Against the Gods

Once this “Genius Doctor” appeared, he immediately attracted the gaze of all the passer-bys. It was clear that he had picked up a rag from who knows where and had turned it into a banner, and swayed it back and forth. It was unknown that how many people were blinded by the foolishness. The sixteen words crookedly written on there emitted a deep lunatic air; furthermore, it actually rhymed so well!

“Where the heck did he come from? He looks so shabby, yet comes out this early to put on airs and trying to swindle people.”

“Ah, nowadays, there seems to be more and more swindlers about. Even claiming to cut his JJ, tsk tsk…… It’s likely he doesn’t even have a JJ, right?”

“Claiming to be an unrivaled genius doctor, my ass! If there was anyone who actually believed this, they’d be a fool!”

Let alone a stall, the middle-aged “genius doctor” didn’t even have a chair. With his banner held up high, he walked a whole three rounds from the back street to front street but did not meet a single patient that was willing to come up to him. Most of the people looked at him as if he was crazy, and even the young ladies he occasionally passed by would gasp and move out of his way while blushing.

“What does ‘Cut own JJ’ mean?”

This was already the eighth time that Jasmine had asked him.

“It really doesn’t mean anything! I simply wanted to make it rhyme!” Yun Che very patiently explained with a serious face.

“This princess doesn’t believe it!”

“Then what else can it mean? You can read it: Unrivaled genius doctor, no disease unable to cure; If unable to cure, cut off own JJ! See how smoothly it flows! If you were to change it to cutting own’s wrist, cutting own’s throat, or cutting own’s meridian and so on, how awkward would that sound when read; the artistic conception is more than a world’s difference! As for this JJ, it really isn’t anything specific, and it’s simply for making it rhyme, it’s to rhyme!” Yun Che persuaded patiently, as he slowly wiped his forehead that was full of cold sweat.

He has always viewed Jasmine like a little monster due to her strength and would sometimes unconsciously forget how old she really was. The normally omniscient little Jasmine, was unexpectedly unable to comprehend the concept of ‘cut own JJ’; ever since these four characters were written on the banner, she has been constantly asking, asking, and asking about it like an inquisitive child…...

After the eighth time Yun Che explained it to her, she appeared to have finally believed it and didn’t inquire anymore.

“Haah, it’s really hard being a traveling doctor nowadays. There hasn’t even been a single person inquiring about my service. I’m not gonna have to go setup shop, am I? Not only would that waste time and money, it might even become suspicious and ruin my plans.” After making the fifth round, Yun Che started to twist and groan in his mind.

At this moment, two people entered the street from the East while looking around. They were moving with hurried steps with bitter faces, as if they were just hit by a great misfortune.

“All the reputable doctors in the city have already been invited. Even the chief doctor and pharmacists from the sect have been asked to come. In the end, all of them have been useless. If this continues…… Where the hell are we supposed to search!” One of them bitterly groaned.

“Aiya, as a group of two, we’re not allowed to return if we can’t find a doctor. From the looks of it, I don’t think there’s any hope of us returning today.” The other gloomily stated.

“A few groups of brothers have already talked about going out of the city to search, how about we try searching outside the city as well? Even though it’s far, it’s better than returning empty-handed and getting punished.”

As the two were talking, they suddenly raised their heads, and saw that raggedy banner swaying back and forth not ten steps away from them.

“Holy shit! Unrivaled genius doctor?” Their eyes lit up immediately.

“Oh forget it, you can tell he’s a swindler with just one glance. A mere traveling doctor, actually dares to claim to be a genius doctor.”

“Who cares! We were instructed by our superiors to find a doctor, and here he is! Who cares if he’s real or not! If he is a fraud, he’d naturally be put in place. Let’s just think about completing our task. And who knows, he might actually have a bit of skill in practicing medicine.

“That’s true! Let’s go!”

The two made the decision, and quickly rushed in front of the ‘genius doctor’: “Genius doctor, our sect’s Young Sect Master suffered a grave injury yesterday and is in urgent need of a genius doctor. Since you’re claiming to be a genius doctor who can cure anything, then you can definitely treat our sect’s young sect master’s injury without any difficulties. Please come with us back to our sect right away.”

One stood in the front, while the other stood in the back with the ‘genius doctor’ caught in the middle; the posture was part invitation and part coercion. The “genius doctor” glanced at them, and muttered in his mind: Young sect master? Gravely injured…… This can’t be a coincidence, right?

The ‘genius doctor’ stroked his long beard and calmly asked: “Treating diseases and saving lives is the duty of a doctor, this old man will follow you back right away. Dare might I ask…...Which sect are you from?”

“You’d be scared to death once we tell you which sect we’re from.” The two stuck up their noses and stated with a proud face: “It’s none other than the number one great sect in New Moon City, Xiao Sect! If you’re able to cure our sect’s Young Sect Master’s injury, our sect absolutely won’t treat you badly; not only would you be rewarded greatly, your fame would also spreaded throughout all of New Moon City. But if you’re not able to heal him. Hoh hoh……”

Xiao Sect…

Holy crap!

Yun Che’s eyebrows, which he had meticulously groomed, twitched as he moaned to himself: What the f*ck…… I’m way too in luck! I had originally planned to exhibit my art of healing and spend three days to become famous in this New Moon City; then news would reach Xiao Sect’s ears and they would come to invite me over… Everything was logically planned out! In the end, I didn’t even find a single person to treat yet, and Xiao Sect had already come knocking on my door!

His face and attitude immediately turned proud, and had the altitude of an expert as he chuckled: “A doctor practicing medicine does not care about family background nor the financial situation. After all the years this old man has practiced medicine, there hasn’t actually been a single disease or injury this old man could not treat. Let’s go, take this old man to your sect.”

Listening to how confident he was, it appeared as if he might actually have a bit of skill. However, the two did not really care; the only thing that mattered was to lead him back to their sect. One led the way in the front, and the other followed in the back; it was as if they were afraid that this ‘genius doctor’ would run away and make it impossible for them to complete their task.

————————————

Upon entering Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect, Yun Che’s first impression was that it was big! Extremely big!

The entire sect was located at South Moon Mountain and spanned several kilometers away from the foot of the mountain, yet they had only entered the outer ground of the sect; the core of the sect was located on top of South Moon Mountain. This entire mountain belonged to the sect. As Yun Che walked on the mountain roads, he sighed in his heart… In Floating Cloud City that he came from, Xiao Clan was considered the biggest clan. But if compared to this Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect, it was too small to even be seen. If one really wanted to compare, it was estimated to be even smaller than one percent of this Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect.

If a little branch sect was already like this, one can only imagine how big Xiao Sect’s Main Sect was like.

Along the way, Yun Che tried very hard to memorize the route they had taken. But after several turns of going up left and right, even with his extremely great memory, his mind still became a muddled mess. Finally, he helplessly came to the conclusion that… Unless if one had lived here for several months, it was impossible to not get lost in here.

If that was the case, the method of escape after succeeding, instead turned into a huge problem…… Oh well, things would just have to be taken one step at a time.

After walking for a long time, and through at least a dozen profound strength inspections, he was guided to the branch sect’s medicine hall that was near the mountain peak.

Xiao Tiannan had not slept for the entire night.

After causing a ruckus at the New Moon Profound Palace and returning, he had not left the medicine hall at all. Looking at Xiao Luocheng’s half dead state, it could be that his heart was utterly torn and was in a mess. The sect doctor of the medicine hall simply didn’t know what to do with Xiao Luocheng’s injuries…. Strictly speaking, he simply didn’t dare to handle it.

The left arm had been shattered into twelve pieces, the upper body’s meridians were entirely broken, and the profound veins had completely ruptured…… Regardless of which area, there was only one method for a complete recovery; it was to use the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal. The Purple Veined Heaven Crystal contained a feeble force of divinity; no matter which part of the human body was injured, it was possible to be perfectly restored when using it. To possess enough Purple Veined Heaven Crystal was equivalent to possessing another life. However, first and foremost, one would need a high leveled doctor who had the ability to use this sort of world-class treasure, that was the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal.

Xiao Sect indeed possessed a small palm sized chunk of a Purple Veined Heaven Crystal, but it could be considered the most precious thing in this entire branch sect. But for Xiao Luocheng, the branch sect brought it out. However, whether it was people from their sect or from the city, nobody knew how to use the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal. It was because even a piece the size of a fingernail was considered invaluable. Not to mention touching or using it, very few had even seen it before. Even though a few medical books had written accounts of it and some of the doctors knew it by heart, absolutely no one dared to utilize it…. Because any slight mistake would waste the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal. If Xiao Luocheng remain uncured; the consequence was quite obvious….. A quick death would even be considered light.

It was common sense that regardless of how high a person’s former innate talent was, or how large of a hope was placed on that person, once he was crippled, he would become useless. It simply wasn’t possible that anything would be spent on him thereafter, because it would just be a complete waste. But Xiao Luocheng was different, he still had the status of being the grandson-in-law of a Xiao Sect’s Main Sect’s elder. The entire Branch Sect in New Moon City had been counting on Xiao Luocheng’s status to change their fortunes. A huge reason why Xiao Wuji was willing to betroth his own granddaughter to Xiao Luocheng, was because his innate ability was considered to be pretty good. Even in the Main Sect, it would be considered as above average. But now that he was in this state, there was probably only one outcome; and that was for Xiao Wuji to break off this marriage.

When Xiao Tiannan had been tyrannically shouting about how Xiao Luocheng was still considered to be a Main Sect Elder’s grandson-in-law at New Moon Profound Palace’s gate, he frightened the entire New Moon Profound Palace, but at the same time, he himself was actually more nervous than anyone. If the people Xiao Wuji had dispatched, saw the condition of Xiao Luocheng’s injury and turned away, he would only be able to hopelessly weep. They would no longer waste a single thought on a cripple; this would definitely be the most normal of outcomes.

So no matter what, Xiao Tiannan had to come up with any way to restore Xiao Luocheng’s condition before the people from the Main Sect arrived; even to the point that he didn’t hesitate to bring forth his important treasure, the Purple Veined Heavenly Crystal. Of course it was impossible to restore profound strength, but if the Purple Veined Heavenly Crystal was able to restore his merdian, his profound veins, and regain his original aptitude, then even if he didn’t have any profound energy, he would still no longer be a cripple. At worst, he would just have to start from the beginning. The chance of Xiao Wuji breaking off the marriage would also be much lower.

This entire night, Xiao Tiannan had his people search high and low for almost all the doctors in New Moon City. This also consisted of each and every doctor and pharmacist. But none of them dared to utilize the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal, nor could they come up with any other method of treatment. As Xiao Luocheng’s injured state dragged on for a day, the hope for a cure also became even more uncertain. Xiao Tiannan worried so much that it even caused a few strands of his hair to turn white; he hated Yun Che to the bone.

“Sect Master Xiao, this old man is truly powerless and ashamed.”

“Young Sect Master’s injury is too severe. This old man is incompetent and can only prescribe some medicine to temporarily stabilize his condition. As for a cure…… Aiya.”

“Perhaps the only thing that can cure Young Sect Master’s injury is the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal. However, this is still the first time in this old man’s life that he has seen this divine object and truly lack the ability to handle it.”

……………...

“Quacks! All a bunch of fricking useless quacks and trash!” Xiao Tiannan profusely yelled at them as he trembled from head to toe.