Medical Sage

Chen Fei had always been confident in his medical skills, whether for treating illnesses or poisons. But now, he truly felt helpless. The toxin in Lei Long’s body was terrifyingly potent! Even he wasn’t sure he could cure it, unless his cultivation level could break through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Even so, he was prepared to give it a try.

”Instructor Lei, just relax. I’m going to try acupuncture,” Chen Fei said expressionlessly. He took out seven golden and silver needles of various thicknesses from the bag he carried with him, ready to treat Lei Long.

The technique he was about to employ was the famous Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle from the Cultivation World, renowned among low-level cultivators. Such a medical method from the Cultivation World was a natural nemesis to mystical poisons like the Saliva of the Snake King. However, the technique was extremely draining on spiritual energy. With his current cultivation at the peak of the Qi Refining Third Layer, it was very likely he wouldn’t be able to sustain it, let alone perform the complete formation of the Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle.

In fact, he was feeling very insecure right now, but he could only try...

”It’s alright, Mr. Chen. Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if the poison can’t be cured. Don’t feel any pressure,” Lei Long said with a smile at the corner of his mouth, seemingly sensing Chen Fei’s stress.

”It’s too early to say that, but I will do my best,” Chen Fei replied with a smile. He took a deep breath before beginning to administer the needles.

WHOOSH!

A silver needle pierced Lei Long’s chest, followed by a muffled groan from the man.

Suddenly, Lei Long felt as if his entire body had been placed in a scorching furnace. The temperature was terrifyingly high, causing his skin to turn red in an instant and give off hot steam. His brows furrowed deeply, and his breathing became heavier and more rapid.

”What is this technique?” Seeing the incredible scene, Chief Luo’s mouth fell open in shock.

As someone who had attained the position of Commander of the Lingnan Military District, he, Luo, considered himself a man who had seen the world. Yet this scene still astounded him as if he’d seen a ghost, leaving his pupils dilated and lips parched in disbelief! Is this a doctor? Since when could doctors be so incredible? It’s truly unbelievable!

PFFT!

The next moment, just as Chen Fei administered the second needle of the Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle, his spiritual energy surged out wildly as if from a punctured balloon. His face immediately turned pale, and he was covered in sweat.

Chief Luo was startled once more. ”Young man, you...”

”It’s nothing.” Chen Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, ”Instructor Lei, how do you feel now?”

”I... I feel... I feel very good.” Despite enduring what outsiders would consider unimaginable torture, Lei Long could clearly feel an improvement inside his body. He couldn’t help but exclaim with joy, ”It feels like my body has sweated out a torrent of heat, and the toxins are flowing out with it.”

”It’s true! Lei, your wounds don’t look as rotten. There’s real improvement!” Chief Luo observed, unable to hide his surprised delight.

”Let me see.” However, Chen Fei’s brow remained slightly furrowed as he placed his hand on Lei Long’s wrist.

He spent several minutes diagnosing the pulse, then switched to the other wrist and repeated the process. After a few more minutes, his expression suddenly darkened. He shook his head and said, ”No, it’s still a failure.”

PFFT! WHOOSH!

As soon as he finished speaking, the two needles in Lei Long’s body were suddenly ejected. They shot out as if squeezed by some terrifying force, piercing through the air at an extreme speed. They slammed violently into the metal wall nearby, their ends still trembling.

Lei Long then spat out a mouthful of black blood, his complexion visibly wilting. The wounds on his body grew even darker.

”This...” Chief Luo was stunned, momentarily unable to accept what he was seeing. He’d thought it was going to be a success, but it had failed in the blink of an eye.

As for Lei Long, his expression couldn’t help but darken with disappointment and loss. I can’t accept this! I really can’t! Why? Why did it still fail?!

”There’s no other way. This poison’s toxicity is at least twice as strong as any I’ve encountered before. Unless I can perform the third needle of the Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle, there’s nothing I can do for now,” Chen Fei said with disappointment.

This is the first time since I received the legacy from that great cultivator of the Cultivation World that I’ve felt helpless against an illness or poison. It’s not a pleasant feeling. Am I useless? This is supposed to be my forte, yet now... I can’t do anything! But thinking about it, it’s not really my fault. A mystical poison like the Saliva of the Snake King is a technique from the Cultivation World, a poison from demonic cultivators! Of course it wouldn’t be easy to cure. My Cultivation Level is just too low—only the Qi Refining Third Layer. In the Cultivation World, that’s barely getting started! It’s just the beginning!

”The third needle of the Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle? So you’re saying you *can* cure the poison in Lei’s body, you just lack the strength right now?” Chief Luo latched onto the key part of Chen Fei’s words, his voice filled with excitement. After all, there’s a world of difference between ”impossible” and ”not yet possible,” right?

”That’s right. As long as I can administer the third needle of the Seven-Star Poison Tempering Needle, the poison in Instructor Lei’s body can be easily expelled. But as you saw, even the second needle was incredibly difficult for me,” Chen Fei said, shaking his head with a sigh, his face pale. Even that second needle was an incredible strain. The third needle... as I am now, it’s simply impossible.

”That’s not important! As long as you’re alive, there will come a day when you can perform the third needle, right? It’s only one needle away. We just need to wait until then, and everything will be resolved, won’t it?” said Chief Luo, his expression much more relaxed than before.

”Wait? Can we afford to wait?” Chen Fei was taken aback. In his view, that could be a very long time. He wasn’t even sure if breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer would be enough to perform the third needle—that was probably still an unknown! In other words, he’d need at least the Cultivation Level of a Qi Refining Fifth Layer to be certain. But the Qi Refining Fifth Layer... at his current pace, that would take at least half a year, maybe ten months! Could Lei Long wait that ’long’?

But Lei Long just laughed. ”Why can’t we wait? I’ve already endured for seven years. A few more days is nothing.” He had survived for seven long years; if he didn’t want to die then, he certainly didn’t want to die now. So what if I have to endure for another seven years? Or fourteen, or twenty-one... it doesn’t matter, as long as there’s hope! The only thing to fear is despair—the absence of hope!

However, Chen Fei shook his head. ”Endure? While the poison can’t be cured yet, there’s no need to keep enduring the pain. I’ll write a prescription. Could you please help me get the herbs and prepare a medicinal furnace?” He said this as he turned to pick up a pen and paper.

Lei Long’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint. ”No need to endure anymore? What do you mean? Could it be...?”

”What I mean is, while I can’t cure the poison in your body just yet, I can make it possible for you to live a normal life, free from all this pain,” Chen Fei said as he finished writing the prescription. He pointed to the rotten black flesh around Lei Long’s Dantian and chest.

”Really?” Lei Long’s eyes widened in shock.

What made these seven years so unbearable was the pain, a torment beyond what any ordinary person could imagine. If I could really be normal again, free from that suffering... what difference would it make whether the poison was cured or not? Return to my peak? Regain my strength as the King of Soldiers? Please, I wouldn’t even dare to dream of something so unrealistic...

”Of course it’s true. If I can’t even do this much, I would truly be a disgrace to my sect,” Chen Fei said with a soft chuckle. Clearly, as a healer, he had immense pride. If he couldn’t even manage this much, then he, Chen Fei, would truly be a disgrace to his sect and to that great cultivator from the Cultivation World!

”Alright, I’ll have someone get these herbs immediately.” Chief Luo took the prescription and left quickly.

About an hour later, Chief Luo returned with the prepared herbs and a medicinal furnace.

”There’s probably no way to decoct the medicine here, right? Should we go outside?” Chief Luo asked doubtfully, seeing no gas stove or anything similar in the secret chamber.

”Not so fast.” Instead, Chen Fei tossed all the herbs directly into the medicinal furnace. He then took a small bottle of black liquid from his clothes, pried open the lid, and slowly poured about half of it into the furnace. His movements were very slow, as if pouring from the small bottle took a great deal of effort.

”That’s it, Grandpa Luo. Please take this out and have someone decoct it. Remember to use a gentle fire, keeping the temperature below sixty degrees, and let it stew for about three hours. Also, remember, this is for external application, not to be ingested,” Chen Fei instructed.

”Alright.” Chief Luo picked up the medicinal furnace to leave, but Chen Fei stopped him. ”Grandpa Luo, let’s go together. It’s time for me to leave, anyway.”

「Meanwhile, in a high-end residential area of Northern Mountain City.」

A woman in luxurious clothes, her face streaked with tears, rushed into a study. ”Old Hua, something terrible has happened! I just got a call from Macau. They said Zhinan has been gambling wildly and lost a hundred million! If we don’t transfer fifty million over within three days, they won’t guarantee his safety! Old Hua, you have to do something! He’s our only son!” she wailed.

If Chen Fei had been there, he would have instantly recognized the luxuriously dressed woman. It was Hua Zhinan’s mother, Wang Ying. Back in college, he had often treated them to meals.