The next morning, Yang Ning led Tang Nuo to the Yong’an Hall. He didn’t know where it was, so he told Duan Canghai to go with them.

The Yong’an Hall was next to the Confucius Temple and the Wende Bridge. This street was not long but there were three pharmacies. Judging from the signboards, they were old brands with a history of many years.

Yang Ning came to the front of the Yong’an Hall, and find that it was not small. Among the three pharmacies, the Yong’an Hall was the largest. In the pharmacy, it was quite spacious. There were four rooms in a row, and the three rooms on the left were connected and formed a broad pharmacy. The last one on the right was the clinic as Gu Qinghan had mentioned, and the furnishings were simple and clean inside.

Before they entered the pharmacy, a smell of medicinal herbs came out. Yang Ning glanced at the room and found that several salesclerks were filling the prescription at the counter for a few customers.

Yang Ning didn’t enter the pharmacy in a hurry but came to the last room. He looked at it. Although it was just one room, it was not crowded, and he saw that three or four people gathered and whispered to one another.

Yang Ning came in first and Duan Canghai followed him. After Tang Nuo entered, she also looked around, while the people concentrated on talking and none of them noticed some people come in.

Duan Canghai coughed intentionally. He was full of energy and purposely coughed, so two people raised their heads and looked at them. One of them, an old man in his sixties saw Duan Canghai and immediately got up. He asked with a smile, “What brought you here?” He found Yang Ning and instantly restrained his smile. Then he walked forward quickly and cupped his hands. “Your Excellency.”

Duan Canghai stated with a smile, “Mr. Song, His Excellency led Miss Tang to have a look here. Did you know it?”

“Yes.” Mr. Song smiled and stared at Tang Nuo who was looking around. “Is this Miss Tang?” He looked her up and down. Although he was smiling, disdain could hardly be concealed in his eyes.

Yang Ning asked while smiling, “Are you talking? Did we disturb you?”

The others got up and cupped their hands one after another soon after they knew Yang Ning’s identity. “Your Excellency, nice to meet you.”

Mr. Song said, “Your Excellency, these people are working in the same field in the neighborhood. We like to discuss medical skills together at ordinary times.”

Yang Ning thought, “It’s fine that you are chatting. You don’t need to say that you are exchanging medical skills. Since you are in the same field, if I say something unpleasant to hear, you are competitors and nobody would talk about his real ability.” But he still expressed with a smile, “It’s good to discuss medical skills and each makes up what the others lack. No wonder you are talking so intently.”

Mr. Song and the others looked at one another, and then he lowered his voice. “Your Excellency, we are talking about something weird.”

“Something weird? What?”

Mr. Song hesitated for a moment and then whispered, “Your Excellency, you know what? Something strange happened in the capital city. It seems…that there are ghosts causing trouble.”

Yang Ning was stunned and thought, “You are doctors anyhow. Why do you talk about ghosts for nothing?” Duan Canghai asked, “What ghost?”

“Blood-sucking ghosts,” somebody aside replied cautiously. “Some people died in alleys and almost all their blood was sucked, with only the skin and bones left. It’s so scary.” In the open day, after he said that, the people around him seemed to feel cold and even couldn’t help but look around, as if there were ghosts present.

Tang Nuo who was looking around stared at them involuntarily after hearing that.

Duan Canghai frowned. “Vampires? Have you seen them? Why did something so weird happen?”

Another one responded immediately, “We haven’t seen them, but the post-mortem examiner working in the Capital Bureau, Mr. Lan has seen them. Mr. Lan and I studied together in the past and he is my senior fellow apprentice. We often drink together at ordinary times. These days when I ask him to have a drink, he always says that he is busy and can’t go out. Last night, we finally got together, and he told me this weird thing.”

Yang Ning asked, “Has he seen the ghosts?”

“No.” That man shook his head. “But the corpses whose blood was sucked by the ghosts were examined by Lan in person. He said that after he saw the corpses, he would have nightmares for a lifetime. We are doctors and have seen many kinds of dead bodies, so we are not afraid. My senior fellow apprentice is a post-mortem examiner in the Capital Bureau and has seen much more corpses than us. Since he said that, it must be quite horrible.”

“Are the corpses in the Capital Bureau now?” Duan Canghai furrowed his brows. Obviously he knew this doctor as he asked, “Doctor Huang, when did it happen?” He questioned doubtfully, “Why didn’t I know nothing about this so weird thing happened in the capital city?”

Duan Canghai was bold and forthright and was the head of the guards in the mansion of the Marquis of Honor. Although the family of the Marquis of Honor was declining, it had been honorable for many years, so he had many connections in the capital city and even contacted the people from the three religions and nine systems of philosophy as well as the gangdom.

More bluntly, Duan Canghai was even the informer of the family of the Marquis of Honor in the capital. No matter what happened in the city, he would know it soon. Something so weird happened but he didn’t know it, which could hardly be accepted by him.

Doctor Huang explained, “In fact, till now, few people know it. The Capital Bureau keeps it a secret and doesn’t let outsiders know it. If my senior fellow apprentice didn’t drink too much, perhaps he wouldn’t leak any information.”

Yang Ning nodded slightly. If something like this really happened, the governor Mo Zheng in the Capital Bureau would naturally keep it a secret. After all, it was the critical period, as the emperor passed away and the crown prince would take the throne soon. It was turbulent in secret in the capital, and they certainly couldn’t make the people in the city restless because of the accidents.

“So it happened just several days ago?” Duan Canghai asked.

Doctor Huang lowered his voice. “In fact, it happened more than two months ago, and the last case was found three days ago.” He reached out his hand and showed three fingers. “Till now, three people have died, and all their blood was sucked, with only the skin and bones left. They were like mummies. Two of them were runners working in the Capital Bureau, and another one’s identity couldn’t be found.” Fear was shown in his eyes. “I heard that the corpses couldn’t be recognized and their identities could only be told judging from their clothes. Two of them wore the uniform of the runners in the Capital Bureau, so they could be recognized, while the last one couldn’t be recognized.”

Mr. Song stated, “Recently, the capital is heavily-guarded and the common people are not allowed to go out at night. After 7 o’clock every evening, every shop should be closed. Nobody wanders on the street except the runners, officers and soldiers on patrol.”

Yang Ning asked with a frown, “If they are really vampires, why do they look for targets only on the street instead of entering the houses?”

“They must be lost lonely ghosts and only wandering on the street.” Doctor Huang appeared to be still scared. “Because of the curfew in the capital city, the dead bodies were found by the people from the Capital Bureau first and they kept it a secret. I heard my senior fellow apprentice say that Upright Mo, Lord Mo has a headache because of this matter. He is the governor, and people have been killed one after another in the capital. If he can’t find the murderer, the imperial court would hold him accountable. However, it was not somebody who did it this time, but the ghosts caused trouble. Do you think Upright Mo can fight against the ghosts no matter how capable he is?”

Duan Canghai expressed in a deep voice, “What are you talking about? Since Governor Mo ordered the Capital Bureau to keep secret, it can’t be revealed to the public.” He looked at Doctor Huang and added coldly, “Doctor Huang, I will say something, and I hope that I won’t make you unhappy. You have never seen what happened and just heard the gossip, so you shouldn’t tell others. You said that the post-mortem examiner in the Capital Bureau, Mr. Lan dropped a brick because he was drunk, and he has disobeyed Governor Mo’s order, but you talk about it here now. If the news spreads and the Capital Bureau investigates it, you will be responsible for it and your senior fellow apprentice would be gotten in trouble by you.”

Mr. Huang trembled and explained with a sad face, “I…I am just chatting here. I didn’t…reveal it intentionally.”

Duan Canghai stated, “Just stop at this point.” He turned to the others. “All of you, don’t talk about this matter anymore. Don’t even tell your family.” He raised his hand and made a gesture of beheading on his neck. Then he continued, “You all know what the situation is now. If you cause trouble, none of you can escape.”

All people turned pale and said in fear, “I don’t dare to talk about it.”

Seeing that Duan Canghai frightened the doctors including Mr. Song so much after saying only a few words, Yang Ning laughed. “Don’t be scared. As long as you don’t reveal it, it is fine.” He turned to Tang Nuo and asked, “Miss Tang, what do you think about here?” Then he talked to Mr. Song, “Mr. Song, this is my friend and her medical skills are outstanding. She can bring a patient back to life. She wants to work here for a period first. Please introduce some patients to her and take care of her in the future.”

Mr. Song smiled. “That’s my pleasure.” The others prepared to leave, yet hearing Yang Ning’s words, they couldn’t help but look at Tang Nuo. Seeing that it was a woman, they looked down upon her. She was less than twenty years old, so they disdained her more in secret. Hearing Yang Ning praise her as she could bring a patient back to life, they felt it ridiculous although they didn’t dare to say anything.

“Miss Tang, this is the front hall, and when the patients come at ordinary time, they would see the doctor here most of the time.” Considering Yang Ning’s dignity, Mr. Song was warm-hearted on the surface even though he disdained this young woman in his heart. He raised his hand and pointed to the back. There was a big screen with a width of about two meters which separated the room with the front hall and back hall. “That’s the inner hall at the back. If it is a disease which can’t be treated in public, or the patient is a woman, they would generally see the doctor in the inner hall. This street is near the Confucius Temple, so there are many people coming and going. And our Yong’an Hall is an old brand, so there are a lot of patients coming. I am aged. Although I am a doctor sitting in shop, I can’t work for long. It happens that the third lady sent somebody to tell me that you would come to help me. It’s great.”

He said it was great and smiled, while anybody could see that he was not happy.

Yang Ning looked around. Not only Mr. Song, but the doctors who dropped around also looked Tang Nuo up and down in doubt, with disdain which could hardly be concealed in their eyes. Yang Ning was clear about the reason. These aged men were old hands in this field, and of course they looked down upon a young woman.

It was the human nature.

Yang Ning thought that Gu Qinghan was considerate. Otherwise, if they opened a clinic for Tang Nuo alone abruptly, there must be almost no visitor coming.