At daybreak, Ethan Rivers had barely opened his eyes when he saw nine marriage contracts laid out in a neat row on the floor, the paper already yellowed with age.

An old, skinny man sat cross-legged in the bamboo hut, staring at them like they were some life-and-death treasure.

Ethan rubbed his sleepy eyes and frowned. “Old man, what are you even doing this early? What kind of weird stunt is this?”

The old physician let out a long sigh and said in a grave voice, “My time is almost up…”

Ethan froze for half a second.

Then his eyes lit up on the spot.

“That’s awesome!”

He shot upright like he’d been hit with caffeine, grabbed the few changes of clothes he owned, and stuffed them into a bundle at top speed.

This was huge. Absolutely huge.

If the old man was really about to kick the bucket, that meant Ethan would finally be free. No more living under this mountain tyrant. No more being bossed around all day. The sky was the limit.

“You ungrateful little brat!”

The old man’s face turned red with rage.

Ethan waved him off carelessly. “Relax, old man. Once you ascend to heaven, I’ll definitely build you a deluxe grave. Every Qingming, I’ll burn money for you on time. I swear I’ll make sure you live large down there.”

He leaned in with a grin, getting more and more outrageous as he went.

“You’ve been single your whole life, so once you get underground, just go wild. No need to care about worldly morals anymore. Find three, five beautiful ladies in one go—”

“You little punk, are you making fun of me?”

Ethan dropped his bundle and shot back immediately, “You started it! Look at you—full of color, glowing all over. Does that look like someone who’s dying soon? We’re both doctors here, who are you trying to fool?”

This old man was the famous miracle doctor of Boqi Mountain, known far and wide. Ethan was his only disciple, the sole inheritor of his medical legacy. At eighteen, he had already mastered everything the old physician had taught him.

And more than mastered it.

His talent was freakishly high. Young as he was, he had already surpassed his teacher.

“Ahem…”

The old physician coughed awkwardly, his momentum dropping a bit. “Well… you can’t put it that way. I am old, after all. Even if I live a few more years, how many can there really be?”

Ethan narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

The old physician looked at him and suddenly changed his tone, speaking with unusual seriousness.

“What I mean is, you still have your whole life ahead of you. How could I keep you trapped on this tiny Boqi Mountain forever?”

Ethan blinked. “You’re really letting me go down the mountain? Old man, are you sure you didn’t take the wrong medicine today?”

“Shut up and let me finish!” the old physician snapped, glaring at him. Then his expression grew solemn again. “Boqi Mountain is where the ancient medical sage Boqi passed away in the era of the Yellow Emperor. Our line inherited the most orthodox Qihuang medical arts.”

He paused, his eyes dimming a little.

“But after thousands of years, Boqi Mountain has declined more and more. Now there are only the two of us left. At this rate, the inheritance will die out.”

Ethan clicked his tongue. “Hey, say what you want, but don’t casually curse me. I’m still young, okay?”

“Exactly because you’re young,” the old physician said, “when I traveled the world years ago, healing people and helping where I could, I arranged several marriage contracts for you. Whether Boqi Mountain rises again or not now depends on you.”

Ethan pointed at himself. “Me?”

The old physician gestured to the papers on the floor. “There are nine marriage contracts here. Take them down the mountain, find those girls, and spread the family line.”

Ethan’s face twitched.

“Old man, let’s not even talk about whether marrying nine wives is legal. Just thinking about it makes my kidneys hurt!”

“With the medical skills of our line, are you seriously worried your body can’t handle it?” the old physician said without the slightest shame.

“That’s not the point!” Ethan almost exploded. “You know I already have someone I like!”

The old physician remained unmoved. “Anyway, you have two choices. One, take the marriage contracts and go down the mountain to continue the line for me. Two, stay on Boqi Mountain forever and die alone like I did.”

Ethan stared at him. “That’s brutal, even for you.”

The old physician looked at him meaningfully. “Don’t you always want to know your background? As long as you agree to continue the line for Boqi Mountain, I’ll tell you.”

“My background…”

Ethan repeated the words under his breath, and the joking look on his face finally disappeared.

He had come to Boqi Mountain at the age of five. For more than ten years, he had asked about his origins again and again, but the old man had always refused to say a word.

Now, for the first time, there was finally an answer.

Or at least a chance at one.

“I agree.”

The old physician nodded. “Each marriage contract was made in duplicate. I kept one copy, and the other went to the girl’s family. The truth about your background is hidden within those other nine contracts. When I arranged those engagements, I made an agreement with them—once you bring your copy to their door, whether it ends in marriage or a broken engagement, they must give you theirs.”

Ethan gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt.

Then he gave a thumbs-up with a dark look on his face. “Respect. The older the ginger, the spicier it is.”

This move from the old man was absolutely ruthless.

It cut off Ethan’s retreat completely.

Otherwise, the moment he got off the mountain, he would’ve torn those nine contracts into pieces and tossed them straight into the river.

He shot the old physician a look, then swept his hand across the floor.

His movement was so fast it left an afterimage.

In the blink of an eye, all nine marriage contracts had disappeared into his pocket.

“Don’t worry,” Ethan said as he turned to leave. “I’ll come back to visit you every Qingming.”

He moved like a gust of wind, and in an instant he had already rushed onto the mountain path.

Behind him came the old physician’s furious roar.

“You little bastard, I’m not dead yet!”

Ethan was gone.

This was the first time in eighteen years that he had gone down the mountain alone.

Free. Completely free.

Die alone?

Yeah, no thanks.

There was no way Ethan wanted to end up like the old man, spending an entire lifetime in boredom and loneliness.

So he sprinted downhill at the fastest speed of his life, terrified the old man might suddenly regret it and drag him back.

If anyone had seen him, they would’ve been stunned.

Forget national champions—whether long-distance or sprinting, none of them could’ve even caught a glimpse of his tailwind.

Because for all these years, what Ethan had learned wasn’t just medicine.

He had also trained in ancient martial arts.

As for those marriage contracts?

Once he got off the mountain, whether he married or broke off the engagements, wouldn’t that be his call?

He hadn’t met any of the nine fiancées.

Who knew what kind of disasters they might be?

Compared to them, Ethan still felt his little junior sister, Doudou, was the best. Too bad three years ago she had been taken back by her family. Since then, they had lost contact completely, and the old man had never revealed a single thing about her.

Anyway, Ethan already had a plan.

After going down the mountain, he would first cancel all nine engagements, collect the other nine contracts, and then go find the girl he actually liked.

If he married Doudou, wouldn’t that still count as continuing the line?

He had roughly checked the contracts already. Each one listed where the fiancée was from.

Tsk.

The old man really had cast a wide net.

Nine fiancées, scattered all over the country.

Two of them happened to be in Tianyun City, which was relatively close to Boqi Mountain, so Ethan decided to start there.

From his bundle, he picked out the plainest set of clothes he had and changed into them. Other than his face and temperament, everything about him screamed rustic.

When he had nothing to do on the mountain, he sometimes read novels. According to standard plot logic, if he showed up at the door looking like this with a marriage contract in hand, he’d definitely be treated coldly on sight.

That would make breaking off the engagement smooth and easy.

Perfect.

Ethan had practiced martial arts since childhood, so while he was fast on foot, Tianyun City was still about a hundred kilometers away. So he headed for the national highway, planning to hitch a ride.

Unfortunately, after waiting for two full hours, nobody paid him any attention.

By noon, the sun was blazing overhead. His stomach had long since started protesting.

He walked to a small roadside restaurant in the nearby town. Plenty of people traveling along the highway stopped there to rest, grab a bite, or use the bathroom.

The place was tiny, but business was booming.

There was no air conditioning, only two electric fans that turned so lazily they looked half-dead.

Ethan ordered a bowl of beef noodles and dug in like a storm had hit the table. In less than three minutes, he called the owner over to pay.

“With your order, that’s ten yuan total.”

The owner’s wife smiled politely.

Ethan nodded and smiled back.

Then he reached into his pocket.

And the smile on his face slowly froze.

A grim reality struck him like a hammer.

Crap.

He hadn’t brought any money.

He’d left in such a rush that he’d forgotten to ask the old man for travel money.

On Boqi Mountain, the old physician was the undisputed ruler. Financial power had always been firmly in his hands.

What now?

There was no way Ethan could get hauled into the police station for dining and dashing on his first day off the mountain.

That would be way too humiliating.

He looked around the room and muttered to himself, “It’s this hot, how come nobody’s passing out from heatstroke?”

If someone fainted, then this genius doctor could finally put his skills to use. At the very least, earning one bowl of noodles’ worth of money wouldn’t be a problem.

People kept coming and going in the restaurant. Because of the heat, most only stopped briefly, ate fast, used the restroom, and left.

“No money?”

The owner’s wife’s expression stiffened too. These days, people trying to eat for free were pretty rare.

Just then, a beautiful woman who had just entered happened to glance over, and her eyes met Ethan’s.

He gave her an awkward, stiff smile. “I-I have money. I just want a few more bites first. I’ll pay in a minute.”

The owner’s wife walked away with a dark face, but even while staying busy, she kept a close watch on him.

Ethan checked his pockets again.

All four were cleaner than his face.

He sat there increasingly uneasy.

After finishing the noodles, he started drinking the soup.

Twenty minutes passed.

The beautiful woman who had come in earlier and her friend had already finished eating and were about to pay.

Ethan was still drinking soup.

The owner’s wife kept circling nearby every so often, obviously scared he might bolt.

Anyone with eyes could tell he had no money. Several nearby tables had even slowed down on purpose, clearly waiting to watch the show.

Ethan glanced awkwardly toward the kitchen.

At this point, his only option was probably washing dishes to pay off the noodles.

Finally, the owner’s wife snapped.

“Kid, stop putting on an act. If you think you can eat for free here, dream on. I’m calling the police right now!”

“Please don’t, ma’am.” Ethan looked so embarrassed he wanted to disappear. “I really just left in a hurry and forgot to bring money. I honestly wasn’t trying to freeload. How about this—I’ll wash dishes for a day to pay for the noodles.”

“My restaurant already has enough dishwashers,” she said sharply. “People like you who eat without paying should be punished by law!”

That hit Ethan so hard he was instantly speechless.

His whole face twisted into bitter misery.

Right then, the beautiful woman at the next table called out, “Boss, bill please.”

The owner’s wife turned around and quickly calculated. “Thank you for coming. That’ll be eighty-seven yuan.”

The girl beside the beauty pulled out a one-hundred-yuan note and handed it over.

The beautiful woman said calmly, “No need for change. Include the money for his bowl of beef noodles too.”

Then she left directly.

Ethan let out a long breath of relief and thought to himself, So being handsome really can get you fed, huh?

He was still basking in that shameless thought when the corner of his eye caught something.

The kind woman who had just paid for him seemed to be getting followed.

A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude.

Without hesitation, Ethan shot out of the restaurant in a single stride and jumped straight into the car of the beautiful woman who had just covered his meal.