Deities Abandoning Children (Part 5)
“The five of us were barely able to stop him, yet it only took you one palm strike,” complimented Bai Youhan.
Wang Du smirked. “Someone who sneaks around under the cover of night is shady. Would someone shady dare to reveal their identity to fight me? I attacked because I presumed he wouldn’t. If we fought without any restrictions, you might be examining my corpse right now.”
Wang Du suddenly stopped lifting his wine jar and coughed. Internal discipline specialists possessed far superior immunity than others, so someone of Wang Du’s level catching a cold would have been a bad joke, yet here he was loudly coughing until he was red in the face as if he had bugs gnawing at his throat.
The steward rushed over to pat Wang Du’s back. “Master, you should take a rest. I will handle things here.”
“I’m fine.” Even after a brief pause to recover, Wang Du still could not stop the coughing. “It’s just a cough. It’s not every day that someone, cough, cough, is available to drink and chat, cough, cough, with me.”
“Did you take damage to your lungs, Patriarch?” queried Bai Youhan.
“That’s putting it lightly, cough, cough… An expert would likely diagnose it as punctured like a beehive, cough, cough…”
Wang Du coughed profusely before he finally recovered his breathing, complexion and voice. He laughed it off and had a swig, only for the alcohol to alter his voice again, yet he acted as if he won.
“It’s a problem I’ve had for decades.” Noticing how tense everyone was, Wang Du chuckled. “Don’t you think trading your martial arts abilities for the head of one of the martial world’s enemies is worth it? I think it’s a win for me.”
People used to say, “There is no talent that can match Dark Robe Brotherhood’s Wang Clan,” sarcastically to mock them, but nobody ever dared to say it again after Wang Muren’s rise. To be fair, the remark was not aimed at Wang Clan as a whole but Wang Du because of the price he paid to achieve the biggest merit of his life – based on the world’s standards. He was never able to make a full recovery from the injuries he suffered.
While Forbidden Lightning Wind was classified as a series of palm techniques, it was actually a complete discipline since it was also an internal discipline’s mental cultivation. As Wang Clan focused specifically on balance, qi and meridians, damage to the lungs meant that, even with their strength still intact, their enhancements were basically half of what they ought to be. By extension, their endurance suffered. Due to Wang Du’s love for alcohol, it was impossible for him to recover properly. His steward urged him to take care of himself because his old injury flared up again after engaging the monster.
“It is our mistake for intruding. We can talk as much as you would like, but please do not drink anymore.”
“Bai Clan’s Valley of Yearning is known for producing great broadsword wielders. When did they produce a young lady-magnet physician?”
Bai Youhan was stunned.
Wang Du set his drink down and paused until his throat recovered a bit before continuing, “You wield broadswords with impressive skill, but you have no love for it; neither is your hand suited for it. You have the hands of a physician and the eyes of a physician. You must’ve made a big mistake to have been expelled from the clan. Is your new teacher Yaowanggu’s Dr. Sun surname or Life and Death Flesh and Bone’s Demonic Doctor?”
The greatest surgeon – Doctor Ling – was on the move, so he did not have a base of operations. Yaowanggu, Huangfu Pavillion, Bone Pavillion, and Heartless were the four places where one could find the best physicians. Without a doubt, it was an exaggeration to say that all the best doctors came from either of the four places, but it was not far from the truth.
Among the four, Huangfu Pavillion built their reputation on acupuncture, so they would not produce a broadsword user. Heartless only passed on knowledge to a single individual each generation, and Bai Clan’s descendants would never even be a potential candidate.
Yaowanggu and Bone Pavilion both produced experts with blades, except they were polar opposites of each other. Yaowanggu students who did not become household names in the medical field still viewed medicine and martial arts as a unity. Bone Pavilion, in contrast, violated plenty of taboos in the medical field, so all students from Bone Pavilion were considered “demonic doctors” for their unorthodox methods. Despite their title, though, they never discriminated when it came to who they treated and were ready to treat anyone. For that reason, people on both sides of the law and martial world considered Bone Pavilion a medical haven.
Bai Youhan felt prouder than he did shocked after he had to process it and then replied, “I do not have a mentor. My mother… I dare not refer to her by name, but people in the pugilistic world referred to her as ‘Hanging by a Thread’.”
“Your mother was the one who treated Ximen Chuideng’s ‘Hanging by a Thread’?”
After his match against Yan Shisan and fending off the orthodox sects’ pursuit, Ximen Chuideng was close to his demise due to his injuries. That was when a doctor referring to herself as a demonic doctor showed up to treat him. When she realised Divine Moon Cult’s members suspected she was plotting an assassination, she gave them a smile and said, “If you suspect me, I can diagnose him using a thread.”
Considering how young she was, they were not convinced she could diagnose someone using a thread of string when she pulled out the red string from her bag. Notwithstanding how on-the-edge everyone else felt, Blade Demon scoffed, “What’s the hold up. Go for it.”
Before anyone could dissuade Blade Demon, he already had his blade held up to her neck and questioned, “If she tries anything, behead her. What’s the concern? You. Would you dare to try anything?”
“No.” The doctor tugged up a corner of her lips and said, “If I fail to diagnose him, take it.”
That occasion became one of the few where Blade Demon did not take a life after drawing his blade and the moment Hanging by a Thread established herself as a highly-sought-after doctor. Confidence in her skills rocketed through the roof once they saw her fearless demeanour. She was also respected for her honour after displaying her resolve to treat her patient despite having a blade at her neck.
“It has been years since I last heard that name. If there’s an opportunity, I’d love to meet her. I never knew it was a woman. I always said men of Bai Clan attract women. Is your mother doing well? Would she be interested in coming here for a drink?” Sensing the gazes of despise on him, Wang Du wagged his hand. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Your dad can come along. There’s no way we can’t accommodate for your family of three in this large abode.”
Bai Youhan solemnly shook his head. “It is not that this one’s parents are unwilling to accept your invitation, but his parents passed away three years ago, unfortunately. This one is on a journey to investigate their deaths.”
Brows locked, Wang Du tapped on the table as he brooded before asking, “Did they die on the mountain?”
“Yes.”
Besides being shrouded in dense fog, there were disciples patrolling the foot of the mountains of Valley of Yearning. Hanging by a Thread’s husband could not have been some nobody considering her medical prowess. Additionally, Bai Zhiqing was notorious for protecting his clansmen, so how could he have done nothing about it? Would Bone Pavilion really have done nothing when they lost a valuable member?
“It must’ve been hard on you the last three years.”
Bai Youhan smiled. “But thanks to the struggles, this one has made many friends. Meeting them was the best thing to happen to him.”
“Aww, you little…” Langya cuddled Bai Youhan, but she released him when she recalled where they were.
Wang Du found Xie Langya’s reaction amusing because he knew her. Her departure from Dark Robe Brotherhood was one of the group’s major events in recent times. It took Wang and Xie Clan’s twenty years to develop someone who mastered both clan’s mental cultivation for Forbidden Lightning Wind; that was not to mention her beauty. If they had her support in the imperial palace, Dark Robe Brotherhood would have had an even stronger position. If she followed in the footsteps of Consort Hui, then they might have had another Prince or Princess to back them. Unfortunately for them, underneath her gorgeous exterior was a soul that craved freedom. She sneaked out of Nanjing a few years ago while it was raining heavily one night and started to build herself up without her clan’s backing. Wang Du was never interested in the plan to develop Xie Langya into Dark Robe Brotherhood’s ultimate weapon; in fact, he mocked the idea whenever it was brought up. Perhaps because of his attitude, she also respected him and felt close to him.
Wang Du laughed hard enough to tear up. Bai Youhan had the appearance of an honest boy, but if he managed to win the support of Xie Langya, he had all the potential to make waves. He was fine with dying tomorrow if it meant he could see the livid reactions of Xie and Wang clans’ elders.
Noticing the bold gaze on him from Jin Shiwang after he wiped his tears, Wang Du said, “If you have a question, ask away. You’re not going to be able to stare an answer out of me.”
Ignoring Wang Du’s cough and Bai Youhan’s thoughts, Jin Shiwang asked, “If this one may ask, did you identify which sect the monster hails from?”
Wang Du subtly grinned. “Isn’t that a question for you, kid who deserted Gold and Silver Sect?”
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