Shopkeeper Bao: I don’t feel guilty, I’m not sick.
At the end of the alley by the rice shop, there was a pharmacy with a banner that read “Ci Hui Hall.”
Because patients frequented it, the neighbors found it unlucky. So, the pharmacy had to open a separate door, and whether for a consultation or to pick up medicine, one had to take a detour and enter from there.
“Make way, move your feet up front.”
“Life is at stake! Don’t block the way!”
When Lao Qi, the coachman, heard the commotion from that direction, he peeked out and saw a man being carried in, his face flushed red, unconscious from a fever, with a large gash on his limp arm. The wound, soaked with water, had turned white and was oozing foul-smelling pus. Lao Qi quickly pulled his head back and gave up the idea of using the crowd at the pharmacy entrance as a cover for his movements.
After a disaster, plagues often follow. The caravan would be setting off tomorrow, and he didn’t want any complications.
As for the reprisal from the Pengze water bandits or Prince Ning’s secret military moves… none of that had anything to do with him, Lao Qi.
People in the martial world learn to survive by not probing too deeply, and by keeping their feet light and fast.
Lowering his head, Lao Qi walked out of the alley. Behind the window on the second floor of the rice shop, an old man with missing front teeth, wearing a “Five Blessings and Longevity” outer robe, frowned and ordered, “Follow him, but not too closely. That guy is slippery.”
A servant next to the old man silently went downstairs.
This seemingly old man was actually not even fifty. He deliberately hunched over, drooped his brows, and let his face sag, with two pieces of flesh hanging from his cheeks, making him look fierce and aged. He was none other than “Chushanhu” Yuan Ting, the visible manager of Fengxing Pavilion in this place.
Yuan Ting was the second-ranked of Bao Guanyong’s eight disciples.
He was also the most “renowned” in the martial world, completely different from his younger brother Zhenshanhu.
People in the martial world didn’t know they were brothers, mainly because nicknames like “Mountain Tiger” and “River Dragon” were so common that there were dozens of them. If you held a martial arts gathering and called for “Zhenshanhu,” at least a dozen people would respond. But because of Yuan Ting’s presence, fewer dared to use the nickname “Chushanhu”.
Even though Yuan Ting had lost two front teeth in an early fight, and was mocked behind his back as “Keshanhu” — a paper tiger that lost its teeth after hitting a mountain — he was still highly capable. He had read military strategy, could ride into battle, and was no ordinary martial artist. Otherwise, the task of “eliminating the Pengze water bandits” would not have fallen to him.
Yuan Ting stood at the window, looking thoughtfully at the narrow alley below.
People who had been in Fengxing Pavilion for a long time had sharp eyes and ears. Yuan Ting would bet his head that his master had seen someone important or learned something critical last night, because when he met Bao Guanyong early this morning, his master’s eyes were red.
——His master was not some melancholic scholar, sighing all day and getting drunk.
“Have those two masked martial artists who caused trouble yesterday been identified?” Yuan Ting turned and asked.
“No, but… a new doctor has come to that pharmacy, and we haven’t identified him either.”
Yuan Ting’s subordinate answered nervously.
Some houses inside and outside the city had been damaged by the storm, and the floodwaters had submerged the roads. Fortunately, the county town’s terrain was high, and the water only reached waist level, preventing any major disasters. The government and soldiers were busy clearing debris. If left unattended, corpses of people and livestock would soon rot in the summer heat, leading to an outbreak of plague.
In such chaos, and with a shortage of manpower, the city gates were not strictly guarded.
Many caravans had lost their luggage and had to go to the government office to reissue travel documents. It was easy to bribe the guards with a bit of money to pass through, making it hard to track the movements of outsiders.
“The doctor at the pharmacy is over forty, with no beard, and looks like a scholar with some academic credentials, not like a doctor.”
“Suspicious?” Yuan Ting frowned and asked.
“Not exactly.” His subordinate hesitated, “In just one day, he’s treated over fifty people at the pharmacy, from colds and coughs to injuries from falls. He even delivered a baby for a woman who had been in labor for more than a day…”
While doctors at that time could treat a wide range of ailments, delivering babies was a bit outside the typical scope of a doctor.
“He personally delivered the baby?” Yuan Ting asked in surprise.
He wasn’t easily shocked, but this situation was unusual. Most of the time, families would just ask a midwife from the pharmacy to take a look, and doctors rarely got involved. Even if they did, they would only take the pulse and prescribe labor-inducing medicine. You couldn’t blame the doctors for this, as the strict separation between men and women often led to tragedies where, even if both mother and child were saved, the woman might be forced to take her own life due to family pressure.
“It was a woman from the east of the city. Her husband was killed three days ago when a roof tile, blown by the wind, struck him. She was so frightened at the time that it affected her labor. Since the child was her husband’s posthumous heir, the family was desperate and carried her to the pharmacy. Even though it was a matter of life and death, most people would hesitate to get involved. Without an official document and the family’s seal, the doctor could have faced a lawsuit. But that doctor agreed without a word, and within fifteen minutes the baby was born. They said if he’d delayed any longer, both mother and child would have died.”
Yuan Ting’s subordinate nodded with a complex expression, adding, “Word has already spread about a miraculous doctor at Ci Hui Hall. Otherwise, how could there still be so many people crowded at the pharmacy even though it’s already dark?”
Yuan Ting frowned deeply. While miraculous doctors in Jiangnan were not many, they were not few either, and their whereabouts were a major source of income for Fengxing Pavilion.
Whether officials, merchants, martial artists, or scholars, everyone needed to find a miraculous doctor at some point, either for themselves or their families. Sometimes, they would even pay extra to ask Fengxing Pavilion which doctor would be most suitable.
Not to mention external doctors, even if a miraculous doctor appeared out of nowhere, as long as they treated rare and difficult illnesses, their every move would be recorded, and Fengxing Pavilion would continue to track their whereabouts. Sometimes, Fengxing Pavilion members would even disguise themselves to help these doctors out of tight spots.
A living, willing-to-practice miraculous doctor could bring Fengxing Pavilion a great deal of wealth every year.
Even if one had no aspirations to save the world, the sheer amount of money involved gave everyone in Fengxing Pavilion plenty of motivation.
“There are hidden talents in the martial world, but as for a miraculous doctor unknown to Fengxing Pavilion…”
Yuan Ting paused. Such a person simply didn’t exist!
Medicine required lineage, and while some did learn by reading medical books, without having seen enough “patients” or having sufficient “case histories,” no matter how talented they were, they would only be an ordinary doctor, far from becoming a miraculous one.
“Could he be from the north?” Yuan Ting’s subordinate ventured.
Yuan Ting’s heart skipped a beat. He finally realized what he had overlooked.
Master Meng and that Dr. Mo had already crossed the river south.
Although intelligence placed them in Jingzhou, and this was near Luling Prefecture, the strange events surrounding Master Meng were not just one or two.
“That Dr. Mo, he’s supposed to be a disciple of the famous Divine Doctor Qin?” Yuan Ting suddenly asked.
“That’s what they say…”
Although Fengxing Pavilion’s intelligence was fast, some distant information was unclear, especially when urgent reports about the Xiliang people and opium were prioritized.
Mentioning Qin Lu, Yuan Ting thought of the sage in the Lingyao village, Peng Xianren, and quickly calculated. That was it! Those two masked visitors inquiring about the Pengze water bandits were none other than Meng and Dr. Mo!
“Where’s the shopkeeper? Quickly, go line up at the pharmacy! Later, the shopkeeper and I will go see that miraculous doctor.” Yuan Ting perked up, all the national interests and personal calculations in his mind suddenly cleared away, replaced with eagerness.
For the past month, Shopkeeper Bao had been claiming that he was getting old, his body wasn’t as strong as it used to be, and he was reluctant to go out. Yuan Ting wanted to find a miraculous doctor to check on his master, but Shopkeeper Bao refused, his temper flaring, blowing his beard and glaring, scolding his disciple from a distance. If it weren’t for the fact that his master’s energy seemed full when cursing, not looking like someone seriously ill, Yuan Ting would have considered using knockout drugs to knock him out and carry him to the doctor. After all, at his age, he still needed to take the prescribed tonics.
So while Bao Guanyong was happily chatting with his former superior about his eight disciples, someone knocked on the door. Meng Qi leaped onto the beam and saw Shopkeeper Bao fuming with rage as Yuan Ting entered, scolding him so furiously that his spit flew everywhere. Yuan Ting didn’t mind and simply helped the old man up and out the door.
—To the pharmacy? To see Dr. Mo?!
Meng Qi’s eyes flickered, and he quietly sent out a flick of wind with his finger.
Shopkeeper Bao’s body immediately softened, the breath he had been holding onto dissipating, and Yuan Ting promptly helped him out.
The group, some in plain sight and some hidden, made their way grandly towards Ci Hui Hall.
Inside Ci Hui Hall, two doctors watched as Mo Li, after inserting silver needles, used a fire-heated knife to remove the decayed flesh from the wound of a newly arrived patient. For cases like this, where the wound had festered, it was difficult. The patient had a persistent high fever, his teeth clenched tightly, and they couldn’t even get him to swallow the brewed medicine. His recovery depended solely on his strong constitution and willpower.
Now that there was another method available, the doctors watched intently without blinking.
As Mo Li worked, he explained which acupuncture points he had just targeted, how deep the needles went, how long they were left in place, and how the treatment differed for young, old, and women.
Once the pus and decayed flesh were gone and fresh red blood flowed out, Mo Li carefully applied medicinal powder.
He dictated the prescription, and the apprentice from the pharmacy ran off to fetch the herbs. Mo Li then explained the relationship between the chief, deputy, assistant, and courier herbs in the prescription, ensuring that the next time the doctors at Ci Hui Hall encountered similar cases, they could prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Mo Li spoke quickly but concisely, not relying on obscure phrases from ancient medical texts. The people at Ci Hui Hall were fascinated, eager to remember every word.
When Meng Qi slipped in, he saw Mo Li washing his hands in a basin of hot water. One servant was holding a hot towel, and another offered tea, both looking respectful.
Such a scene was not present when Mo Li first entered Ci Hui Hall.
Mo Li had initially come to the pharmacy yesterday just to buy some medicinal herbs, but he had encountered a young man whose leg was swollen and darkened from a venomous snakebite, with a black tint creeping up his face. The doctors were helpless, and the situation was critical. The person who had brought him couldn’t even identify the type of snake, so they could only amputate the leg to prevent the poison from spreading to his heart.
In this day and age, losing a leg made living harder than dying, so Mo Li had no choice but to “try” something. Without taking the pulse, he couldn’t assess the severity of the poisoning.
Mo Li not only possessed inner strength and medical knowledge but had also read two notebooks by Xue Lingjun, giving him a deep understanding of how poisons affected the flow of qi, blood, and internal organs.
Not only did the young man survive, but he also kept his leg.
As the saying goes, “Illness strikes like a mountain falling, but departs like silk being drawn.” However, when it came to poisoning, once the condition improved, the change in appearance and pulse was immediate. Anyone with eyes could see that Mo Li had snatched the man back from death. The doctors at Ci Hui Hall had gone from dumbfounded to deeply respectful. What had been “exchanging medical knowledge” yesterday now felt more like “seeking guidance in medicine” today.
In Jiangnan, there were many skilled doctors, but few as open and generous as Mo Li, making it hard not to respect him.
“Isn’t this Shopkeeper Bao? You’ve always been so healthy; what’s wrong now? Please, have a seat!”
When Bao Guanyong and Yuan Ting entered, Mo Li’s expression didn’t change.
The apprentices from the pharmacy went up to greet them, but the doctors at Ci Hui Hall frowned and quietly said to Mo Li, “This Shopkeeper Bao runs a rice shop at the front of the alley. When he was younger, he might have been in the army, and he’s always been robust. Even in the dead of winter, he could wear just a padded jacket. Recently, it’s hard to say if his family’s younger generation isn’t treating him well, or if he’s just gotten cranky with age, but he’s always pretending to be sick. He’ll groan at home about how unwell he is, then have us rush over, but when I take his pulse… goodness, he’s as healthy as a young man despite being over seventy! You’d think there would be some small ailments, like a weak spleen or waist strain, but not even the typical signs of kidney yang deficiency that come with age! What kind of prescription could I give? All I can say is that when people get old, there will always be some discomfort in the joints, and medicine won’t help much. He just needs to rest and not overexert himself.”
“That’s right,” another doctor chimed in quietly, “His family doesn’t believe it and has had every doctor in town take a look.”
Everyone in the room who had trained in martial arts and had sharp hearing: “…”
Yuan Ting furrowed his brow. He had heard these remarks before, but he still insisted that the issue lay with the doctors’ lack of skill.
An ordinary doctor, one who didn’t understand martial arts, might not be able to diagnose the root of an illness that a martial artist had developed.
Yuan Ting only knew that his master had once been a general of the Chu Dynasty, wrongfully exiled to the miasma-infested lands of the south, where he had fallen gravely ill. Now that his master was getting older and living in a damp, rainy place, how could he possibly be without any ailments?
Bao Guanyong: “…”
His mouth itched, and he wanted to scold his disciple.
This disciple was excellent in every way, talented too, but once he became stubborn, his thinking became rigid.
Meng Qi, hiding in the shadows, almost burst out laughing.
Mo Li glanced at the ceiling beam, then calmly asked Shopkeeper Bao, seated in front of him, to extend his hand.
Shopkeeper Bao had already guessed Mo Li’s identity. Since Master Meng was nearby, did it even need to be said who this suddenly appearing miraculous doctor was?
Although he often pretended to be sick, to feign illness in front of Divine Doctor Qin’s disciple, and under the eyes of his former superior, Shopkeeper Bao’s old face flushed with embarrassment, and he wished he could dig a hole to hide in.
“….”
As Mo Li took his pulse, he pondered why Shopkeeper Bao was pretending to be sick. To be honest, from his pulse reading, Mo Li wanted to tell Shopkeeper Bao to go home early and not delay the other citizens waiting outside for medical treatment.
At this moment, the “Sand Rat” from above provided Mo Li with a suggestion:
“A-Li, this old subordinate of mine was invited out of retirement by Mr. Qiu, that strategist under Prince Ning.
“His eldest disciple is in Luling Prefecture, his second disciple is right here, and even his other disciples, no matter how little skill they’ve learned, are scattered across the country working for Fengxing Pavilion.
“The operation to clear the water bandits was carried out by Yuan Ting, though he has been keeping a low profile in recent years. Now he’s pretending to be sick. Can you guess what he’s up to?”
Mo Li transmitted his thoughts back: “He’s no longer aligned with the strategist, but Yuan Ting is still loyal and serving him?”
“Yes and no,” Meng Qi replied lazily. “Qiu Jing’s father did him a favor, and now they’re working to restore the Chu Dynasty, possibly uniting all of the lands south of the Yangtze. He was very devoted at first, but later…”
Bao Guanyong’s thinking had shifted.
No matter how brilliant, far-sighted, or well-organized Prince Ning’s strategist was, Bao Guanyong had lived through the chaotic end of the Chen Dynasty. He had encountered numerous brave generals and strategists along the way, more than he could count. While he acknowledged Mr. Qiu’s abilities, to say he had full confidence in the man, believing that their great undertaking would surely succeed — that was impossible!
Even if today’s adversaries were different from those at the end of the Chen Dynasty, Bao Guanyong still had doubts.
It was like seeing an entire banquet table with enough food to fill a person up, and now being told that one dish and one soup would be enough to stave off hunger. How could Bao Guanyong believe that?
“Lately, his pretending to be sick is likely because he’s realized that Qiu Jing is not on the same path as his father, and now he’s in a dilemma, torn between working for the Chu Dynasty and ignoring Qiu Jing or standing with Mr. Qiu in the upcoming upheaval…”
As Mo Li listened, he glanced at Shopkeeper Bao, who was clearly uncomfortable, and sighed silently.
While meeting Bao Guanyong was undoubtedly fortuitous for him and Meng Qi, as they would soon gain a clear understanding of everything going on within Fengxing Pavilion, this aging Chu Dynasty frontier military instructor was currently caught between two difficult choices.
