Chapter 180 Medical Department - The Debate on Life and Death: First Debate Won, Corpse Dog Achieves Perfect Harmony. ...

Bitao entered the illusion array, where the rumbling of the water seemed to be right next to her ears, and the fishy smell and the omnipresent stench of decay assaulted her nostrils.

A memory flooded her mind, but before Bitao could fully process it, a muscular man dressed in shorts and with a long sword at his waist rushed in through the door.

The man's face was covered with a thick cloth, and only a pair of hawk-like eyes filled with resentment could be seen.

He said to Bitao, "My lord, I have already taken men to negotiate with the people at the clinic, but they refuse to sell medicine at all!"

"But those sick people in the suburbs really can't wait any longer. If they wait any longer, they'll all die!"

“Feng Xiao and I threatened the people in the clinic with the adults’ token, but they were just ordinary people. If they really refused to sell medicine, we couldn’t force them.”

"Sir, they say you know why they won't sell..."

Bitao has fully accepted that memory, so she naturally knows why the clinic refused to sell medicine when natural disasters were imminent.

The local officials forbade them to sell, and behind those officials, the Imperial Physician of the Imperial Hospital, who sat far away in the capital, forbade them to sell medicine to her.

Bitao has now become a female doctor.

She rose from a humble herb gatherer to become the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, from treating and delivering babies for the imperial concubines to her current position as the Imperial Physician.

There has never been a female physician in the history of this dynasty, and she has always been extremely cautious and apprehensive in her position as the Imperial Physician.

Following the great disaster in Fengzhou, an epidemic spread, and folk doctors were helpless. The wise and compassionate emperor ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to develop a medicine to control the plague.

This was an excellent opportunity to earn merit and get promoted. At this time, a group of old doctors from the Imperial Medical Academy gathered together, but deliberately excluded the female doctor.

However, they made no progress for many days, witnessing the corpses of the people strewn across the fields, and the emperor repeatedly urged them to hurry. At this critical juncture, a female physician, who had been excluded from the group, spent day and night searching through ancient books and even tested medicines on herself, developed a cure for the plague.

So the female doctor received the imperial decree and led a group of people to the town where a flash flood had occurred and a plague had spread.

However, before they could administer the medicine to save the person, they were stuck on the first step: buying the medicine.

Bitao could certainly send someone back to the capital to ask the emperor to help her find a source of medicinal herbs, but that would take more than ten days to go back and forth. Then, it would take at least twenty days for new herbs to be purchased from nearby towns that were under lockdown due to the epidemic.

The epidemic struck fiercely, causing widespread vomiting and diarrhea, and preventing people from eating or drinking. Typically, an adult would die within three days of contracting the disease, while the time would be even shorter for children and women.

They can't afford to wait. Are they going to wait until everyone is dead before they start trying to save them?

The reason why the Imperial Physician, who was far away in the capital, used his connections and colluded with officials to make things difficult for her was also very simple.

The Imperial Physician was getting old and wanted to retire, so he wanted to recommend his apprentice for the position.

However, his apprentices were not very talented and ambitious, and failed to compete with the female physician to become the Imperial Physician.

Once the position of Imperial Physician is resigned, Bitao, the female physician, will undoubtedly be the rightful heir to the position, given her meritorious service in treating the epidemic.

The Imperial Physician was unwilling to accept defeat, so he disregarded the lives of the people and engaged in a magical duel with the female physician Bitao from afar.

How could Bitao possibly win?

She was just an orphan with no backing or background, unlike the Imperial Physician who came from a prestigious family.

Not only did she lack evidence to report the obstruction of medicine purchases to the emperor, but as a compassionate doctor, she also couldn't bear to watch people die and fight them with their lives.

Now they are forcing her to bow her head, simply to let the current apprentice of the Imperial Physician take the credit for saving the people instead of the female doctor.

There is a lot of room for maneuver. As long as Bitao nods in agreement, they will immediately send someone to deliver a "prescription".

In this way, when the emperor finally heard the story, he could say that the female physician's prescription was ineffective against the plague, and that it was only after the imperial physician ordered his young and promising apprentice to work day and night that a life-saving prescription was finally developed.

Despite being far from the capital, he cared deeply for the people and did not seek credit, even sending medicine prescriptions from afar.

This way, everyone will be happy.

But that's not actually the case. If it were really just for a little bit of credit, the female doctor would have compromised for the sake of the people's livelihood.

She climbed to her current position not through power struggles, but through genuine ability.

If you miss this opportunity, there will be another, and another one after that.

However, in the memory that Bitao accepted, the female doctor did indeed compromise.

However, after compromising, she died of illness in the wilderness because it proved that her prescription was ineffective.

What followed was the apprentice of the imperial physician who "cared deeply for the people." Without imperial orders or protection, he secretly went to the epidemic-stricken area with his own "prescription" to take over the mess left by the female physician and turn the tide.

Ultimately, burdened with immense merit, he returned to the capital and staged a half-serious, half-fake act of pleading guilty. The emperor, grateful for his contributions, pardoned him for leaving the palace without permission and even promoted him to the prestigious position of Imperial Physician, bestowing upon him the plaque inscribed with "Benevolent Heart and Skillful Hands" personally bestowed by the emperor.

That plaque hung in his home for his entire life.

No one knows that "the great bell is destroyed while the earthenware pot resounds," heroes are buried in desolate mountains while villains prosper.

This situation tests Bitao's true nature. If she were caught in the torrent, would she choose to be buried in a deserted place to save the people, or ignore their suffering, write a letter back to the capital, and save her own life?

This was an easy choice, Bitao knew. All she had to do was compromise and die, and she could break through to the next realm on the spot.

However, Bitao waved her hand to dismiss her subordinates and did not make a choice immediately.

She studied the prescription all night, and the next day she went for a walk around the mountains and forests where the people were being resettled.

That same evening, she rewrote the prescription and proactively approached local officials, saying she was willing to compromise.

Bitao lowered her head and said to the local official sitting at the head of the hall, holding a teacup, his proud features hidden in the shadows, "The prescription is here. My only request is that you bring my people to help the people prepare and administer the medicine, and take care of them until they recover."

"Of course." The official had already accepted the order to find a way to bury the female doctor here.

But when she offered to bring people to help with preparing the medicine and taking care of the patients, he was overjoyed.

The disease spreads extremely quickly, and if someone who is not knowledgeable in medicine takes close care of a patient, they can easily become infected.

The female doctor could have been spared for now, and dealt with later once the epidemic was contained and eliminated.

So the next day, Bitao and the others began to buy medicine, brew it, and administer it. They also took the initiative to cook porridge and feed the people.

The epidemic was quickly brought under control.

Not long after, the imperial physician's apprentice also arrived. However, he never showed himself in front of the people, fearing that he would catch the plague. Instead, he stayed in the residence of the local officials, indulging in singing, dancing, drinking, and merrymaking.

Waiting to claim credit without doing anything.

Within a month, Bitao and her team completely contained the rampant epidemic.

On the eve of their return to the capital, just as those people were about to kill Bitao, Bitao led her people into the mountains overnight, hiding in the deep mountains she had been scouting for days.

Local officials sent people to search the mountain under the pretext of rescuing people, but they could not find Bitao and the others, so they assumed that they had all died in the mountain.

The cliffs and forests here are usually hidden under vines, and one wrong step can lead to a fall off the cliff.

Even if you survive the fall, the mountains are full of poisonous insects, snakes, wild beasts, and wolf packs, making survival extremely difficult.

Three days later, the imperial physician's apprentice, carrying the great merit of curing the epidemic, rushed to the capital to "plead guilty with thorns on his back".

Bitao and the others hid in a natural cave in the cliff for three days, disguised themselves and mingled with the resettled refugees to leave the city, following the imperial physician's apprentice's group back to the capital.

Upon reaching the capital, Bitao glanced across the street at the drunken apprentice of the imperial physician in a brothel across the street. She then had her men distract the man's coachman and replaced the teacup in the carriage with one wrapped in layers of cloth.

Afterwards, Bitao and her men rented houses from local residents and waited leisurely.

The night the Imperial Physician's apprentice was promoted to Imperial Physician and succeeded his master, an epidemic broke out throughout the capital.

The source was quickly traced back to the imperial physician's apprentice, who was also found to have contracted the plague and had brought it back to the capital!

The emperor was furious and ordered him to prepare medicine for everyone as soon as possible.

The newly appointed imperial physician, despite suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, prepared medicine, the first dose of which was for himself.

However, the effects of drinking it were very limited, and the epidemic spread rapidly among the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital within three days.

The imperial physician's report, in which he claimed that he had contained the spread of the epidemic in just three days, was easily refuted.

On the day he was arrested and imprisoned for plotting to murder the emperor, Bitao and others, "travel-worn and badly injured," beat the "Drum of Appeal" at the Dali Temple in the imperial city, a sound that could only be made when their grievances were greater than the heavens.

As soon as the female doctor who had come back from the dead appeared, the half-dead emperor immediately ordered her to be brought into the imperial city.

Bitao used the complete prescription in three days to quickly contain the spreading epidemic.

Bitao handed over the complete prescription to the king, along with a list of witnesses who had restricted her from purchasing medicine from officials in the plague-stricken town.

"Purslane?" The Emperor compared the two prescriptions presented by Imperial Physician Cheng and Bitao, and found that only one ingredient, purslane, was missing.

"You yourself said that he stole your prescription, stole your credit, and tried to kill you. You gave him an incomplete prescription, so how could he possibly contain the epidemic?"

Besides, the newly appointed Imperial Physician is not incompetent in medicine, so how could he not see the clues?

Bitao said, "Because the local clinic refused to sell medicine, I sent my apprentice medicine boy to go into the mountains to try and collect some usable medicine."

"We simply couldn't gather enough prescriptions, and the people couldn't wait any longer, so we had no choice but to compromise."

"Purslane is very resilient and grows everywhere in the mountains and fields."

"So you deliberately gave him the incomplete prescription so that his scheme would be exposed?!"

The imperial physicians were the exclusive doctors of the imperial family and relatives. If such a scheme were truly involved, the emperor would not only refuse to use her, but would even have the painful decision to kill her.

A king cannot tolerate those with treacherous intentions beside his bed!

Not to mention, if this plan was indeed devised by the female physician, wouldn't she be deliberately allowing the plague to spread in the capital, turning all the royal relatives and even the emperor into a ladder for her to climb to the top?!

Bitao immediately denied it.

"Your Majesty, the prescription I used was the one that the Imperial Physician gave to you from the beginning."

"The use of purslane in medicine is purely coincidental. We, the young apprentices responsible for brewing the medicine, are simply following the prescription. However, we are also responsible for feeding the medicine and taking care of the people's daily lives. Purslane is used as a wild vegetable and placed in the rice porridge of the people."

“When I tested the medicine on myself, I did not take into account the local climate and the unique damp and miasma environment after the flood. Therefore, my prescription was incomplete at the beginning.”

"Until I escaped death and returned to the capital, I heard that His Majesty had fallen ill and that the prescription given by the Imperial Physician was ineffective. Only then did I remember that fresh purslane had been mixed into the rice porridge of the people, which helped to enhance the efficacy of the prescription."

"Your Majesty, I am guilty. I have disgraced Your Majesty's command and almost allowed the villains to succeed."

“But everything I said is true. Your Majesty can send people to investigate. People who have suffered from the plague can all testify for me and others.”

The emperor, wielding his power, did not immediately believe Bitao's words. He squinted at the kneeling Bitao and said, "So you mean that everything was a twist of fate, and that you were ordained by Heaven, barely escaping death to return to the capital, and even cured all the powerful officials, thus achieving great merit?"

Bitao's head was on the ground and she did not lift it.

But she added, "This humble woman is indeed ordained by Heaven. However, this Heaven is Your Majesty."

The king chuckled: "Hmph... Hahahaha..."

He had to admit that he was genuinely charmed when this young female doctor solemnly declared that she was her god.

"Get up. I will send people to investigate everything you have said, one by one. If you have lied or concealed even a single lie, you and your apprentices will be sent to the prison to accompany the new Imperial Physician."

The emperor's henchmen returned from the plague-stricken area within two days, investigated everything, and punished several court officials who had colluded, abused their power, and boasted of their achievements.

On the day Bitao was appointed Imperial Physician, she put on her crown and received the imperial edict. The bright and clear sky before her eyes blurred and distorted.

Bitao felt her consciousness return to her original body, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she met Lingze's gaze.

And not far away, Jing Haiwang's slightly distorted lips.

Bitao gathered her thoughts and spoke from above the clouds, answering Lingze's earlier question: "In the face of great calamity, we should first consider the well-being of all living beings, and then try to save ourselves."

Lingze looked at Bitao with bright eyes and said, "Exactly! You're so smart..."

This meant he had completely agreed with Bitao's point of view, and Bitao won the first round of debate effortlessly.

"What's so clever about it? This world is not an illusion, but the real world. You used the incomplete prescription as bait, carrying the plague-infected items to frame that man, causing the king's ministers to fall ill. This is nothing short of playing with fire, using 'bait' to gain power, and using the lives of others as bargaining chips! Is such a cunning and treacherous act worthy of a celestial position?"

The one who spoke was Doubu Mingwenqu Xingjun, whose brows were furrowed, clearly disapproving of Bitao's actions.

"The Realm of Truth?"

Bitao looked at the lingering "illusion" before her. After her consciousness returned to itself, the female physician, dressed in official robes, felt dizzy and touched her forehead.

After regaining his footing, he looked around blankly for a moment, as if accepting what had happened during this period.

She then strode towards the carriage prepared outside the mansion, heading to the palace to express her gratitude to the emperor.

Bitao was shocked.

He looked at Lingze.

Lingze smiled at her and said, "This is indeed a real star realm."

Lingze pointed to the female doctor who was getting into the carriage and said to Bitao, "That was someone destined to die. She was originally a cursed star, but now you see, her fate has changed."

Bitao: "..."

Dou Bu disliked nothing more than the arbitrary alteration of mortals' destinies. He was even more furious that Bi Tao, through her cunning, defied "Heaven's will" and insisted on using her tricks to change a destiny that was destined to end!

Mingwenqu Xingjun spoke again: "Hmph, you almost harmed the Star Realm King and a group of court officials who possessed the destiny of the nation. How can this be considered a successful defense?"

Lingze turned his head, frowned slightly, and was about to say that this was a "mirage" of his medical department, and whether it succeeded or not should be up to him.

Although he has always been gentle in nature, as a true immortal who can act as the representative of the medical department to defend the law, is he someone that anyone can easily manipulate?

However, Bitao spoke first to Lingze: "The incomplete prescription was indeed bait, and I was indeed trying to secure a future for that female doctor, but I did not harm the king or the court officials."

"The plague you brought..."

"Although this plague came on fiercely, it won't kill anyone in a short time; it will only cause vomiting and diarrhea."

“The lives of the poor and weak people who are starving and freezing may be in danger, while the rich and powerful are fat and know nothing about hunger. They can relieve themselves by defecating and vomiting.”

"Besides, didn't that imperial physician's apprentice already bring a prescription back to the capital? That prescription is effective, it's just that the treatment takes a long time."

Bitao said, "If I don't show up for another four or five days, the Imperial Physician's apprentice will be released and reinstated."

This time, Doubu Mingwenqu Xingjun opened his mouth, then changed his perspective: "But you caused the fate of the female doctor who was supposed to die to be transferred."

"The fate of mortals can influence the orbit of stars, let alone a position like the Imperial Physician. Perhaps when the dynasty's fortunes are about to end, he can use his medical skills to delay the inevitable by several years. At that time, who knows how many people's destinies will be altered as a result, and the sundial will be tilted to who knows where!"

Bitao said, "So what? When a dynasty collapses, countless lives will be lost. A genius who can snatch people from the jaws of death when a dynasty is about to collapse is just trying to save his own life. Is that wrong?"

"you!"

"First debater, Bitao Xuanxian, wins."

Qingming Emperor suddenly spoke, and Doubu Mingwenqu Star Lord abruptly shut up.

Immediately afterward, the Azure Emperor waved his sleeve, and the formation was activated once more. Above the clouds, a frenzy of spiritual energy surged towards Bi Tao—

The peach blossoms sit cross-legged, receiving the gifts of Heaven.

The spiritual energy filled her up again, but Bitao sensed something different. Her five senses became infinitely sharp under the constant cleansing of the spiritual energy.

She could see Zhan Kui still tempering his scales in the Five Thunder Formation above the clouds, and hear the sound of peach blossoms falling to the ground at the entrance of her Palace of All Living Beings.

She could catch the two immortals from the Well Sea King and the Dipper Division exhaling through her nostrils, and discern how many people were cheering for her first victory on the Six Imperial Platforms of the Clouds.

Within her soul, the alert and perceptive spirit of the Corpse Dog gradually became harmonious under the nourishment of spiritual energy.

Surrounding her, among these pure, pale green wood spirits, there was also some golden light mixed in.

Lingze smiled as he looked at the golden light.

The immortals on the Six Imperial Platforms of Chongxiao and the Milky Way were also amazed.

"That's merit, it's merit!"

"Of course it's merit. With a flick of her finger, Bitao altered the fate of someone destined to die, saving her life. During the time of the Celestial Debate, the Star Realm had already reached its end. Look, above the clouds, on the still-standing array, the female physician, after becoming the Imperial Physician, has taken on many outstanding disciples, spreading compassion throughout the world! She has brought endless blessings to all living beings. The source of this immense merit is naturally Immortal Bitao!"

"They've already called for Tai Xian so quickly?"

"So what! Bitao Xuanxian is destined to become a Grand Immortal. She's so clever! Even if I had a brain fart, I couldn't have come up with a way to mix something as common as purslane into rice porridge to aid in a prescription. Not only did she protect herself, but she also saved the lives of her apprentice medicine boy, and incidentally, she killed multiple birds with one stone, bringing down everyone who had conspired to steal her credit!"

"The way Lingze Zhenxian looked at Bitao Xuanxian was like that of a believer!"

"Bitao Xuanxian always gives me the feeling that even in the face of a landslide, she can find a dangerous path to escape unscathed and turn misfortune into good fortune."

"Yes, yes, yes... Mingguang Xuanxian always gives people that feeling too. It's just that Mingguang Xuanxian gives people the feeling that when a mountain collapses, he holds it up himself and lets everyone else run away, hahaha!"

"Speaking of Mingguang Xuanxian, he doesn't even know if he can ascend to the position of Taixian... He is currently leading his men to break the formation."

"What formation are you trying to break?"

...

"Break the great formation that separates the Immortal Realm from the Mortal Realm," Mingguang said. "Brother, starting from the weakest point, the Xun position eye of Luofan City, I want this formation that plunders the life force of mortals to disappear from this world."

At Mingguang's command, his men reacted with varying expressions, and even Dongjun was taken aback.

Han Shang stepped forward and stood beside Ming Guang, saying, "But... if this formation is broken, the immortals will quickly lose their life force and become a group of real mortals."

"So what?" Mingguang said, "Immortals should not exist in this world. Breaking the formation is just restoring the vitality that mortals should have."

"Otherwise, if we live another day here, we will be sinners who deprive others of their life force. How can we talk about becoming immortals?"

Mingguang turned to the crowd and said, "If anyone is reluctant to leave the spiritual energy, they can go and hide in the Immortal Realm. In any case, once the formation breaks, someone will come to stop us."

Mingguang curled his lips into a cold smile: "Perhaps we are no match for them, and they will dig out our immortal pearls and use them to activate the ascension array."

Mingguang was by no means assuming they would lose.

Instead, he told his subordinates that if they dared to betray him, their only option would be to have their immortal pearls dug out and die.

Everyone had already gathered outside Luofan City. Upon suddenly hearing this choice of "no way to heaven or no way to earth," some people wanted to rebel, but when they met Dongjun and Mingguang's eyes and were stared at by four golden eyes like beast eyes, and considering the strength of the two, who dared to object or resist?

Taiji silently touched the wounds on his body that had not yet fully healed before he boldly attempted to connect an earth spirit immortal vein that was compatible with his own spiritual attribute to his other immortal vein.

There was no rejection, and the two immortal meridians were functioning well. He now had two immortal pearls in his body, one earth and one metal.

If Taiji is given more time and resources, he can cultivate five spiritual attributes within his body. At that time, as long as there are enough immortal pearls, he might even be able to ascend to immortality on his own.

As a result, Mingguang Xuanxian was about to ruin everyone's livelihood in the blink of an eye.

Once the great formation is broken, they will all be reduced to mortals. This is the ascension competition, how will they ascend then?

Taiji looked at Mingguang Xuanxian, feeling a bit like grinding his teeth at him.

But considering how much Fairy Bitao liked and trusted Mingguang Xuanxian, wasn't it precisely because she put the hairpin into Taiji's scabbard that she wanted Taiji to protect Mingguang?

Taiji gritted his teeth and stepped forward first, saying, "Break the formation! Anyway, we've been hiding like a bunch of rats, and sooner or later those immortals will find us. A great battle is inevitable, and there's no way to avoid death and injury in the battle. It'll be either you or me who dies."

Ji Chunjun stepped forward and chimed in at the opportune moment: "Yes, instead of waiting to die in fear, why don't we overturn the 'chessboard'? Perhaps there's still a glimmer of hope!"

Yun Chuan and Bing Lun stepped forward and stood beside Ming Guang, their attitude clearly showing that they would obey all of Ming Guang's orders.

The expressions on everyone's faces gradually changed from shock and even resistance to a resolute determination to burn their bridges.

Someone shouted, "Ascension is impossible! Everyone, think about it carefully. Assess your own abilities. Clinging to obsessions and delusions will only make you a stepping stone for others!"

"It would be better to destroy the formation. At least everyone would be safe. We wouldn't have to hide or worry about being killed all the time, and no one would have the fantasy of exchanging forty-odd people for one person to ascend to immortality!"

Taiji said, "Mingguang Xuanxian, I will be your vanguard!"

As Taiji spoke, he pulled five or six small knives from his robes in one go, tucked them between his fingers, and swung his wrist first, channeling his spiritual energy to attack the Heaven-Bearing and Earth-Supporting Barrier Array—

Then, just as he was about to rush over, Mingguang grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him back like a little chick.

Mingguang looked at Taiji with a rather strange gaze, then at the few small knives that had silently passed through the formation and fallen to the ground.

Since Bitao's passing, his face, which had been perpetually gloomy, rarely showed even a hint of sunshine.

No wonder Bitao likes Tai Chi. When he is obedient, he is diligent and clever, and like a loyal little dog. At a command, he goes forward without hesitation.

Mingguang loosened Taiji's collar and patiently explained, "The formation can be moved freely and cannot be attacked directly. We need to break the formation's core, which is underground."

So everyone started digging holes with great enthusiasm.