Miraculous Hands

When Xia Dong heard Elder Lord He's words, he considered them carefully.

The Eagle-Wolf Guard might have access to the resources of the cultivation world, but the waters there ran too deep. Setting aside those lofty cultivators, even martial experts in the Mortal Transformation Realm or True Intent Realm, capable of contending with cultivators, had extraordinarily keen senses.

The Bronze Ancient Bell in his mind, and the heaven-defying means by which he could refine Yin Souls into Yin Evil Pills—if even the slightest flaw in either were exposed under the watchful eyes of those people, the consequences would be more than he could bear.

He decided that until he was absolutely certain he could protect himself, he would never step into that whirlpool.

"Elder Lord, I'm deeply grateful for your kindness." Xia Dong inclined his head slightly, his tone sincere, yet carrying just the right touch of self-mockery. "It's just that I've only recently begun learning martial arts. I can barely manage the Five-Animal Boxing. If I joined the Eagle-Wolf Guard now, not only would I accomplish nothing, I might even hinder the adults in their duties."

He paused, then smoothly introduced his plan. "After much thought, I've realized that haste makes waste. As it happens, my ancestors left behind a few incomplete medical texts, and I've learned quite a bit from studying them these past few days. I was thinking of opening a small clinic in the county when spring arrives. That way, I can help the sick and benefit my neighbors, while also honing my temperament through practicing medicine and pursuing martial arts on the side. Once my skills have improved, there'll still be time to serve the imperial court. I've come today to ask for your support."

Lord He was taken aback for a moment, then stroked his beard and laughed.

"If you cannot be a good minister, then be a good physician. Since you have the heart to save lives and ease suffering, and medicine runs in your family, of course I'll support you." Lord He had no doubts about Xia Dong's decision. In this dynasty, it was considered an elegant and highly respectable pursuit for a scholar to understand medicine.

With Lord He's support, opening the clinic was easy for Xia Dong.

The He Family was the largest supplier of medicinal herbs in Pingyang County.

With Lord He as his patron, and his own recent status as a provincial tribute student, Xia Dong had no trouble securing a steady supply of herbs for his clinic.

To guard against thugs and hooligans who didn't know their place, Xia Dong also went to Magistrate Yang for help.

Magistrate Yang held the young tribute student, who had helped him repair the county gazetteer, in high regard. With a few bold strokes, he bestowed upon Xia Dong a calligraphy piece bearing the words "Benevolent Heart, Skillful Hands."

A few days later, those four characters had been made into a plaque of golden-thread nanmu wood, with gold lettering on a black background. It was hung high above the main hall, which had been converted from the front room of Xia Dong's courtyard.

He named the clinic "Changchun."

With Magistrate Yang's handwritten plaque lending the place authority, every gang in Pingyang County, from the three teachings and nine streams to the thugs who collected protection money, respectfully gave Changchun Medical Hall a wide berth whenever they passed by. None dared even think of causing trouble.

For the first half-month after the clinic opened, however, business was practically nonexistent.

Xia Dong was simply too young. Though he had earned the title of tribute student, ordinary people naturally trusted older physicians more when it came to matters of life and death.

Xia Dong didn't mind. He had never opened the clinic to earn a few coins in consultation fees.

It was the season when winter gave way to spring, when the weather turned warm one moment and cold the next, and colds were common. So Xia Dong set up a stall outside the clinic and offered free consultations to the neighbors, as well as to the tenant farmers and relatives of Xiao Hong who lived outside the city.

His hands worked miracles. His prescriptions were not only inexpensive, but often cured patients as soon as they took the medicine. Gradually, word spread through the streets and alleys of Pingyang County: "Scholar Xia writes fine essays, and his medical skills are just like those of an immortal."

But what truly made Xia Dong and Changchun Medical Hall famous was a chance coincidence.

One evening, just as the clinic was about to close, Ding Jiu, a constable from the neighboring street, was carried in on a door panel by several of his colleagues. They stumbled through the entrance in a panic.

Ding Jiu was covered in blood. His right arm was twisted unnaturally, and his face was as pale as paper. He was clearly in terrible pain.

It turned out a burglar had appeared in the county. When Ding Jiu led a group to capture him, none of them had expected the thief to be a trained fighter. Not only did he possess formidable external martial arts, he was vicious in his attacks. Ding Jiu took one blow head-on. His bones were shattered, and the warrior's violent qi and blood had battered his insides, injuring his meridians.

Ordinary bone-setting physicians took one look at a martial injury involving qi, blood, and meridians and hurriedly waved them away, not daring to treat it.

Ding Jiu was a low-ranking, hard-up constable whose meager salary could never afford the famous physicians in Linyuan Prefecture who specialized in treating martial artists. With his arm about to be ruined, his colleagues were so desperate they would try anything. They remembered that Xia Dong had recently earned a fine reputation, so they steeled themselves and carried him over.

"Scholar Xia, please, you have to save Brother Jiu! He still has his old mother to support!" Several men were so anxious their eyes had turned red.

Xia Dong nodded slightly, then used the most powerful pulse-diagnosis technique from the Evergreen Medical Classic.

With his soul's microscopic perception, the flow of qi and blood inside Ding Jiu's body appeared in Xia Dong's mind.

"Hold him down," Xia Dong ordered in a low voice.

Then he slightly curled the five fingers of his right hand, instantly putting the force-generating technique of the Dragon-Capturing Hand into motion.

This martial art, originally used to seize the spine and control qi and blood, had now become the most exquisite Dragon-Capturing bone-setting technique!

Xia Dong's palm seemed to rest gently on Ding Jiu's twisted right arm, but his fingertips were secretly releasing force. His skillful inner strength moved like a swimming dragon, striking precisely at Ding Jiu's acupoints and smoothing out the meridians injured by the warrior, allowing the blocked qi and blood to flow freely again.

Immediately afterward, Xia Dong's wrist flicked sharply.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound rang out as the bones snapped back into place.

There was no bloodcurdling scream. Ding Jiu felt a tingling numbness in his right arm, and the bone-deep agony that had tormented him ebbed away like a tide. His broken, displaced bones had been fitted together perfectly!

From taking the pulse to setting the bone, Xia Dong had done it all in one fluid motion.

With Ding Jiu as a living advertisement, Changchun Medical Hall was nearly trampled flat by all the people coming through its doors.

Old constables from the county office, who had spent years living by the blade and carried internal injuries of one kind or another, came seeking treatment. Even some shadowy figures in Pingyang County whose true identities were hidden came on the clinic's growing reputation.

Xia Dong turned none of them away.

Far from dreading the trouble, he grew more delighted the more he encountered difficult cases involving damaged meridians or disrupted qi and blood.

Every injured patient who came to his door helped him verify the Evergreen Medical Classic and hone his soul's perception and the force-generating techniques of the Dragon-Capturing Hand.

In just a few short months,

after countless pulse diagnoses with his soul and Dragon-Capturing bone-setting treatments, Xia Dong's medical skills soared at a pace that defied common sense.

One day, after Xia Dong treated a martial arts instructor who had gone berserk after forcibly attempting to break through a barrier,

clang.

Deep in his sea of consciousness, the long-silent Bronze Ancient Bell rang with a clear, lingering chime.

The skill of the Evergreen Medical Classic had been forcibly refined by him to the realm of "perfection"!

After seeing his patient out, Xia Dong felt the intricate medical principles in his mind, complex yet readily at hand, and was overcome with joy.

Even he was a little surprised by how quickly he had progressed. But after calming down and thinking it over, he felt it was only natural.

After all, he already possessed some extraordinary traits. Naturally, he was no ordinary physician.

Moreover, once the Evergreen Medical Classic reached perfection, a remarkable connection emerged between the Evergreen Medical Classic, the Dragon-Capturing Technique, and the Crane Stance.

"These three should be able to merge into a unique martial art." A sudden understanding welled up in Xia Dong's heart.