“Who is this arrogant old physician to be making demands on me: a martial artist with a secret background as a Cultivator?” thought Yin Na.

He never dismissed the consequences of reaping what one sows— he knew sending Song Ying Jie on the errand to round up potential knowledgeable physicians for saving Yong Fei would have risks. However, the sudden turn of events was almost enough to make even him weary, as he did not expect Song Ying Jie’s fishing attempt to haul up a shark!

The way the doctor revealed that he was not that easy to bully was of the traditional flavor of warriors in the Jiang Hu: making one’s potential as a threat known at the last second. Yin Na would not be surprised to learn that this doctor was a top notch martial artist.

“What is senior’s name?” Yin Na asked.

“Hmph,” the Doctor snorted. “You may call me Doctor Guo!”

Yin Na thought to himself through the lens of Chosenism: “Doctor Guo…is he only of mortal origin? Aside from concealing unfathomable martial arts strength, how could he be so relaxed and confident? Is he bluffing? Does he have the backing of a martial arts sect? Could he be the disguise of an Immortal?”

“Doctor Guo,” said Yin Na. “I apologize for any misunderstandings. I was simply testing your sincerity in saving Yong Fei’s life on that table behind me. Now that I discovered that your conviction is as strong as, perhaps, your gong fu, I can rest easy knowing I have a good pair of hands working alongside me.”

Doctor Guo was silent for two breaths, then chuckled. “Very well, Daoist, you know how to talk! Yes, I do indeed know gongfu…but if it’s an assistant you want, then Doctor Guo shall be a good assistant to you, so long as those Silver Taels are guaranteed to be mine.”

Yin Na smiled beneath his face mask, and clasped his hands.

“I swear on my ancestors that once we save Yong Fei’s life, we will hand the cart of silver taels to you.”

“Alright,” Doctor Guo said with a dismissive air. “Enough rot. What do you want to know?”

Yin Na smirked in his heart; he respected the physician’s directness!

“My companion damaged the patient’s liver, and possibly multiple meridian points. Disregarding the meridians right now- is there a way to halt or even reverse the damage to an organ as vital as the liver?”

Yong Fei walked over to Yong Fei, who had passed out long before.

“That will depend on his condition,” he said. “I will assess him now.”

He put his finger on Yong Fei’s pulse, first on his wrist, then his throat, then on his right ankle.

“This!” Doctor Guo appeared shocked. “Yong Fei’s liver…it’s still there under his ribs, but It’s as if it’s been pierced by a bladed weapon! Thankfully, an artery was missed!”

Yin Na knew that the damage was from Song Ying Jie’s using of his hidden dagger qi ability, but said nothing. Instead, he studied Doctor Guo’s face to see if there were was any fear created from discovering the power of his companion who delivered the blow. However, the physician’s face was hidden by his beard and dim lighting in the kitchen.

“The patient’s liver has suffered incredible damage from Yang qi. In this case, the liver will cease its function of filtering the body’s poisons, and the patient will die either of hemorrhage from organ failure or being poisoned by his own blood. Were this from something as simple as abuse from alcohol, I’d prescribe simple Yin-heavy ingredients and feed it to the patient over a weekly schedule, but we have a dire prognosis.”

Yin Na listened but gave no indication of affirmation nor doubt whatsoever. He honestly had no idea whether the contents of Doctor Guo’s diagnosis were any different from most mortal quack doctors, who twisted the true teachings of healing and assessing the human body passed down from cultivators and Immortals above and cloaked it in pseudo-esoteric talk. However, Doctor Guo was the only available resource to him right now and his calm confidence seemed…authentic.

“Tell me, Daoist,” said Doctor Guo. “Based on my humble diagnosis, what would you do?”

Yin Na thought carefully, then spoke: “Since ordinary medicine will not have the speed nor effectiveness for this kind of damage, a doctor should attempt some healing techniques derivative from gong fu!”

“Mm, very good!” Doctor Guo said. “I agree.”

Then Doctor Guo clasped his hands like a martial artist, and bowed: “Sir Daoist, please.”

Doctor Guo was asking Yin Na to take the lead; he spoke politely for the first time since they met, but it was clearly in mockery of Yin Na’s lack of ability.

Yin Na did not show a trace of hesitation. He walked up to Yong Fei and began turning his body with his one hand.

“What are you doing?!” Doctor Guo shouted.

Yin Na calmly responded back: “...Indeed, what am I doing?”

“You’re disturbing the patient’s rest! Yong Fei had already instinctually curled into a fetal position on his right side to prevent any further complications on his liver, why are you screwing it up?!”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Yin Na stopped, but grinned without a hint of disturbance: “Heh, I was simply testing you!”

Yin Na then flicked his robes haughtily like a true Daoist.

He still did not betray an ounce of hesitation nor the fact that he had no idea what he was doing.

Yin Na was not able to use spiritual sense anymore, which was a magical technique of Cultivators with a Qi Foundation established. However, he tried his best to see if he could “feel” for the missing meridians that were blocked by Song Ying Jie’s vicious attack earlier on Yong Fei.

Alas, he couldn’t sense anything. It really made Yin Na ponder how Doctor Guo was able to visualize Yong Fei’s damaged liver through the mere feeling of his pulse.

Theoretically, if the meridian pathway was reformed from reconnecting these blocked meridians, Yong Fei would be saved immediately.

Yin Na concentrated qi from his secret Golden Core formed from a billion Cultivator’s souls into his fingertips on his left hand. His hair began to fly back; his robe rippled with energy; it was an impressive display. Then he began to gently place his one palm around Yong Fei’s back where his kidneys were located.

This was what he originally planned to do, even without the aid of a real doctor in the village. Using the inspiration and knowledge he possessed of medicine and healing from the Cultivation world, he was going to do deductive reasoning to formulate an improvised plan for treating a mortally injured mortal body based on what worked for most Cultivators.

“Stop!” Doctor Guo cried out. “What are you doing?!”

Yin Na said with eyes still closed in exaggerated concentration: “...You tell me.”

Doctor Guo was spitting as he talked, his white-browed expression flustered with exasperation: “You’ve suffused your palms with qi, but that is the exact kind of deleterious Yang qi which damaged Yong Fei’s liver earlier and is meant strictly for combat! A-Are you sure you’re even qualified to be healing anybody?!”

Yin Na smiled smoothly, and flicked his robes again: “If you know martial arts, you can be a doctor!”

Doctor Guo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry out in frustration. Was this some chaotic, amoral Daoist who was actually, truly testing his knowledge? Or was he some lunatic?

“You’ve got the right idea in using qi to fix the issue,” sighed Doctor Guo. “But you don’t know which meridians are blocked, you’re not going to open them back up again by brute force. You’re not even using the right kind of qi— the kind which nourishes and circulates qi.”

Yin Na knew what Doctor Guo was referring to: it was the same kind of qi shared during dual cultivation, which even mortal martial artists can enjoy!

“Relax,” said Yin Na. “You are obviously referring to this kind of energy.”

Yin Na’s left palm glowed a faint, gentle yellow-colored qi. Doctor Guo stared without giving any sign of confirmation.

“We will have to do this together, as I’ve never attempted to repair a liver of this much damage.” Yin Na said, after attaining this minor enlightenment from Doctor Guo’s words. “Doctor Guo, won’t you assist me?”

“Hmph!” Doctor Guo harumphed. “As if you ever healed anything or anyone in your life. That was what I intended to do in the first place!”

Doctor Guo positioned himself in a squat at Yong Fei’s front, and scooped his hands underneath Yong Fei’s sides where his liver was in a cupping gesture. He gestured for Yin Na to stand behind and place his palms directly opposite above, on top of Yong Fei’s right side.

However, the moment they began applying the nourishing qi the elderly physician began to break into a sweat. Doctor Guo tried his best to keep his composure and expression neutral, but in truth he was battling a swelling sense of fear and dread that he could not remember experiencing for a long time.

“W-who is this man?!” Doctor Guo thought. “I-I feel like I’m the one borrowing from HIS qi reserves! I thought I was the elderly man proving myself the tiger to the sheep, but he is actually a dragon! His qi reserves are unbelievable! Does this mean he is a Daoist after all? Even though he is a cripple, how could he have cultivated his martial arts this long to get a quantity of this much vital energy?! Earlier I intended to put him in his place by borrowing from his reserves but he has enough qi in one pinky to blow down Stone Flower Pagoda!”

The Doctor hid his growing fear and respect for Yin Na as well as he could, but Yin Na could already sense the invisible shift in their power dynamic as he revealed his overwhelming qi from his billion-soul Golden Core.

Yes, it’s satisfying to turn the tables on your foe and reveal the hidden strength you concealed abruptly like an ambush. But the sadistic revel in the gradual dawning of dread on their foes as they begin to realize the hole they’ve dug themselves. Yin Na had to resist chuckling to himself as he felt the physician’s fear through his palms on the other side of Yong Fei’s waist.

“Hehehe,” Yin Na smiled. “How is my healing technique, Doctor Guo?”

“...” Doctor Guo tried to mask his worry. “It is fine!”

“Do you have any critique for me?” said Yin Na. “I am always in need of self-rectification and self improvement!”

“Hush!” Doctor Guo wisely said. “Just concentrate on healing the patient’s liver!”

They purged the harmful Yang Qi from Yong Fei’s liver as thoroughly as they could, which combined with the physician’s experience and Yin Na’s ample qi reserve in his secret Golden Core helped bring about the miraculous result.

The bleeding and further deterioration of Yong Fei’s liver was stopped!

“Now it is safe to lie the patient on his back,” said Doctor Guo.

At Doctor Guo’s requests, Yin Na talked to Song Ying Jie outside the door and sent him on errands to Doctor Guo’s house to fetch key ingredients such as his pre-made pills and ground-up wildlife organs. Among these key and inexpensive ingredients included deer Liver and snake gallbladder, harvested from the local wildlife population over several years and even decades. After preparing the ingredients using the tools hauled from the physician’s house, they gently propped up Yong Fei and fed him the ingredients.

The whole experience was Yin Na’s first introduction into the world of mortal medicine and he could immediately see how his increase in aptitude of medicine was translating to his understanding of alchemy and healing magic as a cultivator.

“I never specialized in healing techniques, but I feel like if I can wield magic now I would be able to expend less effort while increasing the effectiveness of cellular-repair and organ reforming spells if I were a cultivator again. In addition, this reminder that ingredients such as deer liver or snake gall-bladder local to the area pair the best in creating mortal medicine is a great connection to creating pills in Cultivation and Immortal alchemy.”

When they finally placed a towel soaked in herbs on Yong Fei’s head and allowed him to rest, Yin Na asked with a nonchalant air:

“So, Doctor Guo, are you a martial artist or not?”

Hearing these words, Doctor Guo immediately flung himself to Yin Na’s feet in response.

“Please!” cried Doctor Guo. “Please allow me to be your student!”