Chapter 97

As the Heaven Department Minister in charge of the Demon Suppression Division, Medicine Division, and Martial Arts Academy, Wei Zhenjie was quite sensitive to changes in subtle details. When he arrived at the square, the first thing he noticed was the door of the Old Courtyard.

The courtyard door, which had always been left open only by a crack, was now completely wide open.

"Who opened the courtyard door?"

Wei Zhenjie looked at Gu Qiming beside him.

Gu Qiming was stunned. For the Heaven Department Minister who had promoted him, he was both admiring and in awe. While in awe, he also longed to gain the other party's recognition.

He hadn't paid any attention to how the Old Courtyard door was opened.

He had entered and exited the Old Courtyard many times, so he naturally knew that the courtyard door could not be shaken in the slightest before this. How it was completely opened—there must be a big problem here.

Having made such a big oversight, Gu Qiming instinctively wanted to hide it, so he lied: "It was opened by Senior Gu himself. He also said not to let this subordinate warn those who want to have designs on the Old Courtyard."

Wei Zhenjie had been looking at the Old Courtyard and hadn't noticed the fluctuations in Gu Qiming's expression. Hearing his words, he stepped into the Old Courtyard with a solemn face: "Senior, I hope you have been well."

Gu Xing lay on the recliner with his eyes closed. Hearing the voice, he opened his eyes to look at the visitor: "So it's Little Wei who has come." After saying this, he closed his eyes again.

Wei Zhenjie was already accustomed to this.

Before being promoted to Heaven Department Minister, he was the Director of the Medicine Division. At that time, when he came to the Old Courtyard, Senior Gu was very enthusiastic toward him. Ever since he went to the Heaven Department, Senior Gu wouldn't even look at him when he came over.

He could feel that Senior Gu was disappointed in him.

But what exactly Senior Gu was disappointed about, he hadn't been clear before. But now, after seeing the completely wide-open Old Courtyard door and the two lanterns ignited on the First Street, he seemed to understand a little.

Wei Zhenjie bowed solemnly to Gu Xing: "It is this junior who has failed the senior's expectations."

Gu Xing opened his eyes and stared at him quietly for a while: "It cannot be called failing. Before, it was this old man who was obsessed. Everyone has their own fate; as long as you haven't failed yourself, that's enough."

Wei Zhenjie's expression was moved: "Thank you, Senior, for your guidance."

Gu Xing looked at him: "The demon beasts are becoming increasingly rampant, aren't they?"

Wei Zhenjie's eyes flickered, and he smiled: "Senior doesn't leave the courtyard, yet you know the affairs of the world."

Gu Xing was noncommittal about this, only offering a piece of advice: "You have alchemists in your hands, right? Arrange for them to go to the First Street. Demon beasts and demon plants will become more and more powerful. Prepare more pills and let fewer people die."

Wei Zhenjie came to the Old Courtyard to ask about the ignition of the First Street lanterns, but seeing Gu Xing close his eyes again, looking unwilling to say more, he was quite helpless.

"I heard that someone disturbed you yesterday, Senior. Please rest assured, such a thing will not happen again in the future..."

Gu Xing waved his hand: "No need for you to interfere. How this courtyard will be in the future, let it take its natural course."

Wei Zhenjie probed: "Didn't you say before, Senior, that you wanted to live in the courtyard for your whole life? Why are you willing to hand it over to others now?"

Gu Xing opened his eyes again and looked at the courtyard entrance: "The Alchemy Saint Hall opens its doors to welcome its master!"

Hearing this answer, Wei Zhenjie's expression was shocked.

Gu Xing looked at him. After all, he was a junior he had once placed high hopes on, so he gave a hint: "You don't need to probe. This old man really has nothing to tell you. If I could really interfere with something, how would I have fallen into this state?"

"Little Wei, you have left the Medicine Division; your opportunities are no longer here."

"Our interface has recovered. Blessed lands, ruins, secret realms, and heavenly treasures will become more and more numerous. Go outside and find your opportunities."

Wei Zhenjie also knew that Senior Gu had said enough to him today. Seeing him close his eyes again, he really didn't have the heart to speak again: "Senior, this junior has disturbed you again. Take care of yourself."

After speaking, he turned to leave the Old Courtyard. As he walked, he looked at the wooden plaques hanging on the wall.

He remembered that when he first entered the Old Courtyard, there were eighteen wooden plaques hanging on the wall; now there were only nine left.

As he stepped over the threshold, Wei Zhenjie suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Gu Xing, and said in surprise: "Senior... the twilight aura on your body seems to have faded a bit."

Gu Xing's eyelids moved, but he did not respond.

Wei Zhenjie watched him silently for a while and then left.

As soon as he came out, Gu Qiming immediately followed him.

Wei Zhenjie looked at him: "How many medicinal courtyards are there on the First Street?"

Gu Qiming: "Excluding the Medicine Division building, there are eighty medicinal courtyards."

Wei Zhenjie thought for a moment and said: "Clean up twenty of them. I will arrange for people to come over this afternoon." He paused and looked at Gu Qiming.

"In the Kunlun Mountain ruins, some people found some ancient books that mentioned the Alchemy Saint Hall. Coupled with the ignition of the First Street alchemy fire, you must be mentally prepared. Soon, all parties will be eyeing the Medicine Division."

"This time, the various parties will no longer be making casual moves or planting side branches; they will be sending out their direct descendants."

Gu Qiming's expression was solemn: "Minister, then how should I make arrangements?"

Wei Zhenjie looked at him: "The wealthy and powerful in the capital—who can a third-rank official like you arrange? Let them fight it out themselves; it will be a good way to probe the strength of each party."

Gu Qiming nodded, indicating he understood what to do.

Wei Zhenjie strode forward: "There is one more thing. You must hurry and find out. Senior Gu gave out a total of nine wooden plaques. Find these nine people."

Gu Qiming: "My two disciples and I each have one, that's three. You have one, Minister. Zhang Tianshi of the Tianshi Mansion also has one. Gu Jinfan might also have one. That leaves only three wooden plaques whose ownership is unknown."

Wei Zhenjie narrowed his eyes: "Gu Jinfan... the young lady of the Duke Xinguo Prefecture?"

Gu Qiming nodded: "Yes, she is the Seventh Young Lady of the Duke Xinguo Prefecture. Does the Minister know her too?"

Wei Zhenjie: "Keep a close eye on her. In the Kunlun Mountain ruins, many of the good things the Gu family obtained were found by Gu Jinfan. I want to know if this young lady is just lucky or if she harbors other secrets."

Gu Qiming had long felt that Gu Jinfan was not right, so he hurriedly agreed.

The two of them walked quickly across the square while talking.

In the crowd of onlookers, Hua Changxi watched the two of them, her eyes flickering. Neither the Heaven Department Minister nor the Medicine Division Director had spiritual energy fluctuations. Are neither of them cultivators?

This was obviously impossible.

It is estimated that, like her, they either practiced a breath-concealing technique or possessed extraordinary treasures.

I wonder how high their cultivation levels are?

The arrival of the Heaven Department Minister caused the entire Medicine Division to be in an uproar. After watching the excitement, Hua Changxi went to the No. 9 Imperial Physician Pavilion.

Hua Changxi took the wooden plaque and carefully explored every corner of the courtyard again. Unfortunately, she still didn't find anything unusual, and the wooden plaque didn't have any reaction either.

Not expecting to find the secret of the Imperial Physician Pavilion all at once, Hua Changxi put away the wooden plaque and was just about to refine pills when Yu Gui ran in, sweating profusely.

"Sister Changxi, you are indeed here."

Hua Changxi looked at his anxious and flustered appearance and asked: "Did something happen?"

Yu Gui walked to her side, lowered his voice, and asked urgently: "Sister Changxi, can you treat cultivators?"

Hua Changxi's eyes flashed: "Do you know cultivators?"

Yu Gui shook his head: "Not me, it's my godfather." Seeing that Hua Changxi didn't deny it and didn't speak, he added, "Didn't you say before that you wanted to teach in the Imperial Physician Pavilion? As long as you help my godfather save someone, the other two Imperial Physician Pavilions in his hands will be yours to use."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi finally reacted: "Have your godfather send the person here. I'll see if I can treat them."

Having received this answer, Yu Gui immediately rushed out of the courtyard. Soon, he came back with Eunuch Yu, carrying a middle-aged eunuch with a painful expression.

After entering the room, Yu Gui put the eunuch down. As soon as the eunuch stood on the ground, he covered his abdomen with both hands, his facial features twisted in pain, yet he didn't make a sound.

Eunuch Yu looked at Hua Changxi anxiously: "Hua Changxi, hurry and take a look at Eunuch Xuan. As long as you cure him, there will be a great reward."

Hua Changxi signaled Yu Gui to help the person sit on a chair. Looking at the eunuch's painful expression, she took his pulse and asked some questions. Learning that he had taken an unknown pill, she took out a detoxification pill and gave it to him.

Knowing it was a detoxification pill, Eunuch Xuan showed disappointment.

Eunuch Yu hurriedly said: "Eunuch Xuan has already taken detoxification pills; they were useless."

【Looking, Listening, Asking, and Feeling Technique (Introductory): Diagnosis 3/10】

Hua Changxi looked calmly at the words jumping in her field of vision: "The detoxification pill he took was for physical toxins, so naturally it was useless. My detoxification pill is different."

After hearing this, Eunuch Xuan looked at Eunuch Yu. Seeing Eunuch Yu nod at him, he took the pill with the attitude of treating a dead horse as a living one.

Not long after taking the pill, Eunuch Xuan began to sweat. He, who hadn't made a sound before, began to let out painful roars from his throat. His whole body slid to the ground as if exhausted, arching his body like a cooked shrimp.

Seeing this, Yu Gui and Eunuch Yu's expressions changed drastically.

Hua Changxi: "Don't worry, detoxification is a process like this."

Eunuch Xuan lay on the ground for a full quarter of an hour, his sweat soaking the ground, before his twisted face slowly relaxed. After a few more minutes, he had the strength to sit up from the ground by himself.

Seeing this, Yu Gui and Eunuch Yu hurriedly went to help him.

After Eunuch Xuan sat on the chair and adjusted his breathing for a while, he looked at Hua Changxi and said gratefully: "Thank you, young lady, for your life-saving grace."

Hua Changxi smiled: "You are a friend of Eunuch Yu, and since Eunuch Yu has spoken, I naturally have to do my best to help you."

Seeing Hua Changxi give him so much face, Eunuch Yu also looked at her gratefully.

Eunuch Xuan smiled at Eunuch Yu. Although he didn't say anything, Eunuch Yu's eyebrows lit up with joy.

"Young Lady Hua, I have also taken detoxification pills before, but they were of no use at all. Why could your detoxification pill cure the poison in my body?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "If I'm not mistaken, the detoxification pill you took before should have been for physical toxins. But the poison you were afflicted with did not harm your physical body; it was corroding your dantian and qi sea."

"Fortunately, you came quickly, and the poisonous gas had not yet overflowed from the dantian and flowed into the spiritual veins. Otherwise, your spiritual veins would have been corroded. Spiritual veins are very fragile; once corroded, even if you are cured in the end, your aptitude for cultivation will be greatly diminished."

Eunuch Xuan listened with lingering fear.

Yu Gui asked curiously: "There are actually poisons that don't harm the body?"

Hua Changxi smiled: "Eunuch is a cultivator. This poison doesn't harm his body; it is specifically aimed at his dantian, qi sea, and spiritual veins. If not treated in time, Eunuch's path of cultivation would be directly cut off."

Yu Gui stammered: "Cultivators' methods are so terrifying. Sister Changxi, how did you see that Eunuch Xuan's dantian and qi sea were poisoned?"

Hua Changxi smiled and explained to Yu Gui the diagnosis of looking, listening, asking, and feeling she had just performed on Eunuch Xuan. Suddenly, she saw patterns appearing on the originally empty stone wall in the room, and at the same time, a green light flashed and disappeared from her waist.

Yu Gui was shocked: "Sister Changxi, you are glowing."

Hua Changxi didn't respond to Yu Gui, just smiled at the three people present.

Eunuch Xuan was a cultivator and knew that cultivators all have their own opportunities. He looked at Hua Changxi with flickering eyes and stood up: "I am a Thousand-Household Commander in charge of punishment at the Eastern Depot. If Young Lady Hua ever needs my help in the future, I will definitely help if I can."

Hua Changxi didn't expect Eunuch Xuan to be from the Eastern Depot. She glanced at Eunuch Yu and stood up: "Then I will thank you in advance for your care, Eunuch."

Eunuch Xuan didn't stay long and left with Eunuch Yu.

Only Hua Changxi and Yu Gui were left in the courtyard.

Yu Gui knew he had said something he shouldn't have, and his expression was a bit sheepish.

Hua Changxi smiled: "Brother Yu, I just saw that you seemed quite interested in cultivators being poisoned. Shall I tell you more about it?"

Yu Gui's expression was happy: "Will it delay your time?"

Hua Changxi: "I'm idle anyway, come on, I'll explain it to you in detail."

Over the next hour, in her interaction with Yu Gui, Hua Changxi discovered that when she explained toxicity to him, the wooden plaque didn't react at all, but when she explained the methods of looking, listening, asking, and feeling, not only did the wooden plaque light up again, but she also saw a complete set of images appear on the stone wall on the north side of the room.

"Brother Yu, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to do. I'll tell you about other things next time."

"Oh, okay, then I'll go first."

After Yu Gui left, Hua Changxi immediately took out the wooden plaque. Seeing that the wooden plaque hadn't changed, she walked quickly to the stone wall.

At this moment, the images could no longer be seen on the stone wall.

Hua Changxi wouldn't give up. She reached out to the wall to investigate. Who would have thought that as soon as her hand touched the stone wall, the images appeared again.

This image was very simple; it depicted people.

A person sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion was in the very center, and to his left, right, and directly opposite, dense crowds of people were sitting cross-legged.

That was the image.

Hua Changxi looked at it carefully: "Why does this feel like they are attending a lecture?"

"Could the Imperial Physician Pavilion be a place for lectures?"

Lectures...

Hua Changxi looked at the image, everyone sitting cross-legged: "These people are cultivators."

For mortals, it's a lecture; for cultivators, it's...

"Preaching?!"

"The Imperial Physician Pavilion is a place for preaching?!"

Hua Changxi felt that she had discovered the secret of the Imperial Physician Pavilion. However, she hadn't made up her mind yet and needed to verify it further.

To verify her thoughts, Hua Changxi went directly to the Sixth Bureau, called Zhou Qiuyu, Wang Yunchu, and a dozen others to the Imperial Physician Pavilion, and then lectured them on the diagnosis process of looking, listening, asking, and feeling.

During this period, several more patterns appeared on the stone wall, and the wooden plaque she had placed in the corner of the roof lit up several times.