Grassroots Snake Doctor

In a world tossed by turmoil and scattered across the countryside, twelve-year-old Li Gensheng is left a helpless orphan. His family falls apart: his father ruins everything through his indulgence in bad habits, and his mother leaves in tears. The young boy has nowhere to call home. He endures every hardship life can throw at him, chewing tree bark when hungry and sleeping by the city gates, struggling to survive amid winter winds and snow. At death's door, he is rescued by a disheveled old beggar who has hidden himself among the common folk. No one knows that this destitute old man possesses the peerless secrets of the snake doctor, and is skilled in herbal remedies, detoxification, bone-setting, and treating injuries. Li Gensheng sincerely asks to become his apprentice and takes shelter in a ruined temple, practicing day and night. His master teaches him strictly, showing him how to identify herbs and snakes and heal the sick, while laying down the principles of a healer: compassion, and treating rich and poor alike. Years of hardship and training strip away the boy's innocence, leaving him with a formidable mastery of medicine. When his overworked master falls ill and passes away, all he leaves behind is a copper medicine spoon and a reminder to stay true to his principles. From then on, Li Gensheng shoulders his medicine basket and travels through villages and towns, using plants to heal the wounded and compassion to help the people. From a destitute orphan in the mud, he rises to become a renowned local physician, treating the sick and gently easing the world's suffering. But in a chaotic age, fame is always a double-edged sword. As word of the snake doctor spreads through the countryside, the troubles, grudges, and disputes hidden beneath everyday life begin to sweep toward him.