"Medicine," Zheng Qian said.
"Medicine?" Old Master Lu frowned, clearly not understanding.
Zheng Qian looked at him seriously, meeting his eyes.
"Yes—medicine. This book records the procedures, but it's missing the most critical part: the drugs.
"For example, the minor surgery I performed on Lu Shu required anesthesia. After the operation, anti-infection and anti-inflammatory treatment are essential. The book even mentions blood transfusion—but that requires testing strips and transfusion needles. Without these, if you simply cut open a person's abdomen, infection and inflammation are inevitable… and death will follow."
Old Master Lu still looked confused.
So Zheng Qian patiently explained—what antibiotics were, what anti-inflammatory drugs did, and how anesthesia worked.
When she finished, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"You can make these medicines?"
Zheng Qian gave a small, helpless smile.
"I can't. I have them—but I didn't make them. And I'm certain your ancestor, Lu Qi, didn't record them for the same reason… he had access to them, but he couldn't make them either."
"He couldn't?" Old Master Lu was stunned.
Traditional physicians were expected to master everything—not just diagnosing illness, but also compounding medicine.
To hear that someone skilled in healing could not produce drugs—it was incomprehensible to him.
Zheng Qian hesitated, then spoke plainly:
"Old Master, I'm certain that Lu Qi and I are the same. We don't belong to this world."
He stared at her, not understanding.
"…We came from a very distant place," she tried to explain. "Somewhere you could never imagine."
His brows furrowed.
"Aren't you the eldest daughter of the Zheng family?"
"I am," Zheng Qian replied calmly. "Just like these medicines—there are things you wouldn't understand. To be honest, I don't possess extraordinary medical skill. My advantage lies in the drugs I use."
Old Master Lu fell silent.
But after her detailed explanation, he gradually understood—and accepted it.
So that was the missing piece.
The techniques themselves weren't wrong… but the complications after surgery—those had been overlooked.
Even Lu Qi's medical texts hadn't recorded them.
On the way back, Zheng Qian sat in the carriage, flipping through the book Old Master Lu had given her.
This was Lu Qi's legacy.
Since the Lu family acknowledged her as his disciple, the Old Master had entrusted it to her.
No one else in the Lu family even knew this book existed.
It had always been passed down in secret—from father to son, only at the brink of death.
Zheng Qian rested her hand on the pages.
"So… you were a transmigrator too."
Legends of Lu Qi still circulated in the world.
His medical skill was unmatched—but he was said to be eccentric, unwilling to pass his knowledge to his descendants.
The Lu family had survived on his reputation—and the hard work of later generations.
Otherwise, Lu Qi would have become nothing more than a fading myth.
"Did you change anything?" Zheng Qian murmured.
Would she end up the same?
Leaving behind only a name… with nothing tangible for future generations?
Antibiotics. Anti-inflammatory drugs.
Was it truly impossible to recreate them?
She didn't know how now—but such things had existed even in earlier eras on Earth, when technology was far less advanced.
Surgical knives, syringes, surgical gowns—couldn't these be reproduced?
Western medicine had performed surgeries as early as the 19th century—without CT scans. How had they done it?
The challenges were immense.
But Zheng Qian wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
She was only eighteen.
If she had sufficient wealth… why couldn't she build a research team?
The young members of the Lu family—numerous, with medical foundations—weren't they ready-made talent?
If she could support them, they could follow her methods and develop anesthesia, antibiotics…
Even if they failed, what did it matter?
At least she knew the right direction.
She could lead them—step by step.
"You were just a doctor… perhaps only a doctor from your original world," she murmured softly, stroking the book.
"In a world of specialization, you didn't need to make drugs yourself.
"But I'm different."
"I have my terminal. I can access experimental methods for all kinds of medicine. I can build my own pharmaceutical workshop."
"And I have money."
Her fingers traced the worn pages.
Lu Qi… did you return home?
Or did you disappear into this world forever?
You left behind a legend.
And now that I bear your disciple's name… let's continue that legend.
Her descendants would never fumble blindly with incomplete knowledge like this—never again fall into despair.
She had come here.
She couldn't simply leave without leaving something behind.
"It's a grand goal," she thought. "Better take it one step at a time."
"For now—become a commandery princess. Gain status. Secure a residence."
With the Lu family's recognition, she had finally gained a foothold.
She needed more successful cases—to deepen their trust, their admiration—so that one day, they would follow her, even down seemingly absurd paths.
Her road was long.
But she had time.
She wasn't even eighteen yet.
At least sixty years ahead of her.
"…Elder Sister! Were you even listening to me?"
Zheng Wu shoved her hard.
The cat in her arms bared its teeth at him, hissing as if ready to scratch.
Zheng Qian hugged it tightly and snapped back to reality.
"What were you saying?" she asked.
Zheng Wu: "…"
So he'd been talking all that time—for nothing?
He'd been saying how the Lu family treated her with utmost respect—how he'd learned she had saved their eldest young master, Lu Shu.
His sister… was incredible.
Back at the Lu residence, Old Master Lu gathered his sons.
"About how Old Ancestor saved Lu Shu—do not spread it widely."
They were stunned.
Then realization dawned.
"Father… are you worried about offending the Imperial Medical Bureau?" the eldest son asked.
The Crown Prince had once suffered the same injury—and the imperial physicians failed to save him.
Now Lu Shu had survived.
If Zheng Qian was linked to the Lu family, any backlash would affect them too.
"Or… retaliation from Princess Baoqing's household?"
"You already understand the risks," Old Master Lu said calmly.
"Then keep your mouths shut."
The matter was settled.
Meanwhile, Prince Ancheng went straight to the palace and reported everything to the Emperor.
The Emperor frowned deeply.
"It's true, Your Majesty," Xiao Mingyu said excitedly.
"I and Imperial Physician Sun were both present. She cut open Lu Shu's abdomen."
The Emperor summoned Sun Taiyi.
His account matched—and he spoke with awe.
"Your Majesty… I have never seen such medical skill. It is as if Hua Tuo himself has returned—or Lu Qi reborn."
The Emperor dismissed him.
He understood.
Yet he said nothing—only turned to Xiao Mingyu.
"If she is so capable… why can she not cure Jingcheng's coma?"
Xiao Mingyu hesitated.
"I suspect… it may require opening the chest. But if she said such a thing, Your Majesty might not believe her. Even the imperial physicians would oppose it. She may fear for her life… and thus dare not speak."
The Emperor snorted coldly.
"So she values her own life above all else?"
To save the Emperor or royal family, commoners should be willing to risk everything.
Yet she hesitated.
How insolent.
"We'll wait until your resident sorcerer returns," the Emperor said.
"Jingcheng moved his fingers yesterday."
Xiao Mingyu sighed inwardly.
The Emperor… no longer trusted Zheng Qian.