Ice-Cold to the Core

Many people can afford one pig, or even ten, twenty, or thirty.

A small number of people can afford to buy hundreds, or even more, of these animals.

However, very few people can afford to buy thousands of pigs, while those with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pigs are definitely considered extremely wealthy.

Whether in this world or the real world, there is no difference in purchasing power.

"Whoever can cure my son, I will offer one string of cash... five and a half strings of cash!"

When Zhao Liang's father, Master Zhao, hurriedly arrived at the prefectural governor's mansion, not only were Wang Er and the others racking their brains, but Zhang Xuezhou was also envious upon hearing it.

But Zhao Liang's condition is indeed not good.

After regaining consciousness, Zhao Liang foamed at the mouth, flailed his arms wildly, and completely lost his mind.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Zhao Liang had gone mad at this point.

Normal illnesses are easy to treat, but mental illnesses are difficult to treat.

Having suffered from mental illness since childhood, Zhang Xuezhou is well aware of the difficulty of dealing with this disease.

"Zhao Liang can subdue a fierce tiger, so how did he end up with this kind of mental illness!"

Wen Weng also rushed over.

Seeing Zhao Liang, one of his right-hand men, fall ill, Wen Weng couldn't help but feel regretful.

But even if Wen Weng were to treat it, he wouldn't have the ability.

"Mental illness cannot be cured by medicine," Dong Zhongshu frowned. "He's muttering about snakes; could it be that he's been terrified by that giant snake?"

"Zhao Liang was known for his audacity in Shu County, he..."

Wen Weng offered a brief explanation, but seeing Zhao Liang's dazed and fearful eyes, he had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words.

"I set that trap last night and spent the whole night crouching near it," Wen Weng said in a low voice.

If you are frightened by something, directly touching it at close range can effectively dispel the corresponding fear.

Wen Weng lamented that while the matter seemed simple to think about, putting it into practice was extremely difficult.

"This trap is a long-term strategy to trap the enemy; it may take three to five days, or even three to five years, to be effective," Dong Zhongshu advised. "Brother Zhongweng, you can simply send someone to guard it; why do you need to personally guard it yourself?"

"This matter cannot be taken lightly; let's wait a short period before discussing it further!"

Wen Weng waved his hand, indicating that he understood.

"Wang Er, or Doctor Jiang?"

After his brief conversation with Dong Zhongshu, he also consulted two well-known physicians in Shu County.

"Can't the Supreme Purity True Technique cure this disease?"

"I tried, it just doesn't work!"

Dong Zhongshu chatted idly with Zhang Xuezhou.

Not only was Zhang Xuezhou at a loss, but the learned Dong Zhongshu also lacked a solution. Wang Er and others whispered among themselves, but they did not come up with any good results.

Even when Master Zhao raised the price to ten strings of cash, no one agreed.

Ultimately, it was Wen Weng's willingness to spread the word on behalf of the Zhao family, inviting talented individuals from various regions across the country to see if anyone else could treat Zhao Liang's illness, that temporarily suppressed this unexpected event.

"Ten strings of cash!"

The reward of 10,000 and a half taels of silver was right in front of him, and Zhang Xuezhou looked on with envy, but he just didn't have the ability to claim it.

Not only Zhang Xuezhou was distracted by the money, but others also found it difficult to remain calm in the face of such a large sum of money. The news of seeking medical treatment even caused an uproar in Shu County.

"You, a cultivator..."

"Cultivators need to eat, they need to buy medicinal herbs, and they need fortuitous opportunity!"

Dong Zhongshu's attempts to persuade him were completely ineffective; Zhang Xuezhou was blinded by greed.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't been incapable of treating him, he would have jumped out to save Zhao Liang long ago.

"If you care so much about money, why didn't you accept Zhang Shu's invitation to the banquet?" Dong Zhongshu asked curiously.

Zhang Xuezhou was genuinely interested in money. Besides observing Zhao Liang for a long time, he even pried open Zhang Xuezhou Liang's eyes to observe him, and secretly went to listen in on the doctors, including Wang Er.

This puzzled Dong Zhongshu for a few seconds before he asked Zhang Xuezhou.

"What's so great about attending a banquet? It's just eating and drinking," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "I'll just eat at the prefectural governor's residence."

"This kind of banquet, called a 'thank-you banquet,' is not just a simple feast; it involves substantial gifts of gratitude," Dong Zhongshu said. "You should know that the Zhang family is quite wealthy, so their gifts of gratitude will certainly not be meager!"

"What?"

Upon hearing Dong Zhongshu's explanation, Zhang Xuezhou felt a chill run through him, and his mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

"His family is also extremely wealthy?" Zhang Xuezhou asked incredulously.

"They are both from wealthy families," Dong Zhongshu said. "Otherwise, do you think just anyone can serve under a prefect? And how could those two be together all the time?"

"My heart... Master Dong, my heart is so cold!"

Thinking about how he had personally declined Zhang Shu's invitation to the banquet, Zhang Xuezhou felt like he was going crazy.

However, Zhang Xuezhou felt he couldn't bring himself to swallow his pride and force Zhang Shu to hold the banquet.

"Zhang Shu seems to have said that the banquet will be held after Zhao Liang recovers from his illness!"

After thinking it over, he felt that treating Zhao Liang's illness was more important.

Regardless of who cured Zhao Liang, since it was he who treated Zhang Shu, he was always entitled to a share of the banquets held by both families.

This prompted Zhang Xuezhou to jump around frantically, and he then mingled with a group of people studying the condition to gather information.

"Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—it seems that none of these five virtues prevent Confucian scholars from loving wealth. A gentleman who acquires wealth through proper means is also a gentleman!"

Zhang Xuezhou's behavior made Dong Zhongshu question the meaning of life.

Of all the great Confucian scholars Dong Zhongshu had met, none possessed such greedy thoughts.

Even those like Shen Peigong, who had some disagreements with Dong Zhongshu, all adhered to the corresponding moral principles and had few flaws in their character, aside from ideological disputes.

He eventually consoled himself and accepted this somewhat peculiar scholar's demeanor.

It has to be said that once you get along with someone, even if their behavior is a bit outrageous, you can always find a reason to explain it.

Dong Zhongshu found Zhang Xuezhou very pleasing to the eye, and he even began to join the group discussing Zhao Liang's condition.

"He must have been possessed by Evil Qi to have acted so recklessly and started attacking people!"

"It's a pity I don't have Bian Que's skills, otherwise I could have cracked his head open and Evil Qi!"

"Only someone like the legendary physician Bian Que could earn that kind of money!"

Wang Ermazi and Doctor Jiang both blushed.

People from well-off families are well-fed and clothed and rarely get sick, while those who practice martial arts get even less sick.

They managed to stumble upon a wealthy family member who had fallen ill, but the Zhao family's money was only something they could hear about; neither of them had the ability to actually obtain it.

"I have a life-saving soup. It may not cure Commandant Zhao's illness, but it can at least keep him alive!"

Wang Er Ermazi was the first to come up with a plan.

Commandant of the Commandery was Zhao Liang's official title. This was a high-ranking position in the Commandery Governor's Office and also gave him the authority to maintain order and apprehend thieves in Shu Commandery.

Zhao Liang held a high-ranking official position, and his family protected him with substantial financial support.

He didn't expect to cure Zhao Liang himself, but if Zhao Liang recovered in the future, he would be credited for it.

The other person drank his life-saving soup, which at least involved him in the treatment.

"I have a formula to replenish Zhao Junwei's essence, which can prolong his life force and prevent it from dissipating for a month," said Physician Jiang. "This will prevent Zhao Junwei's health from deteriorating and causing more illnesses!"

Seeing that Wang Er Ermazi had come up with a solution, Dr. Jiang, who was somewhat of a competitor of Wang, also made a diagnosis.

Both of their diagnostic approaches involved delaying treatment.

This left Weng slightly disappointed, but Zhao, in his desperation, readily agreed, reminding the two not to worry about the money and to quickly brew the medicine.

"What a big spender!"

Watching the robust Master Zhao take out five hundred half-ounce coins from his waist as medicine money, and then glancing at the other half-ounce coins that he hadn't taken out, Zhang Xuezhou felt that Master Zhao was covered in money.

After Zhang Shu whispered a few words in Master Zhao's ear, Master Zhao's bright eyes immediately turned towards him.

"Dr. Zhang, I beg you to use your Technique Method to save my child!"

Among the many officials of the prefectural government and the physicians who came, Zhang Xuezhou was too young and too inconspicuous.

If it weren't for Zhang Shu, who belonged to another wealthy family, reminding him, Master Zhao wouldn't have known that the other party was a cultivator who could heal injuries with a single technique. The other party even healed the sword wound on Zhang Shu's shoulder in a short time and silently removed the fist wound caused by Zhang Shu's attack on Zhao Liang.

Compared to physicians, monks' techniques are more profound, and some of them are quite Spirit Transformation.

It is not uncommon for medicine to be ineffective in treating a condition, while Technique Method can achieve the desired results.

Even Master Zhao knew that among the higher-ups, there were those who combined Technique Method and medicine to heal injuries, managing to save some people who were certain to die.

"Money is no problem," Master Zhao said expectantly after thinking for a moment.

"Money is easy to discuss?"

Zhang Xuezhou murmured to himself, for money was easy to talk about with Master Zhao, but difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to talk about at this moment.

If he truly possessed skill, he wouldn't have had to wait for Master Zhao to come begging for help.

But this experience also made Zhang Xuezhou realize something.

In his eyes, techniques were largely the same, but in the eyes of ordinary people, healing techniques and striking Technique Method were vastly different.

The former's treatment was so effective it was like giving someone a second chance at life, far surpassing the help provided by the latter.