Chapter 48: Come and Gone

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Along the road, the men talked among themselves. The burly fellow described his elder sister’s condition while Chen Yu listened intently.

The others occasionally chimed in, but one farmer kept turning his head to glance back at him. He was careful not to make his movements too obvious, yet his eyes continued to wander over Chen Yu.

After they had walked a little farther and were about to descend the mountain, the man hurriedly pulled the burly fellow aside, stepped closer to the Daoist, and asked hesitantly, “Er… Daoist Priest, did you bring your talismans? I don’t think I saw them…”

Chen Yu paused, then lowered his gaze to the cloth bundle in his hand. He knew perfectly well what was inside. It took him only a moment to realize why the man had asked.

So they expect me to perform an exorcism?

Seeing that the Daoist remained silent, and remembering that he had previously said he was the only person at the temple, the villager assumed he had simply forgotten. He quickly added, “In past years, there were villagers whose illnesses were just like Elder Sister Liu’s. Medicine did them no good, but after an adept came to the village and performed a ritual, they recovered. He used yellow talismans dipped in a little wine…”

“I have them. They’re in the bundle.”

Chen Yu waved a hand, interrupting him.

In truth, there was nothing of the sort in the bundle. It contained only some medicinal herbs and a small packet of peach blossoms ground into powder.

From the middle-aged man’s account, Chen Yu had already formed a rough idea of the possible ailments. It might be stagnant qi or abdominal distension.

Of course, if the illness was severe, it could also be some kind of parasitic disease, perhaps caused by worms. The notorious schistosomiasis, for instance, was one such illness.

Yet according to the middle-aged man, the disease had come on with alarming speed. Within two days, the woman’s abdomen had swollen like a drum. In light of that, abdominal distension seemed the more likely possibility.

Abdominal distension—also called drum distension, parasitic distension, or single-abdomen distension—was counted alongside wind disease, wasting disease, and diaphragmatic obstruction as one of the Four Great Intractable Illnesses. Chen Yu had encountered the condition several times in medical texts. He had previously studied the organs and viscera, and though he was far from proficient, his formidable mental power allowed him to remember everything he read. After a little thought, he recalled several prescriptions that might ease the symptoms.

Of course, what truly gave him confidence were his own mental strength and the qi circulating within his body.

Combined with the peach blossoms, which could heal internal and external injuries, they should at least be enough to keep the woman alive if matters came to the worst.

Only someone like him could attempt such a thing. In another person’s hands, it would amount to endangering a life.

After walking for some distance and asking many more questions, Chen Yu finally learned why the men had come up the mountain to seek him out—and how they had managed to find him.

According to them, they came from a village beside Cloud Valley Village. It was not heavily populated, but its people lived peaceful, self-sufficient lives. The household of the middle-aged man, Liu Da, was one of them.

His parents had died when he was young, and his elder sister had raised him.

The siblings were deeply attached to each other.

When she fell ill, Liu Da had immediately gone to several nearby villages in search of a physician capable of curing her. After that proved fruitless, he enlisted the help of his fellow villagers to erect an altar and pray to the Daoist Perfected Ones for protection.

Two days passed, yet she showed no improvement. Instead, her belly grew even larger. Before long, malicious rumors began circulating through the village, claiming that Elder Sister Liu had been sleeping with another man. The village elders quickly suppressed the rumor, however, and seized several idle ruffians and sharp-tongued women who had spread it.

“Yesterday, Liu Da even went into the city to ask the apothecary’s assistant for advice. In the end, he was given two prescriptions. He brought them back, boiled them, and had her take them, but they did nothing.”

The middle-aged man hurried along with an anxious expression. He was not entirely confident in the Daoist before him. He was already thinking that he would have to make another trip to the county seat. If that still failed, he would ask in one of the neighboring counties. And if even that proved useless… he would sell the fields and seek out Master Yang in the city!

The others continued to fill in the details.

“There aren’t many physicians in the city. There used to be a clinic, but even that is gone now. When ordinary people fall ill with minor ailments, they usually endure it until it passes, or look for some household remedy. If things become more serious, they seek out a spirit medium or a shaman. But what happened to Elder Sister Liu is truly frightening. Liu Da has been running about outside for days because he was so worried.”

“When there was really nothing else to do, we decided to pray again. As luck would have it, the people of Cloud Valley Village told us that there was a Cloud Crane Temple on Mount Azure Terrace, and that a perfected Daoist lived there. So we came here.”

Chen Yu nodded. So that was where they had heard of him.

And this was merely the last resort they had turned to after Liu Da had exhausted every other option. Clearly, they had searched in many places without success. From what the men said, they had even gone to the home of the most famous physician in the area, only to be told that he had entered the mountains and no one knew when he would return.

There were also a few itinerant healers in the region who were not listed in the official registers. “Physician” was the formal designation, though common folk generally used the same word.

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In this era, medicine and sorcery had not yet fully separated. This was especially true in the southwestern lands, where belief in wild gods was rampant. Treating illness sounded simple enough, but most mountain farmers would rather grit their teeth and endure it, or seek out some folk remedy. If the illness grew worse, they would look for a spirit medium or shaman.

Oh, and Daoist priests as well.

Daoists, however, did not treat illness. They drove out evil spirits.

That was not some crooked or heterodox practice. Ritual exorcism had long been part of the Daoist tradition, with roots stretching back more than a thousand years.

There were specific garments, ceremonies, offerings, incantations, and other requirements. There were even corresponding cultivation methods, such as the Edict for Summoning the Gods with the Leftward Sickness Invocation.

All these factors meant that physicians in Western Prefecture were far less common than those in the Central Plains and Jiangnan.

Yet compared with spirit mediums and wandering charlatans, Daoists seldom deceived people. They genuinely believed that their methods could dispel illness and save lives. They were even less likely to give patients strange pills or medicines. Usually, they merely performed a ritual and, at most, prepared a bowl of talisman water.

As for distinguishing the two… it was simple enough. A true Daoist did not accept payment. The Daoist tradition emphasized vanquishing demons and defending the Way. Driving away illness and evil could not be sullied by filthy lucre.

At least, that was how things were in Western Prefecture. It was one reason the Daoist tradition had flourished there more and more.

They did not seek wealth.

And if they failed to save someone, people could always comfort themselves by concluding that the illness had simply been too powerful.

With superstition so widespread, no one would blame a Daoist adept who had gone to the trouble of summoning the gods and driving out evil.

Chen Yu had only a vague understanding of all this. In any case, he had no intention of performing a ritual on this journey. Such rituals were useless. In the past, those who recovered had done so entirely through natural healing and good fortune.

He intended to examine the woman first. If he could use his mental strength to locate the root of the illness and determine its nature, then it would be best if he could cure her. If he truly could do nothing, he could at least ease her suffering and prolong her life.

According to Liu Da, his elder sister now tossed and turned through the night. Whenever darkness fell, a chill pain gripped her abdomen. Her skin had turned yellow, and her cheeks were sunken and emaciated, making her scarcely resemble a human being. The sight was enough to break anyone’s heart.

Strictly speaking, Chen Yu did not have to trouble himself with this matter. But since he had encountered it, there was no harm in descending the mountain. He needed to visit the county seat later to purchase supplies anyway. If the woman truly needed help, he could lend a hand. It was no great inconvenience.

…

The group walked for nearly an hour before finally reaching Liu Da’s village.

They had not even entered when a crowd came running toward them.

“You worthless husband! Where have you been running off to?”

The leader was a vigorous, white-haired old man. He pointed at Liu Da’s nose and launched into a furious tirade in the local southwestern dialect.

The people beside him quickly restrained him. They knew that Liu Da and the others had gone out to seek a physician and save a life.

After a round of explanations, the old man’s anger finally subsided. He cast a withering glance at the group, then turned his attention to Chen Yu.

His expression shifted. He immediately strode forward, clasped his hands, and awkwardly imitated a Daoist salute.

“Boundless blessings of the Celestial Worthy,” Chen Yu intoned.

The cadence of his voice, combined with his otherworldly Daoist robes, convinced the old man that he was a genuine Daoist priest rather than the swindler who had tried to deceive them several years earlier.

“May I ask where you cultivate, Daoist Priest?”

Before Chen Yu could answer, Liu Da and the others explained that they had invited a genuine Daoist adept from Cloud Crane Temple on Mount Azure Terrace to perform a ritual and drive away evil spirits.

They were in such a hurry that Liu Da was sweating profusely. His elder sister was bedridden at home, tormented by illness.

They did not want to waste any more time, yet the village elder and his people had blocked the entrance, and they dared not force their way past.

“Hmph!”

The old man glared at them again. The look frightened the group into silence, though they were also completely bewildered.

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The village elder was usually deeply respected by the villagers. Yet now, faced with a matter of life and death, he did not seem anxious in the slightest.

“Brother Liu, your sister is fine now,” one of the villagers said with a smile from behind the old man. The others quickly joined in.

“That’s right. While you were away, Elder You personally went to invite a great physician. He only just wrote out a prescription, and I had my wife take the donkey cart to the county seat to buy the medicine.”

“Come to think of it, all of you had gone out by then. When Elder You brought the physician back and found you missing, he nearly exploded with anger.”

“Fine… She’s fine?”

Liu Da and the others stood there in a daze, their hearts churning with every possible emotion.

Then Liu Da shoved his way through the crowd and ran straight toward his home, too excited even to say another word to the village elder.

“What a worthless husband!” the old man muttered.

Yet there was a smile in his eyes. Clearly, he cared deeply for the villagers.

“Please forgive us, Daoist Priest.”

“There is nothing to forgive.”

Chen Yu did not know what else to say. Somehow, the problem had been solved before he had even arrived.

Still, that was a good thing.

Since there was no longer any need for him, he exchanged a few words with the village elder. The old man knew of Cloud Crane Temple and had once heard of the old Daoist priest who lived there. He had even climbed the mountain to offer incense.

With Liu Da’s family out of danger, Chen Yu prepared to leave. The day was still young, but traveling to the city and back would take time. It would be best to leave early and return early.

Before long, however, Liu Da came running back. The joy had not yet faded from his face, clearly indicating that his elder sister had indeed recovered completely and no longer needed Chen Yu’s help.

And even if Chen Yu had acted, there was no guarantee that his treatment would have been as effective as the physician’s.

Every profession had its specialty. Chen Yu certainly did not imagine that reading two medical texts made him more capable than physicians who had spent years practicing medicine.

Meanwhile, Liu Da looked at Chen Yu with deep embarrassment. He and the others had made the illness sound terribly serious, dragged the Daoist down from the mountain, and now intended to send him back without having him do anything at all.

Even a perfected Daoist adept was not someone to be summoned and dismissed so casually.

Liu Da opened his mouth to say something, but Chen Yu stopped him first. He did not mind. He had merely been passing by, after all.

Instead, his attention was drawn to the small old man standing behind Liu Da, dressed in coarse hemp clothing. He studied him for several moments.

The man appeared to be around fifty, yet showed not the slightest sign of old age.

Chen Yu’s eyes brightened. Under the illumination of his mental strength, he could see far more than ordinary people.

“Oh, this… this is Physician Qian!”

In Liu Da’s eyes, anyone who could cure his elder sister certainly deserved to be called a divine physician, and he introduced the man with profound respect.

Hearing this, Chen Yu smiled and introduced himself as well.

He found it interesting. There truly were many talented people in the world; he simply had not expected to encounter another one here.

A physician who had passed through the Dragon-Tiger Pass and might even be a first-rate martial expert…

This was the first time Chen Yu had ever met someone like him.

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