Chapter 720: A Transaction Style Medical Consultation
“We check out and leave, now!” The butler was a fairly decisive person. He’d originally planned to find a pill king around Myriad Peoples City to treat, or at least delay the poison from fully taking over his young master’s body. However, he couldn’t believe that he couldn’t find a single person in the vast Myriad Peoples City who wasn’t a useless trash. Helpless, he had no choice but to rush towards Veluriyam Capital without even stopping to rest.
Veluriyam Capital possessed a territory that was more than one million square kilometers. Even if they were to rush back right now at full speed, they still wouldn’t make it to the capital of Veluriyam Capital. However, any place within Veluriyam Capital’s borders had to at least be better than Myriad Peoples City.
“Wait.” A voice suddenly sounded after the butler barked his orders. The hundreds of wandering cultivators currently present knew very well by now that this group hailed from Veluriyam Capital. No one dared continue gossiping while they were around, and so pretended to be chatting and drinking away. However, they were surprised to hear someone calling out to the group at such a time. Who was it? How were they so bold? Speaking up at such a time would only bring trouble to themselves, wouldn’t it?
These wandering cultivators would rather offend the Eternal Celestial Capital than someone from Veluriyam Capital. It didn’t matter what status these people possessed in Veluriyam Capital. As long as their identities involved these two words, then these people were automatically better than anyone else in the outside world.
Just take a look at those pill masters. Had anyone retorted after being scolded by the butler? No, they had only left with their tails between their legs. What did this mean? It meant that this group of people was absolutely not to be trifled with. Everyone looked towards the source of the voice the moment they heard it. They saw a wandering cultivator standing up and walking towards the butler.
The butler cast a sideway glance at the wandering cultivator who was drawing closer. He obviously didn’t expect to find someone among these wandering cultivators who would dare to interrupt him. “Who are you?” The butler stared at the person walking towards him with cool eyes.
Naturally, the person who spoke up was none other than Jiang Chen. When Jiang Chen heard that they hailed from Veluriyam Capital, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind. There was a possibility, but he would have to gamble on these people. “Who I am is not important. What’s important is that I’m a pill master.”
Jiang Chen real age was indiscernible from his outer appearance after going to the effort of disguising himself. From what the butler could see from Jiang Chen’s appearance and body language, he didn’t feel that this pill master was that skilled. So his response was a little cool, “Are you sure you’re better than all the pill masters in Myriad Peoples City?”
Jiang Chen laughed once and brandished his sleeves. He took out an item and flashed it at the butler, “I’m just introducing myself. If you cannot trust me, Lord Seven, then we can just forget about it.”
He withdrew the item while he was speaking. However, Lord Seven had a sharp eye. Even if it was just a cursory glance, he saw clearly that the item that had been briefly flashed at him was a pill king’s medallion. He didn’t manage to glimpse any other information about it, but a pill king’s medallion had a unique shape to it. He naturally identified it at first glance. The butler’s body shook for a moment, but he was quick to raise a cupped fist salute, “I apologize for my rudeness. I had not imagined that we would find a pill king right here after searching high and low for one in the city.”
“You flatter me,” Jiang Chen smiled faintly. He had acquired this pill king token from the second rank pill king Shi Zhen when he’d taken out Cao Jin and his group back at Mt. Rippling Mirage. He’d kept it with him all this time, and had decided to borrow its reputation right now. At any rate, exploiting it like this wouldn’t be a stain on Shi Zhen’s reputation. One could even say that Jiang Chen’s use of his token to fool someone meant that Shi Zhen must’ve cultivated ten lifetimes of good fortune. After all, Jiang Chen’s pill talent was more than a hundred times greater than his.
“My lord, I apologize again for my rudeness. Please, let us speak inside.” That butler immediately switched his attitude from arrogance to deference, his expression impossibly polite.
Jiang Chen smiled, “Let me go in and take a look. Whether or not I can actually treat him is another story.”
“My master and I will still be infinitely grateful for your aid. No matter if your treatment succeeds or not.” Butler Lord Seven lead Jiang Chen in with an expression of great gratitude.
Although Jiang Chen had overheard the pill masters saying that the young master had been poisoned by the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder, there was no reason to take that as fact before he had a chance to see the patient himself. Once he met the patient, he would be able to tell if the rumors were true. When he entered, he saw a young man lying on the bed with a purple cast to his face. He looked like a human eggplant, and was so purple that it sent chills down one’s spine. Jiang Chen sighed immediately; all he needed was just a single glance, “It seems that the poison has spread throughout his body. If you were to head to Veluriyam Capital right now, he probably wouldn’t make it past three days.”
The butler trembled all over when he heard Jiang Chen’s words. He hastily said, “Please help us, my lord.”
Jiang Chen was immune to poison, so he wasn’t afraid of getting poisoned anymore. He sat on the couch and grabbed the sickly young man’s wrist without any misgivings. He placed his fingers on the patient’s wrist and began checking the latter’s pulse. Everyone was surprised by how brazen his actions were. After all, the pill masters who’d come earlier had all inspected their master very cautiously for fear of being infected themselves. But this fellow was so fearless as to grab their young master’s wrist directly? Was he really a pill king?
The butler Lord Seven looked a little awkward. In fact, he was starting to view Jiang Chen in a suspicious light. He had seen many pill kings, but he had never seen such a careless pill king until today. This person didn’t possess the bearing a pill king should possess at all. How could a pill king be this nonchalant? Wasn’t he afraid that the poison would spread to him too?
“Don’t worry, the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder is spread through air. You haven’t been contaminated because it doesn’t transmit through skin, blood or saliva,” Jiang Chen explained indifferently after seeing the odd looks on their faces. Everyone let out a sigh of relief after hearing his explanation. Lord Seven still looked skeptical, but his expression relaxed by a significant margin. “My lord, can… can the young master be saved?”
After inspecting the man’s condition thoroughly, Jiang Chen sighed, “He really would’ve been beyond hope in a few hours. But now, he can still be saved. First though, I need to slow down the poison. The medicine to treat him can come after we buy some time.”
In reality, Jiang Chen could treat the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder right now, but he absolutely had to refrain from doing so. That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t going to save the young man. However, Jiang Chen had an ulterior motive in saving this person. He needed these people to pass through the northern gate. If he saved their master now and they turned against him right at the gates, wouldn’t he have done all this for nothing?
“Do you have a brush and paper?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Yes, yes!” The butler personally located a brush, ink and paper for Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen wrote many ingredients across the paper in bold, cursive calligraphy. Most of these ingredients couldn’t actually be used to cure the poison; they were there only to obscure people’s eyes. “Obtain the ingredients written in this recipe. Make sure you prepare spares since this poison cannot be cured in a short time,” Jiang Chen instructed.
“Go, go get these ingredients according to the pill king’s orders,” Lord Seven hastily instructed one of his men standing to the side. “May I ask of your distinguished name, my lord?” Lord Seven asked carefully. He was a butler from a prominent force and thus wasn’t completely lacking in insight. Although Jiang Chen was dressed poorly, his bearing was absolutely extraordinary. He was completely immune to the pressure that the butler exuded. It wasn’t a bearing that just anyone could possess, and factoring in the pill king medallion, Lord Seven believed that this man must be of a prominent background.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly and said, “Must you know, Lord Seven?”
Lord Seven was startled for a moment, and he hastily laughed apologetically, “Oh no, oh no. It’s just that I would never imagine running into a pill king in a small place like Myriad Peoples City. It appears that my young master possesses great fortune, and that he is not destined to depart this world just yet.”
Jiang Chen nodded without trying to be modest at all, “He is quite fortunate. Had it been anyone else, they might not have been able to save him.” Jiang Chen wasn’t boasting either. Had he been anyone else even a pill king, they might not have been able to produce the antidote to the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder.
“Yes, you’re right.” Of course Lord Seven wouldn’t refute his words at such a time. It was true that the many pill masters he had invited could do nothing, and yet this volunteer actually looked more reliable than them all. Although he couldn’t be sure that his young master would escape danger just yet, Lord Seven did feel a bit more confident when he looked at Jiang Chen’s bearing and heard his steady tone. It would be wonderful if his young master could be saved. If his young master were to pass away, he literally couldn’t imagine the consequences. “My lord, if you really can treat my young master, we will definitely reward you greatly once we return to Veluriyam Capital. In fact, everyone in my young master’s household would reward you greatly.”
Jiang Chen smiled and looked at this Lord Seven with deep eyes. He suddenly said coolly, “I wouldn’t have taken up this job if I were only looking for some great reward. Treating a patient is not without its risks after all. My reputation would be damaged if I failed to cure him.”
“Then…” Lord Seven was surprised. Why are you helping us if not for a reward?
“I’ll be frank. I may be a pill king, but I have some enemies that make it inconvenient to show my real looks in public. Since the Eternal Celestial Capital has sealed off the northern gate, it’s become slightly inconvenient to enter Veluriyam Capital without being exposed. I may not be the person they’re looking for, but if I were to expose my real looks while entering Veluriyam Capital, my enemies will most definitely catch up to me… Do you understand what I’m saying, Lord Seven?”
Lord Seven was a butler for a powerful faction, so of course he possessed an extremely quick wit. He immediately understood what Jiang Chen wanted after hearing his words. “Do you wish to borrow our power and pass through the northern gate, my lord?” Lord Seven asked tentatively.
“Is that a problem? If you cannot afford to provoke the Eternal Celestial Capital, then forget I ever said anything. We can part here and bid each other farewell right away,” Jiang Chen responded diffidently.
Lord Seven hastily grabbed Jiang Chen’s hand and said proudly, “The Eternal Celestial Capital may be mighty, but they are not yet qualified to interrogate those of Veluriyam Capital! When do you want to leave, my lord? I am afraid that my young master wouldn’t be able to endure the hardships of travel!”
Jiang Chen chuckled when he heard the generous proclamations. It was obvious that the butler hadn’t trusted him fully yet, or he wouldn’t have brought up his young master’s condition.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find some ways to slow the poison in his body. However, some of the accompanying ingredients can only be obtained in Veluriyam Capital. Without these herbs, his poison ultimately won’t be able to be cured completely.” He wants to play at schemes, does he? Jiang Chen naturally wasn’t afraid of him. They could hardly go against his demands as long as he was in control of the poison.
Countless thoughts passed through Lord Seven’s mind, but he said nothing in the end.
“Alright, we shall do as the lord says! From now on, you will be a visiting pill king of the Wei family! What do you think?”
A visiting pill king? The Wei family? Jiang Chen simply smiled. He had no idea who the Wei family was. “I heard that the Eternal Celestial Capital is willing to hunt down a young man at any cost. Can we really bypass inspection when we pass through the northern gate?” Jiang Chen asked tentatively.
Lord Seven sneered, “Our Wei Family may not be a top force in Veluriyam Capital, but we are a ninth rank aristocratic family. We represent the face of Veluriyam Capital itself. The Eternal Celestial Capital can dream on if it wants to inspect someone from Veluriyam Capital! There’s no way they will succeed unless they wish to start a war against our Veluriyam Capital!”
Lord Seven’s tone was matter of fact. Jiang Chen didn’t know exactly how much confidence he had, but he could only make this gamble and await results. At the very least, the butler looked confident. He didn’t have a better idea besides this one anyway.