Gao Family Fort was located dozens of li from Nanyang City, standing as a local power second to none.
From a distance, Lu Changsheng spotted a vast mountain estate, with many stalwart martial artists patrolling its perimeter.
The manor had even erected tall watchtowers, manned continuously by sentries scanning the surroundings.
The carriage slowly approached the estate.
"Halt! This is Gao Family Fort. No unauthorized persons allowed!"
The carriage was intercepted as soon as it reached the outer boundary of Gao Family Fort.
The guards appeared exceptionally vigilant, their eyes sweeping over every corner of the carriage.
"Gao Laoyao, it's me."
Gao Yucheng urged his horse forward. Only then did the guard recognize him, bowing in salutation immediately. "Ah, Second Young Master! Did you bring back a renowned physician from Nanyang City?"
"Yes. Physician Wu Jing, a master of his craft, is inside the carriage."
"Gao Laoyao, I know what's on your mind. Your elder brother has contracted this strange illness as well. Rest assured, once Physician Wu discovers the cause, every afflicted person in Gao Family Fort can be saved."
Gao Laoyao fell to his knees in gratitude. "Thank you, Second Young Master! Thank you, Physician Wu!"
Wu Jing lifted the carriage curtain and saw Gao Laoyao kneeling on the ground.
He let out a deep sigh. "A healer treats all patients as a parent treats their children. If someone can be saved, this old man will never stand by and watch them die. Young Master Gao, let us hurry and see the patients."
Gao Yucheng nodded and took the lead at once, the carriage swiftly driving into Gao Family Fort.
The apprentices in the carriage craned their necks to look around.
Gao Family Fort had always been shrouded in mystery, rarely allowing outsiders to enter under normal circumstances.
Thus, even though these apprentices were all born and raised in Nanyang Prefecture, not one had ever set foot inside Gao Family Fort before.
"The path is paved with jade stone! Is Gao Family Fort really this lavish?"
"And look at that flower garden—it's already early winter, yet the garden is bursting with floral fragrance!"
"And that lake! They actually excavated a lake this massive inside Gao Family Fort..."
The apprentices' eyes widened, their faces filled with astonishment and shock.
Clearly, the fort's sheer extravagance caught them completely off guard.
Though Gao Family Fort was called a "local power," to the residents of Nanyang City, they were viewed as little more than uncultured country bumpkins.
Who could have guessed that these "bumpkins" lived in far greater opulence than the wealthy merchants and grand magnates within Nanyang City?
Even Wu Jing was visibly moved, marveling at how Gao Family Fort had kept its immense wealth so deeply hidden.
However, Lu Changsheng's focus lay elsewhere.
His attention was on the martial artists.
There were an extraordinary number of martial artists within Gao Family Fort.
Furthermore, defenses along the way were exceptionally tight. Every martial artist was wary and alert, as though guarding against some unseen threat.
The entire fort was steeped in a tense, uneasy atmosphere.
This was distinctly abnormal.
At present, Nanyang Prefecture was peaceful on the whole.
There were few bandits or outlaws in the surrounding lands, and given Gao Family Fort's martial might, no bandit would dare harbor designs against them.
If there was no enemy, why was Gao Family Fort guarded so heavily?
Gao Yucheng led the party into the Fort Lord's manor.
The fort lord, Gao Zhanhu, came out personally to receive them.
Gao Zhanhu was burly and imposing, walking with a commanding, vigorous stride that marked him instantly as a formidable martial artist.
"Physician Wu, I have longed for your arrival day and night!"
Gao Zhanhu had been waiting with desperate anticipation, and his greeting was exceedingly warm.
"Fort Lord Gao, allow this old man to examine your son first."
"Very well. Physician Wu, this way, please."
Wu Jing brought only Lu Changsheng along, leaving the other apprentices waiting outside.
Gao Zhanhu welcomed Physician Wu and Lu Changsheng into a room where several others stood, likely members of the Gao family.
Some unknown incense burned in the room, its aroma clearing the mind and refreshing the spirit.
Wu Jing walked over to a large bed, where a young man lay.
The man's eyes were tightly shut, his face pale, lying entirely motionless.
"Physician Wu, this is my son, Gao Yuzhi."
"He came down with this strange illness half a month ago and has been bedridden ever since, showing no signs of regaining consciousness."
"Yet other than that, he exhibits no other symptoms."
Gao Zhanhu explained his son's condition in detail.
"It has been half a month already?"
Wu Jing raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised.
He took the young man's pulse with great care, then checked Gao Yuzhi's eyelids and lips.
His brow furrowed deeply.
"If it has been half a month, did you not seek treatment?" Wu Jing asked.
"Of course we did. I first had the physicians within Gao Family Fort examine him, but they couldn't make heads or tails of it."
"Then I searched elsewhere and summoned several renowned physicians, but every single one of them was helpless."
"Later, others in Gao Family Fort began contracting this strange illness one after another, with symptoms identical to my son's."
"Panic has spread throughout the fort. Left with no other choice, we had to trouble Physician Wu to make this trip in person."
A thread of anxiety leaked through Gao Zhanhu's words.
His son had been comatose for half a month, and with the affliction spreading through Gao Family Fort, the pressure on him as fort lord was immense.
"Strange, truly strange."
"Allow this old man to take a closer look."
Wu Jing checked the pulse again, meticulously inspecting every part of Gao Yuzhi's body, spending an entire shichen examining him back and forth.
At last, Wu Jing spoke slowly. "This old man must examine other afflicted people in Gao Family Fort as well. Would that be acceptable?"
Before Gao Zhanhu could answer, a burly man standing nearby snapped loudly, "You've been fussing over him back and forth for this long, and you still haven't found the cause?"
"A renowned physician? In a piddling place like Nanyang City, what famous doctors could there possibly be? Nothing but a bunch of quacks!"
"If you ask me, Big Brother, you ought to throw these quacks out right this instant!"
The burly man appeared to have a fiery temper; as soon as the words left his mouth, he shoved a hand straight toward Wu Jing.
Smack.
Lu Changsheng's gaze turned frosty, and his hand shot out instantly, seizing the burly man's wrist.
"What kind of thing do you think you are? Get lost!"
The qi and blood in the burly man's body erupted in an instant, and the terrifying pressure of his qi and blood buffeted Wu Jing, causing the old physician to stumble.
Lu Changsheng's eyes grew colder still. He clamped down hard on the man's arm.
Crack.
The bones in the man's wrist fractured under the crushing grip, tearing a shrill scream from his throat.
"Ahhh—!"
The man trembled violently, his shriek piercing and miserable.
Thud.
Lu Changsheng tossed his hand with effortless ease, sending the burly man flying to crash heavily against the ground.
The burly man's eyes were bloodshot as he bellowed, "Quick, grab this brat! I'm going to break his legs—"
"Let me see who dares!"
Lu Changsheng barked, shielding his master behind him.
"Hold."
Gao Zhanhu finally spoke up.
He glanced at the burly man's arm on the floor, which was visibly broken.
Frowning slightly, Gao Zhanhu said, "You must be Physician Wu's apprentice, yes? A healer treats all as a parent treats their children. As a doctor, how could you strike with such ruthlessness?"
"Ruthless? I was holding back. A martial artist attempting violence against an old man over seventy years of age—is this Gao Family Fort's way of treating guests?"
"Master, I see no need to treat this illness. Let us leave!"
Lu Changsheng took his master's arm, turning to depart on the spot.
However, Gao Yucheng quietly stepped forward, blocking Lu Changsheng's path.
At this, Wu Jing stepped forward and slammed his cane heavily onto the floor, declaring loudly, "Fort Lord Gao, this old man knows your Gao Family Fort possesses formidable influence."
"Yet in my lifetime of practicing medicine, I have saved countless souls. Among them are many martial artists, including martial artists of Refining Organs—all of whom owe this old man a debt of gratitude!"
"Moreover, this old man is a physician of Miaoshou Garden. Do you truly intend to detain master and apprentice by force?"
Wu Jing was visibly furious.
Chapter 25