Seeing the handwriting on the table, the master and disciple were both startled, instantly retreating and knocking over the benches they were sitting on.
Imperial Physician Xue even pointed his sword at Li Xuan, sternly shouting with righteous indignation:
"What kind of monster are you?"
"Why don't you reveal your true form quickly!"
If Imperial Physician Xue's words hadn't been accompanied by his continuous retreating steps, they would probably have had more imposing momentum.
"And what the hell do you mean, 'reveal your true form'? This *is* my true form, alright?"
Seeing the master and disciple making such a fuss, Li Xuan couldn't help but show a speechless expression.
"I'm not a monster; I'm an auspicious spirit beast. I advise you not to talk nonsense."
"Also, I'm here to help Dr. Fang."
Li Xuan added two more lines of text, explaining reluctantly.
Having grown accustomed to communicating with those who knew his background, suddenly communicating with outsiders felt particularly strenuous for Li Xuan.
First, getting them to accept the simple fact that he was a cat who could write would greatly impact their limited common sense.
Aymu on the bed watched curiously. She couldn't speak, only anxiously made "aba aba" sounds, curious about what had happened to make the master and disciple, who had previously been so composed, lose their composure.
"Isn't it just a Little Black Cat?"
Aymu was utterly bewildered.
From her angle, she couldn't see the handwriting on the table, so she completely failed to understand why the master and disciple were reacting so strongly.
Imperial Physician Xue and Fang Muyang stared blankly at the handwriting on the table, exchanging glances, filled with incredible surprise.
Together, they had lived for nearly a hundred years and had never seen a cat that could write.
"Master, this..."
Fang Muyang, being the disciple, when he was indecisive, he asked his master to come forward and solve the problem.
"Hiss--"
"Auspicious spirit beast?"
Imperial Physician Xue looked indecisive, stroking his beard and furrowing his brows, slowly moving his feet until he was beside Fang Muyang, his backside facing the door.
Imperial Physician Xue now had one hand behind his back, and Li Xuan had already guessed that he was guarding against him.
After all, if a cat suddenly jumped in front of you and then wrote such words, any ordinary person would be cautious like this.
Humans simply and crudely categorize beast races into demonic beasts and spirit beasts.
These two have one thing in common: they are both very capable beast races.
Those that can be used by humans are spirit beasts, and those that cannot be used by humans are demonic beasts.
After all, these were standards set by humans themselves, so their subjectivity was understandable.
Based on Imperial Physician Xue's common sense, the possibility of a demonic beast appearing in the capital was extremely low.
But even if it wasn't a demonic beast that harmed people at will, he still had to be vigilant.
A beast race with such intelligence clearly could not be one kept by an ordinary family.
"Muyang, you just said you've seen this cat's owner?"
Imperial Physician Xue asked his disciple.
"That's right, it's a little girl about ten years old, in a wheelchair, with a group of formidable guards following her."
"I found this cat at Hu Yu House last night, returned it to them, and they specifically came to thank me this morning for it."
"But that little girl seems to have already grown suspicious of me."
In such a strange situation, Fang Muyang dared not conceal anything, fearing it would interfere with his master's judgment.
Hearing Fang Muyang's words, Imperial Physician Xue was stunned, frowning as he looked at Fang Muyang and confirmed:
"A ten-year-old girl? In a wheelchair? Keeping a black cat? And with guards protecting her?"
"Is there also a maid, who looks a few years older than the little girl?"
Fang Muyang thought for a moment and immediately remembered: "Yes, there's also a maid who pushes the wheelchair, a few years older than the little girl."
"Master, do you know them?"
Imperial Physician Xue had already thought of something at this point and asked Li Xuan with some uncertainty:
"Jingyang Palace?"
Li Xuan nodded gently.
Imperial Physician Xue's reaction was quite fast; he guessed their identity just from these characteristics.
Seeing Li Xuan nod, Imperial Physician Xue's first surprise was that Li Xuan could even understand human speech.
"I've long heard that Princess Ankang is skilled in beast taming, so it turns out you, little cat, are so intelligent."
Imperial Physician Xue mustered his courage, took a step forward, and looked at Li Xuan, marveling.
"Princess Ankang?"
Fang Muyang was full of surprise.
"The little girl you saw before is the current Thirteenth Imperial Princess, Princess Ankang."
Imperial Physician Xue waved his hand at Fang Muyang, telling him to sit back down, and he also moved his stool, returning to his original position.
"Master..."
Fang Muyang winked at Imperial Physician Xue, still full of vigilance towards Li Xuan.
"Forget it, if it really wanted to harm us, it would have just launched a sneak attack long ago."
"The sound of this Little Black Cat climbing through the window just now was already like knocking on the door."
Imperial Physician Xue seemed more open-minded. Now that he perhaps knew Li Xuan's origin, he was more curious than wary of him.
"Little fellow, are these words you just said the meaning of Princess Ankang?"
Imperial Physician Xue asked right away.
At this moment, Li Xuan pretended not to understand his words and showed no reaction.
Seeing Li Xuan's reaction, Imperial Physician Xue secretly thought:
"This little cat is playing dumb with me. I've never heard of such intelligence."
Imperial Physician Xue had not set foot in Jingyang Palace for a long time.
Other than having diagnosed the young Princess Ankang once before, he had never seen Princess Ankang again after that.
Imperial Physician Xue felt guilty about Princess Ankang.
He was completely helpless with Princess Ankang's illness, failing his reputation as the chief of the Imperial Hospital.
Imperial Physician Xue, let alone treating Princess Ankang's illness, couldn't even understand it.
Imperial Physician Xue could only judge at the time by the speed of Princess Ankang's physical deterioration, which led him to the conclusion that Princess Ankang would not live past eighteen.
Imperial Physician Xue was quite confident in this conclusion.
In fact, the age of eighteen was an optimistic estimate by Imperial Physician Xue.
Initially, Li Xuan chose to help Fang Muyang merely to express his sense of justice and Princess Ankang's wishes.
But as soon as he heard that Imperial Physician Xue was Fang Muyang's master, he had another reason to help Fang Muyang.
Princess Ankang's body was becoming increasingly healthy, and there would eventually be a time when it could no longer be kept a secret.
And before that, Li Xuan needed to find a reasonable explanation for Princess Ankang's recovery.
Li Xuan believed that Imperial Physician Xue in front of him was the most reasonable explanation.
At this moment, Fang Muyang had also sat down. Seeing Imperial Physician Xue and Li Xuan staring at each other, each with their own hidden intentions, he couldn't help but ask Li Xuan:
"What exactly do you mean by this?"
Fang Muyang pointed at the handwriting Li Xuan had written on the table.
"Literally. I've already heard about your situation from outside."
"I'm also very annoyed by that Zhao Four, but he's currently hiding at home. I just came from the Zhao residence, and you can't get in to kill him by yourself."
Li Xuan wrote very assertively.
He could sense that Fang Muyang had a faint amount of Qi and Blood Power within him, optimistically estimated to be at the ninth-grade level.
Moreover, the Qi and Blood Power within Fang Muyang were exactly like Imperial Physician Xue's, extremely gentle.
Li Xuan guessed that the master and disciple probably practiced special cultivation methods for health preservation or healing, which was why their power was so gentle.
When Li Xuan had previously reviewed martial arts insights, he had seen that among the Five Elements, water and wood attributes had special healing effects on injuries.
Imperial Physician Xue and Fang Muyang, this master and disciple pair, were very likely following this path.
Seeing the handwriting Li Xuan had written, Fang Muyang's eyes couldn't help but dim.
He was also very clear about Zhao Four's situation.
Fang Muyang hadn't expected Zhao Four to be such a coward. As soon as Third Young Master Hou got into trouble, he immediately figured out why the so-called female ghost was targeting him, and then he directly hid in his house and refused to come out.
For Fang Muyang to kill Zhao Four, he needed an opportunity to get close.
Even if he couldn't get close to Zhao Four himself, getting close to places he frequented would suffice.
That way, Fang Muyang could make Zhao Four jump into the fire pit himself, just as he did with Zhou Mama.
But now, Fang Muyang couldn't get close to Zhao Four himself, nor could he enter the Zhao Manor.
Regarding revenge, Fang Muyang didn't want to rely on others unless it was absolutely necessary.
He had already made too many mistakes and didn't want to mess up this last thing he could do for Xixi.
"What price do I need to pay?" Fang Muyang asked Li Xuan seriously.
Li Xuan shook his head, then continued writing with his tail:
"It's just me helping out when I see injustice. Let's consider it making a friend."
"Perhaps there will be a time in the future when I'll need your help."
Fang Muyang shook his head and said, "I might not even have a future."
"Muyang, what nonsense are you talking about!" Imperial Physician Xue reprimanded him.
"Xixi did so much for you; did she really hope you'd end up like this?" Imperial Physician Xue scolded him, feeling frustrated.
At this moment, Aymu on the bed also joined in the commotion. Dragging her weak body, she climbed out of bed and sat down in the empty seat at the table.
Aymu made two "aba aba" sounds and pointed to her mouth.
Seeing that she seemed to have something to say, Fang Muyang unsealed her mute acupoint.
Aymu then looked at Imperial Physician Xue and pointed to the silver needles on her body.
"It's really for treating your injuries," Imperial Physician Xue explained helplessly.
Aymu nodded, then drained the last bit of strength from her body and slapped him hard.
Slap!
A crisp sound rang out.
Fang Muyang numbly turned his head to the side, his cheek already red.
"Fang Muyang, do you know why Xixi chose to die rather than submit after she was redeemed?"
"She could have clearly endured that night, and perhaps nothing would have happened."
Aymu asked Fang Muyang coldly.
Fang Muyang lowered his eyelids, hiding his sorrow, but still answered softly:
"Xixi, she..."
"She was redeemed; she was from a respectable family."
"She was keeping her chastity for me..."
"But I actually didn't..."
Slap!
Aymu, with strength from who knows where, slapped Fang Muyang again.
"That was the most precious thing she felt she could give you."
Fang Muyang was stunned; he had never realized this.
After giving Fang Muyang two slaps, Aymu lay back down on the bed, turning her back to everyone.
Silence filled the room.
Fang Muyang was in a daze, lost in thought, tears continuously streaming from his eyes.
Li Xuan and Imperial Physician Xue watched him silently, not disturbing him.
At this moment, Aymu, lying on the bed, suddenly said:
"If you die, no one will ever know how precious the last thing Xixi left in this world was."
Li Xuan couldn't help but look at Aymu's back, suddenly feeling that this new top courtesan of Hu Yu House cooperating with Fang Muyang might not just be out of self-interest.
Aymu might have known Xixi too.
Perhaps not for long, but enough to make Aymu say such words for Xixi.
"Thank you, Miss Aymu."
Fang Muyang silently wiped away his tears, then looked at Li Xuan and asked:
"How can you help me?"
Before answering, Li Xuan asked Fang Muyang a question.
"Do you want to deal with Zhao Four yourself?"
Fang Muyang nodded very seriously.
Imperial Physician Xue just sighed silently but didn't say anything more.
Li Xuan had already expected this.
Actually, the simplest method would be for Li Xuan to act on Fang Muyang's behalf.
But Li Xuan had also anticipated Fang Muyang's desire to deal with Zhao Four himself.
After all, when it comes to revenge, doing it yourself is the most satisfying.
Li Xuan didn't keep him in suspense. With a flick of his tail, he pulled out some items from the di hong bone ring.
Several exquisite human skin masks appeared on the table.
Imperial Physician Xue's eyes twitched. He picked up one of the human skin masks and exclaimed in surprise:
"This quality..."
Imperial Physician Xue knew it was something from the palace just by touching it.
"Zhao Four has been acting abnormally recently, and he got a bit injured today. You can use the opportunity of practicing medicine to approach him."
"Of course, you'll need to disguise yourself slightly to hide your true identity."
Li Xuan lifted his writing tail, and on his tail was a special human skin mask.
This human skin mask only had a few small holes corresponding to the eyes and mouth, with no other details, appearing to be an unfinished work.
But Li Xuan only later learned that the value of this human skin mask was actually the highest.
He handed this human skin mask to Fang Muyang and continued to write:
"You can also choose to use this human skin mask to impersonate someone from the Zhao Manor and then approach Zhao Four."
Fang Muyang looked at the slightly rough human skin mask in his hand, appearing somewhat confused.
At this moment, Imperial Physician Xue exclaimed first.
"This is 'Thousand Faces'!"
That's right, this human skin mask had its own unique name: Thousand Faces.
This human skin mask possessed extreme malleability and restorative properties, making it an invaluable treasure for those involved in disguise.
Li Xuan also learned about the function of this treasure later from Chief Steward Shang.
This human skin mask could be refined with details by oneself, and after a few days, the human skin mask would return to its original state.
In other words, "Thousand Faces" was a human skin mask that could be reused and customized freely.
Unlike other human skin masks, once specific details were perfected, they could no longer be changed.
It's important to know that the materials and craftsmanship for making human skin masks were extremely complex.
Each human skin mask was a rare treasure.
And "Thousand Faces" was the ultimate among human skin masks.
Imperial Physician Xue explained the functions of "Thousand Faces" to Fang Muyang, who was visibly moved after hearing it.
Whether it was using an ordinary human skin mask to pretend to be another doctor visiting to practice medicine, or using "Thousand Faces" to impersonate someone from the Zhao Manor to approach Zhao Four, the probability of success was very high.
Li Xuan noticed with his peripheral vision that Aymu on the bed had also pricked up her ears at some point.
It seemed she was also very interested in "Thousand Faces."
"As doctors, making a human skin mask shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Li Xuan wasn't worried that Imperial Physician Xue and Fang Muyang couldn't carve the details of a human face.
The master and apprentice both nodded, indicating it wasn't difficult for them.
And now, it was up to Fang Muyang to choose.
Li Xuan and Imperial Physician Xue silently turned to look at Fang Muyang, awaiting his decision.
Fang Muyang pondered for a long time, then slowly said:
"Can I borrow two?"