Chapter 1060: Excellent Experimental Material

"As I expected, most of Fenggao's forces have been relocated. This means I won’t need to proceed with my second plan. That’s good—it saves me from breaking off relations with Liu Bei," Zhou Yu thought, feeling a sense of relief after hearing Qu Qi's information.

To be honest, Zhou Yu had brought along a cavalry force of three hundred men. Aside from Cheng Pu leading them, the rest were death soldiers, prepared in case Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's identities were exposed, providing them with a means of escape.

Based on Zhou Yu’s calculations, Fenggao should still have enough power to subdue Sun Ce, but that would rely on a large army using its collective military aura to suppress him. Given the situation, if the Fenggao governor wanted to ensure they could capture Sun Ce, he would have to mobilize the city defenses.

With city defenses so sparse and without the support of a military aura, even Cheng Pu, who had just broken through to the level of Inner Qi Leaving the Body, would be enough to smash the city gates. Zhou Yu wasn’t concerned about them being instantly overwhelmed by an army either, as such a scenario was unrealistic.

This approach was essentially a repeat of what Chen Xi had done in Bohai County, though unlike Chen Xi’s bold confidence at that time, Zhou Yu didn’t want to provoke Liu Bei into turning against them.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, Zhou Yu wouldn’t take such a drastic step. But now, after hearing Qu Qi’s words, Zhou Yu felt reassured. Carefully observing Fenggao was also a good opportunity to learn something useful.

If only I could enter Taishan Academy and the library… The idea surfaced in Zhou Yu's mind now that he felt more at ease after receiving the news from Qu Qi. Things he previously wouldn’t dare dream of now seemed within reach.

However, the population management system here is too strict. If one day Liu Xuande's forces truly spread across the entire Central Plains, anyone committing a crime could be caught no matter where they fled, as long as Liu Xuande was determined to find them. This type of management… Zhou Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless at the thought.

The most challenging obstacle for outsiders to enter Liu Bei's territory was the household registration system. As a non-Liu Bei affiliate, one needed temporary registration to enter. Even claiming to be a local would still require proof of registration, and without that, you needed someone already registered to vouch for you.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to join Liu Bei’s side without a guarantor, especially if you were part of the influx of refugees. In the past, when Cao Cao and Sun Ce had a lot of refugees, large groups had entered without anyone to vouch for them.

However, Li You meticulously recorded and registered these groups. For instance, groups of six thousand were given a collective household registration and established in large villages. So even if Cao Cao or Sun Ce sent spies, it would be easy to identify them.

No matter how skilled Zhou Yu and Xun Yu were, they had no good solutions for this. Li You could easily trace anyone using the household registry system, unless Zhou Yu had the power to turn all six thousand people into spies.

If he had such power, wouldn’t it be easier to just build an army? Why bother sending spies into Liu Bei’s territory?

Similarly, entry into Taishan Academy or the library was only allowed with a household registration or special authorization. Otherwise, access was denied. When Cai Yan was in charge of the library, there were twenty-five squads of city guards stationed at the gates. Even Sun Ce couldn’t barge in without registration.

I’m getting greedy. Being able to observe Fenggao firsthand like this is already an incredible stroke of luck. Once we confirm Youping's condition, we must leave quickly. Fenggao is Liu Xuande's stronghold, and there may be other unknown defenses. Ensuring our safety comes first, Zhou Yu reminded himself.

"Bo Yan, have Zijia knock on the door," Qu Qi suggested to Lu Xun mischievously as he hid behind Zhou Yu. Despite being neighbors with Hua Tuo, Qu Qi’s and Hua Tuo’s estates were large enough that Qu Qi had no idea what had transpired earlier.

"Zijia, knock on the door," Lu Xun had already composed himself. Since there was no practical way to deal with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, he decided to maintain his composure and not let any other emotions slip. For now, they had earned some superficial goodwill from Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.

"I'm not knocking! There's an old man inside!" Lu Yu's hair stood on end.

"Missed the chance for a good show, huh!" Qu Qi grumbled as he came out of hiding. He then shouted at Hua Tuo's residence, "Old man, open up! Someone needs treatment!"

Qu Qi’s shouts echoed through the street, which was isolated from residential areas. Only a few familiar faces lived nearby, so there was no one to disturb—Qu Qi was merely venting his frustration.

Creak! In the stillness of the night, after a distant wolf’s howl, Hua Tuo’s door opened once again.

Compared to the half-awake Qu Qi, Hua Tuo was far more alert. After glancing over the group, his eyes landed on Zhou Yu. "You don’t seem gravely ill, so why are you disturbing me at this hour? Don’t you know that doctors need rest too?"

Cough, cough. "Doctor Hua, he’s not the one who’s sick. It’s this gentleman here," Lu Xun quickly gestured toward the unconscious Zhou Tai on Sun Ce's shoulders.

"And who is this?" Hua Tuo furrowed his brow. Judging from Zhou Tai’s complexion, he didn’t look like a sick man; in fact, he appeared extremely healthy. After lifting Zhou Tai’s eyelids to inspect him, Hua Tuo's expression changed slightly. "Bring him inside."

As they entered Hua Tuo's courtyard, the heavy scent of medicinal herbs filled the air. Qu Qi looked helpless—this had been his residence before Hua Tuo took over. Meanwhile, Lu Yu's face turned a bit pale. Inside, Hua Tuo lit all the lamps and motioned for Sun Ce to place Zhou Tai on the prepared bed.

"This unlucky fellow... who beat him so badly that he ended up like this? He seems alive, but in reality, his soul is completely gone," Hua Tuo quickly examined Zhou Tai, concluding that what remained was little more than a shell.

Sun Ce felt a glimmer of hope. Although Hua Tuo's diagnosis sounded grim, the fact that he could even detect what was wrong showed he had real skill. At least Zhang Zhongjing hadn’t been able to figure that out.

"It happened like this..." Sun Ce swiftly described the events, but he was careful not to reveal the exact location or opponent. Even Lu Yu could guess what had really happened, though.

"So, he was supposed to be dead, yet he somehow survived," Hua Tuo remarked with a strange look. "Usually, with this kind of forbidden technique, the body is destroyed first, followed by the soul. This is really odd."

"Doctor Hua, can you save him?" Sun Ce asked anxiously.

"I can't guarantee a full recovery, but I can definitely save him," Hua Tuo stroked his beard, clearly intrigued. Finally, a chance had come to work on an Inner Qi Leaving the Body patient. In the past, he had never had such valuable material to experiment on. Medicine advances through practice, and without Inner Qi cultivators willing to serve as subjects, Hua Tuo had no way to study them!

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