Xu Xian

That night, inside a ruined temple.

"Hey, easy, easy!"

"Damn it, it hurts like hell!"

"It's all that little bastard's fault. If I get the chance, I'll kill him!"

"That may be difficult. Who knows what kind of dogshit luck that brat ran into, to actually meet such a noble patron."

"Hmph, how could someone like that noble patron possibly think highly of him? They just acted on a whim and meddled in other people's business. Once a few days pass and that person leaves, we'll go deal with him again. We'll show him who's boss!"

Inside the ruined temple, several beggars sat around a bonfire, rubbing the bruises on one another's bodies. Their faces twisted in pain as curses poured endlessly from their mouths.

Just then...

"Creak!"

The broken door was suddenly pushed open, revealing a thin, small figure. It was...

"Agou?"

The beggars turned toward the sound and saw a frail youth in tattered clothes walking in.

It was Xu Yang!

"Little bastard!"

"You still dare come back?"

At once, the beggars rose in fury. But then they seemed to recall something and nervously glanced outside.

"Good boy!"

"You dared come back alone?"

"You're courting death!"

Seeing that there was no one outside the temple—not a trace of the woman from earlier that day—the beggars immediately felt as though they had swallowed a calming pill. The beggar leader's eyes even lit up as he strode toward Xu Yang.

But he had not expected...

"Bang!!!"

A Flying Stone tore through the air and struck him square in the face. Blood splattered, his skull cracked crisply, and the blow smashed him to the ground. After a brief spasm, he collapsed limp as mud.

"Boss!"

"Bang!!!"

One man cried out in shock, only for a second Flying Stone to strike him in the face as well, knocking him over.

"!!!"

The sight rendered the remaining few silent as cicadas in winter. They stood trembling in place, hands clamped tightly over their mouths, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Tossing two round stones in his hand, Xu Yang walked over to the beggar leader's corpse and said to the trembling men, "I have a few questions."

Hearing this, the few people were only then awakened from their stupor. They dropped to their knees with thuds and cried out repeatedly, "Agou—no, Brother Dog—no, no, no, Lord Dog, it had nothing to do with us! What happened to Old Whitehead was all Wang Liu's doing. It has nothing to do with us at all! Please spare us, spare us..."

"Old Whitehead?"

Xu Yang frowned, then recalled the old beggar who had taken in the original Agou.

So there had been such hidden circumstances. This was truly like planting willows without intending shade—he had settled this body's karmic debts without meaning to.

Xu Yang said no more. Looking at them, he asked, "Recently, in Xuzhou City, have any wealthy households been afflicted by some vicious or strange illness? Or had an illness that long treatment could not cure, and been seeking skilled physicians?"

"This..."

The beggars looked at one another. They had no idea why Xu Yang was asking about this, but with life and death hanging over their heads, they could not spare thought for such matters. They hurriedly racked their brains and searched their memories.

"I heard Wang Yuanwai in the south of the city was invaded by wind evil some time ago, and is nearly at death's door."

"Also, I heard the Prefect's youngest son contracted some strange illness. They invited many doctors, but none could cure him. Not long ago, they even posted a notice seeking physicians, saying that whoever could cure his son would be rewarded a hundred taels of gold."

"There are rumors that the Black Tiger Gang Leader suffered Qi Deviation while practicing..."

Unlike the original Agou, a Little Beggar, these men were all seasoned beggars. They also had the status of local snakes, and they could catch wind of many matters within Xuzhou City.

"The Prefect?"

Xu Yang muttered, then flicked his wrist and sent several pebbles flying.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A string of dull impacts sounded. The men fell in response, and there was no more sound from them.

Xu Yang stepped forward and searched the bodies. To his surprise, he found several taels of loose silver on the beggar leader.

He was not at all surprised by this.

Begging was an extremely lucrative profession, especially for organized beggar gangs like this.

That's right, he meant the Beggar's Gang. There would not be many innocents among those elders carrying sack after sack; kill them all, and few would be wronged.

Though this beggar leader was no elder and could not carry a sack, he had still lived quite comfortably by oppressing true beggars with no one to rely on, like Agou. Every so often, he could even visit the back doors of brothels.

So Xu Yang had acted cleanly and decisively.

Having looted everything, Xu Yang ignored the corpses scattered across the ground. He pulled over a relatively clean straw mat and lay down beside the bonfire.

The next day, Xu Yang arrived at the Prefect's residence as though walking on level ground.

With the few taels of loose silver he had taken the night before, he bought himself a new set of clothes, then went to an inn to bathe and change.

Now, aside from being somewhat thin, he was no different from an ordinary person—a perfectly ordinary young man.

As for the Silver Ingot the little girl had given him, he had not used it. He did not wish to be a child carrying gold through a bustling market and invite a heap of trouble.

Thus, he came before the Prefect's residence and said to the two gatekeepers, "My surname is Xu, given name Xian, courtesy name Qingyang. I heard your young master suffers from a strange illness and that you have posted a notice seeking physicians. I have come specifically to answer the call. Please inform your master."

"Hmm?!"

The two gatekeepers looked him over. Seeing a thin, weak youth who looked as though a gust of wind could knock him down, they immediately frowned. "You're a doctor too?"

Xu Yang nodded. "That is correct!"

"What doctor is this young?"

"Your mouth still has no hair, so you can't handle affairs properly. Go, go, stop making trouble here. If you anger the Prefect, even ten heads won't be enough for you to answer with!"

The two gatekeepers clearly did not believe him and immediately moved to drive him away.

Xu Yang did not care. He directly addressed one of them. "Your complexion is pale and sallow, the area beneath your eyes dark. In your daily movements, do you often feel weak and listless, with sore, aching loins and flagging spirits? Especially when sharing a bed, does the husband's banner fail to rise, leaving you constantly feeling hollowed out...?"

"!!!"

The gatekeeper's eyes widened as he stared at Xu Yang in utter shock.

Xu Yang ignored him and turned to the other. "And you—your qi and blood are both depleted, even worse off than his. Do you often visit the flower and willow alleys, or spend the night alone...?"

"Enough, enough!"

"Sir, this way, please!"

"..."

A short while later, inside an antique bedroom within the Prefect's residence.

"Physician... Xu, do you have a way to treat him?"

The Prefect, dressed in casual clothes yet still radiating authority, frowned slightly. Though doubt filled his heart, he did not reveal it as he patiently questioned Xu Yang.

"It is indeed a strange illness, but it is nothing to worry about!"

Xu Yang picked up a brush, wrote out a prescription, and handed it to the steward beside him. Then he said to the Prefect, "Fetch these medicines and decoct them in water. One dose each day. Take them for three months, and I guarantee Medicine Cures Illness!"

"This... is that truly so?"

Although he had already summoned numerous servants to be examined, confirming that this young man's Medical Arts were truly exceptional, the Prefect still found it hard to believe that his son's chronic illness of many years could be cured in only three months.

Xu Yang smiled and said calmly, "If Medicine does not Cure Illness after three months, Xu Xian is willing to forfeit his life to Your Excellency!"

"Sir, you overstate it."

Hearing this, the Prefect hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "It is only that my son has suffered this chronic illness for many years. Numerous skilled physicians have come, yet all were helpless. I did not expect that, at such a young age, you would possess such Medical Arts. It is truly admirable."

Worthy of being the ruler of a prefecture, a high official guarding a frontier, he handled human relationships with perfect precision. Facing a physician whose treatment could determine his young son's life or death, he put on no airs of authority and said with a light smile, "Sir possesses Miraculous Hands Restoring Spring and has saved my son's life. I cannot thank you enough. Someone, bring the consultation fee."

"Yes!"

Before long, the steward brought over a tray of gold ingots.

"Please accept it, sir!"

"Your Excellency is too courteous!"

Yet Xu Yang shook his head. Cupping his hands toward the Prefect, he said, "I do not want this consultation fee. I have only one presumptuous request."

"Hmm?"

These words made the Prefect frown, but he did not refuse at once. He merely said, "Please speak, sir."

Xu Yang smiled. "Before my master passed away, he had but one wish: to hang a pot and aid the world, spreading our school's medical arts far and wide. Having inherited my late master's mantle, I naturally dare not disobey his command. Thus, I humbly ask Your Excellency to permit me to establish a medical hall in Xuzhou City, to hang a pot and aid the world!"

"So that's how it is."

Hearing that this was his request, the Prefect immediately put his mind at ease. He smiled and said, "Sir has miraculous hands and a benevolent heart, benefiting both the nation and its people. How could this official deny you? Please accept this consultation fee as capital for opening your hall!"

"Many thanks, Your Excellency!"

"May I ask what your medical hall will be called, sir?"

"Hmm... How about Bao'an Hall?"

"Bao'an Hall—preserving safety and health. Excellent, excellent!"

Though he possessed the accumulated knowledge of an entire lifetime in Great Zhou and was no longer the person he had once been, with many means to establish a foundation, the same old truth remained: where there were people, there were jianghu; where there was jianghu, there were conflicts of interest and storms of blood.

Even physicians, respected by all for healing the sick and saving the dying, could not avoid such matters.

Did one think that having excellent Medical Arts meant one could simply open a medical hall, run a pharmacy, treat illnesses, save lives, and become famous far and wide?

It was not so simple.

Even the Fish Market had its Fish Tyrant and gangs controlling it, exploiting and squeezing everyone dry. How could the even more profitable, life-and-death medical industry possibly be a blank stretch of land, untouched by conflict?

Behind every medical hall and every pharmacy stood some force of influence. They competed and squeezed one another, using every kind of method to seize the market, grab profits, suppress rivals—there were too many filthy dealings to count.

Xu Yang had no time to deal with such nonsense, so he directly chose to find a backer to shelter him from wind and rain. This way, he could calmly open a hall, take disciples, establish himself in Xuzhou, and gradually expand.

For him, this was a very simple matter. Though the Governor's Son's illness was strange, Xu Yang had ruled Great Zhou for three hundred years. What difficult or complicated disease had he not seen?

He had fused all learning under heaven into the Martial Scripture. Among its mysteries, the four scrolls that were deepest, most useful, and most developed were the Cultivation Scroll, Battle Scroll, Weapon Scroll, and Life Scroll.

The Cultivation Scroll was the foundation of cultivation methods; the Battle Scroll contained Battle Techniques; the Weapon Scroll contained weapon combat arts; the Life Scroll integrated medicine and pharmacology, holding wondrous methods for restoring life and spring, saving the dying and healing the wounded—thus it bore the name "Life" Scroll.

With the cultivation methods of the Cultivation Scroll, the power of the Martial Scripture, and the effects of skill traits that turned decay into wonder, not only could one achieve Miraculous Hands Restoring Spring and Medicine Cures Illness, even reviving the dead and growing flesh upon white bones would not be difficult.

Of course, that had been Xu Yang at his peak in Great Zhou—his Martial Path Reaches Divinity, his cultivation rivaling creation itself, bolstered by skill traits accumulated over three hundred years. Only then had he possessed the ability to revive the dead and grow flesh upon white bones.

Now... he was starting over, poor and empty-handed. Relying solely on the medical knowledge stored in his memories, he could not accomplish anything so earth-shattering.

Fortunately, uprooting this minor chronic illness was still as easy as turning his hand over.

And so, three months later, a medical hall opened with great fanfare in Xuzhou City. Its name was—Bao'an Hall!

There will be another update later. Don't stay up late; read it tomorrow.