Body Immune to Six Diseases

I had finished watching the Lantern of Life of that wastrel.

Corpse price: Profound Grade, Sixth Rank.

The Record of Selling Corpses rewarded me with a Medicinal Bath of Six Diseases Immunity.

The first year of Duke Zhao in the Zuo Zhuan said: "Excesses give rise to six diseases: excess yin brings cold, excess yang brings heat, excess wind brings disorders of the limbs, excess rain brings abdominal ailments, excess darkness brings confusion, and excess brightness brings heart ailments."

"Six diseases" meant "all diseases."

A jar of medicinal liquid appeared in Lin Shou's hands.

Added to hot water, the liquid would make a medicinal bath. Soaking in it allowed the body to absorb its effects and cultivate a Body Immune to Six Diseases, making one immune to illness from then on.

A person's life was marked by birth, aging, illness, and death.

These were the "four sufferings" spoken of by Buddhists.

A Body Immune to Six Diseases could eliminate the suffering of illness.

This was a wonderful thing.

In life, nothing was more unfair than illness.

Even if you were rich, with a fortune and the status of a top tycoon, you could catch the flu at the wrong time, before a cure had been developed—and bam, you were gone. Wasn't that a raw deal? Wasn't that unfair?

The suffering of illness came and went, often haunting people throughout their lives and making them miserable. With this Body Immune to Six Diseases, he would never again suffer from disease.

The next day, Lin Shou went out and bought a large wooden bathtub. Ordinary people didn't usually have one of these at home. They were found in wealthy households or in temples' "warm rooms"—public bathhouses. Common folk bathed by pouring water over their heads or washing in a river.

He had considered borrowing one from a temple, since he would only use it once. But then he thought he might have other medicinal baths in the future, so he decided to buy a new tub. It would be clean and hygienic, too.

After the corpse had been claimed that morning, Lin Shou first went to Ning Luowei's place and let her have her way with him. Then he went back and shut up shop to prepare the medicinal bath, so that this female ruffian wouldn't come by herself later and get another look at his body.

He heated the water in the tub, poured in the jar of medicinal liquid, then stripped naked and climbed in.

Warm steam billowed up as the medicinal bath enveloped his body.

A faint prickling and tingling spread over him, like a massage on an endless loop. It felt so good he was practically ascending to heaven.

Tsk, that felt amazing.

Lin Shou lounged in the medicinal bath with his eyes half-closed, nearly comfortable enough to fall asleep. Then, in his haze, he seemed to see ripples spreading across the water, as if some living creature were swimming through the bath...

Lin Shou jumped in fright. But when he opened his eyes and looked more carefully, there was nothing to see. The medicinal bath looked the same as before. He tried narrowing his eyes again and saw something swimming in it. He could vaguely make out a blurry shadow beneath the water, shaped like a tiny infant. But whenever he tried to look closer, it vanished.

This medicinal bath was downright eerie...

At first, Lin Shou had wondered if he could use the Compendium of Materia Medica to analyze the recipe, but he hadn't succeeded. It could identify a few supplementary ingredients, but none of the key ingredients. Or rather, they weren't recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica.

Now that he had seen the eerie infant-shaped shadow forming in the bath, Lin Shou was even more convinced that it wasn't made from ordinary herbs alone.

The Strength Pill and Dog Skin Plaster were the same. He didn't know if it was because his skills were lacking or his knowledge was too limited.

Lin Shou studied the medicinal bath for a while, but got nowhere. In the end, he put it out of his mind and relaxed, soon falling asleep in comfort.

When he woke, the sun was already setting.

The medicinal bath had gone cold, its color washed away until only clear water remained. His body had absorbed all its medicinal effects.

Lin Shou climbed out of the tub. There was no visible change to his body. Unlike when he had taken the Strength Pill or applied the Dog Skin Plaster, he felt no obvious increase in strength. His internal power had not changed noticeably, either. He felt none of the surging vitality he had experienced after eating snake gallbladder and ginseng. The bath seemed to have done nothing at all for his physical abilities, but...

Lin Shou quieted his mind and felt it clearly: a sense of "separation." The four sufferings of life—birth, aging, illness, and death—the suffering of "illness" was being slowly stripped from his body, like silk drawn from a cocoon.

Let go, let go... Om!

A divine light flashed in Lin Shou's eyes, then drew inward. The suffering of "illness" had been completely stripped away. He could feel it clearly.

The Body Immune to Six Diseases was complete.

From now on, the suffering of illness would never touch him again.

No more colds or fevers, no more viral infections, no more organs turning diseased, no more sore butts from eating spicy food.

Tsk, with a body this healthy, how could life not be wonderful?

After sewing up the corpse with Heavenly Punishment, Lin Shou had reaped a rich harvest. Through the Record of Selling Corpses, he had gained an excellent Body Immune to Six Diseases.

He had also picked up some clues from the Lantern of Life about that "Heavenly Punishment." Since it was a contagious disease with such far-reaching effects, Lin Shou felt he ought to take a look.

He had no corpses to sew up that night. The lanterns had just come alight, and the evening was lovely—perfect for a trip to the pleasure quarter.

Lin Shou locked up shop and went to the Eight Great Alleys.

Unlike the pavilions and terraces of the Jiangnan waterways, carved by celebrated craftsmen and scholars, many of the Capital City's pleasure houses were tucked away in courtyard homes in its narrow alleys.

When the moon climbed above the treetops, colorful lanterns were hung. They glimmered through the maze of winding alleys, where countless songstresses and painted beauties waited.

The jinghu and moon lute played, drums beat and flutes blew. There were bright, lively Xipi arias and low, mournful Erhuang melodies. The famous stars of the opera world might enjoy boundless glory, but the entertainers raised by the Hui opera troupes could sing Peking opera for ten years and still never make it out of the alleys.

It was just like the actors and celebrities of Lin Shou's previous life: some made it big, while others spent their lives in obscurity.

In his previous life, news of celebrities getting plastic surgery, injecting hyaluronic acid, or sleeping their way to the top had always made him uncomfortable. He used to wonder how performers could chase fame and fortune to such an extent. That was because he had never seen the even more brutal and inhuman methods of ancient times.

As Lin Shou entered the Eight Great Alleys, he saw scantily clad entertainers everywhere, beckoning customers. A graceful, beautiful figure with delicate features hurried straight into his arms.

"Sir, please save me! Some villains are chasing me."

Lin Shou looked down and thought, Well, now I see why powerful young masters liked keeping pretty boys. There's no substitute for seeing it with your own eyes.

The opera troupes of the Capital City had a practice of raising boy lovers. Every year, they took in more than ten young boys with regular features, beautiful eyes, and fair skin, all bought from other places—mostly Suzhou, Hangzhou, Anhui, and Hubei. They taught them how to speak, walk, and look at people.

In the morning, their faces were washed with a light meat broth, and they were given egg whites to drink. Their soups and dishes were all rich and nourishing. At night, medicine was spread over their entire bodies, except for their hands and feet, to draw out the "fire poison." After three or four months of this, they became as delicate and lovely as young women, casting a glance that brimmed with a hundred charms.

Then, depending on their looks—beautiful or plain—and their voices—clear or rough—and on their natural aptitudes, each was assigned to learn whatever suited them best. They studied two or three scenes from Peking opera and learned the arts of serving in the bedchamber.

This was a downright method for turning boys into girls. If he wrote down the whole process, he could publish a diary of raising a femboy by modern standards.

Lin Shou looked at the pretty boy in his arms. She had a man's body, yet had been raised to be even more alluring than a woman. A woman's attempts at seduction still carried the air of the red-light district, but a man's seduction cut straight to the bone and scorched the heart, like a step onto the edge of forbidden territory.

Damn, this pretty boy was something else. A cross-dressing beauty was truly terrifying. Good thing Lin Shou had strong self-control. Anyone else might have been bent out of shape.

Lin Shou glanced behind him. It seemed a few young servants and household retainers were searching for someone in the crowd. With the pretty boy's face buried against his chest, he casually used his clothes to shield her.

Only after the servants searching for her had left did the pretty boy emerge from Lin Shou's arms and clasp her hands in apology.

"I've offended you, sir. Your humble servant is Yao Hesheng. I'm deeply grateful that you saved my life. If you don't disdain my humble status and worthless life, you may come to Boss Mei's Spring Elegance Hall and ask for my card. It's inconvenient today, so I hope you'll forgive me."

After saying this, she hurried off and vanished.