Medical Sage

”Yes. I didn’t think of it at first either, but my observations these past few days seem to confirm it. After that... thing... was dealt with all those years ago, an extremely minute amount of poison must have remained. Over time, it settled and worsened, and has now seeped into your legs, Chief,” Elder Xunn explained.

”So, it’s a lingering complication?” The middle-aged man, Xuu Ji, couldn’t help but frown. Everyone knows that such complications are the most troublesome because they are difficult to treat and highly unpredictable.

”Exactly. It’s a lingering complication. If it isn’t handled soon, the consequences could be very severe,” Elder Xunn nodded.

Xuu Ji’s face turned pale. ”What?” he asked, grabbing Elder Xunn’s sleeve. His voice trembled with urgency and anxiety. ”Elder Xunn, you must have a way to save my grandfather, right? You must have a way!”

”Old Xun, is it really that serious?” The old man himself, however, wasn’t rattled and only frowned slightly.

”Chief, the situation is quite grave. Besides, detoxification isn’t my forte, especially this Gu Insect poison, which is unlike ordinary toxins... I haven’t found a solution. I’m completely at a loss,” Elder Xunn said, shaking his head.

To be honest, even he hadn’t expected an issue from so long ago to have an impact today. It was quite preposterous. This Gu Insect poison was clearly a thorny problem; otherwise, a man of his stature and medical skill would never have said such a thing.

”Even you are at your wit’s end... Doesn’t that mean... doesn’t that mean...” Xuu Ji’s face turned ghostly pale as he murmured to himself in a panic.

”Ah, Xiaosan’er, don’t be like this,” the old man said, patting his grandson’s hand comfortingly. ”Your grandpa isn’t dead yet. Besides, birth, old age, sickness, and death are all part of life. I’ve lived for over a hundred years; I should be content. As for you all, you can’t rely on me forever, can you?”

”Grandpa, that’s not what I meant. If you were to pass away peacefully, we would be heartbroken, but we could accept it. But... but this is poison...” Xuu Ji’s fingers trembled as he held the old man’s hand, at a loss for words.

The elder, of course, understood what his grandson meant. ”Sigh... It is a matter of time and fate. This is just the law of nature,” he said, shaking his head with a sigh.

”Chief, I’m not finished,” Elder Xunn suddenly interjected. ”Although I am out of options, there is still a glimmer of hope. Do you remember the young man I mentioned to you?”

”You mean the young man who cured Old Dong? The one from Northern Mountain?”

The old man certainly remembered. Elder Xunn had often mentioned the young man recently—the one who cured Old Dong’s fatal backlash condition. Old Dong had saved his life once! For that young man to receive Elder Xunn’s praise was no small matter.

Even his own grandson, Xuu Ji, who had been hailed as a prodigy by medical experts at home and abroad in his youth, had never received such high praise. At most, he got a few perfunctory compliments. But now, for a man of Elder Xunn’s stature and medical expertise to take such an interest in a mere youth... the old man had no choice but to take this seriously.

Could it be? Does that young man from Northern Mountain City in Jiangnan Province truly have the ability to resolve this ’trouble’ in my body?

”That’s right, it’s him,” Elder Xunn nodded, then continued with a hint of sentimentality. ”It’s hard to believe, and I haven’t met him in person, but based on my two conversations with him, I believe that young man’s medical skills may be on par with my own...”

”How is that possible!” Xuu Ji interrupted, his tone agitated and incredulous. ”Elder Xunn, you are the Master of the Medical Sage Hall of Huaxia! You are qualified to be called the Mount Tai Beidou of Chinese medicine in the global medical community. How could any young man possibly compare to you?”

Strictly speaking, he, Xuu Ji, was considered a leading figure of the new generation in the domestic medical field! But now, Elder Xunn, the esteemed Master of the Medical Sage Hall of Huaxia, was saying a young man’s medical skills might be on par with his. What did that imply? If this were true, wouldn’t it mean that someone his own age had medical skills superior to his own? Even accounting for the differences between Chinese and Western medicine, he found it impossible to accept!

”Xiaosan’er!” At this, the old man suddenly barked. His previously kind expression vanished, replaced by one of stern authority.

”I recall telling you to always remember the saying, ’There are people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens.’ Have you forgotten it now?” he asked slowly, looking at his grandson.

”I’m... I’m sorry, Grandpa. I haven’t forgotten.” Xuu Ji tensed up at his grandfather’s words and quickly apologized with his head bowed.

As a descendant of the Xuu Family, he knew this was no time for games. His grandfather was genuinely angry, which made him feel a sense of dread and forced him to seriously consider the possibility.

Could there really be a young man in this world so brilliant that his medical skills rivaled those of Elder Xunn, a man who had lived for over a century? Is that... is that even possible?

”Xiaosan’er, humility is what allows one to improve. That is a profound truth our ancestors left us. Don’t forget it,” Elder Xunn said, his weathered fingers gently stroking the small medicine box. ”In your eyes, my medical skills may seem incredible. I once thought so myself. However, reality taught me that was just smug ignorance.”

His cloudy eyes glazed over slightly as he slipped into a memory. ”Would you believe that more than ten years ago, I wagered on medical skill against five people? I lost every single match. All five of them! And they were all younger than me.”

”What!?” Xuu Ji was completely stunned by this revelation, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Elder Xunn... wagering on medical skill and losing five consecutive matches to five different people? How is that possible? Such a secret actually existed?

”Old Xun, you bring up such ancient history,” the old man said with a laugh, clearly aware of the story. ”Your skills today wouldn’t necessarily lose to them now.” He then changed the subject. ”But Old Xun, are you truly confident that this young man can handle the trouble inside my body?”

”I can’t say for sure if I’m confident or not right now,” Elder Xunn replied, his tone firm this time. ”But I can guarantee that this young man’s medical skills are no less than my own. In fact, when it comes to certain difficult and unusual diseases, he is even better!”

”In that case, since you’ve put it that way, let’s go and have a look,” the old man said, his eyes narrowing into a smile.