Chapter 47: Body Shows Pulse Signs

"Young Master Jiang, perhaps you should choose another book. There's a Mid-Yellow-grade cultivation technique here." Ye Qingxue offered the thoughtful suggestion.

Jiang Fan snapped back to reality, holding *The Immortal Physician's Compendium*. "I'll take this one," he said.

Ye Qingxue looked bewildered. "Why do you want this? No one has ever been able to comprehend it fully."

Suppressing his excitement, Jiang Fan replied, "I'd like to try."

"Could you provide me with a private room? I'd like to examine it quietly."

Seeing that Jiang Fan wasn't joking, Ye Qingxue could only sigh deeply. "Alright. It's a shame to waste such a good opportunity on a useless medical book."

Soon after, Jiang Fan entered Ye Qingxue's private cultivation chamber. He immediately opened the book and began reading again. As the clear, ethereal sensation reappeared in his mind, the needle holes on the book began to twist once more. As the needle holes shifted, they gradually formed a diagram of human meridians! Each needle hole represented a specific acupoint in the human body.

Turning to the second page, the needle holes also began to twist, forming a humanoid figure holding a silver needle. On the third page, the needle holes twisted as well. The fourth page...

By the time Jiang Fan had finished reading the entire book, it was already nightfall. He had been completely absorbed in it for an entire day! And his gains were immense! From the shifting arrangements of the needle holes, he had learned astonishing and miraculous medical techniques. This was indeed the legacy of the Immortal Physician! However, to learn it, one required an extremely high level of comprehension.

Rubbing his sore, swollen eyes, Jiang Fan left the chamber. He saw the mansion in a state of commotion, with many patrolling guards rushing towards the main hall.

"What happened?" Jiang Fan stopped a guard and asked, "Have the remnants of the Blood Bat Sect appeared?"

The guard, recognizing him as Shadow Guard One, immediately showed respect and replied, "Reporting to Sir, it's not the Blood Bat Sect remnants. It's the head of the Chen family, Chen Yuqiu. He passed away from a severe illness. The City Lord and Young Miss are preparing to visit and confirm, and are currently assembling escorting guards."

The Chen family? Chen Siling's father? Only then did Jiang Fan realize why Chen Siling, a mere daughter, had stepped forward to manage such an important affair. It turned out her father had been seriously ill all along. Thinking of his connection with Chen Siling, Jiang Fan sighed silently. "I'll go take a look too."

Not long after, Ye Jifeng walked ahead. Ye Qingxue and Jiang Fan walked side-by-side behind him.

"What was the Chen family head's illness?" Jiang Fan asked.

Ye Qingxue sighed softly. "He was injured by an enemy, his heart meridians severed. For years, he relied on rare medicinal treasures to sustain his life. With his passing, the Chen family's future will likely be very difficult. If that enemy learns of his death, they probably won't spare his wife and daughter."

Great favors and great enmities in this world are inherently cruel. The martial arts world is even more brutal. If you don't eradicate the roots today, tomorrow your own family will be ruined and perish. As long as the Chen family head was alive, his enemy might have been somewhat wary. Now that he's gone, they definitely won't hold back.

Jiang Fan listened, sighing silently. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Chen Siling, such an intelligent, quick-witted, and beautiful young woman. While he was in Solitary Boat City, he might be able to help her. But if he were to leave someday, her fate would be entirely her own.

Soon after, they arrived at the Chen family mansion. White lanterns hung at the mansion gate, adorned with couplets. In the central courtyard, a black lacquered coffin was placed. Inside lay Chen Yuqiu, a middle-aged man with a square face, bleeding from his seven orifices and with blackened skin. Chen Siling, dressed in plain white mourning clothes, knelt before the coffin, her eyes brimming with tears. Her slender figure appeared especially frail and sorrowful amidst the mournful atmosphere.

In addition, several other prominent families had arrived. The Chen family was a well-established clan in Solitary Boat City. They naturally had many connections with upper-class families. The Zhu family was, of course, among them.

Zhu Jianshen, representing the Zhu family, knelt and bowed before the coffin, feigning sorrow. "Uncle Chen, you've left us unjustly! If I had known earlier that your injury was to your heart meridians, I would have gone back to Qingyun Sect no matter what, to get you the Golden Silkworm Life-Prolonging Pill to heal your wounds!"

Hearing this, Liu Qinmin, the Chen family matriarch, tearfully helped him up. "With your kind thoughts, your Uncle Chen would be content, even in the afterlife."

Jiang Fan, however, subtly shook his head. The Golden Silkworm Life-Prolonging Pill was a unique formula belonging to the Immortal Physician. Since his passing, this pill had long been lost, and even Qingyun Sect didn't possess it. Zhu Jianshen was full of lies, just to gain the Chen family's favor.

"Let's pay our respects too," Ye Jifeng said, leading Ye Qingxue forward to bow. After paying respects, he said, "You stay and talk more with Miss Chen. I'll head back first."

After he left, Jiang Fan also knelt and bowed, then stood up and looked at Chen Siling, whose tears wouldn't stop. "Please accept my condolences," he said.

Chen Siling froze for a moment. She found the voice familiar. But at that moment, immersed in grief, she had no time to ponder it, merely nodding in response.

Jiang Fan sighed silently, preparing to stand up. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he looked at the coffin with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He could actually hear a pulse! A pulse—that was something only living people had! Could it be that Chen Yuqiu wasn't completely dead?

He couldn't help but ask, "Are you certain that the Chen family head has no pulse at all?"

The abrupt question caused the Chen family members to feel a sense of offense. Liu Qinmin demanded, "Young Master, what do you mean by that?"

Listening to the pulse, as faint as a strand of hair and capable of stopping at any moment, Jiang Fan had no time for lengthy explanations. He approached the body, reaching out to feel its pulse. "I just want to confirm," he said.

"Presumptuous!"

"How dare you!"

"Stop right there!"

The Chen family members angrily shouted, moving to obstruct Jiang Fan. One white-bearded elder even swung a hoe towards the back of Jiang Fan's head. Left with no choice, Jiang Fan had to give up and dodge.

Liu Qinmin glared, her eyes wide with fury. "Does my Chen family have some grievance with you? Why are you disrespecting my husband's remains?"

Ye Qingxue's expression changed slightly, and she quickly stepped forward. "Lady Chen, please calm your anger. All Chen family members, please calm down. This is my Shadow Guard One. He means no harm."

The white-bearded elder, holding his hoe, stroked his beard and snorted, "If he means no harm, then why is he disrespecting our family head?"

This... Ye Qingxue also didn't understand why Jiang Fan was so reckless.

As it was a matter of life and death, and specifically Chen Siling's father's life, Jiang Fan spoke rapidly: "To be honest, I have some medical knowledge, and just now I detected a faint pulse from the Chen family head. Perhaps he isn't dead yet."

"What?" Chen Siling excitedly stood up, wiping away her tears. "Are you telling the truth?"

Zhu Jianshen, standing nearby, frowned. Where did this guy come from, trying to steal his thunder? He said gently, "Sister Siling, will you believe an outsider's nonsense, but not the renowned physician of your own clan?"

The white-bearded elder also glared at Jiang Fan. "Young man, what do you mean by this! Are you implying that Chen Wuji, Solitary Boat City's foremost divine physician, could be mistaken about whether a person is dead or alive?"

The Chen family elder, Chen Wuji, was indeed a famous divine physician. With his medical skill, there was no way he could misdiagnose even a dead person.

Chen Siling then snapped back to reality, her face once again filled with sorrow, and she knelt heavily before the coffin. Jiang Fan, anxious, was about to speak further, but Chen Wuji barked, "Guards! Drive this troublemaker out!"

Ye Qingxue couldn't speak up for Jiang Fan anymore. She somewhat resentfully said, "You must be too tired. Go back and rest for a bit."

Jiang Fan felt utterly helpless. Chen Yuqiu was clearly still alive, yet he was powerless to help.

Just then! A burst of wild laughter echoed loudly from outside.

"Chen family, it's time you paid the debt from all those years ago!"