A Challenge for an Expert

Marquis Cao Shouren of Pingyang lived up to his name. This marquis was not particularly outstanding in terms of strength, but he was extremely skilled in health preservation and was a staunch enthusiast and practitioner of Huang-Lao philosophy.

This is why the Marquis of Pingyang has a youthful appearance, looking little different from someone in their twenties or thirties.

He was skilled in health preservation and extremely capable in self-cultivation and physical well-being.

"If Madam scores another arrow, I will reward her with a Rejuvenation Pill," Cao Shou said with a smile. "However, there is a problem with this pill that I must explain beforehand: it is easy to take the pill but difficult to give it back. The Rejuvenation Pill can keep a person healthy for nearly ten years, but if any subsequent injuries occur during this period, the difficulty of treatment will also increase."

Pushed to the forefront by Princess Yangxin and the new emperor, Marquis Pingyang had no choice but to take a large medicine as a reward for his success in the archery contest.

This elixir can stabilize one's appearance and promote physical health, but it also has significant side effects.

If one is in a pampered and comfortable position, taking this kind of elixir is a good thing, but if someone involved in fighting and killing takes the elixir, sometimes they will die even faster.

"Dongfang Shuo, what do you think?" the new emperor asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go through fire and water and shed blood for the court!" Zhang Xuezhou shouted. "Even death would not deter me!"

Zhang Xuezhou began to pledge his loyalty.

Everyone can tell lies, but knowing when to tell them is an art.

If Zhang Xuezhou said this while he was in good health, everyone would just take it as him bragging to please others.

However, the new emperor knew that Zhang Xuezhou had a serious illness.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Xuezhou was able to resist the temptation of the Rejuvenation Pill, which undoubtedly shows that he had strong convictions.

Marquis Pingyang and Princess Yangxin were still smiling, but the new emperor couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.

If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Xuezhou had given him a rather mediocre impression and was completely unrelated to the word "loyalty," he would almost have believed that the other party was a highly loyal minister by his side.

Even so, Zhang Xuezhou was undoubtedly labeled as half-loyal by the new emperor.

Ordinary officials die and that's it, but the new emperor undoubtedly hopes that his loyal subjects can live longer.

"Your body is quite ill. If you win the battle and take this pill, you'll be safe for at least ten years," the new emperor said.

"Your Majesty," Princess Yangxin said, "Since he is unwilling, his desire to win the archery contest must be lacking. I wonder what illness this Dongfang Shuo suffers from?"

"He was cursed while guarding the late emperor's tomb and fell unconscious," the new emperor said. "When he was found and taken to the Imperial Hospital, the physicians split his head open to break the curse. However, he was left with some lingering health problems; sometimes he is fully conscious, and sometimes he is in a deep sleep."

"They even split your head open while treating you! Come here quickly so I can take a look at your head!"

The people in the main hall weren't jealous of Zhang Xuezhou winning ten thousand gold coins in archery; they were just a little envious.

However, when the prized possessions from the archery contest involved the treasures of Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang, a mixture of envy, jealousy, and resentment inevitably arose.

Ten thousand taels of gold can be earned, but the treasures of Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang are priceless.

But when the new emperor recounted Zhang Xuezhou's illness, some people immediately lost their special emotions.

No matter who others are jealous of or hate, they would never target a patient whose head has been split open.

A ruler's word is law, and the new emperor wouldn't speak carelessly. Since the new emperor said so, then Zhang Xuezhou's head really must have been split open.

"The wound on my head has healed!"

Zhang Xuezhou scratched his head and had no choice but to go up.

"The wound has healed, but the unevenness in the hair color still reveals something," said Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang after examining the wound. "This incision went from here to here, and then the bone in your skull was pried open in this area. The physician chose this easiest spot to open, but it also broke the tight seal between the Heaven and Earth Bridges on your head. It will be almost impossible for you to advance your cultivation to the Sole Self Realm and the True Self Realm in the future."

"I haven't even reached the Divine Ability Realm yet!"

"What a pity!"

Marquis Pingyang, Cao Shou, repeatedly gestured above Zhang Xuezhou's head, then looked at Zhang Xuezhou's extremely young face.

Zhang Xuezhou's statement that he hadn't reached the Divine Ability Realm sounded like a polite remark, but since the other party's cultivation had reached the Body Transformation Realm, it was definitely not just a simple polite statement.

Cao Shou believed that such a young, talented cultivator, even without necessarily reaching the Sole Self Realm, had a chance of reaching that level under normal physical conditions.

"I have a bottle of snow frog oil. This oil, when applied to bones, can make them tightly bound together, which should be somewhat beneficial to your skull," Cao Shou said. "If you don't need the Rejuvenation Pill, I will take this bottle of snow frog oil as a gift for your reincarnation!"

"My lord, Dongfang Shuo is critically ill and his life is hanging by a thread. I'm afraid no matter how much snow frog oil is applied to his head, it won't help." Princess Yangxin said, "Don't you have a healing pill? We're not seriously injured, so it's fine to give away the reward."

"This pill..."

Zhang Xuezhou was initially tempted by Cao Shou's words, but he didn't expect Princess Yangxin to interrupt again.

If he could, Zhang Xuezhou felt he really liked snow frog oil. He was interested in high realms and even dreamed of becoming a great cultivator like an emperor.

This is a necessity for Zhang Xuezhou. He doesn't really care about healing Zhang Xuezhou, since the problem of his body being numb for twelve days is caused by the extraterrestrial demons, and there is currently no cure for it.

As Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang pondered the painful decision, Zhang Xuezhou hoped that the other party would have the willpower to not agree.

To Zhang Xuezhou's disappointment, Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang agreed within seconds.

"Then let's take that healing and restorative pill," Cao Shou nodded. "Speaking of which, that pill should be somewhat beneficial to the Heaven and Earth Bridges, but I've never used it before, so it's difficult for me to make a judgment."

"It's good that it can cure diseases and heal injuries; the Heaven and Earth Bridges are secondary," Princess Yangxin said with a smile.

"In that case, I will take that pill as a reward. As for whether this archery contest can be won, that will depend on the skill of this scholar from the East," said Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang.

"His illness is serious, and a single pill could almost completely alleviate his pain. I'm afraid he would be extremely grateful," Princess Yangxin said with a smile.

"Marquis of Pingyang, what a generous gesture!" the new emperor laughed. "Dongfang Shuo, did you hear that clearly? Even if this pill doesn't heal your injuries, it will certainly bring countless benefits. Whether you can get it or not depends on your archery skills!"

"Please, Your Highness, set the question!"

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to agree.

He couldn't stop thinking about snow frog oil and couldn't help but want to get some of this medicine himself.

Chunyu Tiying and Zheng Wukong were unable to cure Zhang Xuezhou's post-cranial surgery ailment, nor did they offer any solutions. This was not merely a matter of their medical skills, but also a reflection of their limited perspectives.

Even though Chunyu Tiying and Zheng Wukong had inherited their knowledge and had many medical case studies to guide them, their respective schools of thought rarely had top-tier nobles.

Some rare items circulate only among these noble families; outsiders may never even have heard of them, let alone know their effects.

However, the snow frog oil was not used as a reward for the archery contest. Instead, the reward was a pill whose name was not even mentioned by the Marquis of Pingyang. Zhang Xuezhou could only deal with this archery contest first.

He bowed in greeting, while Princess Yangxin whispered to Marquis Pingyang.

Making the riddles too difficult is deliberately making things difficult for people; making them too easy is tantamount to giving gifts, which will make subordinates unhappy.

Therefore, coming up with a good repetition problem is not an easy task.

The couple discussed the matter for several seconds before instructing their servants to make preparations.

This is a new type of shooting puzzle!

Only after the attendants left did Marquis Cao Shou of Pingyang speak with a cheerful smile.

"The difficulty of this riddle lies in the fact that even I don't know the answer, so you can't ask me," Cao Shou laughed. "Furthermore, you need to identify which container is the hidden object and then guess what's inside before you can count!"

"We sent three attendants to handle the archery competition. They will bring three different covered vessels, but there will only be one shot," Princess Yangxin said with a smile. "The Marquis's reward is a bit stingy; the prize is only given to the true archery masters!"

"But you can still ask three questions," Cao Shou said. "You can ask one person three questions, or one question to each person. After that, you'll need to play the guessing game."

The couple's brief discussion produced a question that piqued everyone's interest.

Clearly, this is a challenging question.

Only those who possess a strong desire to win and a thorough understanding of the I Ching can possibly discern the truth.