Chapter 264

Chapter 264 Everything is changing, the world is moving

“Master, senior brother, you are back!”

The apprentice said happily as he looked at the two people coming in from outside.

“Well, I have been back for a while, but I saw this young man saving people, so I didn’t disturb him.”

Doctor Zhao nodded, took off the medicine box on his back, and handed it to the apprentice.

Then he looked at Lu Qing curiously.

Lu Qing was also looking at him.

In fact, with his martial arts skills, he naturally noticed that there were people standing outside a long time ago.

It’s just that saving people was important just now, so he didn’t care much because others didn’t come in to disturb him.

The two people who came in were a middle-aged man and a young man.

The old man had an elegant temperament, a long beard, and a gentle temperament. He felt more like a scholar than a doctor.

The young man had a simple face and looked like an honest and decent person.

“Doctor Zhao, you’re back. Old Wang was bitten by a poisonous snake. You guys weren’t in the clinic right away. Fortunately, this young man came to his rescue and he survived. Can you tell me how Old Wang is doing now?”

Uncle Li was overjoyed when he saw Doctor Zhao coming in, and hurried forward to ask.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Lu Qing, but Lu Qing was still too young after all. They would feel more at ease if a doctor like Doctor Zhao, a highly respected doctor, could take a look at him.

“Okay, I’ll take Old Wang’s pulse, young man, do you mind?”

Doctor Zhao didn’t refuse, but looked at Lu Qing and said.

After all, this was his patient. If he intervened rashly, or replaced him with someone who was a little arrogant, it would be easy to cause a conflict.

“No problem, I just don’t have enough experience in treating people, so it’s better to have Doctor Zhao to check it out.”

Lu Qing didn’t care about competing with his peers, but agreed happily.

Moreover, he was rescuing someone in someone else’s clinic, which, strictly speaking, was taboo. If anything went wrong, it would affect the clinic’s business.

So, naturally, he was happy to accept Dr. Zhao’s offer to take his pulse.

Seeing Lu Qing’s unfazed expression, Dr. Zhao’s eyes flickered, and his curiosity about his background intensified.

However, he didn’t rush to inquire. Instead, he approached Old Wang, extended three fingers, and placed them on his wrist.

Earlier, he had witnessed Lu Qing using acupuncture to force out the poison from Old Wang, and he had been deeply shocked and curious.

He was eager to know what was happening inside Old Wang.

After taking Old Wang’s pulse for a while, Dr. Zhao’s expression of surprise deepened.

He noticed that Old Wang’s pulse was steady and strong, his breathing regular and steady. He didn’t sound like a patient who had just been rescued from the brink of death.

Instead, he looked more like an ordinary person, injured and recuperating.

“How is it, Dr. Zhao?”

Uncle Li and the others looked at Dr. Zhao hopefully.

Doctor Zhao released his hand and said with a smile, “This young man’s medical skills are extremely advanced. Old Wang is no longer seriously injured. I think he should wake up in a while.”

“That’s great.”

Uncle Li and the others were overjoyed, and they expressed their gratitude to Lu Qing again.

Seeing Lu Qing politely responding to their gratitude, Doctor Zhao’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

What he had just said was not just a compliment.

In his opinion, Lu Qing’s medical skills were indeed extremely advanced.

He was able to save a patient who was severely poisoned and on the verge of death with acupuncture alone, and force out all the poisonous blood.

Such medical skills were something that even he could never achieve.

So he was very curious about Lu Qing’s background. How could he possess such miraculous medical skills at such a young age?

He had never heard of such a young talent in Zhongzhou.

“Young Master, I haven’t asked for your full name yet.”

After Lu Qing had addressed Uncle Li and the others’ thanks, Doctor Zhao bowed slightly and addressed Lu Qing.

“Doctor Zhao, there’s no need to be so polite. My surname is Lu, and my given name is Qing. I was in a critical situation earlier, so I took the liberty of coming to your clinic to save someone. I hope you’ll forgive me.” Lu Qing returned the greeting.

“Young Master, what are you talking about? If it weren’t for your help, Old Wang would have been in danger by now. Saving lives is more important than worrying about those trivial rules.”

Doctor Zhao waved his hand, unconcerned.

“By the way, Young Master Lu, your medical skills are so exceptional. I wonder who your master is?”

“My master’s surname is Chen. He’s just an ordinary traveling doctor living in seclusion in the countryside. Doctor Zhao probably doesn’t know him,” Lu Qing said modestly.

But he was speaking the truth. His master had always considered himself an ordinary doctor, so his words weren’t meant to discredit him.

“Doctor Chen?”

Doctor Zhao’s mind raced, wondering if there was any great doctor in Zhongzhou with the surname Chen.

As for Lu Qing’s mention of a traveling doctor, he naturally took it as a humble remark.

How could a doctor who could teach a young man with such excellent medical skills like Lu Qing be just an ordinary doctor?

Unfortunately, after going over the idea in his mind, he had no clue.

He knew many great doctors in Zhongzhou, but none of them had the surname Chen.

“By the way, Doctor Zhao, I have something else to do and cannot stay long. I will take my leave now.”

Lu Qing could tell that Doctor Zhao was very interested in his background, but he didn’t say much.

Instead, he bowed and prepared to leave.

“Young Master, you are leaving so soon?” Doctor Zhao was surprised.

“Yes, I have other things to do, so I won’t bother you, Doctor Zhao. By the way, young master, if you can, please help me get the herbs on my list. I will come to pick them up tomorrow morning. Here is the deposit.”

Lu Qing took out a silver ingot, placed it on the counter, and then departed.

Before leaving, however, he took the jar of poisoned blood with him.

Doctor Zhao tried to persuade him to stay, but Lu Qing’s agility was so impressive that he appeared unhurried, yet in the blink of an eye, he was already out of the clinic and out of sight.

Seeing this, Doctor Zhao couldn’t help but understand: this mysterious Young Master Lu was not only a skilled doctor, but also a formidable martial artist.

“Alas, how could this Young Master Lu leave so soon? We haven’t even paid him yet!”

Uncle Li and the others were stunned by Lu Qing’s abrupt departure.

Doctor Zhao pondered for a moment and said, “Xiaoyi, what herbs did Young Master Lu want to buy from us?”

“Master, he has quite a few things to buy. He left a list.”

The apprentice ran back to the counter, picking up the list Lu Qing had given him and handing it to the master.

Doctor Zhao quickly glanced at the list: “These are herbs for reducing inflammation, swelling, and treating external injuries. This is a prescription for regenerating tissue and healing wounds. Is anyone among this young man’s companions injured?”

After leaving the clinic, Lu Qing noticed that it was completely dark outside.

It seemed that he had spent a lot of time saving people. He wondered if his master and others were getting impatient.

Lu Qing thought to himself and quickened his pace, heading towards the inn.

He still held the pottery jar containing the poisonous blood in his hand. After reaching a corner and making sure that no one was around, he slipped into the dark and put it into his Qiankun Yiqi bag.

The reason he wanted to take this pot of poisonous blood away was because when he forced the poison out of Old Wang, he had used his supernatural powers to explore the source of the poisonous blood.

As he expected, the snake venom in Old Wang’s body wasn’t just any ordinary snake venom.

It was the venom of a rag snake that had inadvertently absorbed and refined evil energy, leading to its transformation and metamorphosis.

This venom was incredibly potent. While its effects weren’t immediate upon entry, it was incredibly potent.

It could penetrate deeply into the human body, making it extremely difficult to remove.

If it weren’t for his exceptional acupuncture techniques, it would have been impossible to force all the poison out of Old Wang’s body so easily.

More importantly, this venom possessed a terrifying characteristic: instead of weakening upon contact with blood, it gradually altered the blood’s properties, transforming it into a toxin comparable to the original.

In other words, the half-jar of poisonous blood forced from Old Wang was now no less potent than the original snake venom.

Any ordinary person who touched it would likely be poisoned again, potentially infecting the body with the venom and creating new venom.

It was a bit like the zombie venom in the movies of a past life: it could spread endlessly.

To prevent such a situation, Lu Qing simply took all the poisonous blood with him, and would later find a way to destroy it, preventing any future trouble.

After collecting the poisonous blood, Lu Qing walked silently down the road.

Although he had saved a life today, he felt no sense of relief, but rather a sense of heaviness.

He and his master had previously speculated that the shift in the laws of heaven and earth would bring more than just a resurgence of spiritual energy.

This resurgence might also bring with it various terrifying elements, such as evil spirits, demonic energy, and poisons.

Mo Zhen and others from the Liuyun Sect, for example, hadn’t they become so dehumanizing due to cultivating evil spirits and demonic energy?

But what he encountered today made him realize that evil spirits and demonic energy affect not only humans, but also all other living things in the universe.

For example, even already formidable venomous insects, snakes, and scorpions, if given the opportunity to refine the evil spirits and demonic energy, would become even more terrifying.

An ordinary person unprepared to encounter such a situation would likely face death.

Just like Old Wang today, if he hadn’t encountered him, he would have been killed.

“Jiuli Village lies just before the deep mountains. Behind the village, amidst the vast expanse of mountains, there’s no telling how many ferocious

and poisonous creatures lurk. What if one of those creatures, like the elaphant snake, were to mutate and attack the village?”

Lu Qing’s mind raced at the thought.

Before arriving in Zhongzhou, he hadn’t known how drastic the changes had become, and it caught him off guard.

“From what I’ve seen along the way, this resurgence of spiritual energy is clearly emanating from Zhongzhou, spreading to the surrounding states.

Our Cangzhou is remote, practically the furthest from Zhongzhou, so it shouldn’t develop to the point of a complete transformation so quickly.

So, we still have time,”

Lu Qing pondered.

Jiuli Village was where he had lived since arriving in this world.

Its inhabitants were incredibly simple and honest, and he had long considered it his home.

He would never allow it to be destroyed.

So, he decided to return once the situation in Zhongzhou was resolved. At the very least, he had to ensure the villagers’ safety.

Thinking in his heart, Lu Qing slowly returned to the inn.

As soon as he entered, he saw the master and the others sitting there, and there were many dishes on the table.

“Ah Qing, where have you been? Why did you come back so late?” asked the old doctor.

If he hadn’t known Lu Qing’s ability and had learned from the shopkeeper that Lu Qing went to buy medicine, he would have gone to find someone himself.

“The disciple went out to find a pharmacy to buy some medicinal materials. I encountered something on the way and was delayed for a while.”

Lu Qing picked himself up, smiled, and roughly told what had happened in the clinic.

Everyone then realized that Lu Qing had gone to buy medicine and saved a person in the process.

The others didn’t say anything, but after listening to Hu Zezhi, she looked at Lu Qing with admiration in her eyes.

She felt that Mr. Lu was really kind-hearted and had saved another life so casually.

Only the old doctor frowned after listening to Lu Qing’s story.

“Ah Qing, as you said, the man was poisoned by a rat snake. But when did the venom of a rat snake become so potent?”

“This disciple is a little puzzled, but I brought some poisonous blood that I squeezed out of the victim. After dinner, Master can take a look and see what the secret is,” Lu Qing said.

“Oh? You brought back poisonous blood? That’s great.”

The old doctor’s eyes lit up slightly. He had always been extremely interested in everything related to medicine.

So after dinner, Lu Qing brought a small bottle of poisonous blood and went to Master’s room to teach him.

“Master, this poisonous blood is very strange. It can gradually change the body’s blood without damaging the toxicity itself. You must be careful.”

“It’s so strange?” The old doctor’s expression was stern.

“So, I suspect this is not just ordinary snake venom, but a poison mixed with evil spirits…”

Lu Qing told Master the information he had discovered with his supernatural powers, as well as some of his own conjectures.

The old doctor’s expression finally grew serious.

“Yes, according to what you said, it is very likely that the rat snake was blessed with evil spirits, which caused the snake venom to mutate and become so difficult to deal with.”

“Master, the world is changing now, and all things are transforming. Poisons like evil spirits will probably become more common in the future.

In the face of such toxins, ordinary antidote prescriptions are unlikely to be effective.

Once poisonous creatures like the mutated rat snake become more common, the people of this world will probably suffer even more.”

Lu Qing expressed his concerns.

“You’re right,” the old doctor stroked his beard, a look of satisfaction on his face. “Ah Qing, you’re able to say such words, worrying about the health of the people of the world. You’ve truly captured the spirit of us doctors.”

“Master, you’re too kind. I don’t have such a broad mind.”

Lu Qing smiled. He didn’t have the compassion of his master.

He only cared about the people he cared about.

“But you don’t have to worry too much. Everything in this world is governed by the laws of mutual growth and mutual restraint, the mutual assistance of yin and yang.

This is the law of all things. Even if spiritual energy is revived, it will not deviate from this principle.

Although this evil spirit poison is powerful, as you said, everything is changing now, and it is not impossible that medicines have been created to restrain it.

What we need to do is to find such a method, compile it into a prescription, and spread it so that people in the world can have a prescription to rely on when they are in danger and not be left without a glimmer of hope.

This is the responsibility and meaning of our existence as doctors.”

Seeing the serious look of his master, Lu Qing’s face also became solemn: “Yes, disciple, I understand.”

“Well, let’s study first to see what is so strange about this evil spirit snake venom.”

The old doctor smiled when he saw Lu Qing listen to his words.

However, just as the master and disciple wanted to study the snake venom together,

they suddenly felt a throbbing deep in their hearts.

Between heaven and earth, an extremely grand voice echoed slowly. (End of this chapter)