Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2064 The Unity of Good and Evil is Slightly Biased and Difficult to Continue
Through his interactions with Liang Xiangyin and Sima Kui, Bian Mu could roughly guess that Situ Jianqing's medical skills were quite superb, at least unmatched by anyone of Nie Yixiong's generation.

Of course, it has a bit of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) feel to it, and some of the legends in it may be untrue.

Today, Grandpa Yang suddenly recounted a story about his family's past experiences in medicine, and Bian Mu felt a chill run down her spine.

Subconsciously, Bian Mu couldn't help but compare his medical skills to those of his superior, Situ Jianqing. Compared to him, how far did he even go with his medical skills?
On the phone, Grandpa Yang continued, "I heard that Liang Xiangyin and Sima Kui, the brothers, cannot be considered Situ Jianqing's formal disciples."

"Oh...and who are they?" Bian Mu quickly asked on the other end of the phone.

"It's somewhat similar to the meaning of 'accompanying study' or 'keeping company with study'! It is said that Situ Jianqing only officially recognized two disciples. Cao Qiling is considered the number one disciple, and the other one is a woman. If I remember correctly, her surname should be Chi, the Chi of pond water."

"Huh?! It means... the Chi family in Nanjin has such a special past with Elder Situ?"

"I'm not too sure about that. It's just hearsay, a mix of fact and fiction. But... some of the details are like something out of a movie. It seems... Cao Qiling started dating a female disciple surnamed Chi, or maybe a senior disciple. Situ Jianqing strongly opposed it and forcibly separated them. In the end, the female disciple surnamed Chi only learned half of what she wanted before leaving for another place. So, in the end, Situ Jianqing only had one disciple. I heard Cao Qiling resented his master for this, kind of like being tormented by love! Situ Jianqing is known for his unpredictable temper. Perhaps for some special purpose, he only recruited Liang Xiangyin and Sima Kui afterward." There are some things that outsiders like us can't guess, but... think about it carefully, doesn't their medical sect always exude an unusual air about them? It's not good to talk badly about people behind their backs, but... some things can't be left unsaid. Compared to you, Liang Xiangyin and Sima Kui do have something rather skewed about them. Before, I hadn't thought about it in detail, but then you two became partners! In my spare time, I've been pondering this. The ancients were right: good and evil must be united to form a unified whole; any slight deviation makes it difficult to continue! Perhaps, lacking certain elements from the Situ sect, no matter how powerful you are in this life, you'll ultimately only be slightly better than Nie Yixiong's generation.”

Upon hearing this, Bian Mu froze.

He had never really thought of that before.

Su Linwen knew that the two were talking about very important matters, so she listened to a few words while eating her food in front of her without saying a word.

"You mean... there's some element of fate involved here? That I ran into those two?"

"Of course! What other explanation could there be besides fate?!"

"I was indeed a bit arrogant, thinking that I had already mastered the most basic medical principles, established several schools of thought in medicine, and that I should have all the essential frameworks. In the future, I would just need to further refine the details, and in a few years, I would try my best to translate the most advanced Western medical concepts and technologies into our Chinese medical language. That would only require spending some time to supplement with some new auxiliary knowledge. But after hearing what you said, I realize... I'm still missing one thing!" "Of course! Nowadays, even with the most advanced minimally invasive surgery, major surgeries, especially those that are life-threatening, will leave some scars inside and out. Decades ago, Situ Jianqing could easily perform similar minimally invasive surgeries. Unless the patient mentioned it, you couldn't tell from the surface that he had ever had surgery. Can you imagine the technique and the medication he used?!" On the other end of the phone, Grandpa Yang gave a few insightful words of enlightenment.

“That’s true…” For a moment, Bian Mu didn’t know what to say.

"Hehe... That being said, when Situ Jianqing truly became famous and established himself, he was at least over forty. When you were his age, he was just an unknown nobody. At least in that respect, he couldn't compare to you. Of course, it's also possible that he was just low-key, with lofty ambitions, and had absolutely no interest in making money or fame. As soon as you mentioned it, I understood. Let's take this opportunity to probe the foundation of their faction. If we can talk to them properly through some middleman, those two stubborn people might suddenly have an epiphany. At the very least, you could save yourself at least 20 years of hard work, maybe even more, 30 years?! So, isn't this fate?!"

"Hehe... As the saying goes, the will of Heaven cannot be defied! Then I'll trouble you to make the arrangements."

"It's my duty! I have a guest here, so let's stop our conversation here for now! Those two fellow disciples are cunning and shrewd; we'll have to figure them out carefully!"

"Hard!"

"I'm hanging up!" With that, Grandpa Yang hung up the landline.

Raising her head and widening her beautiful eyes, Su Linwen smiled and said, "Did you suffer a blow?"

With a slight smile, Bian Mu replied, "A bit... The affairs within our medical field are far more complex than I imagined. At least, its other side sounds quite unfathomable. You know, in ancient times, the officially designated medical science had a legitimate category called 'Zhu You Ke,' which was on par with decoctions, acupuncture, and traumatology. For some reason, the official and formal medical texts were inexplicably lost. Today, apart from the occasional elderly woman in the countryside who knows a tiny bit about one aspect, 99% of the content has long since turned into the dust of history, leaving no trace!"

"You mean... their master and apprentice might trace their lineage back to the 'Zhuyouke' school?" Having spent all her time discussing with Bian Mu, Su Linwen's knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine now far surpasses that of other women her age.

"There is a tendency in that regard, but... after hearing what Grandpa Yang said today... I'm not underestimating that school of thought. Situ Jianqing's foundation is definitely orthodox, I've never doubted that. However, those two brothers are indeed a bit unorthodox in their dealings with people, so we have to classify them as another category... I estimate that Situ Jianqing's lifelong learning probably originated from the ancient Longevity Sect, and he later expanded upon it. As I mentioned to you before, he went abroad and studied overseas. He's not at all conservative in his medical cultivation, quite open-minded. He's also a genius with extremely high intelligence, so... I've oversimplified things. I'll have to think about it carefully when I have time. Some things can't be let slip away. I have to re-examine them and try to slowly fill in the missing half. If everything goes smoothly, I might avoid more than 30 years of detours compared to most of my peers. Just think about it... how much... well..." In the end, Bian Mu even forgot his lines for a moment.

Hearing this, Su Linwen seemed even happier than Bian Mu. Seeing such a rare talent in traditional Chinese medicine suddenly emerge beside her, she would naturally be the biggest beneficiary in the future.