Chapter Summaries

Master Luo treated a boy’s injuries with a strange ritual while Su Ziyang watched. The wounds vanished, and Master Luo left after warning the family to keep the child from eating fish for six months.

• Master Luo urged Su Ziyang to eat spicy chilies, then left with him to treat a boy who had fallen while picking mushrooms.
• Su Ziyang examined the sleeping child and found swollen wounds but no likely fractures.
• Master Luo made Su Ziyang stay and watch as he used joss paper and incense in a ritual over the child.
• A flare of fire erased the paper and smoke, and the child’s wounds and swelling disappeared as he woke.
• Master Luo refused the family’s offers of food and told them not to let the boy eat fish for six months.

Su Ziyang accompanied Master Luo on Dragon Boat Festival to gather plants for a medicinal preparation, following strict instructions not to speak. After collecting herbs from all four directions, Master Luo boiled them in a large pot, leaving Su Ziyang wondering what the medicine was for.

• On the way back from treating a child, Su Ziyang asked Master Luo why incense failed to catch fire, and Master Luo explained that it signaled a person was near death.
• Master Luo woke Su Ziyang early on the fifth day of the fifth month, ordered him to remain silent, and put a leaf in his mouth before taking him into the mountains.
• Master Luo gathered grasses and leaves around Su Ziyang, then led him on four trips to collect plants from the east, south, west, and north.
• Su Ziyang realized Master Luo was following a traditional Dragon Boat Festival method for making medicine, though he wondered why they had gathered so much and why only two people were involved.
• After they returned, Master Luo set up a large pot, added all the collected plants and water, and began boiling them while Su Ziyang helped with the fire.

Su Ziyang underwent a ritual bath and received the prohibitions from Master Luo, then began learning the Zhuyou Technique and its talismans, incantations, and Visualization. Master Luo demonstrated the art’s power and explained the lifelong taboos he had drawn, before continuing to teach Su Ziyang hand seals.

• Master Luo made Su Ziyang bathe in herbal soup, recited the five precepts and ten virtues, and guided him through a rite to receive the prohibitions.
• Su Ziyang drew lots forbidding him to eat fish or anything from an ox, then kowtowed to the founding master and slept through a day and night as unfamiliar gold-and-blue Qi circulated through his meridians.
• After Su Ziyang woke, Master Luo explained the Zhuyou Technique’s medical disciplines and taught him how to write talismans, describing the risks of illness Qi and karmic consequences.
• Master Luo demonstrated the Qi Suppression Method by making a spring erupt with a breath, then taught Su Ziyang a protective Visualization method.
• Master Luo explained that Fairy Li’s question about having descendants belonged to another school’s severance arts, and revealed his own lots forbade him from using a bed or riding in a vehicle.
• Master Luo began teaching Su Ziyang additional techniques and hand seals.

Master Luo taught Su Ziyang the meanings and uses of the joints on his fingers, warning him that supernatural abilities must be used righteously. He then began teaching Su Ziyang Qianli Disease Diagnosis, a method for drawing a patient's qi into his hand to diagnose and treat illness.

• Master Luo explained the finger points and their uses for restraining animals, treating ailments, and controlling ghosts and spirits.
• Master Luo recounted how his gifted junior fellow disciple restrained a celestial wind, angered a golden-armored deity, and later died after a leaf cut his neck.
• Master Luo warned Su Ziyang to keep righteous thoughts and never use his abilities to harm others.
• After Su Ziyang memorized the hand techniques and served Master Luo tea, Master Luo praised his palm lines and taught him to form sword fingers.
• Su Ziyang described Teacher Yi's way of diagnosing illness from a few spoken words, and Master Luo explained how Qianli Disease Diagnosis gathered a patient's qi into the practitioner's hand.

After Master Luo explained how the hand corresponded to the body, Su Ziyang tried sensing Fairy Li and Mr. Mengfei from afar. He detected no signs of illness, while the two sensed his attempt and joked about it at the night market.

• Master Luo explained to Su Ziyang how different parts of the hand corresponded to organs, meridians, and ailments.
• Su Ziyang connected the lesson to Mr. Mengfei's saying about heaven and earth fitting in a palm, then tried sensing someone from a distance.
• At the night market, Fairy Li ate snacks while Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng teased her about her appetite.
• A uniformed group took the tripe seller away, and Fairy Li and Mr. Mengfei sensed Su Ziyang's attempt to reach them.
• Mr. Mengfei explained that Su Ziyang could sense them through a sympathetic response between yin and yang qi, but could not see what they were doing.
• Su Ziyang opened his eyes and concluded that Fairy Li and Mr. Mengfei were healthy.

Master Luo taught Su Ziyang a wide range of Zhuyou curses through the night, explaining their uses and how to recite them. Su Ziyang memorized the curses by dawn, while thinking of Xuyang and whether Master Luo might have been able to treat him.

• Master Luo told Su Ziyang that Mengfei and the young girl were not ill, then sent him to rest before the lesson.
• Su Ziyang meditated and noticed that the foreign Qi within him had strengthened slightly and begun to merge with his own.
• At midnight, Master Luo lit a kerosene lamp and began teaching Su Ziyang curses for illnesses, injuries, poisons, and dangers in the mountains.
• When Master Luo explained the Gu Poison Curse, Su Ziyang wondered if Xuyang might have survived had Master Luo been brought to treat him.
• Master Luo taught Su Ziyang curses for suppressing dogs and protecting himself, and continued until the first rooster crowed.
• Su Ziyang silently memorized the curses, which Master Luo said could not be written down.

Master Luo taught Su Ziyang how to visualize the founding master and began instructing him in a powerful five-element method. Su Ziyang nearly suffered a dangerous mental deviation while practicing, and Master Luo warned him not to force the technique before promising to teach him more.

• Master Luo guided Su Ziyang in visualizing the Zhuyou Technique's founding master, and Su Ziyang succeeded after a few attempts.
• Master Luo taught Su Ziyang to visualize five kinds of Qi as a forest, weapons and armor, flames, an ocean, and protective yellow mist.
• Su Ziyang struggled to hold all five visualizations at once and became overwhelmed, so Master Luo rapped his pipe and jolted him out of the inner vision.
• Master Luo explained the risks of forcing cultivation and advised Su Ziyang not to push himself if he could not master the method.
• Su Ziyang asked what Master Luo was best at, and Master Luo promised to teach him before handing him his pipe to pack.

Master Luo taught Su Ziyang how to refine Qi as the foundation for Qi Restriction, warning him to stop if the visualization method made him ill. During their seven days together, he also passed on incantations and other Zhuyou Technique knowledge, which Su Ziyang found unusually easy to remember.

• Master Luo explained that talismans and incantations drew on past patriarchs, while Qi Restriction relied on the practitioner's own power, and agreed to teach Su Ziyang everything he knew over seven days.
• Master Luo taught Su Ziyang the rules and breathing routine for Qi refinement, saying it took three to nine years to reach his level.
• Su Ziyang tried the method, held his breath for seventy-two counts, and felt his body heat up as Master Luo praised his aptitude.
• Su Ziyang added Qi refinement to his nightly practice while Master Luo taught him assorted incantations and Zhuyou Technique knowledge.
• Su Ziyang found that he could remember Zhuyou Technique material after hearing it once.

Su Ziyang said goodbye to Master Luo, who decided to leave his mountain home and return to Northeast China with the group. As they headed down the mountain, Fairy Li climbed onto Su Ziyang’s back, her hand unusually hot.

• Master Luo gave Su Ziyang the founding master’s portrait and prepared a bath for him before Su Ziyang cooked them a farewell meal.
• Master Luo told Su Ziyang to pack the cured pork and explained that he wanted to go home after spending most of his life away.
• Fairy Li, Yang Tianzheng, and Mr. Mengfei arrived; Yang Tianzheng won a bet after Su Ziyang teased Fairy Li about gaining weight, and Mr. Mengfei slapped Su Ziyang for calling his wife fat.
• Master Luo agreed to travel with them to Northeast China, handed the cured pork to Mr. Mengfei, and said goodbye to his house.
• As the group went down the mountain, Fairy Li touched Su Ziyang’s waist, told him to carry her, and leaped onto his back.

Su Ziyang and the others left Master Luo’s mountain home and traveled toward the county seat. On the coach, Su Ziyang noticed signs of age appearing on Master Luo, then parted from him at the train station while Fairy Li questioned Mr. Mengfei about what he knew.

• Fairy Li teased Su Ziyang about Master Luo asking whether someone was behind him, and Su Ziyang explained that he had only drawn a fortune stick forbidding him from eating fish or beef.
• Yang Tianzheng gave Fairy Li two hundred yuan, and she admitted to Su Ziyang that she could eat five roasted pig trotters at once; Su Ziyang said he would not look down on her.
• At the foot of the mountain, Master Luo looked back toward his hidden courtyard, sighed, and handed his grandmaster’s portrait to Su Ziyang.
• Master Luo boarded the coach with Mr. Mengfei’s help, and Su Ziyang noticed age spots and an unpleasant smell that had not been present earlier.
• Su Ziyang sat beside Master Luo during the coach ride and held his hand as Master Luo closed his eyes to rest.
• At the station, Fairy Li asked Mr. Mengfei whether he had known what she had told Su Ziyang to do, but Mr. Mengfei acted confused and she stopped pressing him.

Su Ziyang brought the exhausted Master Luo back to Luo Family Village after nearly sixty years away. Master Luo arrived in tears and was recognized by Luo Youde, while the villagers recalled rumors about his family and disappearance.

• Fairy Li learned that Mr. Mengfei had only been testing his disciple, and she joked with him and Yang Tianzheng before they boarded their train.
• Su Ziyang worried over Master Luo's fatigue during the journey north and booked a car to take them from the station to Luo Family Village.
• Master Luo stepped into his village, wept at the sight of it, and told the villagers his name was Luo Mengyong.
• Luo Youde recognized Master Luo as Uncle Yong and brought him to his home.
• The villagers discussed Master Luo's past as the village's barefoot doctor and repeated rumors about his wife, twins, and disappearance.

Master Luo returned to Luo Family Village after sixty years, reunited with Luo Youde, and visited his parents’ graves and his ruined family home. He entrusted his medical legacy to Su Ziyang before dying in the house where he had grown up.

• Luo Youde welcomed Master Luo into his home and explained that the village had preserved his old family house.
• Master Luo insisted on visiting his parents’ graves, where he burned spirit money and silently wept as Luo Youde and Su Ziyang comforted him.
• Luo Youde introduced Su Ziyang to the villagers as Master Luo’s medical disciple and someone he regarded as his own child.
• Master Luo asked Su Ziyang to accompany him to his dilapidated family home, where he confessed that he felt he had wronged his parents, wife, and child.
• Master Luo told Su Ziyang to pass down his medical art, said he had finally come home, and died while Su Ziyang held his hand.

Master Luo died after returning to his hometown, and Su Ziyang helped the villagers bury him as his mourning son. Five days later, Su Ziyang returned home overwhelmed by grief, while Fairy Li comforted him and helped him begin eating again.

• Luo Youde found Su Ziyang kneeling before the unresponsive Master Luo and realized that Master Luo had died.
• Luo Youde persuaded Su Ziyang to act as Master Luo’s mourning son, and Su Ziyang kept vigil and took part in the funeral.
• Fairy Li challenged Mr. Mengfei over concealing that Master Luo might die soon, and Mr. Mengfei explained that Master Luo had chosen to return home despite the cost to his health.
• Mr. Mengfei spoke with Xue Zhen, who asked that Su Ziyang burn incense for their grandmaster for three years.
• After returning home five days later, Su Ziyang dreamed of Master Luo, broke down crying in Fairy Li’s arms, and began drinking soy milk the next morning.

Su Ziyang recovered from his bad mood and discovered that Teacher Yi was using threats and false testimonials to deceive patients through Bagua Image-Number Therapy. He told Fourth Uncle and Fairy Li about an ancient swindler who had used the same trick, leaving them convinced Teacher Yi was fooling people.

• Mr. Mengfei encouraged Su Ziyang to learn and pass on what Master Luo had taught him, and told him to offer Master Luo incense for three years.
• A few days later, Fourth Uncle urged Su Ziyang to check the image-number group, where a man accused Teacher Yi of taking money without curing his illness.
• Su Ziyang saw Teacher Yi claim the man was nearly cured and warn that discussing the spell would make it stop working.
• Fourth Uncle explained that Teacher Yi instructed patients to claim they were cured or risk never recovering, which made the group’s testimonials unreliable.
• Su Ziyang recalled an ancient bandit who posed as a doctor and used the same threat to deceive patients until a former officer recognized and arrested him.
• Fourth Uncle realized Teacher Yi was fooling people, and Su Ziyang noted that modern patients would quickly lose faith if they saw no results.

Su Ziyang told Fairy Li a story about a wealthy man seeking a rare medicinal fingernail, which a medicine-shop owner promised to find. The chapter ended with the wealthy man offering one thousand taels of silver for it.

• Fourth Uncle teased Su Ziyang about having a girlfriend and asked whether they had slept together, prompting Fourth Aunt to scold and beat him.
• Fairy Li laughed at Fourth Uncle, then asked Su Ziyang to tell her a bedtime story.
• Su Ziyang began a tale about a wealthy man who visited a medicine shop seeking a three-cun-long little fingernail in one piece to treat his ill mother.
• The shopkeeper repeatedly stopped the wealthy man from leaving and promised to find the rare medicine within fifteen days.
• The wealthy man said he would pay one thousand taels of silver for the fingernail.

A pharmacy shopkeeper searched for a three-inch fingernail to fulfill a wealthy man's order and avoid returning his deposit. He found one on a hooligan and bought it for five hundred taels, leaving him with the ingredient he needed and a slim profit.

• The shopkeeper agreed to find a three-inch fingernail within fifteen days, signed a written agreement with the wealthy man, and accepted a three-hundred-tael deposit.
• The shopkeeper advertised for fingernails and searched the city and nearby villages, but found none as the deadline approached.
• A hooligan entered the pharmacy to buy amomum, and the shopkeeper noticed his little fingernail was more than three inches long.
• The shopkeeper offered to buy the nail, and the hooligan demanded five hundred taels after learning its value.
• The shopkeeper paid the hooligan five hundred taels, and the hooligan clipped off his fingernail and handed it over.

Su Ziyang told Fairy Li a story about a shopkeeper who was tricked into buying a clipped nail, then went to work at the clinic. Ma Jun asked whether Su Ziyang could treat his mother's recurring follicular pharyngitis, and Su Ziyang said he had a folk remedy to send him.

• A wealthy man tricked a shopkeeper into paying for a clipped nail, then recovered his deposit by claiming he had asked for a whole nail pulled out by the root.
• The shopkeeper discovered the group had vanished and fell seriously ill after realizing he had been scammed.
• Su Ziyang finished the story, and Fairy Li teased him about tricking young women before insisting he hold her.
• The next morning, Ma Jun called Su Ziyang to ask about treating his mother's recurring follicular pharyngitis.
• Su Ziyang said he had a folk remedy and would send it to Ma Jun on WeChat.

Su Ziyang recorded folk and dietary remedies for pharyngitis and shared a fingernail-based remedy with Ma Jun. After agreeing to meet Han Jinkai and friends, he returned home and thanked Li Zijun for caring for him as they shared dinner.

• Su Ziyang sent Ma Jun a fingernail-smoking remedy and explained how fingernails could also be used for mouth blisters.
• Su Ziyang wrote down vinegar-and-egg liquid and the Throat-Soothing Formula, noting their uses and which constitutions they suited.
• Su Ziyang agreed to join Han Jinkai and the others at a farmhouse restaurant on Saturday.
• Li Zijun served Su Ziyang red-braised pork belly and cold bean sprout salad, and he praised her cooking.
• Su Ziyang thanked Li Zijun for caring for him, and she refilled his rice bowl.

Su Ziyang met his friends for a meal, where Song Li introduced his daughter, Song Huiru, and asked Su Ziyang to teach her traditional Chinese medicine. When a fish bone lodged in Song Huiru’s throat, Su Ziyang used the Nine Dragons Bone-Dissolving Water technique to relieve her, leaving the group astonished.

• Su Ziyang joined Han Jinkai, Song Li, and their friends for a meal, bringing mulberry wine but explaining that his master's rules forbade him from drinking alcohol.
• Song Li asked Su Ziyang to teach his ten-year-old daughter, Song Huiru, traditional Chinese medicine, and Su Ziyang agreed to take her on as a disciple when she turned fourteen.
• Song Huiru began choking after a fish bone became stuck in her throat, and Song Li prepared to rush her to the hospital.
• Su Ziyang stopped Song Li and used the Nine Dragons Bone-Dissolving Water talisman and incantation to prepare a bowl of water for Song Huiru.
• Song Huiru drank the water and said the pain was gone, leaving everyone astonished at Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang told his masters that he had accepted a young disciple, and they responded by ordering him to undergo four years of special training. He remained uneasy about their calm reaction and began copying scriptures after failing to meditate.

• After a gathering, Song Li said he would arrange a formal master-disciple ceremony with Su Ziyang, who tried to refuse.
• Su Ziyang told Fairy Li he had taken in a young disciple, and she teased him about becoming a master's wife.
• Su Ziyang invited Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng to lunch and explained that he had agreed to teach his friend’s daughter once she turned fourteen.
• Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng accepted the news but ordered Su Ziyang to undergo four years of special training starting the next day.
• Su Ziyang could not settle his mind that night, so Fairy Li told him to copy scriptures, and he began copying the Scripture of Clarity and Stillness.