Although the routes were blocked, life still had to go on.
In Aurum Alley, the shops were still open. After all, even if the sky fell, ordinary people still had to do business.
However, there were significantly fewer customers in Aurum Alley.
Bailu took Takatsuki to many shops she knew.
According to her, although she was a famous healer, Bailu actually had no money.
Her food, clothing, and housing were all arranged for her, and she didn't need money.
When she usually went out to see patients, most of the time she didn't charge a single penny.
And Bailu's gourd didn't contain medicinal herbs, but rather a medium she used to exert her Vidyadhara abilities.
The Vidyadhara are skilled in the art of Cloud Hymn, which allows them to manipulate water and mist to achieve various effects. Among them, the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord is an outstanding practitioner, capable of using Cloud Hymn without incantations.
And Bailu's specialty was healing, and she could also simply manipulate some lightning, but it wasn't strong.
Takatsuki glanced at the shackles on her tail. Although Bailu only knew that it was called the Dragonhorn Pillory and that the Dragon Preceptors had made her wear it, Takatsuki could discern that this item was something akin to a seal, utilized to suppress her raw power.
"Humph humph~ humph humph~"
Bailu walked beside Takatsuki, one hand holding a skewer of meat and the other holding a Momo roll, in a very good mood.
"You seem to be in a good mood?"
"Of course! I has never been so extravagant before. Takatsuki, you're so generous. If you ever come to see me for treatment in the future, I won't charge you a single penny."
Takatsuki rolled his eyes after hearing Bailu's words.
"I haven't seen you collect consultation fees from anyone else either."
Bailu immediately felt a bit awkward.
"Ahem, that's because I was treating people myself. If I were going to the Alchemy Commission, the Alchemy Commission would definitely charge a fee."
Bailu mumbled a few words awkwardly.
Bailu was young and not tall, but she could eat a lot. Takatsuki wasn't stingy. Originally, he said he would buy an extra portion when he ate, but it turned into Bailu eating a portion of everything she saw.
"Lady Dragon Baird!"
A voice suddenly interrupted Bailu, who was acting as Takatsuki's "tour guide." She immediately hid behind Takatsuki.
Takatsuki looked at the newcomer, a man wearing a green long robe.
"Who are you?"
The man glanced at Takatsuki, ignored him, and looked at Bailu: "Lady Dragon Baird, we've been looking for you for a long time. Please come back quickly, the Alchemy Commission needs you very much right now."
Takatsuki looked at Bailu, who also had a regretful expression.
"It seems today's outing ends here, Takatsuki. Let's play together again next time if there's a chance."
"Do you know this person?"
Bailu nodded: "He's a medical officer from the Alchemy Commission."
Takatsuki nodded and looked at the man, but seeing that the other party had no intention of acknowledging him, he grabbed Bailu, who was about to obediently follow him back, and said, "The Starskiff routes are locked down now, how are you going back to the Alchemy Commission?"
Bailu then remembered: "Oh right, I can't go back to the Alchemy Commission now. It's not like I was running around aimlessly, it's just that I can't go back now."
"Lady Dragon Baird is joking. There are still many injured people in Exalting Sanctum who need Lady Dragon Baird's help."
Seeing Bailu stop because of Takatsuki's words, a hint of hatred flashed in the man's eyes. Although it was very subtle, it was very obvious in Takatsuki's Observation Haki.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and pulled Bailu back, who was walking towards the man.
"I'll go with you."
Bailu hadn't noticed anything, only thinking that there were injured people who needed her treatment: "Okay, but Takatsuki, don't cause trouble when treating the injured, okay?"
Bailu lectured Takatsuki like a little adult.
Only after Bailu agreed did the man shift his attention to Takatsuki.
"Sir, this is our Alchemy Commission's work, it's not convenient for outsiders to go."
"Oh?"
Bailu wanted to say something, but Takatsuki stopped her. Takatsuki held Bailu's hand and walked a few steps forward.
"The Healer Lady and the Imbibitor Lunae have both agreed, is her authority not greater than yours? And who are you?"
The man said neither subserviently nor arrogantly: "Lady Dragon Baird is still young and easily deceived by outsiders, I..."
Mid-sentence, the man suddenly went limp and collapsed to the ground.
"Huh!? He, why did he fall?"
Bailu looked curiously at the suddenly fallen man and quickly rushed over to examine him: "Could it be some sudden illness?"
While Bailu was examining the man, Takatsuki took a Disc from Heaven's Stairway, which had returned from the side.
Takatsuki chose not to create a memory slice, because merely cutting memories would not cause one to lose consciousness, but taking the Disc would.
After quickly checking the man's memory, Takatsuki frowned and looked at Bailu.
"Bailu, do you know about Disciples of Sanctus Medicus?"
"Disciples of Sanctus Medicus? I think I've heard of it..."
Alright, she doesn't know.
Takatsuki knew from Bailu's expression that she probably hadn't paid attention to it.
"But what's wrong with this person? There's clearly nothing wrong with his body."
Bailu was still diagnosing the fallen man.
"No need to check, this person is from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and his target is you."
Takatsuki squatted down and rummaged through the man's body, quickly finding a prescription from his memory and handing it to Bailu.
"Take a look."
Bailu took the prescription somewhat strangely, then jumped up.
"Vi... Vi... Vidyadhara Bone Marrow?! How dare they commit such an atrocity!" Upon seeing the prescription, Bailu—who was thoroughly versed in pharmacology—might not fully grasp the precise ultimate efficacy of this formula, but she certainly recognized the ingredients within it. "Dragon's Slumber, Xianzhou's Leap... This medicine is absolutely insane!"
Takatsuki naturally understood the sheer insanity behind this prescription, because the ultimate purpose of this formula was to artificially induce the Mara-struck state while allowing the afflicted individual to retain their sanity.
"The objective of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is you, Bailu. Now that the Exalting Sanctum is locked down, I think it would be best for you to hide away."
"Sigh... But this lady has nowhere else to go either." Recognizing the peril of her current circumstances, Bailu looked toward Takatsuki with a thoroughly pitiful gaze.
"Sigh, I'll take you back to the inn where we are staying. You can spend the night there first. A senior from our Astral Express crew is also staying there; if anything happens, you can go straight to Mr. Yang for assistance."
"What about you then, Takatsuki? Aren't you coming back?" Bailu caught the underlying implication within Takatsuki's words.
"I plan to go check out these Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. The events currently unfolding on the Xianzhou seem to be intrinsically linked to them." Takatsuki recalled the records he had just witnessed inside the Disc—namely, that this man's higher-ups had mentioned a massive upheaval would occur tomorrow, and the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were planning to launch a major operation tomorrow to seize control of the Xianzhou.