The Master of Medicine and Martial Arts

The Master of Medicine and Martial Arts is an urban novel by Luoshui Hetu. Its protagonist, Su Chen, is of mysterious birth and grew up on Mount Emei. Almost everyone on the mountain is a female cultivator, and in the daily routine of carrying water and chopping wood he endures quietly so as not to reveal his strength; in private, however, he has trained under a masked master and mastered tai chi, the Emei sword, the Golden Bell Shield, and other martial arts, along with the medical skill of the Thirteen Ghost-Gate Needles—supreme in both medicine and martial arts. After a scandal over "peeking at his fellow disciples bathing," he is expelled from the mountain by the sect leader, Abbess Jingjue, and before leaving is granted the Hidden Sword technique and a long sword of extraordinary origin; carrying the unsolved mystery of his birth, he goes to Nanyang to seek refuge with his martial uncle. After descending the mountain, Su Chen moves among clinics, herbal markets, and the feuds of wealthy families: with silver needles he can judge life and death and cure strange poisons, and with his long sword he can subdue petty villains and break through crises. Starting from free consultations and work as a temporary bodyguard, he is drawn step by step into the vortex of ancient martial factions and international intrigue, and clues to his birth surface amid one crisis after another. The work advances along two lines, medical contests and martial confrontations, with a brisk pace and frequent gratifying moments, along with battles of wits, fights, and emotional entanglements, ultimately building to a grand conclusion involving the three realms and the heavenly way. The book is long and is a typical urban supernatural power fantasy.