Chapter 58: The Western Venom Strikes

Qiu Zhiqing asked the inn attendant to fetch hot water for washing up and to clean his Daoist robe. After drying it instantly with his internal Qi, he stepped outside. He needed to make money; otherwise, he would soon die of embarrassment!

Qiu Zhiqing secretly reproached himself, thinking his state of mind was still lacking. Otherwise, why would he feel embarrassed over a mere two to three hundred copper cash?

Walking down the main street of Qi County, he could tell that the place had not yet been ravaged by the fires of war, though it still appeared somewhat desolate! Qiu Zhiqing strolled slowly, listening to the discussions of the people around him, hoping to gather some useful information.

His footsteps paused when a discussion between two men dressed as day laborers caught his interest!

Laborer A: "You say almost all the rich people in the county have fled to the south, so why hasn't Steward Hou run away yet?"

Laborer B: "Hah, how could he not want to run? It's all because of this illness. These rich people run faster than rabbits at the slightest hint of trouble. It's just pitiful for us farmers; we have nowhere to run. When the Mongols come, we can only fight them to the death!"

Laborer A: "Indeed. Back then, my grandfather followed General Yue into battle. He said that whenever the Jurchens arrived, the wealthy and powerful would flee completely, leaving poor folks like us to be bullied. Fortunately, General Yue..."

Laborer B: "Who is to say otherwise? Life got a bit better, and they came back to throw their weight around again! But this illness of Steward Hou's is rather strange. It is just a headache, and no medicine seems to cure it. Most likely, the resentment in his household is simply too heavy!"

Laborer A: "How could that be? Steward Hou is usually quite decent to people..."

...

Qiu Zhiqing did not listen any further. Although what they said made sense, there was nothing he could do to help them. He had already obtained the information he needed, so he casually asked someone for directions to Steward Hou's residence and headed straight there.

Upon arriving at Steward Hou's estate and stating his purpose, the gatekeeper hurried off to inform his master. Qiu Zhiqing never expected to receive such polite treatment; logically speaking, this shouldn't have been the case.

Qiu Zhiqing had miscalculated. What was the situation when he first descended the mountain? Although people were not exactly living in peace and prosperity, life was stable, and his medical skills naturally would not have caught the eye of the wealthy.

But now, amidst the chaos of war, anyone with a bit of capability had fled south to the Song Empire. That was why Steward Hou, delayed by illness from heading south, was in such an anxious state!

Soon, Qiu Zhiqing was escorted by a servant to the central hall. After inquiring about the symptoms, Qiu Zhiqing looked at Steward Hou with a peculiar expression. Listening to the description—headaches, nausea, dizziness sometimes triggered by the sun, and even minor noises causing flare-ups—

Wasn't this simply a common migraine? A dose or two of medicine should basically cure it completely! How on earth did the condition manage to drag on and recur repeatedly?

Seeing this Daoist priest examine him with a strange look after asking a few questions, Steward Hou could not help feeling somewhat apprehensive and asked uneasily, "Daoist Priest, could my illness... involve some unspeakable hidden condition?"

"Not at all. This贫道 (poor priest) is not entirely certain yet. Would you allow me to check your pulse, Elder Steward?"

Seeing the Daoist priest make this request, a servant hurriedly brought a pulse pillow and placed it on the table. Steward Hou expertly rested his wrist upon it—this clearly wasn't his first time having his pulse taken!

After taking the pulse earnestly for a moment, Qiu Zhiqing found it was indeed unquestionably a migraine. To avoid any misdiagnosis, he checked the pulse on the other wrist as well. This time, he was thoroughly certain it was a migraine...

"Pardon my presumption, but might I make a rather forward request?" It was no wonder Qiu Zhiqing asked this; in this era, for a physician to request a look at another physician's prescription was indeed a bit of a taboo.

His demeanor only made Steward Hou feel even more insecure, fearing he might have contracted some terminal illness. The steward quickly said, "Please speak freely, Daoist Priest. Whatever requests you have, just make them, and this old man will agree to all of them!"

"This poor priest wishes to see the prescription left by the previous physician. Would that be acceptable?" Steward Hou hesitated for just a moment before agreeing, ordering a servant to fetch the prescription prescribed by the previous doctor.

"That physician was the best in the county. Unfortunately, shortly after writing my prescription some time ago, his entire family migrated south to the Song Empire. Daoist Priest, is there something wrong with this formula?"

Qiu Zhiqing shook his head in denial. There was nothing wrong with the formula; furthermore, it even took the old man's physical constitution into consideration, combining nourishment with treatment. It was evident that the person who formulated it was of no low skill. Logically, there should be no problem at all. How could it turn out like this?

After a moment, having eliminated all possibilities, whatever remained—however improbable—must be the truth!

Sure enough, when the servant brought up the medicinal dregs, Qiu Zhiqing discovered that the "Chuanxiong" (Szechuan lovage rhizome), originally native to Sichuan, had been substituted with locally cultivated "Chuanxiong." Consequently, the medicinal potency fell far short of the standard, retaining only about one-third of the efficacy of authentic "Chuanxiong"!

After modifying the dosage of "Chuanxiong" on the prescription, Qiu Zhiqing instructed, "Have the medicine brewed according to this adjusted formula. If you cannot wait, just combine the 'Chuanxiong' from your previous three doses into a single brew, boil it down with three bowls of water into one, and drink it!"

After waiting for about three quarters of an hour, the servant brought the freshly brewed medicine to Steward Hou. After drinking it, fine beads of sweat instantly appeared across his forehead, and he immediately felt his entire body grow wonderfully relaxed (traditional Chinese medicine can sometimes work wonders quite swiftly!).

Seeing Steward Hou regain his vitality, Qiu Zhiqing did not rush to speak. After a moment, Steward Hou snapped out of his lingering trance and said, "Thank you for your mercy, Daoist Priest! Your reverence has truly saved the lives of my entire family today. Otherwise, no matter whether I refused to leave, the rest of them would never have agreed to go either!"

With that, a servant approached carrying a tray. Steward Hou took it, stood up, and lifted the red silk covering it to reveal three neat silver ingots—a full fifteen taels!

This greatly exceeded Qiu Zhiqing's expectations. Back when he descended the mountain, Ma Yu had only given him a string of copper coins, which was roughly equivalent to one tael of silver.

Even after saving the life of the Prefect of Xiangyang, he was only given about seven strings of copper coins. This steward was truly wealthy!

Given the purchasing power of the current era, one tael was roughly equivalent to a thousand to fifteen hundred in later times. Therefore, Qiu Zhiqing firmly refused to take the full amount, ultimately keeping only a single ingot, worth five taels. Originally, he had only wanted four or five hundred copper cash, but now, after all, he was no longer traveling alone...

When Qiu Zhiqing returned to the inn, he happened to see Li Mochou beckoning to him from a window. Puzzled, Qiu Zhiqing waved back at her.

Li Mochou was utterly exasperated by this damned Daoist priest. The gesture she made meant for him to run quickly; she never expected him to actually wave back and greet her! However, seeing that he was carrying his long sword, she figured he probably had nothing left behind in the inn anyway...

Qiu Zhiqing was still wondering why she suddenly jumped out the window and flew toward him the moment he waved. They weren't on such good terms yet, were they?

Before he could figure it out, Li Mochou reached his side, uttered "Run!", grabbed his sleeve, and bolted without looking back toward the dock where they had arrived!

At that moment, a voice rang out from behind: "Don't run! Let's see where you can run!"

Qiu Zhiqing was momentarily stunned. He turned his head to look, and—good heavens! Wasn't this the madman Ouyang who had crossed paths with him at the Dr醉仙楼 (Drunken Immortal Tower)? Though he didn't know why this man was chasing them, could it be that he was after some cough syrup?

With no time to overthink, he hurried to escape alongside Li Mochou. He hadn't reacted at first, but now he more or less understood: Ouyang Feng wasn't chasing him; he was chasing Li Mochou!

"Could Li Mochou's charm really be this powerful? Even a psychiatric patient like Ouyang Feng is utterly infatuated with her? Yet I don't feel much of it myself..." There was no time for further explanation; he simply had to jump into Li Mochou's carriage first...

When the two reached the canal, Ouyang Feng also spotted the river. Though mad, he still retained a primal fear of water. Seeing the two about to board a boat, he frantically unleashed the Toad Skill and lunged straight at them!

Qiu Zhiqing had rarely witnessed Ouyang Feng in combat. The only time had been seven years ago, and even then, it was an ambush. As a fierce gale surged from behind, he didn't even stop to think, directly gathering ten layers of internal energy to strike backward with his Three Flowers Gathering atop the Crown palm technique.

He met Ouyang Feng's twin palms dead-on in mid-air. A violent surge of internal energy erupted, causing dense spiderweb cracks to instantly fracture the bluestone slabs of the dock!

Fortunately, Ouyang Feng's forward momentum was checked. At the same time, the sheer force of the Toad Skill's palm power sent Qiu Zhiqing staggering back more than ten steps before he managed to plant his feet. This palm strike felt half a notch stronger than Hong Qigong's Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms!

Seeing Ouyang Feng crouching on the ground in a bizarre posture, Qiu Zhiqing recognized that this was the charging phase of the Toad Skill. He absolutely could not allow the man to complete his buildup, or else he would certainly be unable to withstand the next blow!

With a stomp of his right foot, a fractured bluestone slab bounced into the air. Qiu Zhiqing's long sword leaped from its scabbard. "Clang, clang, clang—" The sounds of clashing metal rang out continuously as a barrage of stone fragments, imbued with Qiu Zhiqing's internal Qi, hurtled toward Ouyang Feng with unstoppable force...

"Ribbit—!" With a single frog-like croak, all the flying stone fragments froze in mid-air! "Ribbit—!" Another croak sounded, and the stones were entirely shattered and blown away! "Ribbit—!" With the final, thunderous croak, Ouyang Feng surged forward, enveloped in roaring internal energy!

"Parting Dreams by the Border River!" Channeling his entire body's internal Qi, Qiu Zhiqing could not help shouting out the name of the sword stance. In mid-air, a swift sword shadow collided directly with a giant phantom toad...

The toad hit the ground, and the human figure was sent flying backward...