Chapter 566: Ghost Doctor's Man

The broad-winged flying beast circled lazily, descending little by little toward the garden. More and more disciples of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion gathered there on guard.

The newcomer remained perfectly composed and displayed no hostility, so no one on this side acted rashly.

A man capable of commanding a flying mount could hardly be ordinary. No one dared make a careless move.

The beast landed and folded its wings.

The white-robed man jumped lightly to the ground.

The sound of his landing made several Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion disciples exchange glances. Judging from what they could see, the visitor did not seem to possess any cultivation.

“Who are you?”

Several disciples quickly stepped forward, swords sweeping out in unison to bar his path.

The man glanced at the gleaming blades before him and said mildly, “Who I am is unimportant. If you want me to leave, I can leave now.”

“You're...” One disciple seemed to recognize him.

His expression changed dramatically. He waved in alarm. “Lower them! Quickly, lower your swords!”

A flying mount descending into the residence was no small disturbance. Situ Yao and the other senior figures of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had already begun hurrying toward the garden.

Before they reached it, a disciple came skimming out to meet them. Surprise and excitement filled his face.

“Sect Leader, someone from Ghost Doctor has come!”

Situ Yao and the others all froze, hardly daring to believe it.

The haggard Li Wuhua said excitedly, “Nonsense! How do you know the visitor is one of Ghost Doctor's people?”

The disciple replied, “Master, we've seen him before. We saw him at the main gate when the Eldest Young Master was taken away by Ghost Doctor. He was the one beside Ghost Doctor. You saw him too. There can be no mistake. It really is him!”

Li Wuhua's whole body trembled.

A man's name casts a shadow like a tree's. Ghost Doctor was famed for curing what others could not. Li Wuhua suddenly saw hope.

All thoughts of rules and propriety vanished.

He did not even care that his Sect Leader stood beside him. In a flash, he swept away toward the garden.

Situ Yao and the others exchanged glances. None could be bothered with Li Wuhua's lapse in manners. They understood perfectly well and followed at once.

As soon as they reached the garden entrance, they saw several disciples carefully accompanying a white-robed man toward them.

His appearance and bearing were detached from the ordinary world, carrying an elegant tranquility difficult to describe.

Li Wuhua was overjoyed the instant he saw him.

It was him.

There was no mistake.

This truly was the man who had stood beside Ghost Doctor.

Unable to suppress his wild joy, Li Wuhua strode forward and bowed deeply. “We did not know Sir would honor us with your presence. If there has been any offense, please forgive us.”

Situ Yao and the others arrived just behind him and examined the visitor.

The man said, “None of us knows the other. There is no offense to speak of.”

Situ Yao stepped forward and cupped his hands. “I am Situ Yao, Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. May I ask Sir's honored name, and what relation you bear to Ghost Doctor?”

“Take me to the patient.”

The man apparently had no desire for idle words.

He dropped the sentence lightly and walked past Situ Yao as though the Sect Leader were not there.

The dignified Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion had been completely ignored.

Situ Yao was left standing there rather awkwardly, but though irritation rose, there was nowhere for it to go.

“Yes, yes!” Li Wuhua answered repeatedly.

So intent was he on the possibility of saving his family that he did not even notice his senior brother's embarrassment. Bowing and scraping, he hurried ahead to lead the way.

Several people nearby quietly watched Situ Yao's reaction.

Situ Yao said calmly, “He certainly has the air of a lofty expert, though he looks rather young. Whether his hands truly can bring the dead back to life remains to be seen.”

With a wave of his hand, the group followed.

...

There were only two casual knocks before the door was pushed open in haste.

Niu Youdao, sitting cross-legged on the couch cultivating, snapped his eyes open.

Seeing Guan Fangyi stride quickly inside, he slowly lowered one palm and ended his cultivation.

“The sky isn't falling. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Guan Fangyi rattled out the words. “Move! Go take a look. You really did alarm Ghost Doctor. I hear someone from Ghost Doctor has arrived.”

“Someone from Ghost Doctor?” Niu Youdao froze.

Then he snatched up the sword beside him, stepped down from the couch, and strode out at once.

The two reached the inner courtyard just in time to see Li Wuhua, wearing an almost servile expression, leading over a refined white-robed man. Situ Yao and the others followed behind them.

Niu Youdao flashed forward and planted his sword against the ground, blocking the group's path.

Everyone had no choice but to stop.

“Brother Niu, what are you doing?” Li Wuhua asked in surprise.

Niu Youdao stared at the unfamiliar white-robed man. “I hear someone from Ghost Doctor has arrived?”

“Yes!” Li Wuhua gestured toward the visitor. “This is him.”

“How does Elder Li know for certain?”

It was not that Niu Youdao intended to make trouble.

If this were someone with malicious intentions, then Hai Ruyue would lose even the small chance she still possessed.

“Sir came here with Ghost Doctor before. I've seen him.” Li Wuhua hurriedly pulled Niu Youdao aside, almost blaming him for meddling unnecessarily.

Seen him before?

Niu Youdao was left speechless.

He had not expected someone other than Ghost Doctor himself to have appeared here previously. In that case, his caution had nearly caused trouble instead.

He immediately held his sword and cupped his hands. “My apologies. I am Niu Youdao. May I ask Sir's honored name—”

His words stopped halfway.

The other man did not spare him so much as a glance.

He simply walked straight past him.

The corner of Situ Yao's mouth curved slightly.

At least now he had found someone sharing his misfortune.

But the situation did not seem quite the same after all.

The next instant, the white-robed man abruptly stopped.

He seemed to lower his head and mutter something, but no one heard clearly what he said.

Then, beneath everyone's gaze, he slowly turned around to face Niu Youdao.

He looked Niu Youdao up and down before finally fixing his eyes quietly on his face, as though committing those features to memory.

“Niu Youdao? You're Niu Youdao of Nanzhou in Yan?”

The corner of Situ Yao's mouth twitched again.

This was not quite the same treatment after all.

The man had heard that Situ Yao was Sect Leader of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion and ignored him completely. Yet the moment he heard this one was Niu Youdao, his reaction changed.

The feeling was distinctly sour.

Niu Youdao smiled. “That is indeed me.”

“I've heard of you. You're the one who drove the Shao clan of Beizhou into flight.”

The white-robed man's gaze remained calm.

A trace of self-mockery touched the corner of Niu Youdao's mouth.

After all the turmoil he had stirred up over the years, apart from those who lived in complete seclusion, there were probably few people left in the cultivation world who had not heard of him.

Was it truly so strange that this man had?

He was about to respond, but the visitor merely inclined his head faintly, turned, and continued on his way.

Niu Youdao felt as though he had swung into empty air.

Speechless again, he watched the man's back.

A faint, pleasant medicinal fragrance drifted past his nose from the white-robed man's body, adding another unusual note to that refined, almost otherworldly bearing.

The visitor's calm, tranquil steps somehow gave the impression that lotuses bloomed beneath each footfall.

His whole person resembled a perfectly still lake: blue and pleasing to the eye, yet profoundly, deathly quiet.

Niu Youdao watched him carefully.

Situ Yao paused while passing beside him. “Little brother, don't take it to heart. I fared even worse just now. I announced my identity myself, and he didn't even bother responding. Perhaps this is simply the bearing of a lofty expert's disciple.”

The words clearly hinted at arrogance. Situ Yao was certainly not entirely comfortable with the treatment he had received.

Niu Youdao gave a soft sound, then smiled slightly.

His gaze followed the white-robed man entering the room, becoming faintly meaningful.

“To be this young and already show no trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or delight... That kind of steadiness is rare. Someone without real experience probably couldn't reach this point.”

He raised one hand, inviting Situ Yao to go inside with him.

The group entered.

The white-robed man had already removed the bamboo basket from his back and set it by his feet.

Seated beside the couch, he lifted Hai Ruyue's eyelids, opened her mouth to inspect it, then took her pulse.

Hai Ruyue had already fallen into unconsciousness.

If cultivators had not been continuously using spiritual power to replenish her qi and force her increasingly depleted blood to circulate, she might already have died.

The man released her wrist and looked back. “Prepare two cups of clean water.”

“Quickly!” Li Wuhua immediately ordered.

The man bent over and opened the bamboo basket.

From inside he took two small porcelain bottles wrapped in cloth mesh, one black and one white, along with a silver needle.

Two cups of clean water were soon brought over.

He had one cup placed on the edge of the couch, took Hai Ruyue's hand, pinched her index finger, and pierced it directly with the silver needle.

Blood appeared at the fingertip, yet none flowed out.

That alone showed how severely depleted her blood and vitality had become.

Only after forcing it did he manage to squeeze out a single drop, which fell into the cup and spread through the water.

He had the second cup brought over and once again forced a drop of blood into it.

Releasing Hai Ruyue's hand, the man opened the white bottle and pulled out the tiny wooden spoon stored within.

He scooped out a little white powder and poured it into one cup.

He watched the water for a while.

Nothing unusual happened.

With a wave of his hand, he had that cup removed and asked for the other one.

Then he opened the black bottle and spooned some green powder into the second cup.

It was obvious that while doing all of this, he was completely focused, seemingly unaffected by anything around him.

Li Wuhua personally held the cups in both hands, bent forward with extraordinary reverence, carefully cooperating with every movement as though attending an ancestor.

The expressions of those standing nearby suddenly changed.

After the green powder entered the water, the liquid's color began to shift.

Threads of crimson slowly coiled through the cup.

One after another, everyone's eyes turned toward the white-robed man, waiting for his reaction.

He nodded faintly. “It is Red Child poison.”

He waved for the cup to be taken away.

The words left many people astonished.

Situ Yao and Niu Youdao exchanged a look.

This side had already more or less determined that the poison was Red Child, but only because Niu Youdao had asked around elsewhere.

At first, none of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion's people had been able to identify it. They had never even heard of such a strange poison.

Yet this man had barely begun examining Hai Ruyue before arriving at the conclusion.

In a matter of moments, he had left the entire group from Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion a full hundred and eight thousand li behind.

Everyone inwardly sighed.

Ghost Doctor truly lived up to his reputation.

Even a single person from his side possessed such skill.

Li Wuhua was both excited and expectant. He asked carefully, “Sir, can this poison be cured?”

As the white-robed man returned the items to his bamboo basket and packed them away, he replied, “It's not much of a problem.”

The others were even more speechless.

Such an enormous crisis—and in his mouth it was “not much of a problem”?

Li Wuhua was nearly wild with joy. He bowed deeply. “Then I beg Sir to display your wondrous skill and save them. So long as Sir—”

The white-robed man stood. “No need to say these things. I came here to treat them. If I had no intention of treating them, I wouldn't have come.”

“Why are all of you crowding around here? You're disturbing me. Disperse.”

Then he turned and pointed toward Hai Ruyue on the couch. “Carry the patient to the kitchen.”

The people who had begun moving away all turned back at once, wondering whether they had heard correctly.

“The kitchen?” Li Wuhua froze. “Sir means we should carry her to the kitchen?”

The man gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment and bent to lift the bamboo basket.

“Also prepare a bed board, preferably a little thinner, and one quilt. Bring both to the kitchen.”

“Unrelated people should stop gathering around.”

[End of Chapter 566]