As soon as Marquis Yongxin left Xuanqing Temple, he was invited by the middle-aged man to a farmhouse at the foot of the mountain. The front of the house was covered with morning glories, a vegetable plot was set aside on the west side, and a lotus pond was dug. Small fish and shrimps were raised in the pond. It looked very homely. A row of bamboo fences surrounded the farmhouse, and a wooden door was erected. There were three words on the plaque above the door - Taoran Ju.
Yong Xin Hou looked left and right, up and down, and said in surprise: "Your Majesty, are you really planning to live in seclusion here? You are not in good health, so don't bother yourself any more. There are no brick walls to keep out the wind, and no ground heating to keep out the cold. How are you going to survive the winter? Aren't you just fooling around?"
"How can I be better than you no matter how foolish I am? Today, you had a close call with hell." The middle-aged man walked into the main room while speaking with a slightly cold tone.
A white-haired old man had been waiting here for a long time. When he saw the few people, he bowed quickly.
The young man seemed to be more anxious than the middle-aged man. He held the old man and said quickly: "Imperial Physician Chen, here are a few talismans. Please take a look at them to see if there is any problem." Then he turned to look at Marquis Yongxin.
Marquis Yongxin quickly covered his chest and pretended to be dumb, "Talisman? What talisman? Sir, what are you talking about? How come I don't know?"
The wife of Marquis Yongxin stood at the door, covering half of her face with her sleeve, feeling embarrassed by her master's rogue behavior. But if it were her, she would probably be reluctant to take out those fitness talismans, because they are treasures bestowed by the immortals!
"Don't pretend. Take it out and let Dr. Chen take a look. I'll return it to you later. I'm also afraid that you'll eat something bad and go back to the gates of hell again. You're lucky today, but who knows if you'll be this lucky next time." The middle-aged man waved his hand.
Marquis Yongxin covered his chest and stepped back a few steps, mumbling: "That immortal is really capable, how can you say that I am lucky? Next time I am seriously ill, just send me to Xuanqing Temple. With the immortal here, nothing will happen to me."
The middle-aged man sneered and said, "Who was the person who almost killed himself by eating the elixir?"
Marquis Yongxin was stared at by his dark eyes, and suddenly remembered the scene of this man chopping off heads like chopping melons on the battlefield. He was a little scared, so he reluctantly took out a talisman from his arms and handed it to Imperial Physician Chen.
The young man described in detail how Lin Dan treated Marquis Yongxin and sighed, "Doctor Chen, do you think there are really gods in the world? Just some ashes from alchemy and two bowls of magic water brought a dying man back to life. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed such a miracle."
Chen Yuyi took the talisman with a solemn expression, sniffed it first, then twisted it with his fingertips, shook his head and said, "This talisman paper seems to be different from ordinary talisman paper. It has a strong medicinal smell and a thicker texture. It seems to have been soaked in some kind of potion. The green handwriting is mixed with a strange fragrance, which has a calming effect, but it disturbs my sense of smell. I can't smell which kind of medicinal materials this smell belongs to. Master, I am short-sighted and can't see any clues for a while. Why don't I burn this talisman paper..."
Before the old man finished speaking, Yong Xinhou snatched the talisman paper back in a hurry and angrily scolded: "Old Chen, this treasure can save my life. You burn it just like that. How rude! If you have the ability, why couldn't you cure my illness back then?"
Imperial Physician Chen blushed and apologized, not daring to say anything else.
The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "Take his pulse and see if his illness is really cured or not."
As long as the precious talismans were not touched, Marquis Yongxin was easy to talk to. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and let the old man take his pulse. After a moment, the old man said in amazement, "It's strange! The Marquis has a slight loss of Qi and blood, but his pulse is actually very strong. I can't even find out where the old hidden disease is! It's really strange. I just checked the Marquis's pulse a month ago. How could his hidden disease disappear overnight? No, let me check it again!"
The old man held on to Marquis Yongxin's wrist and refused to let go. However, no matter how many times he checked, the result was always the same: the hidden disease that had tormented Marquis Yongxin for seven or eight years had disappeared! It's totally lost!
The middle-aged man and the young man looked at each other, shocked, but Yongxin Hou put his hands on his hips and laughed, "How can you quacks compare to the immortals! I said it all those years ago, my illness cannot be cured by mortals, only immortals can! Look, it's true!"
The wife of Marquis Yongxin hid behind her husband, bowed in the direction of Xuanqing Temple, and then bowed to the Wuliang Immortal Venerable in the sky, with a hidden excitement on her face.
The middle-aged man and the young man refused to believe it, so they captured Marquis Yongxin and brought him back to the capital. They summoned all the imperial doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau for a large consultation, but the result was the same. An imperial physician wanted to burn the talisman to check the talisman water, but was kicked away by Marquis Yongxin who was forced into a corner. This "dying man" who had been lying on the hospital bed for more than half a month was now as strong as a dragon. He tightly grasped the talisman on his chest, and his feet seemed to be greased with oil, and he fled out of the palace gate like a fly.
Looking at his lively back, the middle-aged man was both angry and amused. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, don't chase him. Let him go. As long as his illness can be cured, it doesn't matter what gods or ghosts are involved."
The young man was puzzled and whispered, "Uncle, how did Madam Lin do it? Could she really be a living god?"
The knowledgeable man was stumped for the first time and looked in the direction of Xuanqing Temple with a deep gaze.
…………
"Aunt Lin, how did you do it? Do you really know magic?" Xu Miaomiao sat next to Lin Dan, her eyes full of curiosity and admiration.
Yao Bishui also glanced at Lin Dan with eager eyes, and actually felt a lot of awe for her in her heart. She had long known that Sister Lin was no ordinary person, but she had never expected that she had such extraordinary powers that she could even cure Marquis Yongxin, who had one foot in the underworld.
Lin Dan took the dried Buddhist dust in his hand and waved it twice, as if checking whether it was handy. His tone was quite nonchalant: "I don't know immortal arts, nor do I know how to make elixirs, but I have some knowledge of medical principles. Miaomiao, what I want to teach you is this method of curing diseases and saving lives. Do you want to learn it?"
Xu Miaomiao nodded vigorously: "I want to learn! Aunt Lin, you are so impressive today, they are all afraid of you!"
"They are not afraid of me, they respect me. In the future, you should also be a respected person, okay?" Lin Dan persuaded.
"Okay!" Xu Miaomiao agreed crisply.
Lin Dan rubbed her head and said, "To be a respected person, you must first have skills. To learn skills, you have to endure hardships. Are you afraid?"
"I'm not afraid! I want to study medicine!" Xu Miaomiao grabbed Lin Dan's sleeve and said with longing: "I want to be like Aunt Lin, who can save people with just one magic pill."
Lin Dan chuckled and shook his head, "Silly child, there was no magic pill just now, it was just some common treatment methods. When treating a disease, you must first find out the cause of the patient's illness. Yongxin Hou is the biggest customer of the three Taoists, so they naturally discuss his various conditions every day. Therefore, I listened carefully and already knew the cause of his illness. People all say that Yongxin Hou was stabbed by the Barbarian King in his early years, leaving him with a hidden disease. The wound hurts every day, causing him abdominal pain. So the imperial physician applied purple gold ointment to him every few days, hoping that the wound would heal, but it didn't work after seven or eight years of application. Without any medicine or medicine, who else could he believe in if he didn't believe in ghosts and gods? This is also the reason why he was so easily bewitched by the three Taoists."
Lin Dan paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject: "Of course, his external injury was just a trigger, the real cause of the disease is inside his abdomen. The knife directly pierced his intestines, and although the wound on the outside healed, the intestines inside were stuck together due to poor healing. The intestines were all tied up, so how can you think the dirt in his stomach be discharged? This is the fundamental reason why Yongxin Hou has been suffering from unbearable abdominal pain and constipation for many years."
Xu Miaomiao didn’t understand all this, but she still thought Aunt Lin was amazing, and her eyes became brighter as she looked at her.
After hearing this, Yao Bishui already had a preliminary understanding of Lin Dan's medical skills. Ordinary doctors could not detect whether the intestines had healed, so how could they describe it as clearly as Lin Dan did, as if they had seen it with their own eyes? The entire Imperial Hospital did not know that Marquis Yongxin’s illness was caused by intestinal adhesions. They thought it was caused by the knife that year, so they gave him inappropriate medicine every day. How could the disease be cured? Lin Dan was able to diagnose the patient's condition based on just a few words from those charlatans. In other words, her medical skills were far superior to those of the entire Imperial Hospital.
Madam Lin, who saved hundreds of thousands of people in Tanzhou, truly lives up to her reputation! How blind must Xu Zuguang be to abandon Madam Lin and instead cling to that vicious woman Wan Xiu'er? Yao Bishui was shocked and felt sad.
Lin Dan took a sip of hot tea and continued, "The pills sold to Marquis Yongxin by the three Taoists were all made of flour that had been stored for a long time. They were dirty and contained filth. How could he not have diarrhea after taking them? Marquis Yongxin had difficulty in expelling stool, and taking these pills just happened to help with his bowel movements, so he naturally believed their lies. However, it may work once or twice, but over time it will cause inflammation and infection at the adhesions due to the decay of stool, resulting in intestinal colic and bloody stools. I had long expected that Marquis Yongxin's condition would develop to this point, so I had already made arrangements."
Xu Miaomiao and Yao Bishui looked at her without blinking, their eyes full of desire and curiosity.
Lin Dan chuckled and said slowly, "The intestines are stuck together, there is inflammation, and there is blood in the stool every day. How painful do you think the Yongxin Marquis must be? So, as soon as they entered the door, I wrote a talisman with ink mixed with calming incense and burned it in the hall. This calming incense was made by me personally, and its effectiveness is a hundred times that of ordinary calming incense. It almost instantly alleviated the pain of Yongxin Marquis and the anxiety of others, allowing me to gain people's trust. This is a first-hand arrangement."
Xu Miaomiao and Yao Bishui were stunned.
Lin Dan pointed to the small copper stove and a box of incense pills, and said, "After the smoke of the tranquilizing incense dissipated, the pain would continue, so I burned another more potent tranquilizing incense pill and placed it near him to completely suppress the abdominal pain. This was my second-hand arrangement. Afterwards, I drew a talisman with ink containing diarrhea medicine and asked Yong Xinhou to drink it, so that all the stool in his stomach would be discharged, breaking through the intestines that were stuck together, and completely curing his hidden disease by breaking and then rebuilding. This was my third-hand arrangement. The tea that was drunk with the second talisman paper was actually the medicinal juice I had boiled for a day. It contained herbs such as jasmine needles, magnolia bark, salvia miltiorrhiza, coptis root, and cyperus rotundus, all of which could treat intestinal adhesions. After taking it, it would flow into the affected area and greatly alleviate the symptoms. This was my fourth-hand arrangement. The ash at the bottom of the furnace is actually a kind of medicine , called Baicao Frost, can treat abdominal bleeding. Those talismans are made of crushed herbs with appropriate symptoms. Burning them into ashes is also a kind of Baicao Frost, and the effect is even stronger. After drinking two talismans in succession and taking three pills of furnace bottom ash, his epistaxis in the abdomen will naturally stop. This is my fifth-hand arrangement. With five methods in place, Yongxin Hou's serious illness will naturally subside quickly, but the intestines in his abdomen will not heal in two or three days. In order to prevent him from getting infected after returning home, I gave him fifteen talismans, each of which is made of a hundred kinds of herbs crushed, and the ink is also a good medicine for the symptoms. After burning them into ashes and swallowing them with water, they can reduce inflammation, stop bleeding, and promote the healing of internal injuries. This is my sixth-hand arrangement. In this way, do you understand how Yongxin Hou came to our Xuanqing Temple horizontally and how he left vertically?"
"I understand!" Xu Miaomiao was completely confused, but it did not prevent her from realizing how powerful her Aunt Lin was.
"Sister Lin, even if you explained the whole story, I still think you are a god-like figure! All the doctors in the world combined, I'm afraid they are not as good as you! It's really a stroke of luck for Marquis Yongxin to meet you!" Yao Bishui hugged Xu Miaomiao and sighed sincerely: "Of course, Miaomiao and I are the same."
Lin Dan waved his hand and said calmly, "It's just some common means. The Marquis of Yongxin believed in ghosts and gods. I pretended to be a god and fed him the elixir. He felt very comforted and naturally recovered faster than ordinary people. Miaomiao, this is the seventh reason why I can cure him so quickly today. That is the effect of placebo. The so-called placebo is nothing more than building firm confidence in the patient. To cure a disease, you must first cure the heart. Remember this principle firmly."
"Auntie Lin, I'll remember it!" Xu Miaomiao nodded vigorously.
Yao Bishui quickly poured her a cup of hot tea and urged her, "Miao Miao, from today on, Aunt Lin is your master. You have to kowtow to her and serve her tea. In the future, you should treat her like your mother. Do you understand?"
"I understand! Master, please accept my disciple's greetings!" Xu Miaomiao kowtowed three times respectfully, then brought a cup of hot tea to Lin Dan.
Lin Dan glanced at Yao Bishui, but did not expose her little thoughts. In her previous life, she watched the Xu family's ups and downs, breakups and reunions with cold eyes, and naturally understood Xu Miaomiao's character. This child is loyal and grateful, and it's worth raising her. It was precisely because she was the only one who saw the original owner off to her final resting place that Lin Dan rescued her from that wolf's den.
Thinking of this, Lin Dan took a sip of the hot tea and formally confirmed the master-disciple relationship between Miaomiao and himself.
Yao Bishui was delighted and relaxed her reserved attitude. She asked, "Sister Lin, why are you so sure that the Marquis' daughter is possessed by evil spirits? If you don't know magic, won't you be exposed if you go to her house tomorrow?"
Lin Dan was about to answer when a little maid suddenly ran into the hall with a letter in her hand. She said that all the strange things that had happened to her young lady in recent days were recorded in the letter and asked the immortal to look into it in detail. After that, she kowtowed in fear and trepidation and backed out of the hall.
"Let me read the letter from Madam Hou first." Lin Dan opened the envelope and read it carefully. Then he shook his head and said, "There are not so many ghosts and gods in the world. Most of them are just mental demons or man-made disasters. Don't worry, I can cure this lady's disease."
As this was a scandal at the Yongxin Marquis's mansion, Yao Bishui didn't dare to ask too much, and could only pick up on the unimportant things to ask: "Sister Lin, how did you know that his daughter had an evil disease? If you are wrong, your pretense of being a living god will be exposed on the spot."
Lin Dan smiled and shook his head: "Do you know what the doctor's most powerful skill is?"
"Take the pulse?" Yao Bishui asked hesitantly.
"Drawing talismans!" Xu Miaomiao's answer made Lin Dan laugh.
"No, it's observing the patient's words and expressions." Lin Dan explained patiently: "When a patient comes, the doctor should observe his appearance and demeanor before taking his pulse, so as to make a preliminary judgment on his condition. This is common sense for doctors. Over time, this ability to observe words and expressions will naturally be practiced. The marquis's wife looked at me frequently before leaving, but she didn't dare to speak, which shows that she must have something to hide. I am a Taoist priest, and what she wants to say to me must involve gods and ghosts. Moreover, she looks worried and restless, which shows that she encountered something bad, so I said that she encountered evil spirits, which is eight out of ten correct. Moreover, when she talked to me, she always peeked at the movements of the Yongxin Marquis, as if she didn't want him to know, so I guessed that this must not have happened in the marquis's mansion, so I told her that the evil spirit was contaminated outside."
"Some things seem mysterious, but in fact, they are nothing special after you explain them." Lin Dan smiled and waved his hand.
But even so, Yao Bishui and Xu Miaomiao still thought she was very powerful and unconsciously developed a sense of awe towards her.
…………
At the hour of Mao the next day, the wife of Marquis Yongxin came to pick up Lin Dan on time. However, the sun had not yet risen, and it was foggy and dark outside. Without a lantern, it was impossible to find the way. It was obvious how anxious the wife of Marquis Yongxin was.
Lin Dan did not waste a moment and took Yao Bishui and Xu Miaomiao, who were also wearing Taoist robes, to Miss Hou Liu Yujie's husband's home. Fortunately, the wife of Marquis Yongxin was a woman of insight. She did not covet other people's wealth and status. She only married her daughter to the second son of the Marquis Zhongyong. This man had no official position and relied on his father-in-law for a living, so she tolerated him. If this happened to another woman, being divorced would be the best outcome. In serious cases, she might be regarded as a monster and drowned or burned to death.
The wife of Marquis Yongxin has two legitimate daughters who are about to get married. If the news that the eldest daughter is possessed by evil spirits and goes crazy gets out, it will have an extremely bad impact on the reputation of the two daughters. She dare not take the risk, and she dare not pin her hopes on the wife of the Marquis Zhongyong. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are natural enemies. The wife of the Marquis Zhongyong has written three letters to the Marquis's Mansion in a row. Regardless of the fact that the Marquis Yongxin is seriously ill, she insisted that the Marquis's wife take her daughter back as soon as possible. This is clearly an attempt to add insult to injury!
Now that her husband has recovered, the Emperor and the Prince have said that he will take up his post in the court after a few months of recuperation. Naturally, the wife of Marquis Yongxin is more confident than ever. She brought a group of guards to the door, and frightened the wife of the Marquis Zhongyong so much that her face turned pale.
Relying on the power of the Marquis' Mansion, Lin Dan entered Miss Liu's room unhindered, and saw her smashing all kinds of utensils, with tears streaming down her face and her hair disheveled, like a mad woman. A young and beautiful lady huddled in the corner, calling her sister-in-law again and again, but no one dared to approach her, let alone stop her from going crazy.
"My dear relatives, you have seen that Yujie is really crazy. She almost strangled my family to death a few days ago. Baoer, if she stays in my house any longer, my grandchildren will not dare to go out! Before the tragedy happens, you should take her away. This is for the good of my family and yours." Seeing the madness of her daughter-in-law, the wife of the Loyal and Yongbo Earl immediately became righteous and shouted anxiously: "You guys hurry up and rescue the cousin, don't let her be hurt by Yujie!"
A group of maids rushed into the house and rescued the girl who was hiding in the corner.
Immediately afterwards, a young man quickly ran over from the front yard, first called out "Mother-in-law", then looked at the girl worriedly, not even willing to glance at Liu Yujie in the house.
The wife of Marquis Yongxin was so distressed that she just stared at her daughter, fearing that she would hurt herself, and did not notice her son-in-law's abnormal behavior. After smashing the things, Liu Yujie started crying again, then ruffled her hair and clothes, threw her pearl hairpins and jewelry everywhere, and became more and more crazy.
Lin Dan stood at the door and watched for a while. Finally, he repeated his old trick and flicked his fingertips to ignite a talisman soaked in calming incense, which instantly calmed Miss Liu down. The wife of the Marquis of Yongxin, who had already seen this trick, rushed into the house to support her daughter. The wife of the Marquis of Zhongyong and his second son were stunned. Several ignorant maids stammered, "This, this, this talisman is too effective!"
Lin Dan walked into the house and ordered the maid to wring out a wet towel and wipe Liu Yujie's face and hands. She also combed her hair neatly and tied it behind her head with a ribbon. Liu Yujie was still trembling slightly, but she stopped crying. Her eyes were a little hazy and she was not fully awake.
Lin Dan pretended to comfort her, but in fact he held her wrist and felt her pulse. He found that the condition was the same as he had guessed. He then took out a piece of yellow paper soaked in the right medicine, drew an exorcism talisman on it, but did not burn it to ashes. Instead, he soaked it directly in a bowl full of water.
Everyone was stunned by her extraordinary aura and watched her every move intently.
Suddenly, the wife of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery screamed, "Oh my! How did the talisman paper melt?"
When the wife of Marquis Yongxin looked back, she discovered that today's talisman was even more magical than yesterday's. It turned into a light brown liquid as soon as it entered the water, turning the ordinary bowl of white water into spiritual water with a fragrant medicinal aroma. Just a slight sniff of it made her feel refreshed and invigorated.
"My Lord, this talisman for exorcising evil spirits is truly amazing! My mind instantly became clear, and my body felt two pounds lighter!" exclaimed the wife of Marquis Yongxin.
In fact, not only she had this feeling, even the wife of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery and others standing outside the door felt refreshed. This shows how effective the exorcism talisman is and how powerful the immortal is!
The wife of the Earl of Zhongyong, who had originally looked down on Lin Dan, suddenly brightened up her eyes. She wanted to grab her relative's hand immediately and inquire carefully about the origins of this immortal, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The second young master of the Bo's Mansion who was accompanying her also showed a respectful and solemn look, and no longer dared to exchange glances with the cousin.
Lin Dan waved her hands without explaining anything. She just fed the talisman water to Liu Yujie and waved the Buddhist whisk to drive away the non-existent evil spirit and bad luck on her body. She said slowly, "It's done."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Yujie's eyes regained clarity. When she saw the wife of Marquis Yongxin, she called out "mother" softly and bowed with a smile. Where was the madness she had before?
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