As it turned out, acting was damn hard. People on Earth would occasionally criticise actors, claiming they had easy lives and got paid too much for an easy job. How wrong those haters were…

  I was doing my utmost to keep my face locked into a pensive and thoughtful expression. My eyebrows were raised halfway, not enough to make me appear surprised but perfectly lifted so that they resembled two swords that swept across my forehead.

  Lips curled downwards yet my mouth was raised ever so slightly, giving the impression that I was perpetually displeased by what my gaze fell upon. A mortal man, middle aged with hair that was more silver than black, knelt upon the middle of the three brown mats, head touching the ground as he kowtowed towards me.

  On the mat to his right—my left—a frail young girl was doing her best to stay upright while kneeling. Every few seconds she would burst out into a fit of harsh coughs that wracked her entire body.

  “Rise,” I declared, not moving an inch. “What would you request of the great healer?”

  It took every scrap of willpower I possessed to stop my eyebrow twitching as I spoke. Wang Ren had drilled the importance of this charade into me, but that didn’t mean I had to enjoy it.

  I had wanted to make the sect an open place of healing, where people from the entire Celestial Jade Empire could travel to be healed without needing to face the arrogance and derisiveness that cultivators usually showed them. That dream would have to wait.

  “Lord Cultivator,” the man began, but suddenly withered as I fixed him with a heavy glare. “Apologies! Great Healer, I implore you to heal my daughter. I have tried to cure her frail body since she was born but none of the herbalists or alchemists could figure out the issue. I have heard rumours of your prowess,” he cried, tears falling onto the wool.

  Damn, now I felt like an asshole. Regardless, I was sure that healing his daughter would be a simple affair, so all I needed to do was keep up the act a little longer.

  The old man looked conflicted. He still had something he wasn’t saying. “Speak up, what are you not telling this great healer?”

  “Lord Healer, I… I am a poor farmer. I barely earn enough from my harvests to cover the cost of next year’s crops. Every spare copper I earned has gone towards finding a cure for my daughter’s condition. I… have nothing to pay you with. Yet, I still beg for you to save her. All I have to offer is my worthless life,” he begged, eyes glistening with hope and fear.

  I didn’t respond right away. I continued to appear pensive, stroking my chin as I observed the man and his daughter.

  While I did this, I projected my senses outwards to try and figure out what was wrong with the girl. There were many reasons a child could be born with a frail body and those reasons had only multiplied now that I was in a magic cultivation world with myriad afflictions of the mind, body, and soul.

  Most were still a mystery to me, but the benefit of my healing techniques was that I didn’t always need to know what afflicted my patients in order to heal them. However, my goal wasn’t simply to raise myself to the heavens as the greatest healer to walk this continent.

  I wanted to produce a novel and complete set of healing arts that could be passed down through the Grasping Life Sect as my legacy. So that anyone who had the talent and determination could follow in my footsteps.

  To that end, it had become important to me to try and accurately diagnose all my patients before treating them. So far that morning I’d seen three groups of mortals from the nearby villages, mostly for minor sickness and physical maladies.

  I’d eventually figured out what was wrong with all three of them, but given the peculiarities of the human body in this world, it had taken longer than it should have. Once again, I was reduced to a student despite playing the part of a master.

  “There is no need for payment. What could a lofty sage such as myself require from a mere mortal. Curing your daughter is as easy as turning my hand. Wait outside, I will send her out once we are done,” I announced.

  The man leapt to his feet and bowed until he was folded in half with tears flowing down his cheeks and onto the ground. “Thank you, Great Healer! I will spread word of your greatness and praise you for the rest of my life,” he cried.

  I waved him away with a flick of my sleeve, his daughter nervously glancing between us as he walked out the door. I stood up and slowly approached her, not rushing so as not to scare the poor girl.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” I said softly, falling to my knees in front of her. “Does your body hurt, or are you simply weaker than the other children?” I asked.

  Clarifying questions were the most useful tool in a doctor’s arsenal. Kids tended to be fonts of truth, unless they’d already been twisted by poor parentage.

  “Sometimes it hurts. Especially when I get coughing fits,” she replied, bursting into one of the said fits immediately after. “Mostly I can’t run as fast or stay outside for too long. I get cold quicker and burn up in the sun. The other doctors said it was a curse or that my mother wasn’t…” she seemed… guilty? “Whole.”

  I frowned. I knew the standard of healing in this world wasn’t up to scratch, but to spout such nonsense without any logical foundation? To a child, especially. It was nothing but cruelty.

  “I see,” I replied. I had a decent idea of what might be affecting her. Although, given that she claimed it had been present her entire life, but she had survived and struggled to eight years of age—either this was the toughest little girl in existence or something about mortal bodies in this world improved their durability.

  “Sit still, this might tingle a little,” I told her, gently gripping her wrist in my hand and placing two fingers against it. “Three, two-” I used my healing technique.

  “You! Liar,” she exclaimed as a strand of qi raced into her body.

  I chuckled while keeping a close eye on how my qi behaved. Although healing mortals would offer almost nothing in terms of cultivation gains, there was still much to be learned from observing how the technique worked.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  As I had predicted, tiny drops of my qi spread out in a mist to repair the damage that had accumulated in her body over the years, but the majority settled around her lungs. It swirled and spun, forming twin whirlpools in her chest that sparked and flared as her own blood essence joined the dance.

  It took longer than I expected for the technique to reach its end. The way it functioned had fundamentally changed when I had broken through to the Qi Gathering Realm.

  In the Body Tempering Realm, my blood essence merged with the patients and formed clumps that healed wounds and eradicated infection. However, now that I used qi instead, it no longer did that.

  My qi flowed into the patient’s body, settling in the areas where the damage was most severe or any infections were most concentrated. What happened next depended on whether the patient was a mortal or a cultivator.

  If they had qi of their own, it would weave and braid together with my medicinal qi, burning away impurities and knitting flesh together as it went. However, when it came to mortals or Body Tempering practitioners, who only had blood essence, my qi seemed to consume it as fuel for the technique.

  I didn’t believe this harmed the patients in any way, though when it came to practitioners I suspected it may delay their cultivation a little. Or not… I’d need to test that out on Teng Sheng at some point.

  Whatever the case, the little girl coughed as a trickle of blood flowed from her nose. Despite that, she wore a stoic expression and stayed strong throughout. A few seconds later I felt a tingle as the tiniest extra drop of qi splashed into my dantian.

  The girl sat up. She frowned, raising an arm and staring at it. Then she balled up her fist and moved it to her mouth as if she was about to cough.

  Had I failed!? I realised as she opened her mouth and then frowned that it was a psychosomatic response. She was so used to regular coughing fits that her body had acted on instinct.

  The next moment she looked up at me with stars in her eyes, then leapt to her feet. I watched as she ran around the hall, catching her arm as she almost tripped over the edge of the mat in front of me.

  “Careful, child. You have only just been healed. You will need to spend time building up the strength of your muscles before you can run around with impunity. Run along to your father, now. I am sure he will be nervous,” I told her, standing up myself and returning to my mat.

  “Thank you, uncle healer,” she giggled as she ran out.

  Uncle? Was I already showing signs of age? I doubted it… kids were truly vicious when they wanted to be.

  Yu Chun walked in with a white haired granny in tow, leading her to the mats and helping her kneel before me. “The next patient, Granny Jie is here, Great Healer,” she declared, bowing low in my direction and throwing me a subtle wink before leaving the hall.

  I resisted the urge to sigh and rub my temple. “Welcome, Granny Jie. What do you require of this healer?”

  ****

  Wang Ren returned a few days later, seeming calm on the surface. I knew that he was worried though, having been acquainted with him for years and knowing his quirks like the back of my own hand.

  When we reached my house, I sat him down and prepared two cups of tea with meticulous care. I had grown fond of the leaves that he had brought back from his last journey and tried to take some time out of each day to relax and brew a cup or two.

  Sipping slowly and savouring the floral taste, we both drained our cups and returned them to the tea tray. “So, what’s troubling you, Senior Brother Wang?” I asked.

  “You… I told you not to call me that, Sect Master. It’s not proper,” he sighed in defeat. “Our plan should work just fine. Even before I returned I heard tales of the ‘Great Healer’ spreading. However, the Azure Tigers haven’t been as active. I can’t be sure how Hu Qing will act.”

  “So, you’re worried he won’t try a diplomatic approach first and may leap right into conquest? I’m sure we can handle ourselves, but I’m not sure about the others,” I said, creasing my brow in thought.

  “Indeed. If they attack when we are distracted they might end up killing the others before we can rush to help them,” Wang Ren agreed.

  “I have a plan. The natural treasure is almost ready for harvest. I suspect it will be two days or less. We can hide them all in the cavern until the danger has passed. There’s plenty of space and we can give them enough food and water to last a few weeks,” I suggested.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” he agreed with a taciturn nod. “How is the boy’s cultivation coming along? He is far from being able to handle the elites of our enemies, but if he advances towards Peak Body Tempering he will be able to guard the others competently.”

  “He is at four-star Body Tempering. I didn’t want to rush and cause him to develop a shaky foundation. I have a chance to turn him into a mighty warrior—an asset to the sect. I don’t want to risk that simply because I am too incompetent to keep the members of my sect safe.”

  “Astute,” Wang Ren said, tapping a finger against his knee. “However, sometimes the tree must sacrifice stability to weather the storm. Better to survive with average foundations than die in pursuit of perfection.”

  “We will see. If it isn’t necessary I wish to keep things as they are. I’m sure we can handle these bandits and clans with our own strength. If not, are we even worthy of leading a sect?” I replied.

  He fell into silent contemplation. “Let me know when the treasure is ready. It might require more than one of us to ensure the harvest goes smoothly. We don’t want to risk losing any of its efficacy.”

  “I will. Thanks for your efforts, Prime Guardian,” I said with a smirk.

  “I am yours to command, Sect Leader,” he chuckled in reply.

  ****

  That night I struggled to find rest, but with the treasure due to appear the next day and everyone feeling the pressures of our situation, I felt that a nap was in order. While I didn’t need as much rest as a mortal, I still needed to keep my mind sharp.

  Eventually I was able to fall asleep, but only once I headed up to the roof of my house and lay beneath the stars. Jing Ma had ruined ordinary sleep for me with his remarks of the sky’s wild beauty.

  I thought back to Earth’s night sky. Even in remote areas the sheer quantity of light pollution drowned out the majestic beauty of the milky way.

  Here in this new world I was greeted with an alien sky, but it was equally—if not magnitudes more—breathtaking. I had made progress on many of the problems I faced, but with each answer I found, more questions reared their heads.

  I didn’t hate that. Chasing endless knowledge and inspiration was a rewarding pursuit. Cultivation was addictive, but I had thus far tempered my greed and ambition. I knew why many cultivators turned to violence and conquest to advance endlessly, but I felt that it couldn’t be the only way—or even the best way.

  I knew that with my physique and unique method of cultivation I had an advantage over others, but there were far crueller methods I could be using to rapidly advance. I thought about the dao.

  The further one’s cultivation advanced, the more important comprehension of the dao—or rather, their own dao—became. I had gleaned scraps of insight into my path, what I’d dubbed the Dao of Healing, but it was far from complete.

  Chasing knowledge and trying to form a legacy felt closer to being a scholar than a cultivator. Why had things turned so violent in this world? If I knew the answer to that, I felt that many of my questions would be answered.

  My eyes felt heavy and I was finally ready to fall into slumber. Struggling for answers with a tired mind would lead nowhere.

  As my mind drifted into unconsciousness, I suddenly heard a deafening crash of smashing wood. A splinter flew overhead, burying itself in the beams of my pagoda.

  It seemed the Azure Tigers had no desire to allow another faction to occupy the mountain they’d set their sights on. With a sigh, I snapped my eyes open. It seemed I would have to wait another day before I could rest.