It was the truth — but no matter how Zhang Zhixu heard it, something about it sat wrong with him.

Young Master Pei is still the better fit~

He mimicked her in a dry, pointed tone.

For someone supposedly so much better, he certainly hasn’t shown much gratitude for you saving his life.

Chen Baoxiang was cheerful about it: “There’s no rush — we take it slowly. I’m Physician Wang’s junior niece now, which means I’ll have plenty of chances to see my dear Pei again.”

Dear~ Pei~

Zhang Zhixu’s lip curled.

Stop gawking and let the man take your pulse.

He turned Chen Baoxiang’s head toward Physician Wang.

Physician Wang had been at it for three full incense sticks’ worth of time, and with every passing moment, his expression grew heavier.

“His pulse is most peculiar. The chi pulse is weaker than both the cun and the guan — short, urgent, and rapid, like water boiling in a cauldron, floating with no root. By every measure, it is the pulse of a dying man. Yet every half incense stick, the pulse shifts again — short and skipping like a bean, trembling and unstable, then suddenly slippery and forceful.”

“I’ve seen plenty of the living and the dead in my time, but I have never encountered anything quite like this — neither dying nor not dying.”

Sun Sihuai responded to this by kicking him. “Who’s dying? Watch your mouth.”

Physician Wang looked aggrieved. “Senior martial brother, there’s no one else here — I’m speaking plainly. His situation is more precarious than General Cheng’s. If not for the Puling Herb keeping his vital energy from extinguishing entirely, his breath would have given out long ago.”

Sun Sihuai closed his eyes. His expression was grim.

Physician Wang quickly added: “If we could find the Soul Returning Pill that our master once spoke of — the rare medicine he described — there may still be hope.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Sun Sihuai said grimly. “The moment I received word, I sent people to inquire.”

“In that case — if any is truly found, senior martial brother, could you spare one for me as well?”

Sun Sihuai laughed in spite of his anger. “You come barging into my home to rob me, and now you want to rob the man’s life-saving medicine on top of it?”

“Calling it robbery is a bit harsh — if there’s extra, sharing is only natural… alright, senior martial brother, the hour is nearly right — shall we go see General Cheng?”

“We cannot.” Sun Sihuai flicked his sleeve. “You know as well as I do that the Stabilizing Origin Formation drains the practitioner’s vital energy. It can only be performed once a month — I already performed it earlier. Wait for next month.”

Physician Wang grew anxious. “That simply won’t do — we can’t hold out until next month. Senior martial brother, the Cheng and Zhang families are set to be joined by marriage. How can you be so absolute about this?”

“I performed the needling before you arrived. How is that me being absolute? Am I supposed to leave the man lying there untreated and wait for your orders before I act?” Sun Sihuai’s fury surged. He grabbed a medicine pestle and looked ready to hurl it.

“That’s not what I meant, I was saying —” Physician Wang threw his arms over his head. “We still have your disciple Baoxiang here, don’t we? Let her perform the needling — you can stand by and supervise.”

At those words, every eye in the room turned.

Chen Baoxiang had been watching the commotion with delight. Caught off guard by several expectant gazes, she pointed at herself in bewilderment. “Me?”

“You…” Sun Sihuai hesitated and asked, “Do you know the Stabilizing Origin Needling Technique?”

“Yes,” Zhang Zhixu answered for her. “My master taught me, but I haven’t fully mastered it.”

“Then how could we dare apply it to General Cheng — that would be reckless.”

“My senior uncle said that the General is a man of magnanimity. Given the extremity of his current condition, so long as I do my best, he will place no blame on me regardless of the outcome.” Zhang Zhixu allowed a small smile. “Isn’t that right, Senior Uncle?”

Physician Wang nodded vigorously. “Yes — we agreed on this before she arrived. Senior martial brother, you really can’t refuse now.”

Sun Sihuai looked Chen Baoxiang over several times. She appeared perfectly composed, and he had little choice but to rise as well. “Then we sign a written statement first. It must be made clear that no blame will fall on my disciple, whatever the result.”

“Of course, senior martial brother.” Physician Wang led the way at once.

The group made their way out and into the carriage. Chen Baoxiang was deeply uneasy.

Great Immortal — I genuinely don’t know how to use silver needles.

Don’t worry. Leave it to me.

You won’t suddenly disappear again, will you?

I won’t — at least not for the rest of this month.

Zhang Zhixu turned to look back at the Zhang Mansion, growing smaller and smaller behind them, with something wistful in his gaze.

Living inside it all his life, he had always found it oppressive and confining. Seeing it now through Chen Baoxiang’s eyes, he finally understood the grandeur of those stretching residences — and how much effort over a hundred years had gone into building them.

Great Immortal — if we actually manage to save the General, what would be a fitting reward to ask for?

Chen Baoxiang started counting on her fingers with excitement. Would it be more than the eight hundred thousand coins from before?

Coming back to himself, Zhang Zhixu smiled faintly. If we pull it off, it would naturally be far more than that.

But sadly, he wasn’t going there to save anyone.

Physician Wang had already sent people into the countryside to gather herbs according to the medical scroll Zhang Zhixu had quietly recited from memory. He and Sun Sihuai had been ushered into the courtyard where Cheng Huaili lay.

“The General has given strict orders that no matter when treatment is administered, four imperial physicians must be present.” Cheng’an cupped his hands in greeting to Sun Sihuai and Chen Baoxiang. “Please understand.”

Sun Sihuai’s temper flared and he turned to leave immediately. Physician Wang hurried to catch his arm, smiling apologetically. “I’ll stay here with you the entire time, senior martial brother.”

“My Stabilizing Origin Needling Technique is not to be passed on to others.”

“Of course — I understand. But the technique is so intricate that no one could learn it from a single glance. And besides, with witnesses present, if anything goes wrong, someone can vouch for Baoxiang, can’t they?”

Sun Sihuai frowned and looked toward Chen Baoxiang.

He had never taught this girl a thing in his life. With this many people watching, it would be easy for someone to spot the gaps. He wanted to signal her — find a pretext, make an excuse, and leave — but the girl across from him said with unshakeable calm: “Master, I can do this.”

For one fleeting moment, Sun Sihuai almost thought he was looking at a young Zhang Zhixu — dressed in a pale blue-white physician’s robe, a childlike face that carried a confidence and composure none of the other medicine apprentices had ever had.

“This is Drifting Horse Herb.” He handed over a small box of medicinal powder in something of a daze.

Chen Baoxiang took it, opened the lid, and immediately tucked a handful of it against her own shoulder wound.

The steward nearby had been about to inspect the box, but one look at what she’d done and he quietly closed his mouth.

Zhang Zhixu waited a little while, until the pain in her right shoulder had ebbed away, and then picked up the silver needle.

With so many eyes upon them, he couldn’t follow his original intention of striking a lethal acupoint directly. Instead, he read the symptoms with care, selected the correct points, and brought the needle down with two precise fingers — the tip neither bending nor breaking, the turning motion practiced and assured.

Sun Sihuai stared.

The imperial physicians nodded one after another. “The young lady’s technique is remarkable.”

Cheng’an, too, lowered his guard a little.

“Physician — the herbs you requested.” The errand boy returned, flushed with excitement. “Heaven be praised — the most difficult one to find, the Blood-Replenishing Herb, was growing in a village just outside the city.”

Physician Wang took the herbs and compared them against the Medical Canon scroll Chen Baoxiang had recited. The external description matched perfectly, down to the last detail.

He turned to Sun Sihuai. “Senior martial brother — the Blood-Replenishing Herb is the one that stops poison and nourishes the blood, yes?”

Sun Sihuai gave it a cursory glance and nodded. “It is.”

“Wonderful.” Physician Wang immediately set about grinding it himself, combined it with several other medicines, and had the mixture decocted and brought back.

“Wait.” Cheng’an said. “Let me drink a mouthful first.”

Chen Baoxiang felt a flicker of nerves. Great Immortal — this medicine…

Zhang Zhixu gave a quiet, cold laugh. It’s fine. There’s no poison in it.

What?

She was genuinely surprised. With an opportunity like this, you didn’t add anything to the medicine?

The hand holding the silver needle stilled. Zhang Zhixu suddenly looked up.