Chapter 34, Driven Out and Pulse-checking

Translator: StarReader

 

“Oh, I just remembered! It’s you, the leader of the beggars! That day, you chased me down three streets, and I’ve been thinking about when to return the favor!” Su Chen spotted the most imposing figure in the group of beggars—a square-faced young man—and immediately recognized him. He smiled, showing no signs of fear.

 

When he arrived in Gusu County City from Zhou Village, a penniless wanderer on the streets, he was mistaken by the young beggar as someone encroaching on their territory. He was chased through several blocks, barely managing to keep going. Less than half a year ago, when Su Chen was starving and freezing, he would never provoke a group of beggars.

 

However, after half a year of rigorous training in martial arts at the Medicine King Estate, he had become a third-rate practitioner, becoming a true disciple of martial arts; even five ordinary men wouldn’t stand a chance against him. Why would he pay any mind to these disheveled beggars? A dozen or so beggars surged forward, shouting and roaring, looking as if they intended to surround and attack him.

 

But as Su Chen glanced at them, he noticed they had no coordination, their punches lacked any rhythm, and their feet were unsteady. It was clear they hadn’t eaten properly in days, if not weeks. Su Chen moved like the wind, diving into the mob of beggars. His senses sharpened immensely; he could discern every detail.

 

In his eyes, the beggars’ movements seemed to slow down to a crawl—each punch and kick as blatant as a turtle’s pace. He didn’t even need to look; merely by listening to the sound of the wind, he could tell how many erratic punches were coming from all sides. Ah Chou was just gathering his courage to lend a hand when he was surprised to see that the battle was over.

 

Under the frenzied assault of over a dozen beggars, Su Chen moved with remarkable agility and lightness, slipping effortlessly through their midst. Not a single punch or kick connected with him.

 

Even if he were struck by one or two blows, it would barely faze him. These starving beggars, whose legs trembled with weakness and whose arms lacked even the faintest semblance of strength—hitting him felt no different than scratching an itch. It was neither painful nor harmful.

 

On the contrary, Su Chen, being a third-rate practitioner, already possessed enough strength in one punch to deliver over fifty kilograms of force. Such a blow would be far more devastating than a full-grown ox charging at you—it could instantly inflict internal injuries.

 

Every punch Su Chen delivered landed precisely on the abdomen or back of one of the attackers, never missing his mark. He held back some of his strength, refraining from delivering fatal blows.

 

“Ow, that hurt!”

 

“Mercy, kind sir! Don’t hit my head anymore; it’s already swollen like a pig’s!”

 

Before Ah Chou could rush to help, in the blink of an eye, over ten beggars were sent sprawling by Su Chen’s punches.

 

“It’s eerie; there are so many of us, and we’re throwing dozens of punches and kicks, but we can’t hit him at all!”

 

“Our Beggars’ Sect is going to be destroyed! Run away!”

 

The beggars, each with swollen faces and battered bodies, were terrified out of their wits, scrambling toward the entrance of the City God Temple. The square-faced young beggar, who had taken the worst beating, was now sporting a face that looked like a pig’s head.

 

Ah Chou, watching from behind, was utterly speechless.

 

The way Su Chen delivered those punches and kicks… it was as smooth and fluid as the river!

 

In the Heaven Falcon Group, he stayed for more than half a year. Frequently, he passed by the training arena and observed their disciples sparring with martial arts. Most of the lower-level disciples had clumsy techniques; it took them ages to throw one move, far from reaching Su Chen’s level. Only an extremely small number of senior second-rate martial artists could perform the techniques with such fluidity.

 

The group of beggars escaped the City God Temple and ran onto the official road. They stopped, breathless, only after not seeing Su Chen pursuing them. Their expressions were somber and bewildered, unsure of what to do next.

 

“Boss, the City God Temple has been taken over. What should we do? Where will we go to settle?” they asked the young beggar.

 

“It’s an unlucky first attempt,” he replied.

 

Eight Zhu also wore a look of deep sorrow. Times were hard for beggars these days. He had hoped that after forming the Beggar’s Sect, with numbers on their side, they could finally live better lives. But he never imagined how formidable the four great groups in the Wu Region truly were. Even a mere rookie from the Medicine King Group, who had only joined for less than a year, was strong enough to chase their group away in panic. There was no hope of challenging the top dogs.

 

“Even a kid can bully us like this,” Eight Zhu sighed. “It seems there’s no place for me in Gusu County City. How vast is this Wu Region, and where can I, an old beggar, find a spot to call home?”

 

“Boss, maybe we should join them too? If we don’t learn some real skills, we’ll never stand a chance against those martial villains.”

 

“But, in the Wu Region, the four groups only recruit children. Who would even look at us poor beggars?” The group of beggars all spoke up in agreement.

 

Eight Zhu shook his head, looking utterly defeated. “The four groups in the Wu Region won’t take us in. They’re no good. As for the Whale Gang, those water bandits are ruthless criminals; we can’t side with them either. But I heard there’s a White Lotus Society in Lou County. The leader is kind-hearted and might take pity on us poor, helpless souls. Let’s head to the White Lotus Society and see if they’ll let us join—just for a decent meal or two.”

 

“Boss, where exactly is this White Lotus Society?”

 

“Not far. I heard their main headquarters are on an island in Firm Mountain Lake, right within Lou County. It shouldn’t be hard to find.”

 

Eight Zhu led the group of destitute beggars, traveling slowly along the official roads toward Lou County. They relied on charity for every meal.

 

…

 

Meanwhile, Su Chen and Ah Chou took over the abandoned City God Temple. After a quick cleanup—sweeping away dust and cobwebs from the temple—it felt somewhat tidy and bearable.

 

The large earthen pot they’d knocked over during the fight earlier miraculously remained intact. It could still be used to boil soup.

 

“Ah Chou, give me your hand. I’ll check your pulse to see if you’ve sustained any internal injuries.”

 

Su Chen found a clean spot in the temple and sat down on the ground. Ah Chou’s external injuries were obvious and easy to treat, but his internal injuries could not be seen, requiring Su Chen to take his pulse carefully. Su Chen was particularly concerned about any hidden internal injuries that might affect Ah Chou’s future cultivation practice.

 

“Brother Chen,” Ah Chou asked with a raised eyebrow, “have you also learned how to treat illnesses?”

 

Ah Chou looked surprised but quickly sat down beside him, extending his right hand for inspection.

 

“It is only natural,” Su Chen replied, smiling as he placed his hand on Ah Chou’s wrist. “The main business of the Medicine King Group is providing medical prescriptions, which is far more skilled than what regular healers can offer. Martial arts practice is just a secondary activity for us. In my free time over the past half year, I’ve been casually reading some medical texts and have picked up a few skills along the way.”

 

Su Chen proceeded to carefully take Ah Chou’s pulse, though his actions were not genuine attempts at diagnosis but rather a means of assessing his condition more deeply.

 

This was a skill reserved for seasoned pharmacists, requiring decades of mastery to truly comprehend and execute; even pharmacists found it challenging to learn.

 

Li Kui did not instruct him in the art of pulse diagnosis.

 

Su Chen knew nothing about it.

 

Yet this mattered little to him. He intended to employ his unparalleled perception abilities to directly examine the patient.

 

This method was orders of magnitude more precise than a pharmacist’s experience-based pulse diagnosis, allowing him to discern even the minutest details within the patient’s bones, muscles, and meridians—such as injuries in specific bones or muscles, or blockages in particular blood vessels.

 

Su Chen’s fingertips had just made contact with Ah Chou’s wrist when he was surprised to discover that Ah Chou’s pulse was unusually vigorous, indicating he was likely in the midst of the uninitiate stage. With another year of training, he would likely reach the late uninitiate stage.

 

“Ah Chou,” Su Chen asked curiously, “have you trained in martial arts with the Heaven Falcon Group?”

 

The strong and powerful veins are a clear result of Lower Dantian being reinforced by cultivating, indicating that Ah Chou has spent an unusually long time cultivating martial arts skills.

 

“Yep!”

 

Ah Chou nodded repeatedly, his eyes sparkling with pride.

 

“When I was given the task to serve in the Heaven Falcon Group, I was told to work three years as a laborer without pay. But I’m not that naive; I didn’t join the Heaven Falcon Group just to work like a fool all day. I came here to learn martial arts, even if it meant doing hard labor. Without a master teaching me, I could still sneak and learn on my own.

 

“I used to pass by an outdoor training arena every day while working. I often saw other senior brothers sparring and practicing martial arts there. My memory isn’t great, but each day I managed to remember at least one move. Then, back in my quarters, I’d practice secretly for three or four hours.

 

“After half a year of this, I had already learned at least forty or fifty different techniques. If it weren’t for Young Master Wang and his gang bothering me so often and forcing me to hide from them, I could have learned even more.”

 

As Ah Chou spoke about his secret learning of martial arts within the Heaven Falcon Group, he became increasingly excited, clearly taking pride in this. This was the only thing that brought him joy during his time in the Heaven Falcon Group.

 

He had previously worked as a server at an inn, so he was very quick and efficient at his tasks.

 

Often, he would finish all the tedious tasks assigned to him by noon. Then, during the afternoon and evening, he would find a quiet spot to practice martial arts intensely, often cultivating until midnight for three or four hours. This was one of the key reasons why he frequently endured beatings from Young Master Wang, yet still refused to leave the Heaven Falcon Group. As long as he remained in the Heaven Falcon Group, he could secretly learn valuable skills.

 

“Three or four hours?” Su Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise upon hearing this. Ah Chou, having no master to teach him, had managed to pick up martial arts techniques by observing others and adapting them to his own style. Yet, the fact that he forced himself to cultivate for three or four hours every day was a major concern.

 

The practitioner, without sufficient tempering herbs to nourish his body, could only cultivate for two hours per day. Beyond this threshold, any forced cultivating would strain his body excessively, albeit delivering short-term boosts in power at the cost of severe physical toll.

 

Such extreme damage amounted to trading one’s life force for rapid progression in cultivation—a risk that disciples from other groups might casually overlook, often exceeding the two-hour mark daily. However, a disciple of the Medicine King Group, with their expertise in herbalism, held great disdain for such practices.

 

For Ah Chou, purchasing tempering herbs to strengthen his body was out of reach. Pushing himself with intense, prolonged cultivating would only accelerate his bodily decline, eventually leading to collapse and chronic ailments that rendered him immobile.

 

Meanwhile, Su Chen remained silent, continuing his meticulous observation of Ah Chou’s bones and flesh. Previously, Su Chen had subjected his own body’s meridians and bloodlines to such scrutiny.

 

Now, he tried to use his extraordinary perception to see if he could see Ah Chou’s condition. Upon this examination, Su Chen was surprised to find that it indeed worked. This meant that, seeing Ah Chou’s internal blood vessel and muscle injuries, a proper treatment could be applied.

 

He saw that Ah Chou’s bones and muscles were covered in injuries, with various bruises in his veins, especially the severe bone marrow loss. Ah Chou’s internal and external injuries were not only from being beaten by Young Master Wang and his gang but also partly due to the forced cultivating.

 

It seemed Ah Chou needed various blood-replenishing and bone-strengthening herbs to adjust his condition, clear the veins, and recover his bone marrow and muscle. Now, Ah Chou was thirteen or so, and his youthful energy kept him fine for the time being. But if this continued, in three to five years he would start suffering from illnesses, his vitality and blood diminishing. This could lead to him being incapacitated, let alone becoming a martial arts master.