What truly surprised him was the medical hall coming to his door.
It was a middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious and refined clothes. Her speech carried a reserved politeness mixed with a trace of barely noticeable arrogance.
She introduced herself as the steward of the Huichun Medicine Hall in the southern part of the city. Having heard of Lin Yang's medical skills, she wanted to invite him to become a resident physician. The salary offered was quite generous.
At the time, Lin Yang was still feeling rather gloomy. Healing the sick and saving lives was something he did casually; he had no real intention of developing in the direction of a full-time physician.
So he refused without even thinking about it.
When the middle-aged woman left, her expression was extremely ugly. She clearly hadn't expected Lin Yang to refuse her so bluntly and show no respect.
Lin Yang, however, didn't take her seriously at all. He turned around and immediately put her out of his mind.
After that, a second group and then a third group came, but all of them were rejected without exception.
Instead of harming his reputation, the news spreading actually elevated Lin Yang's fame even further.
With greater fame came all sorts of strange and bizarre rumors.
Some said he had a strange temper and didn't like dealing with people; others claimed he had offended someone and was willing to hide away in such a remote alley.
When Keynes relayed these stories to him, Lin Yang was treating a wounded person's arm. Without even raising his head, he said indifferently,
"Nonsense!"
Keynes chuckled in amusement.
The injured man was a young herb gatherer on his first visit. He was so nervous that his entire body was tense.
Lin Yang paid no attention to that. His hands moved so fast they left afterimages.
He neatly and cleanly sutured the wound, applied his homemade ointment, and then bandaged it.
"Done. Don't let it touch water for three days," Lin Yang said, turning to wash his hands.
"Thank you, Physician Lin…" The herb gatherer hurriedly stood up and bowed slightly. "How much is the consultation fee?"
Lin Yang glanced at the man's sallow, thin face and shook his head. "One copper soul coin."
The herb gatherer's expression changed. He stammered, "Th-this… how can that be?"
"If you really feel bad about it, next time you find any rare or unusual medicinal herbs, just bring one back for me," Lin Yang said casually.
The herb gatherer nodded repeatedly, handed over a copper soul coin, and left with profuse thanks.
Keynes leaned over with a sly grin. "Physician Lin, that's a brilliant move. Having these people help you find herbs is much easier than going into the mountains yourself."
Lin Yang ignored him, lowered his head, and continued tidying up his tools. The young herb gatherer had been the last patient of the day.
Ever since the number of injured people coming to him increased, he had set a fixed schedule: he would only see patients for two hours each day. No exceptions after that.
He couldn't let treating patients interfere with his own cultivation.
Seeing that Keynes still had no intention of leaving, Lin Yang finally looked up with a faint smile on his face.
"Speak. What do you want from me?"
Hearing this, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Keynes' face. His eyes showed some evasion and nervousness. After hesitating for a few seconds, he said softly,
"Physician Lin, actually… I have a younger sister…"
A younger sister?
Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat. This guy couldn't be trying to play matchmaker for him, could he?
Just as he was about to refuse, Keynes continued,
"She wants to take you as her master."
Lin Yang was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Take me as her master?"
"Yes!"
Keynes had thrown caution to the wind and nodded heavily.
"My younger sister, Catherine, is eleven years old this year. She's very smart and has a good heart. Physician Lin, please accept her!"
Lin Yang, who had been overthinking things, felt his old face redden. He gave a light cough to cover his embarrassment.
"Studying medicine isn't that easy."
"I know," Keynes said with a serious expression. "But I believe my sister will persist."
Lin Yang didn't answer immediately. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment.
Recently, more and more people had been coming to the small courtyard. Many only had simple external injuries. There was really no need for him to handle everything personally.
If he had an assistant to help deal with them, it would lighten his burden and be a win-win situation.
"Bring her over tomorrow. I'll take a look. If she's suitable, I'll accept her."
Keynes' face immediately lit up with joy. "Thank you, Physician Lin!"
With that, Keynes couldn't wait to go back and share the good news with his sister.
Before he had taken more than a few steps, he stopped, turned around, and said to Lin Yang,
"Physician Lin, are you sure you don't want to give your medical hall a name?"
"A name?"
Lin Yang was momentarily stunned. He looked around.
This place had originally been just a temporary shelter. Unexpectedly, after more than a month, it had somehow gradually developed into something resembling a medical hall.
Although there was no signboard, to many people, this place was already a medical hall.
As if thinking of something, the corners of Lin Yang's mouth lifted slightly. He said softly,
"Let's call it 'Butterfly House'."
It would serve as a memorial to the Butterfly sisters.
The Butterfly sisters had kind hearts. After the Demon Slayer Corps disbanded, they inherited Butterfly House and devoted themselves to helping the world through medicine, treating more poor and suffering people.
He had accidentally walked down this same path. In a way, he was continuing the Butterfly sisters' goal.
He wondered whether, if one day he became a god, he would be able to find the world where Demon Slayer existed.
While he was lost in thought, Keynes silently savored the name "Butterfly House."
Although it sounded a bit delicate, it somehow felt strangely fitting.
"Then I'll have someone make a signboard tomorrow."
Keynes didn't give Lin Yang any chance to object. He simply waved his hand and left the small courtyard with a carefree, swaggering stride.
The next morning, Keynes arrived at the courtyard early, carrying a signboard and a girl around ten years old.
"Physician Lin, this is my sister Catherine!"
Lin Yang, who was drying medicinal herbs, looked up.
The little girl stood in the middle of the courtyard, dressed simply. The hem of her faded clothes was pinched tightly in her hands.
Unlike her older-looking brother Keynes, Catherine was quite delicate and pretty. Her personality also seemed more reserved.
Catherine bowed slightly with some nervousness and said softly, "Hello, Physician Lin!"
Lin Yang nodded and asked casually, "Have you awakened your martial soul? How much soul power do you have?"
A trace of sadness flashed in Catherine's eyes. She cupped her hands, and a pure white, large flower bud slowly appeared in front of her.
"Physician Lin, my martial soul is the Night-Blooming Cereus. I have no soul power."
Lin Yang understood. Those with soul power were still in the minority. Children like Catherine were the norm.
"Alright, put it away," Lin Yang said seriously. Then he asked, "Why do you want to become a physician? Even if you can't walk the path of a soul master, you still have many choices."
"I…" Catherine glanced at Keynes beside her and said in a low voice, "I don't want to see my brother get injured and have to grit his teeth and endure it."
Keynes touched his nose and remained silent.
"I… I also don't want to see anyone end up like my sister—dying with regret because they couldn't receive timely treatment… I don't want that either…"
As she spoke, Catherine seemed to recall something painful. Large teardrops slid from the corners of her eyes and fell onto her collar.
Keynes' face showed both sadness and helplessness.
This was the plight of people at the bottom. Just surviving… already took all their strength.
Lin Yang raised his hand in time. "Alright, you can stay."
Catherine quickly lifted her head, tears still on her face.
She tried to wipe them away, but the more she wiped, the more fell. Her expression looked like she wanted to smile but couldn't.
"Thank you, Physician Lin!"
"However, let me be clear upfront," Lin Yang looked at her with a steady tone. "Being a physician requires enduring hardship. The most important thing is persistence. If you can't persist, don't blame me for being heartless."
"I… I can do it," Catherine said, a trace of determination flashing in her eyes.
"Good. Then you can start as an apprentice at Butterfly House!"
"Yes, Teacher!"
This simple word "Teacher" would, in the future, add one more "Night-Blooming Cereus Goddess" to the continent.