The three followed the young Taoist boy out of the temple and into a small hall next door. In the hall, there was a large table with several books and writing implements on it, and a heated kang bed against the corner of the wall.
There were two old Taoist priests meditating on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). Judging from their age, they were at least seventy years old.
The three were stunned. According to their calculations, Yelü Khan should be around fifty years old, which meant that the two men were not Yelü Khan at all.
"Greetings to our two grandmasters."
The young Taoist boy bowed to the two old Taoist priests, but the two priests did not react.
"What is it, young man?" one of the old Taoist priests asked.
"Reporting to the Grandmaster, three devout believers wish to donate some money to the temple, so I have brought them with me."
Upon hearing this, the two old Taoist priests immediately opened their eyes and sized up the newcomers.
Standing before me was a traveling doctor who practiced medicine and medicine, followed by two apprentice doctors. This was a wandering doctor of this era, also known as a itinerant doctor.
This was the first time the itinerant doctor had ever donated money to a Taoist temple. The two quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), straightened their clothes, and came to Zhao Xian and the other two, bowing respectfully.
In Taoist temples, there are many etiquettes, among which the bowing ceremony is considered a major one, performed by Taoist priests to elders and people of high status.
These two Taoist priests must be elders in the temple. Their grand gesture indicates that they regard Zhao Xian and his companions as distinguished guests.
Zhao Xian dared not be negligent and quickly returned the greeting.
Next, the old Taoist priest invited Zhao Xian to sit down, and someone served him tea. Li Guang and Li Xue stood behind Zhao Xian, since they were his medicine apprentices.
"Gentlemen, please don't stand on ceremony. I am a wandering doctor who has practiced medicine for many years and cured countless people."
However, in the past two years, people's lives have become worse day by day. Many people have given up medical treatment because they cannot afford it and would rather wait to die at home. It looks like a national disaster.
What frightens us even more is that crops can't grow in the fields, and even medicinal herbs are hard to find. This is the first time I've ever experienced something like this.
Lacking medicinal herbs, how can I treat people's illnesses? Today, my master, my two disciples, and I are passing through this place and have come to pay homage to the God of Medicine, to donate some incense money, and to do good deeds to protect all living beings and bring them happiness, longevity, and good health.
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he took out a small money pouch from his waist. The pouch had several patches on it, indicating that it had been used for many years.
After everyone had watched, Zhao Xian opened the money bag and poured all its contents onto the table.
What was poured out were all pieces of silver, and there was quite a lot of it, at least ten taels in total. Judging from the condition of these pieces of silver, it must have taken a long time to accumulate so much silver.
"These are all loose silver coins, which we have earned over many years of medical practice. Today we are donating them all to your esteemed temple, hoping that the Medicine God can protect all living beings under heaven."
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, he put away the empty money bag and then pushed the loose silver on the table toward the old Taoist priest.
Zhao Xian's actions left the two old Taoist priests dumbfounded. People have always been prejudiced against quack doctors, and some regard them as frauds.
But this doctor in front of them donated all the silver he had earned over the years to the Taoist temple, which changed their views on itinerant doctors.
The two old Taoist priests stood up again, bowed to Zhao Xian, and asked:
"Where did the miracle doctor come from as he traveled to treat patients?"
"We doctors are just trying to make a living. We wander aimlessly, traveling everywhere. Half a year ago we were still in Yanjing. I never thought we would end up in Mabushan now."
"The divine doctor travels all over the world and can only make money in places with many people. However, Mabushan is located in the north and is sparsely populated. It is even more difficult to make money by practicing medicine here."
“What you say makes sense, but you don’t know the situation outside. For more than ten years, the imperial court has been waging wars against foreign countries, and the country is already weak. Most of the young and strong have died on the battlefield, and the people are suffering terribly.”
A year ago, the Fan Kingdom, allied with the Jin Kingdom and the Luo Kingdom, invaded the Great Northern Dynasty, but suffered a crushing defeat. In that war, more than 300,000 Fan Kingdom soldiers died on the battlefield.
Even so, the imperial court continued to conscript men on a large scale to fight against the Great Northern Dynasty. To put it bluntly, if this continued, the foreign kingdom would surely perish.
The Taoist priest just asked me why I came here to practice medicine. To tell you the truth, these two apprentice doctors are my nephews, still very young. I didn't want them to be conscripted and die on the battlefield, so I brought them here entirely for refuge.
Zhao Xian's words left Li Guang and Li Xue speechless; this was not the plot they had originally discussed.
How come they became Zhao Xian's nephews once they arrived at the Taoist temple? Isn't this blatantly taking advantage of them?
They were just putting on an act, and the nephew was fine with them; they couldn't help but chuckle to themselves.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Zhao Xian's story, the two old Taoist priests remained silent for a long time, and one of them even began to shed tears.
Zhao Xian saw an opportunity. If his guess was correct, the two old Taoist priests should be senior officials in the court, and they must have fled here with Yelü Khan.
If these two old Taoist priests are veteran officials, then where is Yelü Khan? Why haven't we seen him?
Zhao Xian began to consider how to meet Yelü Khan. These two old Taoist priests were very wary and would not easily take him to see Yelü Khan.
Didn't they say Yelü Khan was ill? He had disguised himself as a doctor, hoping to see if he could get in touch with Yelü Khan, but they had no intention of letting him see Yelü Khan at all.
I've almost finished the tea, and I should leave now, but I'm still a little reluctant to go, as I haven't yet achieved my goal.
Seeing that the two old Taoist priests looked preoccupied, Zhao Xian stood up and said:
"Do you two Taoist priests have other matters to attend to? Then I won't disturb you any longer. I'd like to take a stroll in the nearby mountains to see if I can gather some herbs. We'll travel from south to north, gathering herbs and treating patients along the way."
Seeing that Zhao Xian was about to leave, the two old Taoist priests stood up and said:
"Thank you so much for your generous donation to our temple. Why don't you go and gather herbs first, and then come to the temple for a vegetarian meal at noon to express your gratitude?"
Zhao Xian was secretly delighted. The old Taoist priest wanted to invite them to have a vegetarian meal, and perhaps they could meet Yelü Khan. Thinking of this, he pretended to think about it.
After a moment, Zhao Xian said, "Then we'll have to trouble you, Daoist. We'll go gather herbs first and then come back for some vegetarian food."
"Then it's settled. I'll wait for you all to come and have your meal. Don't go too far."
Zhao Xian nodded, bowed to the two old Taoist priests, and then left the Taoist temple with Li Guang and Li Xue.
As soon as Li Xue stepped out of the Taoist temple, she became excited and was about to speak when Zhao Xian stopped her.
"Be careful, we should still go and collect herbs honestly. The two old Taoists are very vigilant. They will definitely arrange for someone to keep an eye on us to see if we are real doctors before they will feel at ease letting us treat Yelü Khan."
So that's how it is. Li Xue quickly became obedient, like a well-behaved medicine boy, following behind Zhao Xian.
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