Chapter 9: Moving Amidst Peril

Three apprentices, born in the same year, month, day, and hour.

It seemed as if they were chosen by fate, with some special arrangement.

Chen Ji thought of Old Yao's fondness for divination using the Six Lines technique and the Stone-Holding Pile technique that could resist ice currents. He always felt that his master had many secrets.

Could the Six Lines technique in this world truly have the mysterious power to ask the heavens above and the underworld below?

As he pondered, a middle-aged man in a dark blue robe arrived at the door, and Liu Quxing hurriedly greeted him with a smile: "Steward Wang, so late to the clinic?"

The middle-aged man bowed to Old Yao: "Doctor Yao, my old lady has been vomiting and diarrhea since lunchtime and is now unconscious in bed. My master has sent me to invite you for a consultation. If you are willing to come, we will certainly offer a generous reward."

Old Yao glanced at him and casually tossed six copper coins on the counter: "Earth Fire Mingyi, Wind Marsh Zhongfu... It's inauspicious to go out tonight, so I won't go."

Chen Ji: Huh?

The steward looked troubled: "Old Master Yao, you are a doctor and should have a compassionate heart. How can you ignore a life because of a vague divination?"

"Isn't there a lot of doctors in Luocheng? What difference does one less make?" Old Yao glared at him: "Your Li family is always so stingy. Last time you said you would give a generous reward for a night consultation, but after I treated your mother's headache with just one needle, your old lady thought it was too easy and tried to avoid the reward. When I left, she only gave me two salted fish. Who cares if I go or not!"

Steward Wang became anxious: "Doctor Yao, my old lady is quite old, please understand..."

Old Yao stroked his beard: "Don't bring up age. She is over thirty years younger than me. No one in Luocheng can act old and demanding with me."

Steward Wang: "..."

Old Yao waved his hand: "She Dengke, see him out!"

After She Dengke escorted Steward Wang away, he returned and said to Old Yao: "Master, why don't you let us go for the consultation? We could earn a few silver taels each time."

Old Yao scolded him: "You've been here for two years and still can't even take a pulse. If I send you now, it's no different from sending a killer!"

She Dengke caught his breath: "Master, I am trying my best to learn..."

Old Yao raised his hand and struck She Dengke's arm with a bamboo stick: "Go cook!"

She Dengke hurriedly walked to the back yard, with Liu Quxing following behind. One was tall and strong like a tower, the other thin like a reed.

In the back yard, She Dengke said in a low voice: "You went too far today. We are fellow apprentices, don't treat people like this."

Liu Quxing was taken aback: "I went too far? How did I go too far? They didn't pay the tuition, how is that my fault? Don't forget, Master only takes one personal disciple!"

She Dengke fell into deep thought. The personal disciple would inherit the official position in the Imperial Medical Institute, and the three apprentices were in competition.

...

...

The kitchen wafted with the smell of food, and a low table and stools were set up in the yard. Old Yao held a bowl of millet porridge and slowly sipped it.

On the table were a dish of pickled vegetables and a dish of tofu. She Dengke and Liu Quxing sat on the small stools, waiting for Master to finish eating before they dared to pick up their chopsticks.

Chen Ji couldn't afford the tuition, so he didn't even have a place to sit and could only stand by the side, eating a coarse grain pancake.

The coarse grain pancake was mixed with some wild vegetables, making it hard to swallow. Chen Ji took a ladle of water from the water jar and drank it down with the pancake, then carried the bucket and mop to the main hall.

Old Yao glanced at him: "It's already dark, why are you still working?"

"I'm afraid I won't finish tomorrow's tasks, so I'm getting a head start by cleaning the floor," Chen Ji explained.

Old Yao scratched his eyebrows: "Trying to win sympathy? Don't try that on me, I won't be moved."

Chen Ji smiled: "No, Master, I will earn the tuition as soon as possible."

He really wanted to stay in the clinic. Whether it was the threat from the Jiaotu and Yunyang, or the mystery of the ice current in his body, he needed to stay here to find solutions.

His situation in this world seemed tough... but there was no point in complaining. The world had given him a second chance, which was already a great opportunity.

Pessimists are always right, but optimists are the ones who move forward.

Chen Ji placed the bucket on the ground, wrung out the mop, and started cleaning the floor. But as he bent down, the ice current in his body suddenly surged without warning!

The bone-chilling cold quickly drained the warmth from Chen Ji's body.

In just a few breaths, he began to shiver, as if he were standing in the middle of a harsh winter with thin clothes.

"What is this ice current? Is it really the spirit of a deceased person? Maybe I can observe it when Master beats one of the apprentices to death..."

Chen Ji shivered and performed the Stone-Holding Pile technique to suppress the ice current. Strangely, this time the ice current didn't retreat to his dantian but continued to collide within his body, as if searching for something.

He felt the direction of the ice current and looked at the rows of red medicine cabinets behind the counter.

"What is attracting you?" Chen Ji moved step by step toward the medicine cabinet and finally opened the drawer labeled "Ginseng"!

There was only one fifty-year-old ginseng root in the drawer.

Following the ice current's guidance, Chen Ji tried to touch the roots of the fifty-year-old ginseng. The six roots melted into a transparent liquid that flowed into his palm and eventually coalesced into a thumb-sized bead.

In an instant, the ice current in his body was completely drained!

Huh?

What is this thing for?

Chen Ji held the bead and examined it closely. Inside the transparent bead, a snake-like mist was continuously moving.

He wondered whether to eat the bead, but then thought that if he did, the ice current might return to his body.

No need to rush, the bead won't go anywhere. I'll check the books to see if there's any information about it.

Chen Ji put the bead in his sleeve and looked at the old ginseng root, which had lost about half of its roots...

"Will Master notice the difference? If he finds out the ginseng is damaged, how much will I have to pay? Will he kick me out of the clinic?!"

Chen Ji was alarmed and immediately checked the inventory ledger. On the page for the old ginseng: "One fifty-year-old ginseng, three qian, fourteen roots."

One qian is about 3 grams, and the ledger was very detailed. If Old Yao checked the inventory, he would definitely notice the problem with the ginseng.

He frowned and closed the drawer. His already poor family would be even worse off. He didn't know how often Old Yao verified the inventory, but he needed to solve this problem before the next check.

However, he needed to solve a more immediate problem: tomorrow's examination.

After cleaning the floor, Chen Ji didn't go to sleep but found the "Medical Techniques Compendium" to study. Although it was a bit late to start from scratch, he had to learn.

The sooner he learned, the less he would suffer.

At that moment, he heard light footsteps from the back yard. Chen Ji put the compendium under the counter.

He turned around and saw Liu Quxing, wearing a robe, peeking at him.

"Brother, why are you awake?"

"I woke up to use the bathroom and came to check on you," Liu Quxing said slyly: "I have to tell you something, or my conscience won't be clear."

"What is it?"

Liu Quxing said: "I asked you to help with the work today because I wanted to help you. If you can't pay the tuition, Master will really kick you out. Don't listen to She Dengke's nonsense, I didn't mean to harm you."

Chen Ji smiled: "Don't worry, Brother Liu, I know your good intentions."

"Alright, as long as you know my good intentions," Liu Quxing went back to the room, where She Dengke was still snoring.

He shook She Dengke: "Wake up! Wake up!"

No response.

Liu Quxing said: "Wake up, Chen Ji is secretly studying!"

With a thud, She Dengke sat up: "What?!"

Liu Quxing quickly changed the subject: "I woke up to use the bathroom and saw Chen Ji studying while we were sleeping!"

She Dengke was shocked: "So low?!"

"Isn't it? Let's study too!"

She Dengke was annoyed: "What are you talking about in the middle of the night? Go to sleep! You can't study either!"

"Okay! No studying! Sleep!"

In the middle of the night, She Dengke woke up to use the bathroom. He got up and saw that the room was empty except for him.

The tall youth got up suspiciously, put on his robe, and walked to the yard, where he saw a flickering orange light in the kitchen.

He pushed the door open and saw Liu Quxing, wearing a robe, sitting on a small stool by the stove, holding a lamp and reading a book on cold pathologies...

"You bastard!" She Dengke covered Liu Quxing's mouth and started hitting him. Even Chen Ji didn't expect to bring the culture of internal competition to the clinic.

As he was hitting, a girl with a lantern rushed to the clinic, shouting: "Doctor Yao! Doctor Yao!"

The lantern had three characters: "Jingwang Palace."

The girl's shouts drew everyone's attention. She Dengke stopped hitting Liu Quxing and ran out.

He opened the door: "Chunhua, why are you here so late?"

Chunhua, a girl around eighteen or nineteen, wearing a bright green robe, with a clear and beautiful face, said urgently: "She Dengke, where is Doctor Yao?"

At that moment, Old Yao finally arrived, hands behind his back, and asked slowly: "What's wrong?"

Chunhua hurriedly said: "My lady is in trouble, please come and see her."

Everyone looked at Old Yao, who paused for a moment: "It's inauspicious to go out tonight, so I won't go."

Chen Ji: Huh?

Isn't this the clinic specifically for Jingwang Palace?

Chunhua was sweating, and she quickly signaled She Dengke to help.

She Dengke quickly said: "Master, it's past midnight, a new day has started. Why don't you try another divination?"

Old Yao glanced at him: "Alright, let's try another divination."

He took out the copper coins and tossed them six times, muttering: "Heaven and earth are in chaos, the interaction of yin and yang creates difficulty, moving amidst peril, Water Thunder Tun..."

Old Yao's face changed: "Great misfortune! I won't go, I definitely won't go!"

Chunhua was on the verge of tears: "Doctor Yao, if I can't find a doctor tonight, I will be killed. And I have the palace's badge, your clinic must provide a consultation."

She Dengke stepped forward: "Master, if you really don't want to go, I will go!"

Old Yao thought for a moment: "Chen Ji, you go."

Chen Ji: "Huh? Me?"

(End of Chapter)