Chapter 1321: Your Master's Two Treasures

The moment those words were spoken, a murmur rose around them. So that was how Xuan Wei had died.

The Sect Leaders of the three great sects exchanged glances as well. At last they knew the true cause of Xuan Wei's death. They had already felt there was something unreasonable about how abruptly she had died.

Everything had been agreed clearly enough before, only for the Ghost Doctor to suddenly add another condition. From Xiaoyue Pavilion's perspective, he was plainly being unreasonable.

Perhaps he was. But the Ghost Doctor was simply going to be unreasonable. His people had already returned to him, while Yucang was still in his hands. His position was simple: you broke the rules of my lineage. What are you going to do about it?

With matters having reached this point and their Pavilion Master in the other side's hands, what could Dugu Jing and the others do? Even if the three Sect Leaders wanted to use force, Xiaoyue Pavilion might be the side that dared not.

If anyone was to blame, they could only blame themselves for being caught off guard earlier. None of them had expected the other side to seize Yucang even through the layered deterrence of Heavenly Sword Talismans and Heavenly Mechanism Aura-Breaking Arrows.

And the three Sect Leaders had no desire to help Xiaoyue Pavilion force the issue. Unless absolutely necessary, what was so enjoyable about unleashing a spectacular battle inside the capital? Even if the three sects mobilized large numbers of disciples to suppress the fighting, people would still die.

Fortunately, Yucang remained unconscious and could not make the decision himself.

After discussing the matter with the martial brothers Dugu Jing and Guo Xingshan, the three Sect Leaders ultimately decided to release the prisoner.

To Xiaoyue Pavilion, Ximen Qingkong's life was not worth Yucang's.

Dugu Jing made the final decision and would bear whatever responsibility followed.

Yet everyone understood that so long as Yucang's life was preserved, however angry he became afterward, how severely could he truly punish disciples who had loyally acted to save their master?

Before the eyes of the entire crowd, the unconscious Ximen Qingkong was dragged out. He was covered in blood and so badly injured he scarcely looked human anymore.

Countless onlookers sighed at the sight. The mighty number-one expert on the Golden Core Ranking had actually ended up like this, all for the sake of a woman. In the end, the woman had died too, and he had gained nothing. No one knew how many people felt the entire thing had not been worth it for him.

Two Xiaoyue Pavilion men dragged him over and delivered him to the Ghost Doctor's side.

The instant Ximen Qingkong was in his hands, the Ghost Doctor was equally straightforward. "Release him!"

The two men who had brought Ximen Qingkong over immediately took the opportunity to carry Yucang back as well.

Guo Man had just gotten Ximen Qingkong into the carriage when Yuwen Yan suddenly spoke with commanding authority. "Lock down the entire city! Anyone who dares cause further trouble in the Qi capital will be killed without mercy!"

They had now sounded out some of the Ghost Doctor's depth. The three great sects wanted the matter to end here, or at the very least did not want the two sides creating any further trouble inside the Qi capital. If they wanted to settle accounts, they could go outside the city to do it.

At those words, Dugu Jing fixed a hard stare on Yuwen Yan. He very much wanted to ask what exactly the man meant by that.

San Qianli, however, gave him a well-intentioned reminder. "Dugu, I understand how you feel, but now isn't the time to settle accounts. They have more people than you, and who would win or lose is difficult to say. We don't want to see your side suffer a loss. You also asked the three of us to stand guarantee before everyone, so don't force us to break our word. Besides, if you aren't certain you can capture them alive, you'd best think carefully about the poison in your master's body."

Poison? Whatever else might be said, the Ghost Doctor had fed his master poison, while Dugu Jing had fed Wuxin poison. Dugu Jing could not find the slightest fairness in the situation.

The carriage departed, and the bell hanging from it had been removed.

Faced with the deterrent warning from Qi's three great sects, the cultivators who had rushed to the Qi capital to lend the Ghost Doctor their support quickly began leaving. Many departed with whole groups of disciples from their sects.

Their haste was not because they feared the three great sects. They feared Xiaoyue Pavilion settling accounts afterward. Leaving promptly while Xiaoyue Pavilion still had no attention to spare for them was clearly the wisest choice.

Meanwhile, news that the Ghost Doctor had rescued his disciple and humiliated Xiaoyue Pavilion spread outward as though it had grown wings...

Zhu Jian and You Peipei did not leave immediately. They escorted the carriage back to Wuxin's residence, and thus the top four experts on the Golden Core Ranking all gathered in the same courtyard.

Within the quiet courtyard, the Ghost Doctor strolled with his hands behind his back as though inspecting the surroundings, while Wuxin accompanied him.

After walking through the entire place, the Ghost Doctor returned to the rear courtyard and nodded. "Quiet amid the bustle. Not a bad place. But in the end it's still a place of trouble. It can't compare with the peace of Medicine Valley. What do you think?"

The driver known as Wuxiang still had not removed his conical hat. Hearing the subject they were discussing, he turned and asked the others traveling with them to withdraw, leaving only himself standing guard nearby.

Wuxin lowered his head. "This disciple doesn't know how to answer."

The Ghost Doctor asked, "You saw that woman?"

"I did. She's already another man's wife and has a son."

"I don't care what she is now, nor what there is between the two of you. I'm asking only one thing. Is she willing to leave with you?"

"We already missed our chance. Once missed, it's missed."

"If you know you've already missed it, then why are you still lingering here?"

Wuxin answered with two words. "Peace of mind."

"Bullshit!" The Ghost Doctor rolled his eyes in fury and pointed at him. He looked ready to fling his sleeves and leave, but after taking two steps he turned back and pointed again. "I've told you before. Your talent for medicine is exceptional. If you're willing to return to Medicine Valley, forget worldly entanglements, and devote yourself to your studies, your master is willing to teach you everything I know without reservation. Your future achievements would be immeasurable. Being trapped by love isn't worth it. What's so good about her? Foolish disciple, it isn't worth it!"

He looked as though he wished he could crack Wuxin's skull open and stuff the reasoning directly inside.

Wuxin said, "I often remember every little thing that happened between us. I can't forget. Even if I went back, I wouldn't be able to calm my heart and study."

The Ghost Doctor stamped his foot and thumped his chest. "You've never tried another woman. How do you know you can't forget her? If you really want one, I'll bring a woman back to Medicine Valley for you. Will that do?"

Wuxin immediately panicked. "Master, please don't do anything reckless."

"There are women everywhere beneath Heaven. What kind couldn't you have? Like whoever you want. If you like men, that's fine too! Why did you have to fall for this kind of person? Foolish disciple, let me tell you something. A woman who struggles in the currents of power may once have treated you well, but by now she has long since changed. She's become a deadly poison for which there is no cure, specially made to poison devoted fools like you to death. The sooner you stay away from her, the more fortunate you'll be. Do you understand?"

Wuxin said, "Master, I came from a humble household. She never disdained me and treated me with all her heart. How can this disciple simply become heartless and forget her? I've never thought of possessing her. I only hope she can live well. You could also say I'm staying precisely so I can forget her. Once I've truly let go and have no attachments left in the mortal world, I'll be able to return with a peaceful heart."

Smack, smack. The Ghost Doctor patted his own forehead, looking thoroughly pained. "I think I understood that, but somehow I still don't understand it. I only want to tell you this: to save you this time, I have nearly squandered all the favors I accumulated over most of my life. If you land yourself in trouble like this again, I'm afraid even your master will be powerless to save you. Do you understand?"

That was no empty claim.

This time he had gone up against Xiaoyue Pavilion, an enormous power controlling the entire State of Qin. It was nothing like the people he had dealt with in his earlier years.

The alliances and rivalries between the states rolled forward with overwhelming force. The sects he had summoned did not dare oppose such power directly.

That was why he had only called them over to lend him momentum.

And those people had come because they feared the Ghost Doctor's methods of punishing those who failed to honor a debt. To put it less politely, most had simply come to see how things developed before deciding what to do.

From beginning to end, he had never dared order everyone to swarm forward and start killing.

If he truly had, there probably would not have been many willing to attack. The great posture he had constructed would have collapsed immediately. Once Xiaoyue Pavilion saw through his bluff, what attitude would it have taken then? The answer was obvious.

He had gathered so many people solely to create momentum. Circling the Qi capital in the carriage had also been part of that show, meant to draw more people out to watch and make everyone uncertain about how much strength he truly possessed. At minimum, it had made Qi's three great sects unwilling to intervene lightly and had given him room to settle his dispute with Xiaoyue Pavilion.

No one understood his real weight better than he did.

For all its impressive appearance, the whole thing had largely been bluff.

And once those cultivators came to support him this time, their debts of favor were considered repaid. They would owe him nothing afterward.

He no longer had enough old favors to summon such a crowd a second time.

That he had taken such an enormous risk and put on such an elaborate performance this time was ultimately because he cherished this disciple's talent. To him, Wuxin truly was a medical genius rarely encountered even once in a hundred years. He could not bear to abandon him.

Wuxin cupped his hands and bowed deeply.

That was his answer.

The Ghost Doctor turned his back, so angry his beard practically bristled.

Wuxin straightened and looked toward the driver standing nearby. "Junior Brother, I heard Master call you Wuxiang earlier?"

A faint laugh seemed to come from beneath the conical hat. "I heard in Medicine Valley that Senior Brother changed his name to Wuxin, so I started calling myself Wuxiang."

Wuxin pointed at his own chest. "I truly am without a heart. You may not know this, but Master replaced mine with a pig's heart."

"When I heard the name, Master guessed as much and mentioned it." Wuxiang raised a hand and lifted the black veil hanging from his hat, revealing his face.

Wuxin's eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief.

The man's features were twisted almost beyond recognition. Some parts of his face were sunken, others swollen. His two eyes were badly misaligned, one higher than the other, one large and one small. Was that still a human face? He looked almost monstrous.

Combined with the strange odor coming from his body, the sight made Wuxin's Adam's apple bob. "Junior Brother, you... what happened to you?"

Wuxiang seemed to smile faintly, then slowly lowered the veil again.

Still facing away from them, the Ghost Doctor sighed. "He said his talent for medicine couldn't compare with yours, so he forcibly absorbed the cultivation of other medicine cauldrons to advance quickly. His present body simply can't support cultivation this powerful. Without medicine maintaining it, his flesh could collapse at any time. I'm still searching for a way to resolve the problem."

Wuxin was speechless for a long while before sighing. "Junior Brother, why put yourself through this?"

Wuxiang said, "I didn't want people looking down on me anymore."

The Ghost Doctor turned around and caught Wuxin by the wrist. "Let me see how your heart is doing." He closed his eyes and examined him.

When he opened them again, he released Wuxin's wrist. "Find a quiet room first. I'll remove the Spirit-Torment Pill's poison from you."

Finding a room was easy enough. No one besides master and disciple was allowed inside. Wuxiang barred everyone else from approaching. Not only Zhu Jian and You Peipei, but even Guo Man and Yan Baoru were kept away. Wuxiang sat on the roof to stand guard...

"Done."

Inside the room, the Ghost Doctor pulled something away from the neck of Wuxin, who had been lying motionless.

Wuxin quickly sat up and touched the wound over the blood vessel in his neck. His eyes fixed curiously on the living creature in the Ghost Doctor's hand.

It was a toad, blood-red from head to toe, with a pair of golden eyes.

"Master, what is that? How can it remove poison? I don't remember ever seeing you use it before, much less detoxify someone this way."

"This is called a Poison-Devouring Blood Toad. It can draw blood and filter poison." The Ghost Doctor gave the blood-red toad in his hand a little shake. "Never seen one, have you? Want it? This is one of your master's two supreme treasures. I also have a medical canon capable of resolving afflictions of ghostly and divine bodies, treating maladies of demons and monsters, and diagnosing all manner of disorders cultivators bring upon themselves through blind or improper cultivation. Its uses are boundless. Do you want them?"

[End of Chapter 1321]