Master of The Azure Palace Chapter 8: The Beggar, The Monk and The Courtesan (7)

Read chapter 8 of Master of The Azure Palace by AzulConVerde on NovelPedia.

Lán left the clinic completely refreshed, it was the first time in a long time where he felt his mind broaden its horizons. The advanced concepts Saman Pa was working with completely befuddled him at first, but on a whim, Lán tried flickering between The Azure Palace and the real world. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked, he struggled to develop this skill and keep pace with the conversation at the same time, but about after an hour of conversation Lán got the rhythm down. He could go into the Hall of Worlds, write down and organize his thoughts for fifteen to twenty minutes, then return to the real world where only a few seconds had passed. Lán was escorted back to his home and immediately went to tell his father about the encounter. Li felt a twinge of sadness when his son mentioned his condition could be cured, but instead chose to aid his family, however, he did not allow for it to show on his face. Then Li heard the most terrifying words a father could hear. “Father, I need more money” Li’s face went pale, the amount that Lán was asking for was immense, the tax money they earned as Imperial Administrators and the donations they received from the Great Library of Húchéng were barely enough to keep them afloat, all of their money was going to the fifty men patrolling the city and its outskirts, as well as the maintenance of roads and other city utilities. What Lán was suggesting would wipe out all of their savings. Li sighed, even though these thoughts ran through his mind, he deeply loved his child and had already decided some time ago to trust him completely. Lán got what he needed and immediately got to work, the next month was spent building the now renamed Lusé Elenea Medical Clinic. They purchased a beautiful building near the city center, and once it was ready the clinic opened its doors to the public. People were hesitant at first, but with a little help from Shú word quickly spread about the clinic and its miraculous treatments. The people of Húchéng quickly flooded in and Saman Pa and his disciples worked tirelessly, but problems quickly started to pile up. At around the third month of operation the West Wind Taoist Sect made their move, they sent letters of protest to the Imperial Palace in Xi’an and the already exhausted Saman Pa could not afford to spend time away from his patients to defend his practice. Lán countered by inviting scholars and physicians through his contacts from the Great Library of Húchéng to observe the procedures at the clinic, many hesitated and some physicians that had Taoists roots renounced the invitation directly. However, recognizing the academic prestige of the Great Library fifty physicians attended an open surgery, the first of its kind. The surgery involved a man who was suffering from a ruptured appendix, this was normally a fatal condition, however Saman Pa and his apprentices demonstrated extreme skill and knowledge by carefully removing the appendix with a small incision and cleaning the abdomen of any necrotized and infected tissue. The man was stabilized and made a full recovery. The news of this surgery spread like wild fire, Lán made sure that some of the attending physicians were from the Imperial Palace, where gossip spread faster than the plague. People from all over China made the trip to the clinic, some to be healed, but many also came to study under Saman Pa. It took some debating, but Lán managed to convince Saman Pa to charge the people that came from outside of Húchéng in order to keep the increasing costs of the clinic stable. Saman Pa agreed as long as the price was reasonable and a donation fund was created to help people who couldn't make the full payment. Half a year after the clinic was opened, Lán and Saman Pa managed to balance the budget and keep it stable. While it was not earning any money, it was giving the Lúse family a great reputation as a righteous family that cared for the people of China. Lán laid down on his bed after a long day