Chapter 481: Departing the Capital (Part 1)

Hu Xiaotian said: "The 369 route heading out—originally we'd agreed to leave at month's end, but the Emperor suddenly changed his mind, saying we should prepare early; first, not to delay the Princess's wedding on March 16; second, to have a look along the way, no need to rush too much. They said they'd picked a good date, the thirteenth of the first month is suitable for marriage, and it looks like we'll even spend the Lantern Festival on the road."

Fan Zongxi sighed: "This trip is really a enviable nice posting, Hu junior brother, taking this opportunity you can just go sightseeing along the way. I heard Da Yong's mountains and rivers are magnificent and Dakang's beautiful scenery is completely different; going now it's a thousand miles of frozen ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow, the northern scenery is beyond beautiful. Speaking of which, I've always wanted to go to Da Yong to have a look, only unfortunately I have no opportunity."

Li Yuncong said: "The Emperor isn't letting Little Beard go enjoy himself; until Princess Anping reaches Yongdu, Little Beard can't really set his mind at ease."

Hu Xiaotian took the chance to complain: "That's right, nowadays the world isn't peaceful; I've heard many places are suffering famine, with many incidents of people looting grain, and the further north you go, the worse it gets."

Li Yuncong sighed: "Nowhere is peaceful; you'd better be careful yourself." But he secretly thought, "You kid, you're on your own."

Fan Zongxi said: "I see nothing to worry about. For this trip to Da Yong to escort the bride, the one in charge of security is Wen Boyuan; his martial arts are strong, he's both wise and brave, and besides, he has many experts from the Divine Strategy Prefecture at his side, so safety on the way will definitely be problem-free."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I just hope his martial arts are really as formidable as the outside rumors say."

Li Yuncong said: "The way of martial arts is boundless; there are always people stronger, heavens beyond heavens. No matter how strong one's martial arts, there will definitely be someone even stronger in this world."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Even if you're number one under heaven, what can you do? Two fists can't fight four hands; facing tens of thousands of troops, one person's strength is almost negligible."

Li Yuncong said: "Even if you can't defeat tens of thousands of troops, a true expert should have no trouble preserving his own life among them."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I've never even seen such an expert." He secretly thought, "The Li Yuncong before me must be just such an expert."

Li Yuncong said: "Little Beard, I raise this cup to wish you smooth sailing, to safely escort Princess Anping to Yongdu for the wedding, and await your triumphant return. The Zajia personally arrange a banquet to welcome you and cleanse the dust."

Hu Xiaotian made a look of being startled by favor: "Thank you, Sir Li, for your kind words." He accompanied Li Yuncong in drinking this cup, then hurriedly refilled it for him.

Li Yuncong said: "Do you two have heard any news?"

Hu Xiaotian and Fan Zongxi both turned their gazes to him at the same time.

Li Yuncong said: "The Emperor seems recently to be preparing to name an heir."

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows; he hadn't paid attention to this matter, recently only busy preparing to go to Da Yong, and hadn't noticed any movement from the Emperor's side.

Fan Zongxi said: "This is a major matter; I don't know who the Emperor has decided on as crown prince."

Li Yuncong sighed: "No matter who it is, this palace will surely not be peaceful."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Emperor is in his prime; his dragon body is healthy, there's no rush to name an heir."

Li Yuncong said: "A ruler's heart is unfathomable; how the Emperor thinks is hardly something we servants can guess. Don't talk state affairs, don't talk state affairs."

Hu Xiaotian secretly cursed: "This matter was basically your idea. Now you say 'don't talk state affairs'—it's clearly meant for me to hear, wanting me to help you gather intel. I'm about to leave the capital, yet you still try to extort money from me. This old eunuch truly deserves the word 'villain'."

Hu Xiaotian left Fan Zongxi and went straight to the Imperial Medical Institute. Yesterday he and Qin Yutong had agreed to meet there.

These past few days of the New Year, the Imperial Medical Institute has been very deserted; aside from the sweeping little eunuch, there wasn't a single patient. Hu Xiaotian came to Qin Yutong's clinic. Seeing Qin Yutong writing at her desk by the window, he stood there and gave a light cough.

Qin Yutong didn't look up, still writing calmly, and said softly: "Since you're here, come in."

Hu Xiaotian stepped in, smiling, and said: "Miss Qin, you're quite leisurely today."

Qin Yutong said: "Nothing much going on." After she finished writing, she put her pen on the pen holder, waited for the ink on the paper to dry, then folded the paper, slipped it into an envelope, sealed it with wax, and stamped it with a copper seal.

Hu Xiaotian stood aside watching silently; Qin Yutong then lifted her eyes and said softly: "If you have time on your trip to Yongdu, please help me deliver this letter to Mr. Liu Changsheng of the Shennong Society."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Done!" and carefully put away Qin Yutong's letter.

Qin Yutong pushed the prepared wooden box toward him: "Inside is what you need."

Hu Xiaotian had been waiting for her human-skin mask; if Qin Yutong didn't voluntarily give it to him, he'd have to ask for it. Overjoyed, he hurriedly reached out to grab it. But Qin Yutong pressed her palm on the box, stared at him, and said: "I have a few things I'm not sure whether I should say or not."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Speak!"

Qin Yutong said: "Personal feelings, compared to the great righteousness of family and nation, are always trivial; if because of private desire we let the two nations fall into war, causing the people to suffer, how could we bear it in our hearts?"

Hu Xiaotian understood Qin Yutong was worried that he'd take Long Xi Yue and flee, possibly sparking war between Dakang and Da Yong; he smiled faintly and said: "I understand your meaning, Miss Qin; before I do anything I always consider the consequences carefully."

Qin Yutong pushed the wooden box toward him and said softly: "Look carefully at that book inside; if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me." A look of hesitation appeared in her beautiful eyes: "I also don't know whether helping you is right or wrong."

Hu Xiaotian showed no appreciation: "You're not helping me, you're helping yourself; if you don't help me, perhaps you'll feel uneasy in your conscience for the rest of your life."

Qin Yutong inwardly sighed, "This guy is really a scoundrel." But she'd grown used to Hu Xiaotian's temper, and said softly: "The picture you gave me I've already taken back from my master-uncle." She produced the anatomy drawing Hu Xiaotian had given her.

Hu Xiaotian glanced; sure enough, it was the one he'd given her, and it seemed Li Yuncong had already returned the picture to Meng Zizai.

Qin Yutong said: "What is the Heaven-Man Myriad Phenomena Atlas you mentioned?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I've only heard rumors too; supposedly there's a book filled with human anatomy drawings. How about it? Haven't you heard your master-uncle mention it?"

Qin Yutong shook her head: "He never mentioned it; I thought my master-uncle was knowledgeable, so I took this diagram to ask him, with no other intention." Her graceful nature made it obvious she could see Hu Xiaotian was getting worked up about this.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "As for familiarity with human body structure, I doubt anyone could surpass me; you won't get anything from him." He also took out several completed anatomy drawings; since he'd promised Qin Yutong he'd do it, he handed those sheets to her and said: "Originally I didn't think this stuff was that precious, but it's still best to keep it secret, Miss Qin, do you understand?"

Qin Yutong glanced at the drawing, then handed it back to Hu Xiaotian: "I don't want it."

"Why? Haven't you always wanted to know about this?"

Qin Yutong said: "These drawings aren't much help for the medicine I study, and… I don't want to bring you more trouble."

Hu Xiaotian, however, understood Qin Yutong might feel guilty about the Meng Zizai matter, and smiled: "There won't be any trouble; actually I've always believed medical arts should be widely spread, mutually exchanged, collectively improved, and there should be no sectarian barriers."

Qin Yutong's beautiful eyes brightened: "You mean?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "No matter how skilled one's medical arts, one doesn't have the energy to care for all under heaven; only by passing on what one has learned as widely as possible, letting more people master medical knowledge and learn how to treat illness, can more lives be saved." His words came from genuine feeling; since coming to this world, he's found that medicine, like martial arts, sees little interaction between major medical clinics, and they guard their secret formulas deeply, fearing others will learn them, raising high walls between schools; modern medicine's development proves that to improve medical standards one must engage in frequent academic exchange, and closure in medicine only stalls progress.

Qin Yutong said: "If you were to take all the medical arts you've mastered and teach them to others, would you be willing?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "What's the problem? Even if I personally went without sleep or rest to save people, in this lifetime I could only save a few tens of thousands of lives; but if the world had another person like me, we could save double; if there were a hundred, a thousand? When I have time later, I'll write down all the medical arts I've mastered and distribute them widely; if conditions allow, I could even take on a few students." He paused, shook his head, and said: "No way, I lack patience; having me sit down to teach would surely mislead the students."

Qin Yutong said: "I'll help you!" This remark came out completely spur-of-the-moment; for some reason she was moved by Hu Xiaotian's words. As Hu Xiaotian said, medical practitioners' sectarian devotion is no less than that of martial artists, and they are especially cautious about their secret formulas; not to mention, the three major medical institutes of Dakang rarely interact, let alone exchange medical arts. Hu Xiaotian being able to say this shows his broad-mindedness, and his vision surpasses that of other physicians by a notch.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "I'll remember Miss Qin's words; if I ever really get the chance to open a medical academy, I'll certainly invite Miss Qin to be a professor."

"Medical academy? Professor?" Even though Qin Yutong is naturally gifted, she couldn't help but feel a bit confused at this.

Third update uploaded, still need one monthly ticket to reach seventy; which kind-hearted brother can help me make up the count? (To be continued~^~)