Chapter 46: Examining the Illness

Hospitals these days fear troublemakers most. After the incident, Bai Shuchao was suspended without pay, then divorced and left with nothing after Purification. Originally he was headed to Africa for aid work, planning to clear his mind among the Black Uncles and incidentally purify his own filthy soul — but one careless slip, and he aided himself right into the Ming Dynasty.

Once properly prepared, Bai Shuchao lifted his medicine chest, went out and joined Chu Jianli, who had long been waiting at the prow. They poled the boat all the way until it reached the river dock before the Liu Family's gate. After stepping ashore up the moss-covered bluestone steps, they found Steward Liu, his forehead bruised purple, already waiting before the manor gate with the Liu Family's head steward.

After a perfunctory exchange of greetings, the head steward of the Liu household, dressed entirely in brocade and satin, ushered the guests inside.

The party proceeded onward, passing through covered corridors and along walled lanes, until they glimpsed a Flower Hall in the distance — and Master Liu came out to welcome them.

House prices in this era were still reasonable; the wealthy merchant Master Liu could actually perform the act of "gazing into the distance" from his own home. From far off he could already tell that this "Divine Monk" was most likely indeed not of the Central Plains: he walked with a dragon's stride and a tiger's gait, arms swinging wide and hips thrust out, glancing imperiously in all directions. His stature was imposing — over five chi and seven cun tall, rare even among Ming People. The monk's great crimson cassock, embroidered with gold thread and wound with silk, billowed with a forceful energy, yet the monk himself bore a serene expression, and his whole bearing lacked the feral wildness common to men of the Edo.

Liu Yaozu had originally been in a gloomy mood, clutching at straws, but at this moment his spirits inexplicably lifted considerably. After Chu Jianli finished introducing the Kunlun Divine Monk whose Dharma name was "Miao Shu," the group sat down and tea was served. Liu Yaozu and Chu Jianli exchanged a few more pleasantries — "Master, you've grown thin," "Third Master, you've been working hard" — and then the room suddenly fell quiet.

Liu Yaozu had originally not intended to promise anything — he had seen far too many monks and Daoists in his lifetime, many of them swindlers, and the Beggar Sect's affairs were truly troublesome. He was planning to take things One Step at a time.

Yet after meeting this Master Miaoshu in person, his thoughts suddenly wavered. In the slightly awkward silence, Master Liu glanced at the strange leather medicine chest at the master's feet, then raised his eyes to look at Master Miaoshu, who had remained silent the entire time, smiling faintly as he regarded his tea. The image of his unconscious legitimate son flashed through his mind, and he could not help but let out a long sigh. He opened his mouth and said slowly, "I earnestly hope the Great Master will act. The Liu Family will offer recompense."

"Heh heh heh heh."

Master Miaoshu, who had been laboriously maintaining his act ever since entering, finally let out a long laugh upon hearing Liu Yaozu humble himself. Then a passage of oddly-accented Nanjing Mandarin emerged from his mouth.

"Master Liu, please set your mind at ease. Regarding the young master's condition, this humble monk has some Knowledge of it. No more than twelve hours, at most — I shall certainly let the master witness this humble monk's skill. Now, might I trouble you to lead the way?"

"Indeed not a man of the Great Ming! Could it be that this person truly comes from West Kunlun?" This was Liu Yaozu's First-Moment reaction upon hearing the master's Mandarin, which was neither horse nor donkey.

The next moment, the head steward led the way, Liu He brought up the rear carrying the chest, and Master Miaoshu, personally accompanied by Master Liu, headed straight for Young Master Liu Siwei's private courtyard. As for Third Master Chu — ahem, he remained in the Flower Hall, sipping tea, not worth mentioning.

After passing through a festooned gate, the group arrived at Young Master Liu's private courtyard. Seeing the Family Head and the steward enter, the numerous Servants and maidservants bustling about the courtyard immediately stood at strict attention and bowed in salute. Liu Yaozu walked on as if he had not noticed, leading Bai Shuchao toward the main house. Before they even reached the main house door, a graceful and richly-adorned middle-aged noblewoman and several maids came out to greet them.

As soon as the Great Master heard Master Liu say, "This is my wife," he understood that the person before him was the Liu Family's First Mistress. Seeing the First Mistress turn aside and offer a deep curtsy, a certain unscrupulous doctor hurriedly assumed a solemn, treasure-like countenance, pressed his palms together, and returned the greeting, while inwardly his true nature ran wild with thoughts: "It's only because the Liu Family's legitimate son is at death's door — otherwise, how would one ever get to see such a wealthy man's wife?"

Bai Daifu entered the inner room and saw the Liu Family's eldest young master lying unconscious on a redwood canopy bed.

He bent down for a closer look and found that Young Master Liu's brow and eyes closely resembled his father's, though at the moment his face was pale and gaunt, his breathing faint — his overall appearance was not good. After completing his observation, he nodded, Turned Around, found a chair, and sat down. Before he was even settled, Liu Yaozu asked urgently, "Has the Great Master found anything?"

Bai Shuchao held up two fingers. "Might I trouble the master to have all these medicinal decoctions removed from the room, and also summon the person who attends the eldest young master? This humble monk has questions to ask."

Liu Yaozu knew this meant he was going to inquire about the illness and nodded hurriedly. At his side, the Liu Family's First Mistress had already begun issuing orders: "Heyue, Diaoshi, you two come in and answer the Great Master's questions."

The next moment, from the Pile of Household Staff watching through the window, a Servant and a pretty young maid stepped forward. They entered the room, performed their salutations, and then stood silent, waiting for Master Bai to ask his questions.

Seeing the pretty nurse — oh, maid — Master Miaoshu's eyes shone with Buddhist light. In that moment, the Great Master felt as if he had returned to the fiery, passionate years back at the Hospital. The Great Master gave a "heh heh" laugh, and his mellow voice slowly rose within the room: "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous — I'm just asking about a few things."

This questioning went on for quite a long while.

Starting from when Young Master Liu first fell ill over two months ago, Bai Shuchao inquired exhaustively into every detail, down to the color of the patient's stool, the contents of his vomit, and so on and so forth, until the maid was questioned to the point of blushing crimson, and only then did the Great Master relent. Having investigated to this extent, a certain person was already confident in his assessment. Without waiting for Liu Yaozu to ask again, he held up two fingers once more: "Might I trouble you to bring a porcelain basin? This humble monk will need to employ some methods next. These monk robes are inconvenient — forgive the impropriety."

At this stage, what more could Liu Yaozu say? He could only issue a rapid stream of orders: "Bring a porcelain basin — quickly! Heyue, what are you standing there dumbly for? Hurry up and assist the Great Master in changing his clothes!"

The next moment, just after Heyue helped the Great Master remove his cassock, Master Miaoshu stood there — upper body in a Seven Wolves short-sleeved shirt, lower body in Joeone casual Western-style Trousers, and at his waist, gleaming brightly, was naturally a Goldlion belt. His shaved head shone brilliantly as he stood there, outstanding and unmatched — inside and outside the Liu house, ten thousand horses fell silent, not even a crow cawed.

At this moment, the Great Master gave a wicked grin, opened his medicine chest, and began taking items out of it one by one.

Strange objects were successively laid out on the table. Even as widely experienced as Master Liu was, he could not recognize a single One of these items. When he saw the Great Master take five or six crystal-clear glass bottles from the chest, Liu Yaozu could not help but draw in a sharp breath — these outsiders had gone to enormous expense!

As a major merchant, Liu Yaozu observed things from a different angle than the noisy Household Staff around him. While others were still muttering about the half-sleeves, Liu Yaozu swept his gaze over and sharply grasped the crux of the matter: the monk's underclothes could not have been acquired without a great deal of money.

Although Master Liu had never heard phrases like "low-key luxury," he could tell whether a garment's craftsmanship was Exquisite or not — and that had nothing to do with its style.

When he saw that row of crystal-clear intravenous bottles on the table, his heart actually settled considerably. To sum it up: the monk, and the Power Base the monk represented, had invested such enormous expense to treat the illness — presumably they had some degree of confidence.