The news came so suddenly that Yun Xian and his group were stunned in front of Miaoshou Gate.
"If it wasn't you who sent it?" Qiao Lingshan asked, "Then who sent it?"
"It's better that it wasn't sent by Fellow Daoist Xue." Feng Ye whispered, "When I saw the blood letter, I thought Fellow Daoist Xue was bleeding heavily. How scary."
Xue Lingxiu: "...I would never write something so tasteless even if I bleed profusely."
Su Chi remained silent, just looking up at the sky over there.
The southern border is warm and soft in spring. The winter jasmine flowers on the roadside have bloomed, and the fragrance of willow catkins and flowers is everywhere. It is a good time for all things to revive.
But it seemed like something dirty was also starting to stir.
The servant over there was still peeking in, causing a huge misunderstanding. Xue Lingxiu said helplessly, "You guys came here immediately after receiving this? Did you explain it to Senior Xiao and the others?"
"Yes," Yun Xian said, "My mother and aunt both told me to be careful, saying they wanted to prevent me from getting scammed, so they didn't give me much money."
Everyone: “…”
I always feel like this causal relationship is a little reversed, but it also makes sense. If you don't have money, you won't be scammed.
"Forget it," Xue Lingxiu said gently, "Come on, it's not like I can't entertain you. Besides, there have been some strange things happening in the Southern Territory lately... I was planning to write a letter to inform you all, but since you're here, let's talk face to face."
Xue Lingxiu was followed by a large group of servants, who led everyone all the way into the Miaoshou Sect.
Along the way, birds chirped, flowers bloomed, green mountains and flowing waters flowed, pavilions and towers flourished, and even the eaves of ordinary houses exuded an aura of spiritual stones that ordinary people could hardly bear. Speaking of wealth, the Dao Sect had monopolized the Northern Realm for so many years. While their wealth couldn't compare to the Miaoshou Sect's, they had certainly invested heavily in the development of their sect. However, the Miaoshou Sect seemed to possess a deeper foundation than any other sect.
The Dao Sect spent a fortune on their grand sect formation. The Miaoshou Sect likely spent a fortune simply to make the water flow upward from the rockery, creating a mysterious waterfall.
It was time for Granny Liu to enter the Grand View Garden. The Jiange trio looked around, curious about everything they had never seen before. Xue Lingxiu answered every question, and by the end, the young servant couldn't stand it any longer: "Friend Yun, why don't you just ask me directly?"
It seems that the fourth young master really likes this group of people. On ordinary days, he won't answer any extra questions, let alone answer them. He will just let them take a look at it for themselves. They are just bothering you for no reason. I will take the initiative to do something.
Having just arrived, everyone was a little nervous. Yun Xian looked around for a while, but couldn't find the sect's martial arts training ground—perhaps in the case of the Miaoshou Sect, it should be called a medical training ground? He couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xue, where do the disciples usually take classes? Is Senior Li okay?"
"Third sister is fine. Today, it's probably her turn to teach the herbal medicine class, so she's out collecting herbs." Xue Lingxiu said, "The disciples are divided into four groups, each taught by a different person. Do you want to see it?"
Yun Xian said: "Just take a look."
Xue Lingxiu looked back and met two pairs of curious eyes. He said helplessly, "There's nothing to see."
"Let's take a look." Feng Ye whispered, "I haven't seen a medical practitioner practice yet."
Xue Lingxiu had no choice but to stop and lead the group to the training place. Yun Xian was still thinking that the Miaoshou Sect was truly vast and rich in resources, and even the training place was more luxurious and secluded than others, when he heard a pig-killing scream: "Help! Murder!!"
Qiao Lingshan was startled, but Xue Lingxiu acted as if it was no big deal and said, "Nothing. They were just practicing acupuncture today."
The clothes of the Miaoshou Sect disciples were really first-class green, looking like a row of green onions, and now they were paired up in pairs.
The only difference is that they don’t fight each other with needles, but one is responsible for pricking and the other is responsible for being stabbed.
"Can you do it or not?! If you can't, it's my turn!!"
"What are you arguing about?! The more you argue, the less accurate it will be, and the less accurate it is, the more pain you'll feel. Shut up!"
"Huh? Why isn't there any bleeding yet? Logically, there should be black blood flowing out by now?"
"Junior sister, you pierced your own hand..."
At the back are various acupoint and vein diagrams, which are so densely packed that it makes people dizzy.
"It's not easy to train a medical practitioner," Xue Lingxiu said. "Three years to lay the foundation, five years to get started. One must go to the mountains to learn the art at the age of eight, and can leave the sect only at the age of sixteen."
Yun Xian said, "If you leave the sect at the age of sixteen, you can set up your own sect?"
"You're overthinking it." Xue Lingxiu said slowly, "At sixteen, you can go to a clinic outside to be an apprentice. Miaoshoumen has many disciples all over the world, so it won't be difficult to find a master willing to take you in. After four years of apprenticeship, you can try to diagnose and treat patients independently..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Yun Xian said, "So, what you're saying is, if you start learning medicine at the age of eight, you have to be at least twenty before you can treat patients?"
"What else?" Xue Lingxiu said, "Human life is at stake. If you dare to operate on someone without even learning the basics, then that's not practicing medicine, it's committing a sin."
The disciples on the other side saw Xue Lingxiu from afar and saluted him.
The salute in the Southern Realm is also quite different. The right hand is placed slightly on the left shoulder, palms facing each other, and the body is bent forward. It looks very graceful, worthy of being a place of etiquette.
But the little sister was so anxious to salute that she forgot to stop the bleeding, and blood immediately spurted all over the floor: "Ah ...
"Ah! Junior Sister!!!" a fellow disciple said in pain, "The bloodstains that have seeped into the ground are extremely difficult to clean. Don't be so careless next time!"
Yun Xian: “…”
Why is the friendship between you fellow students so plastic?
Feng Ye asked in confusion: "Wouldn't it be too time-consuming to practice with each other like this? Why not invite someone over?"
Seeing that everyone has taken ruthless actions, the person who has been stabbed will be unable to move for at least two or three days. With the financial resources of Miaoshou Sect, wouldn't it be better to voluntarily ask other cultivators to come and help?
"No." Xue Lingxiu said decisively: "If you want to try, you can only try it on yourself. A doctor must first heal himself. This is the ancestral teaching."
What's more, even if it is said to be voluntary, once this loophole is opened, who knows whether it is really voluntary?
…
Yun Xian walked like this to admire the flowers for almost an incense stick of time. He was almost tired when he finally saw the outline of the hall in the distance.
"Brother Xue, is this how you usually walk?" She said, "No wonder everyone looks so thin."
Xue Lingxiu said, "There are carriages on weekdays. But didn't you say you wanted to see it?"
Yun Xian: "I've seen enough, I've seen enough."
After the greetings were over, everyone couldn't help but worry about the blood letter and the strange thing that Xue Lingxiu mentioned.
Before the group entered the hall, a young servant hurried up and said, "Second Sect Leader and Grandmother are still arguing. Fourth Young Master, do you want to go back first?"
Through the door, an angry voice came from inside: "You are simply unreasonable!!"
As the young servant spoke, his eyes turned to the group of people behind Xue Lingxiu. It seemed that he was worried about this.
"No need." Xue Lingxiu said, "I was just about to talk about this."
Seeing that the quarrel inside was in full swing and would not stop for a while, Xue Lingxiu stood in front of the door and told them everything.
It turned out that after he received the letter from Dao Sect, he rushed back to Miaoshou Sect and found that Li Pei had indeed been staying indoors for a while, but it was a misdiagnosis and she was in good health. The problem was that the conflict between Miaoshou Sect and Lingxu Sect was becoming more and more serious.
Although the relationship between the two sects had always been bad, it was not to the point of a fight to the death. If they met on the road, they would at most roll their eyes and spit at each other. On the surface, they could be said to be at peace. However, in the past few months, the Lingxu Sect had suddenly become much more arrogant, constantly provoking, and even had direct friction with the doctors of the Miaoshou Sect in the sect's medical clinic.
When someone dies of illness, their family is heartbroken and all they want is a burial. However, the unethical members of Lingxu Sect steal corpses from the clinic at night when the wind is strong. After being caught two or three times, they become even more unethical and start digging up other people's graves. They dig up three generations, like father and son fighting in the same grave, but they are so anxious to fight each other.
This is why, even though Lingxu Sect has few members and is not very powerful, all other sects do not want to get involved with them.
Although not strong, they are wicked and shameless enough, like rats in the gutter. If you want to kill them, not only will you have to waste time and effort, but you will also make yourself smell bad, which is very annoying.
Qi Zhiye frowned as he heard this, his disgust evident in his expression.
"Although it's despicable, it doesn't have much direct connection with the Miaoshou Sect." Yun Xian asked in confusion: "Digging graves, are they only targeting patients treated by the Miaoshou Sect? How can they handle it with their little arms and legs? There are so many medical clinics in the Southern Realm, it would be rare to find a patient who hasn't been treated there."
"The main thing is, a month ago, the body of one of our sect's stewards was stolen." Xue Lingxiu sighed. "He originally died of an incurable disease, and after his illness, he agreed to hand over his body to the Miaoshou Sect to study a solution for the future generations. But... I never expected it to be stolen from within the sect."
Qiao Lingshan was stunned and said, "Inside the door? Stolen?! What for?"
Who is so brave?!
"Yes." Xue Lingxiu said with a headache, "Miaoshou Sect always keeps corpses like these in cold storage and keeps them under strict guard. But, I don't think this was done by Lingxu Sect."
If the Lingxu Sect truly possessed this ability, why would they have been so secretive in the past? Given their personalities, how could they have endured this? Judging from their actions during the siege in the Northern Territory, it was clear that the Lingxu Sect had been cultivating the bones of dead people, leaving their brains damaged. It's impossible for them to remain dormant for so long, simply to steal the remains of a steward.
This made him think of the letter that appeared out of nowhere in the Sword Sect before he returned to the Southern Realm.
His intuition told him that the two were written by the same person.
"That's strange." Yun Xian reluctantly moved his brain, which hadn't been used for three months, and said, "According to what you said, Lingxu Sect has been provoking Miaoshou Sect by stealing corpses recently. The body of the steward disappeared out of thin air, but Brother Xue doesn't think it was Lingxu Sect's doing. So, is Lingxu Sect covering up for the person behind the scenes, or is this person taking advantage of this situation to fish in troubled waters?"
Xue Lingxiu said: "I don't know yet."
He looked extremely worried. Qi Zhiye looked at him coldly and said after a while, "If this is all for this matter, then why not find the person who caused it and let it all go?"
"If it were just this matter, I wouldn't have to worry so much." Xue Lingxiu looked into the hall. While everyone was talking, the arguing inside not only didn't subside, but became even more intense. He could vaguely make out the voices of a young female cultivator and an old woman, but the old woman was full of energy, her roar like a bell: "That's how it is! Li Er, don't try to stop me!!"
The Reiji she was referring to spoke in a soft voice with a long, narrow ending, "Grandma, please leave this matter to me and my elder sister."
"What do you mean by 'hand it over'? I doubt you'll take it seriously!" the old woman said angrily, "I've told you so many times, this was definitely done by the Lingxu Sect! If you don't go, I will! Just wait and see, today I'm going to chop those unscrupulous bastards off with my fan!!!"
Xue Lingxiu said: "...Let me give you a brief introduction."
The Miao Shou sect currently has three leaders, each with distinct responsibilities: Xue Lingxiu's eldest, second, and third sisters. The third sister, Li Pei, is an acquaintance of Yun Xian's; she served as the Southern Realm's supervisor during the Four-Way War. The old woman currently furious in the main hall is the most senior member of the Miao Shou sect, nearly 150 years old.
One hundred and fifty years old might not be considered old in the demon race, but it was quite rare in the human race. Those who had not reached the age of one hundred and fifty were either in their twilight years or had become elusive. Grandma Li Zu was still able to roar in the hall with such vigor and energy, which was truly remarkable.
The unfortunate steward whose body was stolen was a distant relative of my great-grandmother. No matter how distant, she was still a junior. She was humiliated in such a way that her body has not yet been laid to rest. Naturally, she was worried.
"Is the Second Sect Leader called Li Er?" Qiao Lingshan asked, "What should we call him? We can't just call everyone Senior Li..."
The Miao Shou Sect doesn't rely on bloodline to succeed its successor, but rather on adoption. Some acupuncture techniques in Miao Shou medicine can only be passed down through female practitioners, so all previous sect leaders have been female. The previous sect leader discovered these three gifted orphans in a small town in the southern border and brought them back to the Miao Shou Sect to carefully nurture them. They changed their surnames to Li, and Xue Lingxiu was picked up on a rainy day.
The Miaoshou Sect is so wealthy, one more mouth won't be a big deal. Since we've already picked it up, let's take care of it. Under the Sect Leader, everyone is treated like brothers and sisters. However, since Xue Lingxiu can't ascend the throne, there's no need to change his surname.
"No, my second sister's name is not Li Er." Xue Lingxiu hesitated for a moment, then said with a subtle expression, "My eldest and second sisters were named by the previous head of the sect. My third sister and I were named by our great-grandmother."
Qi Zhiye asked, "What's that called?"
Xue Lingxiu said: "Li Jianye, Li Batu."
Everyone: “…………”
Master, you...are very good at naming.
Yun Xian said sincerely after a while: "Brother Xue, you must treat your grandmother well."
If Xue Lingxiu had reported the name "Xue Jingzhong" or "Xue Huihuang" during the Four-way War instead of "Xue Lingxiu", he would have felt that this person was too masculine and not suitable for close friendship.
"A-Xiu?" Reiji seemed to have heard some noise outside and said, "Come in. Did you bring a guest?"
A group of people followed Yun Xian in, and only then did Yun Xian see the true appearance of Senior Li Er.
His eyes were like a cold mountain with falling clouds, bottomless and unfathomable. His face was full of heroism, but his posture was relaxed and leisurely, even looking a little casual.
Li Er took one look and smiled, "So this is the friend you always talk about? Finally here! If you hadn't come soon, I'm afraid Xiu would have been anxious to leave."
Xue Lingxiu said anxiously: "Second sister!"
"...Senior Tyrant. Grandma Li. Good afternoon, good evening." Having just arrived, Yun Xian had to act well-behaved. "I'm truly sorry for bothering you without telling you in advance."
"You're welcome." Li Er said, "Grandma, this is Yun Xian."
Grandma Li Zu was indeed in her seventies, with a head full of white hair, but her eyes were not cloudy at all, but rather quite bright as she glanced at the crowd and said, "So it's you!"
Yun Xian was stunned: "It's me, what's wrong?"
"You youngsters, once you get out, your hearts turn wild! You're even asking me to come back to the sect!" Grandma Li snorted coldly, and added, "Don't try to change the subject! I'm saying now that Ah Cheng must have been stolen by those despicable people from the Lingxu Sect! As the Second Sect Leader, if you don't want to take care of it, I'll do it! Don't stop me from leaving!"
Xue Lingxiu said: "Grandma, this matter still needs to be discussed..."
"What's there to discuss?! This matter is already very clear!" Grandma Li said, "In the entire Southern Realm, who else would steal corpses besides the Lingxu Sect?! They just happened to be stealing corpses recently, and Ah Cheng just happened to disappear. Isn't such a coincidence enough to explain it? Who else could it be besides them?!"
Reiji asked, "Where's the evidence?"
Grandma Li was furious: "My eyes are the evidence!!! I can't make sense with you guys. I'll just leave on my own!!!"
The old man jumped off his chair and ran out angrily. Reiji couldn't stop him and said, "Hey--"
A gust of wind blew by, and the white hair disappeared in an instant.
It was incredible that the grandmother could slip away so quickly at her age. Reiji took a deep breath, exhaled, and said helplessly: "Alas!"
Everyone looked at each other.
"I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself." Reiji stood up and said, "Grandma is old and a bit stubborn. Her temper has remained the same for decades. If you don't want to be caught and scolded, it's best to avoid her."
Yun Xian said, "So, she? Did she just leave like that? If she went to Lingxu Gate alone, it would be dangerous, right?"
Are we just going to let this old man leave the sect like this? The combat power of a medical practitioner isn't that high, is it?
"Don't worry, I've got my servant following behind." Reiji took a sip of tea and said with a wry smile, "Besides, my grandmother doesn't even know how to get to Lingxu Gate."
Everyone: “…………”
Where are you going?!
Xue Lingxiu told Li Er about the blood letter. Li Er paused and said, "Blood letter?"
"Yes." Xue Lingxiu said, "I wonder what the person behind the scenes wants to do by leading them to the Southern Realm."
"No problem." Reiji said casually, "I'll stay in Myotomon and see if I get hurt. I don't think I'll die. Now that I'm here, I might as well have some fun for a few days."
Yun Xian thought, that's true. Surrounded by medical practitioners, if you collapse, there are eight hundred people performing CPR on you, and a senior brother performing artificial respiration. It's really not easy to die.
"It's getting late. I'll go persuade Grandma to come back." Li Er left gracefully, and before leaving, he casually said, "Prepare a room for the distinguished guest."
The waiter heard the voice and said, "Five people please take the lake view room..."
“…”
After washing up, everyone gathered in a room. Qi Zhiye sat cross-legged in his old seat, waiting for the others to sit in a circle.
Feng Ye asked with concern, "Brother Qi, this isn't an inn. There are plenty of stools here. You don't have to sit on the ground. It's freezing on a spring night. Won't your butt get cold?"
Qi Zhiye: "...I'm meditating!"
Feng Ye felt wronged: "I just care about you."
Qiao Lingshan said speechlessly: "Feng Ye, you really should avoid getting into trouble. Sometimes I even wonder if you do it on purpose."
"That's right." Yun Xian came in with a face full of fresh water vapor and said, "Rather than worrying about whether your butt is cold, it's better to worry about whether it's uncomfortable. Brother Qi has so many Buddha beads and gems on his body. It would be very painful if he sat on it."
It's obvious that this was intentional.
Qi Zhiye said with a dark face: "...Yun Xian!"
Who could be that stupid?!
The Miaoshou Sect was wealthy enough to offer lake-view rooms, and even then, each room had a hot spring. Yun Xian, born in the snowy Jiange Mountains, was visiting the Southern Realm and soaking in a hot spring for the first time. He splashed around for at least half an hour, nearly using up all the water.
Jiangshan was taken away by Li Er, who explained that such a bizarre demonic beast and such a severe skin disease were rare occurrences and required careful research into their treatment. Earlier in the Northern Realm, Fang Fei was inferior to him, and the medicine he prescribed only resulted in slow recovery and slight improvement. But now that he had arrived at the Miaoshou Sect headquarters, things seemed to be looking up.
The magic stone didn't light up, and Jiangshan didn't move at all. At least for now, it seemed that there was still no trace of the devil within the Miaoshou Sect.
Xue Lingxiu glanced at her and said, "Finally you're willing to come out? Have you had enough to drink?"
Su Chi used his spiritual energy to dry her hair, lowered his eyes and said, "My fingers are wrinkled."
Yun Xian said, "Big Brother, why don't you come?"
Su Chi said, "I don't like water, especially warm water."
He said it so decisively, it seems like he really doesn't like it.
"Water is fun!" Yun Xian said excitedly, "Come with me next time and we can have a water fight."
Su Chi's eyes flickered slightly, and just as he was about to say yes, he heard Yun Xian say proudly, "The hot spring pool in my room is super big! Everyone come play together! I just created a Water Dragon Eighteen Styles, which is invincible."
Su Chi: “…”
Feng Ye glanced at him and thought, why is the senior brother unhappy again?
"Let's take things one at a time." Xue Lingxiu sat on a stool and said, "The handwriting on the blood letter and the letter I received is unrecognizable, but with this method, I suspect it was done by the same person. Yi Neng was able to sneak into the Sword Sect and the Wonderful Hand Sect without a trace. His strength should not be underestimated. Or perhaps he has some special concealment method."
"The letter you received is about Li Pei." Yun Xian pondered, "Brother Xue, although I don't know if I can ask—this may be confidential—but could you please tell me why Senior Li Pei stayed indoors for so long?"
It was said to the outside world that it was a misdiagnosis, but there were many medical practitioners within Miaoshou Sect, and the fact that it was a misdiagnosis also meant that she had really had some problems earlier.
"It's okay to tell you," Xue Lingxiu said. "It was Third Sister. She was always suspicious that something was wrong with her body, and she was very nervous. But no matter how many tests they did, even the Grand Master himself couldn't find anything wrong."
Yun Xian: "Mutation...?"
Xue Lingxiu said, "That's roughly what I mean."
Yun Xian: "I have no idea. Everyone, what do you think?"
Qiao Lingshan said, "These past few days, I've been thinking about what Chi You said when he was reduced to ashes. He's definitely not going to give up... Although I have no evidence, I think he's causing trouble again."
Feng Ye: "That's right."
"We don't have enough clues right now." Su Chi said, "Wait a little longer."
"One thing leads to another." Qi Zhiye sat cross-legged on a stool, brows furrowed. "I'm thinking this hard, but I can't come up with any results. But it would be better to solve the matter of the stolen body early. Maybe we can get some clues."
Xue Lingxiu: "...If you want to cross your legs, take off your shoes before you do it."
Qi Zhiye didn't hear it. He didn't know whether it was real or fake.
"I agree." Yun Xian shook his messy hair and said with concentration, "No matter what, the Lingxu Sect has repeatedly broken into other people's homes and stolen corpses without permission in broad daylight. This is truly despicable and their intentions deserve to be punished! I, Yun Xian, will certainly not sit idly by and watch this happen again!"
When Qi Zhiye saw her shaking her hair, he felt like he was seeing the local dog at the foot of the Buddhist Mountain, which also shook its hair like this when it was caught in the rain. It looked even more sloppy after shaking its hair.
Su Chi silently went over and tied her hair up.
"That's right!" Feng Ye said, "This has violated human ethics!"
Xue Lingxiu: "What do you want to do?"
"Tomorrow morning, get up at the cockcrow. I will also sneak into Lingxu Sect in broad daylight without permission! Fellow Daoist Qi, remember to bring the Diamond Sutra. I want them to be influenced by Buddhism and repent of their sins..." Yun Xian was filled with righteous indignation. He slammed the table, raised his eyebrows and glared. In front of everyone's gaze, he suddenly choked out, "Big Brother, your hair is a little tight."
"..." Su Chi said: "I'm sorry."
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