The Beacon of Kyushu

A few days later, in the evening.

The weather was a bit gloomy. There was no brilliant sunset in the west, only a few thick dark clouds. The wind in the wild slowly blew over the ancient road outside the city, blowing the weeds, trees, and the three monks who were traveling far away. The oldest of the three monks was the Shaolin abbot Baoen, and the young monks were his disciples Guangji and Guangqing.

Bao En had practiced martial arts for many years and was in his prime, so he walked very fast. His two disciples had to use almost all their strength to barely keep up with him and not fall too far behind. The three of them walked for a whole day, almost without stopping in the middle. The two young monks were already exhausted and sweating all over, panting heavily. Bao En, however, was calm and unhurried, still looking solemn and dignified, as if such a day's walking was effortless for him.

"Master... Master, I really can't walk any more! Let's find a place to rest and continue tomorrow." Guangji said breathlessly while wiping the sweat off his face. Guangqing also echoed, "Yes, Master, the sooner we leave Quyue, the safer it will be, but we can't tire ourselves to death, right? You are a martial arts expert, so maybe it's not a big deal, but we really can't walk any more!"

Bao En stopped and looked forward. Seeing a city not far away, he said, "Well, let's rest in the city ahead for a night, set off early tomorrow, and rush back to the Central Plains as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Lord Li orders us to be hunted down and threatens Shaolin with the lives of our master and disciples, we will become the eternal sinners of Shaolin!"

The two young monks were too tired to listen to these things. Although they kept responding, they didn't listen to them at all. They just hurried to the city gate. Just as the three of them were about to reach the city gate, Bao En suddenly felt a little uncomfortable in his stomach and stopped involuntarily. The two young monks thought that the master was tired. Just as they were about to show their courtesy and ask if they needed to help the master into the city, they suddenly found that the master's face had turned pale. It seemed that the eyes that were still bright and energetic a moment ago also became blurred at this moment.

Guangji hurriedly grabbed the master's arm, and Guangqing asked anxiously: "Master, what's wrong with you! Please don't scare us!"

Bao En endured the increasingly severe pain in his abdomen, gritted his teeth and said, "Master is fine. Aren't you tired? Go to the city to rest first, and I will be there soon." Although he said it was okay, sweat oozed from his temples due to the severe pain. Drops of sweat slid down his handsome face and fell into the weeds, sand and gravel on the ground.

Guangqing panicked when he saw this, and asked Guangji in bewilderment: "Brother, what happened to Master? What should we do?"

"Junior brother, I don't know what to do about this! If only the ancestors of the Hong generation were here, they would definitely be able to save the master!" Guangji said as he stamped his feet anxiously, and was at a loss for a moment.

Bao En's stomach pain became more and more obvious. At first, he could barely bear it, but later, the pain gradually made him almost faint. He tried to suppress the pain with his inner strength, but it was like filling the soil to stop the flood. Not only did it not relieve the pain, but it became more severe. Inadvertently, Bao En's hand touched the jade bottle given by Zhang Xubai. He quickly took out the pills in the bottle and poured them all into his mouth in one breath.

Oddly enough, as soon as the Zhoutian Zhengqi Pill entered his mouth, the pain was relieved. Baoen's face slowly turned from pale to somewhat red, and his distracted gaze became focused again, but the pain did not completely disappear. The poison in his body became like a poisonous snake hidden in the bushes, and it would definitely attack and hurt people if it had the chance.

Guangji saw that his master looked much better, and hurriedly said, "Master, your health is very important. Why don't we ask a doctor in the city to see you?"

Guangqing also said: "Brother is right. Otherwise, if we just keep on going, I'm afraid your body won't be able to hold on!" Baoen knew that he must have been poisoned by Li Huan. If he couldn't get rid of the poison in his body in time, he would die before reaching the Central Plains. He had no choice but to nod in agreement, and with the help of his two disciples, he slowly walked into the city. As soon as the three of them entered the city, they faintly smelled a scent of medicine. Guangji and Guangqing's eyes lit up, and they supported Baoen and walked quickly towards the place where the scent of medicine came from. Not long after the three of them walked, they really saw many large and small clinics on both sides of the prosperous streets in the city, and bursts of rich medicinal fragrance came from here. Guangqing pointed to the largest clinic and said with a smile: "Haha, Master, there is always a way out. You will definitely be safe!"

Guangji frowned and scolded: "Brother, why don't you help Master in quickly? Instead, you waste time here! If Master's illness relapses, Master will suffer in vain!"

"Brother, what you have taught me is true!" Guangqing patted his shiny bald head and shouted to the doctor sitting in the hall: "Amitabha, my master is seriously ill, please come out and take a look! Saving a life is like putting out a fire, there is no time to delay!"

The doctor in the hall was an old man in his sixties, dressed like a doctor, with all his hair grey. Although he was not young, his hearing was very good. When he heard Guangqing shouting, he ran out in two steps, "Amitabha, Amitabha, is this master sick? Let me feel his pulse and prescribe a dose of medicine. I guarantee that the medicine will cure him!"

Bao En put his hands together, bowed slightly, and said, "Amitabha, thank you for your help."

The old man smiled and shook his head, then reached out to feel Bao En's pulse. However, when he felt Bao En's pulse, his face turned pale instantly, and countless cold sweat oozed from his temples. Guang Qing knew something was wrong when he saw his hair change color, and hurriedly asked: "Old man, is the master's condition serious? Can you really cure it?"

Guangji also said anxiously: "Yes, can it be cured? Please tell me clearly!"

The old man hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head and said, "This master is not ill, but poisoned, and it is a rare poison that only appears once in a century! Don't waste your time with me, go find someone else who is better."

Guang Qing frowned and said, "Old sir, just now you were making big promises, saying that the medicine would cure the disease, but what's wrong now? Look around, yours is the largest clinic around here. If even you can't cure it, is my master going to die here?"

Guangji couldn't hold back his temper, grabbed the old man by the collar, and raised his fist to hit him. The old man looked at the two ferocious little monks, trembling with fear, and kept saying: "Amitabha, Amitabha, you are all disciples of Buddhism, how can you beat up good people at will? If you do this, the Buddha will blame you!"

"Hmph!" Guangji snorted softly and said indignantly: "Old donor, you are a doctor but you don't treat illnesses. How dare you open a clinic? If you can't cure my master today, neither of us will have a good life. Let's go to the West to talk to the Buddha together!"

"Oh, young master, you have wronged me!" The old man said with a look of grievance: "Young master, think about it, curing illnesses and saving lives, if you cure them, you will gain fame and money, and you can also accumulate merits, and you can be reborn into a good family after you die, why shouldn't I do it? But my medical skills are limited, and I don't know where to start. What if I can't cure it and ruin the life of the master master, then I will be committing a sin!" (End of this chapter)