The Hall of a Thousand Treasures, often permeated with the scent of blood from treating external injuries, now carried an added stench of decay.

Liu Pucheng examined the wound with a grim expression.

“Master, this cannot be treated…” Zhang Tong murmured quietly.

At these words, the family members panicked. One woman cried out, collapsed to the ground, and rolled her eyes back.

“Hey, Doctor, you haven't even treated him yet and you’re already saying it’s hopeless,” a voice drawled sarcastically from outside the door.

The disciples of the Hall of a Thousand Treasures looked over and saw a crowd of onlookers gathered at the entrance. The speaker was a man in his early twenties.

“Wu Shan, did your Hall of Spring Return close down?” Hu San glared at the man and asked.

The question instantly enraged Wu Shan. Who would willingly accept such a curse thrown at them first thing in the morning?

“Bah! Your Hall of a Thousand Treasures is the one that’s closing!” he retorted.

“Then why are you loitering here at our place?” Hu San scoffed.

“Enough,” Zhang Tong cut him off, glancing at Wu Shan before ignoring him entirely.

Meanwhile, the family members were weeping and pleading.

“When we came a few days ago, the doctor wasn’t here…”

Liu Pucheng made an "Oh" sound.

“Madam Qi was here that day…” Hu San grunted again.

“Madam Qi was here?” Liu Pucheng looked at him, slightly surprised. “That’s good, why didn't you let her treat him?”

Hu San snorted and jerked his chin toward the family members. Though he hadn't been present that day either, the other disciples had certainly informed him, and he had taken note of their slight against his master.

“They looked down on my Master, and he was already prepared. They carried the man away to seek a more renowned physician,” he announced loudly to the crowd. “Why are you back now? Did that esteemed doctor fail to cure him?”

The family members were left bewildered by his words.

Liu Pucheng sighed softly.

“This wound was not supposed to progress this far. If the necrotic flesh had been cut away and stitched up a few days ago…” he began.

“Doctor, Doctor, please! Our elder brother has suffered his whole life. Our parents died young; it was Big Brother who played the role of both father and mother to raise us brothers. Now that we can finally let him enjoy some comfort, this has happened…” Three men immediately knelt down, knocking their heads repeatedly against the floor toward Liu Pucheng.

“Alright, alright, get up, I will do my best,” Liu Pucheng said quickly, helping them up. He then turned to Zhang Tong. “Prepare everything Madam Qi specified. I need to debride and cut away the dead tissue.”

“But Master, I fear even this might not work,” Zhang Tong pulled him aside, speaking worriedly in a low voice. “This man already has internal fire poison. The heat has caused the flesh to rot, and the virulent toxin is attacking his vital organs…”

Toxin attacking the organs—that was an incurable condition. Liu Pucheng knew this well.

“However, one cannot simply stand by and watch someone die,” he said. “Madam Qi mentioned that this type of external injury is due to infection… infection… we need to reduce the inflammation and fight the poison… Let’s try one more time…”

Zhang Tong grasped his hand firmly.

“Master,” he said urgently, “If we don't treat him now and he dies, it is fate. But if we treat him and he dies, it will be our fault… Master, these men are hunters from the eastern part of the city… they are known to be the most aggressive and unruly… What if…”

Liu Pucheng patted his hand.

“You and I are physicians. We treat the sickness we see and save those in peril. Do not concern yourself with anything else,” he instructed. “Justice lies in one’s own conscience; being at peace with yourself is what matters.”

Zhang Tong knew his Master’s temperament. He nodded, ceased his pleading, and immediately led the disciples into action.

Treat it, treat it, Wu Shan craned his neck to peer inside.

Hu San walked up and blocked him.

“What are you doing?” Wu Shan demanded.

“What are you doing?” Hu San shot back. “If you want to apprentice, come in and kowtow.”

Wu Shan spat.

“Me? Apprentice?” he scoffed. “Am I blind?”

Hu San remained unruffled. “Oh. Then you want to steal our techniques?”

That sounded slightly better than apprenticing, Wu Shan thought, but he spat again dismissively. He knew that medical arts relied on proprietary techniques, which practitioners rarely revealed to competitors.

“What is there to steal from your broken methods anyway…” he huffed, turning and sweeping out with a flourish of his sleeve.

Hu San spat after his retreating back and hurried over to assist.

Liu Pucheng finished the disinfection, and Zhang Tong had also sterilized the patient and laid down the surgical drapes. The family members, seeing this unprecedented display, felt a surge of confidence, realizing this must be Doctor Liu’s unique secret technique.

They cleaned the wound, using the knife to meticulously excise the rotting flesh piece by piece, washing it again with boiled medicinal broth, and finally applying the salve for ulceration and tissue regeneration.

“Are we not stitching it?” Hu San couldn't help but ask quietly.

Liu Pucheng shook his head.

“No need for stitches now,” he replied.

Zhang Tong shot him a look. Although he admired Qi Yue greatly, he was dissatisfied with Hu San’s habit of constantly measuring everything against Qi Yue’s methods.

After treating the wound, Liu Pucheng ordered a decoction to be brewed and poured it down the patient’s throat using a crane-beak kettle. Fifteen minutes later, the patient’s spirit had improved considerably; he stopped rambling incoherently, and his breathing stabilized.

The family members finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Liu Pucheng’s expression remained far from relaxed.

“Here is what we will do: this patient will stay here tonight,” he announced.

It was unheard of for a patient to remain overnight at the pharmacy, and the family was stunned.

“You live far away. If his condition worsens, the travel time back and forth could delay treatment. I can monitor his condition here at any moment,” Liu Pucheng explained. He had been too busy to concentrate during the treatment, but later, he recalled many details from Qi Yue’s treatment of the Prefect’s son that deserved careful study, such as this concept Qi Yue called 'hospitalization' for observation.

The family nodded, understanding little but accepting it.

“Master, we have no space here,” Zhang Tong whispered.

“Tidy up my room,” Liu Pucheng commanded.

Zhang Tong acknowledged the order and led the others away to prepare the space.

The great man’s wife was at a loss and looked to her brothers-in-law.

“Fine, Doctor, do as you say, as long as you can cure our Big Brother,” one brother decided with grim resolution, speaking loudly.

The others nodded in agreement. The arrangement was settled. After the patient was settled, since the Hall of a Thousand Treasures had no lodging, and Liu Pucheng forbade the family from entering that room, the hunters left two family members to stand guard outside the door while the others departed, filled with anxiety.

Hu San stood at the entrance watching them go, inexplicably recalling the words of one of the relatives: Doctor, do as you say, as long as you can cure…

What if he can’t be cured? The thought flashed through Hu San’s mind, and immediately he shook his head, spitting a few times to ward it off. How could he fail? Master is already incredibly skilled, and now he’s using the methods of the female Master—it will surely be a swift cure!

Hu San smoothed his robes, held his chin high with a hint of pride, and swaggered back inside.

Qi Yue had been quietly reading all day. Chang Yuncheng returned quite late. He seemed surprised to find her still awake. When he looked over, Qi Yue looked up too. Their eyes met—neither displayed a smile, nor did they speak; both averted their gazes.

“A’Ru,” Qi Yue called out.

A’Ru, waiting outside, immediately entered. Qi Yue made a gesture, and A’Ru understood, lowering her head to draw the curtain across the circular lattice door. The candlelight in Qi Yue’s area was instantly obscured.

A’Ru bowed low to Chang Yuncheng and retreated without a word.

Chang Yuncheng lowered his head, entered the sleeping chamber, and closed the door.

The night passed in silence.

Liu Pucheng finally managed to sleep just as dawn was breaking, but he was immediately woken by Zhang Tong.

“Master! It’s bad, the man is raving again…” Zhang Tong stammered.

“Blast it!” Liu Pucheng threw himself out of bed, not even pausing to put on his outer robe, and rushed toward the makeshift sickroom.

Although the patient’s family had agreed to let Liu Pucheng keep the man overnight, they remained uneasy. They arrived early that morning only to find the patient in a worse state than the day before.

“Doctor, what is happening? Didn’t you say it would be alright?” men and women crowded around Liu Pucheng, weeping and shouting in a chaotic mess.

“I didn’t say it would be alright. I said we would try. The condition was too severe, and you delayed treatment, so now it’s no use…” Liu Pucheng tried to explain to the family.

“What delay? You clearly botched the treatment…”

At some point, many people had gathered inside the Hall of a Thousand Treasures to watch the spectacle. Someone laughed loudly. Hu San looked toward the sound and saw Wu Shan again.

Wu Shan had been closely monitoring the situation at the Hall of a Thousand Treasures. Although he had left yesterday, he had kept tabs. Upon seeing the family members emerge, he had even approached them with concern, inquiring about Liu Pucheng’s treatment method.

“He cut off a lot of flesh, did he?” Wu Shan exclaimed dramatically.

His expression unsettled the family members even more.

“Doctor Wu, can this kind of treatment really cure the illness?” the relatives pressed Wu Shan.

“I wouldn’t know. Everyone has their school’s techniques, and they differ… You must wait and see,” Wu Shan said, shaking his head and smiling, yet casting a pitying glance at the family. This made them even more anxious, which was why they had rushed over so early, and Wu Shan had followed suit.

As expected… Serves him right for showing off! He lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot!

But perfect—better a fellow Daoist dies than I… I love to see this! Wu Shan was inwardly delighted.

“How can you say we treated him badly? It was clearly you who ruined it!” Hu San leaped forward and shouted.

Wu Shan scoffed.

“When we saw him, he wasn’t this bad. We told them to take the medicine, but they wouldn't listen, insisting on going to the Hall of a Thousand Treasures, the Hall of a Thousand Treasures…” he said, shaking his head and swaying back and forth, pursing his lips. “If they had just taken our medicine, perhaps…” He spread his hands to the crowd mid-sentence.

His words made the already frantic family members even more panicked.

“With external carbuncles and boils, the most important thing is taking the medicine. But look now, instead of taking the medicine properly, they used knives to slice and cut… Even a healthy person would get sick from that…” Wu Shan continued, craning his neck to look at the patient lying on the mat. The wound was completely uncovered, revealing clear knife marks.

“Shut up! What do you know?” Hu San and the other disciples were furious.

Wu Shan ignored them and loudly lectured the onlookers.

“…How did the manager of the Wan Family Grain Shop on East Street die? He developed a boil, accidentally broke it… and what happened? He died in less than three days…” He spoke with increasing indignation, then looked at the now completely panicked family members, shaking his head. “What a pity, what a pity, they sought their own demise…”

Big Brother is dead… Big Brother is dead… There was still hope… If they had just listened to the Hall of Spring Return and taken the medicine, he would have been fine… But they brought him here…. And this doctor… this doctor…

“Quack! You killed my Big Brother, pay with your life!” The shortest, stockiest man suddenly jumped up, grabbed a nearby stool, and hurled it at Liu Pucheng.

Liu Pucheng had paid no attention to the commotion, concentrating on taking the patient’s pulse and writing a prescription. Just as he finished writing and stood up, amidst gasps of alarm, a fierce wind struck from behind him.

Liu Pucheng instinctively tilted his head to dodge while raising his arm to block. With a sharp crack, the stool broke, and Liu Pucheng fell heavily to the ground.