From Evil Sect Leader to Doctor

Huang Wanglin said, "Professor Bai, you’re only talking about the theoretical possibility. Indeed, the ancients had the habit of using good things for burial. Anyway, I believe that the existing ’Lantingxu’ is a fake; the original is still in Zhao Ling."

Bai Mushan said, "That’s precisely why tomb raiders are endless, even causing the emergence of several dedicated factions."

Mo Han said, "Why are we suddenly talking about tomb raiding?"

Bai Mushan laughed and said, "We are just discussing the possibility of certain things existing in the world. Everyone thinks that treasures believed to be lost might not have truly vanished from the earth. They might be preserved in some unknown place in a different form."

Huang Wanglin said, "That’s why the archaeology profession exists, to excavate and protect ancient civilizations."

Xu Chunliang sighed and said, "People will risk their lives for wealth, just like birds will risk their lives for food. As long as there’s huge profit, it will quickly breed an industry. You guys are buying dragon bones at high prices; now the whole artifacts market is booming with dragon bones."

Bai Mushan said, "Our intention is for protection, not to hype prices."

Mo Han said, "Everything we do is reasonable and legal."

Xu Chunliang said, "Just because you guys are reasonable and legal doesn’t mean others use reasonable and legal means to obtain these dragon bones. Why disturb things that are already buried underground?"

Huang Wanglin was also very troubled by the dragon bones matter lately. After Sun Changli’s incident, the business he helped facilitate was spread around. Now, many people came to him for help; it was a mixed bag. Huang Wanglin was very annoyed and mostly turned them down, but some people’s requests couldn’t be refused, like Master Xie, Xie Boxiang, who brought this batch of goods.

Huang Wanglin found himself in quite a dilemma. He was doing legitimate business, yet Xie Boxiang had a lot of things of dubious origin. Huang Wanglin even told Xie Boxiang to contact Mo Han directly, mainly worried about it affecting Linzheng Hall’s reputation if anything went wrong.

Xie Boxiang stated that this was the last time, as he still didn’t trust Mo Han’s group and felt more secure going through Huang Wanglin.

Bai Mushan said, "Although that’s what was said, so many treasures of our ancestors are buried in history. If we let them remain neglected, aren’t we being irresponsible to Chinese civilization? If we can discover and bring them back to light, it’s a significant contribution to China and even the whole world."

Xu Chunliang said, "Hearing it like this, the significance is indeed huge."

Bai Mushan said, "Of course, just take the ’Huangdi Waijing’ for example. Some people doubt the existence of the ’Huangdi Waijing,’ but the ’Records of the Grand Historian’ clearly records seven families of medical classics and eleven families of medical formulas. The medical theories of the time were divided into three schools: the Huangdi School, which had eighteen volumes of ’Huangdi Neijing’ and thirty-seven volumes of ’Waijing’; the Bian Que School with nine volumes of ’Bian Que Neijing’ and twelve volumes of ’Waijing’; and the Bai School with thirty-eight volumes of ’Bai Neijing,’ thirty-six volumes of ’Waijing,’ and twenty-five volumes of ’Miscellaneous Essays.’ Among these, only the Huangdi School’s ’Huangdi Neijing’ survived, while the ’Waijing’ has long been lost."

Bai Mushan paused for a moment and continued, "The works of the Bian Que School are nearly all lost too. The ’Nanjing’ is alleged to be written by Bian Que but is not recorded in the ’Records of the Grand Historian.’ Recently, a batch of medical books from the Bian Que School was unearthed from the Han Tomb at Old Official Mountain in Chuan Prefecture. The works of the Bai School have also been lost and not unearthed."

Huang Wanglin sighed, "If all our Chinese medical texts could have been passed down from ancient times to today, what a flourishing scene it would be."

When Xu Chunliang heard about the Bai School, he suddenly had a thought. Could Bai Mushan have any connection with the Bai School? How could an archaeologist be so interested in excavating medical texts? Moreover, there aren’t many people with the Bai surname, so surely there’s more to it.

Bai Mushan said, "The most regrettable loss is the ’Huangdi Waijing,’ which had thirty-seven volumes, and should be the earliest and most comprehensive work on surgery in China. The ’Mating and Conceiving’ Chapter is the first Chapter of volume two of the ’Huangdi Waijing.’

Xu Chunliang said, "So, it seems we should congratulate you."

Bai Mushan said, "Merely a single dragon bone won’t reveal the whole picture, but the significance of this discovery is that it can confirm the existence of the ’Huangdi Waijing.’

Xu Chunliang couldn’t help but dampen his enthusiasm, "It’s still hard to say whether this thing is real or fake."

Bai Mushan said, "True, we can’t confirm its authenticity yet, but considering the era, the chances of it being real are significant."

Xu Chunliang showed little interest, picked up his teacup, and drank some tea. He turned his gaze to Mo Han and said, "I don’t quite understand why you called me here. I don’t know much about these professional matters and can’t be much help."

Mo Han said, "Don’t be modest. There’s certainly a reason for calling you here. Can you guess where these things came from?"

Xu Chunliang said, "I estimate it wasn’t through legitimate means."

Upon hearing this, Huang Wanglin’s expression became somewhat awkward.

Mo Han said, "Do you recognize this person?" She took out her phone and showed Xu Chunliang a photo, which was of a woman.

Xu Chunliang found it somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, he recalled it was Zhou Yi Wu’s wife.

Mo Han said, "This woman is called Yin Mei, Zhou Yi Wu’s wife."

Xu Chunliang nodded and said, "I’ve seen her."

Mo Han said, "She and Zhou Yi Wu don’t get along."

Xu Chunliang was well aware; not long ago, he had witnessed her affair with Shi Taiping. There’s no need to ask; these things all came from Renhe Hall. Yin Mei probably swiped them from Renhe Hall, and Shi Taiping’s reason for hooking up with this woman was likely for this.

Xu Chunliang said, "What does this have to do with me?"

Mo Han said, "According to her, these dragon bones trace back to having been lost from Huichun Hall."

Xu Chunliang said, "So it’s our family’s stuff? Fine, I’ll take it back later."

Mo Han said, "Don’t rush. There’s something else you probably don’t know." She glanced at the other two people.

Bai Mushan got the hint. "Mr. Huang, I’ve heard you recently acquired a new set of Song dynasty porcelain. May I have the honor to see them?"

Huang Wanglin understood immediately that he was being politely asked to leave. He stood up and said, "Sure, Professor Bai, please come with me."

After they left,

Xu Chunliang looked at Mo Han and said, "Are you crazy or something? I’m not interested in your affairs. Stop dragging me into everything!"

Mo Han laughed, "Let me show you a few more photos."

Xu Chunliang waved his hand, "No! Not interested."

Mo Han said, "Ever since I found out Zhou Renhe and your grandfather are half-brothers, I’ve been curious. I even got someone to help you check the family tree."

Xu Chunliang looked frustrated, "You really care, huh? What do you need to know it so thoroughly for? Have you fallen for me? Are you trying to find a way into the Xu Family?"

Mo Han wasn’t angry at all, laughing, "Actually, I’ve already checked on Huichun Hall. The Old Xu Family has been doctors for generations, but none of your ancestors were Imperial Physicians. The plaque supposedly granted by Emperor Yong Zheng is also fake."

"What business is it of yours? Are you just nosy, checking my family records?"

Mo Han smiled, "Well, I care about you."

"Spare me. I’d be thankful enough if you didn’t cause trouble for me."

Mo Han said, "There’s a very strange phenomenon. If you trace it back, your Xu ancestors were just wandering quacks selling snake oil in Jianghu. The one who truly established the Huichun Hall brand was your great-grandfather, your grandfather and Zhou Renhe’s shared father, Xu Liuxian."

Xu Chunliang realized one must never underestimate a woman’s curiosity. Take Mo Han, for instance; her gossiping could uncover the eighteenth generation of his ancestors.

Mo Han continued, "Which means by the time of Xu Liuxian, the medical skills saw a dramatic improvement. Don’t you find that strange?"

Xu Chunliang said, "What’s strange about that? There’s genetic inheritance and gene mutations."

Mo Han said, "Stop interrupting and listen to me. According to the method of traditional Chinese medicine transmission, usually, each generation is worse than the previous. The fundamental reason Xu Liuxian was able to establish Huichun Hall was because of another fortuitous encounter. His first wife, Zhou Renhe’s mother, was not just an ordinary housewife. I checked the Zhou Family. Guess what I found?"

Xu Chunliang didn’t even look at her, picking up a teacup and gulping it down.

Mo Han felt triumphant, the first time she got the upper hand in her interactions with Xu Chunliang: "The Zhou Family are descendants of the Xieling, one of the four main tomb-raiding schools. The Xieling technique is in the tools. This school doesn’t discriminate; if it’s a tomb, they’ll dare to raid it. Typically, their descendants are called Xieling Warriors. The Xieling Warriors are somewhere between bandits and tomb raiders. When there’s a tomb, they dig it up; when there isn’t, they gather in the mountains and rob."

Xu Chunliang said, "If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll sue you for slandering our family name."

Mo Han said, "I wouldn’t dare say anything without evidence. Think about it. Back then, Zhou Feng’e and her son were in Jizhou, Xu Liuxian was in Dongzhou. Even though Zhou Feng’e knew Xu Liuxian’s whereabouts, why didn’t she dare take the child to find him? Chaotic times are one reason, but the main reason was fear of exposure. Why did the Xu family’s medical skills make a huge leap in Xu Liuxian’s generation? It wasn’t genetic mutation, nor Xu Liuxian’s extraordinary talent. It was because he met Zhou Feng’e, part of the Zhou family’s tomb-raiding heritage, who kept some medical texts long thought lost by the world."

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s a pity you don’t write in women’s fiction with your rich imagination."

Mo Han sighed softly, "We have to leave some room for others."

Xu Chunliang said, "You’re something else. My grandfather doesn’t know. My great uncle doesn’t know. Did their ancestors tell you this in a dream?"

Mo Han smiled, "It’s not surprising they don’t know, not even your great-grandfather. Common folks are innocent, yet harboring a treasure, Zhou Feng’e clearly understood how much trouble her secret would bring, so she dared not reveal too much to Xu Liuxian. Quietly giving him a few medical books was already of great benefit to him."