Chapter 28 The Divine Doctor's List
The carriage was too spacious for two people, but with two more people, it felt extremely crowded.
So Guan Yue was slapped onto the roof of the car by Bian Yi with a fan, and there was no room for negotiation.
"...Wait until the day I'm better than you, you'll see." Guan Yuenan tugged at his sleeve with a pained expression, only to find three lines scratched by the black iron ribs inside the sandalwood fan.
He had gone to great lengths to dress up as a rich young master and go out to admire the flowers with Yan Zhou. The clothes were embroidered with cloud patterns and were lavishly decorated with gold and silver. The clothes were incredibly expensive, but after wearing them only once, they became a tattered piece of cloth.
Guan Yuenan clutched his chest, on the verge of tears, muttering to himself.
"My sleeves, my silk..."
"Save your breath. The Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect is so wealthy it could rival a nation. Do you think the sect leader would skimp on money for a spendthrift like you?" Bian Yi continued to drive the carriage slowly from the front, not forgetting to turn back and curse.
This was the sentence Lin Chengye heard as he slowly woke up in the car.
No wonder Chu Wuding said he should give face to the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect. Apart from the fact that the man was just using the excuse of Guan Yue to back down, he should indeed give the Southern Qi's tax-paying treasury some face.
Before he even opened his eyes, his mind was already racing. Lin Chengye raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, blocking out the few rays of sunlight that had sneaked in from outside the curtain.
It was probably past noon when Lin Chengye realized that he had slept for quite a long time.
That chaotic night had drained most of her energy, and she had vomited blood several times, leaving her severely deficient in both qi and blood. Bian Yi dared not, as before, first channel her internal energy and then slowly take medicine to recuperate. Chu Wuding was like an arrow hidden in the forest; even if Bian Yi knew where he was, she did not know when that cold arrow would be shot, so she had to be extremely vigilant.
"Chu Wuding did do one good thing, at least he taught you to conserve your internal energy." Lin Chengye's face was pale, and he forced a smile. He tried to ease Bian Yi's tense expression, but he immediately shut his mouth when the man suddenly looked at him with red eyes.
Well, it seems this joke isn't so funny. Lin Chengye's eyes darted around, and he nervously pinched the bridge of his nose.
Before the four left, Bian Yi went to Jiang Jin Medical Hall in Penghua City to get some highly nourishing medicine. Early in the morning, she dragged Lin Chengye to drink a bowl of it and made her eat some more before letting Lin Chengye fall into a deep sleep again.
"Awake?"
Fang Yanzhou stayed with her in the carriage. When he saw Lin Chengye move, he immediately went forward to help her sit up and rest her head on his shoulder.
However, Fang Yanzhou was much shorter than her, so it wasn't very comfortable to lean against him. Lin Chengye quietly sat up straight and asked in a daze.
What kind of business does the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect do?
"Why are you asking this as soon as you wake up? Use your brain less and don't overwork yourself."
Fang Yanzhou was surprised, and explained gently.
"It is an ironware shop. Its unique skill, 'Turning Stone into Gold,' possesses the essence of Yang and absorbs the spirit of the sun. When practicing this skill, true fire is generated from the Dantian, burning like a furnace, capable of melting gold and iron. Iron and stone become as soft as glue when they encounter it, and copper and tin melt like flowing fat. Craftsmen hold this fire, controlling the heat in their palms, forging weapons as easily as kneading clay."
Fang Yanzhou pointed to the roof and the front of the car.
"The Sui Quan Sword of Vietnam and the Liao Chen Sword of Bian Yi both come from the Shen Shu Tian Ji Sect. The deeper the internal strength and the stronger the fire in the dantian, the purer the forging. If you want to ask the elders and sect leader of the Shen Shu Tian Ji Sect to forge a weapon or a mechanism for you, it is not too much to spend thousands or tens of thousands of gold."
These martial arts techniques, standing at the pinnacle of the martial arts world, were indeed extraordinary. After listening to Fang Yanzhou's eloquent speech, Lin Chengye felt a surge of longing, his chest burning with excitement. He secretly blamed himself for not having properly learned the Lin family's Overturning Seas and Moving Mountains techniques back then, for there must be endless wonders within them.
"The martial arts of the world are divided into three natures: Yin, Yang, and Ping. At the peak of Ping is the Spring Breeze and Rain, while at the extreme Yin and cold is the Witch Ma family's Secret Sobbing Technique. At the extreme Yang, the Tianji Sect turns stone into gold, the Northern Yan royal family's Pass-Treading Journey, the Lai Kingdom's Jade Forest City's Fortified City Knife Technique, and the Northern Forest Lin Mansion's Overturning Seas and Moving Mountains. All four are top-level and each has its own strengths."
Fang Yanzhou paused, then lowered his voice and said calmly.
"However, both the Yin and Yang cultivation methods have declined. You know about the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley. The Wuma family was once very powerful, but now they have also retired from the martial arts world. Yang cultivation methods are now the most popular in the martial arts world."
Lin Chengye felt a lump in his throat upon hearing this, and felt even more frustrated, secretly lamenting that he had been truly ungrateful back then.
"At this rate, it will take another three or four days to reach Jiuchen City. This carriage is too small; it's cramped for four people. You all take your time; Yanzhou and I will go back first."
“But…” Fang Yanzhou was a little worried, and she also thought Lin Chengye was really lovable, so she was a little reluctant to part with him. Her peach blossom eyes darted around as she tentatively spoke.
"Or you could go back to Vietnam first?"
"What..." Guan Yue thought he had misheard for a moment and almost slipped and fell off the carriage.
Xiao Zhou actually wants to be separated from him for three or four days? No, no, just thinking about it makes him restless and unable to eat or sleep; his heart is already a little sore. Guan Yue suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt.
"It's alright, it's alright. Sister Fang, you and Brother Guan go back first. Bian Yi and I have other things to do in the capital of Southern Qi, so it's not convenient for too many people to come."
Lin Chengye quickly patted Fang Yanzhou's hand. She glanced fearfully at Guan Nanyue outside the window, genuinely worried that he would have a relapse if he were separated from his wife.
"It's not like we won't see her again. Bian Yi and I will go to find Sister Fang in a few days. We should be able to stay at the Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Gate for a few more days."
Bian Yi watched with a wry smile as Guan Nan draped half his body over Fang Yanzhou, the two of them holding hands and leaving happily. He muttered something under his breath.
"Pretentious."
...
After traveling for about two and a half days, the continuous rain stopped for half a day, and that afternoon the sun came out and the sun was shining brightly.
Lin Chengye's spirits finally improved; her head was no longer dizzy, and her thoughts were unusually clear. After thinking for a moment, she decided to have Bian Yi find an inn to stop at in advance.
"Let me ask the shopkeeper for some writing brushes, ink, and paper... Let me think..."
She'd said those three words many times in the past few days. Lin Chengye watched Bian Yi skip and hop out, then rubbed his temples with his fingers.
There are so many things that need to be sorted out. She always felt that she had grasped a corner of the shadows, but the people behind them were too well hidden and too cunning, and she could never see them clearly.
Bian Yi handed Lin Chengye a pen and paper. Seeing her brows furrow and her serious expression, she quietly stepped aside.
"Come here, listen to this."
Lin Chengye chuckled and helplessly waved to Bian Yi, who obediently ran over and lay down on the table.
"Help me sort out my thoughts. I'm bored here too, and this is in your situation."
Lin Chengye wrote down the individual characters from the four people's names on the four sides of the paper.
Left Chu, right side, top Chen, bottom...
Lin Chengye paused, instinctively feeling offended. But in the end, she still picked up her pen and wrote the character "遏" (è).
"As I've already said before about you and Chu Wuding, it was he who couldn't hold back first."
The important thing is... the note Wei Jingchen left me; only now do I have time to think about it.
Lin Chengye drew a thin line between the two characters "Chen E".
"Why she would harbor thoughts of seizing power at this time is probably related to His Majesty's serious illness, but as for when His Majesty fell seriously ill... that is still unknown, and that is the key. Although I have never been interested in the court, such an important matter could not have been kept quiet until it reached the northern frontier."
With a deft twist of his well-defined fingers, Lin Chengye added a dot to the character "辰".
"Just as you said back then, very few people suddenly fall seriously ill, and Wei Jingchen probably didn't know about this much earlier. And at this time, the Eldest Princess brought back a medicine man from Yongfo Temple..."
"Drug person?"
Bian Yi, who had been listening in a daze, suddenly nodded, his expression turning strange.
"Do you know what a Medicine Man is? A Medicine Man is born with extraordinary abilities; his healing is incredibly fast and difficult to detect. This is recorded in the forbidden books of the Azure Phoenix Medicine Valley. Because his blood is equivalent to hundreds of precious medicinal herbs, once discovered..."
Bian Yi frowned.
"Most likely, he will end up being kept by the powerful and wealthy until he dies. If His Majesty has already reached such a point, his time is already up, and he is merely prolonging his life now."
People in the martial arts world really dare to use any word. Lin Chengye's approving gaze suddenly faltered when she heard the word "survival." She helplessly pinched the bridge of her nose and continued.
"The emperor is seriously ill, and power has fallen into the hands of others. The eldest princess was already second only to the emperor in the court, and her political achievements were outstanding. Now she is even more equal to His Majesty. If the emperor passes away, the crown prince will surely face a bloody power struggle with the eldest princess after he ascends the throne."
So...so what?
"...Let me speak?"
Bian Yi saw Lin Chengye looking at her and stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Then, amidst the man's faint smile, she rested her chin on her hand, looking as if deep in thought.
"Hmm... So if the emperor continues to live, the power in the hands of the eldest princess will be more secure. If this goes on for a long time, I'm afraid even the crown prince will be unable to contend with her."
Is the eldest princess the beneficiary of this affair? Do you suspect a connection between the emperor's serious illness and the eldest princess? Is the relationship between the eldest princess and His Majesty not as good as people think?
Actually, he's quite smart. Lin Chengye nodded approvingly.
"Whether it's the Emperor, the Eldest Princess, or the Crown Prince, they are all obstacles that Wei Jingchen cannot overcome. If she wants to ascend to that position, she will probably have to follow the path of the current Emperor."
"But my only enemy right now is His Majesty. I won't help her deal with the Eldest Princess. That's what I told her."
It started raining again outside the window, and it was getting heavier and heavier, as if it wanted to wash away every inch of the mud on earth. But Bian Yi felt colder and colder, which seeped into his bones.
She wasn't quick-witted, but she sensed something was wrong and could only stammer out the question.
"But... if the emperor dies in the struggle with the eldest princess, it will be his just deserts. Don't you... want to see that scene?"
"This is what I finally came to think of: this princess may not be an outsider."
Lin Chengye's voice was cold, and so was her gaze. Bian Yi dared not look into her eyes; cold sweat slid down her cheeks, soaking through the soft paper.
She heard Lin Chengye's voice continue.
"After all, the Lin family was loyal to the emperor. Rather than the Lin family being destroyed due to the emperor's suspicion, there is another possibility: that the eldest princess did it to weaken the emperor's power."
...
Three days later, on the fourth day of the fifth month, the weather in Beichen City was fine, with not a cloud in the sky.
The notice board at the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Imperial City was crowded with onlookers.
Two women, one wearing a veil and the other a new veiled dress, one in blue and the other in white, exchanged a glance as they passed by and decided to join in the fun.
The whispers of the common people reached the ears of the woman in dark blue.
"Sigh...it's still posted here, why haven't we found a renowned doctor yet?"
"It's been more than five months... We'll be here before the New Year."
"Who would dare take this case? What if it can't be cured..."
The speaker was an old woman. She suddenly stopped talking and carefully made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Excuse me, ma'am! What's that poster up there? Why is it so lively?"
The woman in green suddenly reached out and pushed through the crowd.
"Young lady, you've just arrived in Jiuchen City, haven't you? This has been up for quite a while now, it seems like it was put up at the end of last year. It's just that..."
The mother-in-law stepped aside, letting the two women stand in front of the notice.
By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:
I, bearing the weighty responsibility of the ancestral temple, am deeply troubled by my mother's declining health, a chronic and persistent illness for which all physicians are helpless. I am consumed by anxiety, my heart burning with worry. Therefore, I hereby issue this decree seeking the finest physicians in the land:
It does not discriminate between commoners, Taoist priests, monks and Taoists from temples and monasteries, or reclusive sages from the mountains and countryside.
Go to the Imperial Medical Academy immediately to apply for the position.
If it produces remarkable results, he will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold, granted a fifth-rank official hat and belt, his family's honor will extend to three generations, and a memorial archway will be erected in his honor.
"This is a matter of life and death, don't do anything reckless. Tsk tsk, even the Imperial Medical Academy is helpless... What are you doing?!"
Suddenly, the old woman's voice became shrill, and she retreated, stepping on the feet of five, six, seven, or eight people. But those people had no time to pay attention to her, and they all looked at the woman in green standing in the middle with horror and sneered.
This is insane! How dare this person! If they can't be cured, they'll lose their head!
The woman in green, with a calm expression, tossed the notice to the woman in white who was standing there dumbfounded, and said loudly.
"Don't just stand there, Doctor Bian, our lives depend on you. If you can't cure us... you'll lose your head."
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