Chapter 909: The Doctor Hunter [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Aside from its color, the emerald green needle was very similar to any other needles Shen Tang knew, radiating a vibrant, soothing energy. Although the old physician Dong was its owner, this was the first time he had used his inner energy to create a needle: "In all my years, I've seen others use incantations, and I've seen many warhorses and armor formed from martial energy, but none have been as powerful as this..."
This emotion was something he had never been able to simulate, no matter how hard he tried. Only after experiencing it firsthand did he realize that mortals could indeed possess the abilities that were rumored to be reserved for immortals. The moment he grasped the long needle, his inner energy surged, and an inexplicable confidence welled up within him—a judge's pen could snatch souls, and the King of Hell could snatch people from his palace.
The old man's words from my dream involuntarily came to mind.
【What's wrong with bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bones?】
After a few moments of distraction, Dr. Dong was pulled back to reality by Shen Tang's curious question: "Dr. Dong, can this be used for acupuncture?"
He replied, "Yes, you can."
Shen Tang then asked, "Can it be used to kill people?"
The old doctor was almost stumped by her question. He had saved people for most of his life but had never killed anyone. He said, "I can kill, but my hands are not stained with human lives..."
Even if they encounter an enemy, they will at most stand by and watch someone die without offering help.
As for murder—
Who understands the vital organs of the human body better than a doctor?
It couldn't be easier for a doctor to kill someone.
However, this "convenience" only applies to ordinary people; scholars and martial artists are excluded. These individuals possess a protective aura, and unless beheaded, even a deadly poison or a pierced heart can theoretically allow them to survive for a while—enough time for them to retaliate. More likely, they will be discovered before the damage is done.
Shen Tang said, "As long as they can be killed."
After a moment of silence, Dr. Dong looked troubled, as if he were having an internal struggle: "Who does Mr. Shen intend to assassinate?"
Indeed, no profession makes it easier to approach a target and gain their trust than a doctor. Both are food, but a cook's dishes are tested for poison, while a doctor's prescriptions are much more difficult to verify. This is because some unorthodox practitioners like to use poison to fight poison; Dr. Dong even saw a prescription filled with various deadly poisons, with aconite alone making up half the weight of one dose!
That dosage would be enough to poison an entire village.
If Shen Jun truly had this need, Doctor Dong was unsure whether to grant it. As a physician, he shouldn't kill, but he was also under Shen Jun's command, and sharing his burdens was his duty. Ultimately, the latter prevailed over the former with a clear advantage.
Shen Tang didn't know why the topic had jumped so quickly.
"ah?"
Dr. Dong: "Is Master Wu a nobleman from the Northern Desert?"
"...Um, no, I just wanted to confirm if you have the ability to protect yourself. After all, the nature of a medical family is special, and I'm worried that there might be internal rules like 'no killing,' or that this 'qi' can only heal and not kill. That would be troublesome."
Judging from the enhancements that Word of Power brings to scholars, warriors, and Mohists, it should be similar for healers. They are already capable of saving lives, but who can say how abnormal they will become now? Can they grant immortality? Or even bring the dead back to life?
Some will be afraid, some will be greedy.
Greedy people have no bottom line.
If they target doctors, and doctors have no ability to protect themselves, it means that doctors will become a profession that cannot fight back under any circumstances, and can only be slaughtered when faced with medical disputes.
A physician who passes the examination of the Medical Temple has at least fifteen years of hard work behind them, and the old physician Dong in front of them has accumulated forty-nine years of experience. Shen Tang doesn't want him to be stabbed to death by a patient or their family member one day because the treatment doesn't meet his expectations. Ordinary people might not dare to do that, but those powerful and influential noble families would.
Old Doctor Dong was surprised by this reason and felt a warmth in his heart: "Mr. Shen, you can rest assured. Not to mention now, even in the past, I was not without power..."
To be able to live to this old age as a traveling healer in chaotic times, occasionally venturing into the mountains to gather herbs, how could he not have some skills? His age doesn't mean he can't fight. His dislike of killing doesn't mean he can't kill.
That's good.
Even after saying that, he was still not at ease.
He simply selected several able-bodied men from the army to serve as his bodyguards.
"Does Mr. Dong still remember those test questions?"
Doctor Dong said, "I remember."
Shen Tang said, "I will send someone to follow you and copy those exam questions. After these questions are compiled, they can be given to other doctors."
Physicians, the more the better.
Unfortunately, the threshold for becoming a physician was too high, and the examination was still in her dream, making cheating impossible. She could only resort to the most rudimentary method: a sea of practice questions, so that future candidates wouldn't have to repeat the nightmare of five consecutive years of exams. The old physician, understanding Shen Tang's intention, bowed again.
"Shen Jun is of noble character."
This proves that the other party genuinely cares about the future of doctors.
Because Physician Dong's cultivation relied on treating patients, Shen Tang instructed him to prioritize soldiers who were unwell to gain experience: "...I don't know the specific criteria for 'treating patients,' whether the effect is the same for mild and severe cases. Physician Dong, please keep an eye out for that. If treating severe cases yields better results, I'll send someone to inquire which families have seriously ill patients..."
Dr. Dong is currently the only physician in the medical field.
Natural resources should be allocated to him.
Not only patients, but also more medical classics.
"Thank you, Mr. Shen."
Doctor Dong knew Shen Tang's intentions and naturally wanted to seize the opportunity. Relying on his protective aura and youthful physique, he wished he could see patients for twelve hours a day. He could manage, because medical qi was far superior to literary qi/martial qi/ink qi for physical recovery, but in the end he didn't go that far—he could manage, but the patients couldn't, they needed to sleep too.
Upon learning of his schedule for the next few days, Shen Tang was speechless.
At sixty-six years old, isn't this a bit too curvy?
She thought the Mo family, with their constant threats of weapons, were already quite troublesome, but she never expected the medical family to be the ultimate troublemakers!
Chu Yao left the main tent with the grandfather and grandson.
"You seem to have something on your mind?"
Dr. Dong noticed that Chu Yao was in low spirits.
Chu Yao: "If Dr. Dong has any familiar doctors, it would be best to write to them and invite them all over, otherwise there will be a great disaster."
Dr. Dong asked, puzzled, "What makes you say that?"
Chu Yao: "As the saying goes, 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.' A physician's abilities will arouse fear and greed, neither of which is a good thing. They will either take it for themselves or exterminate them. With a little instigation, some people can make the ignorant masses shout for his death. Those people are not as lucky as Physician Dong, who has the full protection of his lord..."
"Medic hunting" is bound to happen.
Dr. Dong was greatly shocked: "But..."
"If it's just about 'treating the sick and saving lives,' even a skilled ordinary doctor can satisfy that need. As long as you pay enough for the consultation, you can impress any master doctor. But it's different with physicians; they are not irreplaceable or indispensable!"
Chu Yao's tone was devoid of any emotion.
Resources are meant to be seized, not respected.
The old physician Dong said solemnly, "I understand."
Chu Yao reminded him again: "Remember to screen the people."
"My colleagues..." Doctor Dong knew that Chu Yao believed there were dishonest people among his friends. Even though it was within his duty to remind him, it still made him feel uncomfortable, as if his old buddies were being looked down upon.
Chu Yao laughed and said, "You can't see into someone's heart. Doctor Dong, you shouldn't be too trusting of people. I'm not just making this up when I predict there will be a 'medicine hunt' in the future. You also said that a doctor's practice depends on 'curing patients,' which at first glance sounds like a good thing that benefits both oneself and others, but—'patient' is too general. What kind of 'patient' can be considered as practice?"
Dr. Dong said, "A person who is ill is a patient."
Is there something wrong with this?
In the clinic, a patient is simply a patient; their secular status does not preclude them from receiving treatment. Even the most heinous criminals, if they come seeking medical help, must be examined and prescribed medicine. For it is the officials who convict them, and the executioners who behead them; the doctor's duty is simply to save lives.
Patients can leave the clinic once they are healthy.
What happened afterward was outside the scope of a doctor's duties.
Chu Yao looked at him with a half-smile.
The questions posed were increasingly pointed and chilling: "Dr. Dong misunderstands. What I mean is—if there aren't enough patients, can we personally poison them and then save them? Can we personally create a plague and then save them? Can we maim people and then save them? Can such 'patients' also improve a physician's skills? If not, can two physicians create 'patients' for each other and treat each other's 'patients'? There will never be an end to 'patients' in the world, just like the greed in people's hearts."
Dr. Dong's grandson was almost dumbfounded.
He blurted out, "Who would do that?"
Chu Yao countered, "Why not?"
The boy silently shut his mouth.
Chu Yao shook his head: "Doctors are indeed admirable, but medical skills and character are not necessarily related. There are people with superb medical skills but despicable character. Who can guarantee that in the future, no doctor will secretly manipulate plagues and cholera for the sake of cultivation?"
The boy couldn't answer.
"If a plague breaks out in a place and the local officials fail to manage it effectively, the higher authorities will hold them accountable, and the people will be filled with resentment. If there happens to be a physician in the area, guess what you should do? Recruit the physician? No, you should send people to spread rumors, frame that person for the source of the plague, kill him to appease public anger, and then ask the court for help to send a physician. You will be credited for killing the traitor, for controlling the plague, and for quelling public anger... Then you can ask for credit and rewards, and a smooth official career is not impossible."
The boy turned pale with fright.
He never imagined there were such dirty tricks in the world.
Chu Yao's words also poured cold water on Dr. Dong's joy, which vanished and was replaced by deep worry.
Only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation.
Once the door is open, how can it be closed?
Chu Yao: "Let's save as many as we can. Dr. Dong should know what's best for the medical staff..."
His eyes held a deep, unfathomable quality.
Dr. Dong bowed and accepted.
"Mr. Dong knows what to do."
Chu Yao nodded and went to attend to his own business.
Shen Tang, who had heard everything clearly while sitting inside the tent, was speechless.
Intimidation is quite effective.
Although Wu Hui's analysis was reasonable and indeed carried significant risks, it was still somewhat unethical for him to frighten the old man like that. Shen Tang shook his head and did not stop him. He felt somewhat sorry for Elder Dong; it was a good thing that so many great medical experts had come to Kangguo.
Lunar New Year's Day is busy.
Working overtime on the second day of the Lunar New Year.
The third day of the Lunar New Year...
Shen Tang sorted through the official information she had gathered from various regions, preparing to hold a meeting to decide how to send messages throughout the Kang Kingdom before the seventh day of the new year, along with the announcement of the reign title. Her makeshift team, after much preparation, was finally ready to officially launch!
Before that—
I also have to deal with my ex-fiancé.
Wu Yuan and her group were even more anxious than she had imagined, and on the morning of the fourth day, they sent an envoy to convey their request for cooperation.
Shen Tang ordered his men to entertain them, and they were not seen until after noon.
Wu Yuan hadn't expected Shen Tang to be so efficient; they thought the process would take ten days to half a month.
I was still a little dazed when I got to the camp.
"Yun Chi, do you think she'll agree?"
Gong Cheng remained silent.
Wu Yuan said to himself, "They should agree. Kangguo is lacking everything right now. If they can cooperate with Beimo, they can recuperate for a few years and recover their strength. Speaking of which, it's been so many years since I last saw this Lord Shen. I wonder what he looks like now."
Gong Cheng then opened his eyes and looked at his friend.
He said, "Be careful what you say."
Regardless of their status, Shen Youli was not someone Wu Yuan could look down upon, let alone describe with a word like "grown up," which implied admiration. Gong Cheng reminded him because he didn't want Wu Yuan to court disaster on someone else's turf.
This is their headquarters.
"Why does Yun Chi have to be so careful to avoid suspicion? After all, we spent some time together back then, and we shared hardships in Xiaocheng."
Wu Yuan hadn't had much contact with Shen Tang, but Gong Cheng was different; he had collaborated with Shen Tang, who presented himself as a man, several times. They also had some camaraderie. Didn't Gong Cheng want to catch up with him?
Gong Cheng looked at Wu Yuan with deep eyes.
Wu Yuanda felt bored.
"Alright, you've become less and less able to take a joke these past two years."
Since falling from grace, Gong Cheng's personality has become increasingly quiet and taciturn, completely unlike the person Wu Yuan knew.
Gong Cheng sighed, "Weng Zhi, you need to know that even I can't protect you completely..."
Even the strongest martial artist is still just a brute; in the future, an even stronger brute will emerge and kill him. Wu Yuan's increasingly frivolous and unrestrained mentality will lead to great losses in the future.
“You are now—” Wu Yuan swallowed the rest of his words, then expressed his dissatisfaction with Gong Cheng’s repeated admonitions, muttering, “With your strength, if you want to, how many people in this world can surpass you and hurt me?”
Gong Cheng fell silent upon hearing this.
Wu Yuan, being sensible, didn't bring up Shen Tang again. He lowered his head and focused on preparing for the cooperation matters he would discuss with Shen Tang later—the Northern Desert's resources were severely unbalanced, and the woman surnamed Shen was holding them back; this time, he had to persuade her to open trade routes no matter what.
Until a message came from outside the tent.
"I mainly want to see you."
Wu Yuanbin politely said, "Please lead the way."
"Summon the envoy from the Northern Desert to an audience!"
Listening to the chants from the guards outside the tent, Wu Yuan lowered his head and made a respectful gesture, but inwardly he couldn't help but chuckle—this guy surnamed Chen hadn't even announced his ascension to the throne yet, but he was already putting on airs.
Shen Tang's camp was simply furnished to the point of being shabby.
Wu Yuan and his entourage sat below, while he secretly observed the layout of the tents out of the corner of his eye. The main tent's front hall was used for meetings and offices, while only a small area at the back was for living quarters. This scale was even smaller than the tents of ordinary tribal chiefs in the Northern Desert.
|ω`)
My mom dragged me out today, and sure enough, there were crowds everywhere. I didn't get anything done all day, and I'm so tired I don't want to move... I'm never listening to her again.
P.S.: Today's chapter is a bit short, so I'll add some more words, free of charge.
PPS: Finished.
(End of this chapter)
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