**Chapter 114: Die This Instant**
Qin Mu took her pulse. "Four months ago, during cultivation, did you once suffer qi deviation? That was when the root cause was planted."
Fu Qingyun nodded repeatedly. "Yes, there was an incident of qi deviation. I thought it was a minor issue and didn't pay it much attention."
Unknowingly, night deepened over the capital. Lanterns bloomed throughout the city, illuminating it like daylight. The so-called "Flower Street and Willow Lane" was where the capital's scholars often ventured, and even high-ranking officials frequently visited under cover of night. The Flower Lane was not entirely a place for selling flesh—the deeper one went, the more it became about selling art. The courtesans of the Flower Lane were exquisite in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and their poetry and songs could move the hearts of any dignitary.
Tonight, the various luminaries who came to the Flower Lane found the brothels empty. The lane was lined with women, but no business was conducted inside. When they asked their favored courtesans, they were told: "A divine healer of gynecology has arrived at the Listening Rain Pavilion. The sisters are all lined up waiting for treatment and have no time for business. Please come again tomorrow."①
"A divine healer of gynecology in the Flower Lane?"
Outside the lane, a large sedan chair set down. An elderly man in plain clothes emerged and said in surprise: "Go and inquire about this healer's medical skill."
After a moment, a servant reported: "My lord, all the women in the Flower Lane say she's excellent. They call her skills divine."
The plain-clothed elder pondered. A strategist beside him whispered: "My lord is thinking of the one in the palace..."
"There are many ears here. Don't say more."
The plain-clothed elder sighed. "The one in the palace has been bedridden for so long. The imperial physicians are helpless—they can't even diagnose the illness. I only hope to find a divine healer to extend her life, but I fear time is running short. Words are insufficient. Summon Imperial Physician Xiao to test this Flower Lane healer."
"Yes, sir!"
Shortly after, Imperial Physician Xiao arrived and bowed. "Why has the elder summoned me?"
"No need for formalities outside the Flower Lane."
The plain-clothed elder explained the situation. "A healer has appeared in the Flower Lane. I'd like you to test her abilities and determine whether she has the skill to treat the one in the palace."
Though Imperial Physician Xiao's hair was white, his eyebrows were dark, and his eyes showed traces of blood. He sneered: "What kind of healer could the Flower Lane produce? It's likely nothing more than a charlatan seeking fame by deceiving women and children. Why must I see this person?"
The plain-clothed elder frowned. Imperial Physician Xiao's heart jumped, and he quickly added: "Elder, I need not see him. I need only examine the prescription he's written." He then snatched a prescription from a woman who had just emerged from her consultation, glanced at it, and sneered: "Elder, look—he prescribes only the cheapest medicines. How could such a person possibly treat the one in the palace?"
The plain-clothed elder replied unhurriedly: "Medicine knows no high or low—it exists to heal the sick and save lives. These women in the Flower Lane are not wealthy and have little money. To treat illness with affordable medicine—that is true skill. You will go in with me. You will test him."
Imperial Physician Xiao had no choice but to comply and followed the elder into the Flower Lane. The lane was deep, filled with courtesans queuing for treatment. The two finally pushed their way through to the Listening Rain Pavilion, where they found a handsome young man in fine clothes examining patients by lamplight.
Imperial Physician Xiao sneered: "He appears to be only fourteen or fifteen, yet he's already out here swindling money. Elder, surely you've given up now? Look at him—his qi is mostly steady, but it occasionally stumbles. That means he's suffering from qi deviation! He can't even heal himself, yet he dares to practice medicine. Elder, we can leave now."
The plain-clothed elder's expression remained impassive. "I told you to go. Go."
Imperial Physician Xiao had no choice but to step forward. He pushed the women aside and sat down before Qin Mu in a commanding posture. Extending his palm, his voice boomed like a bell: "Diagnose me. What illness do I have?"
Qin Mu was surprised. He looked up at the old man before him, did not take his pulse, and said gravely: "Sir, you are seriously ill."
Imperial Physician Xiao sneered and rose to his feet. "A charlatan dares to speak to me like—"
"You are a pharmacist, aren't you?"
Qin Mu continued: "Your body carries the scent of ten thousand medicines, showing that you have long been immersed in pharmaceuticals, breathing in their properties. You prescribe your own medicines, soak in medicinal baths, and consume various elixirs of your own creation. However, your pharmaceutical skills are inadequate—you failed to properly detoxify the medicines. Now, your body has accumulated toxins from hundreds of different substances. Your dark brows and reddened eyes indicate that the toxins have reached your skin and penetrated deep into your eyes. At this stage, it cannot be undone. I cannot cure your illness. Only the King of Hell could save you now."
Imperial Physician Xiao flew into a rage, laughing with fury. "Little pharmacist, how long do you say I have to live?"
Qin Mu hesitated. "If you don't lose your temper, you might live a while longer. But if you do—if rage attacks your heart and the toxins surge through your meridians, with the medicinal properties mixing—then you have ten..."
Imperial Physician Xiao grew even angrier, his voice cold as ice: "You say I have ten days to live? What if I don't die within ten days?"
Qin Mu frowned. "Nine... eight... seven..."
Imperial Physician Xiao was incandescent with rage. His aura erupted, shattering the medical desk before Qin Mu. He sneered: "You mean I'll die right now? If I don't die, you will!"
"Three... two... one."
The instant Qin Mu said "one," Imperial Physician Xiao felt his heart torn apart as though it had shattered. His cultivation instantly spiraled out of control. Every inch of his skin burst open, blood erupting in torrents until he was drenched in crimson. Then his body began to rot, dissolving into a pile of putrid flesh.
"I couldn't save you."
Qin Mu shook his head. "You shouldn't have lost your temper. Your pharmaceutical skills are flawed, and you took your own medicines indiscriminately. This was inevitable. Sister Yun'er, should this body be reported to the authorities?"
The Flower Lane erupted into chaos. The plain-clothed elder was also startled, but he gave a quiet nod before turning and walking out of the lane.
The commotion soon subsided. Qin Mu ceased treating other patients and returned to his room to rest.
The next day, he treated his own qi deviation completely, leaving no lingering effects, before continuing to treat others. Before long, long lines had formed in the Flower Lane once more. Fu Qingyun sighed inwardly—this was supposed to be a brothel, yet it had somehow become a clinic.
That afternoon, Fu Qingyun hurriedly said: "Young Master, the entrance examination is tomorrow! You must stop treating patients and conserve your energy for tomorrow's test!"
Qin Mu nodded. "Very well. I'll continue treating these people after the examination."
Fu Qingyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She whispered: "Young Master, your duty isn't to be a pharmacist!"
Qin Mu replied, "It's not merely about treating people. Although I've studied medicine extensively, my practical experience is limited. Treating these patients expands my knowledge. The Pharmacist Grandfather taught me countless medical principles during my ten years in the Great Ruins, but I had no chance to apply them. In just over a day, I've tested a thousand medical principles."
Fu Qingyun's head ached. How could the young sect master of the Heavenly Demon Sect possibly act like an itinerant doctor, wandering through the Flower Lane to treat courtesans?
Finally, the day of the Imperial Academy's entrance examination arrived. Qin Mu left the Flower Lane at dawn, asking directions to the Academy along the way.
"The Imperial Academy—it's on the mountain in the center of the city!"
Qin Mu arrived before the Academy's gate and looked up, silently marveling. The Imperial Academy was the empire's premier institution, and its grandeur was undeniable—it was built upon a jade mountain. This mountain occupied the center of the Nine Dragon Range, positioned where the dragons' mouths held the pearl.
Nine dragons, all holding a single pearl together—what a wondrous sight that must be.
The qi of the nine dragons converged here, naturally producing outstanding talent. The dragon energy had transformed the mountain itself into jade, its entire structure composed of precious stone.
Palaces dotted the mountain, some with blue tiles, others with red. Near the palaces, several great ships hovered in the sky, their sails not yet furled.
At this moment, thousands of scholars from across the land had gathered before the Academy's mountain gate, waiting to enter. Beneath the imposing gate, more than a dozen Academy registrars were taking down names, recording where each scholar came from and which academy or school they represented.
Qin Mu queued up, and by the time his turn came, the sun had risen high in the sky.
He produced his travel permit. "I am from Lizhou Prefecture..."
"No, no—he's not from Lizhou!"
Suddenly, a plump youth squeezed up beside Qin Mu and grinned: "He's from Jiangling, same as me! Master Registrar, write Jiangling!"
The registrar looked up and sneered: "The travel permit says where you're from. That's what I'll write—you can't just change your registered residence."
The youth was Wei Yong. He watched as Qin Mu completed his registration of name and residence, then groaned: "That's terrible. We came on the same ship—if you were from Jiangling too, it would have been easier to get into the Academy."
Qin Mu asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Wei Yong glanced around and lowered his voice. "Haven't you heard the news? More than half the scholars from Jiangling died on the way here. Besides the attack on our ship by the Dragon-Taming Gate, those who traveled by land or air were also ambushed. Barely a handful made it to the capital alive. Apparently, some rebellious sects wanted to humiliate the State Preceptor—after all, he's from Jiangling..."
"Which academy are you from? What's your cultivation level?" the registrar asked.
Qin Mu replied, "Family teaching—no academy. I only reached the Five Stars Realm two days ago."
The registrar shook his head. "You've only just entered the Five Stars Realm, and you dare come to test..."
After Qin Mu and Wei Yong had registered, they passed through the mountain gate, where many scholars had congregated. Once all scholars were registered, a Daoist priest called out loudly: "Those who have attained the Divine Ability may ascend the mountain. Everyone else, remain."
Before long, only the Spirit Embryo and Five Stars warriors remained at the mountain's base—roughly two thousand in total.
The middle-aged Daoist led the group into the mountains. They had not gone far when they encountered a sheer cliff face, approximately thirty to forty zhang high.
The cliff had no steps and no cableway. One could either fly up or run up. If one possessed the ability to leap thirty to forty zhang, one could also simply jump.
"If you can't get up, go home," the Daoist said, standing at the cliff's edge, addressing the scholars from across the land with an icy expression.
"Isn't this simple?"
One scholar retreated several paces, then suddenly charged toward the cliff at full speed, attempting to run up its face. However, the moment his feet touched the cliff wall, he slipped and slammed against the jade surface with a smack, his head splitting open and blood gushing forth.
The cliff face was made entirely of flawless jade, and his blood slid down without leaving the slightest stain.
The scholars below shuddered. "So slippery!"
① In traditional Chinese medicine, gynecology was formally established as a specialty during the Tang Dynasty. Sun Simiao advocated separating obstetrics and gynecology from general medicine, at which time it was often called "obstetrics" or "women's medicine." By the Song Dynasty, gynecology had been formally recognized as a specialty within the Imperial Medical Bureau's nine departments.