Green Mountain

Chapter 806 653: Heart Extraction

"Junior brother, seeing this letter is like seeing you."

"After wandering for twenty years without a word from you, I suddenly heard that Master is passing on his legacy again, overwhelmed with joy. I suppose you, junior brother, must have a celestial demeanor, far surpassing your humble brother."

"Born of the same sect, we should not quarrel. However, your humble brother was born from misfortune, faced calamity early on, abandoned at birth, and scorned while growing. I could only gnaw on bones and scramble for scraps to survive, not choosing means to endure."

"Your humble brother is not a tiger, but a leopard."

"Your humble brother bows his head."

"The 32nd year of Jianing, twelfth day of the twelfth month."

Senior brother's handwriting was written in fresh blood, strong and fierce, sharp like a hook.

The blood-stained brush was tossed aside, Chen Ji could imagine the senior brother dipping the brush in human blood while pondering his words.

He stared at the blood letter for a long time, saying nothing, Leopard... A tiger gives birth to three cubs, among them is sure to be a leopard; the leopard is most ferocious and can devour tiger cubs.

The senior brother's meaning was unmistakable, he intended to consume him entirely.

Chen Ji folded the letter and tucked it into his sleeve, his gaze shifted to the square table. On the table were two cups, still containing tea, indicating the Hospital Director met an old acquaintance and had served tea.

He looked down at the Hospital Director's corpse, an ordinary man from the Imperial Capital who had visited the day before to pay respects and offer gifts, but today met a tragic end.

Chen Ji crouched down, examining the wounds on the Hospital Director's body again. He turned the body over to lie face up, discovering a gaping hole in the chest, shockingly brutal.

He cut open the Hospital Director's clothes and found the heart had been removed, leaving only a large bloody hole, which was the sole injury on the body.

For a moment, Chen Ji's hair stood on end.

What grievance did the senior brother have with the Hospital Director to remove his heart?

At this time, the Dean, seeing no movement inside the hall, cautiously crept over. As soon as he reached the entrance, he saw the Hospital Director lying in a pool of blood and immediately rushed over, crying mournfully.

Chen Ji was not familiar with the Hospital Director, nor was he quite saddened. Still, the presence of someone shedding tears for the deceased suggested the person might have been good in life.

He rubbed his thumb over the handle of the Whale Blade, speaking softly: "My condolences, Dean."

The Dean suddenly looked up: "Sir, who did this?"

Chen Ji did not answer, instead he asked: "What is the name of my master's other apprentice, what did he do, and where did he go? Did he bear a grudge against the Hospital Director, otherwise why remove his heart? This person has been in the Imperial Hospital for many years, surely leaving some story behind, tell me everything you know."

Kneeling beside the Hospital Director's corpse, the Dean wiped his tears with his sleeve: "I only heard the Hospital Director mention him a few times when drunk. This person was named Yao An, picked up by Doctor Yao on a snowy day. At the time, the Hospital Director wondered why someone as cold as Doctor Yao would adopt an abandoned child. Yet Doctor Yao raised Yao An for over ten years, bringing him along while attending sessions at the Imperial Hospital, teaching him to read, recognize herbs, and feel pulses."

"Little Yao An was talented from a young age, recognizing words at one, understanding the Medical Skills Summary at three, diagnosing patients at seven, and prescribed treatments at twelve that were more precise and astute than those of the old imperial physician. Not only was his scholarship superior, but he was also adept at dealing with people. The Hospital Director and others were extremely fond of him, often saying it was surprising that someone like Doctor Yao could raise such an extraordinary and gifted child."

"Yao An entered the Imperial Hospital at fifteen, as was widely expected. In the beginning, nothing seemed amiss, but during the 11th Year to the 12th Year of Jianing, officials in the Capital were dying of curable ailments that suddenly resisted treatment. The Hospital Director was suspicious, visited these officials to retrieve prescriptions and drug residues, finally discovering something was amiss."

Chen Ji asked solemnly: "What did he discover?"

"Mr. Zhang, Minor Minister of the Ministry of Rites, caught a cold and Yao An prescribed Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Soup, with Mahuang without its stalks, one Pao Fu Zi, and two cents of fine cinnamon. Mr. Zhang was known for kidney yang deficiency, having cold limbs in winter. This prescription was appropriate. However, the Hospital Director found that the Fu Zi in his medicine was not processed. Raw Fu Zi is highly toxic, when boiled together with fine cinnamon, its toxicity intensifies. Mr. Zhang took seven doses and died from vomiting blood."

Chen Ji pondered, realizing it was the Hospital Director who first detected the signs: "Then what happened?"

Recalling, the Dean said: "The Hospital Director did not raise the alarm, considering it a major mistake due to the child's carelessness in failing to process the herbs correctly. He discreetly informed Doctor Yao hoping he would correct it attentively. Over the following year, Yao An behaved dutifully without any incidents, but Doctor Yao's health deteriorated. Sensing something amiss, the Hospital Director cautiously investigated and found that medicines were missing from the pharmacy, merely one tael each time, unnoticed by others. Yet the missing medicines, when combined, formed incompatible poisons. The Hospital Director remembered Doctor Yao's weakened state and finally understood where the missing medicines went."

"He informed Doctor Yao, who disappeared for half a year, returning to the Medical Hall in extreme exhaustion, with his Primordial Qi greatly depleted. Yao An never returned to the Medical Hall."

Chen Ji recalled his master's words to him.

When picking up a beggar in the snow, his master hesitated and consulted ten divination hexagrams; all were ominous. Nevertheless, he guided the beggar child into the house.

Calmly, Chen Ji asked: "Do you know where Yao An went afterward?"

The Dean shook his head: "The Hospital Director said he asked Doctor Yao, who merely stated Yao An had already died. The Hospital Director did not dare inquire further, seeing Doctor Yao's unwell appearance, only brooding over how the child he watched grow up could have attained prestige but chose the wrong path... The Hospital Director seemed to know more, yet no matter how he was pressed, he would say no more."

Contemplating deeply, Chen Ji thought. Senior brother Yao An got to the Hospital Director first, not only to silence him but also out of resentment for him exposing his schemes, driving a wedge between him and Old Yao as master and disciple.

Yao An came seeking vengeance.

As Chen Ji walked out, the Dean tugged his sleeve: "Sir, was it Yao An who killed the Hospital Director?"

Chen Ji sighed: "It should be. I know the dean wants to avenge the director, but this is not something you can interfere with. Wait for the Spy Department to handle it."

The dean collapsed next to the corpse, staring blankly at the director.

Chen Ji stopped suddenly as he reached the entrance of the courtyard.

Wait!

This senior brother's actions aren't that simple. He likes to perform magic tricks, diverting everyone's attention elsewhere so that he can achieve his true goal.

Yesterday, Xuan Snake underestimated his foe, leading Qi Zhen to carry the coffin and plead till death, forcing the Inner Court to agree to the Imperial Censor overseeing the Spy Department.

Today, why would the senior brother choose to kill the director, neither earlier nor later, but exactly today?

Chen Ji turned around intending to search the room to see if the director left any clues.

The room was small, with a low table beside the bed. The window paper had a hole patched with an old calendar. In the corner were several stacked medicine boxes, with copper clasps worn white.

On the bed was a coarse cloth sheet full of patches, and the quilt was thin, folded neatly, with the edges frayed into cotton.

This shouldn't be the dwelling of an Imperial Hospital director.

Though the director was just fifth-rank, Imperial Physicians have always been one of the most prestigious and honorable positions in the Capital. Officials would pay for Imperial Physicians to visit for consultations, and some officials, fearing the physician wouldn't be attentive enough, would even give extra silver.

Though not extremely wealthy, they would have no worries about food or clothes.

Yet this director lived more frugally than the common folk... Where did all the Silver Coin go?

Chen Ji recalled Si Cao Gui saving money for the Military Intelligence Department's use. Could the director also be part of the Military Intelligence Department, laboring to accumulate Silver Coin for them?

As he searched, he asked, "Mr. Dean, does the director have any relatives?"

The dean wiped his tears: "The director had a wife and a daughter long ago. Later, the daughter married but died in childbirth within two years, and the wife was overcome with grief and passed away as well. Since then, the director lived alone and never remarried."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then asked: "Did he have any hobbies?"

The dean thought for a long time, then shook his head: "The director had no hobbies, didn't drink or gamble, didn't visit the Eight Great Hutongs. His only pastime was reading medical books. The books piled up in his room were taller than a person, but they all belonged to the Imperial Hospital, not him."

Chen Ji squatted down and discovered a wooden box under the bed.

He pulled it out and opened it, finding a few old garments covered in patches. He took out the clothes one by one and found four yellowed notebooks underneath.

Chen Ji was stunned; could this be the reason the senior brother wanted to kill the director?

He hurriedly opened them to check, but these yellow notebooks were not clues; they were four account books.

"Chongnan Fang, Zhang Xianwen, medicine costs advanced seventy-two coins."

"Chongjiao Square, Li Qi, medicine costs advanced one hundred ten coins."

"Chongnan Fang, Liu Yun, second son's pox disease, waived consultation fee, advanced medicine costs two hundred thirty coins."

The account books were densely recorded, with some names initially scratched off and followed by two small characters "already repaid."

But gradually, the later names were no longer scratched off, indicating unreturned Silver Coin. Not unpaid; perhaps the director never sought repayment again.

Chen Ji was dazed for a long time.

He took the four account books and walked back to the dean: "These four account books, the Imperial Hospital should handle them. Remember to publish an obituary in the Morning News; there should be many people mourning…"

Chen Ji stopped halfway; the person was gone, of what use was mourning.

Just then, he saw a yellowed hanging on the door and opened it to check.

is an almanac compiled by the Observatory annually, printed and distributed nationwide by the court, with a cover stating "Counterfeiters beheaded, informants rewarded fifty taels, lack of Observatory seal considered private calendar," stamped with the red Observatory calendar seal.

As Chen Ji flipped through it, he suddenly found that from October, the twelfth of each month was marked, and he immediately asked: "What is the twelfth of each month? What does the director do on the twelfth?"

The dean was astonished, recollecting for a moment before recalling: "The twelfth of each month? That's the day the director visits the Qi family for consultation and pulse diagnosis..."

Chen Ji was suddenly awakened, immediately grabbing the Whale Blade and rushing outside: "Go to the Eagle House Office, tell Bai Long everything that happened here, and hope he immediately goes to the Qi family."