Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Divine Healer?

What was the meaning of all his current efforts? Even Li Zisheng himself could no longer make sense of it. If that was the case, then everything he was doing now was nothing but futile labor. What was the point of his presence in the Tang Dynasty at all?

Yet, Li Zisheng quickly regained his composure. The confusion clouding his heart nearly dissipated, and suddenly he seemed to grasp the thread of his future path. He possessed the Nine Yin Severed Pulse; without a solution, he would not survive—this much Wei Cizang had made clear to him. Even with all of Wei Cizang's skill, he was powerless, let alone Li Zisheng, who was but a half-trained physician.

Li Zisheng realized that this matter was far from simple. Why him, of all people? Why was it that he had been afflicted by the Nine Yin Severed Pulse, making it necessary for him to become Wei Cizang's disciple? Now, he set aside all thoughts of apprenticeship, throwing himself instead into speculating about the hidden reasons behind everything.

But there was no clue to be found; he simply could not fathom the deeper meaning. Thus, Li Zisheng had no choice but to turn his attention back to Wei Cizang.

Seeing Li Zisheng recover his composure, Wei Cizang felt a pang of regret, yet his gaze was filled with astonishment. Every word he had spoken was akin to a death knell, but Li Zisheng not only regained his senses in such a short time, his eyes were clear and untroubled, showing not a trace of worry. This alone proved that Li Zisheng was no ordinary child; he possessed a measure of depth and cunning. In this respect, he surpassed many talented youths Wei Cizang had known, even standing shoulder to shoulder with the scions of nobility.

Li Zisheng also noticed the change in Wei Cizang, but said nothing. At this point, he was certain Wei Cizang understood his situation well: he had arrived here inexplicably and met Wei Cizang by some strange twist of fate. Li Zisheng was now convinced this was no coincidence. The strangest part was that the wandering Taoist priest he had always disliked turned out to be the Medicine King, Wei Cizang—a fact he could never have imagined. Now, a chill of dread crept into his heart. Was someone orchestrating all this? He was utterly in the dark, and for the first time, a sense of helplessness welled up within him.

"In my lifetime, I have made three grave mistakes," Wei Cizang said quietly. "The greatest of all was causing the death of the one person I most wished to protect. Child, you must already have some inkling of who I truly am, and what your situation is. Though I have no way to cure your Nine Yin Severed Pulse, after parting ways all those years ago, I wandered the land and gained some small insight. While I cannot cure it, I have found a way to suppress it—a method that might grant you one more year of life at best. That is why you must become my disciple, to gain entry to the Grand Medical Conference, where you may seek out the Divine Healer of the Tang and beg him to cure your affliction."

"The Divine Healer? There is such a person in the Tang Dynasty?" Li Zisheng blurted out, astonished. He had never heard of such a figure in all the histories he had read; it was simply beyond belief.

"Indeed," Wei Cizang replied. "It is said that the Divine Healer is more than a hundred years old, a transcendent elder rarely seen in this age. Even my two sworn brothers and I, who have lingered in the medical world for decades, have never glimpsed his true face. We know of him, but have never met him. It is rumored his medical skills are unparalleled; at every Grand Medical Conference, he sets a final challenge in the healing arts that almost no one can solve. Whoever succeeds not only earns the right to converse with him, but also receives his true teachings—a rare and precious fortune indeed."

Li Zisheng was shaken to his core. To think such a figure existed!

"Years ago, after my brothers and I obtained that wondrous medical tome, we gained some reputation and were invited to the Grand Medical Conference. Little did we know it would become the source of disaster, halting the conference for years. Yet now, after so long, it is being revived in three years. For you, it is an opportunity you cannot miss—the very place you must go."

By now, Wei Cizang already regarded Li Zisheng as his disciple; his words brimmed with heartfelt concern, though the sorrow within was impossible to hide, and Li Zisheng could sense it clearly.

Li Zisheng was not one to be blinded by gain. Though Wei Cizang made his intentions plain—he wished to accept him as a disciple, and this aligned with Zisheng’s own purpose—now, knowing about the Nine Yin Severed Pulse, his mindset had shifted. He focused first on the truth behind all this, not just the surface. In retrospect, he realized he had been living in a haze these past years.

"Sir Wei," Li Zisheng said, "I implore you to tell me: why are you here today, and why did you happen to meet me? It is even stranger that you are the very wandering Taoist I encountered as a child, and now you wish to take me as your disciple. If you cannot explain, I beg your pardon for my disrespect."

"Words and actions both measured and proper—he plans before he acts. The child is talented and thoughtful." Such was Wei Cizang’s appraisal of Li Zisheng’s words.

"Very well," Wei Cizang said. "While traveling through Lingzhou, I received a divination slip from the Celestial Bureau, instructing me to wait upon the great rock behind the Lingzhou encampment today, where I would meet my successor. But I never expected that successor to be you. Perhaps it is fate. In my wandering to find a cure for the Nine Yin Severed Pulse, I was nearly killed more than once. This affliction has haunted me for years and become a demon in my heart—impossible to dispel. Truly, it is fate, fate indeed."

Wei Cizang’s eyes were filled with memories, worry, and, above all, regret.

Li Zisheng could not know exactly what weighed on Wei Cizang’s heart, but he now knew that Wei Cizang was here because of the Celestial Bureau. Moreover, from Wei Cizang’s words, the divination slip from the Celestial Bureau was regarded as if it were the very voice of Heaven—he believed it completely. That the Medicine King would travel so far merely because of a divination was truly astonishing.

What kind of institution was this Celestial Bureau to wield such influence? That even figures like Wei Cizang would willingly obey its direction was deeply unsettling. Most mysterious of all, there was not a single mention of the Celestial Bureau in any historical records he had ever read—this was indeed a bizarre affair.