"The Divine Garnet Furnace is an eighth-graded alchemy furnace which can refine eighth-graded extraordinary elixirs, hence, is one of the best. Gu Xijiu, if you win, this alchemy furnace will belong to you. Ill carve your name on it myself so that nobody can steal it from you. When you die, this alchemy furnace will be crushed and buried together with you. But if you are alive, anyone else who has it is considered a thief. I myself, will help you get it back and punish the thief.
On the other hand, if you lose, Ill cut your tongue and make sure that you will become the concubine of the twelfth prince and never to be raised to the status of a wife" The voice of Tian Jiyue rang in the hall like a chilly spring breeze. He scanned through the people, "Do you understand me?"
Gu Xixis face turned slightly pale as this was the first time she had seen this Divine Garnet Furnace. Besides, the main reason she came out from the clan and got closer to Rong Chu was to get this alchemy furnace.
She had yet to identify an opportunity for Rong Chu to give her the alchemy furnace as a gift; it had now become a prize here.
It would be alright if she had won, but if it turns out the other way round, she would be hopeless forever then!
She had an idea that she would be able to get the alchemy furnace back even if Gu Xijiu was lucky enough to win. After all, she was useless and therefore, could not keep it safe.
She was feeling somewhat remorseful, but when she saw Gu Xijiu looking very confident, she felt so even more.
But alas, she had no opportunity to turn back. Furthermore, it was truly fair and square - she could not say anything else but to gnash her teeth and respond, "Understood."
The rest had no objections too.
Tian Jiyue tapped his finger on the table. The tap sounded nice, like how one would be tapping on the heart of a person. He then said, "Gu Xijiu, you can start telling us your reasons."
The big stage was full with people but it was so quiet, you could even hear a pin drop.
Everyone was focusing on Gu Xijiu, and wanted to listen to the explanation she could come up with.
Despite all eyes being on Gu Xijiu, she was cool, calm and collected. Then, she finally spoke, "Your Excellency Shumishi, does the Tianwen Overlord have a disciple known as Gu Xixi?"
Shumishi did not expect first question Gu Xijiu asked, would be directed to him. As he had all the knowledge about the world, he definitely knew about this, hence, he immediately nodded his head, "Yes, Gu Xixi is the Tianwen Saint, the youngest disciple of the Tianwen Overlord."
Gu Xijiu nodded and continued, "Since shes a disciple of the Overlord, she would clearly know the behavior and attitude of her master, right? And she should also protect the image of her master, yes?"
What she said was true, and the audience was nodding their head.
Gu Xixi could not help but to growl, "I definitely know about the behavior and attitude of my master. Im also loyal to my master and definitely not allowing anyone to discredit him! What are you trying to say?"
Gu Xijiu smirked, "Are you sure you know about your master's behavior? Alright, let me ask you then, how many patients has he healed these years? And what are the identities of these people?"
Gu Xixi was stunned, she did not really calculate the total number, as she was turned disciple rather late.
Nonetheless, she did not want to admit that. Therefore, she secretly took a breath and replied, "I definitely know the answer, and my master does not just attend to a patient so easily. Just the other day, the prince of Haoyue Kingdom who was seriously ill, could not even invite my master to see him"
"Get to the main point!" Gu Xijiu interrupted, "Stop chasing a red herring, you just need to answer my two questions."
Gu Xixi was blushed slightly, "In the recent years, my master has healed a total of approximately one hundred and thirty people and they were of course, coming from high social ranks"
"About one hundred and thirty? Whats the exact number?"
"One hundred and thirty eight!" Gu Xixi secretly gritted her teeth and blurted out a number.
"Are you sure?"
Gu Xixi was feeling guilty but she did not show it. Instead, she said proudly, "Sure!"
"Incorrect! The Tianwen Overlord has been a doctor for 88 years. He has healed a total of 248 patients regardless of their identities. For example, the local overlord and normal citizens. Though the Tianwen Overlord does not attend to a patient easily, he attends to them regardless of their identities, but by fate. Once he is interested, he does not care even if the patient is a beggar. In these few years, he has healed six florists, 18 boatmen, two beggars, and 64 small tradesmen and porters"
Gu Xijiu paused for a moment before she continued, "121 killers, ten Overlords and elders from various clans, 27 government officials, princes and relatives" Gu Xijiu reported the numbers with a clear voice.
The people were stunned, but were uncertain if what she said was accurate.
Gu Xixi retorted, "Nonsense! How would you, a person who never goes out, knows about my master? These are all nonsense!"
Gu Xijiu ignored her and stated, "I think the Shumishi, Sir Pei can prove my earlier statement."
Therefore, everyone shifted their focus towards the Shumishi, who managed all the information of the world.
The emperor inquired without further ado, "Minister Pei Ai, is her statement correct?"
The Shumishi was shocked as he was one of the supporters of the fourth prince, Rong Chu and thus he did not want the fourth prince to be on the losing end
Just as he wanted to speak, Tian Jiyue who was sitting on the seat of honor dictated, "Everyone must tell the truth, if I find out that anyone had lied, I will kill him with my own hands!"
A cold sweat broke out over minister Peis forehead, and with determination, he replied, "According to the information I have, what Ms. Gu had said is correct"
The people hissed like pouring a cup of water in a cauldron with boiling oil before they shifted their focus to Gu Xixi.
Gu Xixi was blushing and looked at Gu Xijiu unbelievably, "YouHow did you know this so well?!"
Gu Xijiu tapped on the table, "I admire the Tianwen Overlord; hes my idol...Im his worshipper. Needless to say, Ill ask all I can about him. On the contrary, Ms. Gu, arent you the favorite disciple of the Tianwen Overlord? How can you not to know all about your master? Therefore, why shouldn't I doubt her identity as the Tianwen Saint?"
The Firmament Stone cannot help but convey the message to her mind, "Hey, it was me who told you all this information alright? Prior to this, you didnt know who he was at all."
Gu Xijiu was ignoring it. She was just turning and rubbing that bracelet on her wrist with her finger to soothe it.
Gu Xixi took a deep breath secretly, "My master acts mysteriously and with a low-profile. Besides, he doesnt share what he's doing to his disciples. Therefore, Iit shouldnt be strange even if I dont know much about these things, right?"
Gu Xijiu sneered, "If you are heartless and dont want to know more about your master, its definitely not a strange thing not knowing how many patients have your master has healed. However, isnt it very odd that you dont even know the behavior of your master when he attends to a patient?!"
Gu Xixi was stunned, "What?"
Gu Xijiu continued, "You said in the mansion of the general that not everyone is worthy to be treated by your master. In another words, you meant that my social status is low and therefore unworthy to be healed by the Tianwen Overlord. What you said sounded like he is a mercenary person who only curry favor with the influential. This is, in fact, corrupting the image of the Tianwen Overlord. May I ask if this is what the disciples do? Therefore, am I wrong to doubt that you are a phony?!"
The people, "" All who were present suddenly felt that they too, were questioning the identity of this saint after listening to what Gu Xijiu had said
Even Rong Chu, who had been regarding Gu Xixi as a very important person, was also being convinced and started to look at her in a different light.
Not that he doubted the identity of Gu Xixi, as he had secretly investigated her identity and he was sure that she was the Tianwen Saint. After all, his intelligence agency was not a useless one and they had thoroughly checked on Gu Xixi.
However, he was doubting if Gu Xixi was not her master's favorite as she said she was, otherwise, she would have known her master's style of practicing medicine.
Gu Xixi was in a losing battle but she tried to argue herself out of it, "Ive devoted myself to medicinal skills and I dont like to enquire about other peoples business. Furthermore, my master works mysteriously with a low profile and doesnt like to tell others about what he does, Iit is not out of the ordinary if I am not in the know"
"Is it not strange?" Gu Xijiu repeated sarcastically, "Maybe you wouldn't think it's strange, but its not wrong for an outsider to feel something uncanny, right?"
Gu Xixi, ""
Gu Xijiu scanned through the audience, "Do you think that my doubts are wrong?"
Nobody could deny what had been said, not even Gu Tianqing and her gang who had always wanted to disagree with her.
Gu Xietian eyes brightened and kept nodding his head, "Your doubt are fair enough! Its not wrong at all!"
The emperor coughed, "What Miss Gu said is reasonable."
As the emperor had said so, the rest were also echoing the emperors words.
The handsome face of Celestial Master You was rather expressionless but he declared, "Gu Xijiu has won the case, based on this reasoning."
Gu Xixi's face was gloomy. As she could not refute this reason anymore, she groaned, "Im the disciple of Tianwen clan! If you dont believe me, you can ask for proof from the Tianwen clan!"
Shumishi Pei then said, "Theres no need for any proof; you are indeed the real one."
Gu Xixi turned to look at Tian Jiyue. The latter then said, "We arent discussing whether or not you are real, but whether the doubts of Miss Gu are reasonable or not. Now she has just proved that hers reasonable."
Alright! Gu Xixi did not want to argue about this problem anymore. She stared at Gu Xijiu, "Even if Miss Gus doubts about my identity are reasonable, how can you justify her belittling my reputation in the medical field? I think all of you fairly acknowledge my medical skills, right? How could it be described as useless?"
There were two well-known imperial physicians present at this time and they were both nodded their head, "The medical skills of Saint Gu are at a very impressive level; she could very well be recognized as an expert."
Gu Xijiu smirked and said indifferently, "This world has also a lot of well-known people, who aren't as good as they were known to be. I dont care how famous you are, I'm just stating a fact based on what I see. Saint Gu was feeling my pulse to check my illness earlier, and you said that the patch on my face is congenital. Am I right?"
Gu Xixi was stunned. She felt Gu Xijius pulse at the generals mansion mainly because she was doubting her identity.
Gu Xixi was stunned, "What?"
Gu Xijiu continued, "You said in the mansion of the general that not everyone is worthy to be treated by your master. In another words, you meant that my social status is low and therefore unworthy to be healed by the Tianwen Overlord. What you said sounded like he is a mercenary person who only curry favor with the influential. This is, in fact, corrupting the image of the Tianwen Overlord. May I ask if this is what the disciples do? Therefore, am I wrong to doubt that you are a phony?!"
The people, "" All who were present suddenly felt that they too, were questioning the identity of this saint after listening to what Gu Xijiu had said
Even Rong Chu, who had been regarding Gu Xixi as a very important person, was also being convinced and started to look at her in a different light.
Not that he doubted the identity of Gu Xixi, as he had secretly investigated her identity and he was sure that she was the Tianwen Saint. After all, his intelligence agency was not a useless one and they had thoroughly checked on Gu Xixi.
However, he was doubting if Gu Xixi was not her master's favorite as she said she was, otherwise, she would have known her master's style of practicing medicine.
Gu Xixi was in a losing battle but she tried to argue herself out of it, "Ive devoted myself to medicinal skills and I dont like to enquire about other peoples business. Furthermore, my master works mysteriously with a low profile and doesnt like to tell others about what he does, Iit is not out of the ordinary if I am not in the know"
"Is it not strange?" Gu Xijiu repeated sarcastically, "Maybe you wouldn't think it's strange, but its not wrong for an outsider to feel something uncanny, right?"
Gu Xixi, ""
Gu Xijiu scanned through the audience, "Do you think that my doubts are wrong?"
Nobody could deny what had been said, not even Gu Tianqing and her gang who had always wanted to disagree with her.
Gu Xietian eyes brightened and kept nodding his head, "Your doubt are fair enough! Its not wrong at all!"
The emperor coughed, "What Miss Gu said is reasonable."
As the emperor had said so, the rest were also echoing the emperors words.
The handsome face of Celestial Master You was rather expressionless but he declared, "Gu Xijiu has won the case, based on this reasoning."
Gu Xixi's face was gloomy. As she could not refute this reason anymore, she groaned, "Im the disciple of Tianwen clan! If you dont believe me, you can ask for proof from the Tianwen clan!"
Shumishi Pei then said, "Theres no need for any proof; you are indeed the real one."
Gu Xixi turned to look at Tian Jiyue. The latter then said, "We arent discussing whether or not you are real, but whether the doubts of Miss Gu are reasonable or not. Now she has just proved that hers reasonable."
Alright! Gu Xixi did not want to argue about this problem anymore. She stared at Gu Xijiu, "Even if Miss Gus doubts about my identity are reasonable, how can you justify her belittling my reputation in the medical field? I think all of you fairly acknowledge my medical skills, right? How could it be described as useless?"
There were two well-known imperial physicians present at this time and they were both nodded their head, "The medical skills of Saint Gu are at a very impressive level; she could very well be recognized as an expert."
Gu Xijiu smirked and said indifferently, "This world has also a lot of well-known people, who aren't as good as they were known to be. I dont care how famous you are, I'm just stating a fact based on what I see. Saint Gu was feeling my pulse to check my illness earlier, and you said that the patch on my face is congenital. Am I right?".
Gu Xixi was stunned. She felt Gu Xijius pulse at the generals mansion mainly because she was doubting her identity and wanted to check if she had any spirit power. Therefore, she was just using that as a reason to see her, and did not actually diagnose her seriously. She arrived a conclusion hurriedly as she saw that the appearance of that patch was similar to a birthmark.
When she heard Gu Xijiu mentioning this, her heart skipped a beat and she could not help but take a glance at her face again... but it was still looked like a birthmark to her!
She raised her head, "Of course its congenital, and your patch is a birthmark!"
Gu Xijiu smiled, "Then, do you know when I first had this patch?"
Gu Xixi was shocked because Gu Xijiu asked her the question which she did not know the answer to. After all, Gu Xixi had high status and rank while Gu Xijiu was just a daughter of a general and she was also a useless person.
All she knew was that Gu Xijiu was horrid-looking and useless.
Therefore, she could only assume logically, "You should have had it since birth."
As soon as she replied, she saw that many were shaking their head and there were quite a number of them
Her heart skipped a beat and she explained, "Birthmarks are generally congenital, but some could form after birth. Nonetheless, some are barely seen by the naked eye at birth and would later become darker." She explained fluently and kept an exit route for herself.
"Then, which type does mine belong to?" Gu Xijiu asked.
"It shouldshould belong to the second type." Gu Xixi replied.
Gu Xijiu laughed, "The second type? What Saint Gu said was that I had this birthmark when I was born but it had been very light and over time, it became darker, thus appearing?"
"Thats right!"
"Then, do you know when this birthmark became easily spotted by others?"
Gu Xixi was clenching her fist in her sleeve as she did not know the answer.
She could not help but look at Rong Chu, with a glimmer of hope that he could give her a hint.
As Rong Chu and her were in the same ship, he hinted to her by quietly showing his three fingers.
Though he wanted to hint to her via the Directed Audio method, Celestial Master You and Tian Jiyue had set up a circle which prevented the use of any spells and any kungfu that uses spirit power.
"It's three months!" Gu Xixi replied. From what she knew, such birthmark usually appeared within a few months after birth.
Rong Chu, ""
Others who knew the answer, ""
Rong Chu could not help but coughed out, "Whats the relationship between the time it appeared and the illness? In any case, the patch is still on your face - whats the difference between three months and three years?"
What he said was obviously proving that he was clueless. The face of Gu Xixi darkened slightly as she knew that she had made another mistake again. The red patch that had grown out suddenly after three years was usually no longer a birthmark
Gu Xijiu smirked. She did not care about these two people but she turned to a famous imperial physician, "Your Excellency Xing, is there any difference between the appearances of a red patch within three years and three months?"
His Excellency Xing was honest and frank, "Definitely there is. When it occurs after three years old, it is usually caused by some post-natal factors. On the other hand, when it appears within three months, it is usually a birthmark. Therefore, they are two very different things. However, Miss Gu is currently thirteen years old and thus, no doctors could identify when exactly the mark appeared by just looking at it. He will need to inquire in detail before he can make a comprehensive diagnosis."
"Oh yes, so it shouldnt be a surprise if Saint Gu is not able to estimate when it appeared, right? How could you use this reason to claim that she is useless?" Rong Chu chimed in.
Gu Xijiu laughed and teased, "Its general knowledge for a good doctor to ask more about the patient, but Saint Gu didnt even ask a single question but instead, diagnosed it immediately. If that isnt useless, what would she be?"
The people in the crowd, "
"I thought she possessed an exceptionally high ability to be able to diagnose a person by just touching the pulse and looking at the face, but the result she diagnosed was indeed a serious mistake! Besides, if the treatment method for congenital and post-natal diagnoses is the same, it would be alright for her not to ask anything. However, the treatment method for each of these two types are totally different! And Saint Gu did not diagnose properly but made a conclusion that this red patch can no longer be eliminated. Isnt this carelessness uncanny?"
Gu Xixi, ""
Her snow-white face was blushing as she had never expected that she would be caught red-handed.
"Youwhat do you know? Im not an ordinary doctor after all, I can't accurately diagnose someone by touching pulses and looking at faces without asking further! Besides, the red patch on your face is hidden deeply between your skin and muscles. Regardless of whether it is congenital or post-natal, it cannot be healed. Therefore, my conclusion is not wrong! I am more concerned about the results and not the process when I attend to a patient" She argued her way out.
Nonetheless, what Gu Xixi said was relatively reasonable.
After all, Gu Xietian had not only brought Gu Xijiu to many doctors, the royal family had also sent an imperial physician after the red patch grew on Gu Xijiu's face, but the result was still the same it could not be healed.
Even though Gu Xixi diagnosed her inaccurately, what she said was the same as other doctors and physicians. Therefore, nobody could claim that she was wrong.
The people shifted their focus towards Gu Xijiu, and wanted to see what she was going to say.
Gu Xijiu stayed calm, "What you meant is that my patch can no longer be healed?"
"Yes, you are right!"
"What if I sayit could be healed?"
Gu Xixi, "How is that possible? Who told you that?"
Gu Xixi had her little finger pointing towards herself, "I myself, of course!"
Gu Xixi chuckled, "What nonsense! You don't know anything about medicine at all, and you are not even a normal doctor, how can you possibly know how to?"
"I don't know about medicine?" Gu Xijiu said lightly, "Then let us put it to the test! If I lose, Ill lose this bet, but if I win, your medicinal skills are even poorer than a kid. What else would you be if you arent useless?"
Gu Xixi, ""
The rest of the people, ""
This useless and ugly girl knew medicinal skills? And she event wanted to challenge Saint Gu?!
The whole audience was getting excited!
If Gu Xijiu said so at the beginning, nobody would believe her and would think that she was talking nonsense and boasting aimlessly.
However, after the match between the two of them, the people suddenly felt that it would not be odd even if this little girl did know some medicinal knowledge.
Everyone had their eyes widened; even the emperor was excited and stood up! His eyes were staring directly at the face of Gu Xijiu.
From Gu Xijius performance earlier, he could see that she knew some medicinal skills, but he wondered if her medicinal skills could be better than Saint Gu's?
Even if she can be about half as good as Gu Xixi, instead of being better, she was already a great doctor and can already be qualified as an expert!
Not many good doctors were available in this world and it was even rarer to have an expert around.
If the medicinal skills of Gu Xijiu were high, that would definitely a blessing to Feixing Kingdom! She would no longer be considered useless, but a treasure instead!
Not only the eyes of the emperor brightened, the officials of the courts too, were staring at Gu Xijiu with their shining eyes and wanted to see her performance.
Rong Jialuo finally spoke, "Celestial Master You, Father, would you allow them to compete?"
The emperor agreed with gusto and declared instantly, "A competition should definitely be in order to identify who the genuinely talent is; I agree!"
Tian Jiyue also nodded his head indifferently, "Agreed!"
Gu Xixi could not reject this time. Furthermore, she would not think that she could be poorer than Gu Xijiu, this little girl!
A competition had officially started.
The first competition was about the knowledge of medicine and the questions were given on an ad hoc basis by the medicinal scholars. In the beginning, the questions were general questions and they took turns to answer. Both of them were neck and neck as they could answer fluently.
Therefore, the medicinal scholars started to look for more difficult questions to ask and both of them had to race to be the first to answer the question.
After about ten minutes, the beautiful face of Gu Xixi was turning pale, as she could not fight against that little girl!
Gu Xixi was not good at memorizing, especially since she had been going out of the clan for the last two years to gain some hands-on experiences. How then, could she remember those information that she had memorized? She had forgotten most of the answers to those harder questions and thus, was rather slow in her answers.
On the other side of the field, that little ugly girl was answering those questions so quickly, clearly and accurately.
That scholar was asking with a medical book in his hand and thus, he could verify their answers on the spot. Gu Xixi had answered only surfacely, with many missing points, while the answers of Gu Xijiu were perfectly recited, word for word!
The result of the competition could be seen quite clearly. After about an hour, Gu Xijiu defeated Gu Xixi completely. Therefore, Tian Jiyue declared that Gu Xijiu had won this round!
The crowd was getting excited again!
Numerous people shifted their focus on Gu Xijiu. Even the twelfth prince, Rong Yan, was looking at Gu Xijiu with a complicated gaze, which seemed to glimmer.
Gu Xietian was so excited that his face was blushing red!
It was very good! His daughter had honored him!
She was like a pearl covered with dust for a long time and was finally glowing brightly with radiance!
On the other hand, Gu Xixi was furious. She smirked, "Alright, she won this round. Healing and saving the patients are not about memorizing medical books, but requires a true ability to practice medicine, by healing a real patient"
"Then, lets heal someone in the second round." Gu Xijiu chimed in.
Gu Xixi was shocked, "Where are we going to have patients for us to heal in this competition?"
The emperor looked towards the imperial physician immediately and the latter instantly came forward, "This is easy. Currently, I have a pair of twins who are among my list of patients. Their illness is quite strange and their symptoms are the same too. Shall both of you attend to them?"
Gu Xixi, ""
Saint Gu did not attend to patients easily, and it was indeed a golden opportunity for her to see one. Therefore, when the two patients received the news, they came quickly, accompanied by their family! They did not dare to delay even a second!
The Firmament Stone was not confident, "Master, I can only remind you about medical knowledge but I cant help you in healing the patient. You have to rely on yourself for this."
After all, seeing patients require comprehensive knowledge and accurate diagnosis, which cant be done by mere memorizing.
"Don't worry." Gu Xijiu answered with just two words.
"Medical skills competition held between Saint Gu against the famous useless and ugly girl at Wanxing Lou." This piece of news had spread out and within an hour, a majority of the general public had gathered themselves downstairs wanted to watch the excitement. Some people even started gambling downstairs to bet who would emerge victorious at the end of the day
While waiting for patients, Gu Xijiu walked towards the handrail and looked down. She saw that there were many people, about thousands of them, gathering around Wanxing Lou. Many of them were looking upstairs and when they saw the small little body of Gu Xijiu, the noises and uproars turned up a notch.
"Isnt this girl the sixth Gu daughter?"
"Sigh, the day is too dark - I cant see her face clearly. But she does look like her! Other than this one, there should not be any other child, right?"
"Thats her!"
"Sixth Gu Daughter, keep it up! We support you!"
"Stop it, Mr. Hong. You are support her, but you are also betting on Saint Gu? You should change your bet if you are supporting her!"
"Im not regretting my bet. Despite putting my bet on Saint Gu, my heart is supporting the sixth Gu Daughter"
"Both of you are not honest and kind at all. I have put my bet on the sixth Gu daughter and this is real support! Sixth Gu daughter, youd have to win, I have bet ten ounces of silver after all - a year's salary of my household!"
""
It was very noisy and there was a hive of activity downstairs. People seemed to enjoy watching the spectacle of an useless person starting over again with a good chance! Furthermore, this sixth Gu daughter was not any other useless person
...
The noise downstairs could be heard from upstairs. Gu Xijius lips slightly curved and she did not say anything but she extended her hand into a no worries gesture. Immediately, the people downstairs cheered for her!
In the beginning, Gu Xijiu wanted to keep a low-profile, but it had turned the other way around. Therefore, she had decided to keep a high-profile until the end of the day!
Gu Xixi was gnashing her teeth in anger and grinned, "Little kids like you always enjoy being frivolous, don't you? Be warned that youll have your tongue cut off when you lose later!"
Gu Xijiu glanced back and rebuked her with only three words, "Oh, really now?" Her tone was indifferent and disdainful.
Gu Xixi, "" She had a feeling that her mockery was to no avail.
She was not going to lose! She, a Tianwen Saint, was not going to lose to this little ugly girl who was still wet behind the ears!
...
The pair of twin brothers were about fourteen to fifteen years old. They had rosy lips, white teeth and were good-looking.
But the two of them looked so pale at the moment. They had to gasp for breath with every few steps they took. They were so weak that they looked like they were going to fall. The person who came with them was their father, a third-ranked court official.
This court official looked haggard while trying to lead his two kids to kowtow. However, they could barely stand after getting free from their servants support. They finally knelt but they could not stand up at all and thus, they could not perform the formalities of three kneels and nine kowtows.
The emperor waved his hand, "Yu Gelao, your sons are seriously ill, hence, they dont have to perform the formalities. Just rise and get on your feet."
The servants then came forward and helped the two children to their seat.
"Yu Gelao, I remembered that your two young men were usually very active and their kungfu were good too. They were even being chosen as disciples of Jiuxing clan a month ago. What had happened to them all of a sudden?"
"Your Majesty, it is a long story indeed" Yu Gelao was probably very worried for his two sons, and with a faltering voice, he briefly described what had happened to his two sons.
It turned out that after these two kids were chosen by Jiuxing clan, they were so delighted that they went on an adventure to the Dark Forest without the knowledge of the family. Then, they went missing for three days and three nights before they managed to escape. But alas, they gradually became dumb and got weaker and weaker everyday after their return. They had also consulted many doctors, but none of them could identify the cause of their sickness.
The emperor turned to Imperial Physician Zhou beside him, "You have seen them, what do you think?"
Imperial Physician Zhou replied while bowing with respect, "Your Majesty, we have been seeing these two children, but we apologize for being helpless in this. We cannot identify the cause of their sickness, indeed. Other than the weak pulses of both these children, everything else looks normal, but their bodies are getting weaker even after consuming all the necessary warm tonics."
It was indeed an odd sickness! Unfortunately, the two kids had now become dumb and could not speak a word.
In fact, the two kids were literate but their hands were shaking and rendered them not able to write a single word. Therefore, nobody could ask what exactly happened to them in the Dark Forest.
The Dark Forest was a well-known forbidden area in Feixing Kingdom. There were rumors about the forest that it had numerous human-eating monstrous beasts, and an illusionary mud which you cannot escape from once you have been bogged down. Therefore, people normally dared not enter, so they never expected that these two innocent kids would intrude the forest!
The emperor casted his hopeful gaze towards Gu Xijiu and Gu Xixi, "Can both of you identify the symptoms of their disease?"
Gu Xixi looked at the two kids, "Which one of you are willing to let me do a diagnosis?"
The eyes of the two kids brightened but they could not talk, so they nodded their head in unison!
The feeling of pride flashed through the eyes of Gu Xixi but she sighed softly, "But I can only heal one of you, because the other one would be given to the sixth Gu daughter." She pointed at Gu Xijiu with her thin and long finger.
Panic flashed through the eyes of the two kids.
Gu Xixi chuckled, "Which one of you are willing to be seen by the sixth Gu daughter? She could probably heal your illness by sheer luck."
The two kids were shaking their head fast.
The people, ""
Gu Xixi finally regained her reputation. She took a glance at Gu Xijiu, "It seems that they can't trust the sixth Gu daughter. But they are placing me in a very difficult position because I can only heal one."
Yu Gelao could not contain himself and said, "Saint, if you can save one of my children, please be merciful enough to save another one after you win the bet."
Gu Xixi pursed her lips, "No way, I can only save one! Gelao, as you are their father, you can help them choose."
Yu Gelao was looking at his two sons and was struggling to decide. Finally, he was determined and pointed his finger, "Saint, please do save Mubai." He was pointing towards his younger son, Yu Mubai, whose spirit power was a little bit higher than his elder brother, Yu Muqing.
Yu Mubai eyes brightened, while Yu Muqing eyes showed despair.
Gu Xixi took a glance at Gu Xijiu again, in hopes of seeing any embarrassment on this little girls face, but she was disappointed!
Gu Xijiu was standing there looking calm and her little mouth even showed a faint smile. She also seemed to have turned a blind eye to the expression of the two kids.
Gu Xixi was slightly disappointed but she was feeling delighted in her heart!
The symptoms of these two kids were strange, but she was fortunate to have seen similar cases before and used to see how his master, Long Siye, treated his patients. What made her even more delighted was that she had the medicine to cure the disease in her storage bag!
She took a shallow breath; she was going to win this round! She was certain that Gu Xijiu had not seen the same symptoms, let alone possess the medicine to cure the disease!
She felt the pulse of Yu Mubai for a moment and was even more certain of her diagnosis. At the same time, her eyes glimmered with delight too.
Yu Gelao kept staring at her and when she finished feeling his pulse, he asked, "How is it? What the disease? Can he be saved?"
Gu Xixi replied indifferently, "He is poisoned with a strange colorless and tasteless poison, which cannot be detected. If hes not cured accordingly, he will die in half a month's time!" The two kids had been poisoned for fourteen days now!
In other words, the two kids had only a day left!
The people was shocked, the voice of Yu Gelao shivered even more, "Saint, you should be able to cure him, right?"
Gu Xixi took another glance at Gu Xijiu and her lips curved into a faint smile, "The sixth Gu daughter should have felt their pulse, what say you? Do you know the type of poison in their bodies?" She did not want to mention the name of the poison to prevent Gu Xijiu from copying her and stealing away her limelight!
This poison was very rare and strange. Therefore, she did not believe that Gu Xijiu, a mere little kid, would know this type of poison!
The people shifted their focus on Gu Xijiu and saw Gu Xijiu with her arms folded. Gu Xijiu responded with a smile, "Saint, you may start healing first."
Gu Xixi grinned, "You want to learn from me, don't you?"
The corner of Gu Xijius lip curved, "Dont worry, the way I cure is definitely different from yours."
Gu Xixi grunted, "Whatever you say. You wont be able to learn even if you tried to! And I promise that I can cure this disease with my medicine!"
While speaking, she took out a little bottle, poured out a purple colored pill and fed it to Yu Mubai. Then, she started practicing with her palms on the back of the youth to help him transport and transform the medicine.
After about an hour, a little flush crept into Yu Mubais pale face, which was a sign of improvement.
Gu Xixi stopped and said proudly, "Done! Let him rest for three days and have some tonic, a light diet and he will be completely healed..."
It looked like this saint was indeed good in her medical skills! It was almost an instant relief.
The people were admiring the saint, Yu Gelao gave a sigh of relief too but he was still worried about his another son and cannot help but look at Gu Xijiu. He found that she was talking to Yu Muqing and had not started her treatment yet.
Of course, Gu Xijiu was the one who asked questions and Yu Muqing was just nodding or shaking his head, because he was still dumb.
Yu Gelao was puzzled and could not help to urge, "Ms. Gu, shouldnt you start to heal now? The saint is done with her healing and Mubai is getting better too"
Suddenly, he heard a sound "Waaa"
He turned his head immediately and he was shocked to see what he saw.
His face of his young son who was supposed to be better was flushed red. He was vomiting blood and there was a blue jar at his feet where he vomited the blood in.
If the two servants by his side did not support him in time, he would have fell from the chair.
"Whats happening? What just happened?" Yu Gelao was nervous and the people were shocked.
Gu Xixi was shocked too. She quickly went forward to feel the pulse of Yu Mubai and her face became pale.
She had no time to say anything, instead she was seen hitting on a few acupuncture points on Yu Mubais body with her fingers. However, what she did was apparently ineffective; she had failed to stop Yu Mubai from vomiting blood
After a moment, Yu Mubai had become as pale as a dead corpse. He sank wearily into the chair while was shivering. He seemed to be out of breath.
Gu Xixi finally stopped saving him.
"Saint, what now?" The voice of Yu Gelao was trembling.
The face of Gu Xixi turned pale, "You sent him here too late. Though I used the right method, the poison has already reached his heart. I have done my best."
In other words, Yu Mubai was already incurable!
Yu Gelao could no longer stand properly. In tears, he staggered towards Yu Mubai, "Mubai"
"If you want him to die, go ahead and hug him!" The apathetic voice of Gu Xijiu was suddenly heard.
Yu Gelao was shocked and raised his head to look at Gu Xijiu who was standing there. His voice was trembling again, "Then then "Do you want me to save him? Do you believe in me?" Gu Xijiu asked.
Yu Gelao was hoping against all odds that he knelt down "Yes I do believe! I believe in you! Please save him!" Pursuing the last resort was after all, better than total hopeless!
Gu Xixi was looking very gloomy, "Hes deeply poisoned and hell definitely die!"
Gu Xijiu was ignoring her and walked towards Yu Mubai. She let the servants to hold his mouth open, threw in a pill and helped him swallow it.
Gu Xijiu then looked towards the crown prince, Rong Jialuo, "Your Highness, can you please help me?"
Rong Jialuo was rather direct, "What is it?"
"To save this little child, wed have to massage his acupuncture points but unfortunately I dont have the spirit power to do this"
Rong Jialuo strode over, "Alright, just tell me what to do!"
Gu Xijiu immediately delineated the acupuncture points to massage and the strength of the massage force.
Without any further ado, Rong Jialuo followed her instructions immediately. He accurately and precisely controlled his massage force onto the correct acupuncture points!
Everyone was so nervous that their eyes were bulging while watching. They dared not even breathe.
Gu Xixi could not help but speak, "Hes already incurable, and the efforts are going to be pointless"
Before she could finish her sentence, everyone glared at her from all directions!
The meaning was obvious, they wanted her to keep her mouth shut! And not to disturb someone trying to save a life
The show today was intriguingly dramatic with repeated climaxes, that the audiences were overwhelmed. But what surprised them was the attitude of the crown prince, Rong Jialuo.
Everyone knew that this crown prince was haughty and indifferent. He usually did not care about others and nobody would dare to instruct him, but he was unbelievably listening to Gu Xijiu!
He did not even question, and did whatever Gu Xijiu requested of him!
Was it because the crown prince was anxious to save the life of Yu Gelaos son?
And that was why he listened to the doctor?
However, Gelao was a supporter of the fourth prince and always looked for opportunities to trouble the crown prince at the court. Therefore, he should be the enemy of the crown prince, so how would the crown prince be interested to save his enemys kid?
And the crown prince was not a person to render good for evil
The people were puzzled. But they were more concerned about the final result than these doubts.
After about ten minutes, Rong Jialuo was finally done massaging Yu Mubai according to the method which Gu Xijiu delineated.
Yu Mubai vomited a mouthful of black blood. Though his face was still pale, his breathing had gradually stabilized. He tried to open his eyes to look at Gu Xijiu, "Thank you" His voice was very soft but clear.
He was saved?! And he could speak!
Imperial Physician Zhou came forward himself and felt the pulse of Yu Mubai. A moment later, he congratulated Yu Gelao with delight, "Congratulations, congratulations! Your son pulse has been stabilized and his life has been saved by Miss Gu!"
Miracle! It was a miracle indeed!
Yu Gelao knelt before Gu Xijiu and kowtowed, "Thank you Miss Gu!" The last kowtow was done because he was helpless, but this one was done sincerely because he was totally convinced by her abilities.
Gu Xijiu turned her body and chuckled, "Gelao, you dont have to thank me, the crown prince was the one who did it."
Yu Gelao paused before he turned to Rong Jialuo to thank him.
As usual, Rong Jialuo did not say much, but only slightly nodded his head, "Youre welcome." And his expression was as indifferent, as usual.Miss Gu, do you have any idea to cure him?"