Chapter 8

 Ch8 - Illness

It was probably ordered earlier, but the maid stationed outside immediately led the way for Gu Zuo. He was taken to an unassuming room and was asked to enter.

After he came in, Gu Zuo didn't need to inspect everything to know that not one of the furnishings or decorations was out of place. The style wasn't tasteless... In comparison, the Qi Family household was an ostentatious, rich upstart.

Gongyi Tianheng wore a long robe, and sat behind a desk covered with unread documents. On his side calmly stood a solemn young man. His appearance was exactingly rigid and uniform. Only, at first glance, the words "loyal hound" were evoked in one's mind.

When Gu Zuo came in, Tianheng put down his pen, looked up, and smiled. His voice was very gentle: "Ah Zuo woke up? Please, take a seat."

His smile could really brighten a room. This face...even without the moonlight to enhance his stats, his handsomeness was off the charts.

Gu Zuo didn't dare to stare too much and sat across from him: “Young Master Gongyi."

Tianheng laughed: "I've been calling you Ah Zuo, so wouldn't it be better if you called me by my name?"

Gu Zuo thought about it and felt that obliging his patron would facilitate an understanding, but he couldn't recklessly act above his station. Thus, he switched to: "Young Master Tianheng."

Gongyi Tianheng went straight to the point and quietly asked: "You said you can cure me. But is this true?"

Originally, Gu Zuo wanted to confess about his system first, but his patron was obviously more concerned about his health... Which seemed quite normal. But in the end, it was tough explaining whether he was able to treat his illness or not.

Then, Gu Zuo turned his gaze to the silent young man.

Tianheng laughed: "This is the leader of my personal security force, the Tianlong Guards. He is very trustworthy."

Gu Zuo let out a couple of hollow laughs, his eyes resolute.

As a matter of fact, trust wasn't the issue. Rather, the issue concerned his life's safety.

His patron was very intelligent, but still, he couldn't have known that he possessed something so extraordinary. Nonetheless, Gu Zuo had better explain enough to him to understand so that he could make an informed decision.

Tianheng clearly understood, and ordered: "Dragon One, you're dismissed. Don't eavesdrop."

The stern young man sized up Gu Zuo with a glance and felt that even the young master would be able to handle this weak chicken. He promptly left the room and closed the door.

Gongyi Tianheng returned his gaze to Gu Zuo: "You can be at ease. This door is special. Once it's closed, no sounds from within can be heard from outside. Even though Dragon One has keen senses, because commanded him, he won't come within thirty meters of this room and hear what we discuss."

Gu Zuo was relieved, but remembered his illness. He was slightly alarmed and tried to examine him: "First, can I check your pulse?"

Tianheng rolled up his sleeve to expose a bit of his pale arm, and placed it on the table.

Gu Zuo didn't hesitate and began searching along his arm.

Although he didn't have any genuine experience in curing illnesses, he'd learned enough to know how to take a pulse. Something as simple as that was easy to do...

After he finished, he was startled.

The pulse...there wasn't any.

But without a pulse, shouldn't he be dead?

He couldn't possibly be a zombie!

Gu Zuo carefully looked at Gongyi Tianheng. Besides his handsome and pale skin, was there anything strange? Really though, according to his pulse, his body should be exhibiting many warning signs.

But right now, he couldn't identify any, so what was the problem? His pulse belonged to people who died inexplicable deaths.

So, Gu Zuo promptly opened his mouth and said: "Young Master Tianheng, please tell me what instructions previous pharmacists have told you. Also, please tell me about any aches and pains you've developed this past year."

If he can't get a clear understanding of his illness, how was he supposed to treat it?

Gongyi Tianheng was very cooperative.

Over many years, he had to fumble through this process many times, so now he explained in great detail.

In fact, this illness was a very strange one. When he was born, it seemed like he was a normal infant. Besides his high intelligence, there were no other peculiarities. After his first birthday, the clan members discovered that his meridians were very weak and fragile.

One should know that becoming a martial artist depended on the aptitude of a person's meridians. Through the process of cultivation, the ambient qi energy of heaven and earth would enter the body and then circulate through the meridians. Naturally, the larger and sturdier the meridians, the greater the amount of qi energy that could be absorbed, and the faster the cultivation.

Beyond expectations, Tianheng's meridians were indeed thin and weak - Let alone absorbing the ambient qi, taking too much medicine would cause the meridians to rupture.

These qualifications made it impossible to practice martial arts. And yet, with the Gongyi Clan's vast resources, so long as they found enough precious medicinal pills, the meridians would slowly improve... And where were these pills?

Gu Zuo was a little baffled.

If the meridians were weak, but didn't affect his ordinary life, then he wouldn't go so far as to consider him sickly...

Tianheng's words continued, thoroughly smashing Gu Zuo's assumptions.

Really, his patron's problem stemmed not only from his weak meridians, but also from a genuine mysterydisease.

After the clan concluded that Gongyi Tianheng's meridians were beyond saving, due to his outstanding features, they didn't really bother about it too much. That was, until he turned ten. That year he suddenly loss sensation in both legs and was paralyzed. From a pharmacist's diagnosis, they found the problem.

Besides Tianheng's weakened meridians, after each passing year, a meridian would develop a blockage.

At first his Eight Extraordinary Meridians began to fail imperceptibly. Of course, they were independent of the primary qi flow of his body, and didn't affect his life very strangely. Yet, when two of his Twelve Principle Meridians were blocked, all his afflictions revealed themselves, nearly leaving him paralyzed and bedridden.

In addition to allowing the ambient qi energy to circulate through the body while practicing martial arts, meridians served a greater function in people: Circulating the blood and nourishing one's vitality. If they were all blocked up, it was obvious as to what would happen.

And Gongyi Tianheng was already eighteen years old.

He still has two meridians that were unblocked. But at his twentieth year, the circulation of his qi and blood would stop and his life would end.

Gu Zuo heard this and his face immediately fell.

As it turned out, not only must he struggle to survive for this month, but his patron could only live for two more years! Moreover, even if Gu Zuo passed this mission, if his patron kicked the bucket, he still had to find another patron! Totally not fair!

Anyway, Gu Zuo was supremely depressed. When he looked at Tianheng, his expression was like a sinner looking upon the face of God.

As of right now, his patron was able to walk around. There was no telling how many medicinal pills were used nor how much effort was expended so that Tianheng could act like a normal person.

In fact, at that moment, every movement Tianheng made was very painful.

– Truly, he could endure even this.

Heroic passion soon burst forth from Gu Zuo's heart.

Thinking that his patron could suffer through so much hardship, how could he give up now? If he could cure his patron, Gu Zuo would cling tightly to his thigh and never let go.

Therefore, it was time for him to search through his three texts and seriously comb through every page to find those prescriptions that targeted Tianheng's symptoms. Anything that matched his patron's situation should also be looked at. Then, at the back of the books where the case-studies and unusual illnesses were recorded, did they have anything...

Thinking clearly, Gu Zuo didn't have any intentions of hiding his secret. Immediately, three ancient texts appeared on his palm. Holding onto <<Human-Level Medicinal Cuisine Recipes>> and <<Human-Level Medicinal Decoction Formulas>>, Gu Zuo handed over <<Human-Level Medicinal Pill Catalog>> and said: "Young Master Tianheng, look at this. Many illnesses are recorded near the back of this book. We should both search through it and see if there are any that match your descriptions."

He said that while opening up <<Human-Level Medicinal Cuisine Recipes>> and browsing the back.

Gongyi Tianheng watched as the three books appeared out of thin air and his pupils shrank.

An inter-spatial tool?

This thing was extremely precious. The Cangyun Empire's royal family only had three of such inter-spatial tools. The five great clans only had one each, held in the safe keeping of the Clan Heads.

He didn't expect that this little guy would actually have one.

But this thought only flashed by. Tianheng's attention was focused on the ancient text in his hands.

This should have been the result of Gu Zuo's "fortuitous encounter" and the reason why Gu Zuo dared to come here and seize him... He hoped that what he needed was contained within.

Gongyi Tianheng quickly opened the book.

Across each sheet of paper, his slender finger scrolled back and forth. Line for line, it gracefully flew across the pages.

On top of that, he firmly embedded every word in his mind.

However, compared to Tianheng's lightning speed, even Gu Zuo's progress appeared somewhat slow.

This matter concerned Gu Zuo's fate and his patron's life. He didn't dare to neglect a single detail. His observation was exceptionally meticulous. Anything that mentioned deadened meridians was picked out by him.

At the same time, he would read and write down notes one after another using a brush. His appearance was single-minded, and his heart was free of haste.

Gongyi Tianheng quickly finished reading and blinked a few times. The information from the ancient text flashed through his mind.

Gu Zuo's circumstances were really out of the ordinary. To say the least, this <<Human-Level Medicinal Pill Catalog>> recorded an insane amount of medicinal pill types – Based on the division of strength among martial artists...

There were 13,200 pills for Houtian martial artists, 10,831 pills for Xiantian martial artists, and 8,691 pills for "Immortal” martial artists.

Although it was widely known that each division in medicinal pills had over one thousand types, as far as he knew, all the pharmacists of the Cangyun Empire were aware of only five hundred kinds of medical pill recipes - Of all grades, not just a single grade.

Even if a pharmacist dedicated his whole life, he wouldn't be able to refine all the prescriptions recorded in the <<Human-Level Medicinal Pill Catalog>>. He was deeply humbled by all the case-studies in the back of the book. Even though he regarded himself as exceedingly knowledgeable through ceaseless study, after looking through this book, he profoundly understood that his thinking was very shallow.

Suddenly, Gongyi Tianheng's state of mind became very restless, and he was forced to suppress it.

If -

If he could practice martial arts...

Then he could travel the world, and he wouldn't be forced to confine himself to the cage of Cangyun City!