Gu Qishao was already starting to back away, but Mu Linger didn’t goto pester him. All she did was smile at him. Instead, it was HuangGengchen that walked up and cupped his hands in greeting. “Esteemedw.a.n.gfei, DoctorGu, long time no see. This old man has brought 60 of my disciples withme this time. 10 of them will stay in South Ning City while the resthave been dispatched to various places in search of ill children and theelderly. This...can count as part of this old man’s humble efforts.”
HanYunxi was so moved, she didn’t know what to say. If anyone had to askfor her feelings, her only thoughts would be that it was a shame shewasn’t a doctor with a bunch of disciples, too.
Gu Beiyue returned the greetings. “Old Huang, this one has been waiting for you for a long time.”
OldHuang laughed. “Heheh, this old man helped you convinced many doctors.Over the next few days, they’ll come with disciples in tow as well. Youcan set your cares at rest.” As he finished, he nodded at Han Yunxi oncebefore heading for Pill Fiend Pharmacy.
Han Yunxi’s cold heart finally found warmth. She just knew it, this world still had plenty of good-hearted doctors!
MuLinger still stayed put after Huang Gengchen left. “Don’t you worry,just leave Pill Fiend Pharmacy to me and Doctor Huang!” she called outcheerfully. Then she winked at Gu Qishao and abruptly left without aword. Despite his surprise, Gu Qishao couldn’t help but secretly exhalein relief.
--
It was very busy at Pill Fiend Pharamacy.Plenty of patients were waiting for Mu Linger to examine them, so as amember of a medicine family, she could help out with some minor cases.At times like this, she didn’t have s.p.a.ce to waste here.In anycase, it’s not like Qi gege will like me if I cling to him. I shouldhurry back to Pill Fiend Pharmacy and resist everything that MedicalCity’s done.
She never liked Medical City to begin with. After realizing that Qi gege wasthe same Gu Qi Sha they’d kicked out in the past, she hated them evenmore. But after walking some distance away, she couldn’t resist turningback to shout, “Qigege, take your Poison Corpses and destroy Medical City. Linger will always support you!”
“Silly la.s.s!” Gu Qishao smiled helplessly. That girl had actually supported what Han Yunxi herself rejected.
Although Doctor Huang had won the support of many other physicians, their help was still limited.
“Doctor Gu, I think our chances of success...aren’t high,” Han Yunxi spoke the truth.
But Gu Beiyue only said, “Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, ifyou turn yourself in, you can save the innocent citizens temporarily,but it won’t last them a lifetime. There’s no need for a guiltyconscience, nor should your resolve be shaken. We have to seize thischance to change Medical City’s rules. That’s purely a school of thoughtand has nothing to do with power plays.”
Han Yunxi never expectedGu Beiyue could understand her so well. He even knew exactly what shehad been thinking. His gaze wasn’t sharp, but soft and warm. Despitethis, he could see through people’s worries.
Gu Beiyue, you can heal illnesses, people, and the country. Can you...heal hearts as well?
“Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, ourchances for victory are extremely high,” Gu Beiyue continued. “It’ll bethe Apricot Woods Conference in a few days. This one will go topartic.i.p.ate in the congress.”
The Apricot Woods Conference washeld once every five years, It was the most distinguished gathering ofCloud Realm’s medical community, a place where everyone showed off theirmedical arts. Its compet.i.tion, combined with the physician’sachievements in the medical field, would re-a.s.sign ranks to all itsdoctors. Physicians of fifth-rank Divine Doctor t.i.tles or lower neededthe compet.i.tion to evaluate their ranks. There was a limit to the quotaof such partic.i.p.ants. But Primogenitor, Sage, Empyreal and Sovereignlevel doctors relied mostly on their own achievements to evaluate theirrespective ranks.
Once a doctor earned a rank, he or she couldreceived multiple benefits from Medical City. For example, they couldseek instruction from higher-ranked physicians, or access the medicalacademy’s exclusive medical skills, or earn an allowance from theacademy for research purposes, etc. Even without all these benefits,just an official ranking was enough to send applicants scrambling for achance. Doctor’s ranks were proof of a physician’s level of skill withinCloud Realm Continent. It was a way to validate one’s professionalknowledge, an honorable and glorious t.i.tle.
“You…” Han Yunxialways knew that Gu Beiyue’s skills far surpa.s.sed his fifth rank t.i.tle,and that he didn’t care for Medical City’s ranking system. That was whyhe’d never gone to get ranked.
Is he going to show his true skills at the Apricot Woods Conference?
“Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, this one is planning to challenge Academy Head Gu Yuntian. I’m just worried that esteemed w.a.n.gfei won’t believe in me,” Gu Beiyue was smiling despite the serious situation.
HanYunxi’s heart was pounding. It’d be a lie to say she wasn’tantic.i.p.ating the results. Although she had no idea where Gu Beiyue foundsuch self-confidence, she knew that his words were definitelydependable!
“I believe in you!” she said firmly.
MedicalCity had such power to rally supporters in the medical community becauseit represented the “pinnacle” of medical arts along with its wealth ofresources.
If...if Gu Beiyue challenged Gu Yuntian’sauthority and expressed his willingness to accept disciples, then whatwill be the results?
Even if they couldn’t shake the medicalacademy, they’d at least attract a few doctors their way. Han Yunxicould finally see hope!
Gu Qishao started to chuckle. “Gu Beiyue,I never expected you to have the Apricot Woods Conference as your goaltoo! This old man has my eye on it too. If you can get rid of that oldGu Yuntian, I guarantee that the position of academy head will beyours!”
“Gu Qishao, you have something to use against Gu Yuntian, right?” Han Yunxi asked anxiously.
GuQishao was (publicly known as) the head elder’s foster son in his youthand also extremely familiar with the Poison Sect. Han Yunxi figuredthat he must know a thing or two to speak so boldly.
Gu Qishao turned towards her with a bewitching smile. “Secret!”
HanYunxi had no idea of the relations.h.i.+p between Gu Qishao and the academyhead, nor the extent of his sufferings at the academy. Seeing hisseductive smile, she couldn’t help but grin back. “Gu Qishao, tell methe truth. Are you a member of the Poison Sect?”
“Pah!” Gu Qishao was extremely agitated. “Han Yunxi, this old man will never agree to be your relative!”
“It’sfine if you’re not part of the Poison Sect family. If you marry MuLinger someday, you’ll end up related to me anyways,” Han Yunxi wasserious.
Gu Qishao’s mouth twitched as he pretended not to hear.Of course, Han Yunxi understood his feelings, but what else could she doabout them besides returning them with jokes?You always have to behalf-jesting when you talk about feelings with him. If you’re toosincere, he’ll always refute them on the spot or turn up his nose. Hedoesn’t take it to heart.
“There’s an important matter that Ithink we should discuss indoors,” Gu Beiyue interrupted their joking.Han Yunxi knew that there was another trouble afoot besides “withdrawingthe doctors,” and that was: Ning Cheng. General Baili had alreadyarrived via the back door when they entered the rooms.
Thanks tothe threat of the red coat cannons, Tianan’s Mu Clan troops had alreadyretreated. Ning Cheng took over three of their cities before immediatelywithdrawing his troops. The Tianan army suffered heavy casualties, soNing Cheng only left a third of the red coat cannons and two borderdefense troops to deal with them. Half of his remaining forces weredivided between the western skirmishes with Chu Tianyin and thesouth--with South Ning’s commander-in-chief’s estate as their target.
GeneralBaili finished laying out Ning Cheng’s recent movements before he said,“Even if Northern Li gets their battle horses today, it’ll still takethem a couple of months before they can use them. This soldier intendsto head north with soldiers before the start of the Apricot WoodsConference. The infantry forces can fight together with the navy toattack. Combined with the Chu clan troops, we’ll be able to divert NingCheng’s attention.”
“The navy?” Han Yunxi grew doubtful.
“Yes.There’s a large river running through Tianning called the Sandy River.It starts from the west in Western Zhou and runs all the way to theEastern Sea. If Tianning’s troops want to head south, they’ll have nochoice but to cross this river. As long as we race against time and takeTianning’s Crane Forest Prefecture, we’ll be able to control thiswaterway. Once we do, it’ll be harder for Tianning to head south. We candrag things on until Northern Li sends their own troops,” General Bailideclared.
Han Yunxi immediately understood. This was called“gaining the initiative by striking the first blow.” If they were doomedto fight with Ning Cheng, then it was better to deal with him nowbefore he finished off Western Zhou’s forces. Moreover, sending an armynow would catch Ning Cheng by surprise. Perhaps they could even catchhim unprepared on the battlefield. After all, Long Feiye was still onCelestial Mountain and everyone would a.s.sume they’d wait for him to comedown before making a move.
Gu Beiyue and Gu Qishao would dealwith Medical City together, so there was hope there; General Baili wouldpin down Ning Cheng over here.No matter what, Han Yunxi thought, We can at least control the overall situation to buy Long Feiye some time.
Naturally,she had no idea that Gu Beiyue would head to the Apricot WoodsConference or that General Baili would start attacking first becauseboth men were following Long Feiye. That man could control everythingeven from the distant peaks of Celestial Mountain. Han Yunxi discussed afew more details with everyone else before realizing late night had setin. None of them had eaten yet.
“Zhao mama, have the kitchens prepare some food,” Han Yunxi instructed.
GeneralBaili didn’t stay to eat, but hurried off on military matters. GuQishao would never leave. He couldn’t even remember how long it’d beensince he’d last eaten with Poison la.s.s at the same table. He found agood flask of wine and said, “It’s been years since the three of us ateat the same table. Long Feiye’s still got this old man’s restaurantclosed up!”
“Doctor Gu’s just recovered, so he can’t drink wine.Neither I nor Mingxiang will drink either, so you can drink byyourself,” Han Yunxi said.
Gu Qishao rolled his eyes at her. “Killjoy!”
HanYunxi ignored him and told Gu Beiyue, “Prepare for tomorrow anddelegate your tasks as needed. How about leaving in secret the nightafter tomorrow?”
Gu Beiyue nodded. After a pause, he finally said, “Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, thisone has been exchanging letters with His Highness Duke of Qin over thepast few days. After learning of his serious wounds, this one has aneedle treatment method that is extremely helpful for internalinternals.”
“Really?!” Han Yunxi was thrilled. Gu Beiyue’s acupuncture skills were top-notch.
“Mm,” Gu Beiyue was still hesitant. “Esteemed w.a.n.gfei, thisone cannot personally treat His Highness Duke of Qin atop CelestialMountain. Perhaps you can have a trusted aide do the deed instead?”
Han Yunxi couldn’t wait for Long Feiye to get well faster. Each day earlier was one day won.
“Ican!” she immediately agreed. Before Gu Beiyue could recommend BailiMingxiang, Han Yunxi was already pulling her over. “Let’s make itMingxiang. She learns fast, so two days should be enough.”
Baili Mingxiang was extremely surprised. She couldn’t believe her ears as her heart pounded in her chest. If esteemed w.a.n.gfei wasn’t holding her hand so tightly, her fingers would be shaking by now. Heavens! I’m going to Celestial Mountain to treat His Highness Duke of Qin with needles?
Sheunconsciously looked towards her left. Although Su Xiaoyu wasn’t hereanymore, it still felt like the girl was standing right here and staringat her with eyes filled with questioning hostility.