Chapter 369: Changing the subject, preparing to rebel

Lingyin Temple had flying eaves and carved tiles; its mountain gate was imposing.

Gu Qing led Bai Suzhen along the steps, walking outward until they were outside the mountain gate, only then turning around to bid farewell to the abbot of Lingyin Temple, Master Yuan Kong.

"My behavior inside Lingyin Temple today was reckless and caused much trouble; I ask Master Yuan Kong for your forgiveness."

Gu Qing pressed his palms together and said, "Once Lingyin Temple finishes its summer retreat, I shall personally come to offer my apologies."

Gu Qing had overturned the toilets of Lingyin Temple; although he had used his True Qi to push the yellow and white waste back, the traces remained, and the stench lingered—Lingyin Temple would still need quite a thorough cleaning.

Master Yuan Kong had a gentle smile on his face as he said, "It is but a little excrement; this old monk is not so narrow-minded."

"We borrowed this precious land to settle our karma; we are truly grateful to Lingyin Temple."

Bai Suzhen, having received guidance from the Bodhisattva Guanyin, held great reverence for Buddhism and sincerely thanked Master Yuan Kong.

"Amitabha."

Master Yuan Kong pressed his palms together and said calmly, "Buddhism divides the suffering of the human world into the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and the karma of the three lifetimes. These Twelve Links are never-ending, and all living beings are bound by their shackles; only by breaking through 'Ignorance' can one cease to be bound by the Twelve Links."

"You have only defeated Seeing Fa Hai, but you have not broken through 'Ignorance'."

Master Yuan Kong looked at Gu Qing and said, "When the Daoist previously asked Seeing Fa Hai what the Buddha was, it was full of legal principles, but Seeing Fa Hai had too much anger in his chest to understand the ultimate truth."

In Buddhism, Ignorance is the mind's lack of knowledge and the root of all suffering.

"Will Seeing Fa Hai continue to pester us?"

Bai Suzhen's voice carried surprise.

"The benefactor's karma has been settled."

Master Yuan Kong said to Bai Suzhen, "From now on, as long as the benefactor follows her own nature, she will naturally ascend." Master Yuan Kong then assessed Gu Qing and said, "As for the Daoist, I fear you will suffer much hardship."

Seeing Fa Hai has developed a grudge against you.

Gu Qing smiled slightly: *Well said, say more; it would be best if you could make Bai Suzhen cry with emotion. *

Bai Suzhen watched Gu Qing's calm and composed expression, a palpitation rising in her heart, her gaze also holding a touch of tenderness.

"The matter of Changming Temple has also been settled today."

Gu Qing brought up this matter.

Originally, the matter of Changming Temple had led Daoji to find Gu Qing and strike a deal. Since the Buddhist sect was unwilling to manifest their power to rescue them, Gu Qing did not manifest his Daoist abilities either; instead, he used some gold and silver to bribe the third concubine of the Qiantang County Magistrate.

Although this third concubine appeared rarely, she was able to manipulate Magistrate Yang. With money to pave the way and appeals to her emotions, Gu Qing managed to rescue all the monks of Changming Temple without using any magic.

"Good, very good."

Master Yuan Kong said, "Daoist Gu, at the end of the fourth month, the garden melons and eggplants will be newly harvested, and the market price will be quite high. If you could send ten baskets of melons and eggplants to Lingyin Temple, there might be a good response."

After speaking, Master Yuan Kong turned the jade prayer beads Gu Qing had gifted him and returned inside the mountain gate of Lingyin Temple.

Ten baskets of melons and eggplants.

Gu Qing looked at Bai Suzhen beside him; Bai Suzhen turned her face slightly at this moment, not daring to meet Gu Qing's eyes.

"This Master Yuan Kong seems to have a very deep understanding of Buddhist principles."

Bai Suzhen said in a low voice.

"Hmm..."

Gu Qing drew out the sound slightly. Legend had it that when Jigong was practicing at Lingyin Temple, the abbot of Lingyin Temple was a monk in his ninth life who saw at a glance that Jigong was a reincarnated Arhat. It was not impossible that this Abbot Yuan Kong of Lingyin Temple also had divine insight.

The two followed the mountain road downward. They had not gone far when they saw Xiao Qing waiting there. Upon seeing the two, she walked up happily, examining them incessantly and asking for the details.

"It was Gu Qing who used the 【Hunyuan Golden Ladle】 to break Seeing Fa Hai's golden bowl."

Bai Suzhen said with a smile, "That was how I narrowly won in my contest with Seeing Fa Hai."

Xiao Qing knew that this Hunyuan Golden Ladle was a chamber pot and guessed Gu Qing's method. She gave him a light, reproachful look and said, "You have the most devious ideas."

"I didn't say anything beforehand because I was afraid of leaking the secret."

Gu Qing said to Xiao Qing gently.

Xiao Qing nodded repeatedly and said, "I know, that hateful Seeing Fa Hai was watching us with his golden bowl!" Speaking of this, Xiao Qing felt uncomfortable. Her feelings for Gu Qing had already reached a certain point, and she had wanted to share a bed with him several times, but because Seeing Fa Hai was constantly spying, they were unable to do so.

"Seeing Fa Hai has also developed a grudge against Gu Qing."

Bai Suzhen looked at Gu Qing, her eyes filled with worry.

"This, this..."

Xiao Qing heard this, thought about it carefully, and suddenly said, "This is too easy. Seeing Fa Hai has to keep his distance from you. No matter how much he resents Gu Qing, as long as you stay with us, Seeing Fa Hai cannot make a move against us."

Seeing Fa Hai had to stay ninety miles away from Bai Suzhen.

Seeing Fa Hai wanted to target Gu Qing.

Therefore, with Gu Qing and Bai Suzhen bound together, Seeing Fa Hai could only be anxious.

This logic was sound, but for some reason, Xiao Qing saw Bai Suzhen's face flush.

Regardless, defeating Seeing Fa Hai was a great joy. Gu Qing, Bai Suzhen, and Xiao Qing set their minds at ease and wandered around Hangzhou. At night, they even rented a small boat to drift on West Lake, experiencing the pleasure of "In the light of the water and moon, amidst the shadows of mist and clouds, towers emerge. Flutes play in the void, laughter echoes in the clouds; one is in Penglai."

Gu Qing was in the midst of it, fulfilling his role as a "central air conditioner" perfectly—laughing and joking with Xiao Qing while also tending to Bai Suzhen's emotions. After a night of boating, Bai Suzhen's brows held a bit more tenderness, and also a bit more sorrow.

"Doctor Gu, why are you here?"

Near dawn, just as Gu Qing was returning the boat, he heard a shout. He looked up and saw a young stranger. This young man was extremely familiar with Gu Qing; he stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "This is perfect. Ye Great Ming is about to die. With your compassionate heart, please go and save him."

Although Gu Qing did not know this young man, he felt his sincerity. He nodded to Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing behind him, and the three followed the young man toward the pier.

This place should have been very lively, but the place the young man led them to had low, thatched huts, narrow alleys, and muddy roads. Following the young man through several turns, they entered a thatched hut. Gu Qing poked his head inside and saw a middle-aged man lying under the dilapidated shed, emaciated, his eyes vacant, blankly waiting for death.

"This is bloody dysentery!"

Gu Qing stepped forward and judged the illness just by looking at his complexion. He then stepped forward to take his pulse and examine him; it was indeed so. However, the man had been ill for a long time and was almost beyond saving.

"So it is bloody dysentery."

The young man said from the side, "For such an illness, how should one save him?"

Gu Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at the young man, then reached out to press on Ye Great Ming, taking a refined medicinal pill from his bosom. He asked Xiao Qing to find water to dissolve it. Xiao Qing turned around in the courtyard, then went out to borrow water. A moment later, she returned holding a cup, the water in which was very turbid.

Dysentery was caused by unhealthy drinking water. Now that Gu Qing saw this water, he immediately understood the cause of Ye Great Ming's illness.

Bai Suzhen took the tea, tapped her fingertip on it, and the cup of muddy water immediately turned clear. Then, Gu Qing dissolved the pill in the water and had Ye Great Ming drink it.

"So it was saved by a magic trick."

The young man muttered from the side.

"Let me take a look at your well."

Gu Qing stood up and said to the young man.

The young man nodded and led Gu Qing to walk around here. In his speech, he revealed the situation here: most of the people making a living on this pier were migrants from other places with no fields at home, barely scraping by in this place. Before they knew it, thatched huts were everywhere, and there were more and more people here.

The government neglected the management of this place, allowing thatched huts to be built at will, and the hygiene situation was a complete mess. Gu Qing came to the side of the well here and saw several toilets not far away. It was said that every time there was heavy rain, the water would flood, and the river would overflow...

*Clean and hygienic, indeed. *

After Gu Qing looked around here, he wanted to call out a leader, but the common people here had no organization. He looked at Xiao Qing. Xiao Qing turned her back and summoned the Five Ghosts, having them call the common people here house by house so Gu Qing could educate them on water safety.

"Those of you who are idle here, come and raise the wellhead and leave a drainage channel outside."

Gu Qing said, "Later, I will prescribe some medicine to put in the well water for disinfection. When you drink and use water here, it is best to boil the water."

Gu Qing's words contained True Qi; although his voice was soft, it carried a deafening power.

The common people here were neglected, but they knew that every household was prone to illness. Seeing Gu Qing, a doctor, take the lead in educating them on the dangers and organizing the construction, everyone was very enthusiastic. Soon, they gathered together to repair the well.

"Can the common people here be saved this way?"

The young man looked at Gu Qing and asked.

"May I ask your name?"

Gu Qing saw that the young man was dressed simply but had an extraordinary bearing, so he asked.

"You can just call me Xiao Lü."

Xiao Lü said, "Please follow me here."

Gu Qing followed Xiao Lü toward another place. At a thatched hut, he saw a family of three, covered in sores, lying in one place, their voices wailing.

"Sores and ulcerations."

Gu Qing examined the illness of the family of three and said, "It just so happens I have snake-sore ointment here. As long as I clean your wounds, I can treat you."

This illness was not a difficult matter for Gu Qing.

The family of three kowtowed to Gu Qing repeatedly to thank him. Gu Qing's brows furrowed slightly; listening to the family of three, they usually lived on boats, and the place they lived was also damp. For them, getting sores was a very common thing.

"You need to change the place where you live."

Gu Qing said.

If they continued to live in this place, the illness would come back.

After hearing this, the family of three smiled bitterly and shook their heads, saying, "We have no place to live, and being able to barely live in this place is already quite good."

Even if they were asked to find a place to live, they couldn't find one.

"It seems you can save them for a while, but you can't save them for a lifetime."

Xiao Lü said with emotion.

"Finding a place to live is not a difficult matter."

Gu Qing lowered his eyes and said calmly.

"You can find a good place for one family, but can you find such a place for a hundred families, a thousand families?"

Xiao Lü asked back.

Gu Qing pursed his lips slightly and said nothing.

"There is another Wu San over there, who is also about to die."

Xiao Lü walked ahead in this place as if he were familiar with the road. Gu Qing followed behind. After passing through several small alleys, they came to a household. Before they even entered the door, Gu Qing heard coughing.

"This is consumption."

Gu Qing heard the sound and judged the illness. He rushed into the door ahead of Xiao Lü. Looking at the situation of this family, it was much better than the family of three with sores and Ye Great Ming who had bloody dysentery before. Beside them was an earthenware pot with some medicinal residue left on it.

"This residue..."

Gu Qing pinched the residue and observed it carefully.

"It was all taken from the Huimin Pharmacy."

Xiao Lü said frankly.

Gu Qing looked at the residue, then at Wu San who was coughing, and sighed softly. This person did not have consumption, but the "poverty illness." He could only get medicine from the Huimin Pharmacy, and this pharmacy, opened by the official Great Song to suppress drug prices, sold rotten medicine.

This kind of thing had no ability to cure illness at all. Wu San had drunk the medicine several times at home, but instead, he became more and more serious.

"What should be done about this?"

Xiao Lü looked at Gu Qing and asked.

"Of course, report it to the officials!"

Gu Qing looked Xiao Lü in the eye and said.

He was a bit unclear about what Xiao Lü wanted to do.

"Report it to the officials?"

Xiao Lü sneered and said, "That's perfect. The person currently in charge of this Huimin Pharmacy is Doctor Shi, whom you humiliated at Baojia Mountain. Behind him is the current Prime Minister, Qin Gui. Now that you know who is harming the common people, please go and report them."

Qin Gui...

Gu Qing heard this name and sighed silently.

In this world with destiny, it was just so damn annoying. Gu Qing could clearly turn the situation around and even counterattack the Central Plains with just one move against Zhao Gou and Qin Gui, but Gu Qing couldn't make a move.

"Who are you?"

Gu Qing looked at Xiao Lü and asked solemnly.

The patients Xiao Lü brought Gu Qing to see, and the remarks he made, didn't seem like those of an ordinary person.

"Who I am is not important."

Xiao Lü asked back, "Who you are is what's important."

Who am I?

Gu Qing said calmly, "I am just an ordinary doctor who obtained Daoist talismans and has a little ability to save the common people."

"Oh..."

Xiao Lü drew out his voice and said, "Zhang Jiao was the same."

*You're lovesick, aren't you! *

Gu Qing looked at Xiao Lü, never expecting that Xiao Lü would actually bring up such a topic. Clearly, the two were just discussing saving lives, but with a change of subject, they were about to rebel.

"Think about it carefully."

Xiao Lü walked in front of Gu Qing, handed Gu Qing a medicinal pill, and said, "This is a detoxification powder refined by Lü Dongbin. For poisons that leave one helpless, this powder can be used to resolve them. But this antidote is limited; the medicinal power above can only save one person, or rather, one snake."

One person, one snake...

Gu Qing looked at Xiao Lü in front of him, opened his mouth slightly, and said, "Are you Ancestor Lü?"

Xiao Lü did not answer. His body turned, and he walked into the alley. As the red dust opened and closed, his figure disappeared.

Gu Qing held the pill, stuffed it into his bosom, and headed toward the direction of Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing. Meeting Lü Dongbin after leaving Lingyin Temple was a rare encounter for Gu Qing. However, before he could reach Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing, he heard exclamations from that side. Gu Qing stepped forward and saw Xiao Qing fainted on the ground, and Bai Suzhen stroking her chest, feeling dizzy.

(End of chapter)