Dragonlike Vitality Shocks the Old Army Physician

Smelling the faint medicinal fragrance in the air, glancing at the enormous sign, and recalling the officer's words, Li Dao knew perfectly well what they had come here for.

He had never expected that joining an army in ancient times would require a physical examination.

For some reason, this reminded him of military physicals in his previous life, and he instinctively clenched his glutes.

If it really came to that, would he still join?

Before long, they heard movement inside the tent.

A group of people dressed much like them emerged.

There were exactly fifty of them, no more and no less. They appeared to be recruits just like themselves.

Li Dao quickly swept his gaze over all fifty.

A moment later, he breathed an inward sigh of relief.

None of the fifty wore an odd expression or walked strangely. Apparently, there was no particular special examination involved.

After the fifty men came out, two officers followed.

"Let's make a bet. See which of us has more men pass the assessments."

"What are we betting?"

"Ten meals at Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant."

"Those are some high stakes."

"Just tell me whether you're in."

"Who's afraid of you? I'm in."

Once they finished talking, the other officer led his group away, apparently toward the next assessment site.

The officer leading Li Dao's group turned back to them. "You all heard that. I've made a bet with my friend."

"I'm telling you in advance: if I win, I give you my word that I'll take care of you. I'll do my best to get you all assigned somewhere good."

"But if I lose, I'll still take care of you, of course. Just not in the way you're hoping."

Everyone except Li Dao paled at those words.

They had not even enlisted yet, and someone already had his sights on them.

Li Dao was unfazed. Veterans bullying new recruits seemed to be a military tradition, after all.

At the officer's direction, Li Dao and the others entered the tent.

The medicinal fragrance grew stronger inside. An old man with white hair and a white beard sat upright on a blanket, wearing military armor, with a table before him.

"Elder Zheng, sorry for the trouble."

The officer treated the old man with great respect.

"Mm."

The old man raised a hand. "Wait off to the side."

"Yes, sir."

The officer obediently sat to one side, not daring to behave with the slightest impropriety before him.

Elder Zheng patted a white cloth on the table. "Who's first? Sit across from me and put your hand here."

The man at the front of the line quickly stepped forward, sat cross-legged opposite him, and placed his hand on the cloth.

Elder Zheng pressed his fingers against the man's wrist and began taking his pulse.

Before long, he said, "Nothing seriously wrong with your health. Just a few minor issues."

The man brightened at that, but his joy came too soon. The next words made his face fall.

"Insufficient kidney qi, some yin deficiency, and your liver qi is somewhat depleted as well."

Withdrawing his hand, Elder Zheng paid no heed to the man's darkening expression. "You've been indulging in too much bedroom activity. You need some restraint, young man."

The man flushed but stubbornly insisted, "I'm perfectly healthy. Especially... in that department."

Elder Zheng remained unruffled. "You had intercourse three times last night. Your legs are still weak, aren't they?"

"How did you know?"

The moment the words slipped out, the man's expression changed, and his face turned scarlet.

Seeing the gloating looks around him, he hurriedly got up and burrowed into the crowd to hide.

When the second man realized it was his turn, his expression changed as well.

But if he wanted to enlist, he had no choice. He could only hope the old man would show mercy with his tongue.

Once the men behind him thought it through, their smiles vanished too, and they began silently praying.

Watching from the side, the officer's eyes filled with nostalgia. He had once gone through this himself.

Reality was always cruel.

Perhaps because people in ancient times generally married too early, and most young men struggled to restrain themselves, nine out of ten men were depleted-and the tenth was even worse.

Not a single man could withstand Elder Zheng's pronouncements.

If only one man had a problem, it might have been a joke.

But when everyone had a problem, it stopped being a joke and became the norm instead.

After Elder Zheng pronounced the forty-ninth man severely depleted, everyone's gaze swung toward the only one left: Li Dao.

Then, upon noticing his looks, murmurs rose inside the tent.

"Damn, this fellow's handsome. Isn't joining the army a waste? He should be a male escort. Pleasure and money all in one."

"With a face like that, this brother has to be the most depleted man here. Who agrees? Who objects?"

"Obviously he's depleted. If I looked like that, I'd have ten girls a day-the kind who'd pay me for it."

"..."

Li Dao ignored their remarks, sat cross-legged, and laid his arm before Elder Zheng.

Hmm?

Elder Zheng paused when he got a clear look at Li Dao's face.

Not because of his looks, but because, as a practitioner of traditional medicine, he was skilled not only at taking pulses but also at diagnosis through observation.

Even without taking his pulse, he could tell that the young man before him was in excellent health.

Still, the proper procedure had to be followed.

Out of habit, he pressed two fingers against Li Dao's wrist.

The very next second, he froze.

At that moment, only one thought filled Elder Zheng's mind.

How could a pulse be this terrifying?

His blood and qi surged like a rolling flood, vast and mighty. Even "strong as an ox" could not describe this young man's physique and pulse. "Dragonlike vitality" was far more fitting.

In more than fifty years as an army physician, he had examined eighty thousand men, if not a hundred thousand. He had seen many people with extraordinary natural gifts, but none matched the young man before him. In fact, they were not even comparable.

Especially when he pressed against the young man's pulse, he found his fingers could barely stay in place. The pulsations were simply too powerful to hold down easily.

Many of the men nearby waited silently.

They were waiting for Elder Zheng to deliver some shocking verdict so they could enjoy the spectacle.

But they waited and waited without any response.

Could this fellow be so depleted that even Elder Zheng is speechless?

Someone made that vicious guess inwardly.

Finally, another minute or so passed.

Elder Zheng reluctantly withdrew his hand. He could never tire of feeling a pulse like that. What a pity.

Seeing that Elder Zheng still had not spoken, someone impatiently asked, "Elder Zheng, aren't you going to say something?"

At that, Elder Zheng glanced at the men around him.

Having lived so long, how could he not know what these youngsters were thinking?

He said calmly, "This young man is in excellent health. He's a promising prospect."

Everyone: "???"

That was not what they wanted to hear.

Tell us about his kidneys, liver, lungs-all of it!

But Elder Zheng had already given his verdict, and they had no say in changing it. He simply stopped paying them any attention.

Someone could not resist muttering, "How could a pretty boy like that not be depleted? Is this old man fooling us?"

At some point, the officer had come over, and he kicked the speaker in the backside.

"You little punk. Who are you to question Elder Zheng?"

Then he turned to the others. "If you're done, get outside."

The officer bowed to Elder Zheng. "Elder Zheng, we'll be going now."

"Mm."

Elder Zheng answered softly without raising his head. Then, suddenly remembering the young man from earlier, he looked up. "Pay attention to that last young fellow."

The officer looked puzzled. "Is something wrong with him?"

Elder Zheng did not answer directly, merely saying with meaning, "Just pay attention to him. It won't do you any harm."

The officer scratched his head, unable to figure it out.

Still, since Elder Zheng had said so, he took it to heart.

Outside the tent, the men gathered together, with only one person standing apart from the rest.

That person was Li Dao.

The reason was that his healthy kidneys made the other forty-nine men uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the officer emerged, his gaze instinctively flicking toward Li Dao.

But after looking for a while, he found nothing particularly special about the young man besides his good looks.

Composing himself, he turned to the group. "All of you had better watch yourselves from now on. Don't run your mouths in front of just anyone. Luckily, Elder Zheng wasn't angry, or you'd have had a bitter pill to swallow."

Someone could not help asking curiously, "Big brother, just who is this Elder Zheng?"

"Who is he?"

The officer sneered. "Someone you'd beg and weep to get into his good graces, and never dare offend."

"You only need to know one thing: eighty percent of the army physicians in Cloud Province are his disciples or his disciples' disciples."

"And more than half the senior officers in Cloud Province have had their lives saved by Elder Zheng, including our Marquis of the Far Guard, Great General Shen Zhong."

"To tell you the truth, you can offend anyone in the army-even some generals-and still have a way to survive. But if any of you offend Elder Zheng here, I can tell you with absolute certainty: you might as well wait for death."

Only after hearing this did everyone understand how formidable that old man had been.

He might have been merely a physician with a low rank.

But the influence behind him was terrifying.

Li Dao sighed inwardly. Sure enough, no matter the era, physicians are always in demand. Especially military doctors. Who knows how many people stand behind them?

That thought inevitably reminded him of Old Ghost.

That fellow's medical skills were unfathomable too, so why did he only seem to know how to offend people?

Besides, more than a month had passed. He wondered how things were going on their end.

Still, with a shrewd old fox like Old Ghost around, there probably would not be any problems.

After all, despite offending people so readily, Old Ghost had lived past a hundred. Clearly, he had plenty of ways to preserve his life.

Afterward, the officer led them to another location.

An enormous square.

Many people had already gathered there.

Most wore assorted civilian clothes just like them. Barring any surprises, they were all there to enlist and take the assessments too.

Platforms stood in the center of the square, each overseen by several officers.

Every so often, recruits would go up onto the platforms while those already on them came down.

The officer stopped outside the square and turned around. "Next comes the final assessment. It tests your physical fitness and any special skills you possess."

"If you want to serve under Lord Shen Zhong, the Marquis of the Far Guard, being too ordinary will get you eliminated. Either your physical fitness meets the standard, or you must have a skill useful to the army. If you have neither, you can turn around and leave now. It'll save you from making a spectacle of yourselves and dragging me down with you."

The men exchanged looks, but not one left. Clearly, anyone who had come here to enlist had some confidence in himself.

Some of them even turned their gazes toward Li Dao.

In their minds, if anyone among the fifty was most likely to be eliminated, it was this odd one out.

Looking like a pretty boy, he surely could not be physically capable. They had completely disregarded Elder Zheng's earlier words.

Even now, many still believed Elder Zheng's aged eyes had failed him and he had misread the pulse.

After waiting a while and seeing that no one stepped forward, the officer nodded.

Still, this only showed that they were confident. Whether they actually had the ability would require a proper assessment.

The officer turned and looked around, his gaze settling on a platform with fewer people.

"Since you all believe in your abilities, we'll begin the formal assessment now. First comes the test everyone must take: the physique assessment."

"No matter how capable you are on the battlefield, your physique is essential. A strong physique can vastly increase your chances of coming back alive."

"Now, follow me."