Chapter 9: Moving Amidst Danger

Born in the same year, same month, same day, at the very same hour were three apprentices.

It was as if a destiny, chosen simultaneously by a hidden hand, held a unique arrangement.

Chen Ji linked this to Elder Yao's fondness for the Six Yao divination technique and his own ability to withstand the ice currents through the Embracing Stone Pile technique. He sensed his master held many more secrets within him.

Could it be that in this world, the Six Yao technique truly possessed the mystical power to commune with both the heavens above and the underworld below?

Lost in thought, a middle-aged man in a dark blue robe appeared at the door. Liu Qu Xing, with a hurried smile, welcomed him. "Steward Wang, what brings you to the medical hall so late?"

The middle-aged man cupped his hands towards Elder Yao. "Imperial Physician Yao, my family's old madam has been suffering from vomiting and diarrhea since noon and is now unconscious. My master has sent me to request your diagnosis. Should you agree to come, you will be heavily rewarded."

Elder Yao cast a glance at him, then casually tossed copper coins on the counter six times. "Earth-fire Brightness Hiding, Wind-marsh Inner Truth... It is not suitable to go out tonight. I shall not go."

Chen Ji: *Ah?*

Steward Wang's face showed his predicament. "Elder Yao, you are a physician. Surely you possess a physician's benevolence. How can you disregard a human life based on an illusory divination?"

"Are there not countless physicians in Luocheng? Am I truly indispensable?" Elder Yao glared at him. "Your Li family has always been parsimonious. Last time you came for a night diagnosis, you also promised a heavy reward. Yet, when I went and cured his mother's headache with a single needle, your old madam thought I earned my money too easily and tried to renege on the so-called reward. Upon leaving, she merely gave me two strips of smoked, salted fish! Let whoever wishes to go, go!"

Steward Wang grew anxious. "Imperial Physician Yao, my family's old madam is advanced in age. Surely you can be understanding..."

Elder Yao stroked his beard. "Do not speak of age. She is more than thirty years my junior. In all of Luocheng, no one can feign seniority before me based on age."

Steward Wang: "..."

Elder Yao waved his hand. "She Deng Ke, see the guest out!"

After She Deng Ke had seen Steward Wang off and returned, he said to Elder Yao, "Master, why not let us go for the diagnosis? A single diagnosis could earn one or two silver."

Elder Yao angrily chided, "You two have been here for two years and cannot even accurately feel a pulse! To send you for a diagnosis now would be like sending a killer! What is the difference?"

She Deng Ke's breath hitched. "Master, I have been diligently studying..."

Elder Yao raised his hand and struck She Deng Ke's arm with a bamboo strip. "Go and cook!"

She Deng Ke hastily retreated to the backyard, with Liu Qu Xing following close behind, one as tall and sturdy as an iron tower, the other as thin as straw.

Upon reaching the backyard, She Deng Ke whispered, "You went too far today, lad. We are all fellow disciples under the same master. There is no need for such bullying."

Liu Qu Xing was slightly taken aback. "I went too far? How did I go too far? If his family didn't pay his tuition silver, is it my fault? Do not forget, Master only accepts one direct disciple!"

She Deng Ke fell into thought. A direct disciple could inherit an official position in the Imperial Medical Office. The three apprentices were, in essence, in competition.

***

The aroma of rice drifted from the kitchen. A low wooden table and short stools were set up in the yard. Elder Yao held a bowl of millet porridge, sipping slowly.

On the table sat a dish of pickled vegetables and a dish of tofu. She Deng Ke and Liu Qu Xing sat on the small stools, waiting for their master to finish and wipe his mouth before daring to pick up their chopsticks.

Chen Ji, unable to pay his tuition silver, lacked even a seat. He could only stand at the side, nibbling on a miscellaneous grain cake.

He did not know what wild vegetables were mixed into the cake; it was rather difficult to swallow. Chen Ji took a ladle of water from the water jar and used it to wash down the cake. Carrying a water bucket and a rag, he headed towards the main hall.

Elder Yao glanced at him. "It is already dark, yet you still work?"

"I fear I won't finish tomorrow's tasks, so I'll start by wiping the floor," Chen Ji explained.

Elder Yao scratched his eyebrows. "A bitter scheme? Your bitter schemes won't soften my heart."

Chen Ji smiled. "No, Master. I will earn the tuition silver and give it to you as quickly as possible."

He truly wished to remain in the medical hall. Whether due to the threats from Jiao Tu and Yun Yang or the unsolved mystery of the ice currents within his body, he needed to stay here to find solutions.

His situation after arriving in this world seemed rather grim... but he had no complaints. The world had given him another chance at life, which was already a great blessing.

Pessimists are always right, but optimists can always press forward.

Chen Ji placed the water bucket on the ground and wrung out the rag to wipe the floor. However, the moment he bent down, the ice currents within his body surged without warning!

A piercing chill attacked, quickly drawing away the warmth within Chen Ji's body.

In just a few breaths, he began to tremble all over, as if lightly dressed in the depths of winter.

"What exactly are these ice currents? Are they truly the vengeful souls of the departed? Perhaps I should wait until Master beats some senior brother to death to observe..."

Chen Ji, trembling, adopted the Embracing Stone Pile technique to suppress the ice currents. Strangely, this time the ice currents did not retreat to his dantian but continued to rampage within his body, as if searching for something.

He felt the direction of the ice currents' collision and looked towards the row of vermilion medicine cabinets behind the counter.

"What is attracting you?" Chen Ji moved step by step towards the medicine cabinet until he pulled open the drawer marked 'Ginseng'!

Fifty-year-old ginseng. There was only one stalk in the drawer.

Chen Ji, guided by the ice currents, attempted to touch the whiskers of the fifty-year-old ginseng. To his astonishment, the six roots of the ginseng's whiskers seemed to melt, turning into a transparent liquid that flowed onto his palm, finally condensing into a bead the size of his thumb.

In that instant, the ice currents within his body were drawn away, completely vanished!

*Hm?*

What use is this thing?

Chen Ji picked up the bead and examined it carefully. Within the transparent bead, a snake-like thin mist seemed to wander continuously.

He wondered whether to consume the bead, but then he thought, if he ate it, wouldn't the ice currents return to his body?

He would not rush to eat it for now. The bead could not escape anyway. He would check the books for its information first.

Chen Ji stuffed the bead into his sleeve and lowered his head to look at the old ginseng. Its originally dense roots were now bald by a small half...

"Will Master discover the abnormality? With his stingy nature, if he discovers the old ginseng is damaged, how much money will I have to compensate?! Will he directly kick me out of the medical hall?!"

The thought sent a chill through Chen Ji. He immediately found the medical hall's inventory accounts and flipped to the page for old ginseng: "Fifty-year-old ginseng, one stalk, three qian, fourteen roots."

One qian is about 3 grams. The accounts were recorded in such detail that as long as Elder Yao checked the inventory, he would surely discover the problem with this old ginseng.

He frowned and closed the drawer. His already unwealthy situation was now made even worse. He did not know how often Elder Yao checked the inventory; he had to resolve this trouble before the next check.

However, the trouble he needed to resolve more urgently was tomorrow's examination in his studies.

Chen Ji wiped the floor and did not return to sleep. Instead, he found the general outline of medical arts to read. Although it was a bit late to start learning now, he still had to learn.

Learning a day earlier meant one less day of beatings.

Just then, light footsteps came from the backyard. Chen Ji tucked the general outline of medical arts beneath the counter.

He turned his head to look. Liu Qu Xing was wearing a jacket, peeking his head out to stealthily watch him.

"Senior Brother, why are you awake?"

"I got up to urinate at night and came to see you," Liu Qu Xing crept over. "I have to tell you something, otherwise my conscience will be uneasy."

"What is it?"

Liu Qu Xing said, "When I asked you to help with work today, I truly wanted to help you a bit. Otherwise, without paying the tuition silver, you truly would be kicked out by Master. Do not listen to She Deng Ke's nonsense; I have no ill intentions."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Rest assured, Senior Brother Liu. I know your good intentions."

"Alright, as long as you know my good intentions," Liu Qu Xing, wearing his jacket, returned to the room. She Deng Ke was still snoring.

He shook She Deng Ke. "Wake up! Wake up!"

No reaction.

Liu Qu Xing said again, "Quickly wake up! Chen Ji is secretly reviewing his studies!"

With a whoosh, She Deng Ke sat up. "What?!"

Liu Qu Xing quickly changed the subject. "I just got up to urinate and thought I'd see why Chen Ji still hadn't returned to sleep. Turns out he's been secretly reading books while we've been sleeping!"

She Deng Ke was greatly shocked. "So despicable?!"

"Isn't it? Let's also get up and study!"

She Deng Ke was impatient. "What are you studying in the middle of the night? Sleep! You damn well are not allowed to study!"

"Mm! Not studying! Sleeping!"

In the middle of the night, She Deng Ke was awakened by the urge to urinate. He got up and looked. He did not know when he had become the only one left in the room.

The tall and sturdy young man suspiciously got up and headed towards the yard in his long robe. He discovered that there was actually an orange-red firelight coming from the kitchen.

Pushing the door open, he was surprised to see Liu Qu Xing wearing a jacket, sitting on a small stool by the stove, lighting an oil lamp, and holding a book on typhoid pathology in his hand...

"You damn!" She Deng Ke covered Liu Qu Xing's mouth and began to beat him. Even Chen Ji did not expect that he had actually brought the bad wind of internal competition to the medical hall.

Just as they were fighting, a girl carrying a lantern, with a hurried expression, arrived at the medical hall door and shouted loudly, "Imperial Physician Yao, Imperial Physician Yao!"

On the white paper lantern were written the three words "Jing Wang Fu" (Prince Jing's Residence).

The girl's shout attracted everyone's attention in the medical hall. She Deng Ke stopped beating Liu Qu Xing and ran outside.

He came to the main hall and opened the door. "Chun Hua, what brings you here so late tonight?"

The girl Chun Hua looked about eighteen or nineteen years old. She was wearing a bright green *ru skirt* and had a clear and beautiful appearance. She said urgently, "She Deng Ke, where is Imperial Physician Yao?"

At this moment, Elder Yao slowly emerged, his hands behind his back, and asked slowly, "What happened?"

Chun Hua quickly said, "An accident has befallen my family's madam. Please come quickly to see her."

Everyone looked towards Elder Yao, only to see him remain silent for a moment. "It is not suitable to go out tonight. I shall not go."

Chen Ji: *Ah?*

Was this not the Imperial Physician Hall specifically for the Jing Wang Fu?

Chun Hua was so anxious that sweat beaded on her forehead. She hastily gave She Deng Ke a look, indicating for him to speak on her behalf.

She Deng Ke quickly said, "Master, it is already past midnight. It is a new day. Do you wish to calculate another divination?"

Elder Yao glanced at him. "Then I shall calculate another divination."

Saying this, he took out copper coins from his sleeve and tossed them six times, muttering, "Heaven creates chaos, the just and soft begin to interact, and difficulty is born, moving in danger, Water-Thunder Difficulty..."

Elder Yao's face changed greatly. "Great ominous! I shall not go! I shall not go! This is even more reason not to go!"

Chun Hua was so anxious she was on the verge of tears. "Imperial Physician Yao, if I cannot invite a doctor in the middle of the night, I will be punished upon my return. Furthermore, I carry the Prince's Residence waist token. Your Imperial Physician Hall must attend to the diagnosis."

She Deng Ke stepped forward. "Master, if you truly do not wish to go, I will go!"

Elder Yao pondered for a moment. "...Chen Ji, you go."

Chen Ji: "Ah? Me?"