Chapter 264

Chapter 264"Master, Senior Brother, you're back!" The young apprentice looked at the two who had just entered from outside, exclaiming in delight. "Yes, we've been back for a while, but when we saw this young gentleman saving someone, we didn't want to disturb him." Doctor Zhao nodded and handed over the medicine chest he was carrying to the apprentice. Then, he curiously glanced at Lu Qing. Lu Qing was also observing the other party. In reality, with his level of martial cultivation, he had long since noticed someone standing outside. However, since saving the person was more important, and since they hadn't come in to interrupt, he hadn't paid much attention. The two who had entered were a middle-aged man and a young man. The elder had a scholarly demeanor, with a gentle and refined aura, more like a scholar than a doctor. The young man had a simple and honest appearance, immediately giving the impression of being a sincere and straightforward person. "Doctor Zhao, you're back! Old Wang was bitten by a venomous snake, and fortunately, this young gentleman came to his rescue just as you weren't at the clinic. He managed to save Old Wang's life. Could you check on Old Wang's condition now?" Uncle Li was overjoyed to see Doctor Zhao return and hurried forward to speak. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lu Qing, but Lu Qing was still too young. With the highly respected Doctor Zhao taking a look, they would feel more at ease. "Very well, I'll check Old Wang's pulse. Young gentleman, I hope you don't mind?" Doctor Zhao didn't decline, but instead looked at Lu Qing. After all, this was his patient, and if he were to intervene rashly, it could easily cause conflict with a more prideful person. "I don't mind. In fact, as I'm still lacking experience in treating people, it's naturally better to have Doctor Zhao oversee things." Lu Qing had no concerns about competition between practitioners and was instead happy to agree. Moreover, he had treated the person in someone else's clinic, which was technically a breach of etiquette. If something had gone wrong, it could have affected the clinic's business. So if Doctor Zhao wanted to take the pulse, Lu Qing was more than happy to oblige. Seeing that Lu Qing had no reservations, a flicker of surprise passed through Doctor Zhao's eyes, and his curiosity about Lu Qing's background deepened. However, he didn't rush to inquire. Instead, he approached Old Wang, placed three fingers on Old Wang's wrist, and began to take his pulse. Earlier, when he saw Lu Qing using a Needle Array to expel the poison, he was both shocked and intrigued. Therefore, he was eager to know the current state of Old Wang's body. After a while, the astonishment on Doctor Zhao's face deepened. Because he discovered that Old Wang's pulse was now steady and strong, his breathing was smooth and regular, completely unlike someone who had just been pulled back from the brink of death. Rather, he seemed more like an ordinary person who had suffered some injuries and was now resting and recovering. "How is he, Doctor Zhao?" Uncle Li and the others looked at Doctor Zhao with hopeful eyes. Doctor Zhao released his hand and smiled, "This young gentleman's medical skills are extraordinarily brilliant. Old Wang is out of danger now. I expect he'll wake up soon." "That's wonderful." Uncle Li and the others were overjoyed and once again expressed their deep gratitude to Lu Qing. As Lu Qing modestly responded to their thanks, curiosity flickered in Doctor Zhao's eyes as well. What he had said earlier was not mere politeness. In his view, Lu Qing's medical skills were indeed extremely advanced. To be able to use acupuncture to pull someone so deeply poisoned and on the brink of death back from the edge, expelling all the poisonous blood—such a feat was something even he could not achieve. So he was very curious about Lu Qing's background. How could such a young man possess such miraculous medical skills? Such a talented youth was someone he had never heard of in Zhongzhou. "Young gentleman, may I have the honor of knowing your esteemed name?" After Lu Qing had finished responding to Uncle Li and the others' gratitude, Doctor Zhao slightly cupped his hands and addressed Lu Qing. "Doctor Zhao, there's no need to be so polite. My surname is Lu, with the given name Qing. Earlier, the situation was urgent, so I boldly acted to save someone in your clinic. I hope you can forgive the intrusion," Lu Qing replied with a courteous bow. "Young gentleman, there's no need to say such things. If it weren't for your intervention, Old Wang would have likely met a tragic end. Saving a life is of utmost importance, so why worry about minor formalities?" Doctor Zhao waved his hand, showing no concern. "By the way, Young Master Lu, your medical skills are so impressive. May I ask who your master is?" "My master is surnamed Chen. He is just an ordinary itinerant doctor living in seclusion in the countryside, so Doctor Zhao probably wouldn't know him," Lu Qing replied modestly. But what he said was also true. His master had always regarded himself as an ordinary doctor, so this wasn't diminishing his master's reputation. "Doctor Chen?" Doctor Zhao quickly searched his mind, trying to recall if there was any famous doctor in Zhongzhou with the surname Chen. As for what Lu Qing said about an itinerant doctor, he naturally took that as modesty. To have taught someone as skilled as Lu Qing, how could his master be just an ordinary doctor? Unfortunately, he came up empty-handed. Among the many accomplished doctors he knew in Zhongzhou, there wasn't a single one with the surname Chen. "By the way, Doctor Zhao, I still have some matters to attend to, so I must take my leave now." Lu Qing could tell that Doctor Zhao was very interested in his background, but he didn't say much more. Instead, he cupped his hands in farewell and prepared to leave. "You're leaving so soon?" Doctor Zhao was surprised. "Yes, I have other things to take care of, so I won't disturb you any longer. By the way, young apprentice, the herbs I ordered—if possible, please gather them for me. I'll come by tomorrow morning to pick them up. Here's the deposit." Lu Qing took out a silver ingot, placed it on the counter, and then gracefully left. But before leaving, he also took the jar of poisonous blood with him. Doctor Zhao had initially wanted to persuade him to stay, but with Lu Qing's exceptional martial skills, he was already out of the clinic and out of sight in just a breath. Seeing this, Doctor Zhao immediately understood that this mysterious young gentleman Lu was not only highly skilled in medicine but was also a formidable martial artist. "Alas, why did that young gentleman leave so quickly? We didn't even get to pay him for his services!" Uncle Li and the others were dumbfounded by Lu Qing's sudden departure. Doctor Zhao pondered for a moment and then asked, "Xiaoyi, what herbs did that Young Master Lu want to buy?" "Master, that young gentleman wanted quite a few things. Oh, he left a list." The young apprentice ran back to the counter, picked up the herbal list that Lu Qing had given him, and handed it to his master. Doctor Zhao quickly scanned the list. "These are all herbs for reducing inflammation and swelling, for treating external injuries. It's a prescription for promoting muscle growth and healing wounds. Is someone in that young gentleman's group injured?" After leaving the clinic, Lu Qing noticed that the sky had already darkened completely. It seemed he had spent quite a bit of time saving that person. He wondered if his master and the others were getting impatient. With this thought in mind, Lu Qing quickened his pace towards the inn. Still holding the jar of poisonous blood, he turned into a secluded alley, made sure no one was around, and then slipped into a shadowy spot to store the jar in his Spatial Qi Bag. The reason he took the jar of poisonous blood was because when he was expelling the poison from Old Wang's body earlier, he had used his special ability to examine the source of the poison. As expected, the snake venom in Old Wang's body wasn't ordinary snake venom. It was the venom of a Brocade Snake that had unintentionally absorbed and refined sinister energy, causing it to mutate and transform. This venom was extremely bizarre. Although it didn't act quickly after entering the body, it was incredibly persistent. It could completely infiltrate a person's internal organs, making it extremely difficult to remove. If it weren't for his Needle Array technique being far from ordinary, it would have been almost impossible to expel all the poisonous blood from Old Wang's body. Even more importantly, this venom had a terrifying characteristic: when it came into contact with blood, its toxicity not only didn't diminish but actually began to alter the nature of the blood, turning it into a similar venom. In other words, the half-jar of poisonous blood that had been expelled from Old Wang's body was still just as toxic as the original snake venom. If an ordinary person were to touch it, they could easily be poisoned again, leading to a new venomous infection. It was somewhat like the zombie virus in those movies from his previous life, capable of spreading indefinitely. To prevent this from happening, Lu Qing had simply taken the poisonous blood with him, intending to find a way to destroy it later to eliminate any future danger. After storing the poisonous blood, Lu Qing silently walked along the road. Although he had saved a life today, his heart didn't feel lightened; instead, it felt somewhat heavy. In the past, he and his master had speculated that the changes in the world's rules might bring more than just the revival of spiritual energy. Along with this revival, there could also be various sinister energies, demonic energies, poisonous gases, and other terrifying things. For example, the people like Mo Zhen from the Flowing Cloud Sect had become utterly inhuman after cultivating sinister energies and demonic energies. But the events of today made him realize that these sinister and demonic energies didn't just affect people; they could also influence other living beings in the world. For instance, those already dangerous venomous insects, snakes, and scorpions could, if given the opportunity, refine the sinister and demonic energies in the world, making them even more terrifying. If that happened, and ordinary people encountered them without realizing it, they might not survive. Just like Old Wang today, who would have surely died had he not met Lu Qing. "The Jiuli Village is located just before the deep mountains, with the Hundred Thousand Mountains behind it. Who knows how many ferocious beasts and poisonous creatures are lurking there? If any of these creatures, like the Brocade Snake, were to gain some fortune and mutate, what would happen if they attacked the village?" As Lu Qing thought of this, his mind became troubled. Before coming to Zhongzhou, he hadn't realized how drastically the situation here had changed, catching him off guard. "From what I've observed along the way, it seems that this revival of spiritual energy is centered on Zhongzhou and is spreading outward to the other regions. Since Cangzhou is remote and farthest from Zhongzhou, it probably won't experience such drastic changes for a while yet. So, there's still time." Lu Qing pondered to himself. Jiuli Village was the place he had called home since arriving in this world. The people in the village were simple and kind, and he had long regarded it as his hometown. So he would never allow it to be destroyed. He decided that once matters in Zhongzhou were settled, he would return, at least to ensure the safety of the villagers. With these thoughts in mind, Lu Qing slowly made his way back to the inn. As soon as he entered, he saw that his master and the others were sitting there, with several dishes laid out on the table. "Ah Qing, where have you been? Why are you back so late?" the old doctor asked. Had he not known of Lu Qing's abilities and heard from the innkeeper that Lu Qing had gone to buy herbs, he would have gone looking for him himself. "Master, I went out to find a pharmacy to buy some herbs, but I encountered something on the way, which delayed me for a while." Lu Qing put his thoughts in order and smiled, briefly recounting what had happened at the clinic. Only then did everyone realize that Lu Qing had gone to buy herbs and ended up saving someone along the way. While the others didn't react much, Hu Zezhi's eyes were already filled with admiration as she looked at Lu Qing. She thought that Young Master Lu was truly kind-hearted, casually saving another life. Only the old doctor frowned after hearing Lu Qing's story. "Ah Qing, according to what you said, the person was poisoned by a Brocade Snake. But when did the venom of the Brocade Snake become so potent?" "I found that odd as well. But I brought back some of the poisonous blood that I expelled from the person. After dinner, Master can take a look and see what the mystery is," Lu Qing said. "Oh? You brought the poisonous blood back? That's excellent." The old doctor's eyes brightened. He was always highly interested in anything related to medical science. So after dinner, Lu Qing took a small bottle of the poisonous blood and went to his master's room to show it to him. "Master, this poisonous blood is very peculiar. It can gradually alter the blood in the human body without losing its toxicity. Please be careful." "Is there really such a deadly poison?" The old doctor looked grave. "That's why I suspect that this isn't just ordinary snake venom but a combination of venom and sinister energy..." Lu Qing shared the information he had gathered using his special ability and his own speculations with his master. This caused the old doctor's expression to finally turn serious. "Indeed, based on what you've said, it's very likely that the Brocade Snake gained some sort of sinister energy, causing its venom to mutate and become so difficult to deal with." "Master, with the changes in the world today, everything is evolving. Poisonous energies like this may become more common in the future. Normal antidotes might not be effective against these toxins. If more mutated venomous creatures like that Brocade Snake appear, it could bring great suffering to people everywhere." Lu Qing voiced his concerns. "You're right." The old doctor stroked his beard, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Ah Qing, your concern for the health of the people shows that you've truly grasped the spirit of being a healer." "Master, you're overpraising me. I don't have such a noble heart." Lu Qing smiled. He wasn't as kind-hearted as his master. His concern was more for those he cared about. "But you don't need to worry too much. Everything in this world follows the principle of mutual generation and restraint, of yin and yang complementing each other. This is the way of all things. Even with the revival of spiritual energy, it won't escape these fundamental truths. Although this sinister poison is formidable, as you said, everything is changing now. There's a good chance that remedies to counteract such toxins will also emerge. Our task is to find such solutions, compile them into formulas, and spread them, so that when people face danger, they have something to rely on and aren't left without a chance. This is the responsibility and meaning of our existence as healers." Seeing his master's serious demeanor, Lu Qing's expression also became solemn. "Yes, Master, I understand." "Good, then let's start by studying this sinister snake venom to see what makes it so unusual." Seeing that Lu Qing had taken his words to heart, the old doctor smiled. However, just as the master and disciple were about to study the snake venom together, they suddenly felt a shiver deep within their hearts. Searᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. From the heavens, a vast, overwhelming voice resounded throughout the world. Table of content