Volume 1, Chapter 62: Does a Living Corpse Count as a Terminal Illness?

Those four words struck everyone's heart as clearly as the evening drum and morning bell.

As you wish.

No anger, no defense, not even the slightest ripple of emotion.

It was as if the monstrous wall of sound before him, the doubts and fury capable of swallowing a man alive, were merely the customary gongs and drums signaling the opening of a stage.

The clamorous crowd fell into an eerie, momentary silence because of those four plain words.

Everyone was stunned.

They had anticipated all sorts of reactions from Ye Xuan—panic, a fierce outward show hiding inner weakness, or rage fueled by embarrassment.

Yet, none of them had expected such serenity, a calm so profound it sent a chill down their spines.

Ye Xuan's gaze pierced through the overlapping figures, locking precisely onto the shifty-eyed, scrawny man.

His look was detached, yet it felt like an invisible sharp sword that instantly punctured the artificial arrogance the monkey-like man had put on.

"Since you have doubts, you shall set the challenge."

Ye Xuan spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet carrying an unquestionable majesty.

"Go."

"Find a patient."

"A patient... known throughout the city, given up for dead by every medical hall, and beyond the help even of the Prince's estate retainers."

"Find him and bring him before me."

"I will wait right here."

"A single trial will reveal the truth."

His words flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and water, resounding with force!

He had actually taken the opponent's impossible riddle and flung it right back at them with an even more arrogant posture!

This was no longer mere self-confidence; this was supreme conceit.

Intimidated by Ye Xuan's aura, the scrawny man subconsciously took half a step back, his face turning alternately pale and flushed.

He had never expected that not only would this brat fail to be frightened, but he would dare to be so presumptuous!

This was practically handing the hilt of the blade straight into his own hands!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Recovering his wits, the scrawny man's face instantly turned crimson with rage or excitement. Pointing straight at Ye Xuan, he shrieked at the surrounding crowd:

"Everyone heard that! He said it himself!"

"Known to all in the city, beyond the reach of medicine!"

"You just wait for me! I'm going right now! Let's see how you clean up this mess today!"

With that fierce parting threat, he slipped away like a loach, parting the crowd and darting away toward the outer districts of the South City marketplace.

Daring not to waste a single moment, he ran wildly, cutting through several streets and alleys until he finally stopped in front of a grandiose medical hall.

On the hall's plaque, three large characters were written in bold, flowing calligraphy: Spring Return Hall.

This was the largest medical hall in South City of Northern Town, renowned for its exquisite medical skills and long-standing prestige.

Rushing headlong into the hall and straight into the back chamber, the scrawny man gasped for breath as he addressed a middle-aged man in brocade robes who was twisting his beard while checking account books: "Manager Liu, it's done! That brat... that brat took the bait!"

Manager Liu slowly raised his head, revealing a shrewd and slightly arrogant face.

He was none other than the owner of Spring Return Hall, Liu Ji.

"Oh? What did he say?" Liu Ji took a sip of tea, asking leisurely as if the outcome had long been within his expectations.

The scrawny man exaggeratedly recounted everything that had just happened, and by the end, rubbed his hands in glee. "Manager, you didn't see how arrogant that brat was! He told us to find anyone we liked, the most difficult one, even someone the Prince's estate retainers couldn't cure! Isn't that just courting death?"

Hearing this, a cold sneer curved the corners of Liu Ji's mouth.

"An ignorant and arrogant young pup."

He set down his teacup, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

"He cured a mad butcher and now thinks he can compete with the sun and moon?"

"My Spring Return Hall has stood in Northern Town for decades. What stubborn and difficult ailments have we not seen? A mere greenhorn dares to style himself a 'divine doctor'—it is utterly laughable!"

"Since he wishes to die, we shall grant his wish."

Liu Ji stood up, pacing back and forth in the hall as calculations flashed through his eyes.

"Go to the West City, to the estate of Squire Li."

"His only son fell from a horse three years ago and has remained unconscious ever since, living like the walking dead. I have examined him personally; his spirit is scattered and his vitality severed, hanging onto a breath purely through precious medicinal herbs."

"Every renowned physician in the city, including Grand Retainer Zhang of the Prince's estate, has declared that there is no possibility of him ever waking up."

Liu Ji's smile grew increasingly icy.

"Is this patient weighty enough?"

Upon hearing this, the scrawny man's eyes lit up instantly, his face plastered with the ecstatic joy of a successful conspiracy. "Enough! More than enough! The manager is brilliant! With a walking dead man, even if that Ye Qianyuan is truly an immortal descended from the heavens, he will never save him!"

"Go." Liu Ji waved his hand. "Tell Squire Li that a divine doctor named Ye has arrived in the South City marketplace, claiming to specialize in incurable diseases with heaven-defying skills, and urge him to come and try."

"Remember, paint it in glowing colors, blow that brat's abilities up to the heavens! Give him no chance to refuse!"

"The higher they are lifted, the harder they fall!"

"Understood!" The scrawny man caught the implication, an insidious grin spreading across his face. "This subordinate understands! This is known as killing with kindness! I'll get right on it!"

...

Half an hour later.

The entire South City marketplace, and indeed half of Northern Town, was thoroughly boiling with a single piece of news.

"Have you heard? Young Master Li—whom even Manager Liu of Spring Return Hall could do nothing about—is going to be brought over for that divine doctor Ye to treat!"

"Which Young Master Li? You mean the living corpse who has been asleep for three years?"

"Who else! Word is that divine doctor Ye has proclaimed there is no incurable disease in this world he cannot treat!"

"Really? Isn't that way too arrogant?"

For a time, countless thrill-seekers moved upon hearing the wind, pouring from all directions toward Ye Xuan's humble stall.

Soon, a passage through the crowd was forcibly carved out amidst the clamor.

The scrawny man walked proudly at the very front. Behind him, four burly men carried a stretcher, stepping forward pace by pace.

Lying on the stretcher was a young man with a face as pale as paper and eyes tightly closed. Had it not been for the faint, imperceptible rise and fall of his chest, he would have been indistinguishable from a corpse.

Flanking the stretcher walked a middle-aged couple in luxurious attire, bearing haggard expressions and red, swollen eyes—Squire Li and his wife.

On their faces hung a shred of fragile hope, fanned into flame by the outsiders' exaggerated praise, so intense they scarcely dared to believe it themselves.

The gazes of the crowd shifted back and forth between the walking dead man on the stretcher and Ye Xuan, who sat as steady as a mountain behind his stall.

Everyone's heart leaped into their throats.

This was the true test!

This was a genuine terminal illness!

Cutting through the crowd, the scrawny man and his entourage placed the stretcher heavily before Ye Xuan's stall.

Looking at Ye Xuan, who was still resting his eyes with them closed, a cruel and triumphant curve touched the corners of the scrawny man's mouth. Raising his voice so that the entire audience could hear, he shouted:

"Divine Doctor Ye!"

"I have brought you the person!"

"The son of Squire Li of West City, asleep for three years, unresponsive to medicine, universally recognized throughout the city as a walking dead man!"

"Does this count as an incurable disease?"

"Now, please begin!"