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 throughout the four kingdoms. His skill in refining pills was unmatched, but he was famously aloof and would only make medicine for ordinary people, never for nobles or powerful officials.

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 people to welcome him.

But instead of meeting the man, his illness struck without warning...

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

The attendant was beside himself with fear. He shouted for help, hoping to catch Danqing’s attention, not knowing that Great Master Danqing had already been taken away by someone else.

His cries failed to bring Danqing over. Instead, they drew Xiao Jing’an and Yuen Yunhua.

The Xiao and Yuan families were on close terms, and they had a bit of bad blood with the Xie family. They had not come over just to enjoy the spectacle. They were simply putting on the polished manners expected of great families while taking the opportunity to watch Xie Xuan make a fool of himself.

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

“A Pill Doctor! Did you bring a Pill Doctor? Our young master is dying!” the attendant cried out at the top of his lungs.

It was only after hearing the attendant mention a Pill Doctor again and again that Chu Jiuge suddenly remembered something.

Not just East Forest—none of the four kingdoms or four cities on this continent had any concept of a traditional physician, or even the idea of seeking medical treatment. In all four kingdoms, East Forest included, there were only Pill Doctors.

If you felt sick, you went to a Pill Doctor for a couple of pills suited to your condition, or bought the right pills yourself from an apothecary. Most of the time, taking them was enough to make you better.

The pills worked extremely well, but they were expensive, and the price varied depending on their grade. Ordinary people could only afford the lower-end pills, and those were only so-so. If the illness was serious, there was often nothing they could do.

To Chu Jiuge, these so-called pills were basically no different from Western medicine—treating whatever hurt, right where it hurt. As for that approach to healing...

Chu Jiuge chose not to comment. She had studied traditional medicine, which focused on identifying the root cause and treating the body as a whole, rather than just targeting symptoms.

“Pill Doctor... I’ll go find one.” Although the Xiao family and the Xie family had their share of bad blood, Xiao Jing'an still couldn't just stand by and watch someone die. Seeing Xie Xuan’s face turning dark purple, he knew Xie Xuan couldn’t wait much longer. He turned to go find help, but after only two steps, he heard the servant behind him cry out in terror, “Young Master, Young Master... wake up! Don’t scare me, please don’t scare me.”

“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 going to get a Pill Doctor now.

“Young Master, Young Master, don’t scare me. Breathe—please, take a breath!” Xie Xuan’s servant kept wailing.

Hearing the exchange between the servant and Yuen Yunhua, Chu Jiuge turned her head and glanced over, just in time to see the servant angrily shove Xiao Jing'an and Yuen Yunhua aside, giving her a clear view of Xie Xuan lying in the carriage.

In traditional medicine, observation came first. With just one look, Chu Jiuge knew that this man...