Frauds and Idiots

Chapter 13: Racing Into The Night

Year 147, Month 9

Shangsong had to admit that he was extremely nervous right now. Carrying two saddlebags filled with a total of 4,500 gold coins and a single Magical Tablet would make anyone nervous; it was literally enough money to buy a massive agricultural estate back in Zaomen. It was the kind of wealth that could allow someone to retire comfortably. But since he was about to acquire not only this fortune but also the chance to unlock his own innate magical potential -- real healing magic, something he had dreamed of since childhood -- he pressed on. As a boy, he had learned the arts of medical healing under the tutelage of his father, Chen Xiaduo, who was widely regarded as the legendary healer Li Wangjun’s best student.

As much as Shangsong respected the legendary healer for his breakthroughs in medicine and medical healing, he lamented the unfortunate fact that Li Wangjun’s academy of healers forced all prospective students to take the Oath of Honesty. This oath was meant to ensure ethical guidelines for healers: act with beneficence, avoid lying, and practice without malpractice. However, the phrasing “I will always be truthful to those under my care” ended up being interpreted by Li Wangjun himself as a strict directive to avoid taking any profit beyond what was “reasonable for a living.”

As much as Shangsong wanted his father to “get smart” and creatively reinterpret this command as simply being truthful about the patient’s condition and treatment, Li Wangjun’s rigid interpretation of healing as an act of compassion and charity meant that many healers lived in conditions close to or even below the poverty line. It was honestly the very peak of overly idealistic Literati pretentiousness, as the late famous healer himself seems to never realized that people need to build up financial security first, rather than outright plunging into charitable mindset.

One such unfortunate healer was Chen Dashu, an old man in Sanou who Shangsong had only recently realized was his father’s junior and apparently a close enough friend to maintain correspondence. Since the old man had agreed to bend that gods-damned Oath of Honesty to protect Shangsong’s own identity, perhaps giving him some gold coins to repair his shack into a more presentable clinic would be in order. While Shangsong didn’t care if his actions as a “not-so-fraudulent” healing sorcerer left other sanctimonious healers poorer -- because they deserved it -- he privately drew a line at harming those he considered friends, including family friends like that poor old healer.

As for the village he currently resided in, Shangsong, along with a small group of riders, was now racing through the night. His companions included Lord Loki, disguised as Old Man Liu Luoqi, Jiliang Jiying, who acted as their guide since he was the most familiar with the land, the sorceress Jiliang Hui’an, and the bald, tattooed man Zhu Menghuo, who had once been a Houlin monk but had since found liberation in the teachings of the Dark Gods, that Free Will and Rationality are your most important treasure and Honor, not Justice, is your most important Virtue. According to him, the concept of Damma and Karma are nothing but chains of slavery enforced by those Tyrannical Gods of Light.

Shangsong knew that even though the coins inside his saddlebags would be tempting to opportunistic bandits, any who tried their luck would stand no chance. Not only were they guarded by three of the most reliable sorcerers in the Void Dragon’s Army of Darkness, but they also relied on the honor among warriors and outlaws, the Haohan Code, to avoid conflict. The code ensured they weren’t threatening anyone and were simply escorting a healer to treat their leader. However, Shangsong had been forewarned that if they crossed paths with those who served higher causes -- such as the Houlin monks or mages aligned with the Jade Emperor or other Gods of Light-- there would be no survivors to witness their journey.

...

Though Shangsong was in awe of his companions’ powers, their journey hit a snag when they accidentally passed a group of two dozen bandits.