Chapter 243: Calmness

Unlike the outsider Doctor Tang, Doctor Ji, a local, has taken on quite a few apprentices.

He had many apprentices staying by his side to work even before the chaotic times, and after the chaotic times began, he increased the quota even further; currently, he has over ten personal disciples!

However, not every one of his apprentices possesses excellent aptitude.

Many of those apprentices with average abilities joined the sect before the chaotic times, performing manual labor and auxiliary tasks.

Back then, there was little competition, and coupled with the fact that Doctor Ji's teaching methods were somewhat taboo, it was easy to join his sect.

But after the chaotic times began, the competition became fierce!

Regardless of whether they were local residents of Shenyi Gu or refugees fleeing here, they no longer cared about such taboos in order to survive.

Among these later apprentices, there was no shortage of people with excellent natural talent.

Later on, as external business increased, Doctor Ji would continue to take in people with better aptitude; besides personal disciples, there were also medicine boys and medicine workers for chores, and so on.

And as the number of newcomers kept increasing, those senior brothers and sisters with average aptitude who had joined before the chaotic times were constantly being marginalized.

Survival is harder in chaotic times; although Doctor Ji's sect entrusted the Medicine Gang to do business with Beidi to earn food and supplies, there were more and more people in the sect, and there wasn't enough to go around.

A sense of crisis thus arose!

If they were disciples of other famous doctors, they wouldn't be this anxious.

The Six Great Clans of Beidi are all recruiting medical talent, and even if one only knows a little pharmacology, they would be snatched up and hired by wealthy families.

But for those under Doctor Ji, in the eyes of the world, they have done things that are "taboo" and "harmful to virtue," so their treatment is completely different.

Unable to find a way to make a living if they left the sect, they could only thicken their skin and cling to the sect, scrambling to do hard labor to scrape by, unable to spare any money or grain for other matters.

During holidays and festivals, they couldn't even afford the gifts to show filial piety to their master!

They didn't even have the face to kowtow when paying respects to their ancestors!

They were filled with guilt on one hand, and lived in constant fear of being kicked out of the sect on the other.

For now, they are temporarily alive, but they don't know how long they can last.

Now, upon hearing this, Xinzhou is actually completely different!

Can a Coroner actually have a formal position?

Wow!

There's such a good thing?!

They understood what "Young Master Rong" said.

Coroners, or those in equivalent professions, can all be registered by the local government and receive a monthly salary.

As long as the Zhao Clan does not fall, they can continue to receive a salary!

It is precisely because they understood that the people of the Ji sect were shocked and envious!

This is another path to survival laid out before them!

Given their background and the craft they learned, wasn't it all just to make a living?

"This—Young Master Rong, if I may be so bold, we can all do the work of a Coroner!" someone couldn't help but say.

"Yes! We can all do it, and we can do it more meticulously!" the person next to them echoed.

Not far away, Doctor Ji did not stop them.

From this, it is evident that everyone from the master to the apprentices is worried.

Wen Gu understood their anxiety.

For a niche profession with difficult employment prospects, the sect will certainly need to undergo strategic optimization and duty adjustments in the future.

Doctor Ji will inevitably have to recruit more apprentices with excellent aptitude, but the sect's resources are limited and cannot support so many people.

That Doctor Ji is still supporting those former apprentices to this day counts as him being benevolent. If it were a more ruthless master, they would have long since "optimized" a batch of their disciples.

A look of slight surprise appeared on Wen Gu's face, as if seeing that everyone was very curious, so he turned the topic back: "That's right, we in Xinzhou have indeed improved the treatment for Coroners! Now that the Evil Plague is rampant, in our Xinzhou, it's not just Coroners who have received better treatment, but also Skin Stitchers, and even Corpse Drivers—"

Upon hearing "Skin Stitcher" and "Corpse Driver," the members of the Ji sect almost simultaneously thought to themselves: It's settled!

If those people can have formal positions, how can we, who are properly trained in medicine, not have them?

Seeing this, Doctor Ji couldn't help but come over to ask for more details.

Having been master and apprentice, if he could secure a future for his disciples, he would also be more at ease.

Wen Gu described it truthfully.

He didn't lie; he just emphasized some details and omitted others.

Before Wen Gu arrived in Xinzhou, Lao Zhao had already improved the treatment for Coroners.

After Wen Gu arrived in Xinzhou, he gave it another push, making these types of practitioners more dedicated to their work and more willing to take on apprentices.

Some are fine at performing autopsies, but Plague Ghosts can transmit the Evil Plague, which belongs to a higher level of difficulty. To engage in those high-difficulty tasks, one must be trained in advance.

Now that he has come to Shenyi Gu, Wen Gu has discovered that the people from Doctor Ji's sect are quite suitable.

These are talents cultivated precisely for this purpose!

How can forensic medicine not be considered medicine?!

And looking at Doctor Ji again, this master has a great sense of responsibility; for the sake of his disciples' future, he will certainly be more dedicated!

Looking at it this way, Xinzhou doesn't even need to arrange additional training personnel; Doctor Ji will teach his apprentices in that direction himself!

Doctor Ji chatted with Wen Gu for quite a while.

It sounds like the Zhao Clan of Xinzhou truly values them and is truly willing to provide good treatment!

But Doctor Ji is, after all, a knowledgeable and famous doctor, and he is cautious by nature, so he would not make a decision immediately and would rather wait and see first.

On their first night at the Tang Gate, the people of the Ji sect were heavy-hearted.

Doctor Ji is experienced, and considering there was a task the next day, he quickly adjusted his mindset and brewed a sleep-promoting medicine for his apprentices, ensuring everyone had enough rest time at night.

The next day.

Having restored their energy and physical strength, the group arrived at a spot on the back of the mountain.

There was an outdoor shed set up there.

"The Plague Ghosts have already been transported up the mountain and placed over there," Doctor Tang said.

It is currently winter, so everyone is wrapped up and protected, meaning they are not uncomfortably hot.

The shed has walls made of stone and earth on three sides, and the top is not a solid roof but a thin canopy, which can block the wind while letting in light, and even diffuse the light when the sun is strong.

Incense is burning inside the shed.

The newly transported Plague Ghost corpses have varying degrees of mutation.

The three Plague Ghosts are placed separately on three rectangular wooden platforms that have been set up, cushioned with straw mats.

If one looks closely, one will discover that these rectangular wooden platforms are actually crude wooden coffins pieced together.

Once the dissection is finished, they will be sealed inside the wooden coffins and burned together.

Doctor Ji is observing Rong Huan and the other two.

Rong Huan brought one guard and one attendant.

This dissection was originally a requirement of the Patrol Guard Division; as an observer, it is understandable for Rong Huan to bring an attendant and a guard.

But—

Doctor Ji carefully observed those two, the attendant and the guard, again.

Ordinary people, upon seeing a Plague Ghost at close range, would feel fear and want to stay away and avoid it.

However, although Rong Huan's attendant is a bit nervous, there is no fear or shrinking back.

The same goes for that guard; the expression on his face remains calm, as if he were naturally lacking in emotion, cold and indifferent, standing there like a Mutou.

All in all, they are also surprisingly composed.

Doctor Ji had someone inquire about Rong Huan and the Rong family behind him.

He had long heard people say that the Rong family beyond the pass acts fiercely.

Now it seems the rumors are indeed somewhat true.

It makes sense; in a land of war at the border, they must have seen many major scenes.