Three apprentices, born in the same year, same month, same day, at the same time.
It seemed they were chosen by fate all at once, subject to some special arrangement.
Jiao Tu remembered Old Yao's fondness for divination with the Six Divination Skill, and the technique of carrying stone while hugging a stake that could resist Ice Flow. He always felt that there were many more secrets to his master.
Could it be that in this world, the Six Divination Skill truly had mystical methods of reaching to the heavens above and the Yellow Springs below?
As he pondered, a middle-aged man in a dark green robe arrived at the door. Liu Quxing quickly greeted him with a smile, "Housekeeper Wang, what brings you to the Medical Hall so late in the evening?"
The middle-aged man bounded his hands at Old Yao, "Doctor Yao, my Lady fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea after her noon meal and is now unconscious in bed. My master has sent me to request your consultation at the residence. If you would make a house call, we would be most grateful."
Old Yao glanced at him briefly, tossing copper coins six times on the counter, "Earth Fire Mingyi, Wind and Lake Zhong Fu... It's not good to go out tonight. I won't go."
Jiao Tu: Huh?
The Housekeeper's face showed difficulty, "Old Mr. Yao, as a doctor, one should have a compassionate heart. How can you disregard a life over some ephemeral divination?"
"With so many doctors in Luocheng City, what difference does one less make?" Old Yao glared at him, "The Li Family has always been stingy. Last time you came for a consultation at night, you promised a generous reward. In the end, after I cured your mother's headache with just one acupuncture needle, your Lady felt I made money too easily and tried to back out of the promised gratitude. Upon my departure, she merely gave me two smoked salted fish as payment. Whoever wants to go, can go!"
Housekeeper Wang became anxious, "Doctor Yao, my Lady is long in years, please be considerate..."
Old Yao stroked his beard, "Don't play the age card with me, she is thirty years younger than me. No one in Luocheng City can out-age me here."
Housekeeper Wang: "..."
Old Yao waved his hand, "She Dengke, see the guest out!"
After She Dengke sent Housekeeper Wang on his way and returned, he said to Old Yao, "Master, why won't you let us make house calls? We could earn one tael of silver from each visit."
Old Yao cursed in anger, "You've been with me for two years and still can't take a pulse accurately. Letting you make a house call now is no different than sending an assassin."
She Dengke's breath hitched, "Master, I have been studying hard..."
Old Yao raised his hand and struck She Dengke's arm with a bamboo switch, "Go cook!"
She Dengke hurriedly made his way to the backyard, while Liu Quxing followed behind him, one tall and strong like a tower, the other slim as a pole.
In the backyard, She Dengke voiced in a low tone, "What you did today was too much. We are apprentices and brothers under the same sect; there's no need to demean others like this."
Liu Quxing was taken aback, "I went too far? How did I overstep, just because their family doesn't pay tuition fee? Is that my fault? Don't forget, master only takes one Direct Disciple!"
She Dengke fell into deep thought. Only the Direct Disciple could assume an official position at the Imperial Hospital; the three apprentices were naturally in competition.
...
...
The kitchen wafted with the fragrance of cooked rice, the courtyard was arranged with low tables and short stools. Old Yao held a bowl of millet porridge, slowly sipping it by the edge.
A plate of pickles and tofu were placed on the table, as She Dengke and Liu Quxing sat on their small stools, waiting for their master to finish and wipe his mouth before they dared to pick up their chopsticks.
Jiao Tu couldn't afford the tuition fee, so he didn't even have a place to sit, and stood to the side gnawing on a coarse grain cake.
The coarse grain cake had some sort of wild greens mixed in, and was somewhat difficult to swallow. He fetched a ladle of water from the water tank, and with the aid of water, pushed the cake down his throat, then took the bucket and rag to the main hall.
Old Yao glanced at him, "Going to work even though it's dark out?"
"I'm afraid I won't be able to finish tomorrow's work, so I came early to mop the floor," Jiao Tu explained.
Old Yao scratched his eyebrow, "Planning to move me with a self-suffering ploy? Don't bother trying to soften me with such acts, I won't be swayed."
Jiao Tu smiled, "No, master, I'll earn the tuition fee and pay you as soon as possible."
He truly wanted to stay at the Medical Hall, whether it's the threats from Jiao Tu and Yun Yang or the unsolved mystery of the Ice Flow within his body, he needed to stay here to find the solutions.
The predicament he found himself in after arriving in this world wasn't great... but there was nothing to complain about; being given a chance to live again by the world was already a blessing.
Pessimists are always right, but only optimists can continue moving forward.
Jiao Tu placed the bucket on the ground, wrung out the rag, and started to wipe the floor. However, as he bent over, the Ice Flow inside him surged without warning!
An intense coldness struck him, quickly draining the warmth from his body.
In just a few breaths, he began to shiver; it was as if he was clad in thin clothes amidst the bitter cold.
"What exactly is this Ice Flow? Is it really the soul of someone who has died with grievances? Maybe I can observe it if master beats a fellow apprentice to death..."
Jiao Tu trembled as he performed the carrying stone while hugging a stake technique to suppress the Ice Flow. Strangely, this time the Ice Flow did not retreat back to his Dantian, but continued to rampage through his body, as if searching for something.
He felt the direction of the Ice Flow's collisions and looked towards the row of vermillion medicine cabinets behind the counter.
"What is attracting you?" Jiao Tu moved step by step towards the medicine cabinet, until he pulled open the drawer labeled 'ginseng'!
Fifty-year-old ginseng, there was only one root left in the drawer.
As Jiao Tu felt guided by the Ice Flow, he tried to touch the filaments of the fifty-year-old ginseng. Suddenly, the six filaments of the ginseng melted into a transparent liquid in the palm of his hand, eventually solidifying into a bead the size of a thumb.
In an instant, the Ice Flow that filled his body was drawn out, leaving nothing behind!
Hmm?
What is this thing for?
Jiao Tu examined the bead closely, the transparent bead contained a thin mist-like serpent that swirled restlessly within.
He wondered if he should consume this bead. Yet, upon reflection, if he ate it, wouldn't the Ice Flow just return to his body?
"Don't rush to eat; the pearl isn't going anywhere. Let's see if there's any information about it in the books first."
Chen Ji stuffed the pearl into his sleeve and looked down at the old ginseng. Its once lush roots were now balding a bit...
"Will Master notice something's off? With his stingy nature, if he finds the ginseng's appearance has worsened, how much will I have to pay for it?! Could he kick me out of the Medical Hall directly?!"
Terrified by the thought, Chen Ji immediately started checking the Medical Hall's inventory records and turned to the page for the old ginseng, "Fifty-year-old ginseng, one plant, three moneys, fourteen roots."
One money weighs about 3 grams. The records were kept in such precise detail that Old Yao would surely notice the issue with this ginseng once he checked the inventory.
He frowned and closed the drawer; his already struggling family faced yet another hardship. He didn't know how often Old Yao checked the inventory, but he had to solve this problem before the next check.
But what he needed to tackle even more urgently were his immediate troubles: the examination tomorrow.
After cleaning the floor, Chen Ji didn't go back to sleep but instead fetched the "Medical Skills Summary" to study. It was a bit late to start from the beginning now, but he still had to learn.
The sooner he learned, the less he'd get beaten.
At that moment, he heard faint footsteps from the rear courtyard, and Chen Ji hid the "Medical Skills Summary" under the counter.
He turned his head to see that Liu Quxing was wearing a padded jacket, sneaking a peek at him.
"Senior Brother, why are you awake?"
"I got up to pee and came to check on you," said Liu Quxing, sneaking over, "I've got to tell you something, or my conscience won't be clear."
"What is it?"
Liu Quxing said, "I asked for your help with chores today because I really wanted to help you. If you can't pay the tuition fee, Master will indeed send you home. Don't listen to She Dengke's nonsense; I didn't mean any harm."
Chen Ji replied with a smile, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Liu, I know you mean well."
"Good, as long as you know my intentions," Liu Quxing said as he went back inside while She Dengke was still snoring.
He shook She Dengke, "Wake up! Wake up!"
There was no response.
Liu Quxing said again, "Quick, wake up, Chen Ji is secretly reviewing his lessons!"
She Dengke sat bolt upright with a start, "What?!"
Liu Quxing hastily changed the subject, "I just got up to pee and thought I'd check why Chen Ji hadn't come back to sleep yet. It turns out he's secretly studying while we're asleep!"
She Dengke was shocked, "How despicable?!"
"Right? We should learn too!"
She Dengke, impatiently, "Who wants to study in the middle of the night? Go to sleep! And you're not allowed to study either!"
"Right! No studying! Sleep!"
In the middle of the night, She Dengke woke up with a full bladder. As he looked around, he realized he was alone in the room at some point.
The tall and strong youth got up suspiciously, draped in a long robe, and went to the courtyard, only to discover orange-red flickers of fire in the kitchen.
On pushing the door open, he saw Liu Quxing, wearing a padded jacket, sitting on a small stool next to the stove, with an oil residue lamp lit and holding a book on typhoid fever...
"You bastard!" She Dengke covered Liu Quxing's mouth and started to hit him, not even Chen Ji had expected that he would introduce such a cutthroat competitive atmosphere to the Medical Hall.
While he was hitting him, a girl hurriedly arrived at the front of the Medical Hall, carrying a lantern and calling out loudly, "Doctor Yao, Doctor Yao!"
The white paper lantern bore three words, "Prince Jing Mansion."
The girl's shouts caught everyone's attention in the Medical Hall, and She Dengke stopped beating Liu Quxing and ran outside.
He opened the door to the main hall, "Miss Chunhua, what brings you here so late at night?"
Miss Chunhua looked around eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a light green dress, and beautiful. She urgently said, "She Dengke, where's Doctor Yao?"
Old Yao finally arrived leisurely, hands behind his back, asking, "What's the matter?"
Chunhua quickly said, "Something's happened to the Lady of our house, please come quickly."
Everyone looked at Old Yao, who after silent for a moment said, "It's not suitable to go out tonight, I won't go."
Chen Ji: Huh?
Isn't this the Imperial Medical Hall specially appointed for Prince Jing Mansion?
Chunhua was sweating with urgency, and she hastily signaled to She Dengke with her eyes, asking him to persuade him.
She Dengke hurried to say, "Master, it's past midnight, a new day has begun. Why don't you divine another sign?"
Old Yao glanced at him, "Then I'll divine again."
He took Copper Coin from his sleeve and threw it six times while muttering under his breath, "Heaven's creation is dim, the vigorous and the yielding just beginning to meet, creating difficulties, the movement in danger, the waters and thunder of Tun..."
Old Yao's face changed dramatically, "Very ominous! I won't go, I can't go now!"
Chunhua was on the verge of tears, "Doctor Yao, if I can't find a doctor in the middle of the night, I'll die when I go back. And I came with Prince Mansion's waist tag; the Imperial Medical Hall must dispatch a doctor."
She Dengke stepped forward, "Master, if you really don't want to go, I'll go."
Old Yao pondered for a moment, "...Chen Ji, you go."
Chen Ji: Eh? Me?