When he joined the sect, he was still young, and many memories had blurred. He only remembered that his master and mistress were extremely loving at the time. His master devoted himself to studying medicine, and his mistress assisted him, gathering herbs, boiling medicine, and doing his laundry and cooking.
Those were rare happy days. He grew up without parents, cared for by his master and mistress, but at some point, everything changed.
His master would often mutter to himself, saying that healing and treating illnesses were nothing more than observing, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse. External injuries were easy to treat, but internal injuries, when the location was unclear, how could one proceed?
"Master, I saw many medical books in the library, detailing various pathological symptoms. Uncle-masters also said that if one's medical skills are superb, they can tell where the illness is just by looking at the complexion, without taking the pulse."
As a child, Chu Qingze hadn't yet realized that his master's expression was different from usual when he said this. He merely recounted what he had seen and heard to his master, hoping for praise for being sensible and dedicated. Unexpectedly, his master suddenly flew into a rage.
"So many books, when will I ever finish reading them? When will I reach that level? Do you think everyone is like your grandmaster?"
Little Chu Qingze was so scared he dared not speak. From then on, his master would occasionally bring back corpses, lock himself in the pharmacy, and forbid anyone from entering.
He and his mistress would sometimes peek through the window, only to find the patient's bed surrounded by white cloths, obscuring what was inside. However, the cloths were mottled with dark red marks, and the air within was always filled with the smell of blood.
"Mistress, what is master doing?"
Chu Qingze asked curiously, only to be met with his master's roar from inside: "Who's outside?"
His mistress quickly covered Chu Qingze's mouth and led him away from the pharmacy.
That night, his mistress cried heartbrokenly. Chu Qingze didn't know how to comfort her, only hearing her say between sobs, "I never imagined he would do such a heinous thing."
Later, he learned that the corpses his master brought back were all disemboweled. He would open their bodies, record the position of each organ, and thus diagnose their illnesses.
But where could he find so many readily available corpses? Those bodies were all patients his master personally sought out. After learning their conditions, his master would kill them.
Thus, with one corpse after another being carried in, he was eventually exposed. His master's hand and leg tendons were severed, his sense of taste and smell were ruined, and he was expelled from the sect by his grandmaster. He took his mistress and young Chu Qingze to live in a remote mountain.
Chu Qingze, still young, was not afraid, only vaguely sensing that his master was probably wrong.
But his master didn't think he was wrong.
"It's your grandmaster who is wrong. She's wrong! She took so many disciples, making each one read so many books, recognize so many herbs, and learn medicine in such clumsy ways. When will they ever succeed? I am right! I will create a completely new method of healing and saving lives. I will be the true divine doctor!"
His master's eyes were bloodshot as he spoke, and Chu Qingze thought he had gone mad.
His master truly had gone mad. With his tendons severed, he still did not abandon his plan. But he no longer had the ability to go out and kill people to bring back corpses, so he turned his attention to his mistress.
His master mended his severed tendons with his unique methods. On a stormy night, his master broke into his mistress's room.
He heard his master's desperate pleas and his mistress's terrified cries.
"Su Yun, you are the only one who can help me now. You are my wife. You said you would help me with whatever I did. Now I need someone, someone who will never die. You are the most suitable, aren't you?"
"You madman, you're crazy!"
"I'm not crazy! I'm telling the truth! You are a disciple of the Shuang Jue Sect. You possess the sect's centuries-old inner cultivation techniques. Your body is tougher than an ordinary person's, making you the most suitable subject for experimentation... Su Yun, haven't you always said you love me? This is an opportunity. Help me, prove to me that you love me!"
In the end, Chu Qingze only heard his mistress's scream. Lightning flashed, illuminating the two figures embracing in the room. A knife shadow was embedded behind his mistress's shadow. After that, he never saw his mistress again.
His master built a basement and imprisoned his mistress inside, never allowing Chu Qingze to enter. His master would stay in the basement for an entire day, and the continuous screams of his mistress could be heard from below. Chu Qingze couldn't see, but from the screams, he could already sense the horrific scene within.
Later, when Chu Qingze grew a little older and learned the mechanism to the basement, he sneaked in while his master was resting.
It was a sight of horror he had never witnessed. His mistress was nailed to an iron bed, with countless gruesome gashes on her body, still bearing the marks of stitches.
The young and beautiful mistress had transformed into a demon crawling out of hell.
She no longer recognized Chu Qingze. Seeing someone approach, she opened her mouth wide and let out incoherent shouts. Chu Qingze was terrified, not only by the scene before him but also by a hand suddenly landing on his shoulder.
His master's face was grim, and his voice was filled with murderous intent: "What are you doing here?"
The next morning, his master threw the terrified Chu Qingze into the deep mountains and old forests. Perhaps Chu Qingze died too easily, and his master found him to have no anatomical value. Moreover, he already had a mistress, so Chu Qingze escaped the fate of being disemboweled.
When the footsteps gradually faded, Chu Qingze quietly opened his eyes. He was grateful that his ability to feign death was superb.
Later, he left that place, but he would never forget that sight.
In his memory, women had always been like his mistress, nailed to an iron bed, their flesh and blood mangled, like a broken doll crudely stitched together. Therefore, every time he got close to a woman, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable all over.
There was only one way to cure this psychological ailment: to forget that past.
Chu Qingze took out a pill from his怀. He had prepared it earlier. Taking it would allow him to forget that terrifying scene, but it would also mean losing that memory.
He couldn't do that.
A cicada's chirp sounded from outside. Chu Qingze came back to his senses, picked up the broken tile shards from the ground, brewed another pot of hangover soup, and returned to the room. Zhang Yajing had already fallen asleep, her head resting on the table. No matter how he called out, she didn't respond.
After the fight just now, Zhang Yajing's hair was a bit messy, her clothes were loose, and her face was flushed. She looked like a startled kitten.
Pitiful, and somewhat cute.
A strange feeling welled up in Chu Qingze's heart. He reached out to brush her hair, his fingertips about to touch her face. He felt the warmth of Zhang Yajing's breath, but his mind was flooded with images of terror, screams, crying, and blood. He quickly withdrew his hand.
His stomach churned.
He still couldn't overcome this hurdle.
Finally, Chu Qingze just found a cotton quilt and covered Zhang Yajing with it. Then he turned and walked outside, looking at the empty mass grave, and said, "Stop hiding and peeking. Come out."
After a gust of wind, Li Zhao landed beside him, his expression complicated as he looked at Chu Qingze.
"Take your young lady back. Don't let her get sick again."
Li Zhao bowed his head and cupped his fists: "Divine Doctor Chu, my young lady recently learned that her father has been punished and is feeling down and dispirited at home. She is deeply devoted to you, and I believe only you can comfort her now. Please, Divine Doctor, take good care of her. After all... what her father did has nothing to do with her."
Chu Qingze looked at him in confusion: "Since you were here all along, you must have heard what Zhang Yajing said. I poisoned your young lady to investigate the human traffickers. Aren't you afraid I'll kill her?"
Li Zhao's brow furrowed, and his voice deepened: "You said it was to investigate human traffickers, not to target the young lady. You have been diligently treating her recently, and I've seen it all. Now, only you can save her. Please consider it... atonement!"
Atonement. These two words were too heavy. Chu Qingze had no reason to refuse.
"I will."
"I bid you farewell."
This was directly handing over the task of caring for Zhang Yajing to him.
Learning that he had acted against Zhang Yajing, and she hadn't become enraged, made sense. Now, they had no standing to accuse anyone.
Chu Qingze stood at the doorway for a long time, then sighed and returned to the room to look at the sleeping Zhang Yajing. Fortunately, he rolled her up in the quilt, wrapped her from head to toe, and then quickly carried her into the bedroom.
The next morning, Zhang Yajing woke up to find steaming hot food placed beside her.
She rubbed her eyes, her head throbbing. In the courtyard, Chu Qingze was washing the corpse shroud used last night. The bloodstains on the fabric were washed away, and it hung on the drying rack, swaying in the wind.
Chu Qingze was about to pour away the dirty water when he noticed Zhang Yajing standing at the door of the guest room. He hesitated.
"Awake?"
"Awake."
"Eat when you're awake. Don't drink so much in the future; it's not good for your recovery."
Normally, hearing Chu Qingze's concern, Zhang Yajing would have been overjoyed. However, at this moment, she looked expressionless, as if she had become a different person.
"What did I say last night?"
"Just some drunken ramblings. I don't remember."
"Is that so..." Zhang Yajing suddenly gave a wry smile. "I talk nonsense when I'm drunk. Did I say anything I shouldn't have?"
"No."
"That's good."
Zhang Yajing smiled sheepishly. "I was in a bad mood last night and acted out a bit. You are magnanimous, please don't be angry. I'll be going back now."
She cupped her fists as if to leave.
"Wait a moment."
Chu Qingze stopped her.
"What?"
Zhang Yajing blinked her innocent eyes, looking bewildered, as if she had instantly forgotten all her unhappiness.
Chu Qingze recalled Li Zhao's words from last night. He searched his mind but couldn't find a suitable excuse, so he could only say, "Your illness hasn't fully recovered yet. Coincidentally, I've been lacking a helper lately. Why don't you stay here and help me?"
"Okay! Why are you so agreeable today?"
Zhang Yajing was overjoyed. Her surprised expression made Chu Qingze wonder if he was hallucinating. Perhaps it wasn't Zhang Yajing who was drunk last night, but him.
Now that it had come to this, he could only do his best to take care of her.
Although he had made the decision, Chu Qingze realized how difficult it was when they actually started working together. Since she was going to help, physical contact was unavoidable. Zhang Yajing was carefree and didn't care if he was allergic to women. Each time, he would hastily dodge, and by the end of the morning, nothing had been accomplished.
"Divine Doctor Chu, I'm sorry. I seem to be more of a hindrance than a help."
Zhang Yajing smiled apologetically.
"It's fine..."
Chu Qingze looked at the broken medicine pot and could only return a smile.
Just then, Rong Zhi's voice suddenly came from outside.
"Chu Qingze, I've come to deliver an invitation for you!"