Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 230 I am also a cultivator!

"Your wife has exhausted her true energy and has been invaded by evil energy. She is severely depleted. Although her life is not in danger, her true energy channels are greatly damaged. I'm afraid that at best, her cultivation level can only regress to the seventh or eighth rank."

After being examined by the Imperial Physician Dongfang, whom Pei Hanlin had hired at great expense, he stroked his beard and spoke.

Since Zhang Chengdao brought the Zhou Kingdom under the rule of the Baishi Immortal Sect, the Imperial Medical Bureau has become completely idle.

All the palace maids and eunuchs had died, and the few remaining concubines had been dismissed—this era was very similar to ancient times in another timeline, where concubines who left the palace were free to marry other men.

This differs from the absurd customs fabricated in various online novels and TV dramas featuring themes of legitimate and illegitimate children. In real history, many imperial concubines were released from the palace after the emperor's death and remarried. Many nobles even considered these concubines who had served the emperor to be extremely noble, and thus vied to marry them. For example, Empress Shengmu, the adoptive mother and aunt of Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, was a concubine who, after the emperor's death, was released from the palace and insisted on marrying Guo Wei (Chai Rong's adoptive father/uncle). Her parents objected, believing that their daughter, having served the emperor, should marry a high-ranking official like a military governor…

In short, with no one left in the palace, the Imperial Medical Bureau transformed from a "hospital" for palace staff into a "hospital" for high-ranking officials and nobles. Of course, the Imperial Medical Bureau's true function was not actually a "hospital," but rather a government-run medical college.

Contrary to popular belief, the Imperial Physician-in-Chief and Imperial Physician-assistant in the Imperial Medical Bureau were not actually "imperial physicians," but rather "administrative personnel" who managed the affairs of the Imperial Medical Bureau, formulated national medical policies, and oversaw teaching activities within the bureau. They only participated in discussing treatment plans in extremely serious cases, such as when the emperor or empress dowager fell ill; otherwise, neither the Imperial Physician-in-Chief nor the Imperial Physician-assistant were responsible for treatment or making house calls.

The Imperial Pharmacy was actually responsible for the medical health of the emperor and his consorts. There were no imperial physicians in the bureau; instead, the physicians were called Imperial Physicians, Chief Physicians, and Diet Physicians. These were the real "imperial physicians."

As for those in the Imperial Medical Academy who were responsible for making house calls, they were called "physicians".

Hmm... This is the name in historical records too; this word is definitely not a loanword.

The New Book of Tang explicitly mentions that there were "twenty physicians and one hundred medical craftsmen".

In other words, when most minor officials fell ill, they either consulted a qualified medical practitioner or a physician with a professional title, or they spent a lot of money to hire doctors and physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau.

That's right. Doctors in ancient times also needed "medical qualifications." The wish-fulfillment stories about medical students transmigrating and opening pharmacies to dominate the world were simply not true. The consequences of practicing medicine illegally were quite serious.

Only those who pass the official examination and are certified as medical engineers by the government can practice medicine normally.

The higher-ranking physicians were the state physicians and prefectural physicians, and the highest-ranking physicians were the doctors and medical workers in the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The physician from the East that Pei Hanlin hired at great expense was a renowned expert in the Imperial Medical Academy.

Upon hearing what the Eastern physician said, Pei Hanlin's face turned pale.

I had just begun to cultivate my inner energy and hadn't even had time to feel happy when my wife suddenly had such a terrible accident!
It’s over!

Pei Hanlin quickly bowed deeply and said sincerely, "Physician Dongfang, please, you must save my wife!"

“In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything either, but I heard that the sect leader has ‘miracle medicine’ that he sells to officials at a low price. It can cure any disease. Not long ago, Old Master Song was on his last legs and was almost in the underworld, but he was saved by a bowl of ‘miracle medicine’. Now he often goes fishing outside the city!”

At this point, Physician Dongfang shook his head and sighed, "Since we became under the rule of the White Stone Immortal Sect, the presence of immortals has had both advantages and disadvantages. The good thing is that many incurable diseases are no longer incurable diseases, but the bad thing is that the doctors and medical workers under our Imperial Medical Bureau will probably have a hard time making a living in the future!" Pei Hanlin then remembered that among the various "benefits" that he had informed the officials about, there was indeed a clause that allowed them to purchase "immortal medicines" from the White Stone Immortal Sect at a low price by presenting a "diagnosis certificate" written by a doctor or medical worker from the Imperial Medical Bureau.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

Pei Hanlin was also anxious. Hearing the doctor's reminder, he suddenly realized what was going on, but then he panicked again: "White Stone Mountain is a thousand miles away from Chang'an City. This round trip will take a lot of time! Moreover, the court meeting just ended today, and the next court meeting is not until seven days later. Even if I dare to ask the sect leader for it, I will still have to wait seven days!"

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, even pacing back and forth in the room.

The Eastern physician was so dizzy from Pei Hanlin's fuss that he couldn't help but say, "Pei Hanlin, don't worry. Your wife's illness is not an acute one. Even if we have to wait a while, it's alright. Just make sure she keeps warm, eats and sleeps well, and doesn't develop any other illnesses during this time."

"This won't do! Damage to the true qi meridians is a serious matter! We can't wait!"

Pei Hanlin was not comforted; instead, he became even more anxious.

After circling around twice more, he suddenly stopped, then slowly raised his head to look at Physician Dongfang, muttering to himself, "I remember the sect leader saying that the first teleportation array in the 'Hundred Cities Teleportation Array' plan was the one in Chang'an City, and that it was already in use. It just hadn't been officially put into operation because the buildings weren't finished..."

"And the sect leader has used teleportation arrays to get here for the past few court sessions, hasn't he...?"

Upon hearing this, the Eastern Physician was startled and stammered, "Pei, Pei Hanlin, you mustn't act rashly. This teleportation array can only be used by cultivators, and besides, it's used by the sect leader. How can you, a mere Hanlin scholar, use it?"

"Not for non-cultivators..."

He's a cultivator now!

Pei Hanlin narrowed his handsome phoenix eyes slightly and said, "I have now successfully guided Qi into my body and can be considered a cultivator. I should be able to use it!"

Then, he hurriedly bowed to Physician Dongfang and said, "Physician Dongfang, you have worked hard to come to my humble abode. However, I still need to go to Baishi Mountain to seek medicine, so I will not keep you any longer!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode out of the house, heading straight for the courtyard gate. Looking towards the street, he realized that it was indeed the direction of the "Chang'an City Teleportation Station"!

The Eastern physician was so frightened he almost jumped up, repeatedly calling out, "Hey, hey! Pei Hanlin!"

They chased him all the way out the door, but could only see Pei Hanlin's figure gradually disappearing into the distance, looking as fast as a martial artist using light footwork.

"Why is Pei Hanlin running so fast?"

The doctor from the East sighed awkwardly, "Why are you running so fast? I haven't even had time to write the diagnosis yet!"

(End of this chapter)