Chapter 12: Memorial to the Divine Doctor

Volume 1: Entering a New World

However, his expression darkened as he considered this; his wretched body was under a restriction. Even if a woman threw herself into his arms, he could only watch helplessly.

Recalling what Old Man Mi had told him, he couldn't help but ask, "Shoubing, do you know about the Grandmaster realm?"

"Everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty knows about it, young master. Don't you?" Cheng Shoubing looked at him strangely.

Zu'an almost choked. He quickly said, "Of course I know. I was testing you, young master."

"I knew it," Cheng Shoubing said with dawning realization. "Grandmasters can freely control the elemental energy of heaven and earth, flying and soaring through the sky at will. They are the most powerful individuals in this world."

Zu'an was secretly alarmed. "Then how many Grandmasters are there in Moonbright City?"

"How many?" Cheng Shoubing sounded as if he'd heard a great joke. "Not a single one!"

"Huh?" Zu'an was stunned. Moonbright City looked quite large; how could there be none?

"Let alone Moonbright City, there probably isn't a single Grandmaster in the entire Linchuan Commandery," Cheng Shoubing said excitedly. "You must understand that in our Great Zhou Dynasty, only the Three Dukes, the Grand General, the Hussar General, and a few princes are Grandmasters. Their numbers are extremely few. How could Moonbright City possibly have one?"

He then roughly explained the correlation between official ranks and cultivation realms in this world, which sent waves of shock through Zu'an's heart. *That Old Man Mi was fooling me! There are so few Grandmasters in the whole world. Even with the keyboard's help, I'd probably be an old man with a long beard before I reached the Grandmaster realm. Not to mention, he doesn't even know I have a cheat. How could he have such confidence that I could reach the Grandmaster realm?*

As he was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed Cheng Shoubing looking at him with a look usually reserved for someone with an intellectual disability. Zu'an's temper flared. "You seem to know quite a lot, don't you?"

Cheng Shoubing's face creased with a smile, his features practically squishing together. "You flatter me, young master."

"Are you also a cultivator?"

Cheng Shoubing's smile froze, and he said with a hint of sadness, "No, I don't have cultivation talent. I can't sense the elemental energy of heaven and earth."

Zu'an hummed, "It seems you idle folks truly know how to live. You can't cultivate, yet you know everything."

Rage points from Cheng Shoubing +33!

Zu'an thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, are there any renowned, celebrated doctors in Moonbright City?" If he had to cultivate to the Grandmaster realm step by step, he'd probably be a white-bearded old man by then. What good would it do to regain his abilities only to look at an empty sky and shed tears? No, he had to find another way. Since this was a cultivation world, doctors were bound to be more potent. Maybe they had a solution.

"A divine doctor? Yes, there is," Cheng Shoubing clearly enjoyed answering questions. "Mister Ji in the city is Moonbright City's... oh, no, he's the most skilled divine doctor in the entire Linchuan Commandery. There's no illness he can't cure."

"His surname is Ji? It's not Ji Xiaolan, is it?" Zu'an asked.

"Ji Xiaolan?" Cheng Shoubing scratched his head. "No, it's not."

Zu'an's spirits lifted immediately. "Let's go, take me to him!"

Cheng Shoubing looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Young master, weren't you injured by Second Miss's Lamenting Whip? How do you seem..."

Zu'an's eyes darted around. "I'm going to see Divine Doctor Ji to treat my injuries, of course."

"But the manor's physician already applied medicine for you, young master. You just need a few more days of rest, and you'll be fine. There's no need to see Divine Doctor Ji," Cheng Shoubing said.

Zu'an's face darkened. "Are you the young master, or am I? Why are you talking so much nonsense? Just take me there!"

"Please don't be angry, young master, please don't be angry. I'll take you there right away," Cheng Shoubing said with an obsequious smile.

Zu'an was somewhat surprised. This guy had a genuinely good temper; he hadn't gotten angry even after that. Even after Zu'an's earlier sarcasm, his rage points were minimal. Had his edges been smoothed out during his years in the Chu manor?

He changed his clothes, and the two of them headed out. He had initially worried about not being able to leave freely, but to his surprise, the guards at the gate simply glanced at him and didn't stop him from leaving.

Remembering the scene from last night when he entered, Zu'an couldn't help but ask, "By the way, where's the First Miss?"

"First Miss seems to have gone out," Cheng Shoubing replied.

Zu'an breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, he always felt an inexplicable pressure when facing that mistress and servant. "Right, do you know Xue'er?"

Cheng Shoubing's eyes lit up. "Who doesn't know Sister Xue'er? She's First Miss's personal maid, beautiful with a sweet voice. Many of the young servants in the manor consider her their dream girl. Young master, if you don't mind, could you help us get together?"

"You're dreaming," Zu'an was speechless. Where did this guy get the confidence to make a move on Xue'er? "Stop rambling. Is there any other information about her? For example, has she been in your Chu family since childhood?"

"Oh, no, she hasn't," Cheng Shoubing became a bit downcast upon seeing his refusal to help them get together. It seemed the young master also had his eye on Xue'er. He'd heard that a young lady's personal maid in a wealthy family was often given to the young master as a bed-warming maid. "Sister Xue'er was apparently rescued by the miss outside about three or four years ago. Afterwards, she was so well-behaved, sensible, and intelligent that she quickly won the miss's favor and was appointed as her personal head maid."

"Well-behaved and sensible?" Zu'an truly couldn't connect those words with that sharp-tongued maid. Hearing that she had only arrived at the Chu family three or four years ago made him thoughtful.

"Right, what's the situation with the second and third branches of the family, and what's their relationship with the Master's lineage?" Zu'an also recalled what happened in the ancestral hall today; Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo seemed to harbor an inexplicable hostility towards him.

"They're alright," Cheng Shoubing thought for a moment before replying. "Second Master usually manages the family's iron mine and weapon businesses, and Third Master manages the family's salt business. They are considered the Master's right-hand men."

"Iron, salt?" Zu'an was momentarily stunned. This was a cultivation world! He wasn't expecting them to be managing spirit stone mines, but at least raising some demonic beasts or something, right? Why were they dealing in such... commoner goods?

As if guessing his thoughts, Cheng Shoubing explained, "Young master, you mustn't underestimate these two. They bring immense profits to the family. Our Chu family is wealthy enough to rival a nation precisely because of them. You see, only a minority in this world can cultivate. Most people, like us, can't sense the presence of elemental energy and live ordinary lives. And salt and iron are essential necessities for our daily lives."

Zu'an curled his lip. "What do you mean 'us'? Don't lump me in with ordinary people like you. I can cultivate!"

Cheng Shoubing blinked, looking at him with an expression that suggested he wanted to say more but held back. *This young master truly is just as they said—all talk, no actual skill.*

*But it doesn't matter. He's the young master after all. I'll definitely help him win the young miss's favor. They say it's easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send charcoal in the snow. If I help him at his lowest point, I'll naturally become his confidant, and my own status will rise. Maybe I'll even be able to get together with Xue'er... Hehehe.*

"What are you grinning about?" Zu'an slapped him on the head. "Which way is Divine Doctor Ji's house?"

Cheng Shoubing adjusted the two hair buns on his head. "Young master, could you please stop hitting my head in the future? These hair buns are very hard to arrange."

Zu'an was speechless looking at the two char siu bao-like things on his head. "Alright, alright, just lead the way." He had also generally understood the situation in the Chu manor. He'd have to slowly investigate who wanted to harm him later; the immediate priority was to resolve the issue with his body.

"Young master, I don't think you need to see Divine Doctor Ji," Cheng Shoubing said, jogging to catch up.

"Why not?" Zu'an was puzzled.

Cheng Shoubing explained, "Because Divine Doctor Ji has a rule: to see him, you have to pay a hundred taels of silver as a registration fee."

"A hundred taels of silver? Just for registration? Is his place studded with diamonds?" From what he'd seen over the past two days, he had a rough understanding of this world's currency system. It was similar to ancient China: a thousand copper coins equaled one tael of silver, and one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver. Above gold, there was another hard currency: elemental stones, but elemental stones were often priceless yet had no market, making their exact value hard to quantify. However, the units of measurement in this world were not like ancient China's but closer to the modern world; one tael equaled fifty grams. Furthermore, silver hadn't depreciated due to oversupply. The purchasing power of one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to 1800 RMB, so a hundred taels would be 180,000 RMB. And that was just for registration, no wonder he exclaimed.

Zu'an thought for a moment, then slung an arm around Cheng Shoubing's shoulder. "Little Shoubing, you see, your young master is a bit short on cash right now. Could you lend me some to tide me over? I'll pay you back double when I'm rich."

Cheng Shoubing quietly clutched the purse at his waist. "Young master, you are the master, and I am a servant. If a master like you has no money, how could a mere servant like me possibly have any?"

Zu'an took in his little gesture but didn't dwell on it. Even if Cheng Shoubing had some silver on him, it certainly wouldn't be 100 taels. "By the way, where in Moonbright City are slaves sold?"

"Young master, do you mean a brokerage?" Cheng Shoubing began, "There's a special place in the city where nobles can trade servants and maids. Each person is worth anywhere from a few to dozens of taels..." He paused mid-sentence, turning back to glance at Zu'an, and swallowed hard. "Young master, you're not thinking of selling me, are you?"

Zu'an's expression became solemn. "How could that be? Am I that kind of person, young master?"

In his heart, however, he was calculating: *Selling this guy wouldn't be worth much silver, and since he's from the Duke's manor, he might not even sell.*

Despite the assurance, Cheng Shoubing still felt a chill down his spine. He quickly said, "Young master, there's actually another way. Besides the 100 taels of silver, if one can help Divine Doctor Ji complete a task, they can also receive his treatment."

Zu'an's heart eased, and he slapped Cheng Shoubing on the shoulder. "Why didn't you say so earlier? You almost made me sell you!"

Cheng Shoubing: "..."

Watching the young master's excited back, Cheng Shoubing hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. He knew that Divine Doctor Ji's tasks were by no means something an ordinary person could accomplish. But he was also worried about being sold, so in the end, he didn't tell him the truth.

Before long, the two arrived near a residence. Seeing the crowd surging like a tide, Zu'an swallowed. "Why are there so many people?"

Cheng Shoubing chuckled awkwardly. "Didn't I just tell you, young master? Divine Doctor Ji's place is always this crowded."

Zu'an thought of the specialist appointments at top-tier hospitals in his previous life, which were hard to get even with ten to fifteen days' notice, let alone appointments with famous doctors. This situation for a divine doctor was quite normal. *Wait, something's wrong. Wasn't the registration fee a hundred taels of silver? Are people in this world all so rich? But looking at the three layers of people surrounding the place, their clothes weren't particularly good, and they didn't look like wealthy nobles.*

"Where's Miss Ji? Why isn't Miss Ji here?" Someone in the crowd shouted, instantly causing a stir.

"Yes, we want to see Miss Ji."

Zu'an froze for a moment, then turned to look at Cheng Shoubing. "The Divine Doctor Ji you mentioned, is she a woman?"