a Tang suit, with yellow pear wood prayer beads in his hand. Behind him followed a young man about eighteen or nineteen years old, carrying a medicine box.
Seeing the divine doctor enter, Ge Longfei and his wife quickly stood up and greeted him with smiles.
"Have all the herbs been gathered?" the divine doctor asked as he sat down on the sofa.
Long Xiao turned his head and saw that Xiao Ming was gone. He scanned the entire living room but couldn't find Xiao Ming hiding anywhere.
"Divine Doctor Shao, we have gathered all the herbs. How should we refine them into pills?" Ge Yu took out all the purchased herbs from his backpack and said.
Several boxes were placed on the coffee table, emitting a medicinal aroma. Long Xiao heard faint sniffing sounds from behind the sofa.
Divine Doctor Shao opened the boxes one by one. When he opened the last jade box, a Tianshan Snow Lotus, the size of a fist, appeared.
Seeing the Tianshan Snow Lotus, Divine Doctor Shao's mouth revealed a mysterious smile. His disciple's face also couldn't suppress a smile.
"Find me a room. I will refine the pills for the old man right away," Divine Doctor Shao said with satisfaction.
Ge Xin found them a room. As Divine Doctor Shao and his disciple entered the room with the herbs, Xiao Ming poked his head out from behind the sofa.
Long Xiao looked at Xiao Ming and asked, "Xiao Ming, do you know them?"
Xiao Ming smacked his lips and said, "Brother Long, we're in for a treat. These two guys specialize in swindling precious medicinal ingredients. There must be good stuff in their box."
Ge Xin looked at Long Xiao strangely and asked, "Brother Long, since you know they are swindlers, why didn't you expose them?"
Long Xiao smiled and said, "It's not the right time yet. It's more convenient for them to retrieve the thing from your grandfather's stomach than it is for me. After they take it out, we'll deal with them."
"Something in his stomach?"
Long Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, the thing in his stomach is a tool for their deception. They won't abandon it."
"Brother Long, do you know what that thing is?"
Long Xiao shook his head and said, "I don't know either. Ask your grandfather if he ate anything when he went out that day. Whatever is in your grandfather's stomach must have been eaten that day."
Ge Xin went to Ge Haitian's room and quickly came downstairs to tell Long Xiao that they had eaten a bowl of rice noodles on the street that day. It was very likely that the thing in his stomach was ingested along with the rice noodles.