The Medical Dao Broadens, Yet No Regrets

Days passed one after another. In just five short days, the excitement in Shuzhou City surged wave upon wave, unceasing and relentless.

First came the street procession of Li Huaigu, the Third Place Scholar. Talented scholars and beautiful maidens from all over the city rushed to offer their congratulations, a scene hailed by the people of Shu as "unprecedented in the two hundred years of the Great Wei Dynasty."

It wasn't that Shuzhou had never produced a Zhuangyuan or a Third Place Scholar before, but previously, successful imperial examination candidates had always paraded on horseback through the Capital Prefecture.

Word spread so widely that everyone knew—from the Prefect of Shuzhou City, the Provincial Administration, the Surveillance Commissioner's Office, the Commander's Office, and the Marquis of Military's residence, all the way down to the common folk.

Along with it, the matter of Li Huaigu and Yunxiang was deliberately circulated by those with ulterior motives.

They said Li's mother was "Breaking Up Lovers," but the Third Place Scholar, protective of his beloved, insisted on marrying Lady Yunxiang nonetheless.

This added a touch of color to what was already a joyous occasion of the Third Place Scholar's street parade, rivaling the tale of Old Marquis Xiao riding his horse through the Poshushuo Kingdom.

It gave the already buzzing people of Shuzhou yet another topic for idle chatter over tea and meals.

However, spreading alongside the Third Place Scholar's "Breaking Up Lovers" was the story of Chen Yi, the Xiao Family son-in-law and Marquis Dingyuan's household, forcibly trying to snatch Lady Yunxiang.

Though no one knew where the rumor originated, it recounted in vivid detail how Chen Yi arrived with maidservants and servants, attempted the snatch, failed, and fled in panic.

Even the line Chen Yi had used to console Li Huaigu—"Pluck the flower when it blooms, lest you grasp at empty branches"—was twisted into the reason for Chen Yi's Bride-Snatching.

For a time, the city was in an uproar.

Some ignorant scholars even ran to confirm the story with Li Huaigu while filing complaints at the prefectural office, demanding justice and that Chen Yi be brought to the law.

If Li Huaigu hadn't personally stepped forward with Yunxiang to clarify the matter, Chen Yi, branded a "villain," might have been dragged out of Xiao Manor and paraded through the streets. That spectacle would surely have been even more magnificent than Li Huaigu's white-horse procession.

Even so, a considerable number of people in Shuzhou still believed Li Huaigu had been pressured by the Xiao family into speaking out.

Somehow, Chen Yi ended up crowned with the title "Most Shameless Son-in-Law in History."

They even painted him as a man eight feet tall, built like an ox, with a rough, dark face.

After enough rounds of gossip, even lies became truth.

Yet none of these street rumors reached Chen Yi's heart. Instead, they left Xiao Die frantic—crying, laughing, and fuming all at once.

She kept feeling it was her fault that the Son-in-law had helped the Third Place Scholar and Yunxiang.

Under the warm sunlight, by the pond in Chunhe Garden, inside the pavilion.

Chen Yi, as if nothing had happened, lay on a newly made rocking chair, swaying gently while holding a thick medical tome and reading.

Xiao Wuge sat beside him, gripping a fishing rod like a little adult, occasionally pulling up a Golden-haired Carp, cheering, and tossing it back into the pond.

On the other side of the pond, Zhang Heng, heir apparent of the Duke of Gan, was being watched over by Wang Lixing as he crouched to watch ants move their nest, muttering, "Most Shameless Runaway Groom."

Ever since Chen Yi's bad reputation spread across Shuzhou, Zhang Heng had been the happiest, acting as if he'd known it would happen all along. He swapped "son-in-law" for "runaway groom," giving Chen Yi yet another nickname.

Wang Lixing, listening nearby, wanted to explain a thing or two, but seeing Zhang Heng's body no thicker than his own calf, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

Xiao Die, watching Chen Yi's calm expression and thinking of the recent rumors in Shuzhou City and Xiao Manor, couldn't stop her tears from flowing again.

"Son-in-law, it's all my fault, wuwu..."

Chen Yi shifted his gaze from the medical book, glanced at her, and said helplessly, "Look at you, crying again. Your Son-in-law isn't dead yet."

Xiao Die sobbed, "I, I don't understand. The Third Place Scholar explained everything two days ago, so why do they still not believe it?"

"You clearly acted out of kindness. The Third Place Scholar and Lady Yunxiang even won Li's mother's approval. Why is it only you..."

Chen Yi handed her a handkerchief and went back to reading. "Prejudice in people's hearts is like a great mountain. Climbing it is hard; crossing it is even harder."

Xiao Die wiped her tears. "But you can't just let them ruin your reputation, can you?"

Chen Yi thought for a moment. "Actually, making them shut up is simple. Tomorrow, your Son-in-law will go burn down the prefectural office. They definitely won't keep harping on this."

Xiao Die stared at him blankly, not even noticing the tears dripping into her mouth.

"Burn, burn the office?"

Imagining the consequences, she was caught between laughter and tears. She couldn't help clenching her little fist and thumping him, scolding playfully:

"Son-in-law, you're talking nonsense again."

Chen Yi smiled, knowing she was fine now, and instructed, "Go check if dinner's ready. I'm hungry."

Xiao Die quickly wiped her tears with the handkerchief, acknowledged him, and walked out of Chunhe Garden.

Xiao Wuge glanced back and silently noted another of Chen Yi's sayings.

He planned to tell everything he'd learned to his Eldest Sister, Xiao Wan'er, once she returned.

"Prejudice in people's hearts" and all that—though plain speech, it sounded very reasonable.

Fortunately, Chen Yi had no idea what was going through his mind, or he'd have given his backside a few solid smacks.

Right now, he was combining the Minor Accomplishment Medical Dao in his mind to cram knowledge beyond the Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders.

Ever since his Cultivation Base broke through to Ninth Rank, Upper Stage that day, his various techniques had been steadily improving, but they were still a bit short of a breakthrough.

To break through, aside from training, he needed a large amount of Fortune to elevate his Martial Dao Body, fist techniques, and footwork realms.

With such a big gap, he spent eleven points of Fortune, using the newly learned Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders, to first raise his Medical Dao to the Minor Accomplishment realm.

Immediately after, Chen Yi realized the profound mysteries of the Medical Dao far exceeded his imagination.

Even the entry stage alone encompassed Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, the Zang-Fu organs and meridians, the Four Diagnostic Methods, and the Eight Principles.

He also needed to be able to recognize common illnesses, prescribe formulas, and use silver needles to pierce acupoints to alleviate pain, as well as decoct medicinal herbs to expel evil and support the righteous.

When it came to the Minor Accomplishment realm, it was even more all-encompassing.

Beyond the basics, it not only added Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment, allowing flexible use of methods like Six Meridian Syndrome Differentiation and Defense-Qi-Nutrient-Blood Syndrome Differentiation, but also required him to master Using Qi to Control Needles to dredge the meridians.

In comparison, Fist Dao, though divided into fist techniques, palm techniques, and leg techniques, still had many overlapping aspects between them.

Thus, after stepping into Medical Dao, Chen Yi immediately realized his time was no longer enough.

To put it vividly—the Medical Dao broadens, yet one regrets not turning back; for medicine, one wastes away with longing.

"What am I putting myself through, young master?"

Chen Yi shook his head inwardly. If he had to trace the reason, he'd blame Li Huaigu—why did he have to come from a family that passed down medicine?

One day passed quickly.

After nightfall, Chen Yi practiced Stake Training and techniques with Pei Guanli as usual.

But starting yesterday, he had taken the initiative to add one more thing—a sparring match with Pei Guanli every day to increase his practical combat experience.

Pei Guanli naturally wouldn't refuse; she also wanted to prove that she had only been careless before.

However, ideals were plump, but reality gave her a harsh slap.

Two consecutive sparring matches, both won by Chen Yi, were truly hard for her to bear.

Pei Guanli couldn't understand. In terms of Cultivation Base, she was slightly stronger than Chen Yi; her Body Movement Technique and techniques were of no low rank, and she had practiced them to the point of ease.

So why, in combat, did her Body Movement Technique and Palm Technique have so little effect?

Chen Yi found it hard to explain clearly. If he had to say it—his Minor Accomplishment Dao Realm allowed him to see every change in Pei Guanli's moves, even the flow of her Qi was crystal clear.

Coupled with the fact that Chen Yi had also learned Meteor Butterfly Steps and Hundred Flower Palm, the combination naturally let him know how to counter.

They trained like this until deep into the night, at Zi Shi—

[Daily Intelligence Grade High Rank: At Noon Quarter, the young Duchess Xiao Qiuyun teaches her son. Obtainable: a small amount of Fortune.]

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow inwardly. Not bad luck—not only could he gain Fortune, but he could also watch the Young Heir Apparent Zhang Heng get scolded and beaten.

He just wondered whether the current Duchess of Gan was really "teaching her son," or if there was more acting involved.

Thinking this, Chen Yi ended his night of training, parted ways with Pei Guanli, and headed toward the Wooden Tower.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Second son-in-law, it's so late, and you're still not asleep?"

Chen Yi turned his head to look, frowning inwardly. Standing at the entrance of Chunhe Garden, who else could it be but Liu Si'er?