Chapter 13: Remembrance of the Divine Doctor

His expression darkened, however, as he thought of this. His cursed body meant that even if a woman threw herself at him, he could only watch helplessly.

Remembering what Old Man Mi had told him, he couldn't help but ask, "Shouping, do you know about the Grandmaster realm?"

"Everyone in the Great Zhou Dynasty knows about it, doesn't Master-in-law know?" Cheng Shouping asked, looking at him strangely.

Zu An almost choked. He quickly said, "Of course I know; I was just testing you."

"I knew it," Cheng Shouping said with a look of sudden realization. "Grandmasters can freely control the primordial energy of heaven and earth, fly and soar through the sky at will, and are the most supreme figures in this world."

Zu An was secretly startled to hear this. "So, how many Grandmasters are there in Brightmoon City?" he asked.

"How many?" Cheng Shouping asked, looking as if he had heard a big joke. "Not a single one!"

"Huh?" Zu An was stunned. Brightmoon City seemed quite large; how could there not be any?

"Let alone Brightmoon City, there probably isn't a single Grandmaster in the entire Linchuan Commandery," Cheng Shouping said excitedly. "You know, in our Great Zhou Dynasty, only the Three Dukes, the Grand General, the Hussar General, and a few princes are Grandmasters. Their numbers are extremely few, so how could Brightmoon City possibly have one?"

He then roughly explained the correlation between official ranks and cultivation realms in this world. This sent shockwaves through Zu An's mind: That Old Man Mi was fooling him! There were so few Grandmasters in the whole world. Even with the keyboard's help, by the time he cultivated to the Grandmaster realm, he'd likely be long dead. What's more, Old Man Mi didn't even know he had a cheat; where did he get the confidence that Zu An could reach the Grandmaster realm?

While he was deep in thought, he suddenly noticed Cheng Shouping looking at him with an expression as if caring for the intellectually disabled. Zu An couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. "You seem to know quite a lot," he remarked.

Cheng Shouping's face was all scrunched up when he smiled. "Master-in-law flatters me," he said.

"Are you also a cultivator?"

Cheng Shouping's smile froze. He said with a somewhat dejected expression, "No, I don't have cultivation talent and can't perceive the primordial energy of heaven and earth."

Zu An grunted in response. "It seems you idle people really know how to live; even without cultivating, you know everything."

Rage points from Cheng Shouping +33!

Zu An thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, are there any highly skilled doctors in Brightmoon City, the kind who are well-known far and wide?" If he were to cultivate to the Grandmaster realm step by step, he would probably be a white-bearded old man by then. Even if his abilities were restored, he would still be unable to act. No, he had to find another way.

Since this was a cultivation world, doctors must be even more capable. Perhaps they had a solution.

"A highly skilled doctor, yes, there is," Cheng Shouping said, clearly enjoying being able to answer questions. "Mr. Ji in the city is Brightmoon City's... oh, no, he's the most skilled doctor in the entire Linchuan Commandery. There's no illness he can't cure."

"Surname Ji? It wouldn't happen to be Ji Xiaolan, would it?" Zu An asked.

"Ji Xiaolan?" Cheng Shouping scratched his head. "No, it's not."

Zu An's spirits instantly lifted. "Let's go, take me to him!"

Cheng Shouping looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Master-in-law, weren't you injured by Second Miss's Lamenting Whip? How do you look so..."

Zu An's eyes darted around. "I'm going to see Doctor Ji precisely to treat my injuries."

"But the family doctor has already applied medicine for Master-in-law, and you'll be fine with a few more days of rest. There's no need to see Doctor Ji," Cheng Shouping questioned.

Zu An's face was lined with exasperation. "Are you the Master-in-law or am I the Master-in-law? Why so much nonsense? Just take me there."

"Please calm your anger, Master-in-law, please calm your anger. I'll take you there now," Cheng Shouping said, his face once again plastered with a fawning smile.

Zu An was a little surprised. This guy really had a good temper; he didn't even get angry. He had just mocked him like that, and his rage points were only a tiny bit. Had his edges been smoothed out during his years in the Chu Manor?

He changed his clothes, and the two of them walked out. Originally, he had been a little worried about not being able to move freely, but the guards at the gate only glanced at him twice and didn't stop him from leaving.

Remembering the scene of entering the gate last night, Zu An couldn't help but ask, "By the way, where's Young Miss?"

"Young Miss seems to have gone out," Cheng Shouping replied.

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, facing that master and servant pair always put an inexplicable pressure on him. "By the way, do you know Xue'er?" he asked.

Cheng Shouping's eyes lit up. "Who doesn't know Sister Xue'er? She's Young Miss's personal maid, beautiful and with a sweet voice. Many servants in the manor see her as their dream lover. Young Master, if you don't mind, could you help us get together?"

"You're dreaming," Zu An said, speechless. Where did this guy get the confidence to harbor thoughts about Xue'er? "Stop talking nonsense. Do you have any other information about her? For example, has she been in your Chu family since she was a child?"

"Oh, no, she hasn't," Cheng Shouping replied. Seeing the other party refuse to help with the matchmaking, he couldn't help but feel a little down. It seemed Master-in-law also had an eye on Xue'er. He had heard that personal maids of young ladies in wealthy families were supposed to become bedmaids for the master-in-law. "Sister Xue'er seems to have been rescued by Young Miss outside three or four years ago. Later, she was well-behaved, sensible, and clever, and quickly won Young Miss's favor, being appointed as her personal head maid."

"Well-behaved and sensible?" Zu An couldn't possibly associate those words with that sharp-tongued maid. Hearing that she had only arrived at the Chu family three or four years ago, he fell into thought.

"By the way, what's the situation with the second and third branches of the family, and what's their relationship with Master's lineage?" Zu An also thought of what happened in the ancestral hall today. Chu Tiesheng and Chu Yuepo seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards him.

"They're alright," Cheng Shouping replied after a moment's thought. "Second Master is usually in charge of managing the family's iron ore and weapons business, and Third Master is in charge of managing the family's salt business. They can be considered Master's right-hand men."

"Iron, salt?" Zu An was stunned to hear this. This was a cultivation world. Aside from operating spirit stone mines or something, they should at least be raising some magical beasts, right? Why would they operate such... such common things?

As if guessing his thoughts, Cheng Shouping explained, "Master-in-law, don't underestimate these two things. They can bring huge profits to the family. Our Chu family became as rich as a nation relying on them. You know, after all, only a minority in this world can cultivate. Most people, like us, cannot perceive the existence of the primordial energy of heaven and earth and can only live ordinary lives. And salt and iron are necessities for our lives."

Zu An pouted. "What do you mean 'us'? Don't lump me in with ordinary people like you. I can cultivate."

Cheng Shouping blinked and looked at him, an expression of wanting to speak but holding back on his face. He thought to himself that this Master-in-law was indeed as they said: utterly useless yet full of empty boasts.

But it didn't matter; he was the Master-in-law after all, and Cheng Shouping was determined to help him win Young Miss's heart. It was said that it was easy to add flowers to brocade but difficult to send charcoal in the snow. If he helped him when he was at his lowest, he would naturally become his confidant, his own status would rise, and maybe he could even be with Xue'er... Hehehe.

"What are you grinning foolishly at?" Zu An slapped him on the head. "Which way is Doctor Ji's house?"

Cheng Shouping adjusted the two hair buns on his head. "Master-in-law, could you please not hit my head anymore? These hair buns are very difficult to style."

Zu An looked at the two char siu bao-like buns on his head and was speechless. "Alright, alright, just lead the way." He had also gotten a general understanding of the Chu Manor's situation. Whoever wanted to harm him could only be slowly investigated later. The top priority was to first solve his "lower body happiness problem."

"Master-in-law, I don't think you need to see Doctor Ji anymore," Cheng Shouping said, trotting to catch up.

"Why?" Zu An asked, a little puzzled.

"Because this Doctor Ji has set a rule," Cheng Shouping explained, "if you want to see him, you have to pay a registration fee of one hundred taels of silver."

"One hundred taels of silver? Just for registration? Is his place studded with diamonds?" From what he had seen and heard in the past two days, he had a rough understanding of the world's currency system. It was actually similar to ancient Chinese history: one thousand copper coins equaled one tael of silver, and one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver. Above gold, there was another hard currency: elemental stones, but elemental stones were often priced but unavailable, making their exact value difficult to quantify.

However, the units of measurement in this world were not like ancient China but similar to the modern world: one tael equaled 50 grams. Also, silver had not depreciated due to oversupply. The purchasing power of one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to 1800 RMB, so one hundred taels would be equivalent to 180,000 RMB. And that was just for registration; no wonder he cried out.

Zu An thought for a moment, then put an arm around Cheng Shouping's shoulder. "Little Ping-Ping, Master-in-law is a bit short on cash right now. Could you lend me some to tide me over? I'll pay you back double when I have money."

Cheng Shouping secretly covered the purse at his waist. "Master-in-law, you are the master, and I am a servant. If a master like you has no money, how could a servant like me possibly have any?"

Zu An took in his small action but didn't mind. Even if Cheng Shouping had some silver on him, it couldn't be as much as 100 taels. "By the way, where in Brightmoon City are slaves sold?"

"Master-in-law, do you mean the brokerage? There are special places in the city where nobles can trade servants and maids, with each person valued from a few taels to dozens of taels..." Cheng Shouping paused mid-sentence, then couldn't help but look back at Zu An. He swallowed with difficulty. "Master-in-law, you're not thinking of selling me, are you?"

Zu An's expression became serious. "How could that be? Am I that kind of person?"

Yet, in his heart, he was calculating that selling this guy wouldn't even be worth a few taels of silver. Moreover, he was from a ducal manor, so he might not even be sellable.

Despite receiving his assurance, Cheng Shouping still felt a chill down his spine. He quickly said, "Master-in-law, there's actually another way. Besides the 100 taels of silver, if you can help Doctor Ji complete a task, you can also receive his treatment."

Zu An felt relieved. He directly slapped him on the shoulder. "Why didn't you say so earlier? You almost made me sell you!"

Cheng Shouping: "..."

Looking at Master-in-law's eager back, Cheng Shouping wanted to speak but held back. He knew that Doctor Ji's tasks were definitely not something an ordinary person could complete, but he was also worried about being sold. In the end, he still didn't tell the other party the truth.

Not long after, the two arrived near a residence. Looking at the throng of people in front, Zu An swallowed. "Why are there so many people?" he asked.

Cheng Shouping gave an embarrassed laugh. "Didn't I just tell Master-in-law? Doctor Ji's place always has this many people."

Zu An thought of the expert appointments in top-tier hospitals in his previous life, where it was difficult to get an appointment even ten days to half a month in advance, let alone with renowned doctors. So it was normal for a highly skilled doctor to be in this situation.

"Huh, wait a minute," he thought. "Wasn't the registration fee one hundred taels of silver? Are people in this world all so rich?" But looking at the people crowded three layers deep, their clothes weren't particularly good quality, and they didn't look like they were from wealthy families.

"Where's Miss Ji? Why isn't Miss Ji here?" someone in the crowd shouted, instantly causing a stir.

"Yes, we want to see Miss Ji."

Zu An was stunned to hear this. He turned his head to look at Cheng Shouping. "The Doctor Ji you mentioned is a woman?"