Chapter Summaries

Daoist Jin put Su Ziyang through a brutal first session of Iron Cloth Shirt training, whipping him with a medicinal-soaked gauze whip while he drew earth Qi from the well to protect his body. After a medicinal bath helped him recover, Su Ziyang accepted the training and received a string of prayer beads from Daoist Jin.

• Daoist Jin whipped Su Ziyang’s back, ribs, chest, abdomen, and crotch with a medicinal-soaked gauze whip while ordering him to circulate his Qi.
• Su Ziyang connected his True Qi to the earth Qi in the well, which surged into his body and held him firmly in place as Daoist Jin delivered forty-nine lashes.
• Daoist Jin blocked the well’s earth Qi with a cactus, caught Su Ziyang as he fell, and put him in a medicinal bath to heal.
• Su Ziyang complained about the training, but Daoist Jin insisted he continue practicing Iron Cloth Shirt and promised him a reward.
• Daoist Jin gave Su Ziyang a string of 108 small-leaf red sandalwood prayer beads as a gift.

Su Ziyang worried over Jin Yizhi’s nasopharyngeal cancer and sought advice from Mr. Mengfei, who introduced him to image-based reasoning in Chinese medicine and suggested key herbs. Su Ziyang gained a new approach to the case and began drafting a prescription.

• Su Ziyang helped Daoist Jin clean the courtyard, then continued searching medical references for a way to treat Jin Yizhi’s cancer.
• Mr. Mengfei recognized that Su Ziyang had practiced the Golden Bell Shield and angrily confronted Daoist Jin, but Su Ziyang explained that he had chosen to learn it himself.
• Mr. Mengfei gave Su Ziyang medicinal pills for his training and reviewed his notes on Jin Yizhi, praising his use of Pinellia and Magnolia Bark Decoction.
• Mr. Mengfei recommended donglingcao, shandougen, and muhudie, explaining how image-based correspondences could guide their use for Jin Yizhi’s illness.
• Su Ziyang absorbed Mr. Mengfei’s lesson, formed a preliminary treatment idea, and began writing a prescription after Daoist Jin visited.

Su Ziyang saw Jin Yizhi improve after three days on his first prescription and prescribed him a new fourteen-dose course of Dongling Nasopharyngeal Decoction. Jin Tiantian reminded Su Ziyang about the weight-loss pills he had promised, while Fairy Li grew jealous of their conversation.

• Jin Yizhi told Su Ziyang that his throat, eating, drinking, breathing, and sleep had improved after taking the medicine for three days.
• Su Ziyang checked Jin Yizhi’s pulse and prescribed fourteen doses of Dongling Nasopharyngeal Decoction, to be taken twice daily for seven days.
• Su Ziyang told Jin Yizhi to have Jin Tiantian contact him if any unusual problems arose.
• Jin Tiantian asked Su Ziyang about the weight-loss pills he had promised, and he told her to wait until they were ready.
• Fairy Li accused Su Ziyang of flirting with Jin Tiantian, then left after Mr. Mengfei arrived and teased him about making her angry.
• Su Ziyang changed the subject by asking Mr. Mengfei to review the prescription, and Mr. Mengfei began studying it.

After Su Ziyang’s bruises faded, he resumed body-hardening training with Daoist Jin and found that Mr. Mengfei’s pill made the whipping feel better the harder he was struck. Mr. Mengfei revealed that it was Xuhui’s family recipe, Thief’s Medicine, which helped Su Ziyang recover quickly and train safely.

• Mr. Mengfei checked Su Ziyang’s copied Scriptures of Purity and Tranquility, discovered he had fallen behind, and ordered him to make up the work.
• Su Ziyang spent a week copying scriptures while his unevenly fading bruises made his body look striped, attracting Fairy Li and others’ attention.
• Once the bruises disappeared, Su Ziyang went with Daoist Jin for another round of body-hardening training and swallowed a pill from Mr. Mengfei beforehand.
• The pill made Su Ziyang feel more comfortable as Daoist Jin struck him harder, and his bruises vanished within three days.
• After Su Ziyang asked about the pill, Mr. Mengfei explained that it was Thief’s Medicine, a secret remedy from Xuhui’s family, and Daoist Jin asked to meet Xuhui.

Su Ziyang disguised Baohe Pills as Leopard Fetus Tendon-Altering Pills for Jin Tiantian, using Daoist Jin’s valuable late-Qing snuff bottle as the container and giving it to her. When Daoist Jin discovered what had happened, he angrily punished Su Ziyang, while Fairy Li and Mr. Mengfei refused to help.

• Jin Yizhi returned for a follow-up, reported that a hospital checkup showed only a tiny number of cancer cells remained, and received another fourteen doses of Dongling Nasopharyngeal Decoction from Su Ziyang.
• Su Ziyang gave Jin Tiantian a porcelain bottle of Baohe Pills, pretending they were Leopard Fetus Tendon-Altering Pills to help her lose weight.
• Daoist Jin confronted Su Ziyang about his missing snuff bottle, and Su Ziyang admitted that he had put the pills in it and given it to Jin Tiantian.
• Daoist Jin learned the bottle was a valuable late-Qing snuff bottle and became furious that Su Ziyang had given it away.
• Fairy Li and Mr. Mengfei arrived, heard what Su Ziyang had done, and both sided with Daoist Jin as he began punishing him.

After learning that Lao Pang had died, Su Ziyang traveled with Mr. Mengfei to attend his funeral and pay his respects. Beichen confirmed that Lao Pang’s bone-setting tools would be buried with him, and the funeral rites concluded.

• Fairy Li confronted Su Ziyang about giving the snuff bottle to Jin Tiantian, and he asked Jin Tiantian to return it.
• Fairy Li told Su Ziyang that Lao Pang had passed away and that Mr. Mengfei had arranged leave for him to attend the funeral.
• Su Ziyang packed the book he had written for Lao Pang and rode with Mr. Mengfei to Lao Pang’s town.
• Mr. Mengfei explained that Lao Pang’s old injuries and the resolution of the secret-recipe dispute had contributed to his death.
• Su Ziyang arrived at Lao Pang’s funeral, greeted Bian Mei and Beichen, and paid his respects with a disciple’s salute.
• Beichen assured Su Ziyang that Lao Pang’s bone-setting tools would be buried with him, and the funeral rites concluded.

Mr. Mengfei introduced Su Ziyang to Xuhui as his martial uncle and encouraged him to learn Chinese medicine and Taoist arts from him. Xuhui gave Su Ziyang a chicken-blood vine bracelet, but left in alarm when Su Ziyang asked him for the Thief's Medicine formula.

• After Lao Pang's affairs were settled, Mr. Mengfei stopped Su Ziyang from leaving and took him and Xuhui to a bathhouse.
• Mr. Mengfei introduced Xuhui as Su Ziyang's grandmaster, but Xuhui corrected him and gave Su Ziyang a century-old chicken-blood vine bracelet.
• Mr. Mengfei urged Su Ziyang to seek Xuhui's guidance in Chinese medicine and Taoist arts, and Su Ziyang respectfully greeted Xuhui as his martial uncle.
• Su Ziyang sided with Xuhui in his teasing of Mr. Mengfei, and Xuhui offered to find him more gifts and Thief's Medicine.
• Su Ziyang asked Xuhui for the Thief's Medicine formula, prompting Xuhui to leave before the two of them could swindle him further.

Su Ziyang heard Xuhui’s story about finding the hundred-year-old chicken blood vine bracelet and was encouraged by Mr. Mengfei to learn herbal skills from him. After returning to the clinic and falling asleep, Su Ziyang was summoned by Fairy Li to drive her to dinner at Little Jiangnan, where she was secretly focused on her phone.

• Xuhui and Mr. Mengfei comforted Su Ziyang as he remembered Lao Pang and praised him for compiling the Bian Clan Bonesetting book.
• Xuhui told Su Ziyang how he got lost while gathering herbs, found a huge chicken blood vine, and brought back the stem used for Su Ziyang’s bracelet.
• Mr. Mengfei urged Su Ziyang to learn medicine-making and herb-gathering from Xuhui, who left after joking with them.
• Su Ziyang returned to the clinic with Mr. Mengfei, slept after the long drive, and woke to Fairy Li ordering him to come downstairs for dinner.
• Fairy Li had Su Ziyang drive her to Little Jiangnan and kept the reason for her unusual attention to her phone a secret.

Su Ziyang joined Fairy Li, Yang Ming, Daoist Master Xiao Yang, and the charming Zhang Guozhou for dinner, where Zhang Guozhou impressed everyone with two strange tricks. The evening left Su Ziyang jealous and frustrated as Fairy Li admired Zhang Guozhou and Yang Ming teased him about losing her.

• Fairy Li brought Su Ziyang to Little Jiangnan to meet Zhang Guozhou, and Yang Ming and Daoist Master Xiao Yang joined them.
• Yang Ming teased Su Ziyang about looking jealous when Zhang Guozhou sat beside Fairy Li.
• Zhang Guozhou split liquor inside a teacup with his hairpin, impressing the others.
• Zhang Guozhou made two small gourds fight on their own and stopped them by placing a third gourd between them.
• Fairy Li praised Zhang Guozhou's tricks and toasted him, while Yang Ming warned Su Ziyang that he might lose Fairy Li.

Su Ziyang discovered that Zhang Guozhou’s hairpin was a Qi-infused treasure, but Zhang used a mysterious technique to make Su wet himself and threatened him to stay away from Li Zijun. Zhang then lied that Su had left, and the chapter ended with him escorting the drunken Fairy Li home.

• Su Ziyang examined Zhang Guozhou’s liquor-splitting trick and saw Qi swirling around his hairpin, while Zhang recognized Su’s chicken-blood vine bracelet as a valuable treasure.
• Zhang Guozhou made Su wet his pants by stamping his foot, then repeated the trick in the bathroom and warned him to stay away from Li Zijun.
• Zhang Guozhou returned to the private room and falsely told Fairy Li and the others that Su had left to handle something urgent.
• Zhang Guozhou stopped Fairy Li from calling Su, and she angrily agreed to leave with Zhang taking her home.
• Zhang Guozhou supported the swaying Fairy Li as Daoist Master Xiao Yang and Yang Ming followed them out.

Su Ziyang returned from the restroom and stopped Zhang Guozhou from taking the unconscious Li Zijun to a hotel, then beat him and learned he had drugged her. Zhang Guozhou escaped after blinding Su Ziyang with a handful of powder, leaving Su Ziyang and Li Zijun's friends to deal with the aftermath.

• Zhang Guozhou pretended to arrange a taxi home while secretly planning to take the unconscious Li Zijun to the Four Seasons Hotel.
• Su Ziyang rushed out of Little Jiangnan Restaurant, pulled Zhang Guozhou from the taxi, and carried Li Zijun out.
• Su Ziyang beat Zhang Guozhou until Yang Ming stopped him, then accused Yang Ming and Daoist Master Xiao Yang of letting the man take Li Zijun.
• Daoist Master Xiao Yang could not wake Li Zijun, and Zhang Guozhou rammed Su Ziyang and threw powder in his eyes before fleeing.
• Su Ziyang explained that he had gone to the restroom to fix his pants after Zhang Guozhou's trick, then returned and spotted Zhang Guozhou with Li Zijun.

Su Ziyang brought the unconscious Fairy Li home, where Daoist Jin identified Sleep Sage Powder and explained the tricks Zhang Guozhou had used. After the others left, Su Ziyang stayed to care for Fairy Li and meditated, while Zhang Guozhou was scolded by his master for ruining their attempt to swindle her.

• Su Ziyang took Fairy Li home, and Mr. Mengfei confirmed that she was physically fine while Daoist Jin identified Sleep Sage Powder.
• Daoist Jin explained that Zhang Guozhou had used a rhinoceros-horn hairpin treated with otter gall to separate the wine, and teased Su Ziyang about the frog urine he had drunk.
• Daoist Jin told Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei that he had identified the master of the underhanded man who had attacked Su Ziyang on a bus, and they agreed to visit him.
• Daoist Master Xiao Yang and Yang Ming left with the two elders, leaving Su Ziyang alone with Fairy Li; he removed her coat, covered her, and meditated.
• Zhang Guozhou’s middle-aged master berated him for trying to take both Fairy Li’s money and her, then ordered him to discuss what to do.

Su Ziyang and his masters traveled to Fujian to find the master of Guo Tianren, who had struck Su Ziyang’s acupoints. They found Yang Jinguang, a ragged shepherd with extraordinary speed and strength, but he initially denied knowing Guo Tianren before examining Su Ziyang and listening to the reason for their visit.

• Su Ziyang told Fairy Li that Zhang Guozhou had drugged them and nearly taken her away, and she regretted trusting him.
• Su Ziyang, Daoist Jin, and Mr. Mengfei traveled to Fujian after learning that Guo Tianren’s master was surnamed Yang.
• The three found Yang Jinguang’s locked courtyard, then saw him outrun a wolfdog and rescue a sheep.
• Yang Jinguang denied knowing Guo Tianren and tried to send the visitors away, but they followed him inside.
• After examining Su Ziyang’s wrist, Yang Jinguang listened as Daoist Jin explained that they wanted to resolve the conflict with his disciple; Yang Jinguang fell silent.

Su Ziyang and his two masters visited Yang Jinguang to learn about Guo Tianren and the jianghu rules. Yang Jinguang revealed how Guo Tianren had betrayed his teaching, then gave them a rope dart to show Guo Tianren if they found him.

• Yang Jinguang said Guo Tianren had been his disciple but that he had expelled him and could not contact him.
• Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei explained their concerns about pursuing Guo Tianren without knowing his lineage, and Su Ziyang recounted how Guo Tianren had injured him.
• Daoist Jin told Yang Jinguang that Guo Tianren had become a notorious swindler who used harmful techniques on people.
• Yang Jinguang confessed that he had taught Guo Tianren, spared him after catching him harming others, and later lost track of him when he fled.
• Yang Jinguang gave Mr. Mengfei his rope dart as a sign for Guo Tianren and demonstrated his skill with it.
• Su Ziyang left with Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei, who joked that he could have snapped the dart off the post.

Su Ziyang returned to the Daoist Medicine Clinic after learning why Yang Jinguang’s master had warned them not to harm his disciple. He then examined Ye Yichen, a patient who claimed another version of himself could see beyond the room and whose unusual ability kept him from sleeping; Su Ziyang gathered his history and symptoms but had not yet determined how to treat him.

• Mr. Mengfei explained that Yang Jinguang’s master had warned them to find his disciple without hurting him, and scolded Su Ziyang for speaking disrespectfully.
• Fairy Li returned Su Ziyang’s washed sweatshirt and told him that she, Xiao Yang, and another person planned to sound out Zhang Guozhou about his intentions.
• Ye Yichen told Su Ziyang that another version of himself could see people outside the examination room and continued doing so while he stayed seated.
• Ye Yichen explained that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated without success, and that the other self kept him from sleeping properly.
• Su Ziyang recorded Ye Yichen’s medical history and examined his pulse and tongue, then questioned him about his symptoms, work, temper, appetite, and bodily functions.

Su Ziyang treated Ye Yichen for Soul Separation Syndrome after hearing how his breakup and longing had led to dreams and a feeling of splitting in two. Later, he learned Zhang Guozhou was selling dubious medical formulas and lessons to Fairy Li, and a claimed teacher named Guo Tianren prompted him to call Mr. Mengfei.

• Ye Yichen told Su Ziyang that his girlfriend had abruptly left him, and he later discovered her with another man in a video.
• Ye Yichen described how longing, dreams, and wet dreams had gradually made him feel split into two people, one focused on work and the other consumed by thoughts of his ex.
• Su Ziyang recognized the symptoms as Soul Separation Syndrome, prescribed Ye Yichen three doses of Soul-Returning Decoction, and began reading the Record of Syndrome Differentiation after he left.
• Fairy Li invited Su Ziyang to dinner, where she, Daoist Master Xiao Yang, and Yang Ming discussed Zhang Guozhou's paid secret formulas and private medical lessons.
• When Fairy Li said Zhang Guozhou's teacher was named Guo Tianren and knew the Zhuyou Technique, Su Ziyang reacted in surprise and called Mr. Mengfei.

Daoist Jin, Mr. Mengfei, and Su Ziyang tested Guo Tianren and confirmed he was the occult healer they had been searching for. When confronted with evidence linking him to Yang Jinguang, Guo Tianren tried to flee, but Su Ziyang stopped him, leaving Guo and Zhang Guozhou trapped in the room.

• Fairy Li arranged a meeting with Zhang Guozhou and his master, Guo Tianren, while Su Ziyang hid in a nearby room.
• Guo Tianren described his occult medical methods, and Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei recognized the language as itinerant-doctor jargon.
• Daoist Master Xiao Yang secretly sent Su Ziyang a photo of Guo Tianren, and Su Ziyang confirmed his identity.
• Mr. Mengfei questioned Guo Tianren about his methods, and Daoist Jin showed him the pouch associated with Yang Jinguang, prompting Guo to reveal his resentment toward the elder.
• Guo Tianren grabbed Zhang Guozhou by the throat, but released him when Su Ziyang appeared and then tried to escape.
• Su Ziyang pulled Guo Tianren back into the room, while Daoist Jin blocked Zhang Guozhou's exit and Mr. Mengfei confronted Guo about harming innocent people.

Guo Tianren proposed a nonviolent ring contest after Daoist Jin, Mr. Mengfei, and Su Ziyang confronted him, and he left his rhinoceros-horn hairpin as collateral. The group planned to recruit Yang Jinguang as a witness, while Su Ziyang and Fairy Li ended the night together at Su Ziyang’s home.

• Guo Tianren proposed a best-two-out-of-three contest, and Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei agreed after Guo Tianren left his hairpin as collateral.
• Daoist Jin explained the old contest custom to Su Ziyang, and the group predicted Guo Tianren would choose a medical challenge while they planned a contest of their own.
• Daoist Jin and Mr. Mengfei decided to ask Yang Jinguang to witness the contest, then left Su Ziyang alone with Fairy Li.
• Fairy Li chose to stay at Su Ziyang’s home and went into his bedroom, while Su Ziyang settled down to meditate in the living room.

Su Ziyang read the Record of Syndrome Differentiation through the night and discovered a detailed treatment for a skin disease described as snake affliction. Fairy Li got ready to go for breakfast with him, but made him wash his face and brush his teeth first.

• Fairy Li came out of her room and found Su Ziyang still reading after staying up all night.
• Su Ziyang studied the book’s account of fox affliction and its treatments, recalling the woman he had encountered through Mr. Mengfei.
• Fairy Li teased Su Ziyang about the strange section he was reading, while he moved on to the account of snake affliction.
• Su Ziyang connected snake affliction’s scaly skin symptoms to psoriasis and studied the book’s four-stage treatment.
• Fairy Li finished getting ready for breakfast and stopped Su Ziyang at the door until he washed his face and brushed his teeth.

Su Ziyang examined Han Xixi and identified a scaly shoulder condition that had resisted treatment. After Han Xixi agreed, he prepared to prescribe a remedy, while Fairy Li and Daoist Master Xiao Yang briefly mistook the examination for an intimate encounter and left.

• Su Ziyang opened the clinic and saw Han Xixi, who registered and asked him to examine her.
• Su Ziyang felt a chill in Han Xixi’s pulse and saw black aura around her shoulder, then correctly identified where she felt discomfort.
• Han Xixi explained that other doctors had failed to help her and removed her jacket so Su Ziyang could inspect her shoulder.
• Fairy Li and Daoist Master Xiao Yang arrived, saw Han Xixi in a camisole, and left after teasing Su Ziyang.
• Su Ziyang found hard, scaly skin on Han Xixi’s shoulder and armpit, recognized it as a type of psoriasis, and offered to write a prescription.