Healing the Sick and Saving the Dying (Part 2)

Chapter 41: Healing the Sick and Saving the Dying (Part 2)

After following the little girl around several turns, they arrived at a dilapidated house. A few hens were being raised in the tiny courtyard beyond the front door. Crossing the yard brought them into the main hall, where the light was poor and everything looked dim.

The little girl had sobbed all the way, and Shi Xuan had not even managed to learn her name. He did hear her mention that even the Divine Lord Temple had failed to cure the illness, and they had sold a hen for nothing.

They turned into the left-side room. The moment he entered, he smelled the pungent odor of medicine. The windows had been sealed tightly, not allowing even a wisp of wind inside. The room held little furniture, and what there was looked old and shabby. A woman lay on a very old bed, her face yellow and swollen, wrapped tightly in a cotton quilt.

Shi Xuan used the Qi Gazing Technique and immediately let out a breath of relief. Though sickly qi coiled around her, it had not harmed the foundation of her body. He picked up the Soul-Bewildering Banner and swept it once, absorbing all the sickly qi from the woman's body.

Before the little girl could say anything to the daoist priest uncle, she saw a streak of black light sweep over her mother. Then she heard him instruct, "Go open all the windows and let some air through. Your mother is fine now." Though stunned, she was mature and sensible beyond her years. She immediately ran to push open the windows, then hurried back with a clatter of footsteps, squatting beside the bed with wide eyes as she watched her mother, wanting to see what had changed.

A fresh breeze blew in through the window. A moment later, the woman on the bed groaned and slowly opened her eyes. At once, she heard her daughter say beside her ear, "Mother, you're awake! Daoist priest uncle said you're better now. Is that true?"

Only then did the woman realize that her whole body felt light. Though she was still weak and lacked strength, she had never felt so comfortable before. She hurriedly turned her gaze and saw a young Daoist sitting there. "Sir, thank you so very much. My clothes are not in order, so it would be improper for me to rise. Please forgive me. The consultation fee will be offered shortly."

Shi Xuan waved his hand. "There is no need for a consultation fee. If you feel uneasy about it, this humble taoist has a few questions. Please answer them as best you can."

"Then please ask, daoist priest." The woman thought it over and did not feel there was anything wrong with answering a few questions.

Shi Xuan asked about Divine Lord Crimson Cloud. Though the woman had fallen ill before the Divine Lord Temple was built, her sickness had not been severe then, so she had still heard some things. Divine Lord Crimson Cloud had spread here from Kaiyang City, and the surrounding towns had all been the same. When it arrived, the Divine Lord Temple had been extremely overbearing, forcibly occupying the Land God Temple and driving away its temple keeper, while the government had even backed them up.

Later, several women desperate for children had gone to worship there, and within a few months, all of them had become pregnant. The townspeople had been utterly shaken, and the temple's incense offerings had gradually flourished. Even the woman herself had sold chickens to scrape together incense money and worship there. Unfortunately, her illness had only grown worse and worse afterward. As for why it later became a matter of donating one's property, she did not know.

After hearing this, Shi Xuan said to the woman, "Mm, there is nothing else. This humble Taoist is staying at the inn. If you feel unwell anywhere, have the little girl come find me." Then he smiled at the little girl and rose to leave.

He walked slowly into the courtyard. A number of curious onlookers had gathered outside the gate, wanting to see whether this demon priest—ah, Immortal Master—could truly cure the illness of Madam Huang, the widow. Even praying to the Divine Lord had done no good for that illness!

Shi Xuan looked at the people outside, but his mind was occupied with his plans. He would use a harsh hand to intimidate the townspeople, shatter the image of the Divine Lord as omnipotent and miraculously effective, and weaken their faith and fear. Then, for quite some time, no one should commit such blind acts of faith that harmed their own families. As long as he uprooted the Divine Lord Crimson Cloud Temple before the effect wore off, this matter would be settled.

Just as he slowly reached the courtyard gate, he heard the woman calling from behind. Turning around, he saw her running out breathlessly, her clothes clearly thrown on in a hurry. Seeing Shi Xuan look over, she pointed at the hens. "Daoist priest, if you will not take a consultation fee, at least take a chicken with you. Otherwise, I would be an ungrateful person."

"Ah, look, look! Madam Huang is better! Even immortals could not have done it this fast!"

"She was lying in bed at death's door before, and now she's lively as a fish and a dragon! Dear, this daoist priest must really be..."

"Even praying to the Divine Lord did nothing for her family, but this daoist priest—no, Immortal Master—did it in no time at all. His divine powers are truly vast, even greater than the Divine Lord's."

"I say, could that Divine Lord really be some heretical evil? Otherwise, where would such a powerful Dao Master come from to oppose him?"

The people outside the courtyard instantly boiled like a wok of oil exploding. They had all seen Madam Huang before, unable to rise from her bed. The physicians had only shaken their heads, and even the Divine Lord Temple had been helpless. Yet under this daoist priest's hands, in less than half a quarter-hour, she had become no different from an ordinary person. Miraculous, truly miraculous!

Shi Xuan glanced at the woman and said with a smile, "Then stew one. You and the little girl can bring me a bowl. Deal with the rest yourselves. This is the request of your benefactor, and no objections are allowed."

At that moment, a man and woman approached timidly from outside the gate. The instant they entered, they dropped to their knees and repeatedly kowtowed. "Daoist priest, Dao Master, please save our child!" They had presumably witnessed Madam Huang's recovery and were deeply shaken.

Madam Huang stepped forward and whispered into Shi Xuan's ear, "They are Zhang Daquan's family from the end of the street. They have an only son. A few days ago, he came down with consumption and has even coughed up blood. More than half their family wealth has been spent without any improvement. Praying to gods and worshipping Buddhas has done no good either, though I do not know whether they have prayed to Divine Lord Crimson Cloud."

Zhang Daquan seemed to have heard Madam Huang's words and hurriedly shuffled forward half a step on his knees. "Dao Master, we have also given Divine Lord Crimson Cloud quite a bit of money, but Li still has not improved. If Dao Master can cure him, we are willing to give anything!" After saying this, the grown man actually collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly, while his wife wailed to heaven and earth.

Shi Xuan thought that this could also count as gathering sickly qi to strengthen the Soul-Bewildering Banner, so he nodded to the two of them. "Get up. Take this humble taoist to your home and let me see."

Zhang Daquan and his wife immediately thanked heaven and earth as they rose, then led Shi Xuan toward their home. Their circumstances were about the same as Madam Huang's family. They were both quite poor, and many places in the house stood empty, with traces showing where furniture had once been.

Following the couple into a room, Shi Xuan heard the child coughing the moment he entered. Zhang Daquan's wife immediately went over to support the child's back and ease his breathing.

Shi Xuan raised his eyes and looked. The child was twelve or thirteen years old. There was no sickly qi around him, but his qi pillar itself was scattered and thin. Clearly, the foundation of his body had been damaged.

The Soul-Bewildering Banner could not be used to cure this illness. Fortunately, Shi Xuan had some knowledge of herbal medicine and the structure of the human meridians. He sat beside the bed and gripped the child's pulse gate. The pulse was strong and forceful. He actually possessed Internal Energy!

Shi Xuan vaguely understood the cause of the child's illness. He turned to Zhang Daquan and said, "You and your wife should leave for a moment. This humble Taoist must employ a secret art, and others may not watch."

Perhaps Madam Huang's recovery had been too shocking, for Zhang Daquan and his wife raised no objections. They left the room and shut the door.

Only then did Shi Xuan suddenly shout at the child named Zhang Li, "Where did this Internal Energy of yours come from?"

Zhang Li had been about to see what secret technique this strange daoist priest would use. When he suddenly heard the question, it was as though the great secret hidden in his heart had been exposed before another's eyes. His face flushed red, and he stammered, "Wh-what Internal Energy? Cough, you... why do you care? Why do you care where I got Internal Energy?"

Shi Xuan looked at him with the pitying gaze one would use on someone about to die. "Do you believe that if you do not tell me, and do not stop training, you will not live past three months?"

"Stinking daoist priest, you... cough, you're talking nonsense!" Already terrified by what he believed was consumption, Zhang Li became agitated.

Shi Xuan said nothing. He merely continued staring steadily at him with that same gaze. Zhang Li met his eyes for a moment, then lowered his head. Eventually, he could no longer endure it. "Cough, cough... I'll tell you."

Several months earlier, Zhang Li had gone up the mountain with his friends to play and gather vegetables and fruit to help support his family. Who would have thought that one moment of carelessness would send him falling beneath a cliff? Fortunately, a large tree caught him, and he discovered a cave containing a martial arts manual and a bottle of pills.

Zhang Li had been thrilled. He had often heard passing Jianghu wanderers boast about life in the martial world, and had long yearned for it, wishing he could grow up sooner and join some famous orthodox sect to learn martial arts. Now he had actually obtained a martial arts manual, hidden in a secluded cave. It had to be an extraordinarily good manual.

So Zhang Li hid the manual and began practicing it in secret, imagining the day he would master peerless arts, become the greatest martial artist under heaven, and feast on fine food and drink.

Perhaps he had talent to begin with, and with the pills helping him, he cultivated Internal Energy in less than a month. But after the pills ran out, he discovered that while his Internal Energy grew ever stronger, his body grew weaker and weaker. In the end, he even developed consumption. It was truly worse than death.

Shi Xuan shook his head. Having no guidance was truly terrifying. "This is the consequence of rushing cultivation. Using pills to cultivate Internal Energy was not much of a problem in itself. You merely took a shortcut in tempering your body, so you would forever be somewhat inferior to others."

After a pause, he emphasized his next words. "But after cultivating Internal Energy, what then? Look at your family's circumstances. Can they provide the meat you need every day? Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Essence into Qi—without replenishment, you are refining your own origin. Once that origin grows weak, how could coughing blood be avoided?"

"You should stop cultivating this Internal Energy for a while. Nurture your body back to health before training again. Also, this is not consumption. It merely resembles it." Worried that the child would not listen, Shi Xuan formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, casting the Universal Salvation Sweet Rain Incantation to slightly replenish Zhang Li's origin, at least stopping his coughing from being so severe. Otherwise, he would not be able to display a Dao Master's methods, and no one would listen to his later arrangements.

Zhang Li was stunned by those immortal methods, so he naturally obeyed every word the Immortal Master said. "After you recover, first train your fist and foot combat well. Later, go up the mountain to hunt for yourself and replenish your meat supply. That is the Righteous Dao of cultivation. This humble Taoist has examined your Internal Energy. It is fairly upright and balanced, not the sort that harms others and yourself. But the further you go, the more profound the text becomes. A child like you, who has only attended a private school for a few years, could suffer Qi Deviation with one careless mistake. You should still find a sect and slowly build your foundation."