Chapter 30: The Great Dream Bible

Fan You is the daughter of Fan Canghai, an old friend of Shen Fu.

The little girl is just over thirteen years old, graceful and elegant. She was sent to a country family without any anxiety and adapted well. When Shen Fu, Zhao Qin, and Song Jiuzhen found her, the little girl, dressed like a village girl, was helping the family she was staying with to turn over and dry the medicinal herbs picked from the mountain. Her hands were shaking, indicating that she had solid basic skills.

Shen Fu didn’t know what Shun Xin Ruyi had done to her, so she didn’t show up in person but asked Song Jiuzhen to treat her. Fan You recognized the man in black with a veiled hat by his voice; he was the one who had bought her. After hearing Shen Fu’s request, she obediently went into the room and lay down on the bed.

“Girl, hold out your hand.”

Fan You glanced at Shen Fu, who was standing next to her, and stretched out her slender wrist.

Song Jiuzhen placed his fingers on her pulse and pressed gently, closing his eyes in thought. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said to Shen Fu and Zhao Qin, “There is still cold in her body. It should be because she had a fall and didn’t take medicine in time, or she has lived in a humid place for many years. If it is not corrected in time, she may suffer from some female diseases in the future… It will be more difficult for her to give birth than for others.”

“Maybe conditioning?” Shen Fu suggested.

“I can prescribe a remedy. You can pick up some medicine and take it. It should have some effect. But I’m not particularly good at regulating women’s bodies. As you know, I’m skilled with needles. However, there are differences between men and women. My female apprentice is not with me, and her illness does not necessarily require needles. If you can find a doctor who specializes in gynecological diseases, taking medicine for two or three years should suffice.”

Shen Fu heaved a sigh of relief. There were many imperial doctors in the palace, and when it came to regulating women’s bodies, they were second to none. No one would dare to claim to be first. This was not a difficult task.

She was more concerned about another question at this moment: “She may have been injured and lost most of her memory. Sir, do you have any way to help her remember?”

Song Jiuzhen was very cautious and said to the little girl on the bed, “Baby, sit up and let me see your head.”

His fingers were long, with prominent joints, especially his thumb and index finger, which had two thick calluses. He seemed very gentle when pressing on Fan You’s head, and his eyes were very attentive. He was not like many miracle doctors who could tell the symptoms without even asking. Even if he already had a result in mind, he would still confirm it over and over again.

He was cautious and did not jump to conclusions easily, especially when encountering difficult and complicated cases.

He had seen too many diseases; sometimes the symptoms appeared similar, but the causes and final results were very different. Using the wrong medicine could cost a life.

After examining Fan You, he did not immediately tell Shen Fu the diagnosis results but gave her a look, indicating that they should step outside to talk. Before he walked out the door, his expression was calm. Once outside, his already wrinkled brows furrowed even more tightly, and he said to Shen Fu, “Where did you find this girl?”

Shen Fu asked, “What’s wrong?”

“If I’m not mistaken, she lost her memory due to an injury—a bump on the head, and there are blood clots in her brain. This blood clot has been condensed for some time, and it may not be easy to dissolve.”

“Please help me, sir.”

Song Jiuzhen looked embarrassed.

This kind of expression rarely appeared on his face because, for a doctor like Song Jiuzhen, the patient usually had only two options: save or not save. Seeing this, Shen Fu bowed and asked, “Sir, do you have any difficulties?”

“When I examined the girl’s head, I found several needle holes. If I’m not mistaken, someone had used needles on her before me. The technique of the person who did it was very skillful, but I can’t tell what the needles meant. I’m afraid that after I give her the needles, it will conflict with the previous treatment and cause irreversible damage to the little girl.”

Shen Fu and Zhao Qin exchanged glances. Although Shen Fu was busy with her own matters, she had been paying attention to Fan You’s situation. Needless to say, Zhao Qin had received all the information related to Shen Fu first. Therefore, both of them knew very well that after Fan You was bought by Shen Fu, apart from taking some Chinese medicine prescribed by the doctors in the city to nourish her body, no one had given her acupuncture.

Then it could only have been done by someone from Shun Xin Ruyi.

Shen Fu didn’t want to involve Song Jiuzhen in Shun Xin Ruyi’s affairs, but they were not doctors, and some of Shun Xin Ruyi’s methods were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. If they used acupuncture, the acupuncture master in front of them could provide a better reference method.

Zhao Qin nodded slightly to Shen Fu, and Shen Fu said to Song Jiuzhen, “Doctor Song, there are some inside stories…”

She explained to Song Jiuzhen that Shun Xin Ruyi was said to be able to manipulate and change a person’s thoughts and thinking.

Song Jiuzhen was not shocked by the revelation. After listening to Shen Fu’s story, he frowned and murmured, “Impossible…”

Shen Fu asked, “What’s impossible?”

Song Jiuzhen raised his head and said, “I have indeed heard about what you mentioned, but it’s just hearsay.”

“Please tell me in detail, sir.”

“More than a hundred years ago, when the State of Zhao had not yet been established and the previous dynasty was about to fall, a sect appeared in the martial arts world. They called themselves the Heavenly Sect. They had the ability to fly in the clouds and mist and could summon immortals to descend to the earth. They attracted countless people who yearned for them. There was even a trend of cultivating immortals in the martial arts world…”

Shen Fu was not very clear about this matter, but Zhao Qin raised her eyebrows. “Sir, are you talking about the Fu/Shou Cream Rebellion?”

Song Jiuzhen replied, “Yes, it was because of this incident that people later learned that the so-called summoning of immortals to the earth was actually just a result of taking substances like Fu/Shou Cream, which caused the brain to become confused and led to hallucinations…”

Shen Fu was puzzled. “What does this have to do with Fan You? Could it be that Shun Xin Ruyi’s people actually used Fu/Shou Cream on her?”

“Don’t worry. Everyone knows that the Fu/Shou Cream chaos was the root of all troubles. However, there is a record in the books passed down by our ancestors that mentions the existence of another thing.”

“What?”

“The Dream Bible.”

When she first heard the name, Shen Fu thought Song Jiuzhen was joking.

What is The Dream Bible?

Anyone who has read the risqué book written by Mr. Bai Ge would be familiar with this title.

In the story written by Chu Baige, there is a male protagonist who acquires the book “The Dream Bible.” He appears in the dreams of various beautiful women every day, dates them in their dreams, and even seduces other people’s husbands.

There are rumors in the martial arts world that “The Great Dream Bible” is a martial arts secret book or a magical weapon.

It is said that it can allow one to travel through dreams and experience a dream that lasts for a thousand years.

This means that if you obtain this book, you can enter other people’s dreams, make someone live out their life in a dream, or even kill someone in a dream.

In fact, except for a small number of middle school students with delusions of grandeur who believe it to be true, most people think that the so-called “The Dream Bible” is merely something compiled by some risqué writer. Chu Baige, as a best-selling author, was even once considered to be the original author of “The Dream Bible.”

Shen Fu knew that this book was not his original work but a plot he had seen in a not-so-famous risqué book, so he just used it. After all, what scholars do cannot be called plagiarism; it is called borrowing… borrowing, not to mention that he also added a lot of settings to it. Nowadays, as long as people see the four words “The Great Dream Bible,” they will look at each other, smile obscenely, and show ambiguous expressions.

Therefore, Shen Fu never expected that Song Jiuzhen would say these four words seriously.

Chu Baige had a lot of risqué books, all of which were banned by Zhao Qin. When she heard these four words, her expression became a little subtle.

Song Jiuzhen obviously didn’t know what was going on in the minds of the two people who suddenly looked at each other. He was the kind of researcher who devoted himself to studying medicine and didn’t care about anything else. When he mentioned “The Great Dream Bible,” he was stating something seriously. “I know you probably haven’t heard of the name of The Great Dream Bible, but I think you should have heard of the story of the Yellow Millet Dream…”

Shen Fu and Zhao Qin nodded, and Shen Fu said, “Is it the story of the scholar who was going to take an imperial examination, took a nap in an inn by the roadside, and when he woke up, he had passed the imperial examination and become rich, only to find out that it was all just a dream?”

Song Jiuzhen confirmed, “That’s right. Many people in the world say that this story is a magic trick performed by gods, which made the scholar have a dream of enlightenment. But in the ancient books I have seen, some people recorded that this is actually an application of the Great Dream Bible. Its name is called Great Dream of a Lifetime. As the name suggests, it allows people to spend their entire lives in dreams…”

Shen Fu exclaimed, “How is this possible? This is simply a divine method!”

“Yes, I also think it is a divine trick.” Song Jiuzhen sighed. “But the ancestors of our sect did see the Great Dream Bible… This matter is originally a shame for our sect, but it has been a hundred years, so it is okay to tell you two. The former Fu/Shou ointment was developed and improved by a predecessor of our sect. At the beginning, he wanted to make a plaster that could suppress and relieve the pain of patients, so he created the original Fu/Shou ointment. Later, I don’t know who discovered another function of the Fu/Shou ointment…”

“The ancestor was very sad that his good medicine for curing the world had turned into a poison that harmed people, so he destroyed the preparation method and decided not to make the Fu/Shou ointment again in his life, nor teach anyone how to make it. But one day, he was kidnapped while practicing medicine…”

“The ancestor said that he was trapped in the hands of evil people and tortured. One day, he was in a daze and had a big dream. He dreamed of his youth when he first prepared the Fu/Shou ointment. However, unlike the reality where the Fu/Shou ointment was soon discovered to be addictive, leading to countless addicts spending all their money and throwing tantrums, in the dream, countless patients benefited from the ointment, and many people sent him banners and gifts. Surrounded by smiling and pleading faces, he began to develop a more effective Fu/Shou ointment…”

Song Jiuzhen had such a keen eye that he could guess what Shen Fu was thinking just by looking at her.

He smiled bitterly and said, “Do you think our ancestors are suspected of self-exculpation?”

Without waiting for Shen Fu to answer, he sighed and said, “After Taizu destroyed the previous dynasty, our ancestor also woke up from his dream. Because no one knew that he was the one who prepared and improved the Fu/Shou ointment, he escaped during the process of cleaning up the remnants of the previous dynasty. When he returned to the clinic, he felt deeply guilty and wanted to commit suicide. He was also worried that future generations would suffer the same fate as him, so he consulted ancient books and spent nearly ten years. Finally, in the vast amount of information, he found the existence of the ‘Great Dream Bible’…”

“He felt that his mission was accomplished, so he left a message to warn future generations. He then laughed three times, cried three times, and then took poison and died. The poison he took was a large amount of Fu/Shou Cream.”

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