Gui Feng turned to Song Hao and smiled, saying, "Young man, don't rush off. Today, the Ghost Doctor Sect is going to settle things with the Ji family. You are an outsider, so you can be a witness and prevent your friends in the martial arts world from saying that I am bullying the young with my numbers."
"Well... you should resolve your own issues. I'm just passing by; it's none of my business. I'll just leave," Song Hao quickly shook his head.
The ghostly wind chuckled coldly, "You can't say that. Since you're here, you might as well be a witness. You'll get your share of the benefits later, and it will also prove that my Ghost Doctor Sect acts with integrity. So stand there." The last sentence clearly left Song Hao no room for refusal.
Upon hearing this, Song Hao inwardly groaned and could only stand there awkwardly.
"Ghost Wind, our matter has nothing to do with this young man. You may leave," Ji Xuan said calmly.
"No, no, no!" Gui Feng shook his head and sneered, "Keeping him here will give you someone to inform the Ji family and collect his body later!"
The Ji family members, grandfather and grandson, paled upon hearing this. Ji Dongyang, in particular, appeared flustered.
"How dare you!" Ji Xuan said angrily, his face flushed red.
"How could I not dare!" Gui Feng said angrily, "Did you think you could get away with this by cutting off your own legs back then? You tricked my father into letting you go, but you didn't know that you caused me to suffer all kinds of punishments from the sect rules. Listen to Ji Xuan, hand over the Divine Formula of No Medicine and I might consider sparing your life, you cripple. Otherwise, you and your grandfather will both be finished right here."
"Back then, I cut off my own legs not only to prove my innocence but also to save your life. I never expected you to repay kindness with enmity. Heaven is the witness! I never stole any miraculous elixir, so how could I hand it over? Fine! Fine! You resent me, so take my life. My grandson has nothing to do with this, so let him go." Ji Xuan said excitedly.
"Grandpa!" Ji Dongyang exclaimed in panic, "I...I won't leave."
Immediately, Ji Dongyang glanced at Song Hao, who was still in shock, and stepped forward to say to Gui Feng, "Our Ji family does not have the Divine Formula for the No-Medicine, and we cannot hand it over today, so killing us is useless. How about we make a deal? If you stop and let us go, I will give you a treasure that even the Divine Formula for the No-Medicine cannot compare to."
"What treasure?" Gui Feng was taken aback upon hearing this.
Ji Xuan was bewildered upon hearing this.
Song Hao, on the other hand, secretly cried out, "Damn it!" He had seen Ji Dongyang's malicious gaze and realized that Ji Dongyang had recognized him.
"Does Sect Master Guifeng know about the emergence of the Song Dynasty's Heavenly Sage Acupuncture Bronze Figure, a supreme medical treasure?" Ji Dongyang asked hesitantly. He seemed reluctant to reveal the truth, but with danger looming, he used it as a pretext to escape.
"This matter has already spread throughout the land. What, do you know the whereabouts of the Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man?" Gui Feng asked suspiciously.
"Dongyang, you shouldn't talk about things you don't know," Ji Xuan hurriedly said from the side.
Ji Dongyang ignored Ji Xuan and, seeing that Gui Feng had become interested, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He then said, "I don't know the exact whereabouts of that Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man, but there is one person who does, because the Acupuncture Bronze Man is in his hands and he has hidden it."
Song Hao shook his head and sighed inwardly, "So be it! So be it! No matter how vast the world is, there's no way to avoid it!"
Gui Feng snorted coldly and said, "What you said is useless. Everyone knows that the medical treasure, the Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man, has fallen into the hands of a kid named Song Hao. But in this vast world, where is there such good luck to find him?"
Ji Dongyang hurriedly said, "No, it's really Ghost Wind Sect Master's good luck today. That Song Hao is now right in front of us, even though he's far away!"
"Huh!?" Gui Feng and Ji Xuan were both startled and looked at Song Hao.
Seeing this, Song Hao spread his hands and pretended to be calm, saying, "Please don't mistake me for someone else."
Ji Dongyang sneered and said, "There's no mistake. You just introduced yourself as Song Hao, right? Also, you admitted to studying medicine. Rumor has it that Song Hao is also a doctor. There's no such coincidence in the world. Don't deny that you're not Song Hao."
Song Hao was naive and had never lied before, so he was momentarily speechless.
Seeing this, Ji Xuan had already guessed seven or eight parts of the truth. He glared at Ji Dongyang reproachfully, but there was nothing he could do.
"Are you really Song Hao, the one who possesses the Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man?" Gui Feng's eyes lit up, and he asked excitedly.
"Heh! If I were the person you're talking about, I would have already run away for my life. Why would I be standing here?" Song Hao forced a smile.
Gui Feng sized Song Hao up and down, then suddenly chuckled and said, "Running for your life! How do you know that this Song Hao is running for his life? Although there are rumors about this, they are only known to people in the martial arts world. Ordinary people wouldn't know. I overheard your conversation just now, so Ji Xuan must have made some profound remarks somewhere again. Your curious nature as a physician couldn't resist and followed along. Consider it a gift to my Ghost Doctor Sect. Regardless of whether you are real or not, come with me to the Ghost Doctor Sect, and I will find out the truth."
After saying that, Gui Feng turned to Ji Xuan and said, "You're a smart grandson, so I'll agree to it for now. There are priorities, so I'll investigate the matter of the Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man first. I'll spare you today, but go back and prepare the Divine Formula for the Medicineless Man for me to retrieve. I'm sure you won't be able to escape my grasp then."
"Listen up, kid!" Gui Feng sneered at Ji Dongyang and said, "If this Song Hao is not the person I want, I will make you die a very ugly death. You should know a little about the methods of the Ghost Doctor Sect in treating people."
After saying this, Gui Feng waved his hand, abandoned the Ji family grandfather and grandson, and led his men to take Song Hao away.
"Dongyang, you've gotten yourself into big trouble!" Ji Xuan said with a shake of his head as he sat in his wheelchair.
“Grandpa, whether this Song Hao is real or not, he actually saved us today. This is his bad luck. It’s our fault for not coming. Who told him to follow us in secret?” Ji Dongyang said fiercely from his position.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Ghost Doctor's Sect
Ji Xuan shook his head and said, "You're wrong. That Gui Feng won't kill us unless he gets the Wuyao Divine Formula; he was just threatening us. You used Song Hao to shield us once, but little did you know it would bring even bigger trouble. If I'm not mistaken, this person must be the one who knows the whereabouts of the Heavenly Saint Acupuncture Bronze Man. However, the fact that he was able to escape from the hands of several major medical sects and martial arts gangs means he must have extraordinary skills and methods. Perhaps a powerful force is protecting him in secret; otherwise, how could he be allowed to wander around so freely and even have the mind to follow us to learn about medicine? He must be fearless to do so."
"It really is that Song Hao! It's a pity that the Ghost Doctor Sect got such a good deal, otherwise our Ji family..." Ji Dongyang said, sounding both excited and regretful.
“I didn’t expect this person to appear here! But it’s good this way. We should spread the news immediately. Gui Feng will think he’s struck gold, but little does he know that the Ghost Doctor Sect has brought trouble upon themselves. Now that we’re in trouble, he won’t have time to worry about us. The Divine Formula Without Medicine will be successfully developed soon, and then no one will be able to do anything to us.” Ji Xuan said slowly.
Meanwhile, Song Hao, his eyes covered, left the woods and got into a car. It felt like they had traveled for nearly an hour when they arrived at a place. After getting out of the car, it felt like they had entered a large mansion. He was led around in a winding, circuitous path for quite a while.
Then someone said, "Lock this man up in the room. The sect leader will question him later."
Upon entering a room, someone removed the blindfold from Song Hao's eyes and tied him to a chair. When Song Hao opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a large, empty room with some sacks of goods piled up in the corner, which should be a warehouse. Two men were guarding the door.
"The Ghost Doctor Sect!" Song Hao thought to himself, "There really is a Ghost Doctor Sect in this world! It seems many of the legends are true. I was too careless today, forgetting the danger and revealing my identity, which is why I was captured. I can't blame anyone! This Ghost Doctor Sect seems quite sinister, unlike the Tang family. They might use some kind of torture to force me to talk. There are many of them; if it were just one or two, I could have used my Thunder Needle Technique to subdue them." Thinking this, he was filled with regret.
As evening approached, no one came to take Song Hao to the ghost wind for questioning. He could faintly hear a commotion outside, with people wandering around. Even the two guards outside the door went and came back repeatedly, indicating that something had happened at the Ghost Doctor's Sect.
After a while, a voice came from outside the door: "Send this kid some food first, the sect leader will question him in the hall later."
Then two guards came in, carrying a meal.
"How is he supposed to eat?" a guard asked in a daze.
“Of course we’re going to untie him and feed him. Do you expect us to feed him?” another guard said.
“If he gets away, my brother can’t afford to take the blame,” the guard hesitated.
"With the two of us watching over them, where can they run to? With that build, they don't think they can break free from us," another guard said dismissively.