Shen Residence.

Main hall.

Brightly lit.

In the seat of honor sat Old Physician Shen.

In the guest seats sat the anxious Second Master Zhu, the sweating Eldest Master Xie, and Young Master Pei who’d been forcibly dragged here by his own father.

Second Master Zhu Yuanzhao walked before Old Physician Shen and dropped to his knees with a thud.

“I beg Old Physician to save my wife.”

Old Physician Shen was haggard from the pain of losing his daughter.

“Begging me is useless. My Shen family’s specialty is orthopedics, not gynecology. I cannot treat Second Mistress’s illness.”

How could Zhu Yuanzhao be dismissed with a simple “cannot treat”?

“Old Physician knows the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles and can snatch lives from the hands of ghosts and gods. I beg Old Physician to consider…”

“Second Master Zhu.”

Old Physician Shen’s expression turned stern. “Snatching lives from ghosts and gods—this old man stopped doing such things hundreds of years ago.”

Zhu Yuanzhao was grief-stricken and indignant. “Can Old Physician just watch as my wife… bleeds to death?”

Old Physician Shen sighed.

“Second Master, each person has one life, each person has their fate. This old man is truly powerless. Second Master should seek another expert.”

“Old Physician, I’ll kowtow to you. Won’t that suffice?”

After speaking, Zhu Yuanzhao’s forehead banged against the floor repeatedly. After just a few strikes, blood appeared. Yet Old Physician Shen maintained his unmoved expression.

Seeing blood had been drawn from the kowtowing, Xie Erli gathered his robes and knelt beside his second brother-in-law.

“Old Physician, should you need anything from the Xie family in the future, you need only ask. I only request that you visit the Zhu residence once.”

Visit once—he didn’t say “save her.”

Moreover, the one kneeling was the eldest son of a Cabinet Minister.

Given Old Physician Shen’s usual benevolent nature, he should have agreed no matter what.

But strangely today, the old man didn’t blink an eye, much less nod.

Young Master Pei had no choice but to steel himself and speak up.

“Please do save her. After all, it’s a life. If my father had any other option, he wouldn’t have sent Second Master to find you. Who could compare to your superior medical skills?”

“You needn’t kneel before me.”

Old Physician Shen’s face darkened. “I said I won’t save her, so I won’t save her. All of you, leave!”

Hey!

Truly impervious to oil and salt!

Young Master Pei’s temper flared immediately.

“Old Shen, when you begged me for help, I agreed without a second word. Now when I come to your door asking, you dodge left with one excuse, dodge right with another. Should monks and Daoists still bother coming to your door tomorrow?”

“You…”

Old Physician Shen had a lump of anger stuck in his throat.

“Besides, if twelve needles won’t work, we’ll stop. No one’s forcing you.”

Young Master Pei, being familiar with the old physician, spoke without restraint.

“Your daughter was still treating patients right before she collapsed. Look at that—such benevolence and righteousness. Why don’t you learn from your own daughter?”

Old Physician Shen’s eyes suddenly reddened.

Young Master Pei thought this strange. Hadn’t it been you who drove your daughter from the family? Could the old man be regretting it now, feeling guilty, blaming himself?

Young Master Pei felt he’d found Old Physician Shen’s weak spot and scurried over.

“How about this—tomorrow I’ll gather eighteen monks and eighteen Daoists. We’ll chant sutras for seven days—no, forty-nine days—to save Miss Shen’s departed soul. This won’t cost you a single coin—I’ll cover everything.”

Old Physician Shen still wore a stern face, red-eyed, saying nothing.

“Fine, I’ll kneel before you too.”

Young Master Pei acted as if venting his frustration, kneeling by Old Physician Shen’s feet and resting his head on the man’s knee in a rascally manner.

Old Physician Shen withdrew his knee and stood, supporting himself on the chair arms.

“Let me make this clear first—forty-nine days, not one day less.”

There’s hope!

Young Master Pei slapped his chest in guarantee. “Rest assured, Old Master—if even one day is missing, I’ll write my surname Pei backwards.”

“Then lead the way!”

Hearing this, Second Master Zhu scrambled up from the floor in a fluster, respectfully saying, “Old Physician, the carriage is waiting at the residence gate. Please.”

“Wait, Second Master Zhu.”

Young Master Pei’s face became serious. “Let’s be clear about the ugly facts first. Only twelve needles will be applied. After the twelve needles, whether she can be saved or not, no one can force Old Physician to proceed further.”

“That goes without saying, that goes without saying.”

Second Master Zhu immediately knelt again. “Such great kindness and virtue cannot be repaid. Should Old Physician ever need anything from the Zhu residence, you need only ask.”

“Don’t thank me.”

Old Physician Shen laughed coldly. “Thank my daughter. Before she died, she was applying the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles to someone.”

Hearing this, Young Master Pei suddenly understood.

No wonder he couldn’t be persuaded today no matter how hard they tried—so this was how his daughter died!

Wait!

Young Master Pei’s expression changed slightly. “Old Shen, your daughter…”

“What?”

Old Physician Shen raised an eyebrow. “You don’t believe me?”

“…No, no, no!”

Young Master Pei waved his hands repeatedly.

He was just curious how Old Physician Shen’s daughter knew the Thirteen Ghost Gate Needles that even his father didn’t know.

“Hmph!”

The old physician laughed coldly. “If she were still alive, she’d certainly snatch the person back from ghosts and gods. As for me, I still need to see Second Mistress’s fate.”

What does that mean?

Young Master Pei was completely baffled.

Could Miss Shen’s medical skills surpass even Old Physician Shen’s?

Don’t be ridiculous!

Young Master Pei shook his head, quickly dismissing this notion.

In this world, physicians became more valuable with age. Moreover, she was a woman!

…

Xie Zhifei knew nothing of Second Mistress Zhu’s fate, but he could easily guess his own current fate with his toes:

Either worked to death, or jostled to death.

This trip was too urgent, so the pace was even faster than the journey to Nanning Prefecture—practically without sleep or rest.

He didn’t find it bitter. Thinking he could see Yan Sanhe, could visit the place where she and Yan Xing had lived, his heart filled with indescribable anticipation.

How was that girl doing now?

Had she gained weight, or lost it?

Had that bastard Han Xu been taking good care of her?

Xie Zhifei, relying on this bit of longing in his heart, could still hold on. But Third Master Zhu Yuanhao couldn’t.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau usually either calculated with fingers, handled compasses, or cast hexagram divinations—all mental work. He’d never done such exhausting physical labor.

After several days, Third Master Zhu was in worse shape than Young Master Pei—just one breath away from death.

This breath remained only because his father hadn’t been buried yet!

The weather being neither hot nor cold, a corpse laid out in the mourning hall for ten days or half a month wouldn’t matter much.

But two or three months…

It would turn to bones.

After half a month bouncing on horseback, Third Master Zhu finally couldn’t take it anymore and bought a carriage at the market to lie down in.

The two personal guards Third Master Zhu had brought were also suffering in silence, but being from poor families, they could still endure.

Besides, neither Ding Yi nor Zhu Qing beside Third Master complained, so how could they dare whine?

While they rushed frantically on this side,

On the other side, Yan Sanhe and Han Xu had already reached Yunnan Prefecture.