"Physician, we..."
Lu Yang hesitated, struggling to find words.
Zhang Xuan, however, threw all caution to the wind. Burning with righteous indignation, he blurted out, "Physician, it was Chen Yan's men! When he saw us out there advertising for you, he had his people beat us up, and they even warned us not to spread the word anymore!"
"That Chen Yan is an incompetent good-for-nothing! Doesn't he just happen to have an older brother who's the vice hall master of the Blade Hall? His medical skills are pathetic. He's been stationed in the Medical Hall for nearly two years now, yet his accrued merits aren't even enough to make him a Senior Physician."
"Now that he sees you're a disciple of the famous physician Wu Jing and that your reputation soared right after arriving, he simply can't bear to see you do well..."
While Zhang Xuan's account was somewhat embellished, the general truth was indeed as he described.
"Chen Yan?"
Lu Changsheng grew thoughtful.
Wherever there were people, there was a martial world. This held true no matter where one went.
Lu Changsheng was merely an ordinary physician who only wanted to treat more patients, yet he had drawn someone's spite and jealousy to the point where they sent men to beat his apprentices.
Within the Four Seas Gang, no one dared lay a hand on the physicians of the Medical Hall.
Apprentices, however, were an entirely different matter.
In the gang's hierarchy, apprentices were not even regarded as regular members.
As long as one possessed enough backing, beating an apprentice to death was of little consequence—at most, it would cost a small deduction of merits.
Lu Changsheng asked calmly, "Who specifically beat you?"
"It was Chen Yan's two apprentices. Their names are—"
Lu Changsheng immediately raised a hand to cut Zhang Xuan off.
"I don't need to know their names."
"Let's go. Take me to those two apprentices."
Lu Changsheng rose directly to his feet.
"Huh?"
"Physician, you're going to seek out those two apprentices in person?"
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
In truth, he had only been venting his frustrations.
To physicians, a trifling matter like this was usually laughed off and dismissed.
Who would actually stand up for mere apprentices?
Yet from the look on Lu Changsheng's face, he genuinely intended to seek justice on their behalf.
"Physician, we're fine, really. It was just a beating. We can just rub on some medicinal wine when we get back," Lu Yang chimed in, stepping forward to dissuade him.
Lu Changsheng said nothing and walked straight out.
He headed directly toward Chen Yan's consultation room.
Every attending physician in the Medical Hall was allocated a private room.
Inside this room, aside from Chen Yan, were two apprentices and a crowd of patients.
These patients were all members of the Four Seas Gang.
Chen Yan appeared to be in his thirties, with a large, unsightly mole on his face that made him look quite hideous.
Lu Changsheng, however, did not look for Chen Yan. Instead, he walked straight up to Chen Yan's two apprentices and asked calmly, "Were you the ones who beat Zhang Xuan and Lu Yang?"
Meeting Lu Changsheng's calm, flat gaze, the two apprentices felt their hearts tighten, and they instantly turned to look at Chen Yan.
Chen Yan furrowed his brow and snapped coldly, "Physician Lu, what do you think you're doing? This is my—"
Before he could finish, a flash of bloody light flared in Lu Changsheng's hand.
*Pfft!*
His qi and blood transformed into a sword, instantly piercing through both apprentices' throats.
"Physician, s-save... save us..."
The two apprentices clutched their throats desperately, staring toward Chen Yan.
Yet with their windpipes pierced and blood spraying violently, who could possibly save them?
*Clatter.*
Something fell to the floor, shattering the room's stunned silence.
In an instant, an uproar erupted throughout the chamber.
No one had imagined that anyone would dare commit murder in broad daylight inside the Medical Hall of the Four Seas Gang.
And the killer was actually a physician!
Chen Yan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
His immediate reaction was not rage, but terror.
Lu Changsheng had actually killed someone?
Moreover, as a physician of the Four Seas Gang, Chen Yan could naturally recognize at a glance that Lu Changsheng had killed using the external release of qi and blood.
Lu Changsheng was a martial artist too?
"Y-you... what are you trying to do?"
Watching Lu Changsheng step forward toward him, Chen Yan's voice trembled.
"Nothing much. I merely wish to offer a piece of advice: this sort of thing happens only once."
"If there is a next time, I won't just kill two apprentices."
"Consider yourself warned, Physician Chen."
Having said his piece, Lu Changsheng turned on his heel and strode out.
Chen Yan and the crowd of Four Seas Gang members were left frozen in the room.
Though two corpses of apprentices lay before them, the gang-member patients felt no fear at all; in fact, a few looked somewhat thrilled.
After all, they were members of the Four Seas Gang who had witnessed far too much killing and bloodshed.
Even so, an incident like today's was truly unprecedented within the gang.
Who could have guessed that an ordinary physician—and a newly arrived one at that—could be so ruthless? Decisive, swift, and utterly unhesitating, he had slain two apprentices on the spot.
His methods were harsher than even those of these desperate gang ruffians who fought for their lives day in and day out.
And those were Chen Yan's apprentices!
"I just asked around, and the whole affair is quite simple. Chen Yan sent his apprentices to beat up Physician Lu's apprentices, but who would've thought Physician Lu would kill Chen Yan's apprentices right in broad daylight? Tsk, tsk. With that temper and guts, why bother being a physician? It's a waste of talent not wandering the martial world!"
"Chen Yan is the younger brother of the Blade Hall's vice hall master. Just what kind of background does Physician Lu have to show zero respect like that?"
"Physician Lu is the disciple of the renowned Nanyang physician Wu Jing. Word has it he inherited Wu Jing's mantle, so his medical skills are definitely formidable. I just never expected him to be capable of killing—and so decisively, at that. Clearly not his first time!"
"Just now, Physician Lu used the external release of qi and blood, transforming it into a sword to kill those two apprentices. Anyone capable of that is almost certainly a Refining Organs martial artist."
"Now there's a good show to watch! Wonder what Chen Yan and Vice Hall Master Chen will do about this?"
Many looked on with eager anticipation, waiting for the drama to unfold.
Chen Yan, by contrast, seemed scared out of his wits, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
***
Meanwhile, Lu Changsheng returned to his consultation room.
His expression was placid. He merely changed into a fresh set of clothes, then prepared to resume seeing patients.
Surprisingly enough, his patients actually increased.
Several patients who had just been in Chen Yan's room had followed him over, seeking treatment from Lu Changsheng instead.
One side was bold enough to come for treatment, and the other was bold enough to write prescriptions and dispense medicine.
Neither side seemed particularly perturbed by what had happened.
Only Zhang Xuan and Lu Yang still had terror lingering in their eyes.
"Physician Lu, y-you... you just killed someone..." Zhang Xuan stammered, his body shivering.
Zhang Xuan was usually quick-witted, but that was merely worldly cleverness.
Faced with such an earth-shattering event, managing to speak at all was already quite an accomplishment.
Lu Yang, on the other hand, was terrified into silence, keeping his head down and focusing solely on his chores.
"So what if I killed them?"
Lu Changsheng even let a faint smile touch his lips.
He had already departed Nanyang Prefecture; he no longer had any need for the identity of 'Zhuang Thirteen.'
Moreover, with his current strength having advanced by leaps and bounds, he no longer cared all that much about keeping his identity hidden.
He followed only his heart.
If one cultivated martial arts until they were invincible under the heavens, were they still supposed to act timid and servile?
If one became matchless under heaven, were they still supposed to stoop to laughable schemes and petty conspiracies?
That would be sheer stupidity!
When one possessed the strength, they naturally ought to follow their own inclinations.
Lu Changsheng could not be bothered to waste words on someone like Chen Yan. This time, he had merely executed Chen Yan's apprentices. If Chen Yan dared pull any more petty tricks in the future, Lu Changsheng would not hesitate to kill him outright.
At worst, he would simply leave the Four Seas Gang.
If he truly wished to leave, who could possibly stop him?
"Focus on your duties with peace of mind."
"If you don't wish to be bullied in the future, you ought to practice martial arts as well. After all, medicine and martial arts are fundamentally intertwined. To be a good physician, one cannot do without martial arts to protect oneself."
"In time, I will casually teach you some martial arts for self-defense," Lu Changsheng said calmly.
Zhang Xuan and Lu Yang were naturally overjoyed and immediately knelt to express their gratitude.
They knew full well that 'martial arts' could directly alter their destinies.
Zhang Xuan in particular vaguely sensed that this 'Physician Lu' before them was far from ordinary.
Could a truly ordinary physician kill so swiftly and decisively?
Perhaps they had latched onto a truly powerful protector!
***
Inside the Blade Hall, Vice Hall Master Chen Shan wore a solemn expression.
Before him knelt a physician—his younger brother, Chen Yan.
Chen Yan wept and pleaded, "Eldest Brother, that Lu Changsheng is simply abominable! All I did was send men to beat his two apprentices, didn't I? They were just two insignificant apprentices! Yet he made such a huge fuss, stepping forward directly to slaughter my apprentices and completely humiliating me!"
"He even threatened me, saying that if there's a next time, he'll kill me! Brother, you have to avenge me..."
Chen Shan remained unmoved.
He had already heard about the incident.
"Chen Yan, what do you think Lu Changsheng relied on to dare murder in broad daylight?" Chen Shan suddenly asked.
Chen Yan paused, startled.
*Indeed, what did Lu Changsheng rely on?*
He was merely an ordinary physician without any foundation who had just joined the Four Seas Gang. How did he dare offend him?
And to offend him so lethally!
Where did Lu Changsheng get the nerve?
"There are two possibilities. Either Lu Changsheng's medical skills are exquisite, reaching or even surpassing Wu Jing's level. He knows that once he displays such superb medicine, his standing in the Medical Hall will far exceed yours, and becoming a Senior Physician or even a Renowned Physician will be effortless for him."
"However, if it were merely superb medical skills, he probably wouldn't possess such ruthless resolve to strike and kill directly."
"That leaves only the final possibility: his strength!"
"Aside from being a physician, Lu Changsheng is certainly a martial artist, and at least a Refining Organs martial artist at that!"
"When one possesses formidable martial strength, status, standing, and background all become meaningless before absolute power."
Chen Shan's analysis made Chen Yan's eyes widen.
A martial artist?
Lu Changsheng was a powerful Refining Organs martial artist?
He truly had not considered this before.
Although medicine and martial arts were intertwined and many physicians knew some martial arts—Chen Yan included—most physicians were only in the Strengthening Blood Realm, or at best the Tempering Bone Realm.
As for Refining Organs?
They were exceedingly rare.
Even if one managed to reach Refining Organs, how could a physician compare to seasoned martial artists of the jianghu in actual combat ability?
Martial arts were not something one could master merely by training behind closed doors; it required slaughter, strife, and life-and-death struggle to achieve true prowess.
"Chen Yan, do not provoke Lu Changsheng again in the future," Chen Shan stated flatly.
"Huh?"
"Brother, you mean we're just going to drop it like this?"
Chen Yan found it unbelievable.
His older brother was certainly no coward.
Otherwise, he could never have become the vice hall master of the Blade Hall.
One had to remember that the Blade Hall was the sharpest blade of the Four Seas Gang; every hazardous task was assigned to them.
Chen Shan had truly climbed to his current high station step by step through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"Would you have me go kill Lu Changsheng right now?"
"Who dares openly execute a physician of the Medical Hall?"
Chen Shan narrowed his eyes slightly, a sharp glint flickering within them as he continued, "This is merely temporary. Be patient. The gang is about to acquire several Blood Exchange Pills, and with the merits I have accumulated over the years, I will certainly be able to redeem one."
"With a Blood Exchange Pill, I will successfully complete my blood exchange, giving me an excellent chance to advance to the Divine Strength Realm! Once I enter the Divine Strength Realm, my status in the gang will rise dramatically. When that time comes, I will have plenty of ways to crush a petty little physician."
Chen Yan understood. His elder brother was not truly letting Lu Changsheng off; he merely needed time to prepare.
Moreover, Chen Yan felt a surge of excitement.
If his brother became a Divine Strength Realm martial artist, his standing would soar, and wouldn't Chen Yan's life in the Four Seas Gang become even more comfortable and effortless?
With that, Chen Yan nodded in agreement. "Yes, Brother, I understand. During this period, I will behave myself and endure for now, so as not to bring you any trouble."
Chen Shan was pleased.
Though his younger brother was mindless in certain matters, he remained obedient to his older brother.
For now, he had to keep a low profile.
Whatever happened would have to wait until he broke through to the Divine Strength Realm.
Advancing to the Divine Strength Realm was the single most crucial matter for Chen Shan right now!
***
The following day, Lu Changsheng was summoned for questioning by the vice hall master of the Medical Hall.
"Physician Lu, you've certainly stirred up quite a storm right after arriving at the Four Seas Gang."
"I won't mince words. According to gang rules, since you killed two apprentices, you must have merits deducted."
"Mm, your current merits aren't even enough to cover it, so you will run a deficit for now. However, you must pay it off within one year."
"If you cannot clear this merit debt after one year, the consequences will be severe!"
The vice hall master gave Lu Changsheng a warning, though his manner was purely routine and official.
He had no desire to antagonize either Lu Changsheng or Chen Yan.
After all, though Lu Changsheng appeared solitary and unsupported, could someone who dared butcher Chen Yan's apprentices outright and threaten Chen Yan to his face be an ordinary person?
Unless the vice hall master was an idiot, he would never jump out to actively provoke Lu Changsheng.
Anyone who could rise to become a vice hall master of the Medical Hall in the Four Seas Gang was naturally no fool.
Handling it strictly by the book ensured he offended neither party.
Lu Changsheng offered no argument and returned to his consultation room.
He had long prepared himself for his merits dropping into the negative; after all, that was simply the gang's rule.
In a certain sense, this was considered fair.
Of course, for those apprentices, it was grossly unfair.
They had lost their lives, yet all it cost Lu Changsheng was a tiny deduction of merits.
Such was the rule of the Four Seas Gang.
"Physician Lu, the vice hall master didn't make things difficult for you, did he?" Zhang Xuan asked hurriedly, rushing forward.
"He merely deducted some merits. It's nothing major."
"Merits? Then we must hurry out to advertise! We'll pull in more patients to help you earn those merits back!"
Zhang Xuan promptly dragged Lu Yang out to spread the word.
Only Lu Changsheng remained in the consultation room.
He, too, was pondering the situation. Relying solely on advertising would not achieve much.
No matter how one looked at it, he was still just an ordinary physician.
Even if he had studied under Wu Jing, how many patients here actually knew Wu Jing?
Furthermore, a master's brilliance in medicine did not necessarily mean the disciple was equally gifted.
Most members of the Four Seas Gang preferred to seek out the Senior Physicians of the Medical Hall.
*Everyone treats illnesses and saves lives, and fundamentally, ordinary physicians are largely interchangeable. Truly difficult injuries or ailments never fall into the hands of an ordinary physician anyway.*
*If I want to quickly establish a reputation in the Four Seas Gang, I need some sort of 'specialty'—something other physicians cannot achieve, but I can.*
Numerous thoughts flitted through Lu Changsheng's mind.
Before long, he saw a patient enter.
The patient was a burly man who had taken two blade slashes to the face. Although the wounds were not deep, he was drenched in blood and looked rather terrifying.
Lu Changsheng moved swiftly to stem the bleeding.
The patient could not help asking, "Physician, after the wounds on my face heal, will they leave behind ugly scars?"
"Scars? Naturally they will. However, if they recover well, the scarring should be relatively faint," Lu Changsheng answered truthfully.
"Sigh, if scars remain on my face, it'll look so hideous..."
The patient let out a sigh.
Though he was a burly brute who did not fear injuries, scars were still unsightly.
Who would willingly want two hideous scars carved across their face?
After the patient departed, a flash of inspiration struck Lu Changsheng's mind.
*Right, scars!*
If he could treat injuries without leaving behind scars, wouldn't that be a distinctive specialty?
Something other physicians could not do, but he could!
The Four Seas Gang engaged in violence almost daily, with people injured every single day. Those seeking treatment for wounds vastly outnumbered those sick with illnesses, and the majority of injuries were external trauma.
Practically every gang member bore scars across their body.
If Lu Changsheng could treat wounds without leaving scars, his renown would skyrocket, and he would never have to worry about merits again.
The only complication was figuring out how to heal wounds without scarring.
While this might be an impossible riddle for others, for Lu Changsheng, it was not particularly difficult.
After all, once a Divine Strength Realm martial artist recovered from an injury, no scars remained on their body at all.
This provided him with a clear direction, and with that direction in mind, he was certain to find a solution.
Lu Changsheng acted the moment the idea formed. Reaching for a small knife nearby, he made a gentle slice across the back of his hand.
Chapter 98