Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 208 Pulse
Seeing Ma Xianhong frown slightly, Master Bi said, "I'm just being prepared and wanted to explain things to you more clearly in advance, Master."

"But... now that I see you really don't care, I'm relieved, and naturally I can... speak my mind."

After listening, Ma Xianhong pondered for a moment, then nodded. He then changed his posture, no longer leaning against the headboard, and sat cross-legged. Finally, after carefully straightening his clothes, he said to the waiting Bi Yuan:
"Understood, Mr. Bi, please speak."

Bi Yuan nodded, and then said, "Master, according to the evaluation standards of our supernatural community, I am just an ordinary person with neither outstanding personality nor talent. Decades have passed, and now I have become a 'prematurely aged' old man."

"But... this might not be such a bad thing for me. After all, those with extraordinary talent often need more 'polishing,' and that also means danger..."

"A life of 'mediocre and unproductive' is not an unacceptable disgrace. Once a person 'adapts' to it, they can accept it quickly."

"But... perhaps to pass the time, although I am an ordinary person, I really enjoy being around those talented young people."

"The reason is simple: the experiences and encounters of those young people are more exciting than any storybook or novel. It's like watching a movie; seeing their exciting lives brings me a lot of joy."

At this point, Bi Yuan paused involuntarily, as if recalling something from the past. After a long while, he stopped reminiscing, sighed twice, and continued:
"Master, although I don't know where you come from, since you can learn the Eight Extraordinary Techniques and create the Body Cultivation Furnace, and reorganize the entire Biyou Village, it is clear that you have extraordinary talent and background. In other words, you are the kind of talented young person I believe you to be."

Upon hearing Master Bi's evaluation of him, Ma Xianhong raised his eyebrows, but after only a few breaths, he reached out and suppressed the slight smugness that came from the praise, signaling the other party to continue.

Upon seeing this, Bi Yuan smiled and adjusted his glasses before continuing, "Young people like you are extremely rare. And among those I have the acquaintance with, including you, there are only three."

"The other two have already found their own 'paths' and are making great strides. Now... in my eyes, you must be close to it as well."

Ma Xianhong frowned and asked, "Embark on the journey? Do you think I haven't set off yet, or am still standing still?"

Although Village Chief Ma looked displeased when he said this, Bi Yuan could tell that his dissatisfaction wasn't directed at him, but at Ma Xianhong himself...

So, after hearing this, Bi Yuan couldn't help but smile: "Perhaps this sounds a bit disparaging to you, Master, but before yesterday, I thought you had already taken a big step forward."

"Even... after you won against All-Tong, I even thought you were close to the finish line you wanted to reach."

"But... after taking your pulse twice, I realized something was wrong—my assessment of you was incorrect..."

"You might still be stuck in the same place."

Seeing Ma Xianhong's puzzled expression, Bi Yuan, for some reason, thought of the two good 'disciples' he had met during his early education. This renowned teacher from the world of supernatural beings smiled, stroked his gray beard, and said, "Do you know... the Gao family of Northern Qi?"

"The Gao family of Northern Qi? Master Bi, you mean the one in the history books..."

Upon hearing Bi Yuan's words, Ma Xianhong was taken aback, and then asked a question. Of course, perhaps it was because this family was too famous, but Village Chief Ma felt inexplicably uncomfortable when mentioning it.

He always felt that Mr. Bi's inexplicable mention of this family of madmen was not a 'good start'.

Bi Yuan nodded in response, and then picked up the gold needles he had thrown on the table after examining Ma Xianhong's pulse, saying as he did so, "It's good that you know, so I don't have to explain further later."

After saying that, Master Bi changed the subject and asked, "Master, what I teach is the 'Thirteen Ghost Needles.' Of course, people in the martial arts world and outlaws prefer to speak quickly and dislike talking too much, so they like to call my technique the 'Ghost Needles.'"

"And... as the name suggests, the purpose of this acupuncture technique is to pull people back from the brink of death. Needless to say, it is a skill for healing and saving lives. As for the methods of this [Ghost Gate Acupuncture]... I was once a furnace master, and you know about it when I gave you the Black Puppet Technique."

"So, in your opinion, what do you think of my 'craft'?"

After listening, Ma Xianhong pondered for a moment, reviewed the techniques of the Ghost Needle in his mind, and compared them with the techniques recorded in the medical manuals collected by his sister's Yaoxing Society.

He then replied, “Your ‘Ghost Needle’ technique is simple and easy to learn and pass on. However, if one wants to study it in depth, one can become a grandmaster and it can be called a pioneering art.”

Bi Yuan smiled after hearing this, then nodded and said, "As expected of the sect leader, although you haven't seen me use my methods many times, you have exceptional insight and pointed out the key point."

"But you're praising me too much. My Ghost Needle is just like the Taizu Long Fist in the martial arts world. It's very easy to learn, not very deep, but it can be practiced continuously. Perhaps, the ancestor who created this method designed it this way."

At this point, Bi Yuan, the master of the Bi family, did not show any fear because of the common nature of his own method. On the contrary, he said with great pride: "Since it can cure diseases and save lives, my [Ghost Gate Needle] is naturally also a physician and a doctor."

"In other medical traditions, whether it is an ordinary physician or a secret school, there are only three to five disciples in a generation. If you want to cultivate a national master of the level of Wang Zizhong, it is probably impossible to produce one in several generations."

"But my [Ghost Needle] technique can be passed down to hundreds of people in one generation. National champion? Grand champion? If you're lucky, you can have one in each generation."

"Don't underestimate my Ghost Needle technique just because it's weakened now. In terms of the number of practitioners in the martial arts world, my lineage has been top-notch for thousands of years—not to mention that we've produced figures like Sun Simiao."

At this point, Master Bi picked up a cup of cool tea from the table, moistened his throat with it, and then drank it down in one gulp before continuing:

"I'm not saying this to boast about my lineage, but to talk about something else—my lineage has a long history of teachers, and because of its high standards and the fact that acupuncture can treat emergencies, many people in each generation have served as imperial physicians in the palace, and we know countless secrets of the palace."

At this point, Ma Xianhong felt that Master Bi Yuan was more like a storyteller than a physician, so he nodded enthusiastically and gestured for him to continue.

Perhaps Bi Yuan was quite proud of his sect's methods, so he said, "The [Ghost Needle] sect has been divided into thirty-five branches. They gather every three years for a small gathering and every ten years for a grand gathering. Their techniques naturally blend together, and the same goes for difficult and complicated diseases. Sharing their experiences, secrets, and medical records is also a given. So... we have seen many diseases that are difficult for ordinary people to see."

"Although... during the Qing Dynasty, due to the debauchery of a patriarch surnamed Wen, my entire sect suffered greatly and lost many ancestral secrets, but we still have a considerable amount of knowledge left." After saying this, Bi Yuan became more serious, as if he had been laying the groundwork for a long time and was finally about to reach the key point.

He continued, "Master, I'm telling you so many stories about the 'Ghost Needle' not for any other purpose than to make you believe more in the future."

"My [Ghost Needle] technique was first used by a master as a court physician during the Spring and Autumn Period. It has been passed down to this day. I have seen countless pulse and heart conditions. Your symptoms, Master, are rare to see even after hundreds of years. But my school has been passed down for more than two thousand years, so I have naturally seen them as well."

"The reason I mentioned the Gao family of Northern Qi to you before was because... the pulse and mental state of that mad emperor of the Gao family are very similar to your current symptoms."

Although Ma Xianhong was merely a learned and eccentric craftsman, not a historian, he was aware of the widespread notoriety of the Northern Qi emperors, who were known for their madness.

Therefore, upon hearing Master Bi's words, he understood what the other party meant and couldn't help but frown and say, "Similar to them?"

"I just have a headache, I haven't done anything crazy... I can't possibly end up like them, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Bi Yuan simply smiled, raised his hand in a gesture of apology, and said, "Master, please don't be hasty, let me finish speaking first."

"Throughout the Northern and Southern Dynasties, madness was rampant. While there was a general trend of the time, the most important factor was... eccentric individuals."

“Strange people?” Ma Xianhong frowned and said, “I only know about the Buddha’s enemies during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. As for other things… I haven’t heard of any extraordinary forces that stood out or took center stage during that time.”

Bi Yuan nodded, then smiled and continued, "Master, everyone has a different perspective on the same period of history, ultimately because of their different viewpoints. And from a doctor's perspective, it's naturally a 'view' that's hard for you to understand..."

"Although it doesn't quite align with our current ethnic strategy, the Hu and Han peoples were still severely divided at that time."

"The Hu people weakened due to internal strife in the Central Plains, and then, relying on witchcraft and magic, led their troops into the Central Plains and became emperors. However..."

"Perhaps the Central Plains were too wonderful, so the Hu people who entered the 'city' no longer wanted to call themselves Hu people, and even began to resist the 'Hu people' from beyond the Great Wall, just like the Han emperors."

"Therefore... these Hu people who entered the city lost the protection of the shamans. In order to protect themselves in that era when strange people dominated, they promoted Buddhism."

"However... the rise of Buddhism also affected the rule, and the emperors of that chaotic era began to persecute Buddhism."

"The final result was that a group of emperors who were not supported by Taoism, nor protected by witches and Buddhas, ultimately became the 'testing ground' for the magic of Jianghu eccentrics."

At this point, Bi Yuan sighed again and said, "Although attributing all their madness to supernatural beings is a bit too biased, it is absolutely true that supernatural beings played a role. This is the 'unofficial history' passed down by my ancestors of the Ghost Needle lineage through 'medical records'."

"Of course... perhaps it's a bit 'wild' to you ordinary people, but to us medical professionals, it's perfectly normal."

At this point, Bi Yuan stared at Ma Xianhong's face for a moment, then continued, "And the Gao family of Northern Qi, which produced many madmen during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, was of utmost importance in the records of my ancestors."

"The emperors of the Gao family were all madmen; tyranny, slaughter, and debauchery were their specialties. But if we were to attribute it to something else... not everyone in the Gao family was mad, and those who were mad happened to be descendants of Gao Huan's wife, Lou Zhaojun."

"And my ancestor happened to have treated Lou Zhaojun and those emperors."

"Therefore... my statement that your pulse and mental state are similar to those of people in Northern Qi is not unfounded, but rather based on records."

At this point, Bi Yuan frowned, closed his eyes and recalled for a moment, and said, "Although... ancient sayings will eventually change their meaning in the present day, they are generally correct."

"According to my ancestors' records, Lou Zhaojun, who was nicknamed 'Dragon Mother,' was once covered in red qi by someone using an unknown method in her early years. Although she was stopped, she still fell seriously ill."

"Then...the emperors she gave birth to, all of whom were exceptionally handsome, but also perverse and tyrannical, with their eyes often gleaming blue."

When Ma Xianhong heard Master Bi's words, his heart skipped a beat. After five or six breaths, he opened his mouth, wanting to ask something.

But... he had only opened his mouth halfway when he saw that Master Bi opposite him was about to speak, so he closed his mouth again and gestured for the other to speak first.

Seeing this, Bi Yuan took another sip of tea and said, "In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, madmen were everywhere, and there were countless strange methods to drive people mad. But as for the Gao family, which caused a change in the clan, even my ancestor did not find anyone similar in the past books."

"What's special about it is that... if the records are correct, even if we include those few mad emperors, only Lou Zhaojun from the Gao family has ever been successfully attacked."

"And how terrifying it is that a single attack can affect future generations. But after that, none of my ancestors ever witnessed anything like it again."

"It wasn't until my generation, until yesterday, that I saw it for the second time."

At this point, Bi Yuan stroked his beard, looked up, and recited slowly:
"Looking at his appearance, he was calm and composed, without any signs of agitation, anger, or worry. However, when his pulse was palpated, it was found to be deep, slippery, and slow. The deep pulse indicated that the disease was internal, the slippery pulse indicated that phlegm and turbidity were accumulated internally, and the slow pulse indicated that the yang qi was stagnant."

“The heart governs the mind and consciousness. When phlegm and turbidity are secretly generated, they obstruct the heart orifices. When the yang qi is stagnant and cannot be circulated, the spirit loses its warmth and flow. Although outwardly peaceful, it is actually a sign of phlegm and turbidity trapping the spirit and the mind being closed off internally.”

"Therefore, over time, one's mind becomes clouded, one's emotions become indifferent, and one loses the ability to recognize family and strangers."

(End of this chapter)