Xue Muhua's health improved day by day, and his gratitude and reverence for Xu Qian grew with it. He no longer dared bring up the matter of taking Xu Qian as his master, but his desire to repay the favor only grew stronger. He could tell that Xu Qian preferred to keep a low profile, so offering him gold or silver trinkets might well come across as presumptuous. After much thought, he decided that the most precious thing he had—and the thing Xu Qian might actually find useful—was his medical skill.
That day, Xu Qian came by for his routine "hygiene inspection." Xue Muhua seized the opportunity, pulled him into a corner of the cell, and lowered his voice, his expression solemn.
"Benefactor, I owe you a life-saving kindness, yet I have no way to repay you. I own nothing of value, but I do have these medical skills, honed over decades, and a few insights to share. If you don't disdain them, I'm willing to pass on everything I've learned in my life!"
As he spoke, he carefully drew a little booklet from the innermost layer of his clothes, where it had been wrapped tightly in oilcloth. Its pages had yellowed, and its edges were worn, clearly from frequent use.
"This is a record of my experience practicing medicine, titled Qing Nang Handbook Supplement. It documents many difficult illnesses I've encountered over the years, my exclusive formulas, and some... rare poisons found in the jianghu, along with emergency treatments for injuries. It may be of some small use to you, Benefactor."
Xu Qian looked at the little booklet, and his heart leapt a few beats faster despite himself. The Qing Nang Handbook he had obtained before was an heirloom of the Lin family. Though profound, it focused more on the properties of medicines and basic theory. Xue Muhua's Supplement, on the other hand, was clearly the crystallization of a lifetime of experience. It focused more on practical applications, and even covered poisons and emergency treatment for injuries. In the Heavenly Prison, where danger lurked on every side, and in the jianghu of the future, its usefulness was off the charts!
This was exactly the knowledge he urgently needed to fill in the gaps in his expertise!
What a treasure! Xu Qian rejoiced inwardly, though he kept his expression calm. He accepted the booklet. It felt weighty in his hand, and he could sense the value it held.
"Divine Doctor Xue, this is far too precious..." Xu Qian demurred.
"Benefactor, please don't refuse!" Xue Muhua insisted. "In my hands, it's nothing but a broom treasured as if it were jade. If it can be of any benefit to you, that's the greatest value it could have! I beg you to accept it!"
Since Xue Muhua had put it that way, Xu Qian stopped being coy. He carefully put the booklet away and said quietly, "In that case, I'll accept it. Thank you, Divine Doctor Xue."
Seeing Xu Qian accept it, Xue Muhua smiled with relief, as if he had fulfilled some important duty.
In the days that followed, Xu Qian's "studies" grew even busier and... more efficient.
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to openly carry a book into Xue Muhua's cell and study it. He hid the Qing Nang Handbook Supplement in the most concealed corner of his dormitory.
His method of study became: "steal knowledge" by day, "digest it" by night.
By day, while delivering meals, making his rounds, or even "chatting," he would deliberately ask Xue Muhua questions about medical skill. Each question was carefully devised: seemingly ordinary, yet often hitting the heart of the matter or tying into something he was "digesting" that night.
Xue Muhua naturally answered every question without reservation, often drawing further conclusions and explaining things in great detail. In his eyes, every question his benefactor asked held deep meaning, either testing him or guiding him to think. He taught with great enthusiasm, while Xu Qian listened "attentively." One taught with earnest care, the other "studied" with focus, and their exchanges were extraordinarily harmonious.
But night was when Xu Qian truly got to cheat.
He returned to his dormitory, bolted the door, and took out the Qing Nang Handbook Supplement. He didn't need to pore over it line by line and commit it to memory like an ordinary person.
All he needed to do was carefully run his hand over every page!
The Longevity Dao Fruit was like the finest information receiver. It drew in everything contained in the pages—the medical insights and experience Xue Muhua had accumulated over his lifetime, even the "feel" and "instinct" that could only be understood, never put into words—and converted it, as if swallowing rivers and gulping oceans, into streams of crystal-clear knowledge that flowed into Xu Qian's mind!
[Obtained diagnostic and treatment insights for "Difficult Illnesses · Three Yin Absolute Pulse."] [Obtained formula and preparation essentials for "Exclusive Formula · Bone-Setting Paste."] [Obtained "Analysis and Antidotes for Common Jianghu Poisons."] [Obtained "Emergency Golden Wound Treatment · Immediate Care for Damaged Internal Organs."] [Obtained...]
The influx of information was vast and complex. An ordinary person might need years, even decades, to gain a basic understanding of it. But for Xu Qian, that was no problem!
The Longevity Dao Fruit didn't just absorb knowledge. It automatically sorted, categorized, and extrapolated it, comparing and integrating it with the foundational material Xu Qian had already learned from the Qing Nang Handbook!
Many things that Xu Qian had only half-understood when Xue Muhua explained them during the day suddenly became crystal clear under the Dao Fruit's deductions! He could even draw further conclusions and work out more effective treatment plans and combinations of medicines!
It felt as if a supercomputer were helping him study: not only stuffing information into his brain, but also organizing it into a mind map, highlighting the important and difficult points, and adding detailed explanations and further reading!
All Xu Qian had to do was passively receive this knowledge after it had been "digested," then slowly understand it, absorb it, and make it his own.
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