Chu Yu and Wei Yun entered the city wearing cloaks. As they approached the gate, Chu Yu instinctively gripped her sword, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
When they reached the entrance, the guards didn’t even bother to stop them. They leaned against the wall, cracking sunflower seeds, and let them pass straight through.
Chu Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led Wei Yun into the city. She first found an inn to settle Wei Yun, then asked the innkeeper for directions to a physician’s clinic and took Wei Yun to see a doctor.
Chu Yu dared not go to the large medical centers in the heart of the city. Instead, she headed towards the outskirts. Finally, in a desolate corner of the city, she found a building made of earth and wood. As Chu Yu approached the entrance, she heard a lazy male voice with a Chu accent from inside: “Give me some Atractylodes.”
“Here you go,” a young girl’s voice responded.
“Give me some Angelica dahurica.”
“Here.”
“Give me some…”
“Are you trying to annoy me?!” the girl shouted angrily. “It’s right next to your hand. Do you need me to get it for you?”
“If I don’t make you fetch it, how can I show that you’re my apprentice?” The man chuckled.
Chu Yu arrived at the doorway and respectfully knocked. The girl and the man both looked over, and Chu Yu got a good look at them.
The physician was very young, appearing to be in his early twenties. He wore a white silk robe that shimmered with a greenish hue in the sunlight. His hair was partially tied up with a jade hairpin, while the rest cascaded down, gleaming like his robe as it flowed around him.
He was sitting at a desk, and upon seeing Chu Yu carrying someone on her back, he raised an eyebrow. “My, what a strong young lady.”
“Quickly now,” he waved at the girl beside him, “help the customer bring the patient in.”
The girl rolled her eyes but still came forward to assist Chu Yu. Chu Yu smiled and carried Wei Yun in herself, carefully placing him before the physician. She said, “Sir, please take a look.”
Wei Yun extended his hand, keeping his eyes lowered but listening intently to the figure beside him.
The man nodded and remarked, “People from Chu.”
As he took Wei Yun’s pulse, he rested his chin on his hand, observing Wei Yun. After a while, he withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair. “I can treat him, but let’s discuss the fee first.”
“I have one tael of gold,” Chu Yu offered.
The man smiled, the corner of his mouth curling. “Are you trying to pay off a beggar?”
Wei Yun calmly said, “Sir, we don’t have much money with us at the moment. If you treat my illness, I won’t shortchange you in the future.”
“Alright,” the man nodded. “Go write an IOU for one hundred taels of gold.”
Wei Yun frowned slightly. The physician turned to Chu Yu, “Madam, if you don’t write this IOU for me, I can guarantee that your husband’s legs will be useless for the rest of his life. If you owe me one hundred taels, I have a fifty percent chance of curing him.”
“Fifty percent?!” Chu Yu exclaimed in surprise.
The man smiled and said, “What, you think I’m deceiving you? Carry him out now, go around the city, and ask – who else would dare say they can cure him?”
“Anyone who dared say so has been beaten by you,” the girl beside him calmly interjected.
The young man turned and lightly tapped the girl. “Are you asking to be hit?”
Wei Yun and Chu Yu remained silent. After a moment, Chu Yu stood up and said, “I’ll take you…”
“Bring me paper and brush,” Wei Yun decisively interrupted. The young man looked at Wei Yun with a smile brimming with interest. He pushed the writing materials towards him and lazily glanced at Chu Yu, stretching as he said, “Indeed, it’s easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his minions.”
Wei Yun silently wrote the IOU. When he finished, he thrust the brush directly into the table. The brush became like a dagger in his hand, piercing halfway through the wooden surface. Wei Yun leaned forward, staring at the physician, and calmly said, “I’ve written the IOU. If my legs aren’t cured, you might as well forget about keeping your head.”