Great Love Is Without Sentiment (Continued)

Qin Yueren smiled wryly, "If the matter ended here, it would indeed be a beautiful story. Unfortunately, there is a sequel. Ten years later, the man's eighty-year-old mother fell seriously ill, and he came to Medicine King Valley again to beg for medicine. He knelt for five days and five nights, almost dying himself. Our sect, moved by his filial piety and sincerity, gave him another bottle. Ten years later, the man returned to beg for medicine for his ninety-year-old mother. May I ask you all, if you were the Valley Master at that time, would you have given him the medicine or not?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, speechless.

Qin Yueren, not expecting an answer, continued, "If a man hopes his mother will live to be a hundred, can we say his filial piety is wrong?"

If one accuses him of being greedy, he gave all the medicine he obtained to his elderly mother, keeping not a single drop for himself. So where was his greed?

If we continue to give him medicine, what if he comes back in ten years, twenty years...? He probably won't be able to come back then. But what if his children come to ask for medicine on his behalf? That would also be out of filial piety. Should we give it to them or not?

"Give it to us. The Toad-Fishing Life-Extending Pill is no ordinary pill like the Great Restoration Pill or Lesser Restoration Pill; our sect doesn't have many of these either. If we don't give it to you, then we're heartless, cold-blooded, and disregarding your filial piety."

Si Ming asked, "Did your faction ultimately give it to them or not?"

Qin Yueren chuckled but did not answer. Instead, he said, "Since then, our sect has established a rule that exchanges must be made with items of equal value. It's not that we're unwilling to help those in need, but rather that our capabilities are limited and we cannot satisfy the insatiable desires of the world."

Si Ming asked in confusion, "Wait a minute, didn't you say earlier that this was a rule established by your ancestor?"

"Back in our time, Medicine King Valley was just a small sect. How could it have thought that far ahead? Naturally, it was our descendants who established these rules in the name of our founder." Qin Yueren readily admitted this.

Murong Wu shook his head and said, "People fear death and want to pursue immortality. That's why seventy-year-olds want to live to eighty, eighty-year-olds want to live to ninety, and ninety-year-olds want to live to a hundred. But I don't get involved in alchemy; I only focus on healing the sick and wounded. If someone really wants to live longer and asks me for a blood transfusion, I will not agree."

Qin Yueren said, "Then let me give you another example of saving people. It is also a real event. During the war between humans and demons, our disciples served as military doctors in the army. During the most difficult period, the Human Race army suffered heavy casualties, with thousands of wounded and hundreds of dead every day."

A disciple was practicing medicine in the army when a severely wounded soldier was brought in. His abdomen was ripped open, his intestines were protruding, and he had lost a lot of blood. The disciple, with his skill level, had only a 10% chance of saving him. Just as he was about to begin, another wounded soldier arrived. This man's leg had been bitten off by a Demon Beast; if the leg was amputated in time, there was a 70% chance of saving him. If you were this disciple, who would you choose to save first?

Unable to make a choice, Murong Wu could only say, "Until that time, I don't know what choice I will make."

Si Ming reached out and patted his shoulder, saying, "From the perspective of the Mohist School, this is 'power.' You can choose the lesser of two evils, or you can do the opposite. This action has nothing to do with morality, nor is it right or wrong. You can save whomever you want."

Qin Yueren laughed heartily, "The Mohist School focus on the world, not the individual. Their so-called 'boundless love' is a magnanimity that Non-Self cannot emulate. We, the Medical School, advocate 'unfeeling love,' meaning we should not invest any emotion in patients. We should make choices with the most utilitarian mindset, because the more ruthless you are, the more people you can save. Those who say nice things like 'not a single one can be abandoned' or 'all lives are equal' often end up killing the most patients. For doctors, being sentimental is a weakness, not a strength."

Murong Wu said, "But patients prefer doctors who are compassionate, and doctors with gentle personalities are more likely to get the patient's cooperation."

"Wrong. What patients want most is not a doctor with a human touch, but a doctor with superb medical skills. If they don't know the doctors' skill levels, they might choose the doctor who is easier to talk to. But if they know the skill level of each doctor, they will choose the one with the best skills without hesitation, even if that doctor has a bad temper. The patient will still cooperate and dare not cause any trouble. After all, human touch cannot save lives."

These words caused Murong Wu to fall into deep thought, his brows furrowing and his face showing a struggle.

Seeing this, Si Ming advised, "Everyone has their own path. There's no standard answer to this. You just need to choose what suits you best. Excellent medical skills and a gentle personality aren't mutually exclusive. You can absolutely have both."

He then looked up at Qin Yueren and said, "Valley Master Qin, I also have a question to ask you."

"Please feel free to ask, Your Mad Ink Kuangmo."

If your mother and your wife both fell into the water at the same time, who would you save first?

"I..."

Qin Yueren immediately realized that the other party was warning him not to keep asking such questions, so he chuckled twice and said, "Let's get back to the main topic. The Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body is considered a sacred body by Medical School. Legend has it that our sect's founder, Bian Que, possessed the Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body. Unfortunately, his descendants were incompetent, and since then, only two people in the past thousand years have successfully cultivated it, and both of them have inherited the title of 'Bian Que'."

Later generations often regard Bian Que as a specific person, such as Qin Huan, who is generally considered the last "Bian Que," and place him alongside famous doctors such as Hua Tuo and Sun Simiao.

Famous anecdotes such as "Bian Que Visits Duke Huan of Cai" tell the fable that Duke Huan of Cai concealed his illness and refused to see a doctor, eventually dying from the pain that penetrated to the bone marrow. In reality, this was a story fabricated by Han Fei to illustrate the idea of "controlling things at their smallest details," rather than a true example.

In reality, Bian Que was not a person, but a title, similar to the Grandmaster of the Mohist School. Just as Mozi was the first Grandmaster, it cannot be said that the Grandmaster was Mozi.

On Earth, those famous doctors are known as "Bian Que," and their deeds have been passed down from generation to generation. Their stories span from the State of Guo in the early Spring and Autumn Period, to Zhao Xiangzi in the late Spring and Autumn Period, to Marquis Huan of Tian Qi in the early Warring States Period, and all the way to the era of King Wu of Qin, a period of more than four hundred years.

However, the loosely organized Medical School of esoteric arts could not compare to the disciplined Mohist School. Therefore, although Bian Que possessed great prestige and held the position of leader, Grandmaster did not have the overwhelming appeal of a Grand Master. As a result, the title gradually lost its significance as a leader and became merely an honor, similar to "Hua Tuo in the world."

"... For five hundred years now, no disciple has successfully cultivated the Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body. That is why I was so disoriented when I saw Young Hero Murong just now. It was because the legendary item appeared before my eyes that I couldn't help myself. Therefore, I have a favor to ask: we hope to make a trade with Young Hero Murong. One drop of blood can be exchanged for any rare and precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the Forget-the-Years Garden."

Qin Yueren's offer was quite generous; the wine vessel had a capacity of about 200 to 250 milliliters, and the blood he had was enough to recover in a month, given the body's regenerative abilities. The rare and heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the Forget-the-Years Garden were all over a hundred years old.

Medical experts believe that a single blood loss of less than 600 ml will not affect the body's normal physiological functions, and given a martial artist's physique, even losing 1000 ml would not have much of an impact.

Ying Zhou seemed to want to bargain and get more, but Murong Wu preemptively agreed to the other party's conditions, saying, "Actually, I'm also very curious to know just how potent my blood is, and what kind of elixir it can be refined into. If your sect discovers anything, please be sure to tell me."

"Of course, we'd also like to know why no one has been able to cultivate the Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body in the last five hundred years?" Qin Yueren paused, then asked curiously, "May I ask, young hero Murong, who is your teacher?"

"'God-Burying Coffin' Wu Xiu!"

"It was her!"

Qin Yueren could not hide his shock, but quickly realized that it was rather impolite to say such things in front of someone else's disciple. So he explained, "I never imagined that your master was actually the famous 'God-Burying Coffin.' I always thought that 'God-Burying Coffin's' disciples would definitely cultivate a body related to Gu or poison."

"Haha, that's certainly the impression Master gives." Murong Wu chuckled, unconcerned.

Both parties were willing to cooperate, and things proceeded smoothly from there. Murong Wu donated three vials of blood to Medicine King Valley, and then went to the Forget-the-Years Garden to select three heavenly materials and earthly treasures, including the Snow Mountain Lingzhi. He seemed to want to use it to refine a medicine, and Medicine King Valley provided the corresponding tools and low-value medicinal materials free of charge.

As night fell, in Plain Questions Tower, Qin Yueren was investigating records related to the Hundred-Refinement Medicinal Body. The Medicine King Valley had accumulated a great many documents over a thousand years, making the investigation particularly challenging.

Just as Qin Yueren found a medical text related to the topic, Elder Yi walked up to him and said, "Someone spread rumors about your performance during the day, which has caused dissatisfaction among many disciples. They think you are too cowardly as the sect leader."

Qin Yueren sighed, put the book back, and turned to say, "If you can advance to the Void Returning Refinement stage, I will naturally be as powerful as the Sword-Forging Manor. You saw the battle that day where Mad Ink fought against three Demon Kings and a Military God all by himself. Now we are asking them for protection."

Elder Yi said, "Even if that Mad Ink is very powerful, we don't need to be so subservient. Medicine King Valley is a prestigious sect with a thousand-year history, and as the Valley Master, you represent not just yourself, but the reputation of the entire sect. Your behavior will only disappoint the disciples."

"Let them be disappointed. If it can make them realize their own limitations and stop putting on airs like a prestigious sect, it's not a bad thing. In fact, if they can learn from their mistakes and strive for improvement, that would be even better."

In peacetime, it's not a big deal if you act like a disciple of a prestigious family; others will eventually have to be considerate and will just swallow their anger if they feel wronged. But in chaotic times, if you act arrogantly and embarrass others, you could lose your life.

Although Mad Ink and his group act domineeringly, they still respect the rules. It's better to be taught a lesson by them than by the Demon Race.

"Could it be that you did this on purpose...?" Elder Yi fell silent.

"As you said, Medicine King Valley is a prestigious sect with a thousand-year history. Everyone knows its standing in the martial arts world. So even if I lose face for a moment, people will only think that I, as the sect leader, am weak and incompetent, and will not blame the sect. It will only damage my personal reputation."