Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

Chen Changsheng knew that both the professors of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green and Xu Yourong had come to Wenshui and personally examined the chief branch master’s illness, but he still decided to personally take a look.

Just like he had said to the old estate’s steward, he had complete confidence in his medical skills.

Even if everyone had determined that the chief branch’s master was not poisoned, but afflicted with some incurable illness, he still would not believe until he had personally seen it.

He looked at the unconscious middle-aged man, wanting to find any traces of Tang Thirty-Six on his face, but found the task surprisingly difficult.

Perhaps it was because the man was too thin, or perhaps it was because of the golden light covering his face.

He sat on the side of the bed and took the man’s pulse. After a few minutes, he took a needle and stuck it in the man’s neck, beginning a more detailed examination.

This examination took much longer. Even when the winter sun had reached noon, his fingers still grasped the end of the needle, conducting an extremely rhythmic trembling.

The door to the room was tightly shut, preventing anyone from seeing inside, so no one knew what was happening.

Nanke stood in the front of the door, her face expressionless and her body unmoving.

No matter if it was Madam Tang personally bringing a brocade stool or the head maid offering a cup of precious tea with both hands, she did not even glance at them, much less speak.

At the very start, all the people of the chief branch could not suppress the happiness on their faces when they saw the Pope enter the First Master’s room. In their view, since the Pope could refine the miraculous Cinnabar Pills, his medical skills must be superb. Even if the Sacred Light technique had been unable to save the First Master, the Cinnabar Pill should have been able to succeed. But as time passed, they gradually began to worry. Some of the bolder maids even wanted to sneak a glance, but they were forced back by Nanke’s gaze.

After a long time, the door of the room finally opened and Chen Changsheng came out.

Madam Tang went up to meet him. Although she had been able to maintain a calm composure, she now found it impossible to control herself, her face full of anxiety and tinged with hope.

Seeing Madam Tang’s face, Chen Changsheng decided to take back what he had planned to say.

After such a long examination with the needle, he had an extremely deep understanding of the Tang First Master’s body, but the more he understood, the stranger he found it. There truly was no trace of poison in the Tang First Master’s body, nor were there any symptoms of poisoning. His meridians were just drying up, his life continuing to fade away.

The problem was that he could not find any cause of illness, so there was naturally nothing he could treat. And there was also another very strange thing. In the depths of the primary opening of the Tang First Master’s liver meridians, he could faintly sense a few traces of cold and sinister Qi, but this Qi was too faint to trace. It could have been remnants from an old illness from many years ago, but it could also be...

"Has the Tang First Master ever been injured around his waist?" he asked Madam Tang.

Madam Tang earnestly recalled and shook her head. "He’s been injured many times, but he’s truly never been injured around his waist."

Chen Changsheng suddenly noticed a perplexed look on Nanke’s face and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Nanke looked at him and said, "I feel like I’ve smelled something."

Chen Changsheng thought, could it really be? He turned around and brought her into the room, saying, "Carefully smell."

Nanke sniffed the air like a small dog, her feet constantly moving, bringing her closer and closer to the bed.

Finally, she stopped next to the bed and nodded at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng understood what she meant.

Madam Tang was very intelligent, so though she did not understand Nanke’s specific meaning, she had a vague inkling of what was meant. Her face instantly turned snow-white and her body swayed.

Chen Changsheng looked at her and shook her head.

A determined expression appeared on Madam Tang’s face and she steadied both her body and mind.

At this moment, the sounds of weeping could be heard from beyond the second gate. There were both men and women weeping, the old and young. (TN: The second gate refers to a gate behind the main gate that leads into the main courtyard.)

"The skies have cleared up! Master, you can finally be saved!"

"Your Holiness the Pope’s benevolence stretches to the heavens! I, Hu San, am willing to be Your Holiness’s workhorse!"

"Master! You’re going to wake up soon!"

Hearing these voices, the maids in the inner courtyard showed expressions of disgust while the few stewards and elderly maids became absolutely furious. If not for the fact that the Pope was present, they would have begun to curse. Instead they resentfully spat, "These shameless fools aren’t truly concerned for Master, they’re just worried that if Master really is saved by Your Holiness, Master will get rid of them!"

Chen Changsheng had grown up in a Daoist temple, so he had never seen this wicked side of noble clans, and he couldn’t help but be a little shocked.

"In this half year, with Little Tang in the ancestral hall praying for his father, and me anxious over treating Master’s illness, I have been somewhat lacking in discipline to my subordinates. Disturbing Your Holiness in such a way is truly disrespectful of me."

Madam Tang apologized and invited him to rest in a partitioned study.

The study was very quiet, shutting out those insincere sobs from nearby.

Besides Madam Tang and him, only Nanke had followed inside.

With no outsiders present, Madam Tang was finally able to reveal her true emotions. Her eyes slightly red, she said, "Many thanks for Your Holiness’s benevolence in saving the First Master’s life. This Tang clan’s business can all be given over to the second branch. I only hope that the First Master can live and Little Tang can be released."

Chen Changsheng replied, "Be at ease, Madam. Everything is done with the First Master’s and Tang Tang’s safety as the highest priority."

Only after looking into his eyes and confirming that he was speaking the truth did Madam Tang truly relax. She said, "Today, I still might need to borrow Your Holiness’s divine might."

Chen Changsheng understood her meaning and replied, "Madam can use it however you please."

......

......

When they returned to the Daoist church, it was nearly dusk. As the setting sun shone over the Wenshui, Chen Changsheng once more came to the shore.

The lawn of the back garden had long since been repaired. No trace of last night’s assassination attempt could be seen.

Archbishop An Lin and Guan Feibai kept close to him, unwilling to have last night repeat itself.

After a short while, Linghai Zhiwang returned, bringing with him the latest news.

For the crime of offending the Pope, Madam Tang had had three second-ranked stewards and ten-some servants caned to death, and driven away seven or eight old maids.

While the punishments were being meted out, Linghai Zhiwang had stood on the side. He had said nothing, so nobody dared to speak.

The stewards of the Tang clan’s old estate had an extremely nasty expression, but he had ultimately remained silent.

Guan Feibai felt rather melancholy after hearing about what had taken place in the Tang clan’s chief branch.

He and Gou Hanshi, as well as the vast majority of the Mount Li Sword Sect’s disciples, had all grown up in poverty. Other than their eldest brother, they had an innate hostility towards all the descendants of noble clans. It was for this reason that Tang Thirty-Six’s behavior in the Ivy Festival had upset him.

He had expected that while poverty had the hardships of poverty, noble clans had their own hardships, and they were much darker, relatives treating each other with even more cruelty and ruthlessness. If the Tang First Master really did die of illness and if Tang Thirty-Six remained imprisoned in the ancestral hall, just how unendurable would the widowed Madam Tang find the following days?

"We need to find some way of getting that fellow out as quickly as possible," he said to Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng was thinking of somewhat more.

Besides rescuing Tang Thirty-Six from the ancestral hall, they also had to make sure that the Tang First Master’s illness was put on the path of improvement.

But to resolve these two matters, he still needed to ascertain the Tang clan’s position.

He said to the Archbishop of Wenshui, "Arrange a visit with the Tang Old Master tomorrow."