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Dao of Healing - Chapter 15
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 10:43:53 +0000 UTC<< Chapter 14 | Index | Chapter 16 >>
The next day I’d made sure to arrive in the market early—just after sunrise. Even though I’d done my best to beat the crowds, I was shocked to discover there was already a line of people besides my sign!
Clearly the events of the previous day had done wonders to spread the word about the new healer in Three River City. I spent the entire day working with only a short break to let Xiao Cui eat lunch.
The rest of the week passed in a similar manner and the number of patients wanting to receive my healing continued to grow. On the second day we earned seventy-one silver.
On day three we earned ninety-four silver, just shy of a gold coin. We were also close to earning back all the money I spent on bribes and supplies.
I still had that half of a spirit stone, but I wasn’t counting it towards my personal funds. I had no idea whether it would be useful to me without spirit roots but I was loath to spend it in this city.
Besides, most mortals didn’t even accept them as payment given how rare and valuable they were. Only cultivators used them as currency.
By the fourth day I reached a limit to the number of patients I could reasonably treat in a single day. It got to the point that I even had to turn away a few of those at the end of the line and promise to treat them first thing in the morning tomorrow.
After one week had passed, we’d earned a tidy sum—a little over five gold. That wasn’t quite enough to purchase a building in a good location of the city but it was certainly enough that I could start looking.
The morning of my second week in Three River City I told Xiao Cui to head down to the market and let the gathered patients know that I would be starting a little late this morning. They might be upset but once I had a proper building to work from it would make things even more efficient.
I could also feel that I was right on the cusp of breaking through to nine-star Body Tempering. It was an unbelievable feeling, knowing I was approaching the limits of what a mortal body could do.
Though without spirit roots I had no idea what would happen when the time came to attempt my breakthrough to the Qi Gathering Realm… would I simply fail?
Or perhaps it would cause catastrophic damage to my body.
I had no way of knowing, but since that was still in the future I wouldn’t worry about it until the time came. Right now I was on the hunt for property.
Because I’d spent most of my time in the city healing and sleeping, I hadn’t really had a chance to explore. Today I was going to change that, but first I needed some help.
With nowhere else to turn I had asked the innkeeper if he knew anyone that could help me find a nice building to purchase. He didn’t have any contacts but had told me to come to this district and look around. Apparently it was renowned for having a lot of construction companies.
Walking down the main street I noticed how unnaturally perfect everything seemed here. From the street tiles to the walls and gates of the huge manors, not a single stone was out of place.
I saw a few signs as I walked. “Wen Tao’s Wonderful Works”. “Shan Huo’s Perfect Pavilions”. All the companies seemed to follow the same naming structure…
None of them appealed to me and given the luxury on display in their manors I wasn’t even sure I could afford their services. I reached the end of the main street feeling rather disgruntled.
Turning to head back to the inn, I suddenly noticed a rotten sign swinging in the wind. The hinges were rusty and their creaking had alerted me.
Walking down the alleyway I arrived outside an iron gate covered in rust. The walls around it were overgrown with ivy and the bricks cracked with age. As I read the sign I couldn’t help but smile.
“Grandpa Guan’s Property”.
It had taken me a few tries to piece that together, given that half the letters were worn away from weather damage and the rotting wood. The simplicity drew me in and I found myself knocking on the gate.
However, it swung open after two hits. The hinges screamed, desperately in need of some oil.
It was a little impolite to enter without asking, but I figured if it was open then the owner wanted customers to feel welcomed.
“Hello, is anyone here? I’m looking to buy a building in the city centre,” I shouted out, hoping to attract the attention of this Grandpa Guan, or whoever was on duty.
There was no answer.
Looking around, I saw an overgrown garden that hadn’t been tended in years. A pond covered in lily pads and algae lay hidden behind towering grass. I could just about make out the tiled path, though even that was almost buried under the layer of vegetation.
Walking down the path towards the house, I saw it was in disrepair like the rest of the courtyard. Honestly it didn’t fill me with confidence given that this was supposed to be a business selling property, but as long as the places they had to sell weren’t this rundown it was fine.
I didn’t see anyone in the garden and the door to the house swung open when I tried. Walking inside I almost burst into laughter.
Sitting on a chair behind a wooden desk was an old man, who was so wrinkled I thought he could be over a hundred years old. He was fast asleep and snoring loudly.
I didn’t want to wake him up, but I also didn’t want to keep my patients waiting. “Ahem, are you Grandpa Guan?” I asked with a cough, knocking on the desk.
He spluttered and I thought I’d woken him up, but after he finished coughing he went right back to snoring…
I slapped my hand on the desk loud enough that the neighbours probably heard it. He leapt to his feet, waving his fists in the air.
“Damn bandits, you’ll never take my money!” he cried, throwing an erratic punch.
I avoided his fist and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Excuse me, are you Grandpa Guan? I’m no bandit, just a customer looking for a property,” I said warmly.
The moment he heard the word customer he snapped to attention, a sly glint in his eyes as he leaned over the desk and pushed his glasses up his nose. “A customer? Why didn’t you say so, boy,” he chuckled, slapping me on the back hard enough to make me miss a breath. “What kind of property are you looking for? I guarantee that I, Grandpa Guan, will not disappoint.”
The sudden change in demeanour took me by surprise, but I was glad to hear he actually had some property for sale. It meant I hadn’t been mistaken when I walked in here.
Provided he wasn’t some kind of scammer with derelict, rundown buildings he was trying to offload, I might be able to get somewhere nice to build the hospital for a cheap price.
“I need somewhere to run a healing business. Relaxing surroundings, plenty of space for patients to relax, and not too difficult to find,” I told him.
“Ho? Healing you say… that’s something I haven’t heard in a while,” he muttered to himself, bending down under the desk and looking for something. “Aha!” he suddenly cried, then I heard a loud bang.
“Blasted desk, I thought I told that mischievous brat to do something about it,” he cursed. “Where did she go?”
There was no one else in this place, as far as I was aware. I was starting to suspect this geezer was a little crazy.
He lifted a huge, dusty tome that looked hundreds of years old from under the desk and slammed it onto the wood. The bang made my ears hurt and the cloud of dust it sent up made me burst into a coughing fit.
Given that I was almost a peak body tempering cultivator, that was quite a feat. Just how long had that book been sitting there to accumulate that much dust?
“Let’s have a look here,” he said, opening the book and flipping through the crinkled pages.
After a few minutes of silent reading he finally looked up. “I’ve got just the place for you, boy! What do you think?” he asked, turning the huge book around so I could see what was written.
A beautiful watercolour painting of a mountain, featuring a waterfall, verdant forest, and endless flowers was in the middle of the page. Above it was written ‘Million Flowers Celestial Peak’.
It was a beautiful painting, but I was a little confused… I asked for a building in the city and this geezer was offering me a mountain?
“Grandpa, what’s this? I haven’t seen any mountains near Three River City. Is this a joke?” I asked.
“What? Not a fan of the waterfall? Don’t you know this place was once the home of a renowned master of the healing arts. The flowers are a giant formation that increases the spiritual energy in the air. Don’t tell me you’re not convinced?” he began to pitch the mountain to me.
The next few minutes was a back and forth of the old geezer showing me a bunch of random places that he had for sale, none of which seemed to be anywhere near Three River City…
“Verdant Jade Valley! A Core Formation princess once shed so many tears here that she carved this valley out of the mountain range!”
“No!”
“Serene Mist Peak! A battle between Nascent Soul elders caused a permanent cloud of mist to settle above the severed peak, offering insights into various Daos!”
“Bastard grandpa, I just want a building in the city! Stop messing around or I’ll take my gold and go,” I exclaimed, exhausted.
The moment I threatened to leave he instantly slammed the book shut, sending another cloud of dust into the air. “Why did the heavens send this unruly brat my way,” he muttered.
Turning to me, he narrowed his eyes. “Fine, have it your way. I offered you all of these majestic places but you want to be boring. Take this, it’s the deed to a place in the centre of Three River City. If you don’t like it you can find someone else to sell you a building,” he said, tossing a scroll at me.
I was a little confused, but frankly at this point I’d take anything as long as it was in working condition. Now came the hard part. “How much?”
He looked confused for a moment. “Oh! Money,” he exclaimed, then began scratching his beard. “Hmph, I don’t need any. Just don’t ruin my building,” he said, dismissing me with a wave of his arm.
I was stunned. After all that he was just going to give me the place for free? I was about to turn and walk out with the property deed but I felt bad, so I took the five gold out of my coin purse and left them on the desk.
Grandpa Guan had already fallen asleep when I turned back around. I scoffed and walked back out the overgrown garden. This time as I made my way through the tall grass I spotted a white cat with blue eyes strutting along the top of the wall.
It perched above the gate and watched me as I made my way back out onto the main street. Its gaze burning into my back felt uncomfortable and I was glad to have left the rundown place behind.
However, I’d managed to achieve exactly what I set out to do. I’d acquired a property in the centre of Three River City to turn into a hospital—ahem, medicine sect—and for the exceptionally low price of five gold.
While I’d been a little confused during the entire process, I was satisfied. Now I just needed to take a look at this place.
That was when I realised I’d forgotten to ask where it was…
However, before rushing back and facing the scary cat again, I picked up the scroll and unrolled it. Luckily, it had a section detailing whereabouts in the city it could be found.
Sighing in relief I made my way towards the city centre.
****
“That damn old man!” was all I could think to say when I saw my new building.
Seeing the towering building constructed from varnished hardwood, nestled between the equally opulent ‘Myriad Treasures Emporium’ and ‘Three Rivers Golden Casino’, I was in shock. In fact, given how magnificent this place was I was starting to believe that geezer actually owned all those mystical places he tried to sell me.
It was three floors up and about twenty metres wide. The windows were made of pristine glass, polished to sparkle. I observed my reflection as I walked towards the door. I was a bit of a mess.
I actually felt a little out of place now that I was here, but with how much money we were earning I could probably splash out on some new robes. The door swung open without a sound and I entered a beautiful marbled reception area.
The white marble didn’t have a speck of dust and neither did the wooden desk, which I checked by running a finger along it.
Smiling, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. My fortunes had changed at last. I wasn’t sure what had drawn me to that decrepit manor, but I was grateful.
Perhaps the heavens had taken a greater interest in me since my oath? Then again, the interest of the heavens wasn’t always a good thing…
For now though I wasn’t going to bite the hand that fed me. I checked out the other floors just to make sure everything was in order, but they were perfect.
There wasn’t much furniture and I would need to adjust some things in order to suit a hospital layout, but it was far more than I hoped for when I set out that morning in search of a building.
Xiao Cui was going to be ecstatic. Until now she’d been a glorified chore-girl, doing all the tasks I couldn’t while I was healing people. With this shiny new building she could perhaps get a promotion to receptionist.
Or maybe it was time I tried to teach her some of what I knew? She would make a good nurse, or even a mortal doctor.
I had to look after her and if my intention was to found a medicine sect then it would make sense to take a disciple. Even though it was only a cover to prevent suspicion, the idea of passing on my knowledge was one that drew my interest the more I considered it.
While I wasn’t sure anyone else could replicate the strange healing techniques I was learning and discovering, all of my previous medical knowledge along with the mortal healing arts I was picking up here could be passed down. Maybe I should write a book?
Satisfied that the building was in good condition, I made my way back downstairs and made sure the scroll was securely tucked inside my robes. If I lost it I would have no way of proving I owned this place.
Though I did wonder why Grandpa Guan was living in that rundown manor if he owned such a magnificent building right in the centre of Three River City? There were a lot of strange things about that geezer. I’d have to ask next time I saw him.
I made sure to pull the door shut tightly, wondering who I could ask to install some locks on the door. That would be necessary before we opened for business.
With my building sorted, I planned to head back to the market so I could begin healing patients today. Just because I’d obtained a property didn’t mean I should stop making money.
Especially now that I’d gone and spent almost everything we’d earned over the last week…
The sun was approaching its zenith, almost midday. My stomach rumbled and I realised I hadn’t eaten anything in almost four days.
That was happening more and more often as I continued to improve my cultivation. Even though my body didn’t require food or sleep as much, it made me feel human to eat and rest.
While the miraculous powers and strength granted by cultivation felt incredible, it was still a little unsettling at times. I was sure I would eventually get used to it, but for now I’d stick to my rituals.
I’d barely taken a few steps along the street when I heard dozens of footsteps behind me and turned to see a bunch of the city guard rushing in my direction.
I wondered if something happened nearby?
However, as they drew nearer I realised all of the guards' eyes were fixed on me and a few of them pointed at me, shouting to each other. What was going on? I thought Elder Fei handled the situation with Captain Kang.
Just then a spear whistled past my shoulder and buried itself in the street. The guards caught up and surrounded me in a circle.
The circle parted and the man I least expected to see strode through, stopping right in front of me. Captain Kang towered over me, blocking out the sun.
“Zhao Dan! You’re under arrest for defying the city lord’s authority. You will accompany me to the palace to face justice.”
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Comments
Nathan
he forgot to pay the fine shame on him
