Heaven-relying Sword And Dragon-slaying Sabre

Zhang Wuji turned his attention to the little girl beside Ji Xiaofu. Pretty as a picture, the girl stared curiously at him with a pair of big and dark eyes before whispering, "Mother, is this boy the physician?"

The word 'Mother' caused Ji Xiaofu to redden at once. But there was really nothing more that she could do to keep the matter under wraps. So, she replied awkwardly, "This is an older brother from the Zhang family. His father was a friend of mine." Then, she turned to Zhang Wuji and said, "She … she is called 'Buhui'." After a pause, she added, "Her surname is Yang … Yang Buhui!"

Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "That is great. Little Sister, your name is very similar to mine. I am called Zhang Wuji – 'No Resentments' – while you are Yang Buhui – 'No Regrets'."

Seeing that Zhang Wuji did not react to her introduction of her daughter with shock or accusation, Ji Xiaofu heaved a silent sigh of relief. Then, she said to her daughter, "Elder Brother Wuji is very skilful. I do not hurt very much anymore."

Yang Buhui's lively eyes regarded Zhang Wuji for a moment. Then, she went forward, gave the boy a big hug and kissed him on the cheek. Besides her mother, she had never seen anyone else all her life. Therefore, she was very grateful that Zhang Wuji had reduced the pain and discomfort that her mother felt. Since she had always expressed joy and gratitude towards her mother by hugging and kissing her, she had done the same to the boy.

Ji Xiaofu smiled and said, "Bu- er, do not do that. Brother Wuji does not like it."

Yang Buhui opened her eyes wide in surprise, turned to Zhang Wuji and asked, "You do not like it? Why do you not want me to be nice to you?"

Laughing in amusement, the boy replied, "I like it. I want to be nice to you too." He leaned forward and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

Yang Buhui clapped her hands. "Little Physician," she said, "quickly make my mother completely well again and I will give you another kiss."

Zhang Wuji found the innocent and lively little girl very adorable. All his life, he had known only people who were old enough to be his uncles. Although he treated Chang Yuchun as a brother and vice-versa, the man was still eight years older than he. Other than Zhou Zhiruo whom he had met for barely a day, he had never had any friends of his age. Therefore, he could not help but say to himself: If I had such a cute little sister, I would take her out to play everyday. After all, at fourteen years old, he was still very much a child, but the rough circumstances of his childhood had not given him many opportunities for fun and play.

Then, Ji Xiaofu noticed that Jian Jie and the other wounded visitors had not received any treatment yet. Unwilling to jump the queue, she said, "They arrived earlier than I, so you had better attend to them first. I am already feeling much better."

"They came to seek treatment from Mr Hu but he is too ill to see them," answered Zhang Wuji. "Yet, they have refused to leave. Auntie Ji, I have lived here long enough to pick up some basic medical skills, so if you can trust me, I will take a look at your injuries. After all, you did not mention that you are seeking help from Mr Hu."

In fact, Ji Xiaofu had wanted to ask the Hu Qingniu for assistance, for she had been in the same boat as Jian Jie and the others. After they were wounded, someone had told them to come to Butterfly Valley for treatment. Now that Zhang Wuji had made the offer to treat her, she quickly realised that the 'One who Ignores the Dying' was living up to his name. Since the initial course of acupuncture had proven to be rather effective, she knew that Zhang Wuji's skills were far better than 'basic'. Thus, she said, "Thank you very much. Since the Great Master refuses to provide treatment, the Little Master can do it just the same."

Ushering the woman into a room, Zhang Wuji cut her sleeve away with a pair of scissors and found three sabre slashes on her arm. The bones in the arm were broken, with a spot in the upper arm where the pieces of bone had been smashed to smithereens. This terribly fragmented section was particularly difficult to fix, yet it was just a simple matter in the eyes of the disciple of the Healing Sage of Butterfly Valley. Thus, Zhang Wuji began setting the bones in Ji Xiaofu's arm before applying a concoction that would aid in the healing of the open wounds on it. Then, he wrote up a prescription and instructed one of the pages to have the soup prepared. This being his maiden attempt at setting broken bones, his hands were rather clumsy. So, he struggled for a shichen (two hours) or so before everything was finally in place and bandaged. "Auntie Ji," he said, "please take a nap. When the anaesthetic wears off, the wounds are going to hurt quite badly."

"Thank you very much!" said Ji Xiaofu in gratitude.

After that, Zhang Wuji went off to get some dates and almonds for Yang Buhui, but by the time he returned, the tired little girl had already fallen asleep by her mother's side. He placed the snacks in her pocket and went out of the room.

The swarthy man from the School of Mount Hua stood up as soon as Zhang Wuji appeared. Bowing low before the boy, he said, "Young sir, since Mr Hu is ill, we have no alternative but to seek your assistance for our injuries. For this, we offer our utmost gratitude in advance."

Since he began his studies in medicine, Zhang Wuji had never provided treatment for anyone, except Chang Yuchun and Ji Xiaofu. Consequently, he was very tempted to try his skills out on these fourteen men who bore a variety of internal injuries, broken limbs and other strange ailments. Then, remembering Hu Qingniu's words, he said, "This is Mr Hu's home and I am only a patient of his. How would I dare to make such a decision?"

Seeing that he did not make an outright refusal to provide treatment, the swarthy man decided to motivate the boy with a little praise. "The renowned physicians of the past were all old men in their fifties and sixties," he said, "so we did not realise that a young man like you could have such profound skills. This occurrence is so rare that we hope to experience your prowess."

The fat man, whose surname was Liang, added, "The fourteen of us have minor reputations in the realm of the rivers and lakes. If you cure our ailments, young sir, we will go out and publicise your abilities as a miraculous physician. Within a day, your name will be renowned across the land."

Young and inexperienced, Zhang Wuji did not really understand the ways of the world. Therefore, he could not help but feel pleased with the men's praises. "What benefit is there in being renowned across the land?" he said. "Since Mr Hu is unwilling to treat you, there is nothing I can do. But your injuries are really quite serious … let me put it this way: I will help to reduce some of your pain and discomfort." With some multi-purpose ointment in hand, he began helping the wounded men.

But he was totally unprepared for what he found. Not only were the men's injuries different from one another, the injuries themselves were so strange and shocking that they were not even mentioned in the comprehensive books that Hu Qingniu had written. One of the men had been forced to swallow several dozen poisoned steel needles. Another man had his liver wounded by internal strength, but the Xing Jian (Xing2 Jian1), Zhong Feng (Zhong1 Feng1), Yin Bao (Yin1 Bao1) and Wu Li (Wu3 Li3) acupoints that were needed to treat the liver had been slashed to bits with a sharp knife. Apparently, the perpetrator of these injuries had a profound knowledge of medicine as well, so he could ensure that his victims were not easily cured. Then, there was the man whose lungs were punctured with a long iron nail each. He coughed and threw up blood continuously. Another man had all the ribs on both sides of his body totally broken, but none of these broken bones punctured his heart or lungs. Yet another fellow had both his hands chopped off, but the perpetrator had taken time to connect the left hand on the right wrist, and vice-versa. Now, the switched limbs had begun to set. And there was the man who was blue, black and swollen all over. Apparently, he had been stung by twenty different poisonous insects and pests, including the centipede, the scorpion and the wasp.