The other party had no objection.
In Da Qi, male doctors treating female patients required some precautions.
Even when taking a pulse, he needed to cover the wrist with a thin cloth before he could make a diagnosis.
However, Li Yu, who was in front of him, was clearly familiar with this routine and had long been accustomed to disguising herself as a man.
She didn’t take any precautionary measures, nor did she cover her wrist with a cloth; she simply raised her hand and placed it on the table.
“Physician Xu’s forthrightness is truly admirable. Since that’s the case, please put your heart into it, Physician Xu.”
“Mmm…”
Xu Pingan didn’t say much.
Although he already had a rough judgment based on her aura and complexion, he still needed to personally take her pulse to confirm.
He raised his hand and picked up a wrist rest.
“Please raise your hand, Young Master.”
Li Yu raised her hand accordingly.
Xu Pingan placed the wrist rest underneath, then gestured for her to proceed.
She then placed her wrist down again.
Only then did Xu Pingan raise his hand, roll up his sleeve, bring three fingers together, and slowly place them on her slender wrist.
The moment he palpated, her pulse clearly reached his fingertips.
After about three seconds, he withdrew his hand after confirming the pulse on her right hand.
“Please place your other hand, Young Master.”
Li Yu complied.
Xu Pingan pressed her pulse again, and after another three seconds, he withdrew his hand and closed his eyes in contemplation.
Nine Yin Severed Meridian.
Although he had already made a seven or eight-tenths deduction based on the prescriptions others had given earlier, and after observing her physiognomy and aura just now, he was ninety percent sure.
Now, after taking her pulse, he was one hundred percent certain.
This was the legendary Nine Yin Severed Meridian.
It is said that clear qi rises to become yang, and turbid qi descends to become yin.
This Nine Yin Severed Meridian naturally means that the body is extremely turbid.
In a normal person’s acupoints, both yin and yang qi are present and flow through different pathways.
However, in the body of this ‘Young Master’ Li Yu, only yin qi can be generated, and no yang qi.
Yang qi, simply put, is a person’s vitality, a kind of vital energy within the body.
If yang qi cannot be produced internally, then that person’s life force will rapidly decline.
As the saying goes, singular yang does not produce, and solitary yin does not grow; yin and yang qi need to harmonize with each other to derive normal vitality.
But her body lacked yang.
When she was younger, she still had congenital yang qi as a foundation in her body.
Even if yang wasn’t produced internally, she could barely maintain vitality.
But as time passed, her congenital yang qi was depleted, and eventually, only turbid yin qi remained in her body.
This meant that her vitality had been cut off.
The reason she was still alive was because the Zhennan King’s estate was vast and wealthy, constantly providing her with various rare and precious medicines, barely keeping her alive.
Since yang cannot be produced internally, it must be forcefully supplemented from external sources.
However, this is ultimately not yang qi produced within the body, so the conversion rate is very limited, and each conversion causes damage to the body.
This was already beyond the reach of medicine.
Even immortal elixirs would find it difficult to change.
Don’t think that the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir is so amazing, bringing the dead back to life and growing flesh on bones, even reviving a corpse.
But those are for normal mortals.
For someone with the Nine Yin Severed Meridian, it’s a condition abhorred by heaven and earth; they are destined to die from birth.
Unless an existence of the Grand Pure Old Lord’s caliber personally intervenes to change her fate and constitution, she cannot survive.
Otherwise, general medical treatments are completely ineffective.
Xu Pingan hesitated to speak.
Li Yu seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled softly.
“Cough cough~ Physician Xu doesn’t need to hide anything. I know a bit about my own body. Just tell me directly whatever you have to say.”
Xu Pingan nodded.
“Your illness, Young Master, is an incurable disease, one that even cultivated immortals would find difficult to treat. This disease is innate; no matter how much is done later, it’s merely a drop in the bucket. My suggestion is… for these remaining days, eat what you love, do what you enjoy, and truly experience this final part of your life so you leave no regrets.”
Li Yu, who had held onto a sliver of hope, instantly lost that glimmer in her eyes.
She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time before suddenly bursting into a violent cough.
“Cough, cough, cough~”
The nearby servant immediately pulled out a handkerchief.
In just a few swift movements, when the handkerchief was moved away, a dark red bloodstain appeared on it.
There were spots and some black residue on it, clearly indicating that the illness had already reached a critical stage.
“How much longer… do I have?”
Li Yu turned to look at Xu Pingan, a hint of inquiry in her lifeless eyes.
“If it’s good, six months; if it’s bad, one month.”
Li Yu nodded slightly.
Her already pale complexion, made even more ashen by the violent coughing spell, showed no trace of color.
Even her lips were dry and dim.
“Can you tell me… what illness I have? I don’t want to die without understanding.”
Xu Pingan hesitated slightly, then turned to look at Li Yu.
“Could the Young Master please dismiss the others?”
Li Yu turned to look at Zhao Pingzhi, who was sitting not far away.
She lowered her head in thought for a moment, seemed to have an idea, and waved her hand.
“General Zhao, please wait outside the courtyard.”
“Young Master?”
Li Yu said nothing more, simply gazing quietly at Zhao Pingzhi.
After a moment of hesitation, he stood up, bowed, and exited the room.
Inside the room, there were now only three people left.
Li Yu then explained to Xu Pingan why the servant remained.
“He is my trusted confidant. You can speak freely.”
“Understood. In that case, I will speak plainly, Young Master… ah, no, Princess, your illness is a congenital condition that only women can contract.”
“The symptoms are not evident in the early stages. They only begin to appear once the congenital qi is depleted.”
“Initially, you would only feel tired and weak, then experience a sense of pressure in your chest and difficulty breathing.”
“In the middle stage, you would begin to develop fever and cough, often waking up startled at night, with difficulty retaining yang qi and an increase in yin qi.”
“In the later stage, you would feel perpetually drowsy, dislike food and water, and only wish to lie in bed. At this point, your cough would produce blood, with fragments in the blood, and external wounds would be extremely difficult to heal on their own.”
“In the final stage, your body would accelerate its aging, resembling an old woman within a month, with dry, sagging skin, impaired vision, decreased hearing, loss of sensation in the tongue, and bones that fracture with slight movement, eventually leading to weakness and death.”
“This illness is called Nine Yin Severed Meridian, a condition that only affects women, and for which there is no cure in the world.”
Initially, when Xu Pingan uttered the words ‘Princess,’ both the servant and Li Yu looked utterly astonished.
But as Xu Pingan calmly explained, Li Yu, for some reason, seemed to gradually calm down, her dark eyes simply watching Xu Pingan speak eloquently.
Meanwhile, the maid beside her was already in tears.
At this point, Xu Pingan stood up and bowed deeply to Li Yu.
“Please forgive me, Princess, for revealing this secret.”