The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 20 An Arrow to the Knee
Upon hearing that the incense money could not be exchanged, Grandpa Guan immediately broke down.

Five million coins—that's the Guan family's entire fortune! How can they survive if they can't exchange it?

After a while of commotion, a burly monk in a kasaya came to mediate, "It's just a temporary suspension of exchange, not a rejection of the service. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Jiang Yuan could only pull his elderly father away and go to teahouses and taverns to inquire. It turned out that something big had happened in the north.

I heard that the Empress has imprisoned the Emperor and wants to become Empress herself.

Grandpa Guan was so frightened that he spat out his tea, only then remembering what the blind man had said: "When yin and yang are reversed, the world will be in chaos."

But even after fleeing to the south, how could he still not escape disaster?
Jiang Yuan was also puzzled. Wu Zetian should have been on the throne for several more years, so why did it happen so early?

He could only comfort his elderly father, saying that money is just an external thing, and that the whole family had escaped when war was about to break out, thus avoiding a disaster.

Otherwise, according to past practice, whenever war breaks out, whether it's government soldiers or bandits, the first targets are small-town wealthy families like the Guan family, and there's no way to recover their losses afterward.

Besides, the incense money can still be redeemed after the war is over. Until then, the son must find a way to support the family.

Grandpa Guan sighed and returned to the inn, muttering all the way that he was afraid the inn would be uninhabitable.

Unable to settle down smoothly and short of money, Jiang Yuan had to immediately shoulder the burden of supporting his family, which naturally disrupted his plans.

In the past two days, Jiang Yuan disguised himself and went around gathering information.

I finally understand why the incense money cannot be exchanged. I heard that in the largest Buddhist temple in the capital, a senior monk embezzled tens of millions of strings of cash, was killed on his way to escape, and the money could not be recovered.

Such a huge deficit triggered a run on incense money by tens of thousands of wealthy people in the north, forcing Buddhist temples across the country to suspend the exchange of incense money.

Jiang Yuan understood that this matter must be related to the change of dynasty. No matter who won, they would have to wait until the new emperor ascended the throne to stabilize the court before they would try to fill the loopholes and make it possible to exchange the incense money.

The Guan family is already in dire straits; how can they break out of this predicament?

Two days later, Jiang Yuan received a rumor that a General Dingyuan, who lived thirty miles south of Qingyuan Town, had been shot in the knee by an arrow while suppressing bandits and could not be cured despite seeking out many good doctors.

In these chaotic times of war, even a local third-rank official is no match for a fifth-rank military officer who holds military power.

Qinghe still needs to put in the effort for this matter. Whether she can live peacefully here depends on whether she can seize this opportunity.

"To treat General Dingyuan's injuries?"

Qinghe was somewhat surprised. Of course, she knew how dangerous the officialdom was, especially for military officers, who could kill without blinking an eye.

"Your healing technique is already highly skilled, so you can heal his leg injury. With a reputation for curing the general, the matter of opening a clinic in the local area will be largely settled."

The next day, two people arrived at the gate of General Dingyuan's mansion.

A boy in his teens, quite handsome.

A woman wearing a straw hat and veil was clearly a member of the young man's family.

The guards shouted, "Who goes there?"

The young man cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "My wife and I were traveling around when we heard that General Dingyuan was injured while suppressing bandits, so we came to treat him."

As the soldier was pondering this, a middle-aged clerk came out of the door, carefully examined the young man, and couldn't believe that this person could know anything about medicine.

Qinghe noticed that a small tree in the potted plant in front of the door was mostly withered, so she reached out and touched it.

The clerk was filled with curiosity when he suddenly noticed that the withered sapling had come back to life. He was greatly surprised and hurriedly ran down the steps, bowing respectfully: "So you are two immortal masters. Please come in, immortal masters. I will go and report to the general right away."

General Dingyuan lay on a soft couch, his chest and breasts exposed, looking listless. His right leg was wrapped in gauze, devoid of blood, but faintly oozing yellow fluid.

Jiang Yuan could smell a foul stench even before he got close, clearly indicating that the wound had rotted.

The general, somewhat impatient with Jiang Yuan's appearance, said, "Where did this child come from? Is he here to make fun of me?"

Just as Zhao Wenshu was about to speak in his defense, Jiang Yuan cupped his hands and said, "Whether it succeeds or not, General, you'll know once you try."

The general said nothing more, turning his head away and ignoring him, which could be considered as consent.

Zhao Wenshu quickly instructed the maid to remove the gauze from the general's leg.

Jiang Yuan glanced at it and roughly guessed that the arrow had pierced the kneecap, damaging the subosseous fascia. Since it was in a frequently moving area, it had been difficult to heal.

Now the rot has reached the bone, and ordinary doctors would be helpless. In later generations, the only option would be amputation to save the life; otherwise, it would develop into osteomyelitis, leading to certain death. Jiang Yuan pretended to prick the general's leg a few times, and the general cried out in pain.

Jiang Yuan then said, "The injury is serious and may take a long time, but it is still treatable!"

General Dingyuan then looked at him properly and asked, "Can it really be cured?"

Yesterday, an old swindler came and said he was going to saw off his leg. General Dingyuan almost drew his sword and chopped the old bastard up.

Jiang Yuan instructed his maid to fetch a basin of clean water, a large basin was required.

Then he took out a jade bottle, poured out a pill, and the room was immediately filled with a pleasant fragrance.

Jiang Yuan dissolved half of the pill in a basin, used it to wash away the rotten flesh, and deliberately pinched harder with his right hand, causing the general to scream again.

Jiang Yuan waved his hand, signaling Qinghe to come and help.

Qinghe removed her hat and veil, placed her hands on the general's thighs, and had already gathered her true energy in her hands, just waiting for Jiang Yuan to give the order. This was the real healing technique.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, with Jiang Yuan's cleaning and a change of the medicine, the wound on the general's leg became noticeably red and healthy, no longer appearing as rotten and unsightly as before.

Qinghe's face was already deathly pale, and she looked as if she had exhausted her magical power.

Jiang Yuan stopped there. "That's enough for today. My wife and I will come again tomorrow!"

The general's pain was greatly relieved, and more importantly, he saw hope for a cure, which brought tears to his eyes.

"You two are indeed immortal masters. I have been very rude just now. I hope you will forgive me."

Jiang Yuan cupped his hands in farewell, but the general jumped up, and his injured leg could move again.

"There is no reason for the immortal master to travel back and forth. It would be better for him to rest in the mansion."

"General, you are too kind. We have families outside and it is inconvenient for us to stay here overnight."

"We should eat before we leave, Zhao Zhangshu, prepare a banquet immediately to entertain the Immortal Master!"

All of this was naturally within Jiang Yuan's calculations. During the banquet, General Dingyuan and Zhao Zhangshu noticed Qinghe's appearance. They were indeed a perfect couple, which was truly enviable.

After several rounds of drinks, General Dingyuan clasped his hands in greeting and asked, "May I ask which immortal mountain the celestial master cultivates on?"

Jiang Yuan returned the greeting, "Please forgive me, General, but there are some rules in our sect that prevent us from revealing our origins."

"Then I will not ask. But I wonder where the immortal master is staying?"

"We haven't found a place to stay yet, and our families are waiting for us in a small town thirty miles north of the city!"

"Oh dear," General Dingyuan nearly broke his injured thigh in the process. "Why go anywhere else? Let's just stay in this town."

Jiang Yuan hesitated slightly, "This..."

"No need for formalities, Secretary Zhao will immediately send someone to bring the Immortal Master's family here."

Jiang Yuan cupped his hands in greeting again, "General, you may not know this, but I am here on the orders of my sect to go down the mountain for training. I have also brought my family members with me, a total of more than ten people. I would never dare to disturb the General's residence."

“What’s so difficult about this? Just find a house on this street, and it can accommodate not only a dozen people, but even a hundred.”

There was no way to refuse, so Zhao Zhangshu left his seat and arranged for soldiers to go and pick up the person. He also asked Jiang Yuan for a token, promising to bring the person over before dark.

During their tea and casual conversation after the meal, Jiang Yuancai said, "My wife and I have been learning methods of healing and saving lives. Our master calculated that the world would soon be in chaos and disasters would be rampant. He sent my wife and me down the mountain to open a clinic, to heal the people and accumulate merit."

General Dingyuan naturally knew long ago that the court was about to undergo a dramatic change, and war was inevitable.

No matter who I follow, battles will always be fought. Having a celestial master who can bring the dead back to life by my side is a blessing for me, Lao Xue. How could I let him get away?

“That’s excellent. I, Old Xue, still have some influence here. I will definitely help the Immortal Master open his clinic.”

Jiang Yuan was secretly delighted; the matter was settled. "How could I trouble the general?"

"Such a trivial matter is nothing to mention. Healing my leg injury has saved my life!"

(End of this chapter)