The book was about a foot square, made of an unknown material that shimmered with radiant light. It looked like gold yet was not gold, and like jade yet was not jade.
Everyone looked up at the Heavenly Book suspended in mid-air, their mouths agape, nearly forgetting to breathe.
Yun Shu spoke with a calm expression, “This book is called the 《Encyclopedia of Salvation》. All the difficult and complicated diseases, strange toxins, and mysterious illnesses of the world, along with their cures, are recorded within.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. The physicians in the crowd, in particular, stared at the Heavenly Book with eyes fixed wide.
【Lu Sui Shock Value +100】
【Lin Xun Shock Value +100】
【Pei Wanning Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 200,500】
“However, the Heavenly Book possesses a spirit; it cannot be forced. Those with fate will obtain it, while those without fate will find no response even if they kowtow to it.”
The Divine Lady paused. “Furthermore, how much the one who obtains this book can learn depends on their own fortune. Those with high comprehension may gain seventy to eighty percent, while those with duller minds may only gain ten to twenty percent.”
“The path of medicine is long; the Heavenly Book is merely a guiding lamp. How far one can go ultimately depends on the heart.”
Low murmurs of discussion rose from the crowd.
Some faces showed yearning, while others were filled with hope.
Most people, however, held their breath and stared unblinkingly at the golden Heavenly Book suspended in the air.
After a short while.
The Heavenly Book suddenly began to float.
It drifted over Shen Yu’s head without stopping.
Next.
It drifted over Pei Wanning’s head.
Pei Wanning was full of anticipation.
Yet, the Heavenly Book drifted away once more.
And then.
It drifted over Lu Sui’s head.
The Heavenly Book paused slightly.
Lu Sui’s heart leapt into his throat. He could almost feel the golden light brushing against his cheek.
But in the next second, the Heavenly Book drifted away again.
A flash of disappointment crossed Lu Sui’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by an even greater anticipation.
He desperately wanted to know.
Just who the fated person was.
The Heavenly Book moved slowly through the crowd.
Like a picky butterfly, it lingered briefly before each flower before fluttering away.
Everyone’s gaze followed the golden book, their hearts drifting and swaying along with it.
Until it floated in front of a young physician wearing plain cloth clothes and carrying a half-worn medicine box on his shoulder.
The Heavenly Book stopped.
Everyone’s breath hitched.
Lin Xun looked up blankly, his gentle eyes filled with golden light.
He wasn't given any time to react.
In the blink of an eye.
The Heavenly Book transformed into a streak of golden light and, under everyone’s watchful gaze, silently vanished into his chest.
The system’s little fox, having completed the task of choosing a master for the Heavenly Book, scurried back to Yun Shu’s side, hiding its contribution.
Countless words, prescriptions, pathologies, and methods of treatment flooded into the depths of Lin Xun’s consciousness like falling stars or rivers returning to the sea.
The confusion he felt when he couldn't find answers in medical books, the regret of being helpless against complicated diseases, the puzzles he had tossed and turned over late at night without understanding...
In this moment, all were resolved.
It was as if someone had lit a lamp in his heart.
Once that lamp was lit.
The entire room was filled with brilliance, leaving no shadows.
“The Heavenly Book... the Heavenly Book chose Physician Lin...”
“Physician Lin is the best doctor in Xindu City. He often provides free consultations at his clinic. It stands to reason that the Heavenly Book would choose him...”
“Last time, my neighbor Aunt Wang didn't have money for treatment, and it was Physician Lin who paid for her medicine out of his own pocket...”
Amidst the crowd's discussions, Lin Xun came to his senses. His pupils trembled violently, and his eyes reddened and moistened at a visible rate, until he actually shed tears in public.
“I kowtow in gratitude for the Divine Lady’s heavenly grace.”
He kowtowed heavily to the Divine Lady, his forehead hitting the solid blue stone ground with a dull thud.
“Yizhi is but a mere mortal with shallow knowledge. How could I be worthy of the Heavenly Book’s favor?”
“Yizhi has no way to repay this great kindness. I only wish to immediately rush to Yecheng to use the medical skills taught by the Heavenly Book to drive away the plague, save the people, and live up to the Divine Lady’s benevolent intentions!”
“I shall have no regrets, even in death!”
The embroidery workshop suddenly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Everyone was looking at the young physician kneeling on the ground.
“Though this old man is untalented and did not receive the favor of the Heavenly Book, I have read a few medical texts and recognize a few herbs.”
The speaker was an elderly physician over fifty, his hair and beard white, his face etched with the furrows of time.
His voice was aged and hoarse, yet it carried a stubbornness that even a youth could not match. “With the plague upon us, how can a physician stand idly by? This old man is willing to follow young Physician Lin to Yecheng to contribute whatever strength and heart I can!”
Before his voice had even faded, another person stepped out from the crowd.
It was a burly man with shoulders like a tiger and a waist like a bear. He wore a short tunic and looked more like a hunter than a physician.
He scratched his head and said in a booming voice, “I... I don't know how to treat illnesses, but I am strong! I can go to Yecheng to help carry patients, move things, and chop wood to boil water!”
“Count me in!”
“I’m going too!”
“And me!”
One, five, ten, a hundred...
More and more people wanted to go to Yecheng.
Among these figures who stood up, there were a few particularly eye-catching ones.
They were several women.
Leading them was a woman in her early thirties with her hair tied in a neat bun and a resolute face.
“This humble woman, Madam Zou, has learned a bit from my father. I dare not say I am an expert in pharmacology, but I can handle small matters like bandaging, decocting medicine, and caring for patients.”
Standing beside her was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl with a round face and bright eyes. “I... my name is A'rui. I learned how to identify herbs from my mother...”
Facing so many people for the first time, she was incredibly nervous, and her speech became somewhat stuttered. “I... I know dozens of types of herbs. I won't misidentify them!”
They all knew.
The road ahead was dangerous, and life or death was uncertain.
Yet, not a single person hesitated.
The Divine Lady stood before the crowd, the figures of those who had stepped forward reflected in her obsidian-like eyes.
“Since that is the case, I shall go with you to see how you will defeat a real plague.”
Pei Wanning and the others watched with heated eyes, and just as they were about to speak, they were stopped by Shen Yu.
Shen Yu said, “Brother, Miss Pei, Zirang, Xindu needs someone to stay and manage things. As for going to Yecheng, it will be enough for Lu Buyan and me to go, along with Commandant Zhou and a troop of men.”
Shen Jue, however, said, “Zirang and Miss Pei are more than enough to stay and manage Xindu.”
“I will also accompany you to Yecheng.”
“Brother, you cannot.” Shen Yu shook his head. “Luo Daoqing met his end in Xindu City, and Emperor Ling of Yong has passed away. That group of sorcerers in the capital is acting out of desperation, supporting a Child Emperor to the throne in an attempt to hold the emperor hostage to command the nobles. The governors of various prefectures are not buying it.”
“Now the world is in chaos, with warlords carving up the land. You must stay in Xindu to train the soldiers.”
“The people of Xindu are all followers of the Divine Lady, but outside of Xindu, no one knows that the Divine Lady is the true deity who saves the world and its people. By going to Yecheng this time, the Divine Lady will surely be seen by those with ulterior motives as someone taking advantage of the chaos to deceive the people and hinder her efforts to enlighten the masses.”
At this point, he narrowed his eyes slightly. “When that time comes, it will be necessary to use some special means to make those who are unwilling to listen to the Divine Lady’s teachings understand what the truth is.”
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