C12 Chapter 12

Xie Xuan, the Xie family’s Third Young Master, suffered from a serious illness. He often struggled to breathe and was in constant danger of suffocating to death at any moment.

Because of his condition, Xie Xuan rarely left home. The only reason he had come outside the city today was because he had heard that Danqing, the famed pill master known across all four kingdoms, had arrived.

Danqing was a renowned Pill Doctor, unmatched in the art of refining pills throughout the four kingdoms. But he was notoriously aloof and would only make medicine for ordinary people, never for nobles or the powerful.

Xie Xuan wanted to ask Danqing to make medicine to treat his illness. To show his sincerity, the moment he learned Danqing had come to the capital of East Forest, he personally brought his attendants to welcome him.

But instead of meeting the man, his illness suddenly flared up...

His servant was terrified and quickly fed him a Clear Lung Pill. But for some reason, the medicine that usually eased his symptoms did nothing this time. Instead, Xie Xuan’s condition worsened, and soon he could no longer breathe at all.

The servant panicked and shouted for help, hoping to catch Danqing’s attention. What he didn’t know was that Great Master Danqing had already been taken away by someone else.

His cries failed to bring Danqing over, but they did draw Xiao Jing’an and Yuen Yunhua.

The Xiao and Yuan families were close, and both had a bit of bad blood with the Xie family. They hadn’t come over just to watch the spectacle. Mostly, they wanted to put on a show of aristocratic courtesy while taking the opportunity to enjoy Xie Xuan’s humiliation.

“What happened to your young master?” Yuen Yunhua and Xiao Jing’an stepped forward. When they saw Xie Xuan’s face darkening, looking as if he might pass out at any second, they both jumped in alarm. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“A Pill Doctor! Did you bring a Pill Doctor? Our young master is dying!” the servant cried out.

Only after hearing the servant mention a Pill Doctor over and over did Chu Jiuge suddenly remember something.

In East Forest—no, across all four kingdoms and four cities on this continent—there was no such thing as a physician, nor the idea of seeking medical treatment. In all four kingdoms, including East Forest, there were only Pill Doctors.

If someone felt unwell, they would go to a Pill Doctor for a couple of pills suited to the illness, or buy the right pills from an apothecary. In most cases, taking them was enough to recover.

The pills worked extremely well, but they were expensive, and the price varied by grade. Ordinary people could only afford the cheaper ones, and their effects were fairly limited. If the illness was serious, there was often nothing to be done.

To Chu Jiuge, these so-called pills were no different from modern medicine: treat whatever hurts, wherever it hurts. As for that approach to healing...

Chu Jiuge chose not to comment. She had studied traditional medicine, which emphasized identifying the root cause and treating the body as a whole, not just easing pain wherever it appeared.

“Pill Doctor... I’ll go find one.” Though the Xiao family and the Xie family had their share of bad blood, Xiao Jing'an could not stand by and watch someone die. Seeing Xie Xuan’s face darkened to a purplish black, he knew the man could not wait. He turned to go for help, but after only two steps, a servant’s terrified shout came from behind him.

“The Third Young Master has stopped breathing,” Yuen Yunhua added at just the right moment.

Xiao Jing'an froze, suddenly unsure whether there was any point in fetching a Pill Doctor now.

“Young Master, Young Master, don’t scare me. Breathe—please, breathe!” Xie Xuan’s servant was still crying and shouting.

Hearing the exchange between the servant and Yuen Yunhua, Chu Jiuge turned to look. Just then, the servant angrily shoved Xiao Jing'an and Yuen Yunhua aside, giving Chu Jiuge a clear view of Xie Xuan lying in the carriage.

Traditional medicine placed great importance on observation as the first step in diagnosis. With just one glance, Chu Jiuge knew this man...