"A possible acute appendicitis patient is coming in via ambulance," the nurse announced over the PA. "Estimated time of arrival is 10 minutes. Age, fifteen, accompanied by both parents."

Before the patients arrived, the nurses prepared the bed and equipment ready for the doctor. From the corner of the ER, Li Yun appeared from the double door and glanced at An Lucheng, who transferred a young ten-year-old patient onto the bed with the EMT.

Chief Resident Doctor Han checked the chest and then the stomach. Mi Xuan quickly took the patient's history from the parents and ordered all the basic tests. Once the tests confirm the appendicitis, the general surgeon or ACS would operate. In cases where children or elderly were involved, the general surgery department was unlikely to fight over the case as they carried a higher risk of complications and lawsuits.

Chief Lim arrived and took over the case, immediately ordering the OR to prepare for an appendectomy. At that moment, the ambulance arrived with the next patient. Without much rest in between, An Lucheng assisted the fifteen-year-old onto the bed. Appendicitis was common, but they don't always encounter a situation where they needed two teams at the same time.

"Dr. An, assist with surgery," Chief Lim said over the radio.

She trusted his surgical ability, but not his dealings with patients. An Lucheng's patients typically gave him a low ratings, often citing his poor communication skills. It wasn't that An Lucheng was bad, but the patients couldn't understand him and his quiet nature made them feel awkward.

With An Lucheng gone, Doctor Han was left by himself and one other resident. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Li Yun in the ER, it meant an easier time for him. He didn't have to see any weird patients, instead, he passed a patient's chart over to Li Yun and moved on to the next patient.

Li Yun walked up to one of the weird patients, a heavily tattooed man. The man had been waiting for close to an hour, but no one dared to approach him. Li Yun was 185 cm, but the man towered over him by at least 15 cm. He wasn't as buff as Fatty Fang, but his height was threatening. His hair was shaved as though he was in the military.

"Amitabha, mister is here to seek treatment?" Li Yun asked the tall man.

The monk in regular clothes returned the greeting by putting his straightened right hand to his chest and bowing. "Mister has a very special aura," he responded.

"Oh, is that so?" Li Yun curiously asked.

"Does mister believe in fate?"

"I believe that my fate is my own decision."

"Ah, you're a Taoist I see. As Buddhists, we also do not believe in fate, but we believe in karma. You look like someone actively trying to collect karma."

"That could be said of a lot of people in this profession."

"I see that mister is cautious of me."

"I should, considering it looks like you are looking for me."

The monk nodded. "I bought one of your copies of the I, Ching, it is interesting."

"Oh?" Li Yun's interest peaked.

"I always feel that a person who could rewrite this is someone who could attain greater destiny. Although it seems like you're just in the beginning phase of your path."

"I also feel that I could do something more. How should I address you?"

"You can call me Luba."

"All right Luba, I am stuck at this bottleneck. It has been a few years, but I can't seem to complete this next mission. Is this something you can advise me on?

"Mister, bottlenecks are part of cultivation. If there is something on your mind, let me bear some burden."

"I believe I understand the basics of meridian. It is basically a composite of all human systems. By knowing how the body works, it is possible to open the channels of meridians and absorb qi. However, I am still missing a way to perfect it. It feels like once I break through the bottleneck, a new path will open. Have you encountered something similar?"

Luba nodded thoughtfully. "I do not know if you are aware, but opening channels require a lot of resources. Unfortunately, resources require a lot of funding."

"I had a feeling that was the case. How were you able to secure resources?"

"Every path is made up of twists and turns. It's not always a straight path. Does mister have an end goal?"

"Immortality."

"I see," Luba got up, a bit disappointed at the answer. "I hope you will attain the path."

"The final goal isn't immortality?"

Luba shook his head. "You will find out eventually."

"How should I contact you?"

"Mister do not need to contact me, I will contact you," Luba bowed down and left the emergency room.

Li Yun watched Luba carefully as he left. Once out of sight, he immediately contacted Old Bu and asked him to investigate Luba.

"Old Bu, I'm going to send you fingerprints, can you identify him?"

"It's going to be tough if he doesn't have a record," Bu Tao's voice responded over the phone. "Don't you have CCTV at the hospital?"

"There is, but I don't think that will help you. He looked like he had plastic surgery. His facial features were off."

"If they went to that extent, I don't think fingerprints will help you either. Who is this person?"

"He calls himself Luba. Although he didn't dress like a monk, he has Jeiba (dots) on his head. I'm not really sure if he's a real monk, but he's definitely a grifter."

"That is really bizarre, but I can see why grifters would choose to be a monk, it makes people put down their guard," Bu Tao walked over to Detective Dan and gave him a name to search on their database. "What do you think is his reason for contacting you?"

"I think they are scoping out for candidates for a forgery scam."

Li Yun would not have figured it out without the use of Line Detection. He wasn't sure if it was possible to use it on someone with plastic surgery, but it had worked. Although the physical markings were removed, the lines were deeply embedded within the body. Everyone had fear markings on their chin, but whether it was a prominent feature depended on the person.

Using the skill on the fear markings located on the chin, he was able to uncover Luba's three biggest fears, death by torture, getting arrested, and his boss. A monk would not have a boss and their fear wasn't normally getting arrested. The only problem was Li Yun wasn't sure if they were planning to forge important documents, money or a painting.

"Judging by how careful they are, they must be seeking a replacement for someone," Bu Tao remarked. "Are they going to seek you out again?"

"I think I have managed to disqualify myself."

"Oh, you don't think they will contact you again?"

"No, I made it known that although I'm not onto them, I'm not stable enough to be a reliable candidate," said Li Yun. "It's best not to have any involvement with them."

"Okay, I'll look into it."

"Thanks."

"Oh, hey, are you still searching for Chu Rouxi?"

"Did you find her?" Li Yun said his words slowly, he wasn't sure why he was still searching.

"Not me, but Bufu thinks he knows."

"Why did you ask him?"

Bu Tao laughed. "He saw her briefly at the club with you, and when I mentioned it, he said she looked familiar, but he wasn't able to pinpoint why."

"Focus on finding the monk first."

"So you're not going to tell us why you're really looking for that woman?"

Li Yun was going to take that moment to his grave. "Why are you gossiping with Bufu?"

"He's been feeling a bit depressed."

"His girlfriend broke up with him again?"

"You know what he's like."

Bu Tao and Li Yun both sighed at the same time.