Xu Qing's recent work brought significant rewards, both from the silver taels and coins he earned from officiating funerals.
But the greatest reward was the information and gifts he acquired after delivering the old doctor.
This doctor, posthumously recognized by Master Li Si as a godfather, was no ordinary man.
His real name was Yang Chunfu. He was born into a wealthy family, and since childhood, he had a fondness for Daoist texts and medical classics. At thirteen, he set his ambitions, and at fifteen, he bade farewell to his parents and went to Henglu Mountain to seek knowledge and the Dao.
On Henglu Mountain, there was a Songyun Temple. The temple master Ge Hongwen was a Sage of profound skills; in the harsh winter, he could make withered branches bloom, and during severe droughts, he could keep the mountain streams flowing and the wells at the foothills filled.
After hearing about the various feats of Immortal Master Ge, Yang Chunfu was determined to become his disciple.
However, when he encountered Master Ge Hongwen on the mountain path, the latter said Yang was not destined for the Dao and advised him to return, lest he waste his youthful years pursuing the elusive immortality.
For, in this world, there were no so-called great masters, nor were there any divine power immortal techniques.
Despite saying this, when Ge Hongwen turned, he moved with the grace of a crane, effortlessly crossing a mountain chasm tens of feet wide and flew towards the temple halfway up the mountain.
Yang Chunfu was stunned; if this wasn't an immortal technique, what was?
Enthralled by these divine powers within reach, how could he easily give up?
Faced with Yang Chunfu's persistence, Master Ge let him be, allowing him to build a hut at the foot of the mountain and climb the mountain daily to pay his respects.
After three years, seeing Yang's unwavering persistence, Master Ge finally summoned him into the temple and taught him the basics of cultivation.
Yang Chunfu was overjoyed, but after three years of rigorous practice, he fell into deep sorrow.
Despite his diligence, he couldn't grasp a trace of the true essence of the Dao.
It turned out he truly had no affinity for immortality!
It wasn't that Master Ge had deliberately deceived him initially.
Seeing the obstinate stone finally become enlightened, Ge Hongwen smiled in contentment and, before parting, imparted him with a medical book and some healing techniques, urging him to leave the mountain early and not waste time.
Yang Chunfu then returned home, cared for his aging parents until their death, and subsequently gave away his wealth to travel the world, healing and helping people.
During this time, he witnessed many strange events, but he encountered even more man-made disasters than natural ones.
The man-made calamities far outweighed the natural ones.
Journeying to the northwest, he arrived at Beizhao Prefecture during a military rebellion, where bodies piled up with no place to dispose of them; the rampant plague claimed more than a hundred thousand lives.
Passing through Yaozhou, he encountered a landslide flood; the dam filled with rice straw couldn't hold back the surging water, submerging five provinces and thirty-six counties in a few days...
Traveling to Quyang, Hejing, Jiangning, and other places, he often found sinister individuals forming sects and inciting the masses with demagogic rhetoric...
Yang Chunfu spent over sixty years healing and saving lives, but in the end, despite his best efforts, he couldn't save those who died from starvation and epidemics.
He only learned medicine and not the immortal techniques to fill stomachs and bring contentment.
This year, Yang Chunfu was eighty-nine. Master Ge had foretold his destiny, saying he wouldn't live past ninety.
Until one day, an evil doer from the Jinmen Gang said he couldn't cure the sick and save people, and only then did he suddenly realize, in chaotic times, medicine couldn't save the world.
"Had I known, I might as well have studied and become an official..."
...
Yang Chunfu's life deeply touched Xu Qing more than anyone he had previously delivered.
He gained a new perspective on the world from Yang Chunfu's experiences.
Aside from the occasional manifestation of immortal techniques, the world was filled with endless conflicts.
The old doctor probably never comprehended the true cause behind the Jinmen Gang's troublemaking even until his death.
Endless wars, corrupt officials exploiting the people, insidious sects eroding human hearts with malicious intent.
Whether the murderer was from the Jinmen Gang or the Celestial Heart Sect seemed irrelevant.
The information Xu Qing garnered this time made him realize that if he wanted to lie peacefully in a chaotic world, he must cultivate like Master Ge!
If that still didn't work, it meant his cultivation wasn't deep enough!
Despite receiving guidance from a true cultivator, Liu Landlord and Yang Chunfu had completely different lives but both reached the same end.
The former sought personal gain and schemed all his life, ending in tragedy.
The latter dedicated himself to others, giving everything, yet also couldn't fulfill his purpose.
But that didn't prevent Xu Qing from admiring Yang Chunfu.
That's also why he was willing to earnestly handle his posthumous affairs.
If no one came to send Yang Chunfu off after a lifetime of serving others, it would be too desolate.
Fortunately, Master Li Si didn't disappoint him.
Afterward, when Xu Qing tallied the rewards for delivering the old doctor, he found that the skills and items he received were mostly related to the Medical Dao.
A top-tier Qi Refining manual "Hundred Herbs Collection," a mid-tier Qi Refining technique "Jia-Yi Acupuncture Technique," and three lower-grade Earth Pills of Ten Thousand Spirits Pill.
The "Hundred Herbs Collection" could identify most common herbs in the secular world.
In ancient times, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, understanding their properties and uses. The modern "Hundred Herbs Collection" could thus help future people cure diseases and strengthen their bodies.
Xu Qing pondered for a moment and decided to set aside this skill suited for running a pharmacy.
He had no plans to become a pharmacist; he preferred being around the dead over gathering and selling herbs.
The "Jia-Yi Acupuncture Technique" was also a miraculous medical art; many illnesses that didn't require herbal treatment could be cured with this technique.
Even for patients needing herbs, the acupuncture technique could assist in faster recovery.
Xu Qing glanced at his funeral shop; those lying dead here didn't seem to need the acupuncture technique either.
As for the three Ten Thousand Spirits Pills, they interested him greatly.
These three pills, unlike many with single uses, each had multiple applications.
For example, drop one in a bowl of diluted arsenic, and it could neutralize the poison.
Give one to a dying person, and it could extend their life by ten years or cure an illness!
Even the Prefect could take one pill and regain his vigor, fighting in the brothels on Long Lamp Street for three days and nights without a problem.
But with only three pills, Xu Qing decided to store them carefully. Such powerful pills would be most effective when used at critical moments.
...
The next morning, Xu Qing removed the door panel after absorbing the Moonlight Yin Qi all night and stepped out of his shop.
With the old doctor's affairs settled, today he planned to visit the broker to inquire about purchasing a house.
Crossing a few streets, he arrived at the broker's door. Before entering, he saw a troublesome figure.
Enemies do tend to meet.
As Zhao Zhonghe, who was conversing with Master Huang San, sensed something, he turned and saw Xu Qing's disdainful gaze.
"Huang San, your matters can wait; I have urgent business!"
With that, Zhao Zhonghe stepped over, blocking Xu Qing's path.
"How dare you steal from me!"
Xu Qing frowned, "What do you mean, constable? What did I steal from you?"
Zhao Zhonghe touched his waist, where his dog-beating stick used to be, now empty.
"Don't play dumb with me; you must have taken my stick!"
Xu Qing stepped aside, widening the distance, impatiently saying, "I don't have your stick. If you're really looking for it, why come to me? I have no such hobbies. You should go to Xianggong Hall; there are plenty of troublemakers there."