After finishing the horse stance, the next step was to go up and down the stairs in a handstand. Of course, I didn’t currently have the strength to do a handstand. But I had persevered through the first two stages every single day, and I had the small amount of internal energy I’d gained from the elixir. By using that internal energy in the form of Movement Cultivation, I could supplement my strength and manage to hold a handstand.

Even with the aid of internal energy, the strain on my arms was immense, and the pain was excruciating. But in return, muscle grew quickly, and my strength increased at a rapid pace. Once I got used to it, I would have to go down the stairs in a handstand with my eyes closed. This was to train my body to feel the ground and to master the movement of my body’s central axis.

While I could manage the horse stance, going down the stairs in a handstand was impossible with my current stamina without actively circulating the Movement Cultivation. In the end, it was a stage that could only be reached after the preceding steps were perfected and the circulation of the Movement Cultivation became second nature.

This was the conclusion Zhuge Rin had reached after re-codifying his family’s secret martial arts. And that conclusion perfectly matched the one I had reached from reading the novel.

The only problem is the complete lack of human rights.

On Earth, forcing a child to undergo this kind of training would get you arrested for child abuse. But in this world, where a human life was as fragile as a fly’s, just being able to learn martial arts from a young age was a once-in-a-lifetime fortuitous encounter.

At first, it took me a full day just to carry one empty water bucket to the top. Now, I could carry two full ones up in half a day. Later, I added the horse stance to the routine, and then the handstand descent, after which I would carry up the firewood for the next day’s water. A time came when I could even chop all the firewood and still not have the day be over.

The name of the martial art I learned to perform all this training was the Body Repairing Art. The meaning of Body Repairing is to cultivate and polish the body, so it was literally a martial art for preparing the body. A training art for building foundational internal energy, learning to use true energy, and forging the physical body into a strong vessel.

The effects were undeniable.

“Now that you can carry the water buckets so steadily, I believe it is time to proceed to the next stage.”

“Really!?”

Joy blossomed on my face.

“But of course. The next stage is a new internal energy heart law. Now that the path has been somewhat paved by the Body Repairing Art, it is time to learn how to use that path.”

“Wow!”

“And tomorrow, it will be four water buckets.”

“Ugh…”

The face of an angel, but with no mercy. I looked at my master and recalled the events of a few months ago, when I had first become his disciple.

***

Several months ago. After I had agreed to become Zhuge Rin’s disciple, I followed him toward the White Qilin Medical Pavilion.

“This is my manor and my medical hall,” he had said. “As it is quite large, people have taken to calling it the White Qilin Medical Pavilion.”²

Strangely, I could read the characters here as well. They were very similar to Chinese Hanzi, but with many differences. It made sense. The novel was set in a fictional world that resembled ancient China in its customs and lifestyle, but it was still a world with internal energy and mystical beasts. I was just grateful that I didn’t have to learn a new language. I stared up at the gate of the elegant building.

A massive estate, situated halfway up a tall mountain. Looking down, I could see the ground and the villages below. The huge gate of the building, perched high on the mountain, bore a plaque with the words “White Qilin Medical Pavilion.” Behind the beautiful, grand manor, a majestic mountain range stretched out. And in the distance, white steam drew lines in the air like clouds.

I could smell boiled eggs. A dormant volcanic zone with hot springs!

In the novel, it said that the Divine Physician recuperated in a volcanic area to manage his Nine Yin Severed Meridians… This must be the place.

I opened my mouth. “It’s very large. Is that because many patients come here?”

“Of course. Though I have not taken any disciples, I am a rather famous physician, you see.”

“‘Rather’ famous? Master, you’re easily one of the top five under the heavens.”

“You knew that?”

“I know that much.”

“Fufu. I see.”

My new master, White Qilin, reached out his hand and gently stroked my head.

This is pretty embarrassing.

Though my outside was a child, my inside was a middle-aged man. I felt a complicated mix of emotions.

“Well then, let us go inside. We must unpack your things, mustn’t we? You may rest for a day. Tomorrow, I will begin your lessons in earnest.”

“Lessons…?”

“Martial arts and medicine. Is it not obvious?”

With that, White Qilin strode forward. Yoo Ho passed by, giving me a long, indifferent stare. I followed them and was soon able to enter the building known as the White Qilin Medical Pavilion.

***

It’s just like a martial arts movie.

The interior of the building was classically elegant. The Cloud-Dragon Escort branch office had been so starkly practical that I hadn’t noticed, but this place had a real sense of style. The eaves were carved with playful dragons, and various patterns were engraved on the pillars of the main gate. The carvings were so shallow that they were hard to see from a distance, but you could feel them if you touched them. It was the kind of pavilion that could have easily looked too gaudy. But they had held back where needed and emphasized other parts, creating an air of true luxury.

As we entered the gate, servants came to greet our party.

“Take the carriage inside and give the horses plenty of fodder,” Yoo Ho instructed them.

Before we reached the stables, I saw a massive structure that housed numerous cages. Pigeons were perched in their respective spots. Unusually, there were also hawks and crows mixed in among them.

“Many messenger birds have arrived. Have the dispatches been organized?”

Watching Yoo Ho, I thought to myself, So that’s the famous messenger bird³ I’ve always read about. It’s amazing to see it in person.

Messenger birds. A general term for birds trained to carry letters and correspondence. Since birds were faster than humans, this method of communication was a staple of martial arts novels. As I was marveling at the sight, the man Yoo Ho had questioned answered respectfully.

“Yes, Chief Steward Yoo Ho. Messenger birds from the Sura Faction and the Azure Dragon Pavilion arrived at the same time. It appears to be an injury from a duel.”

The man deferentially handed over a neatly folded letter. The Divine Physician, who had been listening, spoke. “The Sura Faction and the Azure Dragon Pavilion have a deep-seated grudge. This is troublesome.”

Yoo Ho opened the dispatch and read it first. His brow furrowed in consternation.

“Both sides wish to be treated by you personally, Divine Physician. Shall I grant permission?”

“What of the injuries?”

“They are here.”

White Qilin took the letters from both factions and read them through. Included with the letters were written opinions from the local physicians, detailing how the injuries were sustained and what kind of wounds they were.

“The Young Master of the Sura Faction has a simple sword wound and will heal quickly, but the Young Lady of the Azure Dragon Pavilion is the problem. The Sura Faction uses the Sura Poison Art, their signature poison art… Fortunately, the Young Master’s mastery is still shallow, so this can be handled by the local physician.”

After casually assessing the martial skill of the Sura Faction’s Young Master, White Qilin came to a conclusion. “Send a reply to both patients that they should not move, lest their wounds reopen. Instead, I will write out a prescription for a healing salve and medicine for their internal injuries. The ingredients are not so rare that their local apothecaries shouldn’t be able to prepare it.”

Yoo Ho asked, “Who should we send to first?”

“Tend to the Azure Dragon Pavilion first. The winner of the duel was likely their Young Lady. To have won, yet suffered the greater injury, means her anger will be burning much hotter.”

How could he possibly know that? I stared at him, and White Qilin chuckled.

“The Young Master of the Sura Faction’s sword reached the Young Lady’s arm, but he failed to cut it. The Young Lady, however, gave her left arm to aim for his neck. The only reason the Young Master is not dead is because the Young Lady stopped, not wishing to create a deeper feud.”

“So the one who was more injured could be the winner.”

“A duel is much like a game of chess. It does not matter how many pieces you sacrifice, as long as you protect your king to the very end, you win.”

A hawk from the Azure Dragon Pavilion was the first to fly, a letter tied to its leg.

Flutter—

“Now then, let us go inside.”

As he entered, a crow from the Sura Faction took flight. At this very moment, from all across the central plains, countless messenger birds were flying toward the Divine Physician.

“Hee-ya. Come along now.”

At White Qilin’s urging, I quickly replied. “Ah. Yes. M-Master.”

Wow, what a sight. Is this the equivalent of modern telemedicine? Then again, in the novel, the White Qilin Medical Pavilion is one of the Three Great Medical Pavilions under the heavens, so I guess this makes sense.

The medical halls of the Gangho all interacted with the Medical Pavilions at their center. People, simply by virtue of being alive, get hurt and fall ill. For the Murim warriors, who “eat sword rice,” this was an even more frequent occurrence. When they engaged in their bloody battles, countless people were injured and killed. They suffered internal injuries, fell into Qi Deviation, or got sick from eating strange things. At such times, they would cry out for a physician.

For that reason, the exchange of information is crucial for the regional medical halls. But the art of medicine is, in the end, a secret knowledge. Just as martial arts are not taught to the unworthy, medical knowledge is not easily shared. But the Gangho was filled with people dying from conflict and groaning from illness. As a result, a long time ago, an organization of physicians, much like a martial arts sect, was formed.

That was the Medical Pavilion. A sect for physicians.

The Medical Pavilion had many branch offices under its command, which were usually named after the region where the medical hall was located, such as the “So-and-so Medical Hall.”

Of course, there are some who operate solo, without belonging to any pavilion… But since they weren’t vetted, anyone with money would seek out a physician affiliated with a pavilion. The affiliated medical halls could quickly exchange their medical arts, knowledge, and information through the central pavilion. Furthermore, when a bloody conflict broke out between sects, they would need to request aid from medical halls in other regions. The Medical Pavilion served to gather information and dispatch physicians to where they were needed.

Just as the Murim had sects with main family disciples and secular disciples, the medical world also had the Medical Pavilion. Its physicians were divided into Pavilion Physicians, who remained at the pavilion to specialize in research, and Branch Physicians, who returned to their local medical halls to continue their family practice. The Medical Pavilion shared this information via messenger birds or couriers and also stored medicinal herbs that ordinary regional halls could not obtain.

And there was one more, most important function. The publication of the Medical Report.