Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Desperate Measures

TAP, TAP, TAP...

The sound of footsteps echoed clearly in the darkness.

’Two sets of footsteps. One is steady, belonging to someone with a background in Martial Arts. The other is faint and unsteady... either their Qi and Blood are depleted, or they’re severely injured...’

In a mere instant, Chu Mu reached a conclusion.

An answer immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Please, Doctor, have a heart and save him."

The woman’s voice drifted out of the darkness before she appeared.

Then, a man and a woman emerged from the shadows.

The wanted posters pasted by the door were a perfect match for the pair.

Chu Mu’s gaze wasn’t fixed on them, but on the darkness behind them.

He was certain that these two were not Cultivators.

After all, with the wonders of Spiritual Qi, a Cultivator wouldn’t need to seek treatment from a worldly doctor like him.

"You are wanted criminals. The County Magistrate’s Office has issued an order: anyone who helps you will be considered an accomplice."

"Go back. I’ll pretend you were never here."

Chu Mu chose his words carefully as he spoke.

His hesitation stemmed from his desire to avoid trouble, and at the same time, to avoid provoking a Cultivator.

The middle-aged man’s expression soured, but the woman stepped forward, clasped her hands, and said sincerely, "As long as you’re willing to treat him, Doctor, we will offer you a thousand silver!"

Although Chu Mu was no longer concerned with worldly wealth, he couldn’t help but be surprised by the number.

Such an extravagant offer was truly rare.

This seemed to confirm his prediction: to a Cultivator, worldly money was probably worth less than scrap paper.

Otherwise, how could someone from an impoverished backwater like Qili Village, after such a short time, casually offer a thousand silver?

Chu Mu refused again. "I don’t need money, and I don’t want trouble. Go back."

Then, with a surge of Power, Chu Mu lightly stomped his foot. A deep, muffled THUD echoed as a clear footprint was imprinted onto the stone slab.

The stone beneath his foot had turned to dust.

At this sight, both the woman and the middle-aged man’s expressions changed, a clear look of apprehension on their faces.

Evidently, neither of them had expected an ordinary doctor to possess such profound Cultivation.

But then, as if she realized something, a hint of joy appeared on the woman’s face.

"What impressive skills, sir!"

"Your Cultivation must have reached Qi and Blood Great Success. It’s normal that you wouldn’t care for worldly wealth."

"In that case... are you aware of the world beyond Qi and Blood?"

"Ning’Er!"

The middle-aged man couldn’t help but scold her.

The woman ignored him, her eyes fixed on Chu Mu.

Chu Mu’s pupils constricted. His voice dropped. "What do you mean?"

Seeing his reaction, the joy on the woman’s face deepened. She bowed deeply. "If you will lend your aid, sir, I am willing to offer one Spirit Stone as payment!"

"A Spirit Stone?"

Chu Mu’s heart trembled. His previous resolve crumbled in an instant, and his gaze toward the woman became complex.

Chu Mu took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "To be able to produce a Spirit Stone, you are no ordinary people. Why come to a worldly doctor like me for treatment?"

"You’re no ordinary doctor, sir. I’ve made inquiries. In all of Jingmen County, your Medical Skill is the most profound. Furthermore, you’re an outsider with no ties to the local influential families, and your Medicine Hall is in a remote location..."

"And now that I see how advanced your Qi and Blood Skills are, I feel even more at ease."

Chu Mu filtered out the woman’s flattery, focusing on her latter points about his remote location and outsider status.

’If I’m not mistaken, she’s just grasping at straws out of desperation.’

’But because of my remote location and my status as an outsider, I was the straw she grasped.’

’If I hadn’t revealed my strength, after refusing the toast of a thousand silver, I would have likely been forced to drink a forfeit. Then, whether I could cure him or not, they probably would have silenced me for good.’

’The reason she then offered the temptation of a Spirit Stone was clearly because she saw the depth of my Qi and Blood Cultivation.’

’After all, given the Medical Skill of this era, the wondrous effects of Qi and Blood meant that the level of one’s Qi and Blood Cultivation often corresponded to the proficiency of their medical abilities.’

"Pay the fee first. Whether he is cured or not, once you leave this door, we have no further connection."

Chu Mu stared at the woman, his tone firm.

"Fine."

The woman was decisive. With a flick of her sleeve, she tossed a stone shimmering with a faint, starlike light to Chu Mu.

The stone was incomplete, like a fragment from a larger, shattered piece. But the fragment shimmered with a white fluorescence, and holding it brought an indescribable sense of comfort.

Chu Mu could even feel a deep, sudden craving welling up from within his body.

Chu Mu discreetly put away the Spirit Stone and gestured for the man to sit on the stone stool in the courtyard.

Xu Yuan remained vigilant with his blade drawn, while Wangcai continued to whimper, baring its teeth at the woman and the middle-aged man.

"This wound..."

As Chu Mu unwrapped the bandages on the middle-aged man, the festering wound that came into view made him frown.

’How did he survive this wound?’

’It’s as if a blade was stabbed into his organs and then twisted around...’

With a wound like this, it didn’t matter how profound the middle-aged man’s Qi and Blood Cultivation was.

In fact, after suffering such an injury, his Qi and Blood Cultivation was completely ruined!

With an injury this severe, if he didn’t receive treatment, he would almost certainly not survive the night.

No wonder the two of them were so desperate.

Chu Mu looked up at the pale, weakened man, as if trying to determine if he was a living person or a corpse.

The woman asked anxiously, "Can you treat it?"

Chu Mu didn’t answer. He stared at the indescribably grotesque wound, a faint Spiritual Radiance glowing in his deep eyes as he frowned in thought.

After a long moment, under the woman’s expectant gaze, Chu Mu finally spoke. "I can save his life, but his Cultivation cannot be saved."

Before the woman could speak, the middle-aged man forced a smile. "Saving my life is enough. If my Cultivation is ruined, then so be it!"

Chu Mu nodded, then looked at the woman beside him. The price of one Spirit Stone was enough to buy his necessary patience.

The woman gritted her teeth, glanced at the middle-aged man, and finally said with a hint of reluctance, "I’ll have to trouble you, Doctor."

"Alright."

Chu Mu nodded, turned, and went inside to prepare the prescription.

About fifteen minutes later, Chu Mu emerged from the room.

He carried pouches of medicine as well as his medical kit.

The first step was to clean the wound, then suture it, and only then could the real treatment begin.

This was not the first time he had practiced on such a broken human body.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t impossible that the woman had heard of his profound Medical Skill in Jingmen County.

After all, Hundred Herbs Pavilion had been open for half a year, and he had treated many people.

He had saved many who came to him with difficult and complex illnesses. Even the dockworkers who hauled heavy cargo, who could lose a limb or be disemboweled from the slightest misstep, had come to him for treatment.

After half a year of practice, Chu Mu’s medical experience had become quite rich, and his skills had improved greatly.

This could be seen from his now-Refined Skill in preparing Dragon and Snake Soup.

Chu Mu worked methodically: cleaning, suturing, applying medicine, bandaging, and finally, prescribing and decocting the herbs...

The woman watched from the side without a single word or action of hindrance.

She seemed completely unconcerned that Chu Mu might tamper with the medicine.

"Take one dose of this prescription at noon each day. Decoct it over a high flame for fifteen minutes and drink it while it’s hot."

Finally, Chu Mu handed the bundled medicinal pouches to the woman, gave his instructions, and then gestured toward the courtyard gate. "Once you leave, our business is concluded. We have never met."

The woman said nothing, simply helped the middle-aged man to his feet and walked into the darkness.

Chu Mu watched them leave. Only when Wangcai stopped baring its teeth did the tension in his heart finally ease.

With a slight movement of his sleeve, the so-called Spirit Stone was once again in his hand. Chu Mu examined it closely.

If not for his body’s very real, instinctual reaction, he would have seriously doubted if this was a Spirit Stone at all.

After all, aside from its faint white glow, this so-called Spirit Stone looked no different from a common pebble on the side of the road.

And it was only about the size of a fingernail.

’This Spirit Stone is a bit too small, isn’t it?’

...

"The medicine is fine. I checked it with the Poison-Spying Pearl that Xiao Xiu left."

Outside the courtyard, the woman’s voice came slowly from the darkness.

"That man is very unusual."

The middle-aged man didn’t reply, instead looking back at Hundred Herbs Pavilion with a rather grave expression.

"Unusual is better."

The woman nodded. "His Qi and Blood Cultivation is probably approaching Great Success. According to Xiao Xiu, once one reaches Qi and Blood Great Success, the chance of a Divine Appearance is high. With a Divine Appearance, one can step onto the path of Cultivation Immortal."

"For someone with his level of Cultivation to be willing to hide in this tiny medicine shop, he must have his secrets." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"A person like that is too busy hiding himself. He definitely won’t expose our whereabouts..."

The middle-aged man hesitated.

"He’s at Qi and Blood Great Success and knows about the Cultivation Immortal Realm. You also revealed the Spirit Stone. I’m afraid he might have malicious intentions."

The woman frowned. "He’s very cautious. And it seems... he’s very wary of us."

"When we first appeared, he kept looking at the space behind us..."

"Are you saying he guessed that Xiao Xiu is a Cultivator?"

The woman shook her head. "He probably heard some news."

"Since he’s so wary, even if he did have malicious intentions, he wouldn’t dare to act rashly without absolute certainty."

"We have the Concealing Talisman that Xiao Xiu left us. Even if he does try something, he won’t be able to find us."

The man sounded regretful. "It’s a shame about that Broken Spirit..."

"Worldly money holds no attraction for him. With his profound Cultivation, his Medical Skill is bound to be excellent. We couldn’t very well use force, and if we didn’t offer a Spirit Stone as payment, he certainly wouldn’t have helped."

"But his Medical Skill is truly exceptional. That Broken Spirit wasn’t spent in vain..."

"It’s just a pity Xiao Xiu isn’t here. Otherwise, Uncle, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much..."

The middle-aged man sighed. "Ai, I wonder how Xiao Xiu is doing."

"Xiao Xiu has truly had a bitter fate..."

As their conversation faded, word by word, their figures slowly vanished into the darkness...

...