An Unexpected Encounter

Wuzhou Pass is a long way from Chang'an City. Zhang Xuezhou had traveled this military route before and knew very well that it would take seven to ten days for a carriage to travel there.

If additional adjustments and deployments are added, the time required will be even longer.

He was too weak and too lazy to travel by flying himself, so he spent his days resting in the carriage.

Whenever he regained some of his strength, Zhang Xuezhou would seek to extinguish the Daoist Lord's flying knife's sharp edge.

Day after day, the sharpness of the flying knife was continuously refined.

By the time the carriage entered Chang'an City, most of the flying knife energy that had been surging in his mind had been refined.

"Husband?"

Only after Yi Shuo exclaimed in surprise did Zhang Xuezhou's sickly appearance brighten up.

Why are you here?

The carriage paused slightly as it entered the Chang'an City. Zhang Xuezhou initially assumed it was due to gate checks and pedestrians giving way, but he was surprised that Zhang Xuezhou Shuo was able to get into the carriage.

"The Imperial Medical Bureau sent a message, ordering us imperial physicians to wait at the city gate entrance," Yi Shuo said quickly. "The better physicians are all lined up here. My medical team is in the second line, and I didn't expect to run into my husband!"

The assembled physicians welcomed the twelve carriages, which were then arranged according to their priority.

Yi Shuo had assumed it was some high-ranking official in the imperial court who needed top-notch medical services, but she never expected it to be a family member.

She carefully observed Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou's complexion and felt that apart from being in poor spirits, he had almost no other problems.

"I've fallen seriously ill," Zhang Xuezhou sighed. "You must treat me well; once you take on the treatment, you must be responsible to the end!"

"This must be... it is!"

Yi Shuo took Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou's pulse. Just as she was about to ask about his health, she heard Zhang Xuezhou give her a very serious warning, which made her quickly agree.

Although Yi-shuo lacked political acumen, she was someone who was willing to listen to guidance.

When Zhang Xuezhou mentions a serious illness, her diagnostic report will lean towards the category of serious illness.

Zhang Xuezhou mentioned that if Yi Shuo takes full responsibility, she will not easily turn to other patients.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't say his condition was better, so Yi Shuo wouldn't announce the end of his treatment.

"Zhao Zhou, you've recorded that Lord Dongfang Shuo has suffered a brain injury and is mentally unstable, requiring calming and soothing. We need to treat Lord Dongfang Shuo using conservative methods right now!"

"Yes!"

After Zhang Xuezhou moved his lips and transmitted a few words, Yi Shuo had roughly figured out the situation.

Zhang Xuezhou's illness is real, and his exploitation is genuine.

They were all wounded while serving the court, so it's impossible for Zhang Xuezhou to voluntarily reduce his due treatment just because he has a stronger self-healing ability.

Zhang Xuezhou is not that kind of ox or horse, nor does he want to become one.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou's abilities were not innate; Zhang Xuezhou needed cultivation resources to continuously improve.

He's alive to return to Chang'an today, but who knows if he'll be safe next time?

His feud with Donghua led to his expulsion from Western Kunlun, and this time he has offended Daojun and others.

Aside from the territory of the Great Han Dynasty, there were few places left for Zhang Xuezhou to travel safely.

He had limited access to cultivation resources, and Zhang Xuezhou was still thinking about continuously accumulating them for advancement.

This was an opportunity to access the advanced medical resources of the Great Han Dynasty, and Zhang Xuezhou obviously couldn't just walk away and pretend nothing had happened.

"Please urge Lao Zheng and Chunyu Tiying again," Zhang Xuezhou transmitted his voice. "If they have a clue about how to analyze the Life Creation Pill, we might be able to refine it soon!"

"I saw the teacher a few days ago. He said he had some clues and asked me to urge you to get some Tai Sui (a type of fungus) to try out the new Pill Formula!"

"That's good!"

Upon learning the news from Zheng Wukong, Zhang Xuezhou felt much relieved.

Life would be much easier if he didn't have to worry about everything.

In fact, the world would not matter much if he were absent. Everyone is highly replaceable. Even if many people are not as good as Zhang Xuezhou, two or three people could probably achieve the same effect.

Zhang Xuezhou also entrusted many things to others, involving cultivation, alchemy, and the acquisition of cultivation resources, all of which were obtained from other people.

This allowed Zhang Xuezhou to quickly achieve some of his goals.

Using his own case as an example, Zhang Xuezhou also whispered to Yi Shuo that she could do the same when practicing medicine, and not think that just because she became the first female physician, no one in the palace could replace her. Anle Palace could not function without Yi Shuo.

He usually doesn't nag Yi Shuo, but the Empress Dowager suffered a very serious injury this time, which could very well implicate Yi Shuo and even cause her life or death.

Zhang Xuezhou could only be thankful that Yi Shuo was merely the top female physician in the palace, not the top physician. The physician in charge of caring for the Empress Dowager was of a higher rank than Yi Shuo, and he was only ranked second because of his meritorious service, which led to his treatment being prioritized over Tian Fen. That's how he happened to run into Yi Shuo.

"Once we've sorted things out, we'll bring Ah Qiao along..."

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to mention that he could become a Rogue Person after the matter was over, without having to engage in intrigue and power struggles in the palace, he heard familiar calls coming from all directions.

He lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw Dou Shisan, who was guarding the gate, standing outside the cordon, muttering incessantly.

"Lord Dongfang, we've caught the sword thief at the mansion!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou pull back the curtain, Dou Shisan repeatedly shouted to send a message, which surprised Zhang Xuezhou somewhat. He felt that even after causing such a commotion outside, he would not have peace back in Chang'an.

A fake Red Empyrean Sword caused quite a stir, but it was anyone's guess who the unlucky one would be this time.

He nodded to Dou Shisan, indicating that he had received the message, and then followed the flow of carriages into the palace.

After the medical officers finished their examinations and tested the initial treatment effect by prescribing medicine according to the basic treatment plan, Zhang Xuezhou and the others were sent back to their respective residences for recuperation. Those who did not have residences in Chang'an City were arranged to receive treatment at the Imperial Palace's waiting-for-orders officials' quarters.

Zhang Xuezhou underwent this treatment process before, and he is currently going through the same process.

Compared to the convenience of obtaining the elixirs through this process, the theft of the fake Red Empyrean Sword was not so important.

If the prescription for the medicine that Zhang Xuezhou entrusted to Pill Formula, Zhang Xuezhou will once again see the purple Ganoderma lucidum and the great herb Polygonatum that he previously squandered.

Although more than a year has passed, these medicinal herbs must have been processed into dried goods, but something is better than nothing.

He also had the idea of refining the Life-Creating Elixir.

Putting everything else aside, if he could obtain the Life-Creating Pill, which is even better than the Perfect Tonic Pill, he would at least be able to Zhunti Nine Revolutions Qi Harmony Technique to the level of the Sole Self Realm.

If he could also obtain some auxiliary medicinal herbs, Zhang Xuezhou might have the potential to rapidly improve his physical body techniques.

This gives Zhang Xuezhou an extremely high level of survival ability; even if something goes wrong when the mallard takes over his Body Control, his chances of survival will still be very high.

"Daojun wasn't killed, and he's a man who holds grudges. If he finds out we're alive, he'll definitely come to Chang'an City for revenge once his injuries heal!"

Having guessed Donghua's most pressing matter and thus determined that Donghua would not pay attention to Zhang Xuezhou for the time being, Zhang Xuezhou did not expect to offend Daojun so soon, and might even have to add Zhu Jiuyin to the mix.

Zhang Xuezhou's focused attack failed to kill Daojun, so he could only feign illness and continuously increase his survival ability.

Driven by this need, his actions were driven by a highly utilitarian mindset, and he hoped to gain the greatest benefit in a short period of time.