Chapter 60 Return to Luoyang

The hundred-odd surviving imperial soldiers began to mobilize.

Having lost their horses, it would likely take them two or three days to reach the nearest city.

Luo Ang led his men and rendezvoused with Zhang Ji, who had advanced ahead of them.

Zhang Ji, who had been on tenterhooks the entire time, beamed with joy upon seeing him return and exclaimed, "My lord!"

Luo Ang smiled faintly and said, "Sir, there is nothing to worry about now."

Zhang Ji and Han Xiangjun both stared wide-eyed, wearing expressions of sheer disbelief.

Han Xiangjun asked, "D-did you defeat them?"

Zhang He chimed in, "It is far more than mere defeat, my lady. Had my lord not shown mercy, that fellow Ju Yi would already be a dead man!"

Upon hearing Zhang He's words, Zhang Ji and Han Xiangjun were struck with profound shock.

Han Xiangjun murmured, "So the legends were all true! You are truly, truly this formidable!"

Several days later, Luo Ang and his party returned to Luoyang, traveling day and night.

At this time, the area outside Luoyang was bustling with activity. Farmers carrying baskets of vegetables and fishermen with creels on their backs were heading toward the city, eager to catch the midday market and sell their goods for a good price.

Luo Ang's entourage ascended the dock, merged with other merchant caravans, and proceeded toward Luoyang.

As Zhang Ji and Han Xiangjun gazed at the lively docks and the thronged official highway, they found it hard to believe their eyes. Having suffered through two consecutive major battles, they had expected Luoyang to be utterly desolate, never imagining such a scene of bustling prosperity.

However, upon passing through the city gates, the two were even more astonished. Both of them had visited Luoyang in the past, yet the streets before them were evidently far more prosperous and crowded with pedestrians than they had ever been.

Far from being reduced to ruin by the two battles, Luoyang seemed even more flourishing than before.

The group headed straight to the Marquis of Yan's Mansion.

Seeing that he had arrived at the Marquis of Yan's Mansion, Zhang Ji finally realized that Luo Ang was none other than the Marquis of Yan.

Luo Ang cupped his fists and said, "Forgive me, Master Zhang. I have been concealing my identity all this time. I am truly sorry!"

Zhang Ji hurriedly returned the gesture, saying, "I wouldn't dare presume."

Luo Ang continued, "Actually, the reason I invited you here is to save a strategist under my command. He has been plagued by a persistent cough, coughing up blood at times, and no other physician has been able to cure him."

"Very well, then I shall accompany you to take a look." Upon hearing of a difficult and mysterious ailment, Zhang Ji's interest was immediately piqued. After all, he had few pastimes, but he harbored a passionate fondness for curing conditions that others could not.

Luo Ang nodded and said, "Very well. However, I must first attend to a personal matter."

With that, he looked toward Han Xiangjun and said, "You may go inside first. Once I return, I will have a room arranged for you."

Han Xiangjun asked hesitantly, "What should I do if they won't let me in?"

Luo Ang reassured her, "Rest assured. Just tell them you are my sworn sister."

Han Xiangjun cupped her fists and said, "Thank you very much."

She then walked toward Luo Ang's estate.

Luo Ang made a polite gesture toward Zhang Ji and said, "Sir, please."

Zhang Ji replied, "Lead the way."

Together with Luo Ang, he walked toward the residence of Xi Zhicai.

Before long, they arrived outside Xi Zhicai's mansion.

Luo Ang said to the two attendants standing guard outside, "Escort me inside. I have invited a divine physician to treat your master."

One of the attendants responded, "Please follow me, My Lord!"

With that, he led Luo Ang and Zhang Ji toward Xi Zhicai's bedchamber.

Inside the bedchamber, Xi Zhicai lay upon his cot, coughing incessantly.

At that moment, the attendant who had been stationed at the gate walked in and announced, "Master, the Marquis of Yan has arrived!"

Hearing that Luo Ang had come, Xi Zhicai said weakly, "Hurry and invite him in."

The attendant acknowledged the order and withdrew.

A moment later, Luo Ang entered with Zhang Ji in tow.

Seeing Luo Ang enter, Xi Zhicai attempted to rise from the bed, but Luo Ang quickly stopped him, reminding him that he was an invalid.

Luo Ang sighed and said, "You really are something. Knowing full well how frail your body is, you still try to get out of bed."

He then turned to Zhang Ji and said, "Sir, let us begin."

Zhang Ji nodded and said, "Very well."

He then stepped forward to take Xi Zhicai's pulse.

After checking the pulse, Luo Ang asked anxiously, "Doctor Zhang, can Zhicai's condition be cured?"

Zhang Ji stroked his beard and replied, "It is curable. Strategist Xi's illness was originally triggered by a chill, but he has a lifelong fondness for strong wine. Excessive drinking has severely damaged his lungs, which is why his cough has grown progressively worse. Treating this illness is neither exceptionally difficult nor particularly easy."

Hearing that it could be cured, both Luo Ang and Xi Zhicai breathed sighs of relief. However, puzzled by Zhang Ji's concluding remark, Luo Ang asked, "Why did Doctor Zhang say the treatment is neither difficult nor easy? How are we to interpret that?"

"This illness requires a prolonged course of medication and recuperation. To achieve a complete recovery would take half a year to a year. But most importantly, he must not touch a single drop of wine during this period. If he touches alcohol again, even I will be powerless to help him." Zhang Ji knew that habitual drinkers found it extremely difficult to restrain themselves; once addicted, breaking the habit was exceptionally arduous unless one possessed an ironclad will. He privately felt that Xi Zhicai's unrestrained and free-spirited nature would make abstaining from alcohol exceedingly difficult.

"Rest assured, Doctor Zhang, I will have all the wine cleared out of Zhicai's mansion and post guards to watch him constantly, ensuring he doesn't even set eyes on a wine jar, let alone drink from one." Knowing that quitting alcohol was a daunting task, Luo Ang decided to take a harsh approach by assigning guards to keep Xi Zhicai from even catching sight of liquor.

With a woebegone expression, Xi Zhicai lamented, "My Lord, asking me to abstain entirely from wine is no different from asking me to die."

Luo Ang patted Xi Zhicai on the shoulder and said, "Zhicai, you must endure this. Once you are cured, I will let you drink to your heart's content; otherwise, the matter is closed."

Zhang Ji also advised, "Strategist Xi, I know you love your wine, but as the Marquis of Yan's most vital strategist, you shoulder immense responsibilities. Drinking is a trivial matter, while assisting the Marquis of Yan is a matter of paramount importance. If your health fails, how can you aid him in pacifying the realm in the future?"

Hearing these words, Xi Zhicai came to realize the gravity of seeking a cure.

Zhang Ji's words were entirely true. Had he not chosen an illustrious master precisely to put his talents to use? Now that he had finally encountered a ruler of grand ambitions and exceptional vision, it was the very moment to display his abilities. How could he allow himself to be struck down by a fondness for wine?

Having thought it through, he made up his firm resolve to quit drinking.

Outside Xi Zhicai's mansion, Luo Ang and Zhang Ji walked out together.

As Zhang Ji prepared to take his leave, Luo Ang reached out and held him back.

Noticing this, Zhang Ji asked, "Does the Marquis of Yan have further instructions?"

"Doctor Zhang, where do you plan to go upon leaving?" Luo Ang gripped Zhang Ji's arm, fearing the physician might slip away.

"Naturally, I intend to return to Julu."

"Do you have urgent business in Julu?"

Zhang Ji shook his head and replied, "No urgent matters. I am simply accustomed to living the life of a wandering physician."

"I beg Doctor Zhang to hear me out." Luo Ang pulled Zhang Ji aside and said, "Since your purpose in returning to Julu is to treat the sick, and you can treat the sick just as well here in Luoyang, why not remain here?"

"The Marquis of Yan is mistaken. I have long been accustomed to traveling far and wide to heal people, and I am not used to staying in any one place for too long." Zhang Ji could already perceive the intent behind Luo Ang's words, but he remained reluctant to stay.

Luo Ang was not perturbed and continued patiently, "Then let me ask you, Master Zhang: is healing the sick not the most important endeavor of all?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Ji answered, "Of course. Saving lives and alleviating suffering is my primary mission."

"Since saving lives is your primary mission, Doctor Zhang, all the more reason for you not to leave Luoyang."

Puzzled, Zhang Ji asked, "Why does the Marquis of Yan say so?"

"All the world knows that Doctor Zhang is an eminent physician of our era with exceptional medical skills, yet you prefer to wander as a itinerant doctor. If someone afflicted with a severe illness were to travel all the way to Julu to seek you out, only to find you absent, would that not delay the optimal window for treatment?" Luo Ang said slowly.

"What the Marquis says is reasonable; nevertheless, even if I cease to be a wandering physician, I should return to Julu rather than stay in Luoyang, should I not?" Zhang Ji countered once more.

"Doctor Zhang, you are mistaken once again." Luo Ang smiled faintly, stepped forward, and said, "Though your medical skills are brilliant, you are but one man, whereas the number of people in the world who need healing is countless. In the wake of war, the wounded number in the tens of thousands; in the aftermath of plagues, the suffering commoners are innumerable. Even within the single commandery of Luoyang, the sick number in the hundreds and thousands, to say nothing of the entire Han Empire. Tell me, Doctor Zhang, how many people can you truly save on your own?"

"This..." Confronted by Luo Ang's logic, Zhang Ji was left speechless. "Your Lordship possesses profound wisdom. According to your view, how then does one go about saving all the common people of the Han?"

"Master Zhang, you must understand that saving one person, ten people, a hundred, or even a thousand still amounts to the art of a lesser physician. If one wishes to leave a lasting name in history and become a healer revered by future generations, one must practice the art of the great physician." Luo Ang knew that dangling the prospect of eternal renown was the most effective way to entice Zhang Ji.

"The art of the great physician? What is the art of the great physician?" Having practiced medicine for twenty years and treated countless patients, Zhang Ji had never heard of such a concept.