Traveling Doctor

Before long, a man came running in from outside.

"Doctor, please save my third brother!"

The man wore a conical hat on his back and looked travel-worn. After entering, he kept gasping for breath as he pleaded with everyone.

Li Mo noticed a bleeding wound on his left arm and guessed that he was most likely a man of the martial world who had run into a feud.

External training tempered sinews, bones, and skin; internal training cultivated a single breath.

Those sabersmen and swordsmen who roamed the martial world had bodies honed over many years. Every one of them was sturdy and powerful, quick to react, and versed in countless killing techniques. An ordinary farmer would often lose the courage to face them down from a single glare.

Yet external training ultimately could not compare to internal training.

Although those who practiced external training might rely on thick skin, tough flesh, and nimble reactions in the early stages, giving them an advantage in survival, for ordinary people, living to seventy was already a rarity since ancient times. Once a person passed forty, when they understood life's uncertainties, their bodily functions began to decline rapidly; after fifty, when they knew Heaven's decree, they had reached the end. The true peak of external training lasted only ten or twenty years.

Those who practiced internal training, however, could continually prolong their lives, breaking through the shackles and constraints of the body to gain greater power. The legendary mountain spirits and water monsters all absorbed the essence of the sun and moon and lived for centuries. Once their cultivation succeeded and they mastered profound magical power, ordinary people simply could not contend with them.

Yet for humans to cultivate, it depended on their innate bones and aptitude. Not everyone was suited to cultivation, and as for how to determine whether one possessed such aptitude, even the senior brothers at Jimin Hall did not know.

Upon hearing this, Ding Jie, one of the seven Traveling Doctors in the front hall, stepped forward to support him.

"Lead the way."

Seeing this, Li Mo slung his medicine chest over his back and followed.

However, Ding Jie and the swordsman moved far too quickly. After following them three to five li beyond town, Li Mo could barely make out their backs. Fortunately, Senior Brother Ding Jie was rough but meticulous, repeatedly snapping branches along the way as markers. By the time Li Mo arrived at the destination, panting heavily, Ding Jie had already applied Trauma Medicine to another rough-looking man.

Besides the man who had sought medical help earlier and the man Senior Brother Ding Jie had bandaged, there were two others. Both held sharp swords, their faces tense as they kept looking around.

Ding Jie did not panic because of the tense atmosphere. It seemed that the only thing in his eyes was the wounded man before him.

Only after he had thoroughly treated the man's injuries did he smile faintly.

"Your injury is not an ordinary external wound. It was likely inflicted by an expert who has cultivated Inner Strength. The sinews and bones around the wound have already been invaded by the opponent's Inner Strength. Remember this well: over the next few days, you must not exert yourself violently again. Otherwise, if the internal injury spreads, even I will be powerless."

Upon hearing words like Inner Strength and internal injury, Li Mo immediately suppressed his panting and listened with bated breath.

But at that very moment—

"Heh heh, weren't the Meishan Six Killers supposed to share life and death together? Why have the four of you run off?"

Accompanied by that flippant voice, a figure used the cliff face more than ten zhang high as leverage and leaped down.

Apart from Ding Jie and Li Mo, the remaining four all changed expression. They immediately drew their swords and faced him, as a chilling aura of slaughter spread through the air.

Seeing this, Ding Jie swiftly pulled aside the dumbfounded Li Mo.

After the two retreated some distance, Ding Jie skillfully opened an oil-paper umbrella. The four bold characters "Hanging the Gourd to Save the World" were written upon it.

"Junior Disciple Li Mo, I never expected your first house call with me to involve bloodshed."

Hidden behind the oil-paper umbrella, Ding Jie sighed. "I only hope that man isn't some utterly vicious fiend carrying some earth-shattering secret. Otherwise, if he decides to kill everyone to silence them, the two of us will have no choice but to flee separately and leave our fates to Heaven."

Only then did Li Mo understand. His little face turned somewhat pale.

This was no joking matter!

"Then... then shouldn't we hurry and run while we still can?"

"Absolutely not!"

Ding Jie stopped Li Mo.

"Listen to your senior brother. Running now is even more dangerous. That man might think we know something and directly kill us to silence us. We're doctors. People of the martial world will inevitably fall on hard times, and killing doctors is a great taboo. Don't look outside now, and don't ask around recklessly. Once the fighting over there ends, we'll go say a few good words. As long as our luck isn't too terrible, they shouldn't make things difficult for us."

Even so, how could Li Mo truly feel at ease? The dread of having his life hang upon someone else's single thought was truly unbearable.

"Senior Brother, don't you know martial arts?"

Ding Jie looked somewhat embarrassed at that.

"I was boasting. I only practiced some three-legged cat kung fu by blindly following a few martial arts manuals—the fancy fistwork and embroidered kicks those martial artists talk about. Think about it. I'm already busy enough practicing medicine every day; where would I find time to train in martial arts? Unless someone is a one-in-ten-thousand martial arts genius, without three to five years of grueling practice, they can't even count as a third-rate martial artist."

Li Mo was completely speechless.

Miserable screams continued in the distance. Now, he could only follow Senior Brother Ding Jie's advice and hide behind the oil-paper umbrella, turning a deaf ear.

A moment later.

The sounds of fighting and killing outside stopped, and Ding Jie slowly folded away the oil-paper umbrella.

Li Mo looked into the distance and immediately sucked in a cold breath. During nearly three years as an apprentice at Jimin Hall, he had seen quite a few injured and disabled people, and no small amount of blood. But it was his first time witnessing such a scene of severed limbs strewn everywhere and flesh flying through the air. Goosebumps instantly rose all over him.

With life and death so close at hand, he seemed to have forgotten even how to walk and speak.

Fortunately, Senior Brother Ding Jie was beside him. Otherwise, Li Mo would probably have been utterly at a loss.

This martial-world conflict had not involved three hundred rounds of battle or earth-shattering techniques like those described by storytellers. In only a brief clash, victory and defeat had been decided. Three of the four men had been killed on the spot by their pursuer, including the man whom Senior Brother Ding Jie had only just bandaged. In the blink of an eye, he had become a corpse.

The man who had sought treatment earlier continued fleeing into the distance.

"Don't be afraid, you two. I am an inspector of the Heaven's Mandate Bureau stationed here by the Lingmu Sect."

The man wearing a bird-patterned uniform took out an exquisite waist token and displayed it to them. Then he glanced at the final fleeing man, revealing the teasing expression of a cat toying with a mouse.

"These people are wanted criminals who drifted here from Shangfeng Prefecture. They call themselves the Meishan Six Killers and have harmed countless people for wealth. I was ordered to capture all six. When you two return, simply report this matter to the local constables."

Ding Jie and Li Mo hurriedly agreed.

As the man in the bird-patterned uniform followed the fleeing man away, Ding Jie and Li Mo finally let out a breath of relief and collapsed limply to the ground.

In the tone of one who had escaped great disaster and was sure to find future fortune, Ding Jie said, "Our luck really is quite good. He was actually an inspector of the Heaven's Mandate Bureau stationed by the Lingmu Sect."

"What is the Lingmu Sect?"

Li Mo asked instinctively.

Then he noticed Ding Jie slowly getting to his feet and walking over to the corpses with a chuckle. Ding Jie began rummaging through them with considerable familiarity, leaving Li Mo staring in astonishment.

"It should be one of the immortal mountains and sacred lands of our Gan Kingdom. I've heard that the Heaven's Mandate Bureau inspectors in every province, prefecture, and county of Gan Kingdom are disciples from these famous righteous sects. They are responsible for eliminating demons, monsters, ghosts, and fiends, and maintaining order. They are true cultivators. Any one of them could rival the supreme masters of the martial world!"

Hearing that, Li Mo could not help thinking of Doctor Zhang's advice. If he had the chance in the future, he must learn alchemy.

Unfortunately, to learn alchemy, he first had to become a cultivator.

After Ding Jie finished speaking, he saw that Li Mo was still standing there without moving and urged him, "What are you still standing around for? Hurry and collect our consultation fee."

"Ah? Oh!"

Li Mo was not someone too stubborn to change. He immediately stepped forward and began searching one of the corpses.

A moment later.

Li Mo found a money pouch, a medicine bottle, and a book.

He opened the money pouch first. Inside were some broken silver and copper coins—less than two taels of silver and around a hundred copper coins. Delight immediately appeared on his face.

Then he opened the medicine bottle, and his expression changed.

"Crested Crane Red."

As for the book, its cover bore the words Three-Way Swordplay. It appeared to be a martial arts manual.

"A bunch of poor ghosts."

After grumbling from the side, Ding Jie gestured to Li Mo. "These three swords, the two martial arts manuals, and the poison should be handed to the people in the front hall later, so they can pass them on to the local authorities and village wardens. That way we won't invite trouble. As for this broken silver, we'll split it between ourselves as a little extra income."

After hesitating briefly, Li Mo ultimately nodded in agreement.

Li Mo then received a little over three taels of broken silver. He quietly calculated his savings and felt that he had taken another step toward his goal of thirty-five taels. Joy rose in his heart at once, and even the bloody scene around them no longer seemed quite so frightening.

On the way back, Li Mo tentatively asked, "Can practicing according to these two martial arts manuals really make someone powerful?"

"Of course it can."

Ding Jie first gave an affirmative answer, but then added, "Still, your senior brother advises you not to practice them. I've heard that martial artists gradually undergo certain unusual changes, perhaps related to Sha Qi. It isn't as simple as you think. We're doctors, so don't go looking for trouble."

Though he said that, Ding Jie could see Li Mo's reluctance.

So he casually handed the Three-Way Swordplay manual to Li Mo.

"If you truly want to understand it, that isn't impossible. It will be very helpful for improving your medical skills in treating bruises and injuries. But remember this: never go around fighting and killing. Don't become tainted by Sha Qi, understand?"

Li Mo rolled his eyes.

"Senior Brother, I was nearly scared to death just now. Do I look like someone who can kill people?"

Ding Jie could not help laughing.

"I have several more third-rate martial-world manuals like this at my place. If you want to read them, you can come get them anytime. When I was young, I was just like you—I dreamed of becoming a chivalrous martial hero who upheld justice. Now, haha, it's better to honestly be a doctor."

Li Mo looked delighted, yet he felt somewhat puzzled.

"These martial arts manuals are divided into ranks too?"

"Of course."

Ding Jie replied, "The essence of martial arts is strengthening the body and techniques for killing. More powerful martial arts also come with so-called cultivation methods. Only by mastering those methods can one master Inner Strength. But I've heard that to cultivate those advanced martial arts, one must first cultivate low-level martial arts to great completion. The body seems to undergo certain special changes because of it."

Li Mo nodded thoughtfully.

"Right, Senior Brother, when you bandaged that man earlier, you said he had suffered an internal injury. Could it have been inflicted by an expert who cultivates such methods?"

Ding Jie looked at Li Mo helplessly.

"Have you forgotten so quickly? The one chasing them was an inspector of the Heaven's Mandate Bureau, a cultivator from the Lingmu Sect! Only those with spiritual root aptitude can become cultivators. They are born able to refine qi, and their starting point is already the lifelong goal that countless martial-world experts exhaust their lives pursuing. How can they possibly be mentioned in the same breath?"

Li Mo listened in some confusion. He did not know exactly what the relationship between martial heroes and cultivators was, but judging from all the rumors, cultivators seemed far more formidable than those martial heroes.