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Dao of Healing - Chapter 17
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 10:47:48 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 16 | Index | Chapter 18 >>
I watched the door swing open with interest, wondering who had interrupted my meditation. When it opened all the way I saw Captain Kang standing there, staring at me with his face pulled taut.
“The lord wishes to see you, Prisoner Zhao. When I mentioned you guessed his son was ill, he seemed interested in speaking with you,” he said, seemingly confused that his master had summoned me.
It seemed my one shot had paid off. All I had to do now was figure out what was actually wrong with the boy and see if I could cure it.
Which was the most difficult part of the plan, but I was confident. So far I hadn’t encountered anything my healing technique couldn’t heal and while I doubted that would last forever I was sure there was nothing in Three River City beyond my ability to cure.
Before following the captain I stretched my stiff muscles, making sure to take my time. Captain Kang’s eye twitched when he saw my antics. Too easy.
As I walked past him out of the cell, he grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him. “I believe you are a somewhat talented healer, but if you dare to trick Lord Teng I will ensure your death is as painful as possible,” he warned.
“How could I possibly trick the lord while under your watchful gaze, Captain? I am no fraudster,” I replied with a smile.
“Hmph,” he snorted. “We shall see.”
After that he grabbed my arm and led me through the prison, back up the stairs and past the cell where Xiao Cui had been dumped. I tried to look inside but it was difficult given the speed he was dragging me.
Given that it had only been a few hours I had to assume she was still fine, but I made sure to throw a fierce glare at the guard standing at the end of the corridor, recognising him as the bastard who’d dared to hurt her.
The man kissed his teeth as we passed.
It didn’t take long to arrive in front of those massive golden doors once more and after the guards present pushed them open, we walked into the throne room.
I got a powerful feeling of deja vu, walking in to see almost the exact same scene as before. The city lord sat on his throne with Councillor Gao and his son on either side.
What had changed was the expressions each of them wore and the way they looked at me compared to last time. Well, except for the councillor.
He still seemed as though he wanted to kill me himself without waiting for the public execution. However, the city lord now appraised me with curious eyes, concealing a glimmer of hope.
And his son did the same, but he also seemed tired. Like this same scene had played out before him a thousand times.
I imagined Lord Teng had brought countless healers in front of the boy, all of them trying to find a cure to his sickness. I’d heard the same story countless times and this was no different.
Except for the fact that I was no ordinary healer.
Though I would need to prove that to the pair of them in order to have a bargaining chip to secure freedom for Xiao Cui and myself.
I grunted as Captain Kang kicked me to my knees. At least he didn’t stomp my face into the floor this time…
“Captain Kang tells me you know my son is sick. How?” Lord Teng demanded.
“He’s a trickster, Lord Teng. He must have looked into you before arriving in the city. Don’t trust a word out of his mouth!” The angry councillor exclaimed.
The city lord glared at him and the man shut his mouth instantly. When he turned back to me I tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t give away too much.
I wasn’t sure quite how rare something like my healing technique was when compared with the entire Celestial Jade Empire. Sometimes possessing a jade without the strength to guard it was a crime and I didn’t need even more enemies than I’d already made.
“As you may know, Lord Teng, I am a healer,” I said, speaking slowly and watching for a reaction. “A rather skilled one too, If I might be so daring.”
“So I have heard,” he said dryly. “That still doesn’t explain how you were able to determine that my son was sick with just a brief glance from a distance.”
“Well, I have a particularly… unique healing art. I would say that I am more able than most healers to judge whether someone is suffering and subsequently treat them,” I replied.
Being intentionally vague was a good start, to figure out how much the city lord wanted to know from me. This seemed to be some kind of test, rather than genuine curiosity.
Ultimately he probably doubted my ability to cure his son, but just the fact I’d been summoned told me that he valued the boy highly.
“So. What is wrong with my son then, uniquely talented healer?” he chuckled.
“I don’t know,” I replied confidently.
He slapped the armrest of the throne, face twisting into a scowl. “Insolent bastard! Are you mocking me?” he snarled.
I felt Captain Kang’s foot pushing down on my back, but resisted the pressure. I wasn’t going to go down so easily this time. Besides, I’d told the truth.
Did the city lord really expect me to know what was wrong with his son without even giving him a check up? All I knew was that he was sick, not the exact cause of his suffering…
“Of course not, Lord Teng. Only, how can I know the exact cause of your son’s sickness without first checking him? I only had a single glance last time I was here and from that I managed to tell he was suffering, but not the cause,” I said without pause. “I doubt any other healer would accomplish such a thing.”
“That…”
Captain Kang coughed and I felt the pressure on my back lessen. “My lord, it seems it might be wise to let Zhao Dan inspect Young Master Sheng. At the very least if he is able to determine the root of the young master’s sickness it will be a better outcome than in the past.”
Despite the conversation between the lord and the captain, I was focused on neither of them. I wasn’t even focused on the boy.
Instead I was smiling at Councillor Gao while the man tried to murder me with his eyes. He really was familiar… but why did he hate me so much?
The city lord coughed and I turned back to him. “Captain Kang is right. Despite your crimes, for which you will still be executed, I believe it is worth letting you attempt to diagnose Sheng’er,” he said, resting his chin on his fist.
Then he stood up, clapping his hands. “If,” he announced, “And only if… you are able to cure my son, we will consider a stay of execution. But first you must prove yourself worthy to exist. Come.”
He strode down the stairs from his dais, waving for his son to follow. The boy rushed after his father obediently, stumbling on the final step. His breathing was shallow and he seemed pale.
Given that City Lord Teng was in the Qi Gathering Realm, I would’ve expected his son to at least have been two or three-star Body Tempering. And yet the boy was a mortal—a weak one at that.
Whatever was wrong with him had to be severe. I started wanting to cure him not just to secure our freedom, but because I felt sorry for the kid.
No matter how much of a bastard their parents were, no child deserved to suffer like that. Then again, I would need to find out what kind of man the young city lord was shaping up to be. He might be just as much of an arrogant fool as his father.
Captain Kang grabbed my arm and pulled me after the pair. Councillor Gao did not follow us, but I felt his gaze burning a hole into my back as we left the throne room.
When we had left the throne room, the golden doors closed behind us and I dug my feet into the marble, refusing to move. “I will not diagnose your son without first seeing that Xiao Cui is safe.”
The city lord stared at me for a few seconds then sighed. “Captain, have one of your men bring the girl to meet us,” he ordered, before continuing to walk.
Captain Kang waved at a nearby guard who sprinted off towards the prison. That was easier than I’d expected.
I finally got to have a better look at the palace as we left the main building behind, winding our way through manicured gardens towards a smaller wooden gate.
Walking through, I gasped at the sheer beauty of the garden that lay beyond. An azure pond lay in the centre, ringed by perfectly spherical stones with a single lily pad floating on the surface.
Flowers were arranged in swirling patterns throughout the garden and there was one tree on either side of the garden. The left tree was a cherry blossom in full bloom and the other was an ash tree with verdant green leaves.
I felt a soothing sensation pass through me as I stepped into the garden and paused, taking a deep breath. Even the air felt… cleaner.
I took another step and had to stop myself from gasping so as not to alert the others. The progress towards fully refining my lungs had increased by a small amount!
Not letting the glee I felt creep onto my face was extremely difficult. I was going to delay this diagnosis as much as possible so I could spend more time in this garden and perhaps fully-
No.
I would not disrespect a patient like that. I cursed myself, realising I was already falling into the trap that all other cultivators seemed to—even though I had taken an oath that crippled my spirit roots!
Truly the greatest danger on the path of cultivation seemed to be how addicting it was. The desire to throw aside all else simply to obtain another breakthrough was immense, but I was better than that.
The city lord hadn’t faltered and neither had his son. Captain Kang had allowed me the moment of admiration this time, but seeing that the others were getting away from us he shoved me gently. I resumed walking, breathing deeply and looking at the magnificent twin trees as I did.
Lord Teng pushed open a set of wooden doors, leading to a simple, unfurnished room. Inside there were only some bamboo mats on the ground and a shrine with two sticks of incense.
He motioned for his son to sit, then for me to sit opposite. Captain Kang shut the door behind us and remained standing, seemingly unbothered by what was happening.
The city lord took a seat near the two of us and rested his chin on his palm, elbow on his knee. “So, get on with it. If it turns out you were lying, I don’t mind bringing your execution forward by a few days,” he ordered with a wave. Then, his mouth curled upwards into a sneer. “Or perhaps I’ll just kill that girl first and see your expression.”
I frowned. “Threatening Xiao Cui isn’t exactly going to motivate me to cure your son. And I said I wouldn’t begin until I see that she is unharmed,” I replied, unfazed by his taunts.
His eye twitched. “My guards are bringing the girl, don’t worry about that. I can guarantee she won’t be harmed,” he sighed. “At least until the day of your execution. Just begin, you will see her soon enough.”
Frowning, I rubbed my temple. He was annoying, but right. Diagnosing the boy and figuring out what was wrong with him shouldn’t take too long and I would still be able to refuse to treat him if it turned out something had happened to little Cui.
Not that I was a fan of using the kid’s health as a bargaining chip, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Turning to the boy, Teng Sheng, I looked him up and down.
Despite his weak body and frail health he wasn’t timid. He met my gaze, a proud confidence in his eyes. Good.
Treating a patient who had given up was far more difficult than one who still had some fight in them. I stood up and walked behind him. “Sit still, this will only take a moment,” I told him.
I said that, but to be honest I wasn’t sure if my physique or healing arts came with a diagnosis manual. I knew how to recognise mortal afflictions—ones from Earth, anyway—but telling apart a qi toxin from an overflow of pill residue wasn’t my forte.
When I had some free time—and I wasn’t a prisoner to the city lord—I planned to visit a library and brush up on the medicinal knowledge of the Celestial Jade Empire. Though I wasn’t sure how freely it would be shared outside the walls of the sects and clans…
Regardless, I would do my best. Even if I only had a vague idea of what was wrong, my technique didn’t require a diagnosis to work. It just seemed to brute force its way past any afflictions or wounds.
As long as I could come up with an answer that satisfied the city lord enough that he would allow me to treat his son, that was fine. I placed my palm near his back, not quite touching it out of fear my blood essence might inadvertently kickstart the healing process too early.
What I was actually doing while waving my hand around and pretending to inspect the boy was searching for signs of that purple energy I’d seen last time. It took a while, but suddenly I saw a stream of it appear in his chest, then vanish just as fast.
However, when it appeared the boy started coughing violently. “Sheng’er,” cried the city lord. “Are you alright?” Then, turning to me with rage in his eyes he demanded, “What the hell are you doing to him?”
“Relax, Lord Teng. That was not my doing. It is simply Young Master Sheng’s illness acting up. I have an idea what might be causing this to happen,” I replied, bullshitting with ease.
I was about to continue when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Captain Kang opened it a crack and then slipped outside.
A moment later he came back in, his face a little pale with a frown on his face. “Ahem,” he coughed. “It seems there was a slight problem with your friend. Everything should be fine, but it may be a while until you can see her.”
I snapped my fist shut, closing my eyes for a second to restrain my fury. Standing up, much to the city lord’s dismay, I snarled, “What the hell happened? You promised she would be unharmed.”
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